Norse Mythology – Ragnarok

Ragnarok, (meaning “Twilight of the Gods” in Old Norse) in Norse mythology, was the predestined death of the gods. A three-year winter (Fimbulvetr meaning “Extreme Winter”) led to a final battle, where the gods and the frost giants fought the epic final battle. Ragnarok marks the end of the old world, and the beginning of the new, current world.

Odin, who had previously attempted to prevent Ragnarok from occurring, led the gods. They were assisted by the heroic dead, those who had died in glorious battle and had been taken to live in Valhalla and await the final battle. The frost giants were led by the fire god Loki and assisted by the unworthy dead who came from Hel, and by other monsters.

The wolves Guilt and Hate catch the Sun and the Moon and swallow them. The stars disappear and the earth is dissolved in total darkness. The World Serpent who had been gnawing at the roots of the World Tree emerged from the waves, spewing poison all over the world, leading to a gigantic flood on earth. As the sea came to engulf the land, on it came a ship with Loki leading a group of giants. The ship was supposed to have been built out of uncut nails of dead men.

Odin knew that the end was near. During the massive battle, he gets swallowed by a giant wolf, which gets later gets killed by Odin’s son, as an act of revenge. Thor goes out to battle and manages to kill all, including the, but was overwhelmed by its deadly poison, which killed him ultimately. One by one all the gods and goddesses fell like nine pins and soon all gods and humans had perished after a pitched battle between the gods, giants, mortals and forces of nature.

 

Ragnarok is a scene of chaotic violence in which the fate of all races, all beings, is decided. The halls of the dead are emptied, as is the plain of Hel. All who have died, whether honorably or not, are brought back for a violent war. All creatures and races alive during that time are drawn to the field of battle and will fight, and die. All the gods and giants appear, and fight and the far majority of them die. Every human being except for two (which also means every single human in the culture who listened to this tale) die. Even those who were raised from Valhalla die again.

The picture of intense cold as a background for mounting fire and smoke rising to the stars, in conjunction with a tidal wave which engulfed the inhabited land, may have drawn much of its vigour and terror from such remembered catastrophe.

But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Amid the destruction, two humans were saved as they had taken refuge in the World Tree, who go on to start the world all over again.

The myth of destruction could have its influence from many Eastern myths, where a myth of destruction has been a common feature. This could have been used to depict the end of the Viking era, though one can’t deny the influence of the pre-Christian myths of destruction too.

Ragnarok is based on a famous poem Voluspa. Voluspa itself may have been inspired partly by the experience , either first hand or from vivid accounts from those who had witnessed it, of a major volcanic eruption in Iceland, such as we know took place at frequent intervals in historic times.

Uncle Pai

Everybody’s favourite Uncle Pai is no more. He has got a call from the gods, after telling us their stories for more than 5 decades. May his soul rest in peace.

Anant Pai, Uncle Pai to millions, was the creator of the famous Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) and Tinkle comics. Way back in the late 60s, he started the ACK series when he saw a quiz programme, in which Indian children could answer questions from Greek Mythology, but could not give the name of Rama’s mother.

Thanks to him millions, like me, could lend faces to the numerous gods and demons from our mythology. A fair-complexioned Ram, bluish Krishna, doe-eyed goddesses and dark coloured demons, he etched the characters in every impressionable mind with such ease. My initial familiarity with Indian Mythology was thanks to Uncle Pai. The numerous myths associated with our mythology, sans all the intricacies was so beautifully told, that a child’s mind would crave for more. It is this craving that made some of us go in for further reading and exploring more of our mythology.

With time, ACK added to its repertoire freedom fighters, philosophers and even events like the Jalianwala Bag tragedy, etc. The content was just right for a young mind which gave one both the knowledge and awareness along with the appreciation of one’s heritage and history. In a world of Walt Disney comics, Phantom and Mandrake series along with Tintin and Asterix, ACK stood its ground and I dare say, stood way above all of them.

On his passing away, I on behalf of millions of Indians would like to salute him. Once again, May his soul rest in Peace.

Norse Mythology – Construction of the Wall of Asgard

The story goes that once a man by the name of Hrimthurs claimed to the gods that he could build the walls within a single winter, but for a price. If he completed, then the gods would have to give him the Sun and the Moon for compensation as well as Freyja for a wife. 

Loki was convinced that he could never finish them on time and got the gods to accept the wager. What the gods did not know was that Hrimthurs could do so, since he wasn’t a human. He was actually a giant and had a magical horse called Svadilfari. This horse could move huge blocks with magical ease.

When the winter was just about coming to an end, Hrimthurs had nearly completed the task on hand. The gods realised they were in trouble and that they would have to part with the prised possession of the Sun and Moon and above all, the goddess Freyja. All the gods approached Loki to bail them out, since it was anyway he who had convinced them into this.

Loki, true to his self, changed himself into a beautiful mare and went on to distract Hrimthurs horse, Svadilfari. Svadilfari began to chase Loki who was in the form of a mare, leaving Hrimthurs to fend for himself! Without the horse, he could not complete his task and lost the wager. When Hrimthurs come to know of the truth, he threatened to destroy his work, and in his rage, he lost his disguise, revealing to all that he was no human but a giant.



Odin Riding the eight-legged Sleipner



 Thor was very angry at this and struck him with his mighty hammer, killing him instantly. Few months’ back Loki brought to Asgard an eight-legged colt named Sleipner, which was the offspring of Svadilfari and Loki as the mare. Sleipnir became the magical steed of Odin when it grew up and was a constant companion of Odin.

This Nordic myth has similarities to the Indian myth of amrut-manthan, where the demons disguise as gods to drink the nectar (as compared to the giant disguising as human here) to achieve immortality (here to gain the Sun, Moon as well as goddess Freyja). In the amrut-manthan, Vishnu disguises as Mohini to distract the demons, and here we have Loki disguised as a mare to distract the giant’s stallion. Just as the union of the horse and Loki as the mare gives birth to an eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, which becomes dear to Odin, in amrut-manthan we have seen, how the union of Shiva and Vishnu as Mohini gives birth to Lord Ayappa!

Norse Mythology – Yggdrasill, the World Tree

Yggdrasill or the World Tree is a tree which supports the universe, with its roots connecting the nine Nordic worlds. Notable amongst all the worlds are Asgard, Valhalla, Midgard and Hel. Besides the worlds, there are three wells too. Before we move ahead, let us understand the worlds as per the tree.

Asgard was the home of the Gods. The only entrance to the Asgard was                        thru the “Rainbow Bridge”. The red arc in the rainbow stood for burning fire – to                               make it impassable for the Giants, since they were made of Frost and also known as the Frost Giants. Asgard was home to all gods and goddesses and each one had his or her own palace. Amongst all the halls in Asgard, the most important of all was Valhalla.

Valhalla

Valhalla is Odin’s hall in Asgard and is considered to be the best one in. Valhalla literally means the “Hall of Heroes”. The brave warriors who died in battle were brought here by the Valkyries (women warriors who served Odin) after death, which is considered to be an honour. In Valhalla, Odin dined with the warriors. The warriors were kept here for the final war called the Ragnarok, where only the brave would participate. (Ragnarok is a separate chapter altogether and will be discussed separately). The description of Valhalla is also very beautiful.

Valhalla had overlapping shields for a roof, held up by the spear-shafts as rafters. There were 540 doors. And from each of the door, eight hundred warriors could enter or leave the hall. Instead of torch-fires, the light in the great hall were lit by the glowing blades of swords. Mail shirts were strewn on the benches. In front of the western doors, there hanged a wolf. Hovering above Valhalla was a single eagle. There was also a tree standing in front of the doors of Valhalla; the tree had red-gold foliage.

Midgard was the dwelling of the Mankind. According to the Nordic Mythology, man was made from tree trunks and the Askr and Embla were the first man and woman, respectively. Odin had bestowed them with the gift of breath, Hoenir (another god) gave them understanding and the god Lodur gave them senses and outer appearance.

Hel or Niflhel was considered to be the land of the dead.

Besides the worlds, there were three wells. The significance of water is explained through different wells. One of them was considered to be a holy well water from which was used to water the Tree to avoid from the rotting of its roots. The other was the Well of Knowledge and as we have seen earlier, Odin had to pay with his eye to have a drink from this well. The third well was known as the Roaring Kettle, where a giant serpent which was continuously chewing at the root of the Tree, leading to its ultimate collapse during Ragnarok. This serpent was at constant war with the eagle at top of the tree. This eagle was extremely wise and fuelling the constant war was a squirrel that would keep going up and down the Tree delivering messages between the two to keep them at a constant war!

The concept of a tree at the centre of universe and the deep roots holding on to the worlds and every iota of existence is a beautiful thought. This is quite similar to the other cultures which consider a tree to be nourishing and life-giving. The details of Yggdrasill is covered in the poems is in great details, and the above is a gist of just a few of the important aspects of the same.

Tomorrow we will discuss the myth of the Construction of Wall of Asgard where we will read about the role of Loki, the trickster.

Norse Mythology – Chief Deities

Odin – was the chief god of the Nordic pantheon and was considered to be the father of all gods. He was the god of war and death, and also of wisdom. He was supposed to have hung on the Tree of Life for nine days pierced by his own spear. He was supposed to have even given one of his eyes for a drink from the well of knowledge and thus he is depicted as the one-eyed god. He is also depicted as wearing a cloak, being old, having a long grey beard, and wearing a wide brimmed hat down low over his face to conceal his one-eyed visage. Odin could make the dead speak to question the wisest amongst them.

Odin had a spear which never missed its mark and a bow which unleashed ten arrows with every pull. He also owned a magic ring which created nine of itself every night. Another one of Odin's prized possessions was his wonderful horse which had eight legs. It could travel to the underworld and through the air. Odin also had two wolves, and two ravens who were known as, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory). He sent his ravens out every day to gather knowledge for him.

Thor – was the god of thunder and son of Odin and was one of the most powerful of all the gods. He was usually depicted as a powerful man with red beard and eyes, which represented lightning. He was a popular god as he was considered to be the protector of both gods and mankind against all evil. His popularity could also be because of his worship did not require human sacrifices, as in the case of Odin.

During a thunderstorm Thor is believed to be riding through the heavens on his chariot which is pulled by two goats. Lightning flashes each time he throws his mighty hammer Mjollnir. He wears a belt which doubles his already amazing strength and wears a pair of iron gloves which are needed to hold his hammer. The fourth day of the week, Thursday is derived from his name.

Freyja – was the goddess of love and fertility. She was a paragon of beauty and sensuality and stood for all things associated with love. She loved music and poetry. It is said that when she mourned for her dead husband, her tears turned into gold! She is always shown wearing a precious necklace, which is also one of her key attributes. She could take the form of a falcon, which helped her to travel long distances. Her name is the origin of the fifth day of the week, Friday.

Loki – was a trickster, who though a god, was responsible for creating lot of trouble. He was both cunning and wicked and had the ability to change his appearance into anything that he wanted to.

Balder – was the god of purity, light and above all, reconciliation. He was loved by both the gods and mankind; He did not have too many powers, but his death plays an important role in the Nordic mythology.

Balder was troubled by dreams of his impending death which bothered his mother. She extracted an oath from all the living creatures that they would not harm him ever, thus making him sort of invincible. This left Balder in some peace. Loki was jealous of Balder’s popularity and through trickery learnt that his mother had not bothered to extract such an oath from mistletoe, a herb, thinking it was too small to be bothered. Once when everyone was playing dart, with Balder as the target (!), Loki tricked Balder’s twin brother, to try a dart made of mistletoe. As intended it pierced Balder’s heart and killed him instantly.

Later it was decided that Balder would be resurrected, only if everything in the world, living or dead would cry for him. All did, except Loki who wanted to see the end of Balder, and thus Balder remained in the underworld. This episode is considered to be an important act in the entire mythology of the Norse.