In
Mandaeism
Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...
, Tarwan () is a section of the
World of Light
In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld () is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged.
Description
*The Great Life ('' Hayyi Rabbi'' or Supreme God/ Monad) is the ruler of the World of Ligh ...
that is typically described as a "pure land."
The "land of Tarwan" is mentioned in
Qulasta
The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection".
The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sa ...
prayers 190 and 379 and ''
Right Ginza
The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza.
Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...
'' 15.17, while "pure Tarwan" (''taruan dakita''), or sometimes "the pure land of Tarwan," is mentioned as a heavenly place in ''Right Ginza'' 15.2, 15.8, 15.16, and 16.1.
"Tarwan-Nhura" (Tarwan of Light) is mentioned in Qulasta prayers
4 and
25.
Etymology
The etymology of ''Tarwan'' is obscure. Gelbert (2005) suggests a connection with ''Parvaim'', a mythical land mentioned in
2 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Tan ...
3:6 as a source of gold.
As an uthra
Tarwan is also the name of an
uthra
An uthra or ʿutra (, Neo-Mandaic ''oṯrɔ'', traditionally transliterated ''eutra''; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated ''eutria'') is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath transl ...
who is usually mentioned together with Tar. The duo ''Tar and Tarwan'' is mentioned in prayers such as the ''
Asut Malkia
The ''Asut Malkia'' ("Salutation of Kings") is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism. In the prayer, the reciter wishes health and victory (''asuta u-zakuta'' ) upon dozens of heavenly and ancestral figures. According to E. S. Dro ...
'' (
Qulasta
The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection".
The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sa ...
prayer 105).
As an uthra, Tarwan is also mentioned in ''
Right Ginza
The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza.
Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...
'' 8.
As a heavenly tree
In ''
Alma Rišaia Rba
'' Alma Rišaia Rba'' or ''Diwan Alma Rišaia Rabbā'' (, "The Great Supreme World" or "The Great First World") is a Mandaean religious text. The text is used for Mandaean priestly initiation ceremonies. It is written as a scroll and has numerou ...
'' (DC 41), Tarwan is the name given to one of the heavenly trees.
See also
*
Mandaean cosmology
Mandaean cosmology is the Gnostic conception of the universe in the religion of Mandaeism.
Mandaean cosmology is strongly influenced by ancient near eastern cosmology broadly and Jewish, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Manichaean and other Near ...
*
Mshunia Kushta
In Mandaean cosmology, Mshunia Kushta () is a part of the World of Light considered to be the dwelling place of heavenly or ideal counterparts (''dmuta''). It is similar to Plato's concept of the hyperuranion (realm of Forms), which can be roug ...
*
Pure land
Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
in Buddhism
*
Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...
References
{{Angels in Abrahamic religions
Mandaean cosmology
Mandaic words and phrases
Conceptions of heaven
Uthras