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Bahram Yasht
The Bahram Yasht also known as Wahram Yasht is the fourteenth Yasht of the 21 Yasht collection. It is named after and dedicated to the praise of Verethragna, the Zoroastrian divinity representing military might and victory. Name The Bahram Yasht is named after Verethragna (, ), a term meaning the ''smasher of resistance'' and representing the Zoroastrian hypostasis of victory. It is known in Middle Persian as Wahram (, ) and Modern Persian as Bahram (, ). It is also the Persian name for Mars as well as for the 20th day of the month in the Zoroastrian calendar, on which the Bahram Yasht is celebrated. Structure and content The Bahram Yasht consists of 64 stanzas, which are further grouped into 22 sections called ''Kardas''. According to Darmesteter, the text can be divided thematically into four parts. The first part consists of stanzas 1-28. These verses contain a list of ten different forms in which Verethragna appears. These incarnations have been compared to the different A ... [...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] |
Arya (Iran)
Arya (, ; , ; , ; , ; , ) was the ethnonym used by Iranians during the early History of Iran. In contrast to cognates of Arya used by the Vedic people and Iranic steppe nomads, the term is commonly translated using the modern ethnonym Iranian. During Old Iranian times, the term was connected with one's lineage, with speaking an Iranian language and with the worship of Ahura Mazda. Being an Arya, therefore, had ethnic, linguistic and religious aspects. During the Middle Iranian period, it acquired a distinct political aspect through the concept of Eran Shahr (''Aryas' dominion''). Arya was also contrasted with Anarya (, ; , ), denoting non-Iranian lands and peoples. After the Islamic conquest of Iran, the ethnonym fell out of use, but the term Eran experienced a revival during the Iranian Renaissance, now as a toponym for Greater Iran. The modern ethnonym Iranian is a back-formation from the toponym Eran, itself a back-formation from the older Arya. Origin and deline ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Friedrich Geldner
Karl Friedrich Geldner (17 December 1852 – 5 February 1929) was a German linguist best known for his analysis and synthesis of Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit texts. Biography Geldner was born in Saalfeld, Saxe-Meiningen, where his father was a Protestant clergyman. Geldner studied Sanskrit and Avestan at the University of Leipzig in 1871 before moving to the University of Tübingen in 1872. He received a doctorate in Indological studies in 1875, and became a ''privatdozent'' following his ''habilitation'' in 1876. In 1887, Gelder moved back to the north-east, this time to Halle, where he was appointed extraordinary professor in 1890, followed by an extraordinary faculty-chairmanship at the University of Berlin a few months later. Geldner lectured in Berlin for 17 years. In 1907, he moved to the University of Marburg where he had been appointed ordinary professor. He retired from active teaching in 1921, and remained in Marburg until his death in 1929. Academic achievements G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niels Ludvig Westergaard
Niels Ludvig Westergaard (27 October 1815 – 9 September 1878) was a Danish Orientalist and professor. Biography Westergaard was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1833, he became a student at Borgerdivskolen in Copenhagen. Westergaard studied Old Norse as well as Sanskrit and continuing his studies at the University of Bonn (1838 with Christian Lassen 1800–1876), and also in London, Paris and Oxford. After returning to Denmark, he published "''Radices linguae sanscritae''". From 1841 to 1844 he journeyed throughout India and Persia, where he conducted important investigations in Bombay and at Persepolis. In 1844 he began deciphering ancient Elamite cuneiform using the 3-way parallel text of the 6th cent. BC Behistun Inscription, finding 96 syllabic signs, 16 ideograms, and 5 determinants. In 1845 he was appointed professor of Indo-Oriental philology at the University of Copenhagen. From 1867-68 he was rector of the University. Westergaard was married in 1845 to Christiane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avesta
The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Modern Edition (book), editions of the Avesta are based on the various manuscript traditions that have survived in Zoroastrianism in India, India and Zoroastrianism in Iran, Iran. The individual texts of the Avesta were originally Oral tradition, oral compositions. They were composed over a long period of several centuries during the Avestan period, Old Iranian period (possibly ranging from 15th century BCE – 4th century BCE). The written transmission began during the Sassanian empire, Sassanian period, with the creation of the Avestan alphabet. The resulting texts were then compiled into a comprehensive edition of the Sasanian Avesta, Avesta in 21 volumes. This edition was lost sometime after the 10th century CE and only a small part survi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagan Yasht
The Bagan yasht was, according to the Denkard, the fourteenth ''nask'' (volume) of the Sasanian Avesta. The work itself is lost, but based on later references, several of the extant Yashts are considered to have originally been part of the nask. Sources The nask itself is no longer extant. Some information on its content are given in Book 8 of the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism. In addition, the Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, give a short overview on the content of the Bagan yasht. Name There is some confusion regarding the name of this nask. For instance Yasna 19-21 is also sometimes called Bagan yasht, even though these parts originally belonged to the Bag nask. In the Rivayats, the name is given as ''Baḡān yašt'' and ''Bayān yašt''. In the Denkard, however, it is given as ''Baḡān yašt'' or ''Baḡān yasn''. While ''Yasht'' or ''Yasn'' is derived from Avestan ''Yaz'', to sacrifice, the term ''Bagan'' probably ... [...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] |
Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign over ancient Iran was second only to the directly preceding Arsacid dynasty of Parthia. Founded by Ardashir I, whose rise coincided with the decline of Arsacid influence in the face of both internal and external strife, the House of Sasan was highly determined to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding and consolidating the Iranian nation's dominions. Most notably, after defeating Artabanus IV of Parthia during the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224, it began competing far more zealously with the neighbouring Roman Empire than the Arsacids had, thus sparking a new phase of the Roman–Iranian Wars. This effort by Ardashir's dynasty ultimately re-established Iran as a major power of late an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indo-Iranians
The Indo-Iranian peoples, also known as Ā́rya or Aryans from their self-designation, were a group of Indo-European speaking peoples who brought the Indo-Iranian languages to parts of Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia in waves from the first part of the 2nd millennium BC onwards. They eventually branched out into the Iranian peoples and Indo-Aryan peoples. Nomenclature The term '' Aryan'' has long been used to denote the ''Indo-Iranians'', because ''Ā́rya'' was the self-designation of the ancient speakers of the Indo-Iranian languages, specifically the Iranian and the Indo-Aryan peoples, collectively known as the Indo-Iranians. Despite this, some scholars use the term Indo-Iranian to refer to this group, though the term "Aryan" remains widely used by most scholars, such as Josef Wiesehofer, Will Durant, and Jaakko Häkkinen. Population geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, in his 1994 book ''The History and Geography of Human Genes'', also uses the term Aryan to d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedic Period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation, which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain BCE. The Vedas are liturgical texts which formed the basis of the influential Brahmanical ideology, which developed in the Kuru Kingdom, a tribal union of several Indo-Aryan tribes. The Vedas contain details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period. These documents, alongside the corresponding archaeological record, allow for the evolution of the Indo-Aryan and Vedic culture to be traced and inferred. The Vedas were composed and orally transmitted with precision by speakers of an Old Indo-Aryan language who had migrated into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atharvaveda
The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), "Veda and Upanishad," in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, , page 38 The text is the fourth Veda, and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.Laurie Patton (1994), ''Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: Essays in Vedic Interpretation,'' State University of New York Press, , page 57 The language of the Atharvaveda is different from Rigvedic Sanskrit, preserving pre-Vedic Indo-European archaisms. It is a collection of 730 Music of India#History, hymns with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books.Maurice Bloomfield''The Atharvaveda'' Harvard University Press, pages 1-2 About a sixth of the Atharvaveda texts adapt verses from the Rigveda, and exce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haoma
(; Avestan: ) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and Persian mythology, mythology. has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedas, Vedic . Etymology Both Avestan and Sanskrit derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian language, proto-Indo-Iranian *. The root of the word , , and of , , suggests 'press' or 'pound'. In Old Persian cuneiform it was known as , as in the DNa inscription (c. 490 BC) which makes reference to "''haoma''-drinking Scythians" (). The Middle Persian form of the name is , which continues to be the name in Modern Persian language, Persian and other living Iranian languages (). 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 ( 10.5). * it has a plant ( 9.16). The term is only used in conjunction with a description of , and does not have an established translation. It refers to 'twigs' according to Dieter Taillieu, 'stalk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
