Norse Vs Hindu Mythology- Thor and Bheema
Utgard-Loki was a giant.
No, he was not shrek.
He was a Norse Giant of the Frost variety.
No, he is not like the frost giants from Thor(never trust marvel when it comes to facts, not now not ever).
Thor, the god of thunder and mighty warrior with his hammer. He was the protector of asgard, but he had companions as well. His servant Thalfi, who could run very fast and was bonded to Thor, and his sometimes friend(problem and solution at times), Loki, who had lots of cunning and was often referred to as a trickster god. They had been travelling for a while, and took rest in a small "building", which was actually the hand of the giant Skrymir. As the giant snored, earthquakes spread across the ground. Thor awakens during the night and attempts to kill the giant, and every time he tried, the giant woke up and remarked that something such as an acorn fell on his head. Now, Thor was very very very very strong, and so either the giant was even stronger, which would be incredible, or the giant was toying with him(spoiler alert: it's totally the second one).
The giant woke up, and Skrymir told them about the castle of Utgard-Loki, and how they should always never be cocky, work hard, and all that droning on stuff that your parents probably gave/give you. They travel on to Utgard-Loki's castle, where Utgard-Loki asks them to participate in competitions to prove their worth in the Giant's world. Loki accepts the challenge of eating, and competes against a fellow named Logi. Loki eats all of his meat, but in the same time, Logi devours the bones and wood in which he ate at too. Doesn't this seem a little sus to you, peeps? The giants all have a great laugh, and say that Loki, while good, is not as strong as the giants. Next is Thalfi, who says he can run very fast. A giantish mate by the name of Hugi, accepts his challenge. Three times they race, and the third time, nor the second, nor the first, was the charm for Thalfi, losing every time. Finally, we have our grand hero, Thor. He accepts 3 challenges, each of less honor as they go on, but still he becomes more arrogant in his challenges. His first challenge is to drain a gourd in a single gulp, which he fails. He is given 2 more chances to drain the gourd and restore his honor, but he cannot. Next, he is challenged to lift a large, giant sized cat, but finds that on every attempt he can lift no more than a paw. Finally, he is challenged to wrestle an old, female, elderly giant, Utgard-Loki's babysitter(when he was a child, naturally). He fails once more, falling to his knee. In shame, they leave the castle, and are confronted by Utgard-Loki.
It is revealed that Loki was eating against fire itself(Logi=Fire in Old Norse), and performed exceptionally well, eating faster than any other mortal or god. Thalfi raced against thought(Hugi = Thought) itself, which appears instantaneous, and yet only lost by an arrow's width. Thor, however, performed the most extrordinary feats. The gourd that he drank from was connected to the sea, and he drank enough to make tides appear in the seas. The cat was actually the disguised world serpent, Jormungandr, who was so long and so big that it was wrapped around the entire world. Finally, the old woman that he fought was old age, which no being can overcome, and yet he only fell onto one knee.
Next, we will discuss a story from Hindu Mythology, specifically from the famous text the Mahabharata, the longest poem ever written and one of India's two major Sanskrit epics. It is compared to the likes of Homer's Illiad and Odyssey, the Bible, and Shakespeare among others. We will discuss one specific scene in the book, and start with one character. Bhima is one of the Pandava brothers, born to gods and carrying extreme skills in specific areas. Bhima was gifted with extraordinary strength, but he was also very prideful and arrogant.
One day, Bhima came across an old monkey, with its tail lying across the path, while on a quest to retrieve an item. He arrogantly asked the monkey to move, saying that he was very great and the monkey needed to move and be a good monkey. The monkey replied, telling him that it was old and could not move, and asked Bhima to move his tail for him. You may ask why Bhima did not simply step over him. In the times of the book, stepping over somebody was extremely disrespectful. Bhima did as was asked, but could not move the tail, no matter how much effort he put in. He immediately realized that this was not possible otherwise, and that it was some sort of test or trickery or magic befuddling him. He repented, and begged the monkey sincerely, with regret, to reveal himself. The monkey revealed itself as the monkey god Hanuman, who was trying to teach him a lesson about his arrogance, and Hanuman later helps the Pandava brothers in their journey.
So, what is the connection between these two stories? Think about the characters. Thor and Bhima are both very arrogant, and both had supernatural powers that they know would have easily worked in any other situation. They were both tested and taught a lesson, even with vastly different scenarios. Let's put it in a nutshell. Across different cultures, stories were told about how arrogance can lead to trickery and failure, even with strength beyond all others.
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