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Bag Nask
The Bag nask is the third ''nask'' (volume) of the Sasanian Avesta. The work is no longer extant, but its content can be reconstructed from lengthy references in Book 9 of the Denkard and the parts still contained in Yasna 19-21. Sources Book 8 of the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism, as well as a number of Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, list the content of the Bag nask. In addition Book 9 of the Denkard provides a lengthy description its content. Name There is some confusion about the name of the Bag nask. On the one hand, the parts of the nask which are still extant as Yasna 19-21 are called Bagan Yasht. However, the name is also applied to the Bagan yasht; the 14. nask of the Sasanian Avesta. The latter seems to have contained a number of Yashts, in particular Yt. 5-19. According to Skjaervo, the Middle Persian ''bagān'' of nask 14 is the plural of ''bag'', from Avestan ''bag''. On the other hand, the Bagan of Yasna 19- ... [...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] |
Yenghe Hatam
The Yenghe hatam (Avestan: 𐬫𐬈𐬣𐬵𐬉⸱𐬵𐬁𐬙𐬅𐬨) is one of the four major Mantra (Zoroastrianism), manthras, and one of the most important Zoroastrian prayer, prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is interpreted as a call to pray specifically to the Amesha Spenta, Amesha Spentas, or generally to all Zoroastrian yazata, divinities. Jointly with the ''Ahuna Vairya, Ahuna vairya'', the ''Ashem Vohu, Ashem vohu'', and the ''Airyaman ishya''; the Yenghe hatam forms the four manthras that enclose the Gathas in the Yasna and form the linguistically oldest part of the Avesta. It is furthermore found throughout many other parts of the Avesta, where it often marks the transition from one portion of the text to the next. Text and interpretation The Yenghe hatam reads as follows A Middle Persian, Pahlavi and Parsis, Parsi Avestan translation would be: Starting with the early exegesis of the Yenghe hatam in the Avestan period, Young Avestan period, the ''beings'' (hātą ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airyaman Ishya
The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Gathic Avestan manthras, and one of the most important prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is assumed to be a call toward the community or its hypostasis '' Airyaman''. 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 manthras Like the other three manthras (''Ahuna Vairya'', '' Ashem vohu'', ''Yenghe hatam''), the ''airyaman ishya'' is in Gathic Avestan. While the first three manthras are placed at ''Yasna'' 27.13-27.15, immediately preceding the Gathas, the ''airyaman ishya'' - at ''Yasna'' 54.1 - pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yasht
A Yasht (, ) is a hymn of praise composed in the Young Avestan language and dedicated to specific Zoroastrian divinities. The term commonly applies to the collection of 21 Yashts, although it may also refer to other texts within the wider Avesta collection. Name The English word ''yasht'' is derived from Middle Persian 𐭩𐭱𐭲 (, "prayer, worship"). In the Pahlavi literature, the word is used interchangeably with ''yasn''. Yasht probably originated from Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬱𐬙𐬀 (, "honored") from 𐬫𐬀𐬰 (, "to worship, honor"). It may ultimately go back to Proto-Indo-European ''*yeh₂ǵ-'' or ''*Hyaǵ-''. Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬱𐬙𐬀 is also the origin of two other terms. First, Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬯𐬥𐬀 (, act of worship), which is a general Zoroastrian term for an act of worship or specifically the Yasna ritual, and, second, Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀 (, (being) worthy of worship), which is a general Zoroastrian term for divinity. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gatha (Zoroaster)
The Gathas () are 17 hymns in the Avestan language from the Zoroastrian oral tradition of the Avesta. The oldest surviving text fragment dates from 1323 CE, but they are believed by scholars to have been composed before 1000 BCE and passed down orally for centuries. They are traditionally believed to have been composed by the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. They form the core of the Zoroastrian liturgy (the Yasna). They are arranged in five different modes or metres. The Avestan term ' (𐬔𐬁𐬚𐬁 "hymn", but also "mode, metre") is cognate with Sanskrit '' gāthā'' (गाथा), both from the Proto-Indo-Iranian word ''*gaHtʰáH'', from the root ''*gaH-'' "to sing". Structure and organization The Gathas are in verse, metrical in the nature of ancient Iranian religious poetry, that is extremely terse. The 17 hymns of the Gathas consist of 238 stanzas, of about 1300 lines or 6000 words in total. They were later incorporated into the 72-chapter ''Yasna'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staota Yesnya
The Staota Yesnya (, ''Sacrificial Eulogy''), also known as Stod Yasn, refers to the editorial arrangement of the central liturgical texts of Zoroastrianism. It contains all Old Avestan texts like the Gathas and the Yasna Haptanghaiti and may have been the original liturgy of the early Zoroastrian community. In the Sasanian Avesta, which is now lost, the Staota Yesnya formed the Stod Yasn nask. In the extant Avesta, it is preserved in the Yasna and Visperad manuscripts and forms the central part of the respective liturgies. Name The ''Staota Yesnya'' is called in Middle Persian sources ''Stod Yasn'' (in the Denkard) and ''Stod Yasht'' (in the Rivayats). The fist part of the term is derived from Avestan 𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬋𐬙𐬀𐬭 (staōtar, ''praiser'', ''laudator''), whereas the second term is connected to Avestan 𐬪𐬈𐬯𐬦𐬌𐬌𐬀 (ẏesńiia, ''worthy of sacrifice''). The name can therefore be translated as ''Sacrificial Eulogy'' or ''Praise Ritual''. In the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pahlavi Scripts
Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty * Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire * Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 ** Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of Persia from 1925 to 1941 ** Hamdamsaltaneh Pahlavi (1903–1992), first child and daughter of Reza Shah ** Shams Pahlavi (1917–1996), elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ** Ashraf Pahlavi (1919–2016), twin sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi **Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979 ** Ali Reza Pahlavi I (1922–1954), brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, second son of Reza Shah ** Gholamreza Pahlavi (1923–2017), half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, last living child of Reza Shah ** Abdul Reza Pahlavi (1924–2004), half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ** Fatimeh Pahlavi (1928–1987), Reza Shah's tenth child and half-sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. ** Hamid Reza Pahlavi (1932–1992), Reza Shah's elevent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zend
Zend or Zand () is a Zoroastrian term for Middle Persian or Pahlavi versions and commentaries of Avestan texts. These translations were produced in the late Sasanian period. ''Zand'' glosses and commentaries exist in several languages, including in the Avestan language itself. These Avestan language exegeses sometimes accompany the original text being commented upon, but are more often elsewhere in the canon. An example of exegesis in the Avestan language itself includes '' Yasna'' 19–21, which is a set of three Younger Avestan commentaries on the three Gathic Avestan 'high prayers' of ''Yasna'' 27. ''Zand'' also appears to have once existed in a variety of Middle Iranian languages, but of these Middle Iranian commentaries, the Middle Persian ''zand'' is the only one to survive fully, and is for this reason regarded as 'the' ''zand''. With the notable exception of the '' Yashts'', almost all surviving Avestan texts have their Middle Persian ''zand'', which in some manuscripts a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward William West
Edward William West (1824-1905), usually styled E. W. West, was a scholarly English engineer, orientalist, and translator of Zoroastrian texts. He was educated at King's College London. He prepared five volumes of Pahlavi texts (the ''Marvels of Zoroastrianism'') for Prof. Max Müller's monumental Sacred Books of the East The ''Sacred Books of the East'' is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts ... series, published from the years 1880 to 1897. References * 1824 births 1905 deaths Alumni of King's College London English Indologists Zoroastrian studies scholars {{UK-engineer-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warshtmansr Nask
The Warshtmansr nask or Varshtmansr nask is the second ''nask'' (volume) of the Sasanian Avesta. Like most other nasks, it is no longer extant, but its content can be reconstructed from references in later Pahlavi writings and the parts still contained in the extant Avesta. Sources The 8th book of the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism, as well as a number of Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, list the content of the nask. In addition the 9th book of the Denkard provides a lengthy description its content. Name In the Persian Rivayats, the Warshtmansr nask is called ''Wahišta-mānsar'', meaning the best manthra. Modern scholarship agrees with the derivation of Middle Persian ''Mānsar'' from Avestan ''manthra'', but regards the derivation of ''Warsht'' from ''vahištah'' (best) as erroneous. For instance, Edward William West translates it as "used as spells, or employed as liturgy". On the other hand, Vevaina derives ''Warsht ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sudgar Nask
The Sudgar nask is the first ''nask'' (volume) of the Sasanian Avesta. Like most other nasks, it is no longer extant, but its content can be reconstructed from references in later Pahlavi writings and the parts still contained in the extant Avesta. Sources The 8th book of the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism, as well as a number of Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, list its content. In addition the 9th book of the Denkard provides a lengthy description its content. As a result, its original form can be reconstructed with some degree of certainty. Name The work is called ''Studgar'' and ''Istudgar'' in the Rivayats. Both are considered corruptions of Sudgar. Its name has been interpreted as meaning ''benefit-making''. There is no consensus on a possible connection between this name and its content. For example, Vevaina has opined that it is derived from its eschatological content. Structure The Sasanian Avesta was organized in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manthra (Zoroastrianism)
A or (, ) is a prayer, sacred formula or inspired utterance considered in Zoroastrianism to have spiritual power. Their use already goes back to Zarathustra who described himself in his Gathas as a knower of manthras. Zoroastrian manthras are etymologically and functionally related to the mantras known from the Indian tradition. However, they are not derived from Vedic mantras, but represent an independent, parallel development. Etymology Both Avestan 𐬨𐬄𐬚𐬭𐬀 () and Vedic मन्त्र () go back to a common, Proto-Indo-Iranian *mantram, which in turn is derived from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European verb *men (to think) and the instrumental suffix *-trom. By combining verb and suffix, the word *mantram, therefore, acquires the meaning ''instrument of thinking''. Within the context of Zoroastrianism, the Avestan term is commonly transliterated into Latin script as manthra or mantra, while some use the phonetic transliteration . Yet this is not uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
