Mythology
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Ragnarök
The north portal of the 11th century Urnes stave church has been interpreted as containing depictions of snakes and dragons that represent Ragnarök [ 1 ] In Norse mythology , Ragnarök — typically spelled Ragnarǫk in the handwritten scripts — is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the gods Odin , Thor , Týr , Freyr , Heimdallr , and Loki ), the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world will resurface anew and fertile, the surviving and reborn gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in the Norse canon, and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory. The event is attested primarily in the Poetic Edda , compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda , written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson .
In Norse mythology , Valhalla (from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the slain" [ 1 ] ) is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard , ruled over by the Germanic god Odin . Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries , while the other half go to the goddess Freyja 's field Fólkvangr . In Valhalla, the dead join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar , as well as various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, as they prepare to aid Odin during the events of Ragnarök . Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir , and the hall's ceiling is thatched with golden shields.
Valhalla
In the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story. Compiled in Iceland in the 13th century, but based on much older Old Norse poetry , the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda contain numerous references to the death of Baldr as both a great tragedy to the Æsir and a harbinger of Ragnarök . According to Gylfaginning , a book of Snorri Sturluson 's Prose Edda, Baldr's wife is Nanna and their son is Forseti . In Gylfaginning , Snorri relates that Baldr had the greatest ship ever built, named Hringhorni , and that there is no place more beautiful than his hall, Breidablik .
Baldr
Jörmungandr
In Norse mythology , Jörmungandr ( Old Norse : Jǫrmungandr , pronounced [jœrmuŋɡandr] ), often written Jormungand , or Jörmungand and also known as the Midgard Serpent ( Old Norse : Midgarðsormr ), or World Serpent , is a sea serpent , the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and the god Loki . According to the Prose Edda , Odin took Loki's three children by Angrboða, the wolf Fenrir , Hel and Jörmungandr, and tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard . [ 1 ] The serpent grew so large that he was able to surround the earth and grasp his own tail. [ 1 ] As a result, he received the name of the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. When he lets go, the world will end. Jörmungandr's arch-enemy is the god Thor . [ edit ] Sources
Völva
The seeress speaks her prophecy in this illustration to a 19th century Swedish translation of the Poetic Edda . A vǫlva or völva ( Old Norse and Icelandic respectively; plural vǫlur (O.N.), völvur (Icel.), sometimes anglicized vala ; also spákona or spækona ) is a shamanic seeress in Norse paganism , and a recurring motif in Norse mythology . [ edit ] Names and etymology The völur were referred to by many names. The Old Norse word vǫlva means "wand carrier" or "carrier of a magic staff", [ 1 ] and it continues Proto-Germanic * walwōn , which is derived from a word for "wand" (Old Norse vǫlr ). [ 2 ] Vala , on the other hand, is a literary form based on Völva . [ 2 ] A spákona or spækona (with an Old English cognate, spæwīfe ) is a "prophetess", from the Old Norse word spá or spæ referring to prophesying , continuing Proto-Germanic *spah- and the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)peḱ and consequently related to Latin speccio ("sees") and Sanskrit spáçati and páçyati ("sees", etc.). [ 3 ]
Deva (Hinduism)
Deva ( देव in Devanagari script) is the Sanskrit word for deity , its related feminine term is devi . In modern Hinduism , it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism , also called Suras , are often juxtaposed to the Asuras , their half brothers . [ 1 ] Devs are also the maintainers of the realms as ordained by the Trimurti . They are often warring with their equally powerful counterparts, the Asuras . [ edit ] EtymologyIn Hinduism , the Asuras ( Sanskrit : असुर ) are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes considered sinful and materialistic. The Daityas and Danavas together are Asuras. The Asura were opposed to the Devas . Both groups are children of Kasyapa . However, in early Vedic religion, both the Asura and the Devas were deities who constantly competed with each other, some bearing both designations at the same time.
