The Mystery of the Vedic civilization in Scandinavia

Dr. UDAY DOKRAS,

B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India
Certificat' en Droit, Queens University, Canada,
MBA CALSTATE, USA
Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden, Consultant HR and ADMIN, Essel Tourism Infra Pvt. Ltd., India

Destiny is All……….

Uhtred Ragnarsson- The last Kingdom

What sayest thou about the Óðinn-figures (plural yes, as they are
many), and about Óðins potential posthumous transformation:
*Is Óðinn a goð, guð, god?
*Are we, perhaps, Óðinn in our myths?
Are myths dealing with us, not some figures or personifications outside of
us? Think of it that way for a change.Myths are not any chronological
history, rather about the perennial truth, happening all the time, over and
over again.
About us.

Óðinn – posthumous transformation -Óðinn who? Óðsmál research Iceland

https://www.academia.edu/39264413/%C3%93%C3%B0inn_-_posthumous_transformation_-
_%C3%93%C3%B0inn_who_( supported by the Ministry of Culture and Education)

Mystery: Something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain."the mysteries of outer space"
-a novel, play, or film dealing with a puzzling crime, ."the 1920s murder mystery, The Ghost Train"

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What is a Mystery: Our life has many mysteries. Sometimes, screts, whispers become small mysteries in
our life. The larger ones make us ponder upon them even earnestly.

1. How were the Pyramids built?

2. How were the magnificent temples in Far East Asia like Angkor Wat and Borobodur built?”
3. Are there aliens and life on other planest

We give a cursory examination to these and sometimes detailed one. We hold them back in our memories
and very seldom-very very seldom we try to solve thenm because the task is humungous for the small
resources we possess. One such mystery came my way some years ago and rather than solve it I have
decided to focus my microscope on what others have dome to solve and how they have explained these
mysteries. All mysteries have a start but how they will end is most uncertain- even the unraveller or most
certainly so, does not know.

Therefore I will examine the obscurity of our hypothesis that - The Gods described in Vedas originated or
lived in the Northern hemisphere. This will be achieved by a scopic literature survey of what data is
available. Preceded by my personal experience.However, I would like to warn that still there is no
overwhelming evidence of this, but bits and pieces emerge that make this mystery more Mysterious.
 Lord Kartik in front of the map of Scandinavia

Introduction: North Germanic peoples, commonly called Scandinavians, Nordic people and in a
medieval context Norsemen, are a Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Nordic countries. They are
identified by their cultural similarities, common ancestry and common use of the Proto-Norse
language from around 200 AD, a language that around 800 AD became the Old Norse language, which in
turn later became the North Germanic languages of today.

The North Germanic peoples are thought to have emerged as a distinct people in Sweden in the early
centuries AD. Several North Germanic tribes are mentioned by classical writers in antiquity, in particular
the Swedes, Danes, Geats, Gutes and the Rugii. During the subsequent Viking Age, seafaring North
Germanic adventurers, commonly referred to as Vikings, raided and settled territories
throughout Europe and beyond, founding several important political entities and exploring the North
Atlantic as far as North America. Ethnic groups that arose from this expansion include the Normans,
the Norse–Gaels and the Rus' people. The North Germanic peoples of the Viking Age went by various
names among the cultures they encountered, but are generally referred to as Norsemen.
With the end of the Viking Age in the 11th century, the North Germanic peoples were converted from
their native Norse paganism to Christianity, while their previously tribal societies were centralized into
the modern kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Modern North Germanic ethnic groups are the Danes, Icelanders, Norwegians, Swedes,
and Faroese. These ethnic groups are often referred to as Scandinavians, although Icelanders and the
Faroese are sometimes excluded from that definition. The North Germanic peoples, in particular the
Danes, Norwegians and Swedes, are so closely related that scholars sometimes consider them one and the
1A
same people.

The beginning: Sometime during 1979, I was living in Umeå. My companion was an English school
teacher-that is how I landed in that far away place.One morning I wake up to find an unusual news item in
the local newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren – a picture of an Indian Guru or holy man splashed upon the
front cover with an interview in which he said that he does an annual pilgrimage to Luleå-his first stop
being Umea.There was-he says - the home of the ancient Indian-Hindu Gods. Unfortunately inspite of my
best intentions I could not meet him because by the time I found out his local address, he had departed
towards the North. Neither could I remember his name after the www came into being and I got curious
about Sweden and the Indian Gods-Swarg, Vaikunth.1
Continental Drift Theorey: In 1915, the German geophysicist Alfred Wegener published the world’s
first treatise on the theory of continental drift. Wegener's main interest was meteorology, and he wanted
to join the Denmark-Greenland expedition scheduled for mid-1912. He presented his Continental Drift
hypothesis on 6 January 1912. He analyzed both sides of the Atlantic Ocean for rock type, geological
structures and fossils.He had merely noticed what better maps had made obvious -- that the continents of
the world fit together like puzzle pieces. Similarly, those who have read a variety of European mythology
have felt much the same notion tugging at their consciousness; namely, that the myths of most
of Europe appear to have once been united. Similarities run throughout, so that even the casual observer
notes the pervasiveness of certain themes. It appeals to the “common sense” to believe that these myths,
sharing substantial commonalties, are the offspring of like parents.

SWEDEN - THE SANSKRIT CONNECTION

The name Sweden is derived from Old English 'Sweooeod', which meant 'People of the Swedes'. The
etymology of the word 'Swedes', and thus of 'Sweden', is derived from Proto-Germanic 'Swihoniz' which
means 'one's own'. Herein lies the Sanskrit connect. In Sanskrit, 'sva' (स्व) means 'ones's own', 'their own',

'relative', 'kinsmen', 'human soul' or 'self'. 'Svadha' (स्वधा) means 'own place', 'own portion' or

home'. There is a Vedic connect as well to the mythology of the Nordic countries (Scandinavia,
Greenland,Iceland). Here below are listed some of his quoted Sanskrit words directly to be found in
Icelandic and in the myths, culture and sacred texts of ásatrú (asatru): Veda (Edda); Skand nabia
(Scandinavia); Asigarh (Ásgarður); Jyotirheim (Jötunheimar); Gurudham (Goðheimar); Uttragard
(Útgarðar); Medhgard (Miðgarður); vala, bala (vala); Gargya (Grágás); Lokreta (Lögrétta); Baut-sthan
(bautasteinn); etc.,etc.,

The following Icelandic words are claimed to have come directly from Sanskrit: Óðinn (Odinn),
Huginn, Muninn, Ásgarður (Asgardur), Miðgarður (Midgardur), Grágás (Gragas), Útgarður
(Utgardur), Jötunheimar (jotunheimar), Rígur (í Rígsþulu; Rigur), vala (völva; volva), Alfaðir
(alfadir, Ymir, Gautur, hlautbolli, Lögrétta (Logretta), Æsir (aesir), Auðumbla (Audumbla), Ægir
(Aegir), Baldur, brynja, Edda, faðir (fadir), bróðir (brodir), móðir (modir; these last ones to be
found in most Indo-European languages), kvæði (kvaedi), bautasteinn, Skaði (Skadi),
Skandinavía (Skandinavia), Ymir, Vani. Óðsmál (Odsmal) is meant to promote research in
etymology, as we know there is a lot of Sanskrit words in Icelandic, and this tells us a lot. Óðinn
(Odinn) is from Sanskrit yodhin (conqueror, warrior), Huginn and Muninn (Odin's two ravens)
from Sanskrit yogin and muni, Edda from Veda, asman is hammer, Thor's hammer, Sanskrit
asigarh is Ásgarður (Asgardur).

Hemavan (South Sami: Bïerke) is a locality situated in Storuman Municipality, Västerbotten

County, Sweden with 222 inhabitants in 2010. It is located on European route E12 between Storuman in
Sweden and Mo i Rana. Hemavan is known for being a family-friendly ski resort.During the winter
months Hemavan caters to many tourists, mainly from Sweden and the neighbouring countries
of Norway and Finland.Hemavan also has the Hemavan Airport, with one flight per day 6 days of the
week to and from Stockholm-Arlanda.Hemavan is the starting point of the Kungsleden trail. Hemavan is
a perfectly Sanskrit name. It is, in fact, the traditional name of the Himalayas. In Sanskrit Hema means
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‘snow or cold’ and Van means ‘to possess’. A strikingly perfect name for a ski resort town.
Edda: In the Nordic prose 'Edda', which it has been argued by some have their origins in the Vedas, the
beginning of the world out of a 'gaping nothingness', is referred to as 'Ginnungagap'. Ginnungagap' is
initiated by a great cow known as 'Audhumla'. The similarity to Vedic texts is striking. According to the
Vedas, the world originates from 'Hiranyagarbha' (हिरण्यगर्भ) which translates as the 'Golden Fetus' and is

also the name of God Brahma, the Creator. Nordic 'Ginnungagap' - the gaping nothingness from which
the world starts - is nothing but a distortion of the Sanskrit 'Hiranyagarbha'. The name of the cow in the
Eddas is equally fascinating- 'Audhumla'. In Sanskrit 'Audhamula' means 'the root at the beginning of
origin' - 'aadau' (आदौ) - 'at the beginning', 'mula' ( म ) 'root' or 'origin'. The 'Eddas' are about 1500 years

old, the Vedas of course are much older. That there is a similarity between the Eddas and the Vedas is
unquestionable. What is curious is that the similarities exist even though the Vedas and Eddas originated
among people who geographically were 4000 miles and chronologically at least 2000 years apart . 1

The Hindu holy texts Rig Veda has been dated by contextual evidence to approximately 1500 BCE, but

there is reason to believe it may have been composed far earlier. Today the Hindus recognize four Vedas,
of which the Rig is the earliest. While their written heritage dates only to about the 3rd century BCE,

the Vedas are certainly much older. Sages known as rishis maintained an exacting oral tradition which

ensured that the Vedas would be faithfully carried through time; held to be shruti, or divine revelation,

their contents were not to be altered. They may well contain the earliest documentation of Indic

polytheism known to modern scholars. If it can be said that the various mythologies of Europe are

indeed sprung from the same ancestral mass, then the Rig Veda may be closest in age to that body.

The Norse Eddas, by contrast, are of comparatively late origin. Yet they hold the unique

distinction of having survived what was generally the death blow of Christianity. As such, they are some

of the only existing testaments to the state of European heathenry just before and during the Christian

era. While the pagan works of the Greeks and Romans still stand, the Eddas are a valuable link to the

Germanic tradition which, together with these classics, form the spine of our own. Viking in

temperament and dated in a range from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries of the Common Era, they

represent perhaps the “last stand” of European polytheism.

“Edda” means “grandmother,” and scholars have been unable to explain why the works bear that

name. While many suggestions have been offered, the simplest has been all but overlooked: that the

Eddic composer Snorri was simply invoking his wise grandmother, who may have told him the tales he

transcribed. “Edda” itself may be derived from the Sanskrit veda, or sacred vidyä, both of which are

terms for “knowledge;” cognates include the German wissen, the Swedish veta, and the old English wit,

for “to know”. Therefore it is fitting that a grandmother should convey knowledge. Together

the Eddas and Vedas represent bookends on the shelf of European religious history; the further apart they

are set, the more knowledge can be placed in between.The Scandinavia is broken into 2 words- Scanda

(or Skanda) is a warrior of Lord Shiva and Commander-in-Chief of the divine Army. And the second

sanskrit word naviya signifies a naval expedition in the name of Scanda.

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In the book India in Greece ,Edward Pococke observes that European, Scandinavian, and Indian

Kshatriya warrior castes are identical.The word Viking (king) comes from Simha meaning Lion, Simha is

pronounced, as Singa then changing "S" to "K" it becomes King. Thus Vikings were considered Lion like

Warriors, like the Singh's from Punjab in India.

The Kali Yug IN Vedas: The Sages inform us that once the entire world was ruled by a single Emperor.
Then a great destruction occurred. All the kings of the earth gathered at a single place, a battlefield, in
which the entire order was destroyed. This was the great transition between the Ages and the world
entered a new Dark Age (Kali Yuga) in 3102 B.C. with no memory of what had come before.
Among a few initiates, however, a surviving knowledge of the previous Ages was passed down from
master to student. As fantastic as this all sounds a study of world culture reveals this truth – bits and
pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle, scattered around the globe, fit ever too perfectly.

As with any jigsaw puzzle it is always advisable to start with the corners – the neat straight angles, the
pieces we can all agree on. This may include language and customs – elements that provide a broad view
of a common culture. With those pieces in place we can then add in the odd shapes, the more esoteric
tales and traditions, which only make sense within the larger frame.
Language is one such corner piece. For the purpose of this article we will define Scandinavian to include
north Germanic languages such as Old Norse, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. If we review the closest
bonds that any community has, it is the family unit, and linguistically we see the connection between
Scandinavian (SC) and Sanskrit (SK) fit very neatly. Father is Fadir (SC), Pitar (SK); Mother is Mor
(SC), Matar (SK); Son is Son (SC), Sunus (SK); Daughter is Dotter (SC), Duhitr (SK); Brother is Bror
(SC), Bratarau (SK); Sister is Syster (SC), Sodarya (SK).

Parallel Gods: Although the Aryan inhabitants of Northern Europe are supposed by some authorities to
have come originally from the plateau of Iran, in the heart of Asia, the climate and scenery of the
countries where they finally settled had great influence in shaping their early religious beliefs, as well as
in ordering their mode of living.

The grand and rugged landscapes of Northern Europe, the midnight sun, the flashing rays of the aurora
borealis, the ocean continually lashing itself into fury against the great cliffs and icebergs of the Arctic
Circle, could not but impress the people as vividly as the almost miraculous vegetation, the perpetual
light, and the blue seas and skies of their brief summer season. It is no great wonder, therefore, that the
Icelanders, for instance, to whom we owe the most perfect records of this belief, fancied in looking about
them that the world was originally created from a strange mixture of fire and ice.

Northern mythology is grand and tragical. Its principal theme is the perpetual struggle of the beneficent
forces of Nature against the injurious, and hence it is not graceful and idyllic in character, like the religion
of the sunny South, where the people could bask in perpetual sunshine, and the fruits of the earth grew
ready to their hand.

It was very natural that the dangers incurred in hunting and fishing under these inclement skies, and the
suffering entailed by the long cold winters when the sun never shines, made our ancestors contemplate
cold and ice as malevolent spirits; and it was with equal reason that they invoked with special fervour the
beneficent influences of heat and light.

When questioned concerning the creation of the world, the Northern scalds, or poets, whose songs are
preserved in the Eddas and Sagas, declared that in the beginning, when there was as yet no earth, nor sea,
nor air, when darkness rested over all, there existed a powerful being called Allfather, whom they dimly
conceived as uncreated as well as unseen, and that whatever he willed came to pass.

In the centre of space there was, in the morning of time, a great abyss called Ginnunga-gap, the cleft of
clefts, the yawning gulf, whose depths no eye could fathom, as it was enveloped in perpetual twilight.
North of this abode was a space or world known as Nifl-heim, the home of mist and darkness, in the
centre of which bubbled the exhaustless spring Hvergelmir, the seething cauldron, whose waters supplied
twelve great streams known as the Elivagar. As the water of these streams flowed swiftly away from its
source and encountered the cold blasts from the yawning gulf, it soon hardened into huge blocks of ice,
which rolled downward into the immeasurable depths of the great abyss with a continual roar like
thunder.

South of this dark chasm, and directly opposite Nifl-heim, the realm of mist, was another world called
Muspells-heim, the home of elemental fire, where all was warmth and brightness, and whose frontiers
were continually guarded by Surtr, the flame giant. This giant fiercely brandished his flashing sword, and
continually sent forth great showers of sparks, which fell with a hissing sound upon the ice-blocks in the
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bottom of the abyss, and partly melted them by their heat.

Dr. C.A.Holboe, wrote extraordinary articles in 1846-1852 on etymology and on the striking resemblance
4
between Sanskrit and Icelandic grammar.

For some reason or other this aspect of the cultural inheritance - the Eddas and the northern myths - is
always left out when it comes to the educational system in Iceland. The Old Norse goddess name
Skaði, along with Sca(n)dinavia and Skáney, may be related to Gothic skadus, Old English
sceadu, Old Saxon scado, and Old High German scato (meaning “shadow”). Scholar John
McKinnell comments that this etymology suggests that the goddess Skaði may have once been a
personification of the geographical region of Scandinavia or associated with the underworld.
Kartikeya was son of Shiva and the brother of Ganesha. He is also known as Skanda. Skanda is believed
to give name to Scandinavia. Mahabharata Shalya Parva section 45 describes about all the gods and
combatants who came to the ceremony for investing Kartikeya with the status of generalissimo. This list
includes not only Jat god but also number of combatants of various Jat clans. This has been illustrated in
following shlokas in the online edition of Mahabharata in Sanskrit alongwith Devanagari as under:

अ akṣasaṃtarjano rājan kunadīkas tamo ‘bhrakṛt [2]

ekākṣo dvādaśākṣaś ca tathaivaika jaṭaḥ prabhuḥ [3]

Translation- O Rajan! Akshaḥ, santarjana, kundīka, tamonnakrata, ekāksha, dwādashāksha and a ‘Jat’ the
chief lord offered to Swami Kartikeya.

Language is one such corner piece. For the purpose of this article we will define Scandinavian to include
north Germanic languages such as Old Norse, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. If we review the closest
bonds that any community has, it is the family unit, and linguistically we see the connection between
Scandinavian (SC) and Sanskrit (SK) fit very neatly. Father is Fadir (SC), Pitar (SK); Mother is Mor
(SC), Matar (SK); Son is Son (SC), Sunus (SK); Daughter is Dotter (SC), Duhitr (SK); Brother is Bror
(SC), Bratarau (SK); Sister is Syster (SC), Sodarya (SK).

One of the most popular goddesses in ancient Scandinavia was Freya. She was a Vanir, a divinity of
nature, a goddess of love, fertility and fortune. The cow was her symbol and one could please her by
offering flowers, planting trees, or feeding the cows. The day of the week Friday (Freya’s day) is named
after her. Linguists acknowledge that Freya is related to the Sanskrit Priya meaning ‘beloved’, an apt
name for the goddess of love.

Thus there are clear parallels between Indra, Zeus and Thor, and between Vedic, Greek and Norse
mythology as a whole. While there are several plausible reasons for these similarities, a researcher has
proposed the proto-Indo-European language and societal structure as an explanation for these similarities.
This reason better explains the similarities between Vedic and Norse mythologies, which evolved over a
large geographic distance.
However, there appear to be more similarities between Zeus and Indra, than between Thor and Zeus or
Thor and Indra. This can be linked to more contact between Greek and Vedic societies, leading to the
dissemination of ideas and cultures. The proto-Indo-European language theory links the basic structure to
prehistory. Therefore the persistence and preservation of the mythic structure over such a large spatial and
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temporal context is itself a testament to the functionality of the inherent structure.

One of the most popular goddesses in ancient Scandinavia was Freya. She was a Vanir, a divinity of
nature, a goddess of love, fertility and fortune. The cow was her symbol and one could please her by
offering flowers, planting trees, or feeding the cows. The day of the week Friday (Freya’s day) is named
after her. Linguists acknowledge that Freya is related to the Sanskrit Priya meaning ‘beloved’, an apt
name for the goddess of love.

The alphabet of the old Germanic and Scandinavian peoples is known as the Elder Futhark and is written
using the Rune script. It is composed of 24 letters, grouped into 3 sets of 8 letters each, known as the
Aettir. Like the bija (seed) letters of Sanskrit, the Runes are used in combination for divination and magic.
The first Aett is Freya’s and relates to the creation of the world.

It is said that in the beginning of creation the world was frozen covered in ice. Then, the divine cow,
Audumbla, the first creature in the universe, appeared and began to lick the ice. With her hot breath and
licks she melted the ice revealing Ymir, the first man, encased within. Ymir then drank the milk from the
divine cow, as a child does of its mother, for nourishment. Thus mankind had an intimate connection with
cows from the dawn of creation. The name Audumbla is generally translated as ‘the wealth of the cow’. It
is likely related to the same root in the Sanskrit word Audarya, meaning ‘generous‘ or ‘magnanimous’.
The cow was of primary importance to the Scandinavian peoples. We can see this in the first two letters
of their alphabet both of which relate to the cow. The first letter, or Rune, is ‘Fehu’ meaning both ‘cow’
and ‘wealth’. It is also the first letter in Freya’s Aett, the first letter of her name, and the first creature in
the universe, and thus the sacred cow belongs to her. As she was the goddess of fertility, the giving of life
to the world begins with the cow. The symbol itself is a simple pictograph representing the two horns of
the cow.

The cow was associated with wealth because she provides all the basic necessities of life. Her milk
provides both protein, fats, and vitamins. In northern areas, with little sunlight, the cow’s milk provides
much needed Vitamin D. Her manure creates fertility in the soil to grow all manner of vegetables. We
even see, as far away as Iceland, girls would wash their hair in cows urine as a beauty treatment to
provide shine and silkiness. Thus in Scandinavian society wealth was measured in cows and could be
used in the payment of debts and as a means of exchange. For this reason Freya was also the goddess of
Fortune.

The second letter in the Elder Futhark is Uruz meaning ‘wild bull’ as well as ‘rain/water’. In the Vedic
tradition we also see rain and water poetically described as a bull – often as the sound of stampeding

from 1957
hooves. The word sacrifice means ‘to make sacred’. In the Vedic yagna (fire sacrifice) the gods provide
rain, which causes the grass to grow. The grass then feeds both the cow and bull. After mating and giving
birth, the cow provides milk. This milk is then turned into ghee (clarified butter) and poured back into the
sacrificial fire as an offering back to the gods. This completes the sacrificial cycle, uniting the gods, the
earth, the animals, and man, making the whole of creation sacred and wonderful. The Sages inform us
that the higher powers left our presence at the beginning of this Age of Quarrel as we had severed our
connection with nature due to our mistreatment of the cow. The symbol Uruz represents the strong stance
of the bull.

The Scandinavian people had a warrior culture. Those warriors who died honorably were taken either
to Odin’s Valhalla (Hall of the Slain) or to Fólkvangr (the fields of Freya). One unique element of this
warrior culture was the personification of their weapons – giving them names and personalities. Odin
wields a spear called Gungnir “the Swaying One’; Thor wields the hammer called Mjolnir “the Crusher”;
We see the same tradition with every Vedic warrior wherein they name their weapon and paraphernalia.
As there is life so too is there death. In the Poetic Eddas there are references to a belief in reincarnation:
 Of Helgi and Svava, it is said that they were born again.
 Helgi was the name of a King whose daughter was Sigrun. She became a Valkyrie and rode the air
and over the sea. She was Svava born again.
 Sigrun lived but a short while longer, for grief and sorrow. It was the belief in olden times that men
were born again, but that is now called an old woman’s superstition. Helgi and Sigrun are said to
have been born again as Helgi Haddingjaskati and Kara, the daughter of Halfdan, as told in ’The
Lay of Kara.’ She was a Valkyrie.

At death the body was cremated as part of the funeral rites. For mighty chieftains a boat carrying the body
was sent out to sea and set ablaze. In one dramatic example, found in both the Eddas and the
Nibelungenlied, the body of the hero Siegfried was being cremated upon the funeral pyre. Out of grief
Brunhilda entered the fire of her lover as an act of self-immolation.

Mead: Finally, while a minor point, no discussion of ancient Scandinavian culture would be complete
without a brief mention of the intoxicating libation known as mead which was made of fermented honey.
The word mead is derived from the same root as the Celtic ‘medb’ meaning honey. The Vedic peoples
were also known to drink an intoxicating beverage made of honey. The Sanskrit word for honey is
‘madhu’. It is said that the Sage Chyavana created a demon named Mada, meaning ‘madness’,
‘intoxication’ or ‘liquor’, to defeat Indra the King of Heaven.

All of the above elements, from language, the relationship with cows, the naming of weaponry, funerary
practices, concepts of reincarnation, and even an intoxicating drink made of honey, can be found
explicitly in Vedic culture. These are the straight edged pieces of the puzzle providing a broad frame of
reference.

Next, we will begin to add the odd shapes and pieces, the more esoteric elements for comparison.
Much of what we know about Scandinavian beliefs comes down to us from the poet Snorri Sturluson who
compiled his traditions around 1200 A.D. in the Prose Edda. He composed the Prose Edda to preserve
what remained of his tradition before the complete conversion of his country to the new faith of
Christianity.
What follows next is a side-by-side comparison of some of the key elements between the Eddas and the
Vedas. In many respects the stories are very different. This is to be expected as cultures separated by
thousands of years and thousands of miles would develop in very different ways. But there are undeniable
similarities too specific to be mere accident.
1 – A War In The Heavens
Eddic – There is a war between the Aesir and the Vanir.
Vedic – There is a war between the Asuras and the Devas.
2 – Creation of a Magic Drink
Eddic – The Aesir and Vanir declare a truce by spitting into a pot and from this emerged a man. He is
subsequently killed and his blood creates the Mead of Poetry granting scholarship.
Vedic – The Asuras and the Devas declare a truce and churn the Ocean of Milk. From the churning of the
ocean appears a man carrying a pot containing the Nectar of Immortality granting everlasting life.
3 – Theft of a Magic Drink by the King of Heaven
Eddic – Odin steals the Mead of Poetry disguised as an eagle and flies back to heaven. Drops fall from
heaven making poets of all who drink it.
Vedic – Indra steals the Soma drink on the back of an eagle and flies back to heaven. In another pastime,
drops of the Nectar of Immortality fall to earth marking the four holy sites of the Kumbhamela.
4 – Sacrifice of a Cosmic Giant
Eddic – The gods, headed by Odin, sacrifice the giant Ymir to fashion the world. Here is a sample from
the Prose Edda:
“Of Ymir’s flesh was earth created, of his blood the seas, of his bones the hills, of his hair trees and
plants, of his skull the heavens; and of his brows the gentle powers formed Midgard for the sons of men;
but of his brains the heavy clouds are all created.”
Vedic – The Purusha Shukta (RV10.90) of the Rig Veda speaks of the sacrifice of a cosmic giant to
fashion the world. Many linguists believe that Ymir is a truncation of the original Yama(raj).
As but one example, here is a description of the Universal Form from the Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2,
Chapter 1, verses 31-34:

“They say that the Vedic hymns are the thought process of the Unlimited One, that His jaws make up
Yamarâja [the Lord of death], His teeth are His affection and that His smile is the most alluring,
unsurpassable material energy. Material creation is only the casting of His glance.
Modesty is His upper lip, His chin stands for the hankering, religion is His breast and the path of
irreligion is His back. Brahmâ is His genitals, His testicles are the Mitrâ-Varunas, His waist the oceans
and the stack of His bones are the mountains.
His veins are the rivers and the plants and trees are the hairs on the body of the Universal Form, oh King.
The air is His omnipotent breathing, the passing of the ages, Time, is His movement and the constant
operation of the modes of material nature is His activity.
Let me tell you that the hairs on the head of the Supreme Controller are the clouds oh best of the Kurus,
and that the intelligence of the Almighty One is the prime cause of the material creation, so one says. His
mind, the reservoir of all changes, is known as the moon.”
5 – Creation of a Caste System
Eddic – A progenitor of mankind named Rig (often identified with Heimdall) establishes three castes of
warriors, farmers, and workers. Heimdall has multiple mothers, is purest white, has extraordinary hearing,
is ever watchful, has golden teeth, and guides humanity.
Vedic – There are four castes of priests, warriors, farmers, and workers. It would appear that
Scandinavian society lost the priestly order. In the Rig Veda the god Agni (Holy Fire) also has multiple
mothers, is pure white, has extraordinary hearing, is ever watchful, has golden teeth, and guides
humanity.
6 – Demons Attack The Bringers of Light
Eddic – The Sun goddess Sól and Moon god Máni are chased by the demon wolves Sköll (“Treachery”)
and Hati Hróðvitnisson (“He Who Hates”) across the sky and swallowed.
Vedic – The Sun god Surya and the Moon god Soma are chased by the demon serpents Rahu (“the
Seizer”) and Ketu (“the Enemy”) across the sky and swallowed resulting in the eclipses.
7 – The World Tree
Eddic – The World Tree is an Ash tree named Yggdrasil. The meaning of Yggdrasil is ‘The Terrrible
One’s Horse‘. Odin hung on this tree, wounded by a spear, for nine nights to learn the mystic secrets of
the Runes.
Vedic – The World Tree is the Ashvattha tree. The meaning of Ashvattha is ‘Where the horse stands.’
This is also known as the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat to attain enlightenment.
.
8 – The End of the Age
Eddic – At the end of the Age there is a great battle called Ragnarok which leads to the total annihilation
of the old order. The Poetic Eddas inform us:
‘Five hundred and forty gates has Valhalla, Eight hundred Einherjar (warriors) go through each door,
when they go off to fight against the Wolf.“
540 gates(X)800 Warriors= 432,000 Warriors.
Vedic – The Age of Kali Yuga is 432,000 years after which a great destruction occurs

Vedic Textual descriptions: Bal Gangadhar Tilak the very famous and celebrated freedom fighter was
in fact a professor of Mathematics who wrote a book called The Arctic Home in the Vedas in 1903 on the
origin of Aryanic People . Tilak was not only a mathematician but turned astronomer, historian,
journalist, philosopher and political leader of India. It propounded the idea that the North Pole was the
original home of Aryans during the pre-glacial period which they had to leave due to the ice deluge
around 8000 B.C. and had to migrate to the Northern parts of Europe and Asia in search of lands for new
settlements. In support to his theory, Tilak presented certain Vedic hymns, Avestic passages, Vedic
chronology and Vedic calendars with interpretations of the contents in detail.

The book was written at the end of 1898, but was first published in March 1903 in Pune.Examining the
vedic scriptures, Tilak concludes that the passages in the veads describe climatic characteristics of
Scandinavia which he says was the question of the original home of the ancestors of the Vedic Aryans
from different stand-points of view. His arguments, are based on the fact that it is believed that mankind
is post-glacial, and the theory of an Asiatic origin of the Aryan peoples prevailed. The age of the oldest
Vedic period, however, was carried back to 4500 BC by scholars including the author himself after
scientific astronomical research in correlation with the evidence found in the Vedic hymns.Tilak cites a
book by William F. Warren, the first President of Boston University, Paradise Found or the Cradle of the
Human Race at the North Pole, as having anticipated his ideas to some extent. Warren dedicated his book
to Max Müller, with whom Tilak had shared ideas before the book[clarification needed] was completed.

Tilak held the view that further study of Vedic hymns and Avestan passages might reveal the long vista of
primitive Aryan antiquity.

Summary of Tilak’s hypothesis:

 In the early geological ages, the Alps were low, the Himalayas not yet upheaved, Asia and Africa
were represented only by a group of islands and an equable and uniform climate prevailed over the
whole surface of the globe. In those days, however, a warm climate prevailed in the Arctic region.
 The close of the Pliocene and the whole of the Pleistocene period were marked by violent changes of
climate bringing on what is called the Glacial and Inter-Glacial epochs. A succession of cold and
warm climates must have characterized these Glacial and Inter-Glacial periods which were also
accompanied by extensive movements of depression and elevation of land, the depression taking
place after the land was weighed down with the enormous mass of ice.
 Thus a period of glaciations was marked by elevation, extreme cold and the invasion of the ice-caps
over regions of the present Temperate zone; while an inter-glacial period was accompanied by
depression of land and milder and congenial climate which made even the Arctic regions habitable.
 According to the latest geological evidence, the last Glacial period must have closed and Post-Glacial
must have commenced at about 10,000 years ago or 8,000 BC. There were at least two Glacial and
 one Inter-Glacial period, and the geographical distribution of land and water on the earth during the
Inter-Glacial period was quite different from what it is at present. It was the coming on of the
Glacial age that destroyed this genial climate and rendered the regions unsuited for the habitation of
tropical plants and animals.
 At the North Pole, one sees the heavenly dome above seems to revolve around one like a potter's
wheel. The stars will not rise and set but move round and round in horizontal planes during the
long night of six months. The Sun, when it is above the horizon for six months; would also appear
to revolve in the same way but with some difference. The Northern celestial hemisphere will alone
be visible spinning round and round and the Southern half remain invisible. The Sun going into the
Northern hemisphere in his annual course will appear as coming up from the South. Living in the
temperate and tropical zones, however, one sees all heavenly objects rise in the East and set in the
West, some passing over the head, others traveling obliquely.
 The long dawn of two months is a special and important characteristic of the North Pole. As we
descend southward, the splendor and the duration of the dawn will be witnessed on a less and less
magnificent scale. But the dawn occurring at the end of the long night of two, three or more months
will still be unusually long, often of several days duration.
 All these characteristics of an Arctic home are clearly recorded in several Vedic hymns and Avestic
passages and they come to us sometimes as the description of the prevailing conditions or the day-to-
day experience or stories told by the earlier generation and sometimes as myths.

Chronology

 10,000 to 8000 BC – The destruction of the original Arctic home by the last Ice Age and the
commencement of the post-Glacial period.
 8000 to 5000 BC – The age of migration from the original home. The survivors of the Aryan race
roamed over the northern parts of Europe and Asia in search of lands suitable for new
settlements. Tilak calls it the Pre-Orion Period.
 5000 to 3000 BC. - The Orion period, when the vernal equinox was in Orion. Many Vedic hymns can
be traced to the early part of this period and the bards of the race seem to have not yet forgotten the
real importance of the traditions of the Arctic home inherited by them. It was at this time that first
attempts to reform the calendar and the sacrificial system appear to have been systematically made.
 3000 to 1400 BC – The Krittika period, when the Vernal equinox was in Pleiades. The traditions
about the original Arctic home had grown dim by this time and were often misunderstood, making
the Vedic hymns less and less intelligible.
 1400 to 500 BC – The Pre-Buddhistic period, when the Sutras and the Philosophical systems made
their appearance.

 Particulars of Hymns and Verses in ten Mandalas of Rigveda are given. For example, Hymn 1, Verse
2, Page 459.
 Particulars of Passages in Taittiriya Samhita are given. For example, Passage I, 3, 9, 2, Page 91.
 Particulars of Hymns in Vajasaneyi Samhita are given.
 Particulars of Sama Veda Samhita are given.
 Particulars of Atharva Veda Samhita are given.
 Particulars of Aitareya Brahmana are given.
 Particulars of Kaushitaki Brahmana are given.
 Particulars of Taittiriya Brahmana are given.
 Particulars of Shatapatha Brahmana are given.
 Particulars of Tandya Brahmana are given.
 Particulars of Sadvimsha Brahmana are given.
 Particulars of Taittiriya Aranyaka are given.
 Particulars of Upanishads are given.
2) Avestic References

 Particulars of Vendidad passages are given.

 Particulars of Yashts passages are given.
 Particulars of Yasna passages are given.
The alphabet of the old Germanic and Scandinavian peoples is known as the Elder Futhark and is written
using the Rune script. It is composed of 24 letters, grouped into 3 sets of 8 letters each, known as the
Aettir. Like the bija (seed) letters of Sanskrit, the Runes are used in combination for divination and magic.
6
The first Aett is Freya’s and relates to the creation of the world.

Thakur Deshraj has mentioned in his book on History of Jats 'Jat Itihas (Hindi) (1934) that the
country Assyria gets its name from Asiagh gotra Jats. The origin of word Asiagh is from Sanskrit word
‘Asi’ meaning sword. According to Kautilya the people who depended on ‘Asi’ (sword) for their living
were known as Asiagh. The Asiaghs moved from Asirgarh in Malwa to Europe. Those who settled
in Jangladesh were called Asiagh and those who moved to Scandinavia were known as Asi. Jats entered
Scandinavia around 500 BCE and their leader was Odin. James Tod considers Odin to be derived
from Buddha or Bodan. The Asi Jats founded Jutland as their homeland in Scandinavia. The religious
book of Scandinavia ‘Edda’ mentions that the ancient inhabitants of Scandinavia were Jats or Jits who
were Aryans known as Asi people and came to this land from Asirgarh. Asirgarh is a site of an ancient
fort situated in Burhanpur district of Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh, India. Thakur Deshraj further
quotes Scandinavian writer Mr Count Johnsturn who says that Scandinavians came from India. According
7
to James Tod Scandinavia is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Skandhnabh’ which was the name of a Rishi.

)8
According to Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria It may not be out of place to mention here, as confirmed by
N.S. Chaudhary on the authority of Shiva-Stotra, one of the generals of Kartikeya (Skanda) carried name
"Jata (जट)". It is well known fact that in the Deva-Asura war Kartikeya (Skanda) commanded the forces
of the former, and it is quite plausible to believe that the warriors (later known to Panini as
Ayuddhajivi ganas), led by general called Jata, became famous as Jat in history. We have also reason to
believe that Panini, when used the phrase 'Jata jhata sanghate' (denoting union or federation or
confederation or binding together, etc.), took his clue from the Jata general's role in fomenting unity in the
warriors against Asuras. Jata general is also believed to give name Jutland.

.
Gotland: There is one more region named Gotland. The region is considered by some historians to be the
original homeland of the Goths. The island is the home of the Gutar (the Gotlanders) and sites such
as Ajvide show that it has been occupied since prehistory. The Gutasaga contains legends of how the
island was settled by Þieluar and populated by his descendants. It also tells that a third of the population
had to emigrate and settle in southern Europe, a tradition associated with the migration of the Goths,
whose name has the same origin as Gutar, the native name of the people of the island. It later tells that the
Gotlanders voluntarily submitted to the king of Sweden and asserts that it is based on mutual agreements,
and notes the duties and obligations of the Swedish King and Bishop in relationship to Gotland. It is
therefore not only an effort to write down the history of Gotland, but also an effort to assert Gotland's
independence from Sweden.

Jämtland: Theee is one more region in Scandinavia which appears to be connected with Jats It is known
as Jämtland. Jämtland or Jamtland, is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden. Jämtland
was originally an autonomous farmer's republic. An independent nation with its
own law, currency and parliament. 'Jämtland has gotten its name from its inhabitants - the Jamts [22]. The
name can be traced back to the world's northernmost runestone, the Frösö Runestone from the 11th
century, where it's found as ea(m)talant (Jamtaland). The root of Jamt (Old West Norse: 'jamti), and thus
Jämtland, derives from the Proto-Germanic word stem emat- meaning persistent, efficient, enduring and
hardworking.The Proto-Norse prefix ea(m)ta (jamta) is genitive plural of the Jamtish people.

9
Finland: Pia Piiroinen has advocated that Ora, Aura, Ore and Oda were clans of the Jats, and "those

names repeat especially in Western Finland." She further writes,

"Coastal Eura was also established by Jats. Jatuli, Jut and Jätti were the original Habiru or Piru forms of
the biblical Judah and jätti means a giant in modern Finnish. However, members of the Jätti tribe were not
the only Habirus who settled down in Finland."

Thor Heyerdahl, archaeologist and historian, has studied about Scandinavia. There is reference innhis
work but not about Scandinavia but Azarbaijaan.It becomes clear from his work that Asiagh Jats were
known as Aser in the central Asia where they founded the country Azerbaijan. It is interesting to note that
‘S’ becomes ‘Z’ in this region of Central Asia.

Dr.Keshava Deva Shastri from Benares, India, president for International Congress of Religious
Philosophies (San Francisco, California, 1915) stated that the forefathers of the Scandinavian people
came directly from India under the leadership of Óðinn (Odinn) about 5500 years BC – between the
events of Ramanaya (as its influence shows) and Mahabharata (of which no trace is found here in the
North).

Agni or Fire: Anders Kaliff in his paperThe Vedic Agni and Scandinavian Fire Rituals-A Possible
Connection tries to look at fire as a common Divine medium: A crucial significance for fire as a divine
medium, possibly similar to that of the Vedic Agni, seems at any rate to be reflected in the Scandinavian
evidence. From the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The fact that no gods with these attributes
are prominent in the religion reflected..I n the later Norse evidence could be explained in terms of a
development similar in principle to what we see in India. These fires also have a close link to the progress
of the sun, the annual cycle, and hence the changing existence of the elements.
These observations say nothing in themselves about whether there is a direct link between Vedic religion
and the religion of Bronze Age Scandinavia. There is an affinity. Based on
assembled similarities in cosmology, ritual, language, and archaeological evidence.In addition to this
10
there is the archaeological picture of a Bronze Age society.
Mahabharatha Connect Theorey: Swargarohini is a mountain massif in the Saraswati (Bandarpunch)
Range of the Garhwal Himalaya. It lies in the Uttarkashi District of the northern Indian state
of Uttarakhand, west of the Gangotri group of peaks. It comprises four separate peaks: Swargarohini I is
the main peak, and is the subject of this article. While not particularly high by Himalayan standards, and
not the highest in the Bandarpunch range, Swargarohini I is notable for its dramatic local relief. For
example, its north face drops 2,000 metres (6,560 ft) in less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of horizontal
distance, and its south face achieves the same drop in less than 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). This makes it a
steep and challenging climb. Swargarohini I has two summits, east and west. The east summit is given an
elevation of 6,247 m (20,495 ft), slightly lower than the west summit. However the first ascensionists of
the west summit claim that that summit is the higher of the two. This snow-clad peak along is the source
of the Tons River and along with the Bandarpunch massif it acts as a watershed between the Yamuna and
the Bhagirathi Rivers.

Legand:
Swargarohini derives its name from the legends associated with it from the hindu epic Mahabharata. In
the final section of the epic, the Pandavas give up kingdom and travel northwards in the hope of reaching
heaven. The peaks are said to be the stairway to heaven that was followed by Pandavas, but
only Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, is able to reach heaven. According to the legends it is
believed that this is the only way one can go to heaven without dying. But the legends further gets
complicated as many claim that the Pandavas had taken a route from the present town of Badrinath in the
eastern part of Garhwal, Uttarakhand, which is very far apart from the Swargarohini peaks in Sankari
range of western Garhwal. AHead of Badrinath, Mana and onwards to Satopanth Lake, one can see the
Swargarohini Glacier ( no relation to Swargarohini peaks ) and Yudhishthira and the bow-bow ( form
taken by Yamraj ) had climbed the Swargarohini glacier to the top and not the Swargarohini peak.It is
quite possible that not only NORTH but FAR NORTH as far north as Scandinavia was the place where
the Pandavas migrated to.

When we look at this partially completed puzzle, which began with a mere glance at a map, a Vedic
picture emerges. Both the broad cultural norms as well as the minute details show a consistency with the
Vedic culture. No doubt much has changed over time and geography. But there are far too many points of
comparison for this to be mere accident.
We would invite you, the reader, to continue researching world history and culture, collecting pieces of
the puzzle. The Sages have pointed us in the right direction and now it is up to each of us to remember
11
who we are and where everything began
The myths of the Norse will have come then more than three millennia later. Yet despite being even

further removed from the Vedas than previously imagined, they grow strangely closer. The simple

persistence of structure over so vast a period of time is remarkable; a testament, perhaps, to its

functionality. The Eddas and Vedas are indeed related to each other, but not in the manner most often

described. Their fraternity reaches much further back into pre-history than can currently be traveled, and

their relationship, while more distant temporally, has been placed upon stronger, more solid ground. The

relationship shared by two such disparate works is powerful testimony to the ultimate unity of the Indo-

Europeans.12

REFERENCE

1A1. India in Greece or, Truth in Mythology, E. Pococke Paperback Rupa Publications, 2015, *
In which he describes the original place of the Aryans.? Did they invade India? Or were they actually
Indian invaders who colonized Greece?

In India in Greece, E. Pococke explores the theory that the Aryans may have originally travelled from
India to Greece, colonized the latter and influenced the culture there. Centuries later, they came back to
India. Covering topics as diverse as the sources of the Hellenic Race, the colonization of Egypt and
Palestine, the wars of the Grand Lama and the Bud’hist propaganda in Greece, the author tries to show
that at some point in history, India and Greece were closely associated.
1.See my paper on Vaikunth- Abode of the Gods on academia.edu
2.The Vedic People of Scandinavia, Posted by Vaishnava Das | November 30, 2015
3.Adopted freely from Myths of the Norsemen, H. A. Guerber, Books RixGMBH & Co.

Munich 4.Sanskrit and Old Norse. A Language Comparative Thesis , 1846

The main vocabulary of the Norwegian language, compared with Sanskrit and other languages of the
same genus , Vienna 1852

5. Foundation for Liberal and Management Education,Understanding Myths-Indra, Zeus and Thor: A
Comparative Study of Indo-European Mythology, Aishwary Javalgekar, Trent University, Canada

6.Hindi Shitya ka Vikas : Aitihasik Drishtikon, Devendra Kumar Sharma

7 The above view is further supported by Mangal Sen Jindal (1992): History of Origin of Some Clans in
India (with special Reference to Jats), (ISBN 81-85431-08-6) that the people of Scandinavia were Jats and
they founded Jutland as their homeland.

8. The Jats:Their Origin, Antiquity and Migrations, 1993. Publisher - Manthan Publications, Rohtak,
Haryana.
9.. 4.Me Habirut Mahabharata Part I,Pia Piiroinen, Easy reads
10..The Vedic Agni and Scandinavian Fire
Rituals-A Possible Connection,Anders Kaliff, Current Swedish Archaeology, Vol. 13, 2005
11. EDDAS AND VEDAS: COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY AND THE ARYAN INVASION
HYPOTHESIS,LW HASTEN, http://lwhasten.com/edved.html

See also Scandinnavia and eternal vedic dharma Marut https://prachodayat.in/scandinavia-eternal-vedic-

culture/

12.. Swastika symbolized SUN in Icelandic code. In Hinduism also the symbol with arms pointing
clockwise ( 卐 ) is called swastika, symbolizing surya ('sun'), prosperity and good luck, while the
counterclockwise symbol (卍) is called sauvastika, symbolizing night or tantric aspects of Kali.