THE THIRD AVATAR OF VISHNU: VARAHA (THE BOAR) Mankot or Basohli, India, first half 18th century Opaque pigments heightened with silver on paper, the vertical composition portraying Varaha, the third avatar of Lord Vishnu, squashing down into the primordial waters Hiranyaksha, a demonic Asura threatening the Heavens and Earth, the avatar depicted with a strong and sturdy human body and a boar face, in a heroic pose, three arms matching Varaha's traditional Hindu iconography with the Sudarsana chakram, the sword and the conch shell (shankha), the fourth arm holding an unrecognised item, possibly a bowl or manuscript, the rescued Earth represented as a flat stretch of mountainous land with a white elephant in the middle, within black rules and red borders, 14cm x 8cm.