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Yasna
Yasna (;"Yasna"
'' Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ae, ,) is the name of Zoroastrianism's principal act of worship. It is also the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts, recited during that ''yasna'' ceremony.


Overview

The function of the ''yasna'' ceremony is, very roughly described, to strengthen the orderly spiritual and material creations ...
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Yasna Haptanghaiti
The ''Yasna Haptanghaiti'' (), Avestan for "Worship in Seven Chapters," is a set of seven hymns within the greater ''Yasna'' collection, that is, within the primary liturgical texts of the Zoroastrian Avesta. Chapter and verse pointers are to ''Yasna'' 35–41. The name is from ''Yasna'' 42, a Younger Avestan text that follows the seven chapters. Age and importance While the first two verses (i.e. ''Y''. 35.1-2, ''cf.'' ) of the ''Yasna Haptanghaiti'' are in Younger Avestan, the rest of the seven hymns are in Gathic Avestan, the more archaic form of the Avestan language. That older part of the ''Yasna Haptanghaiti'' is generally considered to have been composed by the immediate disciples of Zoroaster, either during the prophet's lifetime or shortly after his death. Joanna Narten () has suggested that, like the Gathas, the hymns of the ''Yasna Haptanghaiti'' were composed by Zoroaster himself, but this hypothesis has not received a significant following from the academic community. ...
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Avesta
The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the liturgical group is the ''Yasna'', which takes its name from the Yasna ceremony, Zoroastrianism's primary act of worship, and at which the ''Yasna'' text is recited. The most important portion of the ''Yasna'' texts are the five Gathas, consisting of seventeen hymns attributed to Zoroaster himself. These hymns, together with five other short Old Avestan texts that are also part of the ''Yasna'', are in the Old (or 'Gathic') Avestan language. The remainder of the ''Yasna'''s texts are in Younger Avestan, which is not only from a later stage of the language, but also from a different geographic region. Extensions to the Yasna ceremony include the texts of the '' Vendidad'' and the '' Visperad''. The ''Visperad'' extensions consist mainly of add ...
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Haoma
''Haoma'' (; Avestan: 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and mythology. ''Haoma'' has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic ''soma''. Etymology Both Avestan ''haoma'' and Sanskrit ''soma'' derived from proto-Indo-Iranian ''*sauma''. The linguistic root of the word ''haoma'', ''hu-'', and of ''soma'', ''su-'', suggests 'press' or 'pound'. In Old Persian cuneiform it was known as 𐏃𐎢𐎶 ''hauma'', as in the DNa inscription (c. 490 BC) which makes reference to "haoma-drinking Scythians" (''Sakā haumavargā''). The Middle Persian form of the name is 𐭧𐭥𐭬 ''hōm'', which continues to be the name in Modern Persian, and other living Iranian languages (هوم). As a plant In the Avesta The physical attributes, as described in the texts of the Avesta, include: * the plant has stems, roots and branches (''Yasna'' 10.5). * it has a plant ''asu'' (''Yasna'' 9.16). The term ''asu'' is only used in ...
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Asha
Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'order' and 'right working'... For other connotations, see meaning below. It is of cardinal importance. to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, ''aṣ̌a/arta'' represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism". qtd. in  . The opposite of Avestan ''aṣ̌a'' is ''druj'', "deceit, falsehood". Its Old Persian equivalent is ''arta-''. In Middle Iranian languages the term appears as ''ard-''. The word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or "genius". of "Truth" or "Righteousness". In the Younger Avesta, this figure is more commonly referred to as Asha Vahishta (''Aṣ̌a Vahišta'', ''Arta Vahišta''), "Best Truth". The Middle Per ...
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Ab-Zohr
The Ab-Zohr (; ae, 𐬀𐬞 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬚𐬭𐬀, translit=ap-zaoθra; pal, 𐭠𐭯 𐭦𐭥𐭧𐭫, translit=ab-zohr) is the culminating rite of the greater ''Yasna'' service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the ''Yasna'' liturgy. As described in the liturgy that accompanies the procedure, the rite constitutes a symbolic offering (, ''zohr'' < , ''zaoθra'') to (''aban'' < ''apas'') in order to purify them.


Technical terms

The technical terms Middle Persian ''ab-zohr'' and ''apé zaoθra'' literally mean "offering to water" (''ab'', water; ''zohr'', offering; ''cf''
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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 ''Ahuna V ...
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Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language 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 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 (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 s ...
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Yasht
The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns in the Younger Avestan language. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. ''Yasht'' chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as ''Yt.'' Overview The word ''yasht'' derives from Middle Persian 𐭩𐭱𐭲 yašt (“prayer, worship”) probably from Avestan ''𐬫𐬀𐬱𐬙𐬀‎'' (yašta, “honored”), from ''𐬫𐬀𐬰‎'' (yaz, “to worship, honor”), from Proto-Indo-European ''*yeh₂ǵ-'' or ''*Hyaǵ-'', and several hymns of the ''Yasna'' liturgy that "venerate by praise" are—in tradition—also nominally called ''yasht''s. These "hidden" Yashts are: the ''Barsom Yasht'' (''Yasna'' 2), another '' Hom Yasht'' in ''Yasna'' 9–11, the ''Bhagan Yasht'' of ''Yasna'' 19–21, a hymn to Ashi in ''Yasna'' 52, another Sarosh ''Yasht'' in ''Yasna'' 57, the praise of the (hypostasis of) "prayer" in ''Yasna'' 58, and a hymn to the Ahurani in ''Yasna'' 68. Since these are a part of ...
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Visperad
Visperad or Visprad is either a particular Zoroastrian religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium of texts. Overview The Visperad ceremony "consists of the rituals of the Yasna, virtually unchanged, but with a liturgy extended by twenty-three supplementary sections.". These supplementary sections (''kardag'') are then – from a philological perspective – the passages that make up the Visperad collection. The standard abbreviation for ''Visperad'' chapter-verse pointers is ''Vr.'', though ''Vsp.'' may also appear in older sources. The name ''Visperad'' is a contraction of Avestan ''vispe ratavo'', with an ambiguous meaning. Subject to how ''ratu'' is translated, ''vispe ratavo'' may be translated as "(prayer to) all patrons". or "all masters" or the older and today less common "all chiefs.". or "all lords." The Visperad ceremony – in medieval Zoroastrian texts referred to as the ''Jesht-i Visperad'',. that is, "Worship th ...
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Airyaman Ishya
The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Gathic Avestan invocations. Name The prayer is named after its opening words, ''ā airyə̄mā išyō''. In present-day Zoroastrian usage, the ''airyama'' of these opening words are considered to be an invocation of the divinity '' Airyaman'', the ''yazata'' of healing. The opening words may however have originally been an appeal to "the community" (or "tribe"), which would reflect the etymologically derived meaning of ''airyaman.'' In relation to the other formulas Like the other three formulas (''Ahuna Vairya'', '' Ashem vohu'', '' Yenghe hatam''), the ''airyaman ishya'' is in Gathic Avestan. While the first three formulas are located at ''Yasna'' 27.13-27.15, immediately preceding the Gathas, the ''airyaman ishya'' - at ''Yasna'' 54.1 - provides the closure. Also unlike the first three, the theological exegesis of the ''airyaman ishya'' is not embedded in the ''Yasna'' l ...
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Sarosh
Sraosha ( ae, 𐬯𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬴𐬀 or ) is the Avestan name of the Zoroastrian ''yazata'' of "Conscience" and "Observance", which is also the literal meaning of his name. In the Middle Persian commentaries of the 9th-12th centuries, the divinity appears as pal, 𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭱, label=none'', S(a)rosh''. This form appears in many variants in New Persian as well, for example , ''Sorūsh''. Unlike many of the other Yazatas (concepts that are "worthy of adoration"), Sraosha is also frequently referred to as the "Angel of Conscience" or "Voice of Conscience", which overlaps with both of his role as the "Teacher of Daena", Daena being the hypostasis of both "Conscience" and "Religion" and Guardian/Companion over the Chinvat Bridge. In scripture In Zoroaster's revelation Sraosha is already attested in the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and believed to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. In these earliest texts, Sraosha is routinely associated with the Amesha Spe ...
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