Sunday 11 September 2011

Change in Mythology, Beginning of World, End of World, etc.

For Greek Myth, I have some times quoted Holmer and Heseud, who both have contradictions.
Similarly, Hindu Myth, has so many different meanings and versions, that Only a few can be quoted. There are chances of Contradictions and reason for Debate.


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Change of Mythology
Mythologies have changed by time and by devotion.
The Vikings were war loving people and had stories that those who died in war would go the Folkvang home of Freyja and Valhalla the hall of Odin.
The Norse mythology has Odin and other Gods known as the Aesir.
Odin was son of Buri the first God who died of old Age.
But the Aesir and the Vanir where at war.
When war ended Njord, Freye and Freja three members of older branch of Gods (Vanir) where sent to Aesir and Honir and Mimir (Gods of Aesir) where send to Vanir branch.

The Greek Mythology has that Zeus, and his brothers defeated the older gods Kronos, Atlas and other Titans and became the Gods.

The Hindu Mythology had various stories that influenced people to be just and good.
The Hindu Mythology had worshiped the main elements of the nature as the Devatas (Indra for thunder, Agni for fire, Varun for water, Vayu for wind, etc). Stars, planets, and Moon play an important role as well. Later the Devatas requested help Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva on several occasions.

Beginning of the Worlds

Norse Mythology

Before the dawn of time and before the world was created there was a place called Niflheim…

Niflheim was the mist world. It consisted of ice, frost and fog.
Far from Niflheim there was a place that was as hot as Niflheim was cold. It was the land of fire and was called Muspelheim.
Between Niflheim and Muspelheim there was a great void. 
This vast emptiness was called Ginnungagap.

Surt, the carrier of a flaming sword, was in charge of Niflheim the home of fire Giants.

Yimir, the first Jotun, a giant troll was born in void and Audhumla.
A cow was formed where the ice started to melt.
The cow licked a salty stone for three days and Buri the first Aesir God was born.
Yimir drank the cows milk and while he was asleep many Jotuns and Monsters.
Buri's son Bor had three sons with Bestla, a Jotun. They where Odin, Vili and Ve.
Odin, Vili and Ve killed Ymir as the Jotuns were outnumbering the Aesir.
Ymir's blood drowned all Jotuns except Bergelmir and his wife.

From Ymir's corpse a new world was created

The blood was transformed into oceans and water.
The flesh turned into land.
The bones formed the mountains.
The teeth made into rocks.
The hair became the grass and trees.

They threw the brain up in the air and it turned into clouds.
The skull became the sky. It was the lid that covered the new world.

The brothers caught some of the sparks shooting out from Muspelheim, the land of fire. They threw the sparks up towards the inside of the skull. These sparks shone at night and were to become the stars
Worms of Yemir's body became Dwarfs and four among them East, West, North and South where assigned to hold the sky.


Greek Mythology
The Greek Mythology has it that in the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of void appeared Erebus and Night. Some how Love was born and then Light and Day came from it. Gaea, the earth appeared.
Gaea gave birth to Uranus and he became her mate. They produced 3 Cyclopse, 3 Hecatoncheires and 12 Titans.
Uranus was a bad father and Gaea and Cronus her youngest son plotted to kill Uranus with a stone Sickle.
Cronus was the next ruler, married Rhea his sister, and out of fear of being overthrown, swallowed his children.
Rhea managed to save her sixth child Zeus and he returned to free his five siblings by giving Cronus a drink.
Atlas and other Titans fought with the younger gods. Zeus with the help of the Titan Prometheus and the lighting bolt from the Cyclopse and ambush by the Hecatoncheires defeated and exiled all Titans and punished Atlas to cary the world on his shoulder.
Angry, Gaea gave birth to last offspring Typhoeus but Zeus killed it with lightning bolts.
The Giants later challenged the Gods but where defeated with help of Hercules.
Prometheus is said to have made a model of mud and breathed life into it and called it Man. In a different occasion he tricked Zeus and an Angry Zeus sent a beautiful lady Pandora with a jar of problems to men.
In a different version, Zeus created Golden Men (the self sufficient happy kind), Silver Men, Bronze Men (those that killed each other in Battles) and Iron Men (the current age). This looks a lot like the Hindu Mythology.

Hindu Mythology
Since my knowledge for Norse and Greek Mythology is limited I could cover it in one post. But Hindu Mythology is a set of stories with morals to help man to follow and lead a good life.
It is difficult to cover all in one post.
I would describe in brief and point to other posts later.
Since this post is about Beginning of World let me stick to it now.
It is well known that Lord Sri Maha Vishnu took many Avatars (incarnations) to help Devatas and Mankind survive the troubles of the time.  The Avatars are in a pattern which closely resembles the pattern of how life, etc., evolved on earth.
Machya Avatar : The earth had huge oceans and Fish Symbolized it.
Kurma Avatar  : As the oceans started to dry the Tortosie Symbolized it.
Varaha Avatar : The lands where filled with swamps Boar symbolized it.
Narsimha Avatar: Forests grew in plenty and the king of Animals Lion Symbolized it.
The other Avatars Vamana Avatar (short brahmin priest), Parshurama (angry brahmin and killer of all cruel kings), Rama (an ideal king and an ideal son, killer of Rakshasas), Krishna (the battle for Dharma, truth and rights), Budha (the enlightened one) and Kalki (a future avatar of Vishnu riding a horse to destroy the evil on earth and restore the Golden Age).



Also the time is divided into four periods (basically depicting loss of human virtues). These happen in one day in Brahma Loka.
Satya Yuga : The age of truth, Golden Age
Treta Yuga : Three quarters Virtue and one sin
Dwapara Yuga: Half Virtue and Half Sin
Kali Yuga   : One Quarter Virtue and rest Sin

Like a after day night comes and after night day, likewise the Yugas repeat themselves cyclically.

The earth's rotation on its axis is a day, and revolution around sun is a year. 
Some say the sun's (i.e. Solar System revolution) around the centre of galaxy (Vishnunabhi, seat of creative power Brahma). For more please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuga.
As earth's distance and inclination to sun causes changes in seasons, sun's distance from the centre (i.e. from Brahma) causes increase and decrease of Virtue.



End of the Worlds

Norse say Ragnorak is the last fight where all is lost, and most of the Gods including Odin and Thor die in battle, and then sons of Thor will rule.
Hindus believe that Kalki, the last avatar of Sri Maha Vishnu will destroy all evil and restore Golden Age on earth. Which means all will start afresh.

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