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Kayumars
Keyumars or Kiomars () was the name of the first king (shah) of the Pishdadian dynasty of Iran according to the ''Shahnameh''. The name appears in Avestan in the form of , or in medieval Zoroastrian texts as ''Gayōmard'' or ''Gayōmart''. In the Avesta he is the mythological first human being in the world. The corresponding name in Middle Persian is . In Ferdowsi's ''Shahnameh'' he appears as the first shah of the world. He is also called the (), the first to practice justice, the lawgiver. The Avestan form means "the living mortal", from 'life' and 'mortal, human being'; cf. Persian 'human' (). In Zoroastrian literature According to the Zoroastrian creation myth, Gayōmart, who was neither male nor female, was the first human, or, according to the Avesta, he was the first person to worship Ahura Mazda. The Avestan forms ''Mashya'' and ''Mashyana'' appear as the male and female first humans; their names are versions of the word 'mortal'. In the eighth book of the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sasanian Avesta
The Sasanian Avesta or Great Avesta refers to the anthology of Zoroastrian literature produced during the Sasanian period. Most of this work is now lost, but its content and structure can be reconstructed from references found in a number of texts from the 9th century onward. Compared to the extant Avesta, the Sasanian Avesta was much larger and organized into 21 distinct volumes called ''nasks'' (Avestan: ''naska''; Middle Persian: ''nask'', 'bundle'). Of those, only one is preserved in its entirety, while others are either lost or only preserved in fragments. Sources The most important source on the Sasanian Avesta is the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism. The 8th and 9th book of the Denkard give an overview of the Avesta as it was available at the time. Whereas the 8th book lists the content, the 9th book provides a lengthy summary on a number of its nasks In addition, the Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, also list its con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xrafstar
Xrafstar or Khrafstra (; ) is a cover term in Zoroastrianism for the animals that are harmful or repulsive. These animals were not to be sacrificed or eaten. They were considered creations of the Evil Spirit Angra Mainyu and killing them was seen as meritorious. In the Young Avesta and Middle Persian texts, the class of xrafstars includes frogs, reptiles, scorpions and insects like ants or wasps, whereas predators such as the wolf are not referred to as xrafstars, even though they too are considered to be creations of evil. Herodotus narrates about the practice of killing xrafstars among the Magi: "The Magi are a very peculiar race, different entirely from the Egyptian priests, and indeed from all other men whatsoever. The Egyptian priests make it a point of religion not to kill any live animals except those which they offer in sacrifice. The Magi, on the contrary, kill animals of all kinds with their own hands, excepting dogs and men. They even seem to take a delight in the emplo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farvardin
Farvardin (, ) is the Iranian Persian name for the first month of the Solar Hijri calendar, the official calendar of Iran, and corresponds with Aries on the Zodiac. Farvardin has thirty-one days. It is the first month of the spring season (''Bahâr''), and is followed by Ordibehesht. The Afghan Pashto name for it is Wray. In three out of every four years, Farvardin begins on March 21 and ends on April 20 of the Gregorian calendar. In most Gregorian leap years, it begins 20 March following the leap day of 29 February. Otherwise, very rarely, Farvardin begins on March 19 or 22, and ends on April 18 or 21. Its associated astrological sign in the tropical zodiac is Aries. Events * 25 - 1244 - Assassination of Abraham Lincoln * 18 - 1275 - The first Summer Olympic Games of the modern era begins in Athens, Greece, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence. * 24 - 1291 - The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Div (mythology)
Div or dev (Classical Persian: ; ) (with the broader meaning of demons or fiends) are monstrous creatures within Middle Eastern lore, and probably Persian origin. Their origin may lie in the Vedic deities (devas) who were later demonized in the Persian religion (see ''daeva''). Most of their images, when disseminated into the Islamic world, including Armenia, Turkic countries and Albania, assimilated with the demons and ogres of ancestral beliefs. As such they have been adapted according to the beliefs of Islamic concepts of otherworldly entities. Muslim authors often identified them with the ifrit (demons) and ''shayatin'' (devils) of their own belief-system. In Sufism they became symbols of human vices and evil urges. In folklore and legends, they are often described as having a body like that of a human, only of gigantic size, with two horns upon their heads and teeth like the tusks of a boar. Powerful, cruel and cold-hearted, they have a particular relish for the taste of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jahi
Jahi is the Avestan language name of Zoroastrianism's demoness of "lasciviousness." As a hypostatic entity, Jahi is variously interpreted as "hussy," "rake," " libertine," "courtesan" and "one who leads a licentious life." Her standard epithet is "the Whore." In Zoroastrian tradition characterized as the consort of Ahriman and the cause of the menstrual cycle. In scripture In the hymn to ''Haoma'', the devotee rejects the temptations of the "polluting whore" who "sits down devouring Haoma's sacrificial offering". In the hymn to ''Asha'', the Holy term ('' manthra spenta'') is an effective remedy against Jahi and other noxious creatures. In the hymn to Ashi (not to be confused with Asha), "Fortune" wails about how shamed she is by Jahi's improper actions. Jahi is characterized in the ''Vendidad'' as causing Ahura Mazda "the most grief". "Her gaze takes the colors away from a third of orld. It also contains an oblique reference to Jahi's cosmological role as the killer of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahuna Vairya
Ahuna Vairya (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬥𐬀⸱𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀) is the first of Zoroastrianism's four Gathic Avestan formulas. The text, which appears in ''Yasna'' 27.13, is also known after its opening words yatha ahu vairyo. In Zoroastrian tradition, the formula is also known as the ''ahun(a)war''. Numerous translations and interpretations exist, but the overall meaning of the text remains obscure. The Ahuna Vairya and '' Ashem Vohu'' (the second most sacred formula at ''Yasna'' 27.14) are together "very cryptic formulas, of a pronounced magical character." The Ahunavaiti Gatha (chapters 28-34 of the ''Yasna''), is named after the Ahuna Vairya formula. In relation to the other formulas Like the other three formulas ('' Ashem vohu'', ''Yenghe hatam'', '' Airyaman ishya''), the ''Ahuna Vairya'' is part of the Gathic canon, that is, part of the group of texts composed in the more archaic dialect of the Avestan language. Together with the other three formulas, the ''Ahu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu (; ) is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the Spenta Mainyu, the "holy/creative spirits/mentality", or directly of Ahura Mazda, the highest deity of Zoroastrianism. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman (anglicised pronunciation: ). The name can appear in English-language works as Ahrimanes. In the Avesta In Zoroaster's revelation Avestan ''angra mainyu'' "seems to have been an original conception of Zoroaster's." In the Gathas, which are the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and are attributed to Zoroaster, ''angra mainyu'' is not yet a proper name.Proper names are altogether rare in the Gathas. In these texts, even Ahura Mazda and Amesha Spenta are not yet proper names. In the one instance in these hymns where the two words appear together, the concept spoken of is that of a ''mainyu'' ("mind", "spirit" or otherwise an abstract energy etc.)The translation of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airyanem Vaejah
(; ; ; , 'the Arya Expanse') is considered in Zoroastrianism to be the homeland of the early Iranians and the place where Zarathustra received the religion from Ahura Mazda. The Avesta also names it as the first of the "sixteen perfect lands" that Ahura Mazda created for the Iranians. Based on these descriptions, modern scholarship initially focused on ''Airyanem Vaejah'' in an attempt to determine the homeland of the Iranians or Indo-Iranians in general. Among these early attempts, the region of Khwarezm emerged as a likely locale. More recent scholarship, however, no longer agrees as to where ''Airyanem Vaejah'' might have been located or to what extent it is a mythological rather than a specific historical place. Etymology and related words The Avestan and the Middle Persian are compound terms, where the first part is the adjective or genitive plural of Arya (, ; , ), respectively. This term also appears in Vedic Sanskrit as the self designation of the people of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creation Of Life From Clay
The creation of life from clay (or soil, earth, dust, or mud) appears throughout world religions and mythologies, some of the earliest occurring in the creation myths about the origin of man in the Ancient Near Eastern cosmology, cosmology of the ancient Near East. The idea occurs in both biblical cosmology and Quranic cosmology. The clay represents an unformed, chaotic material which is shaped and given form by the gods in a creative process. A related motif is the use of clay to seed or create the world. In southwest Asia, the clay-shaping was cast as a magical act. In the same way that humans would use clay to make terracotta images of their gods, so the gods moulded humans out of clay in their godlike form. They were described as obtaining this material by pinching off pieces of wet mud. The most famous example of this is in the biblical Book of Genesis (2:7), where Adam is made out of dust, an idea that appears across the Bible (Book of Job, Job 10:9; Psalms, Psalm 90:3; 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gavaevodata
Gavaevodata (') is the Avestan language name of the primordial bovine of Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology, one of Ahura Mazda's six primordial material creations and the mythological progenitor of all beneficent animal life. The primordial beast is killed in the creation myth, but from its marrow, organs and ,The precise meaning of this word in this context is unknown. It is traditionally translated as "seed", which in the sense of "prototype" carries the connotation of a particular physical form or appearance. But the word can also mean "seed" in the sense of a "race, stock", which Gavaevodata – as the primordial animal – is the apical ancestor of. the world is repopulated with animal life. The soul of the primordial bovine – ''geush urvan'' – returned to the world as the soul of livestock. Although ''geush urvan'' is an aspect of the primordial bovine in Zoroastrian tradition, and may also be that in the Younger Avesta, the relationship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zabihollah Safa
Zabihollah Safa (; May 7, 1911 in Shahmirzad, Iran – April 29, 1999 in Lübeck, Germany) was a scholar and professor emeritus of Iranian studies at the University of Tehran. His main contribution to the field of Iranian studies is seen in his seminal and comprehensive works on the history of Persian literature. He was also a regular contributor to the ''Encyclopaedia Iranica''. Education and professional life Awards Z. Safa has won several awards: a.o. Decoration (medal) for Science (1. class) (Cultural Ministry (1936), ''Nešān-e Sepās'', 1. class (1947), ''Palmes Académiques'' Rang Commandeur (French Government) (1970), ''Neshān-e Tāj'' (1977), ''Ehsan Yarshater'' prize (1997) Bibliography Persian literature * ''Hamâse-sarâyi dar Irân'', Tehran 1945 (2000) * ''Târikh-e tahawwol-e Nazm-o- Nasr-e Pârsi'', 1952 (1331), 8. ed. 1974 (1353), * ''Ayên-e sokhan. Dar ma’âni wa bayân'', Tehran 1952 (1959), 18. ed. 1994 * ''Târikh-e adabiyyât dar Irân'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
