The ''Book of Arda Viraf'' (

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

: ''Ardā Wirāz nāmag'', lit. 'Book of the Righteous Wirāz') is a Zoroastrian text written in

. It contains about 8,800 words. It describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the Wirāz of the story) through the next world. The text assumed its definitive form in the 11th-12th centuries after a series of redactions and it is probable that the story was an original product of 9th-10th century Pars.

Title

''Ardā'' (cf. aša (pronounced ''arta'') cognate with Sanskrit ''

ṛta In the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion, ''Ṛta'' (International Phonetic Alphabet, /ɹ̩t̪ɐ/; Sanskrit ' "order, rhythm, rule; truth; logos") is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the un ...

'') is an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

of Wirāz and is approximately translatable as "truthful, righteous, just." ''Wirāz'' is probably akin to

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

*''wiHro-''-, "man", cf. Persian: ''bīr''

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

: ''vīra''. Given the ambiguity inherent to Pahlavi scripts in the representing the pronunciation of certain consonants, ''Wirāz'', the name of the protagonist, may also be

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

as ''Wiraf'' or ''Viraf'', but the Avestan form is clearly ''Virāza'', which suggests that the correct reading is ''z''. ''Nāmag'' means "book".

Textual history

The date of the book is not known, but in ''The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East'', Prof. Charles Horne does not provide a definitive date for the tale. Most modern scholars simply state that the text's '' terminus ad quem'' was the 9th or 10th century. According to translator of the text, Fereydun Vahman, the origin of the story probably goes back to the 9th or 10th century and was from the Pars region. The

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English-language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...

indicates that the story of the completion of his liberation after the Islamic conquest of Persia According to Encyclopædia Iranica, the story's definitive form goes back to the 9th to 10th century:“Arda Wiraz”, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 1987, Volume II, Routledge & Kegan Paul: London & New York, p. 357.

Plot summary

Wirāz is chosen for his piety to undertake a journey to the next world in order to prove the truth of Zoroastrian beliefs, after a period when the land of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

had been troubled by the presence of confused and alien religions. He drinks a mixture of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

, mang, and Haoma, after which his soul travels to the next world. Here he is greeted by a beautiful woman named Dēn, who represents his faith and virtue. Crossing the Chinvat Bridge, he is then conducted by " Srosh, the pious and Adar, the yazad" through the "star track", "moon track" and "sun track" – places outside of heaven reserved for the virtuous who have nevertheless failed to conform to Zoroastrian rules. In heaven, Wirāz meets

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...

who shows him the souls of the blessed ('' ahlaw'', an alternate Middle Persian version of the word ''ardā''). Each person is described living an idealised version of the life he or she lived on earth, as a warrior, agriculturalist, shepherd or other profession.http://www.avesta.org/pahlavi/viraf.html Translation of the Book of Arda Viraf With his guides he then descends into hell to be shown the sufferings of the wicked. Having completed his visionary journey, Wirāz is told by

that the Zoroastrian faith is the only proper and true way of life and that it should be preserved in both prosperity and adversity.

Quotes

*They say that, once upon a time, the pious Zartosht made the religion, which he had received, current in the world; and till the completion of 300 years, the religion was in purity, and men were without doubts. But afterward, the accursed evil spirit, the wicked one, in order to make men doubtful of this religion, instigated the accursed

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

, the Rûman,Alexander the Great was called "the Roman" in Zoroastrian tradition because he came from Greek provinces which later were a part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

– ''The archeology of world religions'', by Jack Finegan, p. 80 who was dwelling in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, so that he came to the country of Iran with severe cruelty and war and devastation; he also slew the ruler of Iran, and destroyed the metropolis and empire, and made them desolate. **Introduction *Then I saw the souls of those whom serpents sting and ever devour their tongues. And I asked thus: 'What

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

was committed by those, whose soul suffers so severe a punishment?' Srosh the pious, and Adar the yazad, said, thus: 'These are the souls of those liars and irreverent r 'untruthful'speakers who, in the world, spoke much falsehood and lies and profanity. **Section 4, Hell

References

External links

;Full texts * * *