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Gayomard
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 Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian texts as ''Gayōmard'' or ''Gayōmart''. In the Avesta he is the mythological list of protoplasts, 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 Zoroastrianism, 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, ''Mashya'' and ''Mashyana'' appear as the male and female first humans; thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pishdadian Dynasty
The Pishdadian dynasty ( ) is a mythical line of primordial kings featured in Zoroastrian belief and Persian mythology. They are presented in legend as originally rulers of the world but whose realm was eventually limited to ''Ērānshahr'' or Greater Iran. Although there are scattered references to them in the Zoroastrian scriptures—the Avesta—and later Pahlavi literature, it is through the 11th-century Iranian national epic, the ''Shahnameh'', that the canonical form of their legends is known. From the 9th century, Muslim writers, notably Tabari, re-told many of the Pishdadian legends in prose histories and other works. The Pishdadian kings and the stories relating to them have no basis in historical fact, however. According to the ''Shahnameh'', the Pishdadians were the first Iranian peoples, Iranian dynasty, pre-dating the historical Achaemenids, and ruling for a period of over two thousand years. Their progenitor was Keyumars, the first human and the "Zoroastrian Adam". H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mashya And Mashyana
According to the Zoroastrian cosmogony, Mashya and Mashyana were the first man and woman whose procreation gave rise to the human race. Etymology The names are from Avestan, nominally transliterated as ' and ', but like other Avestan words also, spellings (and hence transliterations) vary from manuscript to manuscript. ' may thus also appear as ' or ' or ' (and variants). Originally and etymologically, ' means "mortal being" as Old Persian ''martya'', Persian ''mard'' and even Sanskrit ''martya'' also mean "mortal" and therefore "man". The root in Avesta and Sanskrit for death is ''mar'', ''mr'', "to die". The causative ''mâr'' means "to kill". Its derivatives ''merethyu''/''mrtyu'' means "death"; ''mareta'' and ''maretan'' means "mortal", and then "man, human being" ''mashya''. For more on the etymology of the ''aša'' and ''arta'' variants of these terms, see Avestan phonology. Attestations According to the creation myth as described in the ''Bundahishn'', Ohrmuzd's sixth c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the world's oldest organized faiths, its adherents exalt an Creator deity, uncreated, Omnibenevolence, benevolent, and List of knowledge deities#Persian mythology, all-wise deity known as Ahura Mazda (), who is hailed as the supreme being of the universe. Opposed to Ahura Mazda is Ahriman, Angra Mainyu (), who is personified as a List of death deities#Persian-Zoroastrian, destructive spirit and the adversary of all things that are good. As such, the Zoroastrian religion combines a Dualism in cosmology, dualistic cosmology of good and evil with an eschatological outlook predicting the Frashokereti, ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazda over evil. Opinions vary among scholars as to whether Zoroastrianism is monotheistic, polyth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chihrdad
The Čihrdād nask or Kitradād nask is one of the lost ''nask''s (volumes) of the Sasanian Avesta and survives only as summaries preserved in later Zoroastrian writings. The text is said to have been a history of mankind from the beginning down to the revelation of Zarathustra, and it was an important source for later works like the Šāhnāmeh of Ferdowsi. Sources The Čihrdād nask itself is lost but its structure and content can be reconstructed from references found in later Zoroastrian writings. The most important source is the Denkard, a 9th-10th century encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism. The 12th chapter of its 8th book provides a long description of its content. In addition, the Rivayats, a series of letters from the 15th - 17th century, disucss its content briefly. Structure The Čihrdād nask was part of the Sasanian Avesta, the Sasanian period collection of Avestan literature. This collection consisted of 21 ''nasks'', which were grouped into 3 divisions; Gathic, rit ... [...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] |
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] |
Daeva
A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are " gods that are (to be) rejected". This meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian "''daiva'' inscription" of the 5th century BCE. In the ''Younger Avesta'', the daevas are divinities that promote chaos and disorder. In later tradition and folklore, the ''dēw''s (Zoroastrian Middle Persian; New Persian ''div''s) are personifications of every imaginable evil. Over time, the Daeva myth as Div became integrated to Persian mythology. ''Daeva'', the Iranian language term, shares the same origin of "Deva" of Hinduism, which is a cognate with Latin deus ("god") and Greek Zeus. While the word for the Vedic spirits and the word for the Zoroastrian entities are etymologically related, their function and thematic development is altogether d ... [...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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
