Varahi

Varahi
Varahi seated on a tiger. Varahi is sow-faced and ten-armed.
Affiliation	Matrikas
Mantra	Om hreem varahi hari Om
Weapon	trident sword
Mount	Buffalo lion tiger horse
Consort	Varaha (shakti)

Varahi (Sanskrit: वाराही, Vārāhī) is one of the Matrikas, a group of seven or eight mother goddesses in the Hindu religion. With the head of a sow, Varahi is the shakti (feminine energy, or sometimes, consort) of Varaha, the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu. In Nepal, she is called Barahi.

Varahi is worshipped by three major schools of Hinduism : Shaivism (followers of the god Shiva), Vaishnavism (devotees of Vishnu) and especially Shaktism (goddess worship). She is usually worshipped at night, and according to secretive Vamamarga Tantric practices. The Buddhist goddesses Vajravārāhī and Marichi are believed to have their origins in the Hindu goddess Varahi.

According to the Shumbha-Nishumbha myth of the Devi Mahatmya from the Markandeya Purana religious texts, the Matrikas goddesses appear as shaktis (feminine powers) from the bodies of the gods. The scriptures say that Varahi was created from Varaha. She has a boar form, wields a chakra (discus), and fights with a sword. After the battle described in the myth, the Matrikas dance – drunk on their victim's blood.

According to a latter episode of the Devi Mahatmya that deals with the killing of the demon Raktabija, the warrior-goddess Durga creates the Matrikas from herself and with their help slaughters the demon army. When the demon Shumbha challenges Durga to single combat, she absorbs the Matrikas into herself. In the Vamana Purana, the Matrikas arise from different parts of the Divine Mother Chandika; Varahi arises from Chandika's back.