Chapters 44-95 - Germanic Mythology

The two fundamental ideas of the myth concerning Parusha are:
(1) There was a primeval being who was not divine. The gods slew him and
created the material world out of his limbs.
(2) This primeval being gave rise to other beings of different ranks, and their rank
corresponded with the position of the giant's limbs from which they were created.
Both these fundamental ideas reappear in the Germanic myth concerning Ymir. In
regard to the former idea we need only to quote what Vafþrúðnismál says in strophe 21:
Úr Ymis holdi
var jörð um sköpuð,
en úr beinum björg,
himinn úr hausi
ins hrímkalda jötuns,
en úr sveita sjór.
Of Ymir's flesh
the earth was created,
the rocks from his bones,
the heavens from the head
of the ice-cold giant,
the sea from his blood.
In regard to the second fundamental idea, it is evident from the Rigveda account
that it is not found there in its oldest form, but that, after the rise of four castes among the
Rigveda Indo-Europeans, it was changed, in order to furnish an explanation of the origin
of these castes and make them at least as old as the present material world. 1 Far more
original, and perfectly free from the influence of social ideas, it appears in the Germanic
mythology, where the 33rd strophe of Vafþrúðnismál testifies concerning its character:
1 The purity of this is impossible to establish. However, Griffith remarks that this is the only passage in the
Rigveda where the four castes are enumerated. Also, two parts of the giant used in the creation of the castes
in verse 12 are repeated as material for the world in verses 13, 14. Of his mouth, the Brahmans as well as
the gods Agni and Indra were made; of his feet the Sudra and the earth were created. No other materials are
repeated, suggesting the verses regarding the castes may have been interpolated.