Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 19
Varāha Confronts Hiraṇyākṣa: The Challenge, the Rescue of Earth, and the Opening of the Mace-Duel
तयो: स्पृधोस्तिग्मगदाहताङ्गयो: क्षतास्रवघ्राणविवृद्धमन्य्वो: । विचित्रमार्गांश्चरतोर्जिगीषया व्यभादिलायामिव शुष्मिणोर्मृध: ॥ १९ ॥
tayoḥ spṛdhos tigma-gadāhatāṅgayoḥ kṣatāsrava-ghrāṇa-vivṛddha-manyvoḥ vicitra-mārgāṁś carator jigīṣayā vyabhād ilāyām iva śuṣmiṇor mṛdhaḥ
There was keen rivalry between the two combatants; both had sustained injuries on their bodies from the blows of each other’s pointed maces, and each grew more and more enraged at the smell of blood on his person. In their eagerness to win, they performed maneuvers of various kinds, and their contest looked like an encounter between two forceful bulls for the sake of a cow.
Here the earth planet is called ilā. This earth was formerly known as Ilāvṛta-varṣa, and when Mahārāja Parīkṣit ruled the earth it was called Bhārata-varṣa. Actually, Bhārata-varṣa is the name for the entire planet, but gradually Bhārata-varṣa has come to mean India. As India has recently been divided into Pakistan and Hindustan, similarly the earth was formerly called Ilāvṛta-varṣa, but gradually as time passed it was divided by national boundaries.
FAQs
This verse portrays their duel as intensely dynamic—both wounded by sharp mace-blows, moving in intricate patterns, with rising fury—yet shining on earth as a dramatic display of power as each strives for victory.
He is narrating to Mahārāja Parīkṣit the climactic struggle where adharma (Hiraṇyākṣa) resists and the Lord (Varāha) confronts him; the vivid detail highlights the seriousness of the conflict and the Lord’s protective līlā for the earth.
When chaos and aggression rise, this līlā reminds a devotee to stay steady in dharma, trust the Lord’s protection, and face obstacles with disciplined effort rather than fear—knowing that truth and divine order ultimately prevail.