Towards the Baldur Myth - Germanic Mythology

First and foremost, both incantations resemble one another in that they consist of
two factors: a mythological and an actual healing-formula. Concerning the latter, the
Vedic and the Germanic agree in an eye-catching manner. In the Vedic formula, the
mythological elements have reference to the Creator; in the Germanic charm, they refer
to Odin, accompanied by female divinities, who are depicted as healers. But in the end, it
is the Creator in one, and Odin in the other, whose healing art reunites that which had
come out of joint. However, in the Vedic variant, Yama and his horse, which correspond
to Baldur and his horse, are missing. The Vedic formula is valid for sprains in general,
while the Germanic charm is only good for horses‘ sprains. But nevertheless, when the
Vedic priest utilized this formula, he must have had Yama and his horse in mind, for in
another place in the Atharvaveda, it is said that Yama‘s horse is Arundhatî‘s father
(compare Zimmer Altindisches Leben, p. 67) 35
Rohanî, who appears by the side of Arundhatî in the Vedic formula, is, as her
name suggests, a vegetation-dis and there is every reason to assume that she is the same
as Rohinî, who, according to Atharvaveda XIII, 1, 22, is ―the golden Sûri, the tall one
with strong luster, with which we will win strong means of nourishment and prevail in all
slaughtering.‖ She corresponds to the sun-dis Sunna in the Merseburg Charm, sister to
―the battle-maid who fares night after night.‖
Thus, the Vedic and the Germanic incantations against sprains come fairly close
to one another in mythological respect as well. They are variants of a Proto-Indo-
European formula and refer to a common circle of gods.
That such a formula could survive from the Proto-Indo-European era into the final
era of Germanic heathenism is not surprising. One of the results from the field of
comparative mythology presented in this volume is that the Germanic doctrine lived a
long life of slow development with an uninterrupted continuity proceeding from the
Proto-Indo-European era right up until its collision with the Roman doctrine and
Christendom. On the other hand, it is surprising that related incantations, even more
disintegrated, could survive the fall of heathendom and be preserved on the lips of people
into our day through a thousand years of Christendom‘s reign and struggle against the
remaining heathen traditions (see further).
In closing, a final formula from Atharvaveda (Ludwig, Die Mantralitteratur, pg.
430) deserves mentioning, because, although it is intended for common usage and as
protection for ordinary mortals, it is reminiscent of the protection that the Aesir requested
from nature for Baldur:
―All vasus, all âdityas, watch over this! May he not meet
death by a brother‘s hand, nor by the hand of one who is not
related, not by human hand ... This I transfer, all oaths provide to
him welfare and old age. All divine beings that are in heaven, on
earth, in the air, in plants, in animals, and in water, to him you
should dispatch lasting life of many years. The hundred other ways
to die (from disease) shall he avoid.‖
35
Atharvaveda V, 5: 8. "With the blood of the brown horse of Yama thou hast verily been sprinkled." 9.
―Having dropped from the blood of the horse she ran upon the trees, turning into a winged brook. Do thou
come to us, O Arundhatî!‖