Avestan language
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and was originally spoken during the Old Iranian period ( – 400 BCE) by the Iranians living in the eastern p ...
name of a
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...
concept, later considered to be the embodiment of prayer, and ultimately (also) as a divinity, one of the ''yazata''s.
''Dahman Afrin'' in its true sense literally translates to 'devout blessing(s)', and the divinity ''Dahman'' is the active principle and hypostasis of the Gathic Avestan ''Dahma Afriti'' invocation (''Yasna'' 60.2-7). ''Yasna'' 61 also refers to the prayer as ''Dahma Vangui Afriti'' and considers it to be the fourth most potent incantation. The prayer is invoked as a blessing upon the house of the ''
ashavan
Ashavan (Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬀𐬬𐬀𐬥 ''ašavan'') is a Zoroastrian theological term. It literally means "possessing/mastering '' aša''" and has been interpreted as "possessing/mastering truth" or "possessing/mastering righteousness", but ha ...
'', which may be translated as 'just' or 'true' man. The concept has its origin in the more ancient Indo Iranian religion and is similar to Vedic concept of Dharma
In Zoroastrian tradition, the divinity ''Dahman'' appears as
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 ...
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 ...
's reward for a cure for disease (''
Vendidad
The Vendidad /ˈvendi'dæd/, also known as Videvdat, Videvdad or Juddēvdād, is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the ''Vendidad'' is an ecclesiastical code, not a ...
'' 22.5). It is also the payment a priest may give for medicinal services rendered unto him (''Vendidad'' 7.41, 9.37), which – a ''Zend'' commentary explains - is more valuable than any other form of payment.
As the essence of the just man, ''dahman'' was eventually personified as the divinity ''Dahman Afrin'', or just ''Dahman''. As a divinity, ''Dahman'' only appears thrice in the surviving texts of the
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. Mod ...
(once in ''Siroza'' 33, and once each in fragments P31 and P32) and once in a ''Zend'' translation of the lost ''Sudgar Nask''.
In tradition
In addition, ''Dahman'' appears several times in the ''
Denkard
The ''Dēnkard'' or ''Dēnkart'' (Middle Persian: 𐭣𐭩𐭭𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭲 "Acts of Religion") is a 10th-century compendium of Zoroastrian beliefs and customs during the time. The ''Denkard'' has been called an "Encyclopedia of Mazdaism" an ...
'', as the greatest saviour from the ''daeva''s (815.4-815.8), a description also provided by the ''Shayest ne shayest'' supplementary (13.43). A Sassanid era commentary on ''Siroza'' 33 notes that property acquired honestly is protected by ''Dahman Afrin''.
Boyce (1982) suggests that ''Dahman'' may once have had a dedication of the twenty-third day of the month of the
Zoroastrian calendar
Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for Zoroastrian festivals, liturgical purposes. Those all derive from Middle Ages, medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately are based on the Babylonian calendar a ...
, but was displaced when three additional days were assigned to
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 ...
. Dahman continues to be invoked with ''Apam Napat'' (middle Persian: '' Burz Yazad'') and ''Haoma'' ('' Hom'') together with ''Anagra Raoca'' (''Aneran''), the divinity of the thirtieth day of the month.
In Zoroastrian cosmogony, Dahman was created though, and is associated with, the
Amesha Spenta
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the ter ...
''Shahrevar'' (Avestan: ''Kshathra airya'), the guardian of metals and minerals. (''Bundahishn'' 3.16)
Dahman also plays a role as the ''yazata'' who receives the souls of the just/pious at sunrise on the fourth day after death. In that ''Afringan'' ('ritual of blessing'), ''Dahman'' is summoned to accept the soul of the deceased from '' Sarosh'' (under whose care it had remained for the previous four days) and accompany it until the soul's
Fravashi
Fravashi (, ) is the Avestan term for the Zoroastrian concept of a personal spirit of an individual, whether dead, living, or yet-unborn. The ''fravashi'' of an individual sends out the ''urvan'' (often translated as ' soul') into the material wo ...
is united with it. (Dhalla, 1938)
Beyond these references, ''Dahman Afrin'' is of no great significance in modern Zoroastrianism, and is overshadowed by ''Sarosh'', with whom Dahman is frequently associated. There is no ''
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 Avest ...
'' dedicated to ''Dahman'', but it has been suggested that the divinity of prayer was once important to the Zoroastrian priesthood. (Boyce, 1993b)
Unlike most other ''yazata''s, ''Dahman'' is a purely
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...
concept, with no pre-Zoroastrian equivalent, and was not inherited as an entity by later Persian mythology.