DOCSLIB.ORG

Vermin and Poison in Zoroastrian Thought

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Vermin and Poison in Zoroastrian Thought BRUCE LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO TOWARD A MORE MATERIALISTIC ETHICS: VERMIN AND POISON IN ZOROASTRIAN THOUGHT SUMMARY Absent from the Older Avesta, vermin and poison first appear in a few verses of the Younger Avesta, whose authors misinterpreted Yasna 34.5c (where they mistook adjectival xrafstra- for a substantive) and Yasna 49.11c (whose “evil foods” [akāiš xvarəθāiš] they took to be poison [viša-]). The Pahlavi texts take the argument further, developing a narrative in which these creatures and substances become prime weapons of Ahriman in his assault on Ohrmazd’s Good Creation. Speculation along these lines introduced novel understandings of evil as a lethal substance, rather than a destructive disposition or spirit, moving questions of morality from metaphysics to physics. Keywords: Zoroastrianism; Avesta; Hermeneutics; Ethical reinterpretation; Materialism. RÉSUMÉ Absents de l’Avesta ancien, la vermine et le poison apparaissent pour la première fois dans quelques vers de l’Avesta récent dont les auteurs ont mal interprété Yasna 34.5c (où ils ont compris l’adjectif xrafstra- comme un substantif) et Yasna 49.11c (où ils ont pris les « mauvaises nourritures » [akāiš xvarəθāiš] pour le poison [viša-]). Les textes pehlevis poursuivent dans cette direction, en développant un récit selon lequel ces créatures et ces substances deviennent les armes principales d’Ahriman dans son assaut contre la Bonne Création d’Ohrmazd. Cette ligne de spéculation a produit des nouvelles manières de comprendre le mal comme étant une substance mortelle et pas seulement une disposition ou un esprit destructeurs, déplaçant les questions morales du domaine de la métaphysique à celui de la physique. Mots clés : zoroastrisme ; Avesta ; herméneutique ; réinterprétation éthique ; matérialisme. * * * I. Whereas the Older Avesta (i.e. the Gāthās and Yasna Haptaŋhāiti, composed c. 1000 BCE) generally treats evil as a spiritual quality, later Zoroastrian texts imagine increasingly tangible instantiations. This can be seen from several semantic shifts from earlier to later textual strata. To 83 STUDIA IRANICA 44, 2015, pp. 83-98 84 B. L I N C O L N StIr 44, 2015 begin with a relatively simple example, the case of xrafstra- is instructive. In the Older Avesta, this term appears three times, always as an adjective.1 The most convincing etymology derives it from an Indo-European verbal root *skrep-, “to bite, sting, cut,”2 and translators have rendered it vari- ously, including “rough,”3 “fierce,”4 “poisonous,”5 “wild,”6 “fearsome,”7 and “foul.”8 In one verse, it modifies the noun hizuua- (“tongue, lan- guage”), describing a particularly sharp kind of speech (Yasna 28.5c); in a second, it modifies auruna- “beast, wild animal” (Yasna 34.9c ).9 The third occurrence holds the most interest for us, however, just as it did for commentators in the Zoroastrian tradition, since it contains grammatical, as well as cosmological complexities of considerable importance. Here, the priest-poet addresses the Wise Lord as follows. We proclaim you superior to all noxious gods and humans. parə vå vīspāiš parə.vaox əmā, daēuuāišcā xrafstrāiš maii āišcā (Yasna 34.5c) Crucial to the interpretation of this line is the question of whether its key phrase names two or three types of being. Two are certain: the daēuua-s (i.e. the old gods, who came to be demonized in Zoroastrianism) and mašiia-s (humans, literally mortals).10 In between, however, is the term xrafstra-, which appears in the same grammatical case as the others (plural instrumental). If this is a substantive, it would constitute a third class of subordinate beings: presumably, nasty animals. Alternatively, if it is adjectival, as translated above, xrafstrāiš would modify the preceding 1 Although earlier translators and lexicographers treated xrafstra- as a substantive in some of its Gāthic occurrences (most notably Yasna 34.5, to be discussed below), see the assessment of Kellens and Pirart 1988-91, III, p. 231, who argue convin- cingly that the syntax of Yasna 28.5 and 34.5 show its usage to be exclusively adjectival in the older texts. 2 Bailey 1970, pp. 25-28. 3 Darmesteter 1892-93, French brute. 4 Insler 1975. 5 Olsson 1994, Swedish förgiftand. 6 Kellens and Pirart 1988-91, II, p. 231, French sauvage. Although this appears in the lexicon, it does not figure in any translation of the verses where the term appears. 7 Ibid., I, p. 106, French affreux, used in their translation of Yasna 28.5. 8 Ibid., I, p. 126 and 127, French infect, which is not listed in the lexicon, but is used to translate Yasna 34.5 and 34.9. 9 Technically, it is possible that auruna- is the adjective and xrafstra- the noun in Yasna 34.9, since usage of the former term is somewhat fluid. Thus, it is adjectival in Yašt 14.23, where it modifies maēša- (thus, a “wild sheep”), but substantive in Yašt 8.36, which speaks of “mountain-dwelling beasts” (aurunaca gairišācō). 10 On the formulaic relation between daēuua- and mašiia-, and proper interpretation of the former as “old god” in the Older Avesta, shifting to “demon” in later texts, see Benveniste 1967. V E R M I N A N D P O I S O N I N Z O R O A S T R I A N T H O U G H T 85 daēuuāiš, helping characterize deities of this sort and explaining why they were inferior to the Wise Lord. Two arguments militate against the first possibility. First, the logic of the series presumes a sequence moving down the scale of ontological dignity (i.e. gods-humans-animals), rather than gods-animals-humans as this wording would have it. Second, Avestan grammar requires that when a series of three nouns is coordinated via the enclitic particle -cā (“and”), the -cā can be attached to the last noun, the last two, or all three but not the first and third. In a syntactical formation like A-cā B C-cā (like daēuuāišcā xrafstrāiš mašiiāišcā) the B-element is not a noun, but a modifier functioning as part of a multi-word phrase.11 Failing to take cognizance of this rule, some translators have interpreted xrafstra- as a substantive in Yasna 34.5c,12 reifying the quality of ferocity, wildness, or toxicity it expresses and conjuring up a set of (bad) animals to parallel the (bad) gods and (bad) humans denoted by daēuua- and mašiia-. The same error was made by those who produced the Younger Avesta, where xrafstra- is never an adjective, but always a noun that denotes harmful creatures characterized by swarming and biting. Flies, ants, and lice (but no others) are identified as part of this category.13 Given the absolute benevolence Zoroastrian doctrine attributes to the Wise Lord, priests reasoned that he could not have created these destructive species, which must therefore be creatures “of the Evil Spirit” (aŋrahe mainiiəuš xrafstra).14 This idea, first introduced in the Younger Avesta, prompted a radically innovative line of speculation, construing the Evil Spirit as author of a counter-creation antithetical to the Wise Lord’s, as in Yasna 19.1-4. Zarathuštra asked the Wise Lord, “Wise Lord, Most beneficent spirit, Creator of corporeal creatures, Righteous One! What was the word you pronounced to me, Wise Lord, before there was sky, before earth, before the (primordial) bovine, before the (primordial) 11 Reichelt 1909, p. 357. Cf. Kellens and Pirart 1988-91, II, p. 143 and 150-151. 12 Inter alia, Bartholomae 1905, Duchesne-Guillemin 1948, Barr 1954, Lommel 1971, Humbach, Elfenbein, and Skjærvø 1991, and West 2010. Surprisingly, the Pahlavi translators of this verse properly understood xrafstra- as an adjective and translated the phrase daēuuāišcā xrafstrāiš by dēwān kē xrad stard, “demons whose wisdom is confounded,” suggested by the folk etymological connection between xrafstra and xrad stard. The same translation is given for the two other occurrences, Yasna 28.5c and 34.9c. Darmesteter1892-93, I, p. 208 n. 19 entertained the idea that although this rendering had the appearance of a “fantaisie etymologique,” it might actually be correct. In contrast, the most recent editors of the text so discount the reading xrad stard that they judge it “probably a scribal error for xrafstar.” Malandra and Ichaporia 2013, p. 49 n. 1. 13 Flies in Vidēuudāt 7.2 and 9.26, ants in Vidēuudāt 16.12, and lice in Vidēuudāt 17.3. 14 Yašt 21.1. 86 B. L I N C O L N StIr 44, 2015 plant, before fire, son of the Wise Lord, before the righteous (primordial) man; before gods, xrafstras, and people; before all corporeal being, before all good things created by the Wise One, which are manifestations of Truth?” Then the Wise Lord answered, “It was the Ahuna Vairiia, Spitama Zarathuštra, that I pronounced to you before there was sky, before water, before earth, before the cow, before the plant, before fire, son of the Wise Lord, before the righteous man; before there were gods, xrafstras, and people; before all corporeal being, before all good things created by the Wise One, which are manifestations of Truth.”15 Several constructs typical of the Younger Avesta (but absent from the Older) figure prominently in this passage. First, the Ahuna Vairiia—i.e. the verse with which the Gāthās commence, the most sacred of all speech acts—is theorized as originating with the Wise Lord, not Zarathuštra, and as having already existed in eternity, prior to Mazdā’s acts of material creation.16 Second, the Wise Lord is said to have established the world in seven distinct steps: first sky, then water, earth, animal, plant, fire, and human.17 Significantly, each of these nouns is in the singular accusative, conveying the idea there was originally only one of each creation, whose primordial unity was an aspect of its perfection.18 After spelling out this cosmogonic sequence, the text introduces three classes of being that stand outside the Wise Lord’s creation and in active opposition to it, each named in the plural instrumental.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Zarathushtra As Victor in the Verbal Contest DALE L
    Zarathushtra as Victor in the Verbal Contest DALE L. BISHOP Columbia University In a long note to his translation of the Canaanite Poem of Baal, Professor Gaster em­ phasized the significance of the exchange of curses and taunts as a " standard element of the Ritual Combat." 1 Scholars of the Indo-Iranian religion have long debated the importance of the verbal contest in the Aryan tradition. In the Indo-Iranian journal of 1960 F. B. J. Kuiper presented a summation of the textual evidence supporting his argument that the verbal contest was a central component of the whole series of ritual battles celebrating the Aryan New Year. Although the bulk of the evidence for Kuiper's thesis was drawn from the Rig Veda, he also cited several Avestan texts which, he felt, praise·the virtues of the eloquent warrior in the verbal contest. Most of these citations are from the Yashts, which might be expected to reflect pre-Zarathushtrian concepts later introduced into "catholic Zoroastrianism. ,,2 Kuiper thus did not examine in detail the early Gathic evidence for the verbal contest because he felt that Zarathushtra had modified the old Aryan conccpt to bring it into accord with his own ideas about eschatology. Nor did Kuiper bring into con­ sideration the post-Yasht Videvdad material or the Middle Persian evidence because both lack the complex of terms derived from his hypothetical Aryan verb root 'yZik(!J)- 'to pro­ claim solemnly') We will examine here the opening section of Fargard 19 of the Videvdad and the Middle Persian Denkard's account of the prophetic predecessors of Zarathushtra from the point of view of the significance of the verbal dispute in these texts.
    [Show full text]
  • The Talisman
    DG McIntyre - The Talisman A talisman is defined as a charm of great potency, capable of producing extraordinary effects.1 If anything has been accorded the status of a talisman in the later Zoroastrian literature, it is the Ahuna Vairya – the Yatha Ahu Vairyo prayer. This prayer is composed in the Gathic dialect and is in the same metre as the Ahunavaiti Gatha.2 Professors Insler and Humbach both believe it to have been composed by Zarathushtra himself.3 In a later text (not a part of the Gathas), called Yasna 19, which is a later commentary on the Ahuna Vairya, Ahura Mazda is said to describe the Ahuna Vairya as His Word, and is said to have stated: “…..this word is the most emphatic of the words which have ever been pronounced, or which are now spoken, or which shall be spoken in future’ for (the eminence) of this utterance is a thing of such a nature, that if all the corporeal and living world should learn it, and learning should hold fast by it, they would be redeemed from their mortality!” translation by Mills in Sacred Books of the East, Volume 31, Yasna XIX, verse 10, pages 262 – 263 (Motilal Benarsidas reprint). While it is unlikely that this is a direct quotation from Ahura Mazda, the fact that the writer of this commentary puts these words in Ahura Mazda’s mouth, indicates the importance this writer ascribed to the Ahuna Vairya. In the Bundahishn, a later Pahlavi text written, according to E. W. West, some time after the Arab invasion of 651 CE,4 we are told that when Ahura Mazda and the evil spirit met, after some preliminary conversation, Ahura Mazda recited the Ahunavar (which is the Ahuna Vairya), and: “…even so as is declared in revelation, that when one of its (the Ahunavar’s) three parts was uttered, the evil spirit contracted his body through fear, and when two parts of it were uttered, he fell upon his knees, and when all of it was uttered he became confounded and impotent as to the harm he caused the creatures of Auharmazd,…..” translated by West in SBE Volume 5, Bundahish, Chapter 1, verse 22, pages 8 – 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Zoroastrianism: the Iranian Roots of Christianity?
    Zoroastrianism: The Iranian Roots of Christianity? Bryan Rennie, Department of Religion, History, Philosophy, and Classics Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA 16172-0001 [email protected] To readers other than scholars of Iranian religion this material is very late, the oldest manuscript being from the thirteenth may be new, but the issue of Zoroastrian influence on Biblical century CE. religions is itself far from new. Matthew Black, John Bright, The reliability of oral tradition in preserving such ancient Harold Henry Rowley, William David Davies, Walther material as the Hindu 0g Veda from around 1,200 BCE is Eichrodt, Reginald H. Fuller, Theodore Gaster, E. O. James, seldom seriously questioned but the similar antiquity of the and Helmer Ringgren all recognized it. Parallels between the Avestan materials is not widely accepted. It is true, as Mary Jewish and Christian Messiah and the Zoroastrian Sosyans Boyce says, that absolute dating is impossible for this sort of were noted in Ί906 by Lawrence Mills and in 1926 by Hu­ material (1992, 1168). And Almut Hintze agrees that attempts bertus Von Gall. George Carter wrote a monograph on Zoro­ at dating any Avestan text are uncertain (1999, 77). The astrian influence in 1918. It was a common theme of the Avestan texts are complemented by more extensive materials Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, who suggested a thoroughgo­ in Pahlavi, which were composed between the ninth and ing influence on Jewish and Christian apocalyptism, messian- tenth centuries of the Christian era. The Dênkard, the Bunda- ism, and eschatology. Finkelstein and Manson in 1929 and hisn, the Zädspram, the Dädestän J Dënïg, the Pahlavi Ri- 1938 suggested that "Pharisee" derives from a Pahlavi rather väyat, the Bahman Yast or Zand J Wahuman Yasn, the Arda than a Hebrew root, and thus means "Persian" or "Persian- Wiräz Nämag all date from between the seventh and the tenth izer." That has not been decided and seems to have been centuries CE.
    [Show full text]
  • Gathas of Zarathushtra {English Version}
    GATHAS OF ZARATHUSHTRA {ENGLISH VERSION} - Dr.IRACH J.S.TARAPOREWALA THIS E BOOK IS PRESENTED BY THE EDITOR, BEHRAMSHAW JAL KALIANWALA TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE 6TH WORLD ZOROASTRIAN YOUTH CONGRESS AT AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 28TH DEC, 2015 – 2ND JAN. 2016 COURTESY OF THE 6TH WZYC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE TINAZ KARBHARI - CHAIRPERSON NAZNEEN SUKHIA ROXANNE MEDHORA CO-CHAIR CO-CHAIR BURZIN FATAKIA XERXES SUKHIA TREASURER SECRETARY CYRUS DAJI KAINAZ JAMASBEHZAD ACCOMMODATION & TRANSPORT VISA & REGISTRATION DELZIN BALSARA FERZEEN DADABHOY SPEAKERS CO-MARKETING LEADER PIRAN TATA SANAYA MASTER WEBSITE CO-MARKETING LEADER KARMIN HOMAVAZIR ENTERTAINMENT GATHAS OF ZARATHUSHTRA ENGLISH VERSION AS TRANSLATED AND COMMENTED UPON BY DR. IRACH J. S. TARAPOREWALA This E Book is Edited and Published for Free Distribution by B J.Kalianwala, SUNNY VIEW, 25 Malcolm Baug, Jogeshwari W. Mumbai 400102. E Mail: [email protected] SPITAMA ZARATHUSHTRA AHURA MAZDA‐ THE LORD AND CREATOR OF LIFE [Ahura] and of MATTER–the Universe,[Mazda], nominated Spitama, [the personal name of the Prophet] as His Messenger Prophet to Prophesy before the people, the outcomes that may be expected from the behavior of Human Beings. He promulgated the need for Truth, as also of Love in all their Words, Actions and Deeds. These would lead to Happiness which was essential to maintain good health. ZARATHUSHTRA was the title by which He was known after He had proclaimed His Message. The title is derived from “ZARATHA” [golden] and “USHTRA’ [Light] from the root USH meaning “to shine”. This designation of the Prophet would mean “HE OF THE GOLDEN LIGHT”, which is just the appropriate name to be given to one of the Greatest of the Light –Bringers of the World.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Prophetic and Priestly Authority of Zarathustra
    ALMUT HINTZE On the Prophetic and Priestly Authority of Zarathustra Zarathustra, Prophet and Priest Zoroastrianism is commonly regarded as one of the oldest living prophetic religions. Such view is based on the tradition that the religion was communicated by the god Ahura Mazdā to a person of the name Zarathustra. In this context the term prophet refers to an individual who is presented as the medium by which a deity imparts messages to human beings. The peculiarity of the figure of Zarathustra lies in that the texts present him as a priest as well as a prophet. In a classic study of the role of religion in society, the sociologist Max Weber noted that prophet and priest tend to be figures at variance with each other: The prophet assumes the role of the innovator, while the priest’s task is to preserve existing structures. Buddha and Jesus, for example, rose up in protest against the practices and prescriptive regulations of the mainstream established priesthood, who claimed for themselves the prerogative of being the guardians of the religion and of controlling the laity. Zarathustra, too, is depicted in the sources as being in conflict with existing priestly practices and beliefs. However, in contrast to some other religious innovators, his case is different in so far as he is also described as a priest.1 Zoroastrianism thus constitutes the instance of a religion in which the person purported to have introduced changes and started a new tradition is himself a member of the priesthood which usually represents and safeguards the established religion.
    [Show full text]
  • Zoroaster : the Prophet of Ancient Iran
    BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1891 AJUUh : :::^.l.ipq.'f.. "Jniversity Library DL131 1o5b.J13Hcirir'^PItl®" ^°'°nnmliA ,SI'.?.P!}SL°LmmX Jran / 3 1924 022 982 502 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022982502 ZOROASTER THE PROPHET OF ANCIENT IRAN •The; •S- ZOROASTER THE PROPHET OF ANCIENT HIAN BY A. V. WILLIAMS JACKSON PROFESSOK OF INDO-IBANIAN LANGUAGES IN COLUMBIA UNIVKRSITT KTefa gorft PUBLISHED FOE THE COLUMBIA UNIVEESITT PRESS BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1899 All rights reserved Copyright, 1898, bt the macmillan company. J. S. Gushing k Co. — Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. DR. E. W. WEST AS A MARK OF REGARD PREFACE This work deals with the life and legend of Zoroaster, the Prophet of Ancient Iran, the representative and type of the laws of the Medes and Persians, the Master whose teaching the Parsis to-day still faithfully follow. It is a biographical study based on tradition ; tradition is a phase of history, and it is the purpose of the volume to present the picture of Zoroaster as far as possible in its historic light. The suggestion which first inspired me to deal with this special theme came from my friend and teacher. Professor Geldner of Berlin, at the time when I was a student under him, ten years ago, at the University of Halle in Germany, and when he was lecturing for the term upon the life and teachings of Zoroaster.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Zoroastrianism
    History of Zoroastrianism by Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla High Priest of the Parsis, Karachi, India idha apãm vijasâiti vanghuhi daena mâzdayasnaish vispâish avi karshvãn yâish hapta. "Henceforth from now may spread The Good Mazdayasnian Religion Over all the zones that are seven." NEW YORK OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON TORONTO, 1938 TO KHAN BAHADUR KAVASJI HORMASJI KATRAK, O.B.E. at hvo vangheush vahyo nâ aibijamyât ye nâo erezush savangho patho sîshoit ahyâ angheush astvato mananghaschâ haithyeng âstîsh yeng â shaetî ahuro aredro thwâvãns huzentushe spento mazdâ. "May that man attain to better than the good Who helps teaching us the upright paths of blessedness Of this material world and that of the spirit -- The veritable universe wherein pervades Ahura -- That faithful, wise, and holy man is like unto thee, O Mazda." Zarathushtra CONTENTS PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY xix ABBREVIATIONS xxix INTRODUCTION xxxi PRE-GATHIC PERIOD From the earliest times to about 1000 B.C. CHAPTER I. THE SOURCES 3 The data of information -- The Avestan Nasks -- The Pahlavi, Pazend and Persian sources -- Parsi- Sanskrit and Gujarati sources -- Oriental sources -- Occidental sources -- Inscriptions, coins and tablets as the last source of information. II. AIRYANA VAEJAH 8 The Stem-land of the Aryans -- The Indo- Europeans -- The Indo-Iranians. THE GATHIC PERIOD About 1000 B.C. III. ZARATHUSHTRA 11 Zarathushtra doubts to know -- Zarathushtra seeks silent, solitary seclusion -- Zarathushtra yearns to see Ahura Mazda -- Zarathushtra longs to commune with Ahura Mazda -- Zarathushtra is fined with an intense fervour of enthusiasm for prophetic work -- People marvel at the new prophet -- Zarathushtra definitely breaks with the religion of his forefathers -- The hostile Daevayasnian priests -- Friendless and forlorn, Zarathushtra flees to Ahura Mazda -- Zarathushtra's teachings win the ear of the royal court -- Zarathushtra's mission.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gathas, Our Guide
    THE GATHAS, OUR GUIDE the thought-provoking divine songs of Zarathushtra translated by Ali A. Jafarey USHTA PUBLICATION First Edition: June 1989 Copyright © by Ali A. Jafarey. All rights reserved. Published by: Ushta Inc. P.O. Box 2160 Cypress, CA 90630- Printed in the United States of America Digital format reproduced with permission. yoi zarazdâo añhen Mazdâi To those who are devoted to the Wise One. (Song 4.1) Contents Contents ...............................................................................................................i Preface.................................................................................................................1 The Gathas, Our Guide, an Introduction...........................................................6 Salutation By An Unknown Avestan Poet ......................................................13 The GATHAS - The Thought-provoking Divine Songs of Zarathushtra Spitama..............................................................................................................14 Ashen Vohu, The Main Motto .................................................................................15 Ahuna Vairya The Principle Of Choice ....................................................................16 Song 1: Humbly I Pray .............................................................................................17 Song 2: The Choice Of Asho Zarathushtra..............................................................19 Song 3: Good And Evil.............................................................................................21
    [Show full text]
  • The Younger Avestan Yasna 19
    Part Three: 3.24, The Ahuna Vairya, (Yatha Ahu Vairyo) in Ancient Commentaries The Ahuna Vairya (Yatha Ahu Vairyo) in Ancient Commentaries. This chapter supplements two other chapters on the Ahuna Vairya in this web book,1 and is for those who would like to know what the ancients had to say about the Ahuna Vairya in Younger Avestan and Pahlavi texts. I will give you a sampling of such comments and commentaries. Parts of these commentaries have been referred to in other chapters. But for ease of reference, I think it is worthwhile to assemble the most important ones in one place, and examine them in (some) detail. So I ask your indulgence for any repetitions. There are many passing references to the Ahuna Vairya in the Avestan texts where it is mentioned as a means of worship, an object of celebration, and is called 'the truthful word', 'wise', a 'weapon' for victory (over evil). A sampling of such comments (some quite lovely) have been footnoted to give you the flavors of the ways in which the ancients regarded the Ahuna Vairya.2 Let us now look at the Commentaries. The Younger Avestan Yasna 19. The most ancient Commentary on the Ahuna Vairya is a very detailed one -- the whole of Yasna 19, composed in Younger Avestan, several centuries after Zarathushtra's time.3 I doubt that this Commentary was the work of one author, or of one time period. It seems to be a collection of opinions (or recollections), in which different sections sometimes express the same concepts but stated a bit differently.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Role of the Laity in the History of Zoroastrianism
    1 On the Role of the Laity in the History of Zoroastrianism Sarah Rosemary Anne Stewart School of Oriental and African Studies Thesis presented to the University of London for the degree of PhD October 1998 ProQuest Number: 10731727 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731727 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 2 ABSTRACT Although much has been written about both the ancient and the living traditions of Zoroastrianism, no detailed study exists on the role of the laity in the history of the faith. This is perhaps because the surviving religious literature, namely the extant portion of the Avesta , is mainly concerned with priestly matters. As a result, the role of the laity has tended to be overlooked, although, at the same time, certain assumptions have been made. This thesis will raise questions concerning these assumptions. It will begin by looking at accounts of the religion by scholars in the field of Iranian studies with reference to the earliest Zoroastrian texts, the Yasts, and the Gdthas of the prophet Zarathustra, and show how various views of the laity have been formed.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Prayers and the Name of God
    DG McIntyre - Three Prayers and the Name of God Written for my son, Rich, who asked for "a couple of prayers with meanings" and for all my children. Nobody knows exactly when Zarathushtra lived. Opinions range between 6,500 BC and 600 BC. Nobody knows for sure where Zarathushtra lived, except that it was somewhere around ancient Iran. And for many hundreds of years, the language in which Zarathushtra composed his Gathas was not known or understood. The Gathas are the only extant work in that language, which is why the language is called "Gathic". You may wonder: how could such precious knowledge have been lost! Part of the reason may have been that with the passing of time, the religion for many centuries, was in the hands of souls who were not enlightened, who made political compromises, who turned it into a profit making institution, a control mechanism, and who were not able to grasp, and therefore maintain, the pure, spiritual truths that Zarathushtra taught. But the major reasons for this loss of knowledge were two devastating invasions which included the burning of our religious texts, and the killing of learned teachers. The first occurred when Alexander (mistakenly called The Great) defeated the Persian empire around 330 BC (the Persian emperor whom he defeated was no beauty either). It is reported that Alexander sent one copy of the Zoroastrian texts to his teacher Aristotle, and burned the rest. An ancient Zoroastrian work states that he: "...took away and burned those scriptures, ... which had been written in gold water on prepared cowhide, and deposited in Stakhr i Pabagan in the Fortress of Writing.
    [Show full text]
  • Purpose of Zoroastrian Life in This World
    PURPOSE OF ZOROASTRIAN LIFE IN THIS WORLD : Zoroastrianism teaches us that our life in this world is a blessing and also a duty and struggle. It is a blessing, because God has given us the wonderful body with physical, mental, and spiritual powers. He has created everything that we require for maintaining our life, provided we work for the same. Every moment we receive blessings of God in one way or the other like rays of the sun, rains from the skies, plants and trees growing from the earth, and many other visible and invisible currents of Nature – are all blessings of God. Man’s Duties in life: Our life is also a duty. As human beings and as Zoroastrians, we have to do the duties of life towards God, towards ourselves, and towards others. We have a duty towards God, as He has given us our life and all good things in it. We have to discharge that duty by remembering Him, thanking Him by offering prayers, and by leading a virtuous and useful life. The prayer with a devoted heart and dedicated mind purifies our feelings, elevates our life, and leads us on the path of goodness. A Zoroastrian also has to do his duty to himself. Our body is a sacred weapon of our soul in this life. It is through the body that the soul can perform the duties of this life. It is, therefore, our duty to keep our body clean, pure, and healthy, so that we can receive the blessings of health, endurance, vitality and long life from God.
    [Show full text]