Thor – deep look into the Nordic god – Like Sindhu Indra ?
All the ancient cultures were interconnected with each other. Today we will talk about a famous character from the Marvel series, Thor. You all must be Knowing that Thor is the God of Thunder and extremely powerful. But do you know that Thor is actually the God of Thunder in Nordic mythology. He is much similar to the Sindhu god of Thunder Indra. So give this a read to know the backdrop of one of your favourite characters in the Marvel series. Let’s begin!!
Thor-The Nordic God: Thor is the Norse God of Thunder, sky and agriculture. He is son of the Chief of God’s, Odin. Thor was the protector of the Gods and the human realm. He is associated with great strength and had very powerful arms for slaying giants. In some folktales Thor is thought to be a giant himself. In some versions, he is also related with the monstrous snake Midguard Serpent who coils and twists itself around the world. According to the Norse mythology, all gods including Thor would die at the end of the world. However, Thor falls after killing the great Serpent from its poison. His sons restore the Ragnarok and keep the hammer of Thor to restore order. Thor is the manifestation of the Germanic god Donor. Even today Thor remains as the most powerful and popular God of the Norse pantheon. Both the Germanic and the English calendar dedicate the fifth day of the week Thursday or Germanic Donnerstag in the name of Thor. It’s also known as Thor’s day or Donor’s day. Thor ruled the sky from his plain of power. Here he built his great palace of Bilskirnir, the great hall of 540 rooms. During the Viking age that is from 790 to 1100 CE, Thor’s popularity reached its peaks. He was believed to be the greatest rival of Christ as Norse mythology and Christianity were continuous contenders. However, after the advent in Christianity in Scandinavia, it outraged the Nordic society as a cult. Thus Thor was slowly replaced by the new religion during 12th century CE. He is often associated with the natural phenomena. He is often used to explain how aspects of life originated that is etiological myths. His carriage is drawn by two male goats namely Tooth Gnasher and Snarl Tooth who are eaten up by Thor during night then again revived during day. The sound of the thunder is symbolic of Thor’s Chariot’s roar. He also creates tides in some versions. Mainly he was the God of protection and problem solving. The Pagans performed sacrifices before him during hunger and crisis situations. His celestial weapon was hammer Mjollnir. However, he had other two weapons, his belt Megingjoro which doubled his strength and the great iron gloves for welding his hammer. With these he defended Asguard and Midguard. Thor was the basic deity of any need including business contracts, consecrate marriages, victory in battle, voyages and agricultural abundance. During the first ages of Christianity in Scandinavia, Thor continued to be worshipped and dwelled in many statues and images. He is of quick temper and is often tricked by magic as he is out of guile. Thor has a long red hair with a great beard. He always jumps into battles to kill the foes and never tries to find peaceful ways. However, this is contradictory to the Marvel comics where Thor is the brother of Loki and clean shaven. In some accounts he is the protector and guide to the cruise ships. He was basically the God of all difficulties including Household challenges. Most of his temples were overrun by the Christian churches. This cult of Thor went extinct with the advancement of Christianity. However, the temple of Uppsala in Sweden is dedicated to Thor.
Indra-The Sindhu God: Sindhu mythology is noted for its great pantheon of Gods. Indra was the King of God’s according to Sindhu Culture. He ruled the kingdom of abode also known as Indralok. He is the god of Thunder and rain. However, in certain cases he is also worshipped as a God of fertility. During the early days, people scarified to him for agricultural abundance as it largely depends on rainwater. Indra was a wrathful God and never believed in sparing anyone. He is often depicted as been boastful of his power. His main weapon is Vajra which has the power of thunder. He is driven by a celestial elephant called Airavat. Due to his boastful nature, Indra many a times suffered and was often tricked by Asuras. He is immortal after the consumption of Amrit. However, he needs the worship of humans to stay powerful according to legends. He is a popular deity and has mention in the great epics including Mahabharata where Arjuna is his son. Unlike the Norse mythology, Hindu cult still continues at its peak and Indra is still a popular deity. Many statues and figurines are dedicated to him. Though the Hindu religion does not worship him as a primary deity and there are no temples dedicated to him as once Lord Krishna asked his people not to worship the farther God Indra instead worship the nearer god Govardhan Parvat. This earned them the rage of Indra and he showered his power of thunder on them. But Krishna broke the pride of Indra by defeating him. Krishna lifted the whole Govardhan on his little finger and saved the peoole. However, he still forms an important god of the Hindu Pantheon present in all the Mantras.
Relation of Thor and Indra: If we look at both the Culture, we can draw a line . Both of the deities are thunder god’s. They a weapon in their hand and are known for their wrath. One is driven by elephant while the other by goats. Indra is sometimes worshipped for fertility similar to Thor. Unlike Thor, Indra is not the part of a popular series but they definitely strike a chemistry. Both of them lack temples in their names, the other due to some reason has no temples. Who knows if these two deities were similar but worshipped with a different name? Indra was the King of Gods and hence had to protect them against all odds. Quite similarly, Thor was the God of protection and defended the other Gods. The only point of difference remains that Christianity could not overrun Hinduism and Indra is still popular unlike Thor. Perhaps we all worship Thor in the image of Indra!! Who knows?!
Hope you had an insight into two mythologies striking a balance. Keep connected with us for more. We promise to be back soon with such facts. Stay healthy and take care.