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Comparing Indra And The Dragon: A Comparative Analysis

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“The Death of Balder” is a Norse myth about about a god named Balder who was loved by all. Because of this, the gods did everything they could to keep him safe. However, Loki an evil god finds a way to kill him. The gods try to bring him back to life, but fail.The myth “Indra and the Dragon” is an Indian myth about a god who goes to take back seven rivers from Vritra, a dragon who stole them. He does this in order to save people from famine. The two myths are similar, but also very different.

Both myths show the belief that mothers will always protect their children. In “The Death of Balder” Frigg, Balder’s mother, tries to protect her son from being harmed by anyone. In the myth, Frigg traveled all over the world asking every living and …show more content…

The idea of fate is different in the two myths. In “The Death of Balder,” Balder’s death brings grief and sadness to all the gods, but it reminds Odin of an unavoidable event, Ragnarok. Balder’s death is the first sign of the end of the world. “Odin was the most upset of all the gods. Not only had he lost his dear son, but he alone knew that the death of Balder was the first in a series of events that would end in the destruction of the race.” (Rosenberg 219) Even though Balder’s death was the start of the end of the world, the gods did not try to prevent Ragnarok because they knew it was destined to happen. However, In “Indra and the Dragon,” fate and destiny are not important. When Vritra steals the seven rivers, Indra does not accept it as fate. Even though the other gods felt powerless against Vritra, Indra didn’t let that stop him. “The gods gazed upon the earth with sorrow in their hearts, knowing that they were powerless against such a deadly foe as Vitra. But Indra was determined to help the dying humans.” (Rosenberg 332) To overcome the obstacle of being too weak to defeat Vritra, he drank soma to become stronger. “One by one,he picked up three bowls of soma, a sweet, intoxicating drink, and he drank them down. With each drink he became stronger and stronger.”(Rosenberg 332) Drinking the soma to become stronger, shows that Indra did not accept the fact that Vritra would keep the rivers because the gods were not strong enough to beat him. Another difference between

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