Ahura Mazda
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Ahura (Avestan: š¬€š¬µš¬Žš¬­š¬€) is an
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 ...
designation of a type of deity inherited by Zoroastrianism from the prehistoric Indo-Iranian religion, and denotes a particular class of
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 ...
divinities. The term is assumed to be linguistically related to the
Asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...
s of Indian
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
era.


Etymology

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 ...
''ahura'' "lord" derives from
Proto-Indo-Iranian language Proto-Indo-Iranian, also called Proto-Indo-Iranic or Proto-Aryan, is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd ...
''*HƔsuras'', also attested in an Indian context as
Rigvedic The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from ą¤‹ą¤šą„, "praise" and ą¤µą„‡ą¤¦, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sÅ«ktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the ...
''
asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...
''. As suggested by the similarity to the
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
''
Ʀsir Ɔsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods in general or specifically ...
'', Indo-Iranian ''*HƔsuras'' may have an even earlier
Proto-Indo-European language 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-Eu ...
root. The ''
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ą¤‹ą¤šą„, ą¤‹ą¤šą„, "praise" and wikt:ą¤µą„‡ą¤¦, ą¤µą„‡ą¤¦, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sÅ«ktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
'' says that Asura such as the ā€œFather Asuraā€,
Varuṇa Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...
, and
Mitra ''Mitra'' (Proto-Indo-Iranian language, Proto-Indo-Iranian: wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/mitrƔs, ''*mitrƔs'') is the name of an Indo-Iranians#Religion, Indo-Iranian divinity that predates the Rigveda, Rigvedic Mitra (Hindu god), MitrƔ ...
, are ā€œolder godsā€ who originally ruled over the primeval undifferentiated Chaos. It is commonly supposed that Indo-Iranian ''*HĆ”suras'' was the proper name of a specific divinity with whom other divinities were later identified.


In scripture


Gathas

In the
Gathas The Gathas () are 17 hymns in the Avestan language from the Zoroastrian oral tradition of the Avesta. The oldest surviving text fragment dates from 1323 CE, but they are believed by scholars to have been composed before 1000 BCE and passed dow ...
, the oldest hymns of Zoroastrianism and thought to have been composed by
Zoroaster Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism ...
, followers are exhorted to pay reverence to only the ''ahura''s and to rebuff the ''daeva''s and others who act "at Lie's command". That should not, however, be construed to reflect a view of a primordial opposition. Although the ''daeva''s would, in later Zoroastrian tradition, appear as malign creatures, in the Gathas the ''daeva''s are (collectively) gods that are to be rejected. The Gathas do not specify which of the divinities other than
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 ...
are considered to be ''ahura''s but does mention other ahuras in the collective sense.


Younger Avesta

In the ''Fravaraneh'', the traditional name for the Zoroastrian credo summarized in ''
Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''
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 ...
, three divinities of the Zoroastrian pantheon are repeatedly identified as ahuric. These three are
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 ...
,
Mithra Mithra ( ; ) is an ancient Iranian deity ('' yazata'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth ( ...
, and
Apam Napat Apam Napat is a deity in the Indo-Iranian pantheon associated with water. His names in the Vedas, ''Apām Napāt'', and in Zoroastrianism, ''Apąm Napāt'', mean "child of the waters" in Sanskrit and Avestan respectively. '' Napāt'' ("grands ...
, the "Ahuric triad". Other divinities with whom the term "Ahuric" is associated include the six
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 ...
s, and (notable among the ''yazata''s)
Anahita Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" ( Aban) and hence associat ...
of the Waters and
Ashi Ashi (Avestan: š¬€š¬“š¬Œ ''aṣ̌i/arti'') is the Avestan language word for the Zoroastrian concept of "that which is attained." As the hypostasis of "reward," "recompense," or "capricious luck," ''Ashi'' is also a divinity in the Zoroastria ...
of Reward and Recompense.


See also

*
Three Pure Ones The Three Pure Ones, also translated as the Three Pure Pellucid Ones, the Three Pristine Ones, the Three Divine Teachers, the Three Clarities, or the Three Purities, are the three highest gods in the Taoist pantheon. They are regarded as pure m ...
*
Trikaya The Trikāya (, lit. "three bodies"; , ) is a fundamental Buddhist doctrine that explains the multidimensional nature of Buddhahood. As such, the Trikāya is the basic theory of Mahayana Buddhist theology of Buddhahood. This concept posits that a ...
*
Tridevi The Tridevi are a Triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity in Hinduism, joining a Triad (religious), triad of eminent goddesses either as a feminine version of the Trimurti, or as consorts of a masculine Trimurti, depending on the d ...
*
Trimurti The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...
*
Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend Ancient Iranian deities Zoroastrianism Persian words and phrases