The second month of the Avestan calendar is dedicated to ashá/arthá, and the third day of the month of Arda or Arda-vahisht “beautiful Arda,” when day and month names coincide, is the feast of Arda or ashá/arthá on or about April 22. It is a day to visit the shrines of fire and renew the hearth fire at home.

Ashá/arthá “virtue, excellence, superb artfulness,” appears more than any other Auspicious Immortals in the poetic gathas of the prophet. Auspicious Immortals are the thoughts of Ahura Mazda; his superb virtues and aspects of his genius.

Arthá- (Middle Iranian ard-), representing Ashá occurs frequently as an element in Iranian personal names such as Ardeshir or Arda Viraf.

Many Western scholars understood ashá/arthá, Vedic ṛtá– as cosmic order, moral order or “reality.” Yet, in all religions, philosophical systems, etc., the key terms have a special individual meaning that can be determined only by examining all the contexts in which those terms are attested.

The ancient commentaries are very clear that by ashá/arthá “virtue, excellence, ahüric artfulness/skill, right formulation and innovative arrangement” is meant.  ashá/arthá is thus the lord of fire and restoration, (See the hymn to the “beautiful Arda” in the Yasht collection.)

The connection between ashá/arthá and fire goes back to the poetic gathas, (See Yasna 31.3, 1^st rhymed verse line, Yasna 43. 4, 4^th rhymed verse line, Yasna 43.9, 4^th and 5^th rhymed verse lines.)

And by Fire, fire in all its manifestations is meant: from hearth and ritual fires to the sun, moon, stars (See Yasna 44.3, 3^rd rhymed verse line) and the fire of ordeal, prototype of the fiery renewal of the universe, (See Yasna 36.2, 3^rd rhymed verse line and Yasna 47.6, 4^th rhymed verse line.)

Fire is the symbol of perpetual transmutation and renewal. The fiery element is the expression of God; because it transforms a substance into another substance without being a substance itself. ashá/arthá is symbolized by fire because of fire’s transforming power.

It is this superb power to formulate/configure ever better, more artfully, and each time more brilliantly; that is called ashá/arthá in the poetic gathas. Thus we read in Yasna 44.2, 4^th rhymed verse line: of the giving/creation of arthá through the magical power (máyá) of superb spirit/mind.

In both the Rig Veda and poetic gathas; máyá is miraculous knowledge and power to transform. The ancient commentary adds: “Öhrmazd forthwith made the beautiful Ardá (ashá/arthá) the basis of all that is spiritual.”

It is the artfulness and marvelous skill of ashá/arthá that brings about the wondrous rebirth of the universe, and the creation of a new reality, (See Yasna 46.19, 1^st and 2^nd rhymed verse lines.)

The future saviors (saóshyánts-) of this world are those who bring about this new marvelous age with enterprise/actions inspired by ashá/arthá (Yasna 48.12, 1^st and 3^rd rhymed verse lines.)

The ancient commentaries of the poetic gathas and holy denkart through wordplay connect ashá to áish: “eye, ability to see and reshape the future reality,” (Compare to Sanskrit, akshi, Lithuanian akis, Old Norse auga, Gothic augo, German auge; See also Yasna 28.11, 1^st rhymed verse line and Yasna 31.13, 3^rd rhymed verse line.)

This Beautiful Ardá called arthá/ashá in the poetic gathas, is the ART to change the mundane life into life divine. It is the power to create all that the spirit has dreamed. arthá/ashá is the work of art, stamp of our visions on space and time.

ardeshir