That’s a very valid question, actually. I, too, had the same question: how can Hiranyaksha hide the earth deep down in any ocean if the ocean itself is on the earth? But when I heard this, my doubt was cleared.
So, Lord Varaha incarnated two times. It was the time of dina pralaya. 4 Yugas constitute 1 Mahayuga. 71 Mahayugas constitute 1 Manvantara. 14 Manvantaras constitute 1 Kalpa. This 1 Kalpa is the daytime of Lord Brahma. So, when this 1 Kalpa, or the daytime of Lord Brahma, is over and His nighttime starts, at that time, a pralaya takes place known as the Dina Pralaya, or the Naimittika Pralaya.
In this pralaya, only the Bhuloka (where we are living), Bhuvarloka, and Svarloka (Svargaloka) get submerged in the pralaya water. And this water is outside the earth. Now, the nighttime of Brahma was over, and a new Kalpa was to start (which means the daytime of Brahma was going to start). Lord Brahma woke up from His sleep, and then Lord Vishnu instructed Lord Brahma to start the creation process.
At that time, a demon by the name of Adi Hiranyaksha came there and pushed the earth and drowned it in the deep layers of the pralaya water. At that time, the devatas were in the Satyaloka (the abode of Lord Brahma). They approached Lord Brahma and asked Him to do something to rescue the earth from the clutches of Adi Hiranyaksha.
Lord Brahma prayed to Lord Narayana, “O Lord full of infinite auspicious attributes and infinite pure bliss! You have assigned me this task of creation. Now, this demon Adi Hiranyaksha has drowned the earth in the ocean of pralaya water. O Lord! Please protect Bhudevi from the hands of Adi Hiranyaksha.” After Lord Brahma prayed to Lord Vishnu, a small boar came out of Lord Brahma’s nose.
That boar grew in size and became the size of a mountain. That boar became shaped like a boar, and the rest was a human body with a lot of hair on it. Lord Brahma didn’t know at first who He was. That boar jumped down with the speed of light in the Pralaya Ocean and then went deep down the ocean to search for the earth.
He dug down in the ocean with the help of His tusks and then finally found the earth. He took that earth out and came out of the Pralaya Ocean. Lord Brahma immediately recognized that this boar was none other than Lord Vishnu’s Varaha roopa. Then Lord Varaha and Adi Hiranyaksha had a fight, wherein Lord Varaha killed Adi Hiranyaksha with His tusks.
After killing Adi Hiranyaksha, Lord Varaha uplifted the earth, or Bhudevi. And then, Lord Varaha said, “O four-faced Brahma! I instruct you to continue the task of creation that I had assigned you earlier.” Saying thus, Lord Varaha disappeared. After the creation took place and the earth was in its stable place, Lord Varaha asked Garuda to bring the Kridachala Parvata from Vaikuntha to the southern part of the Bhaaratavarsha.
[SriAdi Varaha Swamy in Tirupati]
Kridachala Parvata is a Parvata in Vaikuntha where Lakshminarayana used to do vihaara. So, Garuda, on the instructions of Lord Varaha, brought that Kridachala Parvata down to the southern portion of the Bhaaratavarsha. There Lord Varaha stayed with Bhudevi as SriAdi Varaha Swamy. And this kshetra is known as Tirupati today, where, along with Srinivasa, Lord SriAdi Varaha Swamy is also there.
This form of Lord Varaha is known as Shveta Varaha. And since He appeared at the start of the current Kalpa in which we are living, the current Kalpa is known as Sri Shveta Varaha Kalpa. Even during the sankalpa, we say, ‘Shvetavaraha kalpe vaivasvata manvantare ashtavimshatitame kaliyuge…’ (In the Shveta Varaha Kalpa, Vaivasvata Manvantara, in the 28th Kaliyuga).
From this Shveta Varaha came various things which are today used for the yagya and shraadha karmas. For example, the darbha that we use in the yagyas or Shraadhha karmas came from Lord Varaha’s body hairs. Whereas black sesame seeds came from Lord Varaha’s sweat, which we use in the Shraaddha.
Since Shraadhha is related to the Pitrus, there is a chance of evil spirits attacking us, so to keep away negative energy, we use black sesame seeds. Since the yagya items and the Vedic chandas and all came from Lord Varaha, He is also known as Yagya Varaha. In this form, He is white in color, holding Shankha and Chakra, and has sharp and bright tusks. Bhudevi is sitting on the left thigh of Lord Varaha, is being worshipped by Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, and other devatas, and is being praised by the Vedas.
[Lord Bhoovaraha Swamy]
The second time, it was Hiranyaksha who came and found Lord Varaha along with Bhudevi in the rasatala. Actually, what happens is that there is a hierarchy of demons. Kali Purusha is the best among the demons. Under him, the other demons come. Alakshmi, or Daridralakshmi, is Kali Purusha’s wife. Then come demons like Viprachitti, Madhu, Kaitabha, Adi Hiranyaksha, Adi Hiranyakashyapu, etc.
So, once, the mind-born sons of Lord Brahma by the name Sanaka, Sanandanan, Sanatsujaata, and Sanatkumaara visited Vaikuntha to see Lord Vishnu. At that time, Lord Vishnu’s gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya stopped them unnecessarily due to demonic possession. The sages cursed them to be born as demons for 3 births. At that time, Lord Vishnu told them that in the three births, they would be killed by Him only.
Now, when Jaya and Vijaya incarnated as the sons of Kashyapa and Diti, Jaya became Hiranyaksha and Vijaya became Hiranyakashyapu. The original demonic forces of Adi Hiranyaksha and Adi Hiranyakashyapu entered into them respectively. And these then grew dvesha in Bhagavan Vishnu. So, in Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashyapu, there were basically two souls: one was of Jaya and Vijaya, and the other was of Adi Hiranyaksha and Adi Hiranyakashyapu.
Now, this Hiranyaksha had the habit of fighting with others. He wanted someone who would be equal to him. He used to cause trouble for the devatas, sages, etc. So, he finally reached Varunaloka, where he challenged Lord Varuna to come for a fight. Lord Varuna at that time said that he was too old for fights and asked him to go to Lord Vishnu. He is the only one who can give you the fight you expect to have.
Guided by Sage Narada, Hiranyaksha went to the Rasatala, where Lord Varaha was present along with Bhudevi. He mocked Lord Varaha as an amphibian and challenged Lord Varaha to a fight. Lord Varaha and Hiranyaksha fought fiercely. The fight took a very long time. Lord Brahma finally prayed to Lord Varaha, ‘O Lord! Killing this demon is like killing an ant for you. Please, end this demon and make the world free from his torments.”
On hearing Lord Brahma’s prayers, Lord Varaha slapped Hiranyaksha below his ear once, and Hiranyaksha died on the spot. So, this was the story of Lord Varaha’s appearance for the second time. Lord Varaha is holding the Bhumi from its base. In our body, we have 72,000 naadis. In the 36,000 naadis, Bhagavan Vishnu is present in the Purusha roopas, and in the other 36,000 naadis He is present in His stree roopas.
But the overall naadi department is managed by Lord Vishnu in the form of Lord Varaha. So, in conclusion, I would like to say that Adi Hiranyaksha didn’t put the earth in the ocean that is present on the earth, but He put the earth in the pralaya ocean during the dina pralaya.
Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriBhooVaraaha Abhinna ShriKrishnarpanamastu!