Authentic Gatha Zoroastrianism

April the 8^th marks the Zoroastrian All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day. On this festival as well as the 10 days prior to the Vernal Equinox are the days of prayer for the departed, particularly but not exclusively one’s relatives. The celebration of All Souls’ Day is fused with All Saints’ Day in Zoroastrianism for April 8^th is a day of celebration of the fravashís.

Fravashí is Ahúrá Mazdá’s pristine word/wisdom in the manifestation of the universe. It predates logos and most likely has influenced the idea of logos among the ancient Greeks. I shall add that logos is unknown in the first three Christian gospels.

Fravashí is composed of 2 parts. Fra means “first, foremost” and vashí appears sometimes as a variation of vac (voice/word) in parts of the poetic gathas. (See Yasna 44. 3^rd rhymed verse line, vashyætæ daæná, “putting into voice/words the vision.”)

The term fra-vaxshyá or “pristine word/wisdom” appears in the 2nd rhymed verse line of Yasna 44.6,2nd and the 1st rhymed verse lines of Yasna 45.1, 45.2, 45.3, 45.4, 45.5, 45.6. Also, in Yasna 34.12, 2nd rhymed verse line and Yasna 46.7, 5th rhymed verse line we have fra-vaóchá in the sense of the “foremost word, saying, wisdom, revelation.”

Furthermore, vaxshyá in the 1st rhymed verse lines of Yasna 30.1, 46.15, and 51.8 refers to “saying, disclosure of knowledge, wisdom.

By a beautiful word play, vaxshyá or “creative voice/word” is connected to “vakhsh,” to increase, grow, compare with Old Norse vaxa, German wachsen, “to grow, increase.” The concept of sacred words/formulas causing growth is demonstrated for example in Yasna 10.5.

Also “vashi” through poetic word play could be derived from vash, “wish, desire” or var “will power; power to choose.”

Farvaretá appears in Yasna 31.1, 1st rhymed verse line in the sense of pristine will/foremost desire for a steward of the creation who is flourishing, increasing the worlds. Also from the same root we have fraóret or pristine will/foremost desire in Yasna 30.5, 3 rd rhymed verse line, in choosing the God of Wisdom, Goodness and Genius through enterprise. And in Yasna 53.2, 2nd rhymed verse line, fraóret is the pristine will/foremost desire to unite/yoke with the wondrous powers of the God of Wisdom, Goodness and Genius.

In Yasna 46.4, 2nd rhymed verse line the term fróretöish is “moving forward, advancing” of the world of the living and the animal creation.

Gathic poetry like the rest of the ancient Aryan poetry abounds with masterful wordplay. Prophet Zarathushtra was quiet adept at sound-based word play as an art of reinforcing layers of meaning. The importance of poetic word play in the gathas is greatly emphasized in the holy denkart.

Thus, fravashí is the creative word/wisdom/formula in the creation and manifestation of the worlds. It is the link between the ideal and the world’s evolution and progress toward that ideal.

Hence, fravashí or “the first creative formula/word” is said to be a reminder of each creature’s purpose in existence/life, or its Guardian Angel.

The symbol of the winged sun disc IS THOUGHT TO represent a Fravashi or Fravahar. However, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the entire Zoroastrian sacred lore that connects the idea of fravashí to the winged sun disc. There is NO physical description of the fravashis in the Avesta, and in Avestan the fravashis (the pristine creative wisdom/word are grammatically feminine.

The symbol of the winged sun disc first appeared in the Achaemenid period on royal inscriptions. It is clearly an artistic borrowing from the Assyrian.

In ancient Proto Iranian art, an eagle is often added to the sun wheel. The idea of the Sun wheel is original to the ancient Aryans as seen in the Proto Slavic Svaróg. In the Achaemenid art the sun wheel is mingled with the Assyrian sun disk, and divine flames are emanating from or surrounding the human form.

ardeshir

The 13^th day of spring is a most lucky day in the Zoroastrian calendar. It is associated with the brightest star in the sky, the star of good fortune, Tishtar.

Tishtar is called Tir in Persian. The Yasht or adoration/hymn dedicated to Tishtar is associated with heroic glory, the greatest Aryan hero archer and hitting the mark/target. A comparison with the Norse rune Tÿr or the rune of victory appears to be suitable.

It is the tradition to go picnicking outdoors on the 13^th day of spring, the sprouted grass and colored eggs are left by a stream, and by tying blades of grass together, a wish to untie personal difficulties is made.

The rites of spring emphasize the sacredness of nature among the ancient Aryan Zoroastrians. We read in the 15^th chapter of “sháyæst na sháyæst that:

It is revealed by a passage of the Avesta (unknown, hidden wisdom/knowledge) that Zartósht, always wanted vać voice/word of knowledge from ahúrá mazdá; Zartósht inquired of ahúrá mazdá how do I grasp your mighty hand?

ahúrá mazdá replied thus: ‘I am an intangible, invisible spirit/mind; it is not possible to grasp my hand, ruler-ship or mastery.

Zartósht spoke thus: You are invisible and so are your sacred, auspicious powers, but how do I adore/worship you when I depart from thy presence, and do not see you nor your sacred, auspicious powers?

ahúrá mazdá said thus: Each of my sacred powers has created their own unique creation, by means of which they may become incarnate in the world.

In the world that which is mine, who am ahúrá mazdá is the luminous will power, the virtuous thinking being,

of Vohü-manö are intuitive wisdom of the animals,

of arthá vahish is the brilliance of fire,

of khshathr-var is the precious metals,

of speñtá-ár-maiti (auspicious flow of thoughts/meditation) are the sacred earth/space and good woman,

of Haúr-va-tát (healing) is the pure waters,

and of Ameretát (immortality) is the verdure, growth and trees.

Whoever has learned the care of all these seven sacred powers, his soul never comes into the possession of Ahriman (the afflicted spirit/mind) and the demons; when he/she has exercised his/her care of them, he has exercised his care of the seven sacred powers of mine, and ought to teach all mankind in the world.

Whoever wishes to propitiate the virtuous thinking being in the physical world, wishes to promote the things of ahúrá mazdá; it is necessary that he/she should propitiate the luminous will power, the virtuous thinking being (virtuous man) and should act for his/her happiness, and afford him/her protection from the vile.

Since the luminous will power, the virtuous thinking being (virtuous man) is a counterpart of ahúrá mazdá, the lord, and whoever propitiates the virtuous thinking being, his/her fame and welfare exist a long time in the world, and the splendor of ahúrá mazdá and pleasure and joy become his own in Vahisht (realm of wonders, heaven).

Whoever wishes to propitiate Vohü-manö in the world, he/she should propitiate, at every place and time, the beneficial animals, act for their happiness; and in the terrible days and the hurried times which befall them, he should afford them protection from the oppressive and idle.

He/she should not give them as a sacrificial offering to a wicked tyrant, but should keep them in a pleasant place during winter and summer. He/She should not drive them apart from their young, and should not put the young apart from their milk.

Since the intuitive wisdom and beneficence of the animals is the counterpart of Vohü-manö in the world.

Whoever wishes to propitiate Arthá vahisht in the world, he/she should propitiate the brilliant fire and should act for its happiness; he/she should not put upon it wood, incense, and holy-water which are stolen and extorted, and he/she should not cook with it a blessing or food which is violently extorted. For fire and luminosity is the counterpart of arthá vahisht in the world.

Whoever wishes to propitiate Khshathr-var in the world, he/she should propitiate melted metal at every place and time. And the propitiation of melted metal is this, that he/she shall practice habits (aiyinö) of the heart so unsullied and pure that, when they shall drop melted metal upon it, it does not burn. And one should not commit sin with metal, and should not give gold and silver to the vile. 19. For it is a counterpart of Khshathr-var in the world.

Whoever wishes to propitiate speñtá-ár-maiti (auspicious flow of thoughts/meditation) he/she should propitiate, at every place and time, the good earth and virtuous woman, in whatever has happened and in whatever occurs, and should act for their happiness. And speñtá-ár-maiti (auspicious flow of thoughts/meditation) happiness arises from that place when they shall perform tillage and cultivation on it, and good offspring are born upon it, and they rear cattle upon it.

Whoever wishes to propitiate Healing Haúr-va-tát and Immortality Ameretát in the world, he/she should propitiate, at every place and time, the pure waters and trees. And he/she should not bring bodily refuse (hikhar), dead matter (nasú, greek necro), or any other pollution to water; he should not destroy vegetation/trees unlawfully, and should not give fruit to the idle and vile. Since they are counterparts of Healing and Immortality themselves, the waters and trees.

Ahúrá Mazdá said this to Zartósht, namely: ‘My will and pleasure is that the observance and propitiation of these seven sacred powers as I have told you; so that men may commit no sin against them and the splendor of Ahúrá Mazdá thus become their own in Vahisht (the relam of wonders/heaven)

Completed in peace, pleasure, and joy

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The Aryan origin of most Iranians, Darius Great’s Inscription and the propaganda movie 300

A Great god (Ancient Persian baga, Slavic bóg, God) is Ahúrá Mazdá, (baga vazraka Aúra-mazda)

Who created/gifted (a-da) this earth, who created/gifted this sky

(hya imam búmim ada hya avam asmanam)

Who created (a-da “gave, created) mortal man (martiya), who created brilliant happiness for mortal man

(ada hya martiyam ada hya shiyatim ada martiyahya  ada hya martiyam ada hya)

Who made Darius the ruler/king,

(hya Dáraya-vaum xshayath-iyam a-kun-aúsh)

The One ruler/king among plentitude or many

(aivam parúvnám xshayath-iyam)

The One chief commander, the ruler among plentitude or many rulers

(aivam parúvnám framátáram)

I am (ad-am) Darius, the Great king, ruler/king over kings, king of all the lands, king of this great clime, far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid, a Persian, son of a Persian, AN ARYAN, FROM THE ARYAN KINSFOLK

(ad-am Dáraya-vaush, xshayath-iya vazraka,xshayath-iya xshayath-iya-nám,xshayath-iya dahyú-nám vispa-zanánám¹¹ xshayath-iya ahyaya búmiya vazrakaya,dúra-iapiy, Vishtasp-ahya púcha, haxa-manishiya, pársa pársahya pucha, ARIYA ARIYA-CICHA)

Out of 10 Ancient Iranian human male remains assigned to the Andronovo horizon from the greater Khorasan in the northeast of Greater Airan/Iran, 9 possessed the distinct Aryan R1a Y-chromosome haplogroup. (That is the ancient Iranian/Aryan marker R1a predominates in Andronovo samples)

mtDNA haplogroups of nine individuals assigned to the same Andronovo horizon and region were as follows: U4 (2 individuals), U2e, U5a1, Z, T1, T4, H, and K2b.

The study determined that at least 2/3 of the individuals overall (out of the 26 Bronze and Iron Age human remains’ samples of the study that could be tested) had light hair and grey or blue, green eyes.

(An average of 8% to 9% percent of Present day Iranians have light colored eyes in the urban areas and about 15% of the Present day Iranians in the rural mountainous areas have light colored eyes.)

Today, R-M17 can be found in most parts of Western Asia, in widely varying concentrations, from almost NO presence in areas such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to much higher levels in Kurdish parts of Iraq, Eastern Turkey and Iran.

Wells 2001, noted that in the western part of the country, Iranians show lower R-M17 levels (an average of 15%,) while males of eastern parts of Iran carried up to 35% R-M17.

Nasidze 2004 found R-M17 in approximately 20% of Iranian males from the cities of Tehran and Isfahan. Regueiro 2006 in a study of Iran noted much higher frequencies of R1a among the population.

R-M17 is found in extremely high frequencies among ancient Iranian Tajik populations of Central Asia, especially in the mountainous badakhshan region and the towering Pamir ranges.

The highest R1a1 frequencies are detected in the Central Asian populations of Ishkashemi Tajiks (68%) and Pamiri Tajiks (64%), both groups being remnants of the original Eastern Iranian population of the region. Apart from these two groups, high frequencies of R1a1 are also found in Pashtuns (44.8%) and eastern parts of the Iranian Highlands up to frequencies of 35%, similar to Northern India.

In Europe, the R-M17 sub-clade, is found at highest levels among peoples of Eastern European descent (Poles, Russians and Ukrainians; 50 to 65%) (Balanovsky 2008, Behar 2003, and Semino 2000).

In the Baltic countries R-M17 frequencies decrease from Lithuania (45%) to Estonia (around 30%) (Kasperaviciūte 2005).

There is a significant presence in peoples of Scandinavian descent, with highest levels in Norway and Iceland, where between 20 and 30% of men are in R-M17 (Bowden 2008 and (Dupuy 2005).

Vikings and Normans may have also carried the R-M17 lineage westward; accounting for at least part of the small presence in the British Isles (Passarino 2002 and Capelli 2003).

In East Germany, where Haplogroup R-M17 reaches a peak frequency in Rostock at a percentage of 31.3%, it averages between 20%-30% (Kayser 2005).

In Southern Europe R-M17 is not common, for example only 10% in Albania Kosovo and most parts of Greece (Pericić 2005, Rosser 2000 and Semino 2000).

Yet, in the neocon propaganda movie 300, the only three speaking Persian leaders are prominently portrayed not as Persians, but as Nubians.

In the battle scenes Ancient Aryan Iranian fighters are dressed in uniforms that one would expect from the Arab world or Al Qaida. The filmmakers are eager to identify the Persians in the film to be associated with Arab terrorists and Muslim extremists, with head garments bearing similarity to every video of Al Qaida terrorist training camps.

Historical evidence suggests that the Persian army dressed very similarly to the Greeks. Furthermore, the ancient Iranians were Not Muslims, but Aryan ZOROASTRIANS and in fact were very religiously tolerant.

Finally, we get a view of Xerxes. The only thing the movie accurately portrayed about Xerxes was his height, for historians think he was close to seven feet tall.

Surviving art shows him with a full head of hair, long beard, sporting a very regal, European countenance.

In 300, Xerxes is portrayed as a weird, baldheaded, transvestite type complete with earrings, ostentatious jewelry, and heavy eye-lashes and eye-shadow makeup. In Xerxes’ court there are various expressions of bestiality, and perverted sex with deformed human beings.

The truth is while NOT all present day Iranians are of Aryan ancestry, still a significant portion of present day Iranians are of unmistakable Aryan descent. Even today a good number of Iranians are indistinguishable from many Europeans.

The manipulation of truth, distortion of historical facts, science and/or media, in service of political agendas is a reality and has been so for ages. Many so-called academicians today are in the service of political agendas.

The genetic research of mr maziar ashrafian bonab fits entirely in the above category.

Mr maziar asharfian bonab’s theory is badly outdated and merely repeats the discredited views made by Dr Wells back in 2001. Dr Wells fashioned a a highly controversial and hereto unprecedented theory concerning the non-Aryan or non ancient Indo-Iranian origins of the present day Iranian populations based on extremely limited population samples. Dr Wells views has since fallen into disrepute. Even at the time Wells fabricated his theory, it was contradicted by genetic studies conducted by Cavalli-Sforza, Wells’ own teacher, who has revealed that present day Iranians have weak correlation with Near Eastern groups, and are closer to surrounding Indo-Europeans speaking populations.

But mr maziar ashrafian bonab is trying to advance/resurrect the defunct theories of dr wells. The theory basically says that the present day Iranians are merely Middle Easterners (related to ancient Middle Eastern groups like the Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Amorites, etc. and other Semites of Mesopotamia) who borrowed their language from the unrelated ancient Indo-Iranians or ancient Aryans.

Like Dr Wells before him, mr maziar ashrafian bonab’s ideologically driven theory conveniently ignores the preponderance of R1a genetic marker among present day Iranian populations and/or the overall autosomal DNA of the Iranians. (The R1a or the ancient Iranian-Aryan distinct genetic marker is regularly found at frequencies of greater than 15% across Iran, and reaches frequencies of 35% or much higher in the eastern parts of the country. The highest R1a1 frequencies are detected in the Central Asian populations of Ishkashemi Tajiks (68%) and Pamiri Tajiks (64%), both groups being remnants of the original Eastern Iranian population of the region. Apart from these two groups, high frequencies of R1a1 are also found in Pashtuns (44.8%) and eastern parts of the Iranian Highlands up to frequencies of 35%, similar to Northern India.)

Furthermore, linguistic and archeological evidence proves that the Aryans of ancient Iran shared almost nothing in common with the Semites, neither in language nor culture. Infact the flow of culture that began Mesopotamian civilization was from the regions near the Zagros to the Near East, intruding into the aboriginal cultures of those regions. So in the past, Middle Easterners and ancient Iranians were very different people.

In addition, modern populations of the southern Middle East (especially Arabic speaking ones) have a higher frequency of the haplogroup J1, whereas the great majority of Haplogroup J representatives among the populations of the Northern Middle East, southern Europe, Iran and India belong to the subclade J2a. Haplogroup J2a-M410 in India is largely confined to the upper castes with little occurrence in the middle and lower castes and is completely absent from south Indian tribes and middle and lower castes.

This suggests that, if the occurrence of Haplogroup J2a among modern populations of southern Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia does reflect Neolithic demic diffusion from the Middle East, the source population is more likely to have originated from Anatolia, the Levant or northern Mesopotamia than from regions further south into the arabian peninsula and southern Iraq.

In other words, J2a marker which is found in an average frequency of 25% in Iran would be mainly an Indo-Ayran marker, i.e. those Indo-European people of western Asia. This also works for southern Europeans including Greeks and Italian people.

Compared to the Indo-Aryan J2a marker associated with the ancient Hittites, Mitanni and other Indo-European Anatolian populations, the occurrence of the Semite/South Mesopotamian genetic marker J1 is 40.1% in saudi arabia, 58.3% in Qatar, 72.6% in Yemen, 38.0% in Oman, 34.8% in UAE, 33.3% in Kuwait and only between 9% to 11% in Iran.

However, mr ashrafian bonab claims in essence that the present day Iranians descent from the South Mesopotamian populations and share the same ancestry with the marsh shia arabs of Iraq. It should be added that some later shia hadiths put ajam (a derogatory arab term for Iranians) and the people of kufah in southern Iraq, who refused to help the 3rd shia Martyred Imam Hussein, at the same ancestry.

Remarkably, mr maziar ashrafian bonab also claims that almost ALL the seyyeds in Iran or those who claim descent from the Prophet of Islam seem to share the same south Mesopotamian distinct genetic marker of J1c3d. Over 6 million ppl in Iran alone claim the seyyed ancestry.

Yet, genetic studies in Northern India and other non arab lands has shown that only 11% of the supposed seyyeds share southern Mesopotamian/Semite J1c3d genetic marker. Another 18 percent share the genetic markers J2 which is associated with Indo-Europeans ancient Hittites in Northern Mesopotamia. And 90 percent of those who claim seyyed descent in India and non arab lands share the same genetic markers as the rest of the native populations of their respective country.

Present day West Iranians are genetically closest to the Kurds, and show great genetic similarity to the Armenian and other populations of the Caucasus Mountains.

The genetic markers of present day East Iranians is very similar to that of North Indians and the Brahmans in general, belonging in equal numbers to genetic markers R1a, J2 and G.

To claim that Iranians are a mutated form of arab populations (ajam) is unsubstantiated, ideological rhetoric and is wishful thinking on the part of individuals and groups with a clear ideological agenda.

Fundamentalists are bent on proving through distortion of historical facts, manipulation of scientific data and a host of other unwholesome tactics that the ancient Aryan/Iranian identity is only a myth/lie and even if true was insignificant and marginal at best.

These ideological warriors have found a valuable ally in the politically correct and decadent attitudes of the West toward ancient Indo-European studies.

According to these ideological warriors, Iranian identity begins with shia islam, and all science, culture and civilization and even national identity came to Airan/Iran only after the arab bedouin invasion. To them, Iranians are ajam or a mutated version of arab people, and pre-islamic Iranian history, culture, nationhood and ancient beliefs are mostly a myth and are insignificant at best.

Accordingly; anything and everything prior to the arab invasion falls within the category of dark ages and superstition. The works of mr maziar ashrafian bonab has only given a scientific legitimacy to such unauthentic hadiths and long held erroneous and wishful beliefs.

(During his youth, mr maziar ashrafian bonab shared the Islamic revolutionary ideals of the Basiji movement and the basiji ideals of shia Islam, country and people. The following posted video by mr maziar ashrafian bonab shows clearly his ideological inclinations. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5eQS3D4bbU.)

Another fellow thinker of mr maziar ashrafian bonab; mr reza zia-ebrahimi asks if the ancient Indo-European heritage of Iranians does even matter???  Well, the real question is, if faith in the universal islamic religion equates arabization or obliteration of any identity other than the arab/islamic identity???

Going back to mr reza zia-ebrahimi rhetorical question; Yes every identity matters. The same way that the Palestinian identity matters, the kurdish and Iranian identity matter as well. The possible hebrew lineage of present day Palestinian Arabs matter. The Armenian ancestry of many present day Turks matter. The ancient Indo-European ancestry and identity of present day Iranians and Kurds matter too.

Fact is that shia islam has a rich and undeniable Zoroastrian heritage and background. That heritage ought to be celebrated and not shunned, denied or obliterated by the shia moslems.

Happily, many present day Iranians are PROUDLY rediscovering their Aryan Zoroastrian past and see NO conflict between their ancient heritage/religion and their current shia faith. This includes many brave members of the Islamic revolutionary guard and families and children of shia marja or sources of emulation. The tide of history can not be undone.

I would like to end this article with a quote from Tolkien Lord of the Rings; “How could the world go back to the way it was, when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer.”

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Iranian mitochondrial DNA

http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_R1a_Y-DNA.shtml#Indo-Iranian

Here is the fruit of Elena Kuz’mina’s life-long quest for origin of the Indo-Iranians, considered the most comprehensive analysis of the origins of the Indo-Iranians ever published

http://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=andronovo+culture+and+indo+iranians&source=bl&ots=VOTgL5dloB&sig=rF7usZcHPSZnPTtf8R5aeUAaNT0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0LWnU7GnNKKvsQTCx4CAAw&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=andronovo%20culture%20and%20indo%20iranians&f=false

http://vaedhya.blogspot.com/2012/07/interpreting-new-iranian-y-chromosomal.html

http://discovermagazine.com/2006/nov/ancient-towns-excavated-turkmenistan

http://www.eupedia.com/europe/european_y-dna_haplogroups.shtml

Click to access Underhill_et_al_full.pdf

The latest study has a different take,namely that R1a originated within Iranian territory itself rather than the Steppes.

“Our phylogeographic data lead us to conclude that the initial episodes of R1a-M420 diversification occurred in the vicinity of Iran and Eastern Turkey, and we estimate that diversification downstream of M417/Page7 occurred ~5800 years ago. This suggests the possibility that R1a lineages accompanied demic expansions initiated during the Copper, Bronze, and Iron ages, partially replacing previous Y-chromosome strata, an interpretation consistent with albeit limited ancient DNA evidence.”

“Among the 120 populations with sample sizes of at least 50 individuals and with at least 10% occurrence of R1a, just 6 met these criteria, and 5 of these 6 populations reside in modern-day Iran. Haplogroup diversities among the six populations ranged from 0.78 to 0.86 (Supplementary Table 4). Of the 24 R1a-M420*(xSRY10831.2) chromosomes in our data set, 18 were sampled in Iran and 3 were from eastern Turkey. Similarly, five of the six observed R1a1-SRY10831.2*(xM417/Page7) chromosomes were also from Iran, with the sixth occurring in a Kabardin individual from the Caucasus. Owing to the prevalence of basal lineages and the high levels of haplogroup diversities in the region, we find a compelling case for the Middle East, possibly near present-day Iran, as the geographic origin of hg R1a”

http://dienekes.blogspot.ca/…/major-new-article-on-deep…

Scythian Zoroastrian Influence on early Buddhism

Ancient Iranians played an important part in the transmission of Buddhism to the east. Among the early translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese were Parthians, Sogdians, and Khotanese. (The earliest known of these translators was An Shih-kao, a Parthian; q.v.).

It was among an ancient Iranian people, the Sakas/Scythians, that Buddhism found its most enthusiastic reception. They formed the ruling class in Khotan, the chief kingdom of southern Chinese Turkestan in the present-day Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region during much of its history.

These ancient Iranians in Saka/Scythian kingdom of Khotan were active on the southern branch of the Silk Route (in the present-day Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China) and it is likely that much of the influence of ancient Iranians on Buddhist thought and culture was actually exerted in Saka/ Scythian kingdom of Khotan in the present-day Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region.

It is not possible to assess the part played by Saka/ Scythian kingdom of Khotan in the development of the Mahāyāna, but its role is likely to have been of considerable importance. That Buddhism should have passed through ancient Iranian territory to the present-day Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region without being affected by ancient Zoroastrian Iranian influence seems highly improbable.

The spread of Buddhism under the Kushans coincides with dramatic developments in Buddhist doctrine, art, and literature, developments that are characteristic of northern Buddhism exclusively, and in which Zoroastrian Bactrians, Zoroastrian Scythians/Sakas, and Zoroastrian Parthians must certainly have participated.

It is noteworthy that, in the Old Khotanese Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra, the name Śrī of the Indian goddess of fortune is either taken up as such or translated by the Zoroastrian name śśandrā-matā–; compare Avestan speñtá ár-maiti, the “auspicious flow of thoughts/meditation” and the guardian of the good earth (Emmerick, 2002, pp. 7-9 with reference to earlier literature).

A few magic texts and a collection of sacred formulas against demons are extremely similar to Vi-dæv-dát (Vendidad) in the Avestan lore.

Among other influences are the rise of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism and the Scythian style of Bud­dhist art known as “Gandharan.”

In Mahāyāna Buddhism the historical Buddha Śākyamuni is regarded as only one of many Buddhas and hence less as an almost unattainable ideal. The ideal of the Boði-sattvas in the Mahāyāna supplanted the ideal of the Saöshyánts (future saviors) among the Zoroastrians (q.v.; Rosenfield, pp. 227ff.)

In the Mahāyānist conception of the Boði-sattvas, Amitābha and Ava­lokiteśvara, the Zoroastrian influence has been detected (de Mallmann, pp. 85-95).

To the Kushan period dates the most famous example of Buddhist rock-hewn architecture among Iranians, the colossal rock-hewn Buddhas, 35 and 53 m tall, at Bāmīán in Afghani­stan (Beal, I, pp. 49-53) and seem to have been first mentioned in the west by Thomas Hyde in a.d. 1700 (Hyde, p. 132).

Kushan influence is known to have spread northward into Chorasmia and Sogdiana, but it seems doubtful whether these regions were ever under Kushan rule, and there is not much evidence of Buddhism in these regions in the Kushan period. When the Korean pilgrim Huei-cḥʿao visited Samarkand early in the 8th century, he found only a solitary Buddhist monastery with a solitary monk (Fuchs, p. 452). Everywhere Zoroastrianism was practiced. Moreover, there is hard­ly a trace of Buddhism in the 8th-century Sogdian documents from Mt. Mugh.

It has been suggested that the term “Nov-bahār,” a Persian form of Sanskrit nava-vihāra “new temple,” may designate the sites of a specifically Iranian Buddhist sect (Bulliet; see also ii, below). The most famous Novbahār was at Balḵh.

The word bót in Persian came to mean not only an image of the Buddha but also an “idol.”

The Persian poet Boḵārī writes “My idol (bót) came alive; its monk became inanimate/Here I am a monk to it with my house as its vihāra.” The metaphor presents the beloved one as a beautiful idol into which life has been breathed, while the lover is rendered inanimate as he is overcome with emotion.

The significance of studying the Parthian and Scythian form of Buddhism is the wealth of information and glimpse they provide into the pre-Sassanid Zoroastrianism, and how the Zoroastrian faith looked like during the earlier periods. Remarkably, the similarities seem to be more astonishing than some minor differences.

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Druids, Dastürs, legal rulings and wise counsel

The role of dastürs in Zoroastrianism is very similar to the role of druids among the Celtic peoples of Gaul, Britain, Ireland and other Celtic lands. A druid was a member of the priestly class among the Celtic peoples, as dastürs are the scholar priests of Zoroastrianism.

Julius Caesar says concerning Druids that they are “concerned with divine worship, due performance of ceremonials, public and private, and the interpretation of ritual questions: a great number of young men gather about them for the sake of instruction and hold them in great honor.” (Caesar 335-337)

Next Caesar describes the Druid role in the Celtic justice system. Druids, as described by Caesar, settle all disputes ranging from property disputes to criminal offenses. Druids from different tribes are respected with the same power as Druids from other tribes, allowing them to punish foreigners.

“Of all these Druids one is chief, who has the highest authority among them (Compare with the Zoroastrian office of high priest or dastürán dastür.) At his death, either any other that is prominent in position succeeds, or if there be several of equal standing, they strive for the primacy by the vote of the Druids.” (Caesar 337)

Caesar further writes that Celtic families often attempted to induct their children into Druidic studies. Druidic schools lasted up to twenty years because all of their history was orally recorded. The few writings of Druids, according to Caesar, are done in Greek.

In Zoroastrianism, dastürs resolve legal and religious questions, and provide guidance for the rest of the community in spiritual matters.

The Zoroastrians are enjoined to choose a divine name/an angel as their guardian or patron spirit (ahvö) and a scholar priest or dastür with in-depth knowledge, wisdom and competence as their spiritual counsel and authority on all spiritual questions except those so clearly and universally resolved as not to require expert guidance (See the gáthic Varsht-manßar commentary on Yasna 30.9, 3^rd rhymed verse line.)

Per Neirang-astan, all Zoroastrians including women and teenage children are encouraged to seriously partake in priestly seminars and scholarly studies, thus becoming scholar priests and experts in divine arts.

But in case, they do not become experts and scholars themselves, it is incumbent upon them to follow the counsel and rulings of a dastür of their choosing.  Thus, Zoroastrians are divided into dastürs or scholar priests and those who require their spiritual guidance/counsel.

Individual Zoroastrians are enjoined to attach themselves to the most learned dastür of their day as determined by their own assessment if they are competent or by reputation. Where the available guides are equally qualified, the individual Zoroastrian is free to choose.

Following several dastürs where they are the most learned in different areas may be appropriate. Shifting allegiance from one dastür to another is not countenanced unless the first dastür is no longer the most learned or in some other way is no longer fit.

A Zoroastrian may continue to follow a deceased dastür whom he/she had already followed prior to his/her death, but with the approval of a living dastür.

All rulings/actions within the scope of a dastür in which a Zoroastrian acts without the guidance of a wise, learned dastür are potentially invalid (See verse 4 of gáthic Südgar commentary on Yasna 32.)

The qualifications for dastürship include mastery of the poetic gathas and their ancient commentaries, a brilliant mind, innate wisdom, great memory, superb reasoning skills, good grasp of the Avestan original, innate luminosity/goodness (ashöi) and integrity.

Unfortunately, in our community the respect for dastürs and learned priests has greatly diminished of late. It is common these days for many Zoroastrians and even the so-called traditionalists to pose a question and when they do not like the answer, to resort to nonsensical argumentation without any solid religious citation or justification.

Zoroastrianism is a very disciplined ancient Aryan faith. To say that Zoroastrianism has no rules, no do’s and don’ts is insincere nonsense and absolutely untrue.

Either a Zoroastrian is a learned expert or is not. In the case of the latter, they are admonished to follow the counsel and advice of their chosen dastür and not their personal whim and preferences.

To equate the local Indian Parsee or Irani customs in the past few hundred years in every matter with the ancient Aryan Zoroastrian faith is pure folly.

The rules of the religion are contained first and foremost in the poetic gathas, their ancient commentaries and the holy denkart.  We shall follow them sincerely under the counsel of learned priests and dastürs.

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Speñtá Ármaiti, serene flow of thoughts and an ancient love festival

February 18 is the feast day of “Ármaiti.” Ármaiti also known as Speñtá Ármaiti is one of the “splendid, auspicious immortals.”

Her name is made out of 2 parts ár+maiti. Ár means “rhythmic flow,” Compare with Old Indo-European reie- “to move, run, flow” Middle Irish rian, Gothic rinnan, Old Norse rinna, Greek rheos

And the second part maiti means “meditation, thought, reflection” Compare with Latin meditari  “to meditate, to think over, consider, reflect,” Gothic miton, Old.English metan.

Ármaiti is therefore “serene mediation, creative flow of thoughts and ideas, calm reflection.” Ármaiti is the feminine/nurturing aspect of the Force, the serene meditation that heals and nurtures.

The epithet of Ármaiti is Speñtá; “auspicious, splendid, bright” Compare with Lithuanian šventas, Proto-Baltic-Slavic swęntŭs, Old Prussian swentas, in their pre Christian original sense of “auspicious, splendid, bright.” The Ancient Avestan commentaries translate Speñtá as fzünik. Middle Persian fzünik comes from Avestan fshü. Compare with the rune FEHU, the rune of prosperity. It has the exact same meaning in Middle Persian “prosperous, of good fortune, flourishing.”

The Rig Veda knows a goddess Arámati, but she was a fading figure even at the time of the Vedic hymns. In Buddhist Khotanese the earth itself is called śśandaā-, which is from śṷantakā-, corresponding to Avestan Speñtá; the name of the goddess survives as Śśandrāmatā- (from *śṷantā ármati), used for the Indian (Buddhist) goddess Śrī.

The physical creation which Ármaiti protects, and in which she is immanent, is the bounteous earth and the sacred space (See Yasna 48.6, 1^st rhymed verse line.)

Ármaiti is also manifest in women, who like the good earth give and nourish life. (See Yasna 38.1, 1^st rhymed verse line.)

Down into Islamic times the holy day of Speñtá Ármaiti or Persian Spandārmad was celebrated as a festival for women: As Bīrūnī reports in his Chronology, p. 229 “Isfand-ármað is charged with the care of the good earth and with that of the women. The festival of this angel was a special feast for the women, when the men used to make them generous presents.

Speñtá Ármaiti’s festival day was a favored time for courtship, and on that day “maidens chose husbands for themselves” (see M. R. Unvala in F. Spiegel Memorial Volume, ed. J. J. Modi, Bombay, 1908, p. 206).

The twelfth month as well as the fifth day of each month in the Zoroastrian calendar is dedicated to Speñtá Ármaiti or the “Splendid flow of thoughts and mediation.” When “name-day” festivals were developed, hers was thus held on the fifth day of the twelfth month, on or about February 18.

Because of her link with the good earth, the festival came to be celebrated, not only as a festival of women and lovers, but also as that of farmers, called ǰašn-e barzīgarān.

It is customary on this day to destroy xrafstars/khrafstars, noxious insects and reptiles. Furthermore, another interesting aspect of this festival is preparation of a charm or sacred formula to ward off against noxious creatures and negative vibrations.

The charm or sacred formula is taken from the Avestan verses. It is written on a piece of paper or parchment inscribed with sacred verses from the poetic gathas or the Avesta.  These sacred charms are then affixed to the main doorframe, or on every doorway in the home apart from bathrooms to protect the serene space of home from the negative vibrations and adverse energies.

What was originally a one-day feast came to be extended in the early 11th century A.D., to a ten-day observance among the Zoroastrians of Iran. The festival was divided into two pentads, called in Zoroastrian dialect “Sven-i kasóg” and “Sven-i mas” i.e. the lesser and greater feasts of Sacred time/space.

In conclusion, I like to add that in several places in the poetic gathas, Speñtá Ármaiti, the “Splendid flow of thoughts, meditation” is associated with khšathra, “power to navigate, rule, hold power/sway” (e.g. Yasna 43.16, 4^th rhymed verse line; Yasna 48.11, 1^st rhymed verse line). There is no trace of a similar link between arámati- and kṣatra- in the Vedic tradition.

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Childbirth rituals and charms/formulas in Zoroastrianism

In Zoroastrianism, the birth of a child is viewed as an auspicious advantage to the whole community because it furthers the propagation of the race, the spread of the Ancient Zoroastrian faith, and the victory of mankind over demons.

In the Avesta (the name of the sacred lore of the Zoroastrians, it means the unknown/undiscovered wisdom,) the great value of both human and animal offspring is acknowledged.

Every pregnant female, whether biped or quadruped, is to be treated with kindness (Vd.15.19b); it is considered a grave sin for worshipers of Mazdá to strike or frighten a pregnant dog (Vd. 15.5), and the Zoroastrians are enjoined to care for such an animal until the puppies were born (Vd. 15.21).

The sacred formula/charm to be recited during the pregnancy, especially during the 5^th and 7^th month is contained in Yasna 65.2 or the 5^th Yasht (Literally Adoration) of the Aredví Sürá anáhitá, “the exalted, mighty, undefiled, pure lady of waters,” in verse 2-3.

The fair lady of waters is spoken of as “life-increasing, herd-increasing, fold-increasing, prosperity-increasing, and realm-increasing” (Yt. 5.2); it is she who “makes the seed of all males pure and purifies the womb of all females for giving birth (víspa-nánm háirishi-nánm zánthái garewán yaóž-daðáiti),

who makes childbirth easy (hú-zámitö) for all females,

and who bestows upon females timely milk” (Yasht or Adoration of Pure Waters, Verse 3, same at Yasna.65.2).

These charms/prayers are passed down orally from mothers to daughters as part of their religious instruction at home (Rose, pp. 67-68).

An ancient formula for ensuring an easy birth and good offspring is preserved in Vi-dæv-dát (21.6-7), where it is repeated three times three: In the presence of a flame/lamp, burning incense and specially burning of the wild rue to ward off evil eye, these verses from Vi-dæv-dát (21.6-7), are recited

“I shall purify (fra-snagyæñi, lit. “I shall cleanse”) for you genesis/birth and growth (zánthem-cha vaxshathem-cha);

I shall cleanse for you physical body and power to recover (kehrpem-ča tevishím-ča);

I shall make you with offspring [and] with milk (hačat.puthránm hačaṱ.paæm-aiñya); …..,

with milk ,with sweetness/cream, with oil, marrow, and offspring (paæma-vaiti xshvi-pta-vaiti raóγña-vaiti mazga-vaiti frazainti-vaiti),

for you I shall cleanse a thousand springs, flowing together at the breast (gaóða-nem avi hanta-čináv),

which is the nourishment of the offspring (puthrahaæ thrimö).”

It is recommended that after childbirth the mother remain sequestered, for forty-one nights. She is to avoid cooking, proximity to fire or water, she shall wear­ gloves, and use metal/silver implements for eating (Persian Rivayats, tr. Dhabhar, p. 224).

The mother of a newborn child remains away from the dar-e mehr or agiary (door of amore/love, also fire temple) and attends no funerals or other formal rituals until forty-one days have passed or postpartum bleeding has ceased.

Another practice is to light a lamp when a child is born; it is “kept burning for at least three days in the room where the child is confined.”

When the period of isolation is over the Rivayats enjoin the woman to purify herself of pollution by washing from head to toe 6 times with flower extracts, rosewater, gömeez (few drops of bull’s urine), then washing another 3 times with pure water and putting on clean new garments: (Persian Rivayats, tr. Dhabhar, p. 224).

Parsi ritual practices during pregnancy include ceremonies for Paṇčmasin (“fifth month”) and Agarni (“seventh month”). At the Paṇčmasin ceremony the parents and parents-in-law present gifts of new clothing to the mother-to-be. The Agarni ceremony is performed on an auspicious day in the seventh month in the presence of married women who have had children. The pregnant woman again receives a new set of clothes and jewelry from each set of parents and is given sweets and pastry, sym­bolic of happiness (Karaka, pp. 154-55; Seervai and Patel, p. 45).

In the Persian Zoroastrian community, pregnant women are encouraged to eat a diet that is correctly balanced between çard o garm, cold and warm/hot. According to an ancient tradition retained by the Persian Zoroastrians, during this time the father of the child should take care to pay special homage to OWL, called in the Avesta ashö.zúshtá, the beloved of Aša (excellence, virtue, brilliance).

The owl is emblematic of a deep connection with wisdom and intuitive knowledge. It is symbolic of the ability to see what is hidden, and see beyond illusion and deceit. The owl is also emblematic of the inspiration and guidance necessary to deeply explore the unknown.

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Vohü Manö, “passion, spirit,mind” and the Old Norse Vili and Vé

The 11th month of the Zoroastrian calendar is named after Vohü Manö (farsi Bahman.) It starts on or about January 15th and ends on February 14. It lasts exactly 30 days like all other Zoroastrian months. It is a month to honor the “intuitive wisdom” of the animals and abstain from eating meat or poultry.

January 16th is the Vohü Manö festival, when the name of the day and the month coincide. January 30 is the festival of cardä/sade (the freezing cold of the winter,) celebrated with huge bonfires and drinking of red wine. The cardä/sade festival has much in common with the Viking fire festival of Up Helly Aa. It marks the end of the winter-solstice season with bonfires, passion and warmth.

Vohü Manö is the foremost godly aspect of ahúrá mazdá; the god-force of “creativity, imagination and vision.” (ahúrá has the same exact meaning and etymology as the Norse term æsir, and mazdá is identical to Greek Metis, Vedic meðá, and the rune mannaz in its original sense of  “mind-power, creativity, imagination and vision.”)

Manö or manas is “passion, spirit, mind.” The distinction between “passion,” “mind” and “spirit” is non-existent in ancient Aryan poetry.

Manö, Manas is “sensing, feeling, intuitive knowing and passionate understanding.” Manas, Manö implies “intuitiveness and poetic measure.”

In short, we are talking about the “passionate, creative, imaginative, intuitive, higher sense” that is permanent and everlasting. (Compare Gk. Menein, Pers. mandan “to remain.”)

Manö, manas also appears in the forms of “man-ang-hö or man-ang-há” in the poetic gathas. The word element ang-hö or ang-há, denotes state of being or existence. (Compare with Old Germanic in-assu or Gothic inassus.) It implies “aware-ness, conscious-ness and a state of being/existence through spirit/mind and passionate purpose.”

Also, man-ÿéush is the “vigor, youthful energy of the spirit/mind.”

We read in the 5^th verse of the Baghan gathic commentary of Yasna 27.13 (the most sacred formula of Zoroastrianism;) that the mind/thought (mit) is with the word vairyö.

Vairyö is the WILL, (Compare with Old Norse Vili.) Here, like in the Old Norse, “spirit/mind, passion” is identified with the “will power” and the triumph of the spirit over limitations.

Vohü is literally “wow” “awe-inspiring.” Vohü means “wonderful, awe-inspiring and superb.” Vohü is the same as the Old Norse Vé “wonder, awe, reverence, marvel.”

It also appears in the forms vang-héush, vang-hö, vang-háu in the poetic gathas. The word element of ang-héush, ang-hö, ang-háu denotes an innate, original, inborn state of “goodness, wonderfulness and loveliness.”

We read in 1^st rhymed verse line of Yasna 28.3:

manas-chá vohü apaöúr.vím

vohümanöich fratüm (kü pah khvíshí shümá éstém)

Vohüman without a beginning, without a first cause (I am from your own self)

The epithet apaöúr.vím in the poetic gathas is identical to apaúruṣeya in the Vedas; (Compare with Old English fruma) “without a beginning, or without a first cause.” It implies that the awe-inspiring, superb mind/wisdom of ahúrá mazdá has no beginning and is co-eternal within Ahúrmazd. The Auspicious Immortals are facets of the brilliant, wondrous mind of the God-force and are therefore eternal, with no beginning. In the Vedic religion, the term is used to describe the Vedic manthras, implying that the Vedas are not authored by any agency and are co-eternal with the wisdom of the divine.

We read in the 3^rd rhymed verse line of Yasna 28.1 of the poetic gathas:

vang.héush khratüm man.ang.hö

pah án í vohüman khiradö (pah asnö khiradö)

To create, manifest through the power of an awe-inspiring, wondrous spirit/mind.

Khratü, Vedic kratú is the power of spirit/mind to manifest itself, the power to create and to do work. It is the “Geisteskraft.” khratü comes from the Proto Indo European base kar-/ker “to have power, bring forth, create.” Greek kratia “have power over, Old English cræft , Dutch kracht, German Kraft, Icelandic kraftur, Old Norse kraptr all come from the same root and mean originally “having power to create, bring forth, manifest. It appears in the form of khrapat in Yasna 40.1.

The above verse is identical to Yasna 48.3, 3^rd rhymed verse line in the poetic gathas;

thwá-váns mazdá vang.héush khrathwá man.ang.hö

Be like You Mazda (God of mind-power, imagination, creativity and vision,) in manifesting/creating through the awe-inspiring power of spirit/mind.

We read in Yasna 27.13, 2^nd rhymed verse line;

vang.héush daz-dá man.ang.hö

Destines (does everything) through the awe-inspiring, wondrous spirit/mind

Daz-dá comes from the Indo European root *dhe- “to do, put in place, establish, make a gift,” Hittite dai- “to place” Lithuanian deti “to put” Russian delat’ “to do” Old Norse dalidun “they did.”)

We also read in the 1^st rhymed verse line of Yasna 34.2:

at-chá í töi man-ang-há//man-ÿéush-chá vang.héush víspá data

Through your spirit, passion// and your awe-inspiring, youthful mind-energy you gave/created it all.

We read in the 5^th rhymed verse line of Yasna 44.7:

Speñtá main-ÿü víspanánm dátárem

 Through this auspicious, bright mind energy, you are the giver/ creator of all.

Speñtá; “auspicious, splendid, bright” Compare with Lithuanian šventas, Proto-Baltic-Slavic swęntŭs, Old Prussian swentas, in their pre Christian original sense of “auspicious, splendid, bright.” The Ancient Avestan commentaries translate Speñtá as fzünik. Middle Persian fzünik comes from Avestan fshü. Compare with the rune FEHU, the rune of prosperity. It has the exact same meaning in Middle Persian “prosperous, of good fortune, flourishing.”

It shall be noted that based on the above verses vohü-manö is identified as ONE with the original, auspicious mind energy of speñtá main-ÿü.

In conclusion, I shall add that in the poetic gathas the source of everything including good and evil; goes back to the realm of spirit/mind. The ORIGINAL and INNATE nature of spirit/mind is bright, auspicious, limitless, all pervading and awe-inspiring.

When spirit/mind falls in to the delusion of limitations “anguish, sorrow, and affliction (añgrá) is born.

But the destiny of the spirit/mind is to overcome all its boundaries and manifest/unleash all its unknown powers and triumph at the end.

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The Winged Sun Disc, Fravashi or Fravahar

The winged sun disc is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism today. The symbol of the winged sun disc IS THOUGHT TO represent a Fravashi or Fravahar.

Fravashi is the forerunner to the Greek idea of LOGOS “divine word, speech, reason.”  The word fravashi consists of 2 parts; “fra” simply means first, foremost, “vashi,” is derived from “vac,” word, voice, speech, discourse, formula. Thus, Fravashí is Ahúrá Mazdá’s pristine word/wisdom in every act of manifestation.

Hence, fravashí or “the first creative formula/word” is said to be a reminder of one’s purpose in life.

The term fra-vaxshyá or “pristine word/wisdom” appears in the 2^nd rhymed verse line of Yasna 44.6,2^nd and the 1^st rhymed verse lines of Yasna 45.1, 45.2, 45.3, 45.4, 45.5, 45.6 in the poetic gathas.

However, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the entire Zoroastrian sacred lore that connects the idea of fravashí to the winged sun disc. There is NO physical description of the fravashis in the Avesta, and in Avestan the fravashis (the pristine creative wisdom/word are grammatically feminine.

Although there are a number of interpretations of the individual elements of the winged sun disc symbol, NONE of them are older than the 20th century, and they all appear rather fanciful and highly speculative, with no basis whatsoever in the original sources.

The symbol of the winged sun disc first appears in the Achaemenid period on royal inscriptions. It is clearly an artistic borrowing from the Assyrian. What the winged sun disc represented in the minds of those who adapted it from earlier Mesopotamian and Assyrian reliefs is unclear.

However, because the winged sun disc first appears on royal inscriptions, it is thought more accurately to represent the “Heavenly Glory, Luminous Good Fortune” (khvarenæ,) of the Achaemenid rulers, their divine mandate of sort.

I shall add that the winged sun disc has been likewise adapted by the Indo-European Hittites. And it represented royal fortune and Gd Sent Glory to the Hittites as well. Herodotus adds that no other nation like the Persians is kin in adopting foreign customs and symbols.

Yet, it shall be added that the idea of khvarenæ is an original ancient Aryan one. The concept of khvarenæ is that of the “splendor, energy of light and divine fire in connection with luminous good fortune.” The same idea of khvarog/Svarog exists among old Slavonic people.

It is clear from a number of passages in the Avesta that khvarenæ or farr was “a blazing fire, a magic force or power of luminous and fiery nature” that preceded the divinely favored. This “luminous energy/good luck” represented the wish/favor of Ahúrá Mazdá (vashna aúra mazða in Old Persian Achaemenid Inscriptions.)

khvarenæ, “fortunate glory/light” was represented by the Sun Wheel among the ancient Iranians. khvarenæ, and its original depiction is identical to the khvarog/Svarog of the old Slavonic people.

In ancient Proto Iranian art an eagle is often added to the sun wheel. In the Achaemenid art the sun wheel is mingled with the Assyrian sun disk, and divine flames are emanating from or surrounding the human form.

The winged sun disc did not survive into the Parthian or the Sassanid period and was not adopted by them as the symbol of khvarenæ or farr or fravahar.  It was rediscovered in the 20^th century and instantly became the favored symbol of the ancient Iran and Zoroastrianism.

However, it is important to remember that in its original iconography, it was a luminous Sun wheel assuming the form of a fiery bird or eagle.

It had never anything to do with the fravashis or fravahar, but rather with the splendor and good fortune of khvarenæ or farr. While the concept of a fortunate sun wheel was original to the ancient Iranians/Aryans; its later iconography and depiction was greatly influenced by the Assyrian art.

The winged sun disc in the Zoroastrian iconography always faces the right direction, because the sun rises in the east and the right side is the symbol of new horizons and virtue.

The winged sun disc or as it is known erroneously as Farvahar is the most worn pendant amongst Iranians today and has become a national symbol, although its Zoroastrian roots are certainly not ignored. It is an important, customary and traditional symbol.

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Sadeh, Çardæ, an ancient Aryan winter festival of bonfires

Sadeh or more accurately Çardæ is the most important ancient Iranian/Aryan winter festival, celebrated by kindling huge bonfires. Sadeh/Çardæ falls on or about January 30th or 40 days after winter solstice or the yal-daa festival. It marks the end of the winter solstice celebrations.

The etymology of the word Sadeh is much debated. Contemporary accounts generally derive it from the numeral ṣad (one hundred). The most common explanation of the term is that within the five-month period of the “Great Winter,” counted from the first day, the festival falls on the 100th day of winter. According to another, less convincing explanation, “one hundred” stands for 50 days plus 50 nights that separate Sada from Nauv-rooz.

In my opinion and based on the Avestan evidence, sadeh is the corrupted form of the Avestan Çaräd “cold, freezing;” and refers to the coldest and chilliest night of the winter also known as chelle. In Ancient Iranian folklore the 40^th day of winter and/or summer, respectively mark the coldest night or the hottest day of the year.

Sadeh/Çardæ festival also shares a lot in common with the Viking fire festival of Up Helly Aa. Like Sadeh/Çardæ, Up Helly Aa refers to a variety of fire festivals held in the middle of winter to mark the end of the yule season.

The etymology of Up Helly Aa is also fascinating. Up is used in the sense of something being at an end/culmination. It is derived from the Old Norse uppi, Compare to the Avestan úpá. Helly refers to a holy day, Compare with the Avestan haúr “healthy, vibrant, every healing power or energizing formula,” Old Norse helgr (helgi) meaning a holiday or festival, healing event. aa means “all.”

The Sadeh/Çardæ night was considered the coldest night of the year. It was believed that on that night the winter came out from the hell (Biruni, Āṯār, tr. Sachau, p. 226; Qazvini, p. 80.) It was celebrated by kindling enormous bonfires, drinking red wine, and feasting around the bonfires.

While the custom of lighting bonfires on the Sadeh/Çardæ night is unknown to the Zoroastrian Parsees in India, Iranian Zoroastrians are still practicing it as a part of their most holy religious observances.

The traces of Sadeh/Çardæ have survived among non-Zoroastrian population of many regions of Iran as well.

Sadeh/Çardæ bonfires are reported for the Northeastern cities of Neyshápur, Ferdows, Sabzevár, and Torbat-e Heydariya in Khorasan (Mirniā, pp. 226-27; Rażi, pp. 604-8), for the city of Ḵur in Kavir (Jašn-e Sada, pp. 32-35), and for Lālazār in the province of Kermān.

Until modern times a fire festival called Jeljelāni had been held in the city of Naṭanz in central Iran.

The custom of kindling Sadeh/Çardæ bonfires by non-Zoroastrians was reported for the Ravānduz region in Iraqi Kurdistan and for Šabestar in Azerbaijan (Jašn-e Sada, pp. 32-33), as well as for Kurdish tribes of Mahābād, Kermānšāh, and Qaṣr-e Širin.

A similar fire festival is celebrated in mid-February by the Kurds of Turkey, Armenia, and Iraq, and it coincides with the Christian Armenian festival of Derendez (Jašn-e Sada, pp. 89-90; cf. Enjavi-Širāzi, II, pp. 120-24).

Happy Sadeh/Çardæ and may your bonfires be ever bright

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