Avestan Texts Research Articles

Eschatologia Iranica I: From Zoroastrian Cosmos to Abbasid Madīnat al-Salām: A Journey through Utopia and Heterotopia

The history of imperial dynasties in West Asia is replete with examples of remarkable urban foundations. Two notable instances are the Sasanian Ardašīr-xwarrah and the Abbasid Madīnat al-Salām, which can be classified as cosmic cities or heterotopias. This article examines the utopian foundations of these heterotopias. To this end, it analyzes four religious and imperial spaces: the representation of the earth and sky in the Zoroastrian cosmography, Yima’s Vara according to the Avestan texts, Ardašīr-xwarrah, and finally, Madīnat al-Salām. This investigation aims to ascertain the extent to which the spatial characteristics of each of these spaces have been utilized in the production of the subsequent architectural forms. Similarly, it examines the development of the cosmological and eschatological paradise in relation to the Achaemenian and Sasanian royal gardens. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Michael Foucault’s notion of heterotopia, which has been further developed by Henri Lefebvre’s theory of space. The conceptual metaphor theory offers a cognitive linguistic foundation for elucidating the projections of utopias and heterotopias onto one another. To this end, the article focuses on the conceptual metaphor GOD IS A KING.

The Avestan ī̆šti- in Middle Persian texts

AbstractMiddle Persian translations and interpretations of Avestan texts employ the word īšt in the translation of the Avestan ī̆šti- “capability, capacity, competence”. The word became a vocabulary item in the Middle Persian corpus. It seems to be a calque of its Avestan counterpart. The Avestan ī̆šti- has presented challenges in the Avesta scholarship and is translated with words from different semantic domains. This article discusses the definition of Avestan ī̆šti- and how it is reinterpreted and understood in the Middle Persian translations. It is argued here that Av. ī̆šti- refers to “capability, capacity, and competence”. However, it is understood and interpreted in the MP texts as “wealth, property”, “remuneration”, or “reward”. It is sometimes translated to a verb form from xwāstan “desire, want”.

ZOROASTRIANISM AND AVESTA AFTER THE SASSANIDS: THE ISSUE OF SURVIVAL

Abstract. This research aims rigorously and critically examine the extant Avestan texts and the religious and cultural traditions of the Zoroastrian priests who have preserved these texts to the present day. Here, along with the analysis of information obtained from Zoroastrian sources about the Avesta and Zoroastrianism, written in the Middle Persian language in the 9th-10th centuries, their comparison with modern Zoroastrian (Parsism) traditions is one of the main objectives of the study. The attitude of European scholars to these issues from the nineteenth century onwards is also scrutinized and the reasons for the numerous discrepancies are identified. Contradictions between the religious outlook of modern Zoroastrians and the text of the Gatha are revealed and the reasons for them are discussed.

A Clarification of the Terms Dakhma and Astodān on the Basis of Literary Records and Archeological Research in Fars Province

Abstract The terms dakhma (open-air tomb) and astodān (ossuary) are often used interchangeably despite the fact that they refer to two distinct structures with different meanings in pre-Islamic Iranian burial practices. The present study explores the differences between the two structures, along with burial-related terms used by ancient Persians, by examining ancient and medieval Iranian manuscripts and by conducting a field study of surviving artifacts from ancient times. The results show that dakhma (or dakhmagāh) was a general term referring to the entire burial site and its constituent elements—as opposed to the specific astodān. Both of these structures should be differentiated from small hollowed ledges on the edges or surfaces of mountains, which were engraved as late as the early Islamic period (seventh to ninth centuries), even though the terms dakhma and astodān appear in their inscriptions. Although the latter have led some scholars to conflate the terms, the present study finds that these small stone structures and hollows are neither dakhma nor astodān, but rather served as a symbolic memorial to the departed. Furthermore, other burial-related structures in the environs of the dakhma, including mortar-shaped hollowed stones (sang-ābs) and cascade-like stone grooves (called sor-sor-e hāy-e sangi), which have received scant attention, can be traced back to Zoroastrian rituals in Avestan texts and point to the presence of a dakhma. Finally, the present field study, which explored ancient burial sites in the Marvdasht plain in Fars Province, includes unique information and details that are presented here for the first time.

The Mazdean Image of the Bird and its ‘Earthly’ Egg in Light of Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride, ch. 47, and its Later Continuations

The Avestan text of Yašt 13,2-3 preserves an archaic simile in which the earth is described as an egg brooded by a bird. This beautiful image cannot be framed within any proto- Iranian cosmological myth, so that we cannot presume a priori the existence of an ancestral description of the earth and the sky as globular or spherical. Of course, images such as the one of Yašt 13,2-3 might inspire later cosmological developments, although the inter-textual references are unclear and need a further investigation. In this respect, it is remarkably important a brief, but precise, allusion to a cosmic “egg” (ᾠόν), mentioned in a well-known book of Plutarch (De Iside et Osiride, ch. 47). This source actually introduces the image of the whole “good creation” compared with an “egg”, practically corresponding to the earth. Thus, this cosmic egg assumes a specific role within the myth of the Ahremanic extra-cosmic aggression of the world. In fact, Ahreman attacks and pierces the surface of the egg. The present doctrine could be a reflex of an earlier Avestan tradition, although not explicitly preserved, in which the eggshell represented the heavens, while the yolk corresponded to the earth. This simple cosmological architecture would have probably paved the way to some later Mazdean visualizations of the heavens, as the one contained into the Dādestān ī Mēnōg ī Xrad 44,8-11, which compares the sky, the earth, the waters and all the rest placed in between with an egg” (xāyag-dēs). In any case, a prudent approach to the sources does not allow us to assume that the early Iranian cosmology developed any special doctrine of Indo-Iranian heritage with regard to the cosmic egg, although this image assumed an interesting role in later times, but without the same emphasis attested in other ancient cultures.

The Old Avesta and Birth of Iranian Identity

ABSTRACT Zaraθuštra is known as the author of Gāθās and the founder of the ancient Iranian religion. However, his historicity, time and homeland have been matters of controversy amongst scholars throughout the ages. It is argued that the socio-cultural and archeological evidence in conjunction with available texts enables us to delimit the relatively large time span estimated for the time of the Old Avestan texts from linguistic analysis, which contextualises the Gāθās in the period of Indo-Iranian acculturation of southern Central Asia in the second quarter of the second millennium BCE. Furthermore, the evident social crisis in the Gāθās is seen as a likely reflection of the encroachment of Rig Vedic Proto-Indo-Aryan Andronovo nomads into southern Central Asia and the probable ideological motive for the Old Avestan innovations. In particular, it is argued that the peaceful sedentary lifestyle that the Gāθās envision became the impetus to attract indigenous Greater Iranians and ushered the Iranian acculturation of Greater Iran, leading to the formation of an ancient Iranian Identity, later disseminated into the Iranian plateau.

Zoroastrian ritual and exegetical traditions: the case of the Iranian Pahlavi Yasna

AbstractThe manuscripts of the Iranian Pahlavi Yasna contain two consecutive colophons, the second of which relates the story of how their common ancestor manuscript, which combines the Avestan text of the Yasna with its Pahlavi version, was created. It is argued that Rōstahm Dād-Ohrmazd produced the first Pahlavi Yasna manuscript by taking the Avestan text from one manuscript and the Pahlavi text of a manuscript by Farrbay Srōšayār. Furthermore, it is argued that Rōstahm Dād-Ohrmazd wrote this manuscript both for himself and for Mahayār Farroxzād, who was from the province of Bīšāpuhr. The manuscript of Rōstahm Dād-Ohrmazd was then copied by Māhwindād Narmāhān, who composed the second colophon. This article also discusses the first colophon as it appears in the Iranian Pahlavi Yasna manuscript T54, which differs from other manuscripts of this group as it includes a passage written by a scribe called Kāyūs. It is argued that T54 was produced by Kāyūs, who added this passage to its first colophon. Furthermore, variant readings of these two colophons in two manuscripts of the Iranian Pahlavi Yasna, which also include Kāyūs's passage, are discussed. Unlike T54, Kāyūs's passage forms a separate colophon in these two manuscripts. It is suggested the two colophons are corrected according to the mindset of their respective scribes.

History Of The Study Of The Avesta By Asian Scholars

This article is intended to show Asian researchers' research on the Avesta, as well as how the Avesta data was used in these studies. The research of these scholars is based on the use of Avestan texts, their education, Zoroastrian traditions, information about the way of life, as well as translations of works of foreign scholars. The purpose of this article is to present the scientific work of Asian scientists and their contribution to the scientific analysis of the source.

Fire, the Greatest God (ātarš … mazišta yazata)

Abstract The lack of evidence for the existence of fire temples in ancient Iran has been used as an argument for the absence of the concept of the “eternal fire” in the Avestan texts. However, a new analysis of the final section of the Long Liturgy shows that the fire was usually removed from the sacrificial area before the recitation of Yasna 62.7 and transported back to the “house of men” from which it had been taken. As such, the Long Liturgy partly appears as a functional equivalent of the bōy dādan ceremonies performed for the feeding of the fire at the fire temples in later times. This new reading of the final section of the liturgy is the result of a re-evaluation of the manuscripts, highlighting the shortcomings of previous editions of the Long Liturgy. Furthermore, the new interpretation approaches the Long Liturgy from a non Yasna-centric perspective, taking into account the Yasna as well as the Visperad (and other variants).

Sasanian Exegesis of Avestan Textile Terms

The Zoroastrian religion, taking its name from the prophet Zoroaster, Greek version of the Avestan name Zaraϑuštra, developed in South and Central Asia out of the Indo-Iranian religious practices going back to the 2nd millennium BC, and is one of the few ancient Indo-European religions that still survive, concretely in some communities in Iran, India and the diaspora. The most ancient Zoroastrian sacred texts, commonly designated as the Avesta, were orally composed and transmitted during the 2nd and 1st millennia BC in the most archaic Iranian language preserved, known as Avestan, until they were eventually put down to writing in manuscripts going back to the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. The difficulties of understanding this language, no longer spoken but still needed for the ritual recitations, motivated that several priests rendered the Avestan texts into Pahlavi, the Middle Iranian language of the Sasanian dynasty (AD 224 - 651), from which they were eventually translated into New Persian in Iran, and into Sanskrit and Gujarati in India.

Apostasy and Repentance in Early Medieval Zoroastrianism


 
 
 The Middle Persian (Pahlavi) literature from the early Islamic centuries frequently deals with practical theological issues faced by the Zoroastrian communities under foreign domination. Here, we present a number of questions regarding a Zoroastrian’s conversion to Islam and his subsequent repentance and desire to return to Zoroastrianism and answers given by ninth- and tenth-century Zoroastrian priestly authorities. It is shown how the priests cite ancient traditions found in the Pahlavi versions of Avestan texts to justify their answers, and then apply them to the contemporary social reality.
 
 

Repetition Analysis Function (ReAF) II

Abstract Up to this point, most editions of Avestan texts have been concerned with interpreting the text. Although repetitions and abbreviations were known, they were often ignored since they did not offer new insight into the understanding of the meanings of words. The present study takes the opposite approach. Ignoring the meaning of the text (at first), it tries to detect the compositional structure of the Yasna ceremony by concentrating on formal matters such as specific closing sections, frames, etc. In a second step, the content is considered in order to offer interpretations for the compositional structure. In ReAF I (Jügel 2015), information on the technical and theoretical background of the tool “Repetition Analysis Function” (ReAF) was given and textual units were identified. In ReAF II, the results of the ReAF for the Yasna ceremony as it appears in the manuscript J2 will be presented in detail. Furthermore, I will offer an interpretation of how to transfer the structural results to an analysis of the compositional structure of the Yasna. This also allows for the formulation of assumptions on the ceremonial structure.

Haṇt-andhaiθiia-in the Old Avestan Texts

AbstractThis article examines the usage and sense of hātąm ‘of beings’ and the adjective haiθiia- ‘true’, both from the present participle haṇt- ‘being’, in the Old Avestan texts. It argues that the first is a rhetorical figure that enhances the stature of its complement and does not denote any particular kind of being whether divine or mortal. haiθiia- consistently appears in contexts that may be legitimately described as eschatological. Most often it qualifies a certain type of activity that leads to or constitutes a ‘splendid’ state of existence. What truly is, the article concludes, refers to existence beyond mortal life.

Alberto Cantera (ed.). The Transmission of the Avesta

This collective volume is partly the output of a symposium held in Salamanca, September 2009, with several additional articles. Articles are written in English (18), French (4), and German (1). They are sorted into four sections: (A): “From the Oral Composition to the Writing down of the Avestan text”: Prods O. Skjaervo analyses philologically the oral composition of the Avesta by identifying “building blocks” that were used in “(re)composition in performance”. He assumes a “crystalization of...

Zur Frage ‘ewiger’ Feuer im Avesta und in der zoroastrischen Tradition

Since the works of M. Boyce, Zoroastrianism is often analyzed on the axiomatic basis of an “immense conservatism”. This position seems to be methodologically, hermeneutically and empirically unsatisfying. My research on the history of the Zoroastrian cult of fire indicates that even at the heart of Zoroastrian identity – the worship of (an eternal) fire – resides history. In the following article I try to follow, retrogradely, the historical tracks of the eternal fire in Zoroastrianism, from the New Persian Zoroastrian sources to the Young Avestan texts.

Some Remarks Regarding the aṣ̌əm vohū

This article attempts to show the eschatological horizon of the Avestan prayer aṣ̌əm vohū. Its placement in the Yasna at the threshold of the Old Avestan corpus and the virtues ascribed to it in other Avestan texts reveal its high stature in Zoroastrianism. The sense of the prayer remains obscure in its current translations. The problem is in part due to the fact that the text is syntactically defective. One must assume that the significance attributed to it in Avestan tradition is a reflection of what it says, its actual meaning. This is the guiding principle of its interpretation in this article. I critically consider the translations and interpretations of the prayer to date. Some of these are problematic even on the linguistic level. But the problem of sense remains even in those that are formally impeccable. The reason for this is that the translation reproduces the tautology that the original contains, instead of unfolding it. An attempt at unfolding the tautology can be seen in the Young Avestan exegesis of the prayer. Once the tautology is unfolded, the sense of the text becomes evident: those who support aṣ̌a (the primordial order of creation) will have their wish for a blissful afterlife in aṣ̌a (the divine sphere) fulfilled.

Accusative Subjects in Avestan: ‘Errors’ or Non-Canonically Marked Arguments?

In Avestan, recurrent idiosyncrasies, mostly attested in the Young Avesta, are found in the case marking system: one of the most frequent anomalies is the accusative used in place of the nominative. This non-canonical marking of the subject is obviously relevant both for the study of the Avestan language and for historical-comparative linguistic studies, since accusative-marked subjects are found in several ancient Indo-European languages. Despite the fact that this phenomenon is regularly mentioned by Avestan grammars, it has not been properly investigated so far, either by philologists or by linguists. It has been tacitly assumed that such anomalous accusatives are errors due to the tortuous transmission of the Avestan texts. This article reconsiders the data reported in Avestan grammars and adds further examples to the bulk of the relevant data. As a result, a new interpretation based on both a linguistic analysis and an Indo-European comparison is proposed. Thus, it is argued that the accusatives found in place of a nominative cannot be taken as trivial mistakes since their distribution obeys certain principles. On the contrary, Avestan accusative subjects represent a linguistic phenomenon, only occasionally registered in the written texts and taking place under specific semantic and pragmatic conditions.

The Syntax and Sense of theAhuna Vairiia

One may conclude from the lull in publications on the GāthicAhuna Vairiiathat a satisfactory understanding of the stanza is at hand. This is, however, not the case. The last substantial treatment of the stanza is from Humbach (1991 II) in his 1991 two-volume edition of the Old Avestan texts. Somewhat less extensive is the discussion we find in Kellens’ and Pirart's monumental three-volume edition and study of the Old Avestan texts (1991). In 1975, Insler published a detailed article on theAhuna Vairiia. The late 1950s saw the appearance of four studies of the stanza by distinguished Avesta scholars: Benveniste, Humbach, Duchesne-Guillemin and Hinz. As for the number of translations there are, it virtually equals the number of scholars in the field. The source of the difficulties is the syntax of the stanza. The disagreements are due for the most part to the scholar's analysis of syntactic units. Thus the variety of translations may be reduced to a few basic types.

Parallel Versions of Vīdēvdād 11

The Pahlavi literature of the Sasanian and post-Sasanian periods preserves not only many fragments of Pahlavi translations of lost Avestan texts, but also parallel versions of those attested in the extant Avestan manuscripts. Their differences are generally interpreted on the assumption of the existence of an underlying common Avestan text. However, the structural comparison between the Pahlavi translation of Vīdēvdād 11 in the Pahlavi text Zand ī Fragard ī Juddēwdād and its Avestan text in the Vīdēvdād Sāde and the Pahlavi Vīdēvdād manuscripts could point to the existence of two or even three different Avestan versions of the same chapter (fragard).

How Many Chapters Does the “Yasna of the Seven Chapters” Have?

This article argues that the Avestan text Yasna Haptaŋhāiti (“Yasna of the seven chapters”) was not originally divided into seven chapters. It was divided into three parts that were not considered hāitis (chapters) in the same way as the gathic hāitis. The division of the Yasna Haptaŋhāiti into seven parts and its corresponding title is based on the arrangement of the Old Avestan texts. These texts try to reproduce the structure of the prayer Ahuna Vairiia; three verses with two hemistichs each correspond to three pairs of compositions with 7, 4 four and 1 hāiti each of the Old Avestan texts.