HANDBUCH DER ORIENTALISTIK 1 Faas) Gann He Haw WH, Tn Lomorene Leno nd Vos ERSTE ABTEILUNG DER NAHE UND DER MITTLERE OSTEN ACHYER BAND RELIGION ERSTER ABSCHNETT RELIGIONSGESCHICHTE DES ALTEN ORIENTS erERUNG 2 HEFT 24 A HISTORY OF ZOROASTRIANISM othe, h EB LEIDEN/KOLN B,J. BRILL ims A HISTORY OF ZOROASTRIANISM MARY BOYCE YOLUME ONE, ‘THE EARLY PERIOD oy. me LEIDEN IKOLN EJ, BRILL ‘rsDeizated H (acco othe onder of oar meting) to ths of my Zoroastrian frends fo whom {hs Motryof ther faith es most Arbab Jamshod Sonush Sosa of Kerman Agha Rast NashvasanBotivonof Sharia ‘Deasur Khodadad Sherer Nenwsangi of Yond Eroad Dr. Face Mohri Kol of Nasri yi 199 by BI el La, Near A ey rnd, Ne bet of i a may eed ‘not afr i, it nn mae sr esr tpl fe epCONTENTS Paer Oxe THE PAGAN BACKGROUND 1. General | -a TH. The gods of pagan tran 2 UL, Demons and evikdaing, felons erestores, fst men and heroes 85 1V, Death the reite ant merle 109 V, Thenatur of the word and itsorigiag. 222122 2 age VE The pagan cat = ra a Pane Two) ZOROASTER AND HIS TEACHINGS VIL, Zoroaster 81 ‘Wil Ahnrs Mandi, Angra Many and the Bousteous Immortals 293 TX The two sates and the thee times 29 Pane Tames ‘THE PREHISTORIC PERIOD OF THE FAITH XX. The uncon centres : XI, The legends of Zoroaster and his sons oe XIE The laws of partys ss : Say Eyoursus the Zoroastrian feral ies. i lE Select Bibigraphy + Be lode cianFOREWORD The serious study of Zorostrianiamin the West scarcely two undead eats for i founded onthe interpretation of ee Zoroastrian hay hooks, cll collectively the Ase, which remained unknown outside ‘hecommunity ef unl the at 8th century. From the daysef acint ‘Greece Zoroaster ovn ane had ben fist to the lend a that of 3 {abled Eastern ges and when the Arete erm at st nt scholats bas, they sought eager in i for teachings which would jot this fame. At the time Buropean men of letters acknowledged the twofld authority of (Chuktaity and Reason, tat ofthe former being as et unchallenged by ‘conte advance and Zeros’ fai since it had bean propounded By ‘nef the great teachers of mankind, was expected to be of kind which rational Christian could approve. These was dumay’ whan its spurs ‘Nowed tobe onthe contrary in many respecte remote and strange. For fe thing, i was 4 fith which acknowledged, under God, many lesser tivine Beings, who were evernned with x wealth of complex tulsa lservanoes. Chistian and acquaintance with Greek mythology had nmbned to create in Europea conviction that pote beoaged to the eile past ofthe human rac, having been superseded for alla vanced peoples by monotheiwe. Protestant Christianity, moreover (ia hich fath most Western interpreters of Zoroastrianism were rare), had to high rgued for ritual, even inthe worship of angle God. To ‘eept Zoroastrianism as it was, and to try fo wodertand Zoroaster’. teachings with the help of the living tradition, proved accordingly too touch forthe West: and ston tothe esting eilemma wat events Found, ta the middle ofthe 10th century, bythe brillant. piologst Martin Hawg, By painstaking study he ialited the Gathas (4 group of seventeen ancient yma) asthe any prt of the Avesta which could be regarded atthe diet stterance of Zoroaster and he then proseded in sincerity, tointerpet thes arcae and very differ ext (concern ‘whose tranclation no tn scolar to this day agree independently fom the actual beets and practices of Zorcastr's flowers, whose ferbers, he thought, mist have early otrupted thelr prope’ teachings. Str sing a6 plese with thse baling hymns, Haug manage! to snd “and Zoroaster to have preached att monotheism state ever than that ofthe Hebrew propbets—tejecting while he did so all stuals of ‘serie and worship. apart ffom prayer He assumed, thet, thattheprophet of ancient Ian ta ort the eater of rational and ethical Ut, wick war remite fog Yhesanepts and customs of is own retest hgh ey ought themeetves to acup he teachings thee utd nt lng live with ther austenty, but soon distorted them, relapsing, tnure oles nto their former beliefs and ways ‘One consequence of this simplification af Zavaster’s message was that it delayed reennition of tis ital par in shaping those Messianic and ‘echatelogcal doctrines which were to haves reat an infence on later Sada, Caritianity and slam. In sooking to exalt the prophet’: Stature, Haug infact diminished his oe in Ue istry of human thought. “is thas proved, howeve- a pote factor inthe development of Zoro. tran ste, and even in that of rttexu Zoroastrian. In Europe it ‘eas adopted by a nombet of lading scholars, who wet happy to be ‘nabled ths to view Zoroaster ina way acceptable to thee own Gime an ‘ulate and in India, where Haug expound itn person i the 1860 itvwar warmly weler by one group of Zorostizns themselves, Tie ‘was compre’ of Parsi ho had teeived a Western education in Bombay, 4nd who found in Haug’ theories wit andra solation to a problem that had been torinenting them, namely how to fecoele the elaborate oetrins and usages af Ue Venerable faith with Zothcentuy sientie thought and to malas is dignity against the assolts of Protestant Christian misionares. They gave ardest support tothe Mea thus pre- sted tothe that Zoroaster ha not been even a asta doctrinal ‘aston abhorrent to the proselytizing Christians ut had taughta very Simple faith fe {om all ritalin and subtleties of dogma, Hence to ‘bezime his tru scl they had only to reform the existing eligen on this hai, making it once more creed to which any thinking man Who seas not an atheist could ready adhere, “These reformist, setting vigorously aboot thee task expresed ther salves rntiy im English, and soit ws tht voices which were ehey ‘ard in the West, where by a circular pret they were welenmed a5 confirming scelarly interpretations of Wei" ancient fit. Within thelr town community they mr, however, wil strenioms ayeasition fom those, both learned and simple, who were tots ely to abandon tae bli and eaetors of thee forefathers fo «elon wowly tne at @ European desk Ib Europe tooth school of atonal than had its sturdy criti, seme of whom went to the other extrane, sine nearly Zaro- strani traditional polytheism wot far renovel from the beliefs of ‘edie India. The sholay snp of the mitt etary sted ato the twentieth, ab did the sigs comtrowersi son he Bass: and | | | { ‘he difity offing common ground led to evernow interpretations ‘ing propotnded in both Europe and adi, someotwhichseemetrs0gcly ‘emote fom te elites of Zreastran scripture or tration. In general \Wostern scholarship as fended naturally enough, to concer self with text rater than with practice and with doctine and mytology father than with the devotion ef the flth and thee imitations have made ‘tall the easier for fee en tobe given ofantany. ‘While theories abot Zoreastranstn have multpiok the present ‘entury, 20 to fas actual knowledge of the religion in all ts aspects, ‘rough the Work of pilots, hstorians, archaeologists sad nomi nati, and above al hat of Zorcstrian scolar themselves who, over Coming habit of ceticence engrined by centuries of persecution, have ‘iescrbed thelr own eerematies an costs, ad have published many treviouly-unknowa secondary texts, thus sharing their religous heritage wien the outside wor, Teas not alvays ben easy, however, for Western scholars to use these bode, yrtculasy those whieh expound tual hice these assume both basic Enowledge a0 also religous attites on {anlar tothe non Zoroastrian Some have, therefore, revived vstally smstudied, and early misconeplons have thie manag 0 pest despite nw sources of knowledge The only way to gin perspective for assessing recent developments a Zowostiansm, and atthe same time to Sind means of marshaling the ‘mass of evidence now avaiable or earier epochs, seemed to be to attempt the witing ofa continuous history ofthe fit, fom the time ofthe prophet othe present day, without leaving (has teen castomary) reat aps over which imagination anal 00 fel leap, sh asthe 500 eats Of Parthian rale i Ian. ofthe Sst 000 your of Zoroastrianism afer {he coming of eam. The dfn inthe way ef extn tou 2 ask are plainly formidable, because of the deficiency of the spares; bat enough material has by now accumulated for it to seem vo longer im sible, Tn undertaking It the writer started om the premise that Zotoaster's message Is more ely to have been understood by his ove ‘iscples and followers than by students from totaly diferent culture and religions heritage, who fre came to strogle with it purely intellect ally, milanis after he had preach, Accordingly thronghout this work fonsiderabl reliance has v= placed onthe Zoroastrian tradition, which an be shown to have beea remarkably stung an consistent tall known prio down tothe time of European impact inthe mi centary. Te was originally intended to preface the presnt volume with «brs survey of the varous interpretations of Zotcastraniam advanced inrscent decades ti became plain tat tis bud noe be well done tnt eater developments tad een traced, This sey wil scoring | erst insta a a append ft ast volar. Naerllyinints tert Cote views of dial scholar ze ade throghout th work “A uiordifcalyin attempting abstr of Zoran isn the transiing of proper ames nd ohn ter sine th ores of tise ‘ay inthe dle languages concerned, and at ferent times 30d iste Forth ancient peo one has Ast and ld Pesan, tobe fated ty Parthisn an He Persian and in totem times the ‘owes ofthe Pat and eal comminites has agin dived In he resent vale Avestan and Mile Persian (Pala fom ave fn fener een prefered, sine the Zoos tere themes ae pe ‘Sree in thote two languages But even o Ue ate ofthe evidence snakes impose tard some ming of Avestan Mid Pesan Gime In the trinssipens, pater scholarly ees have een “void where fhe code cnfsing in general Work, aotabiy’ the ‘enerng of the wcll festive (es the Bal und in Seatsh Inch’) by "x. This oan is here repented stead by “fence arly where whole asses of Avestan or abla ave bro transrbe), ‘he practo of sng forte vies plata ieeatve seme, howsre, Simte and unaminguous, and har been adoptod exept iia ine | there ave ever proper ad plas nites begnning wi this soon (ch ‘Shap Shir wich on well non to ook oan pi. The figs“ and Gn otro to "eh and") hae say bate | {Sind The teancripins "9 for a shor indefinite Avestan vow, ae fra odie acl will i oped, oe the general eer. "Afar grester problem is peste by eaters ofthe surens The} Zorasean pits ose teactant fo me he ao 0 of wating 0 | "ocd the sured texts, nd ao religios work xt whom writen fra {Sa be abated to cane han the 3 ceatury NC Moat of what as ‘rien down then and thereat cntine mater whish ede Teeaurbly older: and the ily to dai which are the anclet | Slements in exch indvioal work nt what puch hey con proper be | Sesgoed. tas be ust deal with this probly Keating Pahlavi aoks as poate nt ofthe Sassi pero ut thi sal | insrangesnomalles ing one. isan, to expound mmc tcc commoloy pn whch Zeraser's own teachings ret ait were] | / {he ceation of that atively ander and sopistieted age. Accondinghy {ifereat course hasbeen taken inte poset work, and comparatively ‘nie sources have been drawn on when nocrssry, with due caveat, to ilestate what appear to have been the bel of prehistoric times In the writing of this frst wlume (and nod ofthe stor a5a whole) {am deeply indebted for help and inermaton, most genoa ven, ‘howe of ay Zoyoatian ends to whom ti diate. Tissue said ‘nowadays by Zooasriane themasles that whete thre of thers ate fathered tgeter, tere will Be thre ileent interpretations of thie faith; and T cannot therefore expect that the condone drawn ery should win their ascent. ean ony hope tha they wl be recngniaabe yartofan honest attempt te appeeah the trath-Iartheromes particular {abe tomy fend Dr M1. Scott ofthe University Liar, Cambridge, for ber continua help in obtaining books and references ad even more for uminating discussione of muy perplexing pants. Profesor Pas Thieme has most kindly spared ie for correspondenre, and has theteby foros me with help even bevond what 1 have dexved from his penetrating priest works. 1 owe Yoo a considerable det to my fiend Dr tva Gesshevitet, who by freely disagreeing with some of con ‘sons his provided ncdfal spur to futher refiction and esearch. T ave alo enjoyed dieusons of achaeoogis soattrs with my eared ‘allege De. AD. 3 var, and have had mach belp from hi, a fro his foe student, De Shape Shahbaz, now Director of the To situ for Achacmenié Research at Peeps. Scholars who have earned my Warm graitede by mast kindly sending re rfeences,aticesin typeset rate books or Xtoees relevant to the ‘resent volame ate Profesor St Haold Balley, Profane IM, Diakonor Profesor J. Duchesne-Guilemin, Mr, Gordon Wasson, Profesor Jacob [Neusner, Profesne RE meric, Peoess Marta Schvarts, the late Dr. PK Anklesuia, De. A. Tafa, Mise Helen Potsmianos and DI. Bla Brogan. Toe particalar thinks to Me J. Rinnells for kindly eading profs of thin vlume; and to Professor B.Spuler and the hoase of Bil for the forbearance which they have shown in ac of the slow, = sporselss growth of this history fom the go pages crea ated to Zereastraisi ithe Handbuch der Orewa to the pened four volumes af the present workABBREVIATIONS. Sere eee tn, Fanng tHe al Riya of Farge 7 aia . eso ir ay joe Be Bier ada x. Dhata 2 SESE coe ar Ema cna Se, ym a ort cnr wont Sysco ual ri tt Se ca Care octet ‘BSOIAIS Bathe Se Oe ant Asa) Stun, emion on SE ree ia eee e on te a | Hite RRR erate anteye, Joma a am gl sca Be nb se te ating ey "Wih sg wee i ng ‘THE PAGAN BACKGROUNDGENERAL ‘No sound tradition exists alot the date of Zoroaster; ut the erst Jussi prophet cannot be assigned toa tine before hi people acquzed thie separate identity in parting from ther dose cousins, the Indians ‘nl forging tei ow distinctive languages and cate. For thowsands years It seems, the Iado-LraniansHived together as nomads on the Iva Asian steppes stretching fom the lower Volgs eastward tothe vandacy of Kazakhstan. There they herded long-torn cattle on fot, rnoving ow betmeen pasteres; and there they gradually evolved Smmon cites of sich strength that elements persed as a share Ierlage lng after the two peoples had divided and gone ther separate says Tt i generally eld tht they Bogen to drift pars daring the third ‘lena B.C} and iti thought thatthe composition of the oldest Tran work, the Rigsed, should be eta begin sme te around {0 B.C The language oft bys, in thee surviving form, is very ose to tht ofthe Gitte, the hymns of Zoroster; and at only the oat ‘vad orm a the prophets works, bu alo sting arch elements in "hei conten, make resonable osappose that he himsalf cant have ‘ved Inter than about 1000 B.C He tay infact have Bourse some ‘me earns. The ings evidence shows, moreover, that his home mst, have een among the Fanins of the north-east and it probable that ahevsectioh widen ratte Renee mete cE Sac eer nnureenmeas wc ioc a cna tnt ee See ee tenn inae ne ener ene ee act angi oenctren ystems bana anes Eee Seen Ghent oie etmaem shame ae Ee ietaberi eee es el bers erehis own people (known as the “Avestan people” from the name of the Zoroastrian sviptures, the Avesta) settledeventully a Khvarei, the Jand along the lower course of te Oxas® Up to the prownt century ide was known ofthe prehistory of this ave, or ofthe surrounding a ent kingdoms (Baer, Sogda and Feeghana tthe southeast and eas, Parthia and Margiana to the south, All these now form part of Soviet Centra Asia, being divided among the teritces of the Usbek, Tai “Turkmen and Kitghie republs; and during this entory mach excava on as been cavid tin the region by Soviet archaologit, through which Roowlge hae been gsine of its remote past ‘As forthe Indo-Traians in thar nomad stage, they have been ent Sed a one ofthe bearer ofthe Anronove cle, which inthe 2 Jernium B.C. was distinguished by fine tool and weapon-making #0 ‘bronze (The great mace weed BY the Iranian Mitra peat rom ts fixed poetic description to have ben fashioned of thi metal) A slende shaft of light has been thrown on their yecety by the tidy of eral Tegalstie Vedic and Avestan texts? which show thatthe Indians and Iranians had common tradition sot onl of kingship but of igh King, and thatthe high king's rule wernt arbittary at was tounded some ‘xten by undertakings catered into with hs vassal so tat be ake ‘lged obligations ar welas exercising rl. This pater of wey appeas two have become reflected in that of the Eds, frit influence hasbeen traced in the develpment of tii in he aaras of the Indo-leanan Eyeiines Waren sweetness mein SARS age eee medal a nr ing et, pin td, Rab aah ‘entoes 99: Oniond 2 eS ee hasaa ideas morgane Pe le oe al Serene cree lors snes a to te Pacem rin fo, Da at Be “ran (eliay’ Artacgy Sores) ese 5 pitheon. 1 may also be mirrored inane ofthe oldest of the Avestan Finns the Ar Vat, whexe the expression spe dang dai puting of many countries” occurs, as well a daihasast "comand ‘counties empire", and dayne fatal coun of the fst men ‘contre, possibly at i tal chiefs vasa kings. That those wih power {emsries hoa have acepted the retains of pact and Ten eon accord with the leading pilsophial concept of the Indo Trias, tht oft Avesta ala. hy which was ndertood a principle onde and righnes that governed she natural word (causing the son to ‘he an et and the seasons to change), and ls directed human society, “that tbe happy in life and death men mast submit tits workings an Segulte their ow Hives with sees, The social pattern thus vie {nr the Indo-Iranian si harmony’ with what Is known af ater nomads see steppes, sich asthe Mongols, among whom kewise there existed Strong traditions of mattallvalty ad alization, as well as power in the Inds of gett chiefs, Inthe uncertain conditions of wandering ie good leadership it necsary for the wl-being of family, tbe and peoples ad sone hus the development of “nomad feualsm”, with @ herarchy ‘nounting up toa positon of very considerable power frit rad. Ashas ‘een pointed oot the atimate conquests by Tian and Iranians of the Linde where they now live woul hanya been posible withost sich lenders, asin the case ofthe great nomad invasions ef iste ines, “Another aspect of Indosranian society in ts astra period was that 't was divided broadly into three groups In Zoroase’s hymns these tnere called Dy the following terms: nar, Mall ea, tht the ght Ingman or wari; zastay ist, ther “he who makes the offerings of Sle Se eee ‘lambert Wom: Sat wal Gonski ate Pa, Wade TS cee Ua TP a ay ara om ta ce ‘SEieemeane The ly the ev! tenon by ics oat a nea ona ae Shen mista Thess mee ee CS n aee oe eae Scapa ge we et eces& Mery eta eat "Sanja Cant ofr sar vet oon se oo‘ne who invokes: and sar “pasture”, the herdsman who ended the ‘ate In thle raging rounds (ors) the later Avesta other tems ‘ecural, Thos there tea geeral erm fra priest, ative, thew {Skt thorny), an Indes word of doubtful etymatogy* and the feedoman scommonly ealled ty fapant (atl) fttening pasate", nda xmad Aedser ood pasture” The warrior ius kage, rather "charot ter’ term evlved evidently after the Iranians tht sot the wor-harot instead of Sghting on fot. This development aid to have taken plas daring the second millesnivm #.C 8 and so popular it the hariottecome thats pe mest of the gods of the rane Fedcan Indians came to be conceived as driving in one. Zoroaster himslt ems fo have made use ofa wheled vehicle his journeying: bat the ‘erabutery of his pocty il elects an oler atte of affairs, when prob {nip outy the weak apd od travelled in beaeyoxedrawn cats, and men ‘rowld have made thelr way, and fought, on fot. The eiing of hors Tees to have come even later, probably not until well ito the fist ‘llenniu B.C 2 andi eflete in yt another Younger Avestan wort The wart: ar "horseman? The dog must eae have been therefore ln invaluable ally of the nomad herman, in sounding up and protecting ‘he gracing herds; and wae evelyn those far-off days that cow find dg ogee sesumed thee grea importance jn the social and aso {elicit feof the Inte Tranans sa importance whch in Zoroastrianism they never et “The division of society into thee clases or etats i found with ote postral people fol such asthe aeient Trish and is nde ld by one fo ave been feature of Indo-European sce. The Chor Was Jong sustained i Tan and India bot play eve in hr roa days le ee ats a ay iS ja PS eae 7 ‘com uote St es Kcr a Ca aa Re Jig tlh) thas Se gl eat (ae agi ee dct tS cee B.A Lang. Armen, Ln pe se Yan. te mami ie Brlma, it W 7. a ig duos rg any ht Sa ee Save en St youre no he soos fine Chars eset a "ve K-ras id in fact ave 2 simple a social stroctare that it fend be limited o nly thre groups gis defined by ccupation. The ‘aling ofthe smith, for exami 8 an old one, and the fney-onght ‘mots of the later Bronge Age ae evidently the work of ile erat ten. Another group of craftsmen with an Tado-European bestage were "he insted nd seman ofan Indo-Iranian tradition of heroic poetry sorvive in the Ineatues of oth ean and Tada There mast have beet Iyre and elegiae poet alk, and occasional vers, the work of trinet profesional bards; and regions and leaned poctry was eutvated by Dest, hel waste leaned das, Dut tel learning was acquired and {Eunsmitted ona, for the Indo-Irutians had no knowledge of wltng, tor di they fad this art among the poopie whom they fist conquered, td i remained unknown to them downto histone times; and even after they had acted they dd not cheowe to adapt Ye elighous purposes tnt ma more centuries ad pass ‘There is no reason To suppose that In those erly days each man was trip bound to the alin is fathers. The Iranians have never bat Fig caete system such a that which developed In post-Vedie Indi and {hore was always an lament, however light, of mobility in thei society ‘Yet naturally the usual curse would have buen fora boy to follow bis father’s occupation, which he would have been st tora ata very ary age Herodatus records that among the Persians ofthe sth century B.C iRas ual or boy ofthe noble or "warrior cass to begin thelr ining 2t the age of ie, by Tearing to ride and shot and tl the rth and in Doth India and Tran the tradition rareived into the 20th century that ‘ests sone were apprenticed to thot exacting calling at about the AEC ff seven Zoroaster himself ame among the founders of gent reins rasa priest by profession, and he must have been tse heeft fom Infancia the pracion and doctrines ofthe ancient fith which be was inspite t reform eee Serie eases mere Soriano nee Ree eeer tae eees ‘rasan nace Among pit ofthe Indo Traian period sin ater tes, there were cvidenty diferent vocations; bat i ikely that there wat as traine gin hich the all sce. The fst tat there are come laments in ‘hernia of Zoroasteians and Brahmans shows that theresa od ta ‘on behind these, transmitted from generation to generation In addition to mastering sor stab, a piest would have had to Bow sacred words to accompany them, aswel asym or song of pale to plas the gods ‘when they came, daly summoned, to the oferngs. For hundreds of years, ‘mong Brahmans and Zoronstrans, the words of all prayers and heme Tha been fixed, to be mami et repeated exactly Dut formals there ws evidently both laring by heat, whereby the tations of the ‘sere literature were preserved, al fresm ocompose les, although ‘within its established convents. Three main categories of formal eli ‘trance are Known, Fis there was the manna, Av. mata, This ‘ward comes, it seems, nthe base a "think" and hasbeen defined as Tormulated meditation, the w8terance which was the "instrument of ought" The mani or mative accompanied ital and of ld ani sited priest would compose sich wtterances. Inthe Vein he was sant, 4 "manner", one who enunciated the may “well Tashioned from the heat” (pd siesta). whic others wold re ‘mess and repeat after him, (The Vetie se recived his vison with or In is heart, yd orl an a pase inthe Gahas, raat manayhdz “by heart aad thooght” shows thatthe same was Wue forthe ancient Iranians, the heart tng zogarded a5 the seat of manas "thought™) ‘Vedi also an adjective manirin “knowing the manias and Zoroaster repeatedly uses an lraan equivalent, mathran, of tilt Lo genera ‘tseoms,pristly utterances were segarded asinspirein the strictest sense, ‘ing revealed or sealing themselves, for sch ineprstion was held to come ether from a deity fom faclty within the pris el “Asecond eategry of composition, the song of pais has esr compared withthe peneeic trad bya tel opease «worl master, ern the sameway the hymn was intended to plese the ln le him to'show favour to hi woshippers. In order to be iftiv paises ofthe Alivinty and desriptions of i former deed and Its Hele, how 2 ERTL eect meme ot we ea ee ae ata ts ng ‘cena 5 ser, to be true and teuly expesed: and the pit had therefore to be ‘wopeniyinstrosted Roth religions knee nd inthe ar of comes= vom Such hymas of peabeand worship are represented in an Dy the ‘esta ys, and in ia hy the hymns ofthe uty, the “son” pies ‘woth have similar metres, witha charters eight syllable line, and lou ae relatively simple and diet in content and expreson. "Thirdly there isthe poetry represent in Tra sly the lhe ‘composed by the ssetar, Zomostet ad iia by the wi” poetry the hota, ith character lven-sylale verses * This atatar Instr, with ts predominant instructive content, rextemay elaborate, "he product evidently af long abd ard tration: and wasintended Nay forthe ears of thse fama with tht tradition, who would be ‘hablo understandings bighly artical constructions and eluding ‘te meanings, despite a "marked incintion to engeatiel obey" Thaw rests who composed this Lind of wrae must have devote years sf eonentrated stay to mastering is techniques and modes of expres ‘onan it seme probable, o judge fom the intlloetoal content of hse Ipeof literature, thatthe salar shod of poetry wer slatained Inthe thinkers among the priests, these who sought to ng ater tat sind fo chiciate the nate of this. Probably, soeover ths ancient “atagery af poetry, which had, it sem, Indo-European root" was uvated prtenary in connection with nant activity. with prophecy ‘nd divination. ‘Wit regard to the organiaton of the peosthod, it has been sid of sacent Inia that "therecan be no question tht beside the royal aie «optus avistcracy, powerful and wealthy, and provided with its om ‘acrod itersture, exist log before we have ny evidence fora Brana, fast. this aitoracy had apparent no eae oranisation, apart trom the fame eemseves Nlther were its foundations fed cally: ‘ewe hear nothing of permanent sanctarcs in this period. The fais edhe heads were doubles aa fuleattached tg the service of Kgs fot eee gy enna, segment snd inden Gath” DHE KEW, ta bgnks Eninanermanic1 prist could obtain the chet rewande by becoming & parohite oF chaplain” toa king” Thiseystom, wate most member ofthe pris. ood were attach to lndivuteal fami, sx emmon still the Zoro sstians and Brabmafs, abd has is origins no doubt i he Indortranian tra, Twas dod htm admirably sted inthe emote past Yenoma iC peoples who had appears, no established cult-contes to be served priest, but who performed thelr sacred tals wherever they found thet {vex Doubtlst in preistorie atin Tater tones many domestic obser- ‘vances (sich a8 tendag the hearth-re and making olrings to the a Cesta spins) were performed by the laity in ther own homes; Bt for ‘ajo tos priests with thei greater Knowledge must always ave bee eeded. The corsmon Indo Iranian tradition shows that, in accordance ‘th the individualism ofthe steppe-dweller, these rituals were fvariably Performed atthe command ofa single person, fom whom the priest r- five his recompense (No system of regular spends has volved even ‘et artong Brahmans or Zreatrans) This person wae called in Sansket the suumdna, the ope who ordained the sericea term subsequent dopted as eppepeate By the Pars in ite Gujarat form of yojmn of {ajntdn in inter Zoronsaniom he the ons who gis the “command” {raat forthe ceremony Bven ithe whole community were en ered, ain times of war ot famine, sth tule were performed on the futhorigy of an individ, in such cases the pin of local leader. Ta the distant nomadic: days it must be supposed ‘hat each Ivanian group bac usually ite cn pet fais and individual pists: bat mong the Medes te reported that one ofthe sx tbs, called by te {Geeks the "Mago. suppied priest forall the rest" Theres no know show old was this custom, fst eoprted from the sth century B.C. but Jn any case, although the "Magi Inter played sarge a pat in Zoro Astranis, thei name appears to be absent fom the Avesta isl for ‘thas been shown hat all probablty YA. mogla thé means, not hotleto the Magus” (as used tobe though), but rather “ost to a member ofthe tite” I may be, bomeve, that Avestan mophe ard a) JAR mt and Pra omy rai 3. Pars 1938: Wes wih Lod. Wismahain a Lata Mae, FORA ET PSM RT eet teres Sr ie ra LO mes I AT et odean maga were the same word in origin, a common Iranian term for snember of the tribe" having developed among the Medes the special sins of “member ofthe piety) tebe”, Bene a priest. Ts thus the west of Ian thatthe principle of a heveditary potestood, excise in ‘arate, is frst encountered, Among the Avestan peopl, asin Vedic Tia 1 Seems that the priestly cans bad les Hg triers; for Zao ‘ter himelf although solr arid int a "wari" fam aad gave tne of is daughter in mariage in the sane Way. (Snarly in ving Yarastrianism pst have interearied with the lity ut the rghit £0 come a pest deseenas sty frm father to son. I cannot be fran led through a priests daughte to he grandeien) Matters are complicated with regard to the anclent pisthood by the «question of the potion and character of the kai a VscIia the ka ‘rasa mantic post, «wise man, seer The word was ied of ten and fod, of Soma and the somarprests fF the dking of sma stilted {he shaping of fieya, “A hy i nt merely an inspired attrac’ but ‘fon amagieally potent spell" ln Tran the tem Aad and it idle Iranian derivatives off, fay, appear in vatious usages. In the Gath ‘Totostr speaks harshly of he Bats who ae hostile to bis teaching but his patron Vsti, the ruler who Sally accepted hie doctrines, bee the ‘itl of Ret, ands, according to tradition, dl his ancestors before him, Tes the Manichacan scriptures composed in Mle Ianan wich in ele scabulary oe much fo Zoroastrian) Aa used of gs aad men, in The latter eare in the sens of “gant In Zoroastrian tration, excep in ‘ne particular formula of execration, ay means “king”, evident eon se ‘Ga Viltispa and hie forbear, the "avs" par excellence, were princely Fulers Presumably the gift of prophecy, of mane poetry, was Bere- ‘tary in ei fal: but whether he Tria han was ever also pest, ‘orwhether asin Teal matic prophecy was rely cltivated by men out ‘Sethe priesthood there sents ms ean of knowing, Ie perhaps ig fran, however, that Zoroaster, wo was bath priest and prophet, peste to have regarded the Ravi a beng ofa iferen onder. and deseted msl as malian, one who reveled madras rater than syns, Wat ESR TRE esate mapa ome meta om Se tl dasa ont 2 ete ln gare te en mee SATE coaches git vasa naes aever he sie ion ot aco rbaleta the art ‘set thomsen! Zarate ds te men hha ie tn sppeberss ote dvi nad ere ot en ace he new nth pone eet. ‘Withee at Zoster inked he apn and wi The te, | mented ony ene (Fan), on te ete he Vedi. | {he Velatoo etsy tard but ie heh besppearsohave | tena" a"; and eto te seer oe ed sees it | ‘Sangeaty hres no Wed eqn; bt hee spoken of sever neste Gta, and in te or Vong” esse Fearstogter ite heen eotypd frases wh ‘rumen th fino oes He pnts ther tone {hep othe decal The word os bes connetl ith Sane Luiprtsa with he dsiaton tat arom mean it pone teen ners at tery Ht has bon sagt tht he Sr should there sociated with a Kean se har "a, Inomble (Sen wich eave one mht supe to hve ec Sind peatiely ty Zoos or the oday eerie ed frist repeating O° "muning” Mags at payee without mach Trust rhe mening By her intra fe harpan avon {oheworkogpietswhtreas the hia mth, appa ac owes fwd and popecy. Savoy open of Zant stew {Ridngrweetoe ected stag oreo ligonstminded eo Sotho neo liv cnanaton of lingo evry ttm wee schol of aos Kd wel at strato hal dwn wrihn toni Tenge Aven the word tropa of hie” appears which logs epmolgy an sat meting ae {ewan esc todas an instretr of ey, acer hi Po Or ite bing ale stv Sic thee wo tsi im hat Stent tan act prt thet Mitty prota be iol tothe pcan alan word to iste fon of ba, Roba, {ral the word rapa has acon Nsory Zoos With the stot tamed once heh Yi.0) wh so Zppuvnty ara sector Se ng acs ae st rene a ‘The varios Ol Traian wore pret an prophet mgs complex totter of ligne ad expert npg Lab the ned to per rm the ase ital adsl of worship ust fave Dough sera ‘oeking pest together i egos community ogetr with teers the ther Se essen The Indrani cast was vet that at tnatariy each man uderwent a ceremony ih eases ith sacred cord which hala re refer tity bing kone at ts yeas of age) Aran nite he wos then abet ake he art neo Jarate ats of worship, ad ha lo the day ofl he ear egos {ilgations which devotee on all men, pict ora. ‘Aswelas Being ved theetilly int thre lass, anim society Nada fortron grosping by kinship ad ssn. Te was the Nousteld or agnati fay eoup which is efered on he Gs a azn “tay inthe Vourger Aveta se mina hows), teste nent or village (GA. vrzna Yaw. ); the al ares © be [Ch Sire “rein, terial wn, Av. sant "ll aad hal he ‘ante oration nthe mest sess dey tthe soma id {Rslast term presumably meant the grasing las blogg by coon ‘ny right to grp of tebe In seed ines neat he en oct hat by people who aknowteged the sae ar. Probab ih an are, Sithongh smstimes extenne, might feo be relatively sul ase fvervaly or mountaitecked pl), A the head of xe of thes fot Socal grovps was ts lord” 1 ao tt he Youngs Avesta the ters ar nmdntpat pst santpat and daiphupet (er day i), Thar nothings to suger paral psy erry, eee a ‘ofar asthe rest ofthe duiphepa he purl of Veco would ftoraly be man of greater weal and ince thie tone whe sed {he many nnn under ule "he fact at spol to draw many parle etwon the ist tutions, eos and ways of thought of the Vek nds ad Avestan Franny shows how power fomativ eduene the paso ite had been which thi antrators ved together upon fhe Ava tees The ‘mos requnt symbol which they have in comin in tt tl rte that of the cow, the sine which for Souls geeratins SOOREY Be ey emer os maar tre Lm tetad been the main soc ofthilvelood and comfort: and thissymbol | Indi ater an odTanian 9 apd thi a remarkable fc, wih a ea. a clk Zener hw | nian this appearing Stn soy to the wet of tre, Heo how ara a ee af meaning wich for lng | co that no mas ovement was involved i bringing tise got ito a ne en ey sdeg it at whereas cate | Atala and Mesopotamia. Presa wat mater of all wa a ate tees not tangle inte | ands penetrating ft tesa ington cer x mrt oF I a a Tceofploaghorcomscuitine | old advetaraa; and thy came perhaps dw though the meta aa ah spoken a inthe. Younger | rss to The west of he Caspian, The mula migrations most have been Fe ee cis ake milgows salam | ef whole peopl, lod by hl ing en bat binging with hem St Fee ea ee ee tcl hc owstbytun appears | chattel in cimbrovs oxen cat, and above al heir hed, their ea re tha bingy tack once {soe of elbod and wel and tee ts ed, st have entered aa eer tuted withthe pote | tran tho Contra Asa, whee tt ope country proves rang sore eo a Gece for cate std as feed ade materal cro for nomad ares awe he Tins scp Cet A yg the aan platen | wn tags ** Fe main body of te Indian Pope prea eve nena nn eso the land; fort Babylonia | ft trogh tse teers, branching of sural y the pes Sa rE sone the pin the comping | sng rm Herat dw trough Sabra to Osos, ree te shout rte et ee Gabon’ vera tor) asuvgod | Iaaans, flowing, pressed on southwesterly Cvough Marga nd Keates (¢ mountaln pope fy asepaeing The do-tacan | Partha, and soon o the Irian pane” Some scolar nalnan, a eee ete sow haat sq. here wee | However, ha a aur f Toa fr “proto-nduyans") Rad ease ‘Senet Clay (sf ET ei Sy at Paltne acd | tween to te Iranian platens, rm hap aboot goo Bad ht reenact have ben disor ating othe {ras ich migrants who Te thie tras among the Kasites and aaa a Mh thce teeter ath ow Aan | Meo, bere ing aberergt tthe filing wave of ania ego of Mion weno ft Aryan gs among tose | Cental Asi wat tter a empty noe plntivesegion when the en ee ee vcgnabe a he Vic Mia tod | mig took pace In Parthia rcharlgits have tied fare aE es aceats hasbeen mate on nguci | comnts wih made tv of iigaton ery 2 the th milena aa ae ese cement he Stanners efoto | BC, wich ts them among the et now agaist nthe ‘roid By the and mls te outer Jat of Ceca Aa Mad Sete Oncaea ezamon yang | tele hl rani and ain eis of pele SEE et a ft Mateos a | dan coud almost be clasts tons eter ha age wlag, Sine {hey ta quarters fo specinba re and gow of rider ows and far ina hte Nampa. St Reese stance igen oe Se eo. ction, i rm, 28; 1 ay, COL, oe z “ tsbpe ie tae mare roc ile | Fee lta se Sima, en, Loosen i, 73 Tene ae, oer be Hai Sek Meer spe tt hatstak, | ee Nate atte ta wha etna ete foots tie Psd ain "AP ff ean Veet At Pa wan in cn cin gunn scanner LTRS a’ anergy ne Elaine6 “Tue aan pacKEROUND poorer ones There masta fm hte southwaed and westward with the Wana plateau and Mesopotamia, whereas the lose advanced north fr region seems rather £9 have bartered goods with the Toner ASR Steppes" Probably its peopl fad a long acquaintance, therefore, pestful or sem-peacefl, withthe Indian and Iranian nomads before "hey begs to por down int the land Excavation suggest that they ‘moved int the northern region about #900 BC, fori seems then to have ‘asso nt the possession of "pon but numerous and apparent ware {ees of roma cattle treaders" and oom aftr thee came about & sudden elle of the proto-urba civilisation in the South~the large ‘outs of population decined and were abandoned, andthe ie which ‘went ot in smaller oase-vlages score to have relurmed tos simpler evel" Whether the Indo-Iranian invaders were a ere the Turks and Mongols fer ther, and slew as many ofthe nbabiats of the land, ea never be pon but the Avestan yale contain a number of walk all Sons 10 non-ranians and praytes tothe divine beings for their over throw! an ea fact that the langue and caleareof heer Avesta almost purely Iranian so that in the porthast the conquered peoples, if not in, appear to ave Become submerged as wae after wae OF ‘migrants pase eros the and “The fist able dating for setementsof Iranians ran its comes fiom Asean eanelorm tablets The Ausyrans conducted war raids deep {nto Media (that i, the north-west of Iran steteing a fr east a the salt desert, the ait Kavi; and the placemames which they record Saggest hat in the Seb century TC. the Iranians were not yet Sally dominant in Westen Heda, wheveas tn Eastern Medi, sere to the main hghoray of migration, ost placenames sein t9 have become Tanian at lat by 700 B.C Among the booty which the Assyrians 1 ties tn 040 ere at ae, ing ee, ne i yin “yee Sante sty of fom cevenas " riled bringing bac fon thee expeditions on to the Iranian platexe ‘st long-borned cattle as wells great numbers f erat™—partly no i sled from the herds of the vader ‘Where the place was ofthe Avestan people in thi great chain of move ‘neat a about 2000 BC eins etiely obscure. Misys sageest that ‘owaster belonged to sted comminits an pataps hi be had ‘ady occupied a prt of Khwaesrala bear he was bom 0 ta five ben teaciton and peotably the conventions of religious poetry rte highly conservative) which kept bis imagery stl stietly pastoral Feohaps on thecontary, they wer extablshed digg hi ifetine farther ‘the arth, However it may have buen, the sity so tantalising re- Ihoted in briefallusions in is eres arms moubed in its wayso hough 1 worship far more by the millennia of experienes wich ay behind i the steppes than by any new elture tha had enenuntered in moving “inh; and te tackiard therefore to thor stant days that one must inorder to find the oins of arouses own Bie anions, The problem is tod the means todo so. Azchaslogy can give only ited ep and apart from i thee ate two main sores of information ‘Ones the ancient Indian literature, in particule the Rigveda, together sith the Bribmanas of nitua texte. The oer i the "Younger" Aves, rie, dspte ts name, peeerves may’ ei ements ts testimony “ne ample by ster Pahl renderings of at Avestan texts, and BY te survising Zoveastran books of vitual—hich, Hike the Bethmapas ‘on sl be iminatd by Iving usage. By comparing the traitons ene ‘ape tos outa common lent which shoul represent the beitage whieh the two peoples Kept from thre Indo-eanian past. Thee are Fhctots, however, which make compatisns ofthe mates dificl,In the ral of belo here was aming the Indians a tendency to elaborate, 0 “culate on the nature and activites of the god, at to let fone Imagination create aew myths, symbols and analogies, There seems 10 have been a moe reais, saber grain tothe Old Iranian characte, an ‘Zoroaster’ evelation bipedal to contol fantasy yt ied sient ly to certain elements In he pagan religion Being lected and thecetire lost Hence it comes about thatthe material for reematrating Todo Tranan belles "in general fragmentary and meas in the Avesta, ie the Vedas. of confined aunlance# Fora long wile ie was Bolt ‘at abundance meant «grate tenacity, and thatthe Testimony of the Ve bes, ae mig iden,st rr sie ace macKaoEND Voda was to be regarded ab superior: but farther investigations have how Ghat in some respects the spareer Avestan material x more reliable “The Vedic evidence is valuable or ts ices, the Avestan evidence for sts idelity“© Natorally this generalisation cannot be valid in every ine stance, and wherever the same gods were still worshipped y the Indians nd Iranians both iterates must be seratnied i an aterpt to distin ult the ancient stratum of belief, and to discern what may ave been {ed what let. On the Iranian side the evidence can be supplemented itl from the insrptions ofthe Achacmenian kings, and otis about ‘ania religious observances by Grek bistrians; for although thee were evidently some local variations in bles and customs, the diverse pagan Tesnan peoples seem to have enjoyed nthe mala elglous unity, and to have worshipped the same gods with similar rites Tn tidying the rituals (in whlch there appear to have been fewer changes than in beliefs) one hast allow agin for elaborations by the Brahinas, with the base ceremonies becoming ever more prolonged and the part ofthe priest ever more dominant whereas in Trin the song ‘doctinal framework of Zoroastrianism, and ts previ ethical porpose, acted abrir to such developments, Vet despite tse divergences he Similarities in tes of worship and funerary eastoms are in many ways Striking, and give farther prot that both peoples were intensely conserve tive inthe bebefs and ways. Much hasbeen wetten aboot the various fees nfunces which affected the Indians in thelr new home, both fam. the conquered peoples, and fom dimate and tera, with the heat, bundant vegetation and monsoon ruins. Those scholars are probably Fight who se these actors as exerting thirinfenc only very grad bt in general itis agreed thatthe Iranians, moving sn the Inner Asian steps to Central Avia ad he plates of lan sl, with mighty mos tain ranges, fer pains and barren deserts, ancl ith extemes of Ary old and beet, remained in conditions whieh wee clot to thas: af the fared Tndo-lranan past, and which elped them to sustain tation ‘These sharp contrasts tended, moreover, to foster sali way of thought, a tendeney to see the opposition in things, wich wis Yo od pepe RCI ig Me la a Bilan rae een crsenat » sor profound and sharply deine expression in Zoroastrianism ist) ‘tasochas anit has been sid, “rears up no monksor ascetics but sneat of actin, who are ncn to ee ife a a pespetial stagae against ‘i forces, Vigilance and strenoousness were precepts enjoined by the ‘rte ofthe land tel, lang before they were set down athe Aveta” As forthe other question, the infloence of indigenous peoples on the Trani? iis imposible to etal any fom the Gah hemalves or I adest pare ofthe Vounger Avest,althoogh on or two trees can Be nd in ter portions and auch influences were evidently exerted fa ‘tae of time (Rom perhaps the Sth or 7h century B.C) on the Medes ‘nl Persians in Wester Ian, where presumably the aber of ran enigrants were fewer and more ofthe evr iaitants survived Neither the Iranians nor the Indians of old possessed any chronalogial system or means of abbolute dating, They were unable, theefore, 19 Seite historical records (other than the celebration of eroicacheve- tent, kinglists, and mnemonic catalogues of great event). The time Innes of ther eigionsIterature creates greater confusion vith the Avera than with the Vedat, because the later became close cao ‘elativey early, and wire tranenitted therefore orally bat ia form at ed as if they had been snarined in books. In Iran oly the words of Yooaster himeet were icy memorize, syllable by sabe. Other Ivligious works commanded ales scrupulous reverence, and were handed ‘own in the more id tration of "living, variable, anonymoas” orl ‘composition In sucha traditon fined elements of sabject-matter, dix tion and style are carried along by a curren of fresh improvisation from ‘one generation to the next. Thora literature tends to be highly con ‘creative (because ta exstence i only posible throgh intensive raining ‘nd eatvation), and yets capable of innovation, ine new element an Teadlly be adopted and Haraensed with theo, as each generation com Iss the texts anew within the established tradition. No diferences of Teaig-ten cette nn tenn te et Dn eas eee es ‘ahnnatiran’ 2-7, rye eam eh. Bema shazap pve by Be ee aoe oaurineet aaa orale Canine carat TSAR ecee pkeria tcl mncnsstyle exist tomar the incorporation of new mater, fron ach weeasion {heh or prayer springs ent fem the ips of priest or poet. Al this is frikinglv demonsrated in the so-called “Younger” Avesta (Younger Taguistically hai than Uh ith), hich contains pagan matter that vas evidently already oi ip Zaraster’s day, bat which became bended sith the prophets on teachings, and werd to and mesifed nmin ‘rays for probably atleast a milenium after he Hive. There m0 means of establahing at what time the surviving texts became more oss Stabs in their prsent orm. and long ater aoa” redaction small iterations appear ccesionally to ave been made, It e pose that fame part ofthe Avesta wus writen down nthe late Parthian poo, bt fhe ted cazon was ot established ual the Susan er, apparently as Tate as the 6th century A.C. Bo ar as eon jsly sd: "Te ea mistake meted to ent the inal rlacton of un Avestan text, which alvay ‘packs a purely acidental pint in theca eration, with sconce tion and composition’ A considerable part ofthe “Younger” Avesta sppear tobe ansient in stance aid 1 sepresent a egy, devoutly hesisbed, from avery cemate past. ‘ler such a mene time sn eransnsin, during mich of whih its texts were plsinly considered of scandary importance to Zoroaster Gatks, itis not surprising thatthe Voungee Avesta should be Jltively ‘preserved, with those dagenerasies in Inoue and confoios ub ject inate which are general ean towaeds the nd of long orl tad ‘in. Nevers (as texts, and the Palay erate whi supple mows them, ace not only of intent ners, tt eomtain material hich is invaluable for understanding both the pagan religion ofthe ancient Iranians, andthe teachings of Zoroaster inset, otherwise enveloped i the subline obscuriis of his ent auar verses, His dace, taught at ‘remote ae to people of an archaic and on ealtar, as natraly dial fee modern, manly urban, man to grasp: and though the eel conse- ‘qeenes of thane dotsncs can stil Be een i Uh ont of Zoran today, get inewitbly the intellectual outlook of» cascen i Hombay oF “ebran inthe 20th century ifere easly from tht uf a nabtant of “REN ae fle aren oe Np a ental ney an | ‘tral Asa three milena ag. One anot expect amar Zorastian, snequippd by sly, to beable to expo in deta the pestin detines is ath, especialy since the leaned tradition of bis community was “ie by centuries of poverty and persecution, sy that no contnaty of “aptural exegesis remain. To recover the tncingsof Zoroaster in the ‘ginal frm threes difele matter, for the pars of whic every sian seap of evidence i teed. The Best 7d emai the tadion Uf be ow coma, preserved seems, with coninaity and cot “ey (Sepite the devetpments inevitable in lon transmision) down fo the theeshold of modern times. This tradition contain doctrines wich (because of borrowings) are profound fair £0 Chistian and im, fogeter with others which are wholly strange, ing nique to Zoro: ‘trans; and its lanely the concentration by individal setae on ‘the the fail o the unfamia which has produced such divergences in interpreting Zocoaste's teachings In order to ty to gasp thee a8 ‘shoe ad te understand bow ici that they ave held ines aise {orto long itis intended here to consider them ro only ae date, at tlko asthe found embodiment in oiervance and culty an since cee prophet of every rlgon tas had to deliver hie message ia eats com robeasble to his own tne and sacey, it proposed fist to devote Several chapters to the pagan faith which narturt Zoceaster, i he ope of reaching as god an understanding 4s poi of the belts and asin which e grew up, and frm whic, ae the GAR show, he derived ‘ch that i embodied ty his ow evelationTHE GODS OF PAGAN IRAN Many divine beings are honoured in the Avesta, and probably the orignal pantheon of Tranan goss very largely represented there! The ames of some are recoded elsewhere in ancient Iran tei in tablets fi insertions from Pats and afew ofthe greatest wore worships ko by the Vetic Indians. Thee particular divinities must have been ‘eneratel for countless generations by the Indo- Trans in thei nomad {ays for their els to have survived in this meaner long after the two pels had pated and made thei low way to new ad very diferent Fomes; and twas ancient samadian, Hved on vast seppes, which gave fn especial character to these ancestral ik The Indrani, a= sanders, bad hac no temples with nage, ch rece the dwinities of settled peoples to Ines powers wth fxd altstins an merely fegional authrty. Ther gods were seen a+ extisig unbounded in uence throughout the worl, their sway ay ntl ey by faneton, ‘Shee each bal his particular character ad took aoe heir universality ‘was splendidly cxcbrted By the poets of ra a lis, aia the ll Ing verses n honour of Mithra/Mitea "His place icf the width ofthe tnrth,"he looks upon all that between eth val hess he hols ‘bead hexven with is greatness, (ho) cir! Hs earth with is ory." In this the high goof the Indo-Iranian sels vsembled the "Akio many fc nr fr {lee ina fe the un pom, tem t Seas Sota le Mhatadinas ao Geet rae erties ‘Sepa bys pup 5 Wika ao, SHARE ST Be sn a e198 NX, Daty of moauteistesligions, and foreshadowed in ther greatness the igo of Zoroaster’ own concept of the supreme Lard. ‘Varios allectve terms were toad by the Indians and Iranians for thei divine beings. One was Vedie dea, Avestan dae an alent Word ote with Latin deur and coming fom an Inde-Esropess base “shine, Tevbright™ The "Shining Ones” were also calle the "Traertals” (Vedic mrt, Avestan ama) an the Iranians generally sem ao to have wed the tere daa “one who distributes, a giver of good things. The wos n= teresting expression, however, rom the paint af view of the history of ‘Zowcatianiem is Vedic ura, Avestan ahure, which i a ile meaning “ocd”, eed in bath languages for men walla god Ta he Vedas tht sitleis realy given to divine tengs in genera, the ope who receives it most tften ting i fact Dyan Dita, "Father Sky” the Indian equivalent of “opiter, who was originally perhaps the mightiest ofthe devs. In the ‘ten thre conservative Iranian tradition, however only three gos are ter addressed ae ahura. They form a group appearing closely nk in foncet and function; and it seems very Iely that itis these three who tree the orginal “Lode” of the Indorlranian pantheon and tha twas only gradually that among the Indians thei characteristic te came tobe ‘ed teapectflly fr other god alan “Acrrding to coherent interpretation worked out during the present century, the ancient Indo-Iranian ara all pest abet concepts Tm order to comprehend thie aspect of Indo-Iranian religion iti ial to asp the fact that such pesoifieations could become song and eve [resent divinities for ther worshippers, “Whatever the origin ofthe gods Arhich are ella abstract saan of thet attained. genuine snd real Popular belie, and were evry whit as much living tothe poplar mind as {ols for whom we can seta bans innate”? ts indeed general do European sage, it has Been said, "to conceive asan active reality every septate tne osc he. ee ete ie Se aes en neemnc ie See aaa Cer a ea ra meter aS Se SERRE Rigas PT Nth naanBy se racine macusnowsD focce whose manifestation is paoxived.* Hence what woul now be regarded a an abstraction, sch a jase o Valour truth, was een of ‘dasa power. The roses whereby this power, beg died, acquied a Character and physea rats, and came fo be endowed with nyths and ‘worshipped thxough partcuaritals sone whichieshiddenin prebistory Dutt must haverowmbled the making ofa pear, wth ayer upon layer of Tlie and observance Being ale around the git ofthe original conept, Tn the cate ofthe ras this process most have bon ging on for several thonsand years bofore the oldest surviving texts in ther honour were Composed; and ti plainly, therefore, ao easy matter to recieve the {mary concept ane comprehend the furdamental mature of these gos "Theone among them who best lends himse to sty and though whom ‘ne may therefore hope to reach an understanding of the whole tad ‘Voc tra, Tanian Mira, No oly are there Vedic verses addressod to thie god, but the longest ofthe Avestan yas devoted to him He remains, moreover, « mnich-oved divinity among the Zoroastrian, and there f ecordingly a wealth of materia both ancient and modern con- ‘ering seat and worship. Further, a coromon noun mith exists in ‘Avestan, a mitra in Sanskrit, which provide bes forthe uacking of his ancient mystery "The Vedic Mira was known tothe West before the Avestan Mitr sad in the Miran ofthe Roman soldery—a gon of mixed origins? tye Iranian god was celebrated asa divinity Linke with the sun, The ‘let nterpeeter ofthe Vedas ae He Indian faith a2 primitive one, Sind understood ite gods to be ithe main personigctions of natal foncesor phenomena, and Mita was accordingly taken at fst to be a sola deity, Th Avestan Mithts i also awoiated with the sun: and ‘dontsof Irani rlgion ikewise accepted thisas the primary concep ff the god, The Avesta cocuon noun mire demonstaly, boweves, ‘means something Hike "pat, conteact, covenant that is an agresment ured into between men; aad in 1907 A. Melle presented a Tucdly= Sere epeeet cree eee Eres ose BEE Soe ect rarestonecememata = ety of thwe be wore theme ie ete ‘agin, “nie 6008 OF Pacis AX 25 seasoned eas for regarding the Indo-Iranian Mitra as the personification ‘ofthe power eich fay in such undertakings Ashe pint eu, a past fimes "the ontract was in principe reins act, ectled by presbed teremenio, made with certain rites; and the words which accompanied iter not those of site indvidal nderilngs; ty were tore of formas fe. mata. endowed with a force of Uk or, which Would, by rte of thls nner poten, tun bask apse any man who sald tranagec them. The IploIanian Ata at the sae tie ‘contract sac the power immanent the conta!" Having reach this cone Son, be sugested a possible esrolegy for the word, ftom an TE verbal base St “exchange” Mele probably chine Ue French word “contrat” to render the ancient Indo-eanlan covcept because this had trem invested ith a crt ipandear by Rousean's exposition of "le eautat sca. in English contact” has only narrowly legalistic aseoitions, and hence ome scolar using this language have prefered the term “covenant, with ts Ticker religiogs and moral overtones Layalty tothe covenant” Is poe ‘bly, moreover, the nearest approximation that one ean achiewe in nish tothe ela aspect of the dvity.™ Since this place i oo lamsy for general purposes, the term loyalty” i sometines sey it self inthe fllowicg pages. ‘elles interpretation was at once accepted by several lading Iran fs, al the Beat ceaction of Vodioscholrs seemed adverse The sage tion was more dificult for them to entertain, because in Sanshet the fommon aoun snitet means not “covenant” bat “find” ¥ The sease covenant” survives 4 i tue, in the compound hiemitra~baving cstalsed a covenant" but the de of contact tndrtakings sb 1 inden Mi 4 pt gp pee eae gone ome 016,20, aed ted oy Loma ok cg, OM Ame Spot, Vs cope fal ited Se inh od ten opt oa si tL edt dat6 TE PAGAs maCRCHOEHD so means prominent fn the Vic ext concerning the god Ae some {Rcades Melle theory was, bower, strongly endonse by the compar fies G. Duméi, who gave it wide cetency 8" by the Sansrtst P. “Thieme who developed it with precise scholly arguments" and by the Iranist 1 Gersheite, who likewise let it the support of deeply Harned Consideration ® By now itis probably accepted by he majority of those trerking in these elds; bat there ar stl idvdal scholars who argue isons against it, The fact that Persian has a word maby meaning loving Kindness, fiendship", taken in connection with Sanskrit mitra “frend led Herel, for example, to maintain that "the god bore the sine Mitra sed i the Aryan epoch, aot a5 2 pale personification of the notion “contract”... butae"the fend!" and recently Lentz has followed him insofar a5 to old hat the esential concept is one of & Leneent force His interpretation, tha the Avestan Mth represents the striving of man to act scoring to the religion by telling the tra and by behaving in a balanosd way and with Ueraity towards his ‘eighbours”= sme, owever, too general tobe helpful or understanding the genes ofthe god. An Todianst, J. Gorda, bas nevertcese come t0 somevhat sila conchasons on the Basis of the Vedas ane, which Bow, be conde, thatthe main tea the god stan for () the main fenaee without wrath or vengeance, of ight ordryrlttns manifesta ‘ons of which were, stad foremost the active bewlence and wil ingnss fo bp and redres Ths dliberately to lore the evidence ff the Avestan yalé to Mitra, which bears maw sashs of antiquity, arly sss sound eeolaty procedure, howest: nl the weakness of {Sis agpench ras Gon himself anita ct i ie ees ile fo discover any eoberenee in the vari fietiow avabated 10 the of 1 in, added €9 Mose ofa solar deity: he sm charac rider ws white hrs, so with slverand gold cast no shadow >" Sgr ayn wil hts mae of eg tes Sy ta Reha eerie cae [Sata {HE 600s OF Pac ERAN a Ione ane with spear, bow and arrows, knife and slings st A ‘nat character nowhere ascbed tothe Vedic Mitra but hice has (ond small indications which show, he thinks, that both Slit and Varupa once possessed a warie aspect which they’ had lt by the ine the Rigveda cok itil shape'#*and ther, it seems, the punitive aspect Df the two Fndo-ranian gods has moreower ten largely ascribed t0 ‘ara, leaving Bite in 0 far ax he separately celebrated) tore purely Ienevoont. There ae, however, veres which show that he tvertheese ‘sembladhisraniancoonterpartin baving the powerto dismay aswelas to “hght his woeippes tn being Both “wicked and very good to men”, “sforinstance: "May we not be aader the wrath af Varuea and Vayu, ot {under that) of Mitra, who Is most dear to men” * "These two [Mira and Varuna] have many’ alings, they are eters of untruth (amt) dele fer the deceitful mortal to ccamwent #8 These and othe sila par sages clearly indieate that the Vedic priests to ascribed stern snd ‘wrathfl character to Mitra on occasion, ven Hf they no longer gave prominence to this appt of the god. Like most ober fndo-Tranlan divin tis, Mira was conceived in bumsn shape, even i greater than any ‘nora king; bot Because of his superhuman vigilance beta the epithets avg a thousand pereptons en thousand eyes" terms which pe sumably refed to hssertors, the "watchers of the covenant” (spat. ‘niahe) ho gase out fom every height, over every quarter ofthe ompass noting "thove whe fst break the covenant™# (The spies of the [Achaemenian kings were smiacly spoken of as being their “eves” and “ar” st andthe usage appears to br old} ‘As well a5 these vigilant spirits Ver at ie serving, Atha ad close associates arming the other gods form? meer ofthe Avesta Or Vedic purtheon sever eon notation, Leer divinities encima above le Vedi Mien acts constantly in partnership with Varupa, his ighty {EYE s00, 560 wh ei oe, SOAS KIL 9 8 Hhpee. Varupa sone of the two chi gods ofthe Rigveda, the other being fhe dena Indes. He, ike Indra, is Bae a wie King (sara), oe whose “ordinances are established” (dltavyta), thes eng oye ean by the othr gc He was envisaged as holding royal state, cad in olden mantle and shining robe, diving, bie Mita, ip 4 chariot, and Naving inthe highest heaven his golden ase. He was the “all-knowing Tord” asurevieaedas), ever aware of te deeds often. “Ifa man = Slunding or gong, and if he is jumping i he goes nto idng, if be stillers whatever (Wo men deliberate having st down together, king Varuoa knows that a the third one” (AV 40.20). Like the Iranian Mithea, be fea thoweand-yed, having Biss tootmerve the wold and the two divinities share-a moral nature ae prooeupations, Ethically Varaya i indeed the noblest ofthe Vedi wd. aDhoring sn, forgiving the penitent but punishing the trnsgresor wo avakes he sometimes bitter wrath. His worshippers approach hm With far and reg, ant set alo with tast"Vatupa ison fsting of fenship ith his wor Shipper, who communes ith him in his costal abode, and sometimes ‘ct ise with the mental eye, The rghtsons hope to bun i the neat told Varvaa and Yama, the two King who ye i bis” 72 This great ‘hia being iv endowed, like Vee Mitra, with mapa, the supernatural Power, hidden and incomprehensible, throws which be aes This ys teous force could also he tought of at east Vedic tes, as some thing eapecous; and according tothe eet teal ts posesers to Aeceve others wile themselves emg nde i suggested that It was tsough the constant attribution of mi he auras that thoi tile bosame gradually axocat with eal eventually came tobe ase also of dark forces oped tothe ds Clan starraresarly righ, however, who maintain tat deception abl rice ad part in {he orignal character of Varuna mn i ebical aspect Varupa, together with Mia, i the yuardian of He a moral order He as, together with Mitra, poets as order ia he matral world. The two ide are inde clos ik iy he bee Seaut activities that they ae eazamonty invoke ttt hy compound DMitetvarund of @ type called hy the Hinds cwnnatahs dewndee ot cept sO Vase 3 BA Mead eat aon Sree Shirt Sr ae eee coer ne ‘se armchair a SE au uc ats a he ete cme int te te rey eet teen meee acini tenia mea, Teper sient gas haere Singh iin enute eee Pepa tanee meiner epee eS feet mcr cee ieee ae ettid 1g rasan wacKcKOED ‘rewn as. synonym of tira) “coteact 99 This suggestion was taken ip up other scholars tt Peterson. propsing a derivation instead rom the TE root sr "tin, te, interpreted the msaning ofthe postulated Tone se "binding utterance, cath” —the solemn trathfalafimation Sikh constrains san, ad whieh mast fold have Bren vested with Uh ste latent soperntaral power as the sles pact ot bond. This interpretation is in barony with the mythological trait of Varuna’ ‘rey sth sine i tes, a renve sin ing Tope: Tt ws frter developed by des in his massive monograph on ‘Vara, In which he posaed two man themes: how, through the oath ‘Varuna acquired is secondary trait as god of the Waters and ow, a5 robot the outh he was with Mitra the ataral guardian off inthe nse Erverahe The gos esecition withthe Waters arse, he sues ffom an ancient Tink between Varup, cathtaking, and this element, ‘hereby a mam avere a soem ott by the god in the presence of water, ‘rtling wate a his hand He farther pointed out that this accords ‘Tania with the fact that in fot Tada and ran oaths nd compacts leaworn by Mitra and by foe. The tv gods of verbal undertakings tere thin each, i sce, assorted with one ofthe two elements whic tree the ain objoct of the tno Tranan ext. “Thelin betinccn Mir and Varuna atthe two elements was evidently stronger, moreover, than oe ceated merely by Savoking these gods bt thot pesence, at involved he ase offre and water in ones to est, (Mealy, mbetcby the divinity was made the judge. The evidence, in Toth Tran an Inia elatively nt, but tere fo reason to dob its ithe or the traditional patore of the practices involve. Both {heme of dea were engone by those accused of sme form of Fong {dng who had’ swesm Dei enocence, Im the ordeal by water, 0 de Scafvtin the Yajasuldy 2.20807 Ue accused was required tostbmenge ome Au the water che over Bishead an arrow washot, anda nimble ‘Siti te vege x8 dea Gaternamen Mira und Varun” Sor ‘low, ato Lats eo ig ta se wince an esis grb avaafon eo sal se Seber sap lf to eetieve IF when be returned the accused was si Tenet the water, and alive, his innocence was held to be established. "fore euboeging be was to “adja the wate abhi amy) —thati ‘he divinity pesnt nthe watec-with the formola: "Through truth Ivotect me, Varuna (suena mira, Varuea) ‘Scveral forms of fre oneal are atest Tray one said have teem undergone by the warriorprince Syavarkan in emote antiquity ™ ‘on hage fe were it hee to one another, and when hey were Blazing fvcely "0 that the earth was more adit than the sk”, the ero cde sa Tusbns pace alog the narow way betwen them. The fames “lost seers head, but because he was innocent he reapPeared unscathed for ha». God doth o vouhsafe, the breath of fie Is even a the wind” There an be no doubt that for the nent rast the god in question vst Mithra the Fudge. Inthe other form for by re metal wa heated {ntl st meted, and then ponced on the naked breast ft crue, T€e Sorvive, he was Innooent, Hf they pour (i) onthe body and heat of ‘nicked man, he Dura abd dies" This form of ordeal inspired Zoro- ters own gett vison ofthe Last Judgment, with the steam of male Inetal which wl then test the gull famocence of all mankind In storie times it sid to have ben ondergoe by the Sasanian priest Aurbad f Manraspandin to prove the truth of bis statement of Zor serian orthodoxy against the claims of heretics Many other vate of tery ordeal ar aid to have been ninistred by the Iranians of od vd it was, moeeove, common sage to oblige a man taking an oath to Swallow a drink containing sulphur he Urimatone or “burning sons” of ngs Wim. (The standard Persian exptesson for "to swear” remains accordingly “to ink sulphis”,slgand Shordan). The ppose of thi Practice was essen the ane as that ofthe ery oxdel or It was be ‘ved that ifthe teste swore Ely o in ancient iiom committed niki, "betrayal ofthe covenant, thea the sulphur would bur kim {pom within, more slowly but no ls surly than fre or len metal would destroy a teachers man from without. "Iti jst a wan @ yrrsom falls into a fe, and bis body x boer, and hs ile endangered, 50 Sipps oat armen mane aes BRAS Sina eating Ta ie oe* ra ra wcxomese ewe teva fot. br pel it ty andi a Tinea tt fe eae ces ne th or ins ah Marte -tat wich he patos ped oar thew cays pra seat nano tines wt arta antennas heptt pee eo in heal tae i er pc ed tars oe oe Tone Shetek as muni tre sce tts | 2s obaiy bly the Wal one eae sete a | in th nt hs ss ptt ieee erty may oops nnd to sony ah Aor se ntapcns Vice us etna of acti sct seat eats eT bs Som th wae of ope se ant a Ree ce ah the me gael epg hays pata yh oa i Bah pts sei pep ft ican hme ey. None Mnlyne yl” had conte ef oss ey | taupe cejeacray tucson nara Thais aio ar Gears sorb ateaeae | ftv arch howe elated ws | iMhastecSaunss Thieomn ooaiton stops artis | Sit ug soon etek the mag oe Mat tray bree none Shou so shew | ‘Shar tet Stornuted aire ete conga pose | Dynasty ananataing se rtp en wre, re hn ested by Varennes meade ap se pobrlsoamiat hs dtne was hove ney ‘Ba: apr ecole el, Vrs Siena cannes tayo tn teine ese they tegen the eta eased ey rey ost The ft tk mon wun Sina survives ter Va 2 ns am atm oe te Saab ate fr cer Pe woruppes were ems “eGo op Aca Ran a” Avestan means that thew ie necessarily more conjecture in defining ‘evpas being than that of Mita There ae severtless some see iste words which sou to spare de interpeetaton of tego abe 'eaning orginally "true utterance”. Tete Vedi ert a much die sed term partially assriated with Varuna, which geneally fendered by Sich English words a: "law, ordinance, tule; promise, ‘woe? and in Iranian there occur Avestan terah Pali sur ad stan which carler were tindeed a2 “odia)” ad "plac of the real" but which itis now suggested, should rates be unerstond oath’ and "pace of othtaling ‘eres Nowever,a farther difenty to make the study of Varuna more Intzate than tha of Mitra: there sno Rodin the Iranian pantheon who ‘sealed *Vouruna (This the frm wih ts thought haze ould fave taken in Avestan) Bot since it seemed impossible that so geet 4 deity, and one closely tsked with Mite, shol be forgotten ean, ie was widely asstmed that it wis he who of ol became the "pod of the Snanians” rowing to bo 20 exalted in ther eyes that his worshippers cst sto name him siety, bat invoked him inetd with teserense ab sthara Mand, the “Wise Lora”. Thasin the coir of time. twas soe this personal mame, through disse, Beare forgotten, ai this ele alone remained. Such a developments cleary'not impossible nd need {he replacment ofa ropes name by an apllative scams to have taken pace with more than one Traian divinity. "* Various arguments have however, bea brought on oer grounds agaist this interpetation, Thos ‘itsems probable thatthe Iranian Ahura Maza yas exalted over Mthea ‘even before Zoroaster preached, ing roe asa greater tod by the Persians a well ac by the Avotan peoples; and the maggest Wat His Vedic parallel may have been, nat Var, the deendta parte of Mire, butthenamelessAsiraor rd nha appears in fw Rede Passages as wea a ez tt es WL ws te Seeder scan i hh eect tt apace ala oly cad CE i eel st my Sect gate Ponty fev i lw nm eon» se vaca pAcKzROOED «higher beng than even these two, He x deserted a “Our Father, the Asura, wh sprinkles down the wates” and to Mitra and Varna their ‘worshippers say: "You two make the sky rain through the magic ower mins) of sira©? “you two protest your ordinances (erat) through ‘hemape power of Asura; throogh teat (ta) you rule The anivers’8 “The Arora thor appears sed above Mita and Varapa, as Ahura Maza isabove the Traian Mitra ‘Thequeton then ros, could “Msn” (rsatherits Indian equivalent) ‘bein fet the missing proper azine ofthis Vedic Asara—was the Iranian god relly the Lord Manda, as Mitra was the Lord Mithia (Ahura ‘Mitha)21 The word moadé as been a perplesty to grammarians to ‘cause the infection Is Ievegula; and piolgats have boen divided be tween those who regardit ac avng astm in-ak and those (ow probably the majority) who understand ae baving astm in 48 Neither inter pretation tifesconclsiely allt melas; bat the divergence of ‘pinion wae concerned ainiy with the declension ofthe word, both {groups uniting in regarding ic as an ajortive meaning "wise", Areal it fhe late oth century, however, A.V. W. Jackson ad interpreted Maz inetend ar a substanive, corresponding withthe Vedic feminine noun med “antl vigour, pereepive ome, wom"; and be acordingly Ferdered Aare Mandi’ name as "Lord Wisdom This he dd without acu, ad without, tems, evoking morb schol debate. A fee thers adopted this interpretation, howera,incindng Benveniste, who Srgued fom ito the aneientoes ofthe concep ofthe "Lord Wistom” as being ofthe fami ofthe Astras Thesueinterpretation was sub sequently propased again by Sten Kapow. He examined the meanings sata Pave Bin aoe Crysis Sta bos Ree ee camr ates moar inane ES pata (ee dati ame ai sear na Pre EP pee Rt Ag zona Ont Te tt eum anag out eo re eee peter a ae ae a ecrre any Eee ener ose | | 1M 600s oF rac tRAK » Veaie medhi, of which be sid: “insight, “widom® and especially radence” are English equivalents, I iappacenty an abstract erm, bat sh terms were generally eonetved as forces with Independent exist ce" #"4On the grammatical side he pote out tat Khotanese Saks ‘he word armaysda, Le euramazd (wc there ase forthe su) als) Jus teglarities of infection which sugges the moication ofan & stem Fle concluded, ke Jackson, tha‘ Maadt wast be understood ae {he proper sume ofthe Tanian Ripreme god, this bring "an ancient yan term, denoting 2 mental orn which was highly valued as an i= yortant factor in.» fe." Since there was no evidence on the Vedic "Se for the dvinisalon ofthis concep. he assumed, alike Benveniste, {hati was Zoroaster own inspiration which "prompted him o proclaim ‘mands the highest peiciple a5 the Lord Maada "This dtrine, he ined out, wa in armony withthe prophet’ teachings concerning the istract” Amaia Spattas who suround the supreme God. Konow’s interpretation was rejected by mach andy Kuiper? partly onthe founds that Ahura Mazdé was evidently an ancient god, worshipped Yefore Zornstr taught, bo it was warn errs by Thieme, who Tolowed envenist in Holding thatthe fundamental harmony’ was to be sought, not withthe Amaia Spantas of Zorasers own revelation, Pa rather with the two ancent Indo-Iranian asa, the Lands Loyalty aad Troth; and who therefore saw the Indian equivalent of Ahura Maz in the nameless bat supreme Asura of the Rigveda Grammatically, he soggested, the ereyulrite in declension of the Lranian Mand may arse {am ates to distinguish the inflexon ofthe proper name, belong toa masculine god, rom that of a feminine abstract noun! This noun, meaning approximately "memory, recollection” occurs one inthe Avesta Sn theancint Vases Haptaphits)™ whereitis erating to nds fnmediate jxtaposton with Ahora Ma288'soyn name, as Mitra ae ‘Set together with the commoa noun mili hie ya. The passage Tihany mal Sang mse Bence, Pee FRG eS et ma eof nt° ‘us paca macxzoUND (bic cin the sort poetic section ofthe ¥ Hap) rane: “Then a these ecompensings,O az Abor, remember masta. hrs) and full trough your bounty, what comes to you from ws” An asociated ‘verb asda: "xin one's Uoaghte, remeber” occurs twice, once in the (Githas herseoes (¥ 451) nein the socalled Hm Vals (¥-931), hich he a number of archaic elements; and there i alzo a Gathle noun smasithe."_ memorable thing” (¥ 30.3) Verb sed nouns may all per Taps bate disappeared from common re i cones of Zatcste's ‘form, with the ever greater revezence which came To Be felt then for ‘Shura Mapds and the sanetity of his name. The assumption thatthe naeless Asa ofthe Rigveda the Father i ‘he Lard Windom recive some slight support, Thieme punted out, fom RV 86.20{ctearliein thie comnecton by Kono): "Then Ihave fem ny Father he wisdom of truth madhém riya)” Why the Asura shuld have become so remote already in the Rigvedic period oust remain 3 mater for speniatin: bat one may’ suppose the reason to have een the Tandamental nd pervasive character of wiedom, the basic quality needed by both goss and men for creating and maintaining the world This sight well cause the Lond Wisdom to bevome either seems (as among the Iranians) or lotiy seu fom the dly practical ound of elt and ‘worship (8 apparently ia India) and so in couse of time neglected and ergot. Trane ecepts the hypothesis thatthe Indians once worshipped Asura ‘Med dential wih Ahura Maadi,o he Asura this appear oblate reat Varuna, leaving hm without courterpart in Ian. There i pos Taey,howevee hat aot only was Varuna worsippe in pagan Tah a 8 ‘ety aistinc ffm Alora Mazda, bat that hes fact sl reverenced ‘y the Zorsstrians today, but uber enother name Sich suggestion may stem at fee sight to belong among thse ras identifeations of Aleent deities which have contributed 20 much to confusing Zooastian sts; but inthis instance is ot a question of identifying two gods ‘with diferent names, but of considering afesh the sdestity af one god ‘known ip ch Er and India by what appears tobe an atrbute only: 1 gp Bae arnt Sain of Pay 4. ‘cpg (EAE ine se) Eine frank Teno OF oma “at on freee bs TR Set td ee ah Kui, BY a, 1 | | {HE Gos OF PAGAN mae « This is th mysterious Apa Napst, Vedic Aim Nap, the "Son ofthe Waters” 8 The postion of the Zoroastrian Apgm Nap sin many sspets per Yexing! As fr 35 the cul is concerned, he seems at fit sight «mor “ity. No hymn is addressed o fim, and po day f the aoa eased to his eare: With Buoma aad Dalia Kein he wakes sp the 30 chief aia of he Zoroastrian panthenn, and like theme acing i Yoke in every service dedicated tothe divine beings: bet i lng ob ‘ervanos a lest no yasna is ever devoted to hm aloe. Yet in the tng ‘every pasta serve, whenever were invoked tls Apan Nap ho ‘invoked with 119 Moreover nthe divisions of the day (which seem ter than the calendar dediations)'™ the moming is set under the pro tection of great Mita, the aftemooa under that of Apam Nant This means that down Uh ages every Zorostrian wo has prayed in heater aon (andthe orthodox are reed to geay daring each wath) bas ly invoked the “Son of the Waters. He therefore a dominant Sgt ia the cll, despite hie apparent oberurity. ‘The stme striking anomalies appear in the Avestan texts 4 inthe situal Ths in sme passages the god appears only a8 shadowy, baeke ‘round figure, asociatd with other more prominent divinities of ater. Inthe hymn to the rivergoddess, Arad Str, thee ls an ebucte refer. ce to what appears to bea place dedicated o Apam Napa, tat it Worshipper scree to Advi In the yma to Tey, go of We ai sap, tis aid: "Apam Nepit dstbutes tothe material word those ters assigned to dwelling places." and anther verse runs: "We agen Gre iubencon” A dno ata eto Seo ge ae Meese ata SS a, sotto acing eas opt eat Shay Peete eect Stace? Sg a (mee ation 3 an st Baan id 3 4 22 3% ma tt 0 nm gy tet we po Pt wel 2a NSAP Rae oanfrom whom, the loft one, ‘wortip the glorious... star Tita i he rom Apa Nop his?) nate (apa nafbra aca Ero) "Tore are olber Avestan pasages which suggest, however thet the cent pas Napit was tot onl asscatd with the waters, but Was cee very reat ged inthe Traian pantheon Hein fat the only god Sher than Abur Mad and Mitra who fs eve halle as “Ahura” sd Ie shares with the latter (with whorn he parts the daight hour) the bunt sk of maintiing onde nthe word af ae. The flowing Siritng vers concerning him ccrsin Yat 9 (a hymn dedicated tothe ary We worship tbe high Loni" majo" Son ofthe ‘Water, who as sit horse th hr who give ep when called upon {itsh he crated nn, he who shaped men, the god ami the waters, Ato tring prayed to ete swift f alto bee” (sano aban “elocin statom apm spit cure aspom yacomaideardno 2aand ‘hon mora lade po ovata, 8 i peda an om {Jenn The opening wr of thi were, ano arom, the Ugh ies are wed all invocation ofthe “Son ofthe Waters"; and in Scsmian and present usage he fe known accordingly simply as Bure ot Bor te "High Ope” whkl in one place is led as Bus # Sie, th High One, nh isthe Sono the Waters How ld thi sage anol be detrined bt st sagt hat Apa Napt was wot in fac the Ahure's proper mune, but simply another descriptive appelton, Bar” eing ven prefersace ttn invoking him "Avother pase concerning the god ocarsh Yat 1 (te hymn to the frais Huns follows "Mth of wile pastures wl farther all ing ‘onmee of the lds and pacify (he lands) Cat av i orm. Hence forthe mighty pam Napat wl fre al aing coef the ds fed restrain (he lars that are in tel Tn this verse those to fpreat Ahurasrethossern acting togeber ands css the sae ed, tmey to prcerve ode, ae in boman soit imal in Yat a9 tis {att how they sive to potest the divine Khvarno or King Portane, by which legitimate rte maintained among the Iranians. When King TE GODS OF PACA HAN 0 Vina allowed a “Iying, untrue word” into bis mind (34) the Fortune let him and passed into the guardanship of Mithra and fe and thereafter Js that of water (represented By the sea Vaart}, whereupon Apa ‘pt seized atthe bottom of profound bays (51). Thus the two Wiaras not only pursue the same goal, of keping the Khvaranah safe ‘om wicked possess, but one dos 0, characteristic, eonnetion sith re, the oer wath water 8 "The Bablai texte ar in aeord with the Avesta in presenting Apam api (asthe yaad Bur) primasly asa watergod, who dwells anid the sat mythical waters f the world but they aso celebrate im sll as the fd who watches over Khvararah (Khwartah. The following passage i ‘hemos comprehensive: "The abode ofthe yard Bars ethete where are Adve andthe undefiled Waters And his hit du ec distibute the ‘vator of the xe [Vooralkak)t all eons This (tack) oo hs that he “aves creatures fom high surges in cosing the Sea, and watches lays “vee Khare. It prenimably brea ofhiscae forthe Khvarana sw Fortune ofthe Iranian peoples thatthe following strange myth sald ‘him "Every thid year many from non-Lranian lands gather together ‘yon the summit of Mount Harburs, in onde to gointo the ranan ands \oeause bringing of arm and destraction om the werd. Then the yacad "ge comes up fom the depths ofthe water Arang al arouses, upon the highest point ofall tat high mountain, the bird Came which pels ap aU those fom non-ranan lands a ied pecks up gran." This quaint fale forall ts ty, basally im harmony with the general concept of -Apam Nap as one wo eps maintain the Traian realm and to Ward tithe foros of sruption, “hiss virtually all tht i said in the Zoroastrian tradition ofthe "Son of the Waters" but limited though ty ts certainly remarkable, and tree geah ch pny ont abrasion Sat tg og a “renin pesto of acnah ein ia ora sco ut hi eS ie cee eximmn wes ag ae hat Mire so eles Sve pn i el ae TER ER. 0, 54. A 9 Hats a ‘ac taniacas Gee Mahe Wal wal ong desi: ge Fos“ te eacas macrcnoUN ike the calle facts sugests that this divinity was once great god who thas Iecome strangely eversadaved —for it hardly accords with the ftneso thing that nino deity shouldbe had a Ara, the creator ‘of men and quadian of order, equal partner with mighty Mitra, and Tied with water as bis brother Abra i with fre Meagre though the ‘material isin comparton with all that ssi inthe Veda out Varuna, AR nvertheles agers cently with i, and the concepts of the two ‘Asuras Mitea-Varuns, and the two Aburas, Mithr-Apqm Naps, oem ‘taking the sames fo equal gos sharing common asks, moral eis tvho are nevertheless asoited with the two vital elements of re and tater Even the choice of words ia the Avestan pasagedesrbing how {hey mnt social order seme signieant: for whereas Mitra “wil oui” (nimayet), Apa Naget “wil restrain” (mybaite 40 and to ese or fetter wrongdoing i a8 e hae seen, a characteristic activity of esc Varuna’ (On thisevience the Sentfiaton of Avestan Apam Nap with Vedic ‘Varina might theefore seem straightforward: bot theres the avkvard fact to account for thatthe Vedas know two deities, Varupa and Ap Naydt, appacently distinct, The Vedi "Son ofthe Waters” is abo a perplexing gue, however, a much the same ways ashis Iranian counter at. He foo apgears at fst sight tote a minor dvi, and only one Fry is adressed to bin the Rigveda” Yet inthis eis elebated in magnificent terms" notably where it is abl: "Apam Napa the ‘Master, has created ll elagstvough his power as Asura” (apie nap sswiasya mand Sn ory Sivan jn) This as a steking = Semblance to what isda the fugitive verse in pam Napa’ honour in ‘Yai 19 (3) that he "created mea --- shaped men” The Vedic Api [apt iealled the “urge om of rss” (afuhoman) the Avestan one 1 Gy ne Wei 1 9, hn er he wid om schon aa fos ye ty ante bee prey tangs Seat diate ee ase atl ene Taal ses Seng i aa” Vr ood he ee Saipinkre seroma er a i te se coos OF PACA tan 4 Ins the epiet “having swift hors, Hoth expressions scam proper to “sod ofthe waters, who controle thsi waves ike Gree Porton! but in Vee enepeisdéheman i treated sone ofthe many names given to Sia “when regarded as Apsim Napa; for ina number of Rive as “es the "Son ofthe Waters is Woutited with the fregod.** But this tentifction, fr which theres no support on the Iranian side appears ly no means staightforward or exclusive, ad bas been the subject of tach debate among Vedi scholars Thus there are other Rigvedi par “ges which equally cleanly treat Apion Napa and Agni arto dist? eis and yet others where Apia Napa appeats simpy aba water- to wth no forthe ink or ientifaton * Thee fact exit in enn "on with the problem of wha godt se shouldbe associate with Waters, to the extent of driving an appellation from then. To this the most de tale and penetrating answer Is paraps that given by H. Otdenberg "hie scholar rejected the es thst the principal ink was that of ghting with the rao-loud.™ and sought it instead i the ancient association of ante with water. From plants come the aiks whic, rubbed ogeter, “ily “give birth to Aga. These pant are themselves “born” of water, und waters their eing "Water most therefore have been regarded 3 the |Gtet poner which breaks ot as ire from the won of plants When the ler the Bre setursagala to the sk as smoke, that isa8 dod, the cc te completod whieh a Vedic verse describes clearly: "The sme water ‘sends and descends the cura of the day. The tangs elf the vo ram Aveta meno heresies es te eo hse ‘inane ci a Tae le 2) ay some fala endoneay ta sac arp 2 ge. wn ne ogee a fo a Re a Gon aren rd ger cemetery Soar mn a Fer te, Magn “Ap a he da,6 Tre Papa maceenoenD cent, rs refrsh the sky’ (RV x." Further, the quenching of fein water cerned evidently ike an entering of feito tis element, and hence an abiding int In RV 1.05.9 said of Ago: "He hisses, sting there, ke asa in the water™8" Asa esl ofthese speculations ratoal phenomena all water was regarded as Holding fe with ee Nevertheless this is only one aspect, and x relative minor one of the concept of Ag, Even with regard to this go's Birt, be ea ob Born ‘leo of plants ap stones Hei further desribed a ving in plants and ‘ones, bats and men (peesinably erase of anal warmth), and ike ‘vise in the art, which esd to be pregnant with Aga! (doubles be ‘ase plants and york themselves pring from the il "Us the light of ‘ich general ssciations the particular prominence given to the concept ‘of Ago a "king ami the waters” (aps rj)" appears to need some ‘psi explanation, even beyond the speculation which broaght together the two revered elements of water and fre; adthis,Oldenberg suggested, ‘was to be found in «contamination of Agni with an orignal Apsin Nap, a Tndoteanan "water prt” (Warserdimon) originally wally distinct fom him! Through ths contamination the Vedic: Apsm Napat ae quired the mixed thats of a water god and afte god, and Agni's connec tion with water was greatly empbasited and developed Inthe itl, how cere, the conection of Api Nat remained Wwboly with Wate, a does ‘hat of his Tank mae ‘Oidenbergs interpretation wasaccepted by Gray, who supported it wth citations of the Avestan evidence forte character of Again Napa! Dut it was ater tacitly abandoned by Gray himse" and seems there afte to have ben largely ignoted 1 appears however, toler satis factory explanation fer the anomalies inthe Vedi conception of Ap Napit; al ony ene noifation seems necesary, and that & 0 Sub- stitte great Varona, "Cid of the Waters” (apa Su). fr the a BSE SAS Banat, m; Keith Ae on 81855 iS BFE Sore Laser, Fares sen sH c008 OF EAcas RAK ” ‘own “waterspirie” of Olenber’s hypothesis, There are at least two Nigvedie verre which diet sport thi interpretation Both cca ‘ynms concerned with the equation, <9 common in the Vedas, of Agni ‘ith ober gov, equations whieh relate ois various stages o ie or his vasifld functions. Inthe fst hyo te sad: "You, Ag ze Varuna ‘shen you ate born, Vou are Mea when Kode, I you, Som of Strength, svoal gods” (RV 9.3.2, Thiet words imply tha st in the moment of ining ten’ that Agni Varupa ? When from the "water" the soeren sticks, he paies nto blaring fre, he “becomes” itr. In the ‘ther bya the allowing verse ocurs: "You become the ee and peo lector of great pla—you boceme Varuna, since you eater om behalf of ris. You Decome Son ofthe Waters O Jatavedas” (RV 108). Here the hanes Vatuon and Apim Napa appear to be used in apposition within the verse as two terms representing the one god, with whom Agni is ‘uated That the detention of Aye with Api Napat is ony ca Sonali further demonstrated by the fact that in at last one Riedie tym the god Savir ie alo called Apsen Napat.1# This was becaose ‘Savi was Inked withthe san, andthe Belief war that when the sun set ‘nk dwn int the seas that ie beneath the earth and ot could be si "When the sun sinks i the water, it becomes Varuna” or in other term, Savitr becomes Apam Napat. As Aga), dally bor of water. daily ‘becomes Varuna 0 Savitr nightly desening into i i is tara lente with he god “dwelig in the water” the mighty Astra ‘One characterise ofa watergod which Varuna as Varuna setained for bmself was the benecent activity of dispensing ean This, as we Have ‘een, was also a characterise incon ofthe Iranian Spam Napat Later Alevelopment of the concept of Varupa appears to have been exchsively fon these naturalistic Hines. In pos Vedi India he became "God of tbe Water, Ge of the Sea, an nan Neptune’ Srey in Iran Apam apt came to neoket so arey in commetion withthe waters that Cent identised him withthe Osan ofthe Mitra moniments 3" ‘Although on the present evidence there ses no posslity of nal 2 apse ere a ei fe Smee eae pment oma {Aa Laas ee Lider Yaron gt, Lor sed tie mn af Vara Perrier re SER nas oes ee ;8 ‘rue aca wacnnowrD poof, yt the Vedicand Avestan data taken togstier most strongly ot iat in Ivana fies the are Apt Napat "Son of the ‘ater was simpy an appelaton of Varuna lord of te ath; and this bung it emoves thoy eros obstacle to regarding the Flan ‘Ryam Nepal as ura *Vourens, wesaippd by ti ancient appellation. ‘we makes ths interpreta swat certain ix that though it an nia! stractore is estas athe relnsp ofthe great Lads te Vat an Avestan pontbent, with svar fetons being per formed by each In both the Lord Wistar the ist ofthe te go, Sitar andvery powerfal aud ose, cramaced thoagh ing RASELcawith ay ratral penomenont™ orprticlrsnogeof sc ii maya, apparel, wa roy enough #0 encom a ene wordings and beneath i, fling Bs Del, were the igh Pl equal powe, Miia snd *Vourana Spar Napat/Varuos AP35, Th Rigedictines,itsems, Asura Md had already bag to resede fate nec and bition, tobe followed de care bY te oter two ‘oaran but the Zorontane venereal tre ies il oy, with ‘ehtvaly lle change in the fundamental pater of thir concepts “our appa, however, to have seed pete elie through notre than this ret Ab Mir HC ou easy {osanpas hat ths ame about through Mie having already pagan {ae become the dominant one ofthe pi in Ian (rough a deep ‘Rent cyte to that wiih tok place Tod) but i fat there Is ‘ese to suggest thay “Vourme had an exalted place in the ancent {Tanan peed, aot ule that sity Vaan Tin, Ths alone TNE ERESRtupsng, sme at hen the pagan ranians spoke Grube Ata thoy meat at Aburs Mazda, Dt *Vourona. The ese ‘ence sas fos: Mant seldom invoked witout the te Aura, ed ‘lve sar ase betas, ag "Abra" alone even in Zoroaster inter ie and name se sl separate, the prophet never es Fee er witout the tle flowing at leat wih the se apf and among the Pests the two semen bad actually Ben Tanti wee sth eomtry B.C to form singe name: A(aramand This ‘err Crmpouned with that of Mitra fo orn amaspope nary t= ‘s- aton of hema (Cra ith he pe eng the Kota Se sega ane i hare neve AB o> Sfon Sel yo Ole ee oa eH Rat “Te sae A snail Se? Ea fb Pay oe "HE cops OF PAGAN IRAN 0 toed both it seam) in an Old Pesan fr prev by Phase, Mesoromasdeyt' aad ae Suni Miron These ie athe fintar names Mabohrasd;*" ad W acon probable Gat both were Incient compounds, med lca in pga tines and contig nse despite posible clog objections fr ano rammatel rl, hat thochorterwrdsheays tas pecadens in stchaconpoxd, eat hat She mame ofthe lee god bal necesito and ttre tat of Zoe ‘Mere supreme Loe). i seems therefore that in pagan da Maz was reuasty spken of and invoked with hs own wae and te tie Aba tht these bene fm together tie ofr a sige applatin. The nly gel who can tesown to have ben addrened hy the tle Ato sae *Vourina ‘Apa Nap, sho i replay invoked as the “High Lond", shure. isan Tis fc, couple with the pesto o Mii an An Napa sp, sarng the sme Bloc and ocplamesing one antes imakee i lost cartin that in the ancient stand compound mas ‘Bare soda" andthe high Lon the Ara pan Nap fan interpretation sugested lng ago by" Spiegel but without the further ty of etn spam Napa *Vurun),k the ght of thi since the prope ame Obrasddt extn Mid Irain, meaning “Cesta by Aburnaadsan*Aboradita shoud pray be die coty itp aera bythe Alu e- by *Vourna; ba the Soe stestaton of tls rset as pow era ealnge ‘Awelbatestl adjective aberada exits which ours quali 0 > stn din ro hn eer ere! eee Se a bemaieneat nae* ‘rue rac aacxsRo0D ‘nouns, cam earth and otha victory" fact which as ben mi ‘ewoot™ In Zoroastrian theology Ahora Mazdt isthe ultimate Crestor ofall things and thre eno doubt that in the the Aburaof this fijective came to be regarded as refering to hin. Te probably i, Ioweve, tat orginally #Vouruna vas meant, whose Indian counterpart Taleo many acts of eretion and tis indeed is in all kno one of the reasons for his relative eclipr in Zoroastinism—that when Zoro- ner reached that Abra Maads was the Creator ofall things good ‘"Vouruna was robbed of one of his own characteristic Fanetins, an be {ng wo bereft survived inthe main with only the ited activity of God of the Waters heseas Mithr's role of judge and overser wee ithe lected by the new doctsines ands is position remained virtually un- tered, That one of the erative acts of the pagan *Vourana was relly transfered in Zorosstrianl to Aira Mazda actally indicated y the [Avestan texts; for Windsehmann has pointed out! how cosy the swords open of Asan Nap nthe ancient Yat x9 (2): “who creatod in, wh shape men” (90 mda daba, 99 nrfud lalate) are paralleled by those edo Altura Maz inthe more rcont Yasna 1.1: "who ceted iu who shaped fs) (6 n da, 96 alata). Probably, therefore, in gan ‘ines “the Abra, *Vouruna, wa aeo hal as creating the earth which the men formed y him tod upon, and vitory by which the eghteous Could defend at, his epil charge The pagan Aura Maud was prob ‘bly more emote, ike the Vedio Asora and tay well be that the a jective mandate “erented by Mazda” was a specially Zoroatian oinage evolved to sres the creative activity of the supreme Lord nd toed et fst wth deliberate detrinalintent. Thos though Ayam Nap is Feu) lnvoked in the yma wth the water which wa is ancient abi {Eton the mater cvays decribed there ar mazdadata, so that the ins tations ofthe high Lor Apa Naps and Mazda-reated Water” "Elsewhere vctnyicalled both by its ancient fed epithet aburadlt and lon aifyith oslo, masladita:oroDraynom ahuradtom batted ‘nasdadibm.t Kt seems posable, too, that mardayasna, “one whore Wor ana ft alert tea Speed tng" nd ‘te rc Ea at er sees Sr aise eae aS co i et) ma mae erik jee ion oe ELS le oe Vt ‘rr 008 oF eacas mas se ships sds to Masd8"™, was abo a Zoran coinage fr nd tld oni war nc wih rt fo a seme the triton practice of regularly refering to acd with i more "Ahura before his mame See "places the Avesta where it coms pose fo tac he actors feee of woraip fom "the Aura”, *Voorua, to Ahura aed the Yona Hla ei geeral agen hath stent et in the Gade lett emarkably atcha i character, and has een ely eh oe arin ma na Tony prov, which oe, ec,» sort ary accompanying the drings toe and wate. sextant form ts excly devote to ‘rn Mar, butt is very posible tht this the et of revision, and that originally i was the Gwe leer Aran who were invoked. the erat water andre. Despite chaning, someting pagan chs ‘ein Th Aura Maud saddened a one who s"baem ham whem Sov ry destin fr hare” (est ama yo atl dh words “ppropste to either Mitha or *Vouana, ster aminrtatere ofthe ‘eh, bt nord withthe character of Abara Magda peered by Yaracte. Hei lkewise si abe hum, "posed of od mya Even me sukigly, the Waters ar ald the Abr’ wives hae rina concep whch paral in he Rigveda by teen at he ‘Water ae the "ve of Varuna But there they ae called ara ‘hich i yet another pee of evidence to show tat pagan Ian “thn “Ahora” nant *Vourua only. Nowhere le btn the Varn ply ‘Seis particular tbs te god ofthe Water thas ances to the Supreme diy Why should have been that in Enda Ana *Madhs scm thaw st tis proper name becoming imply “the Aaa” whereas in an this bet ‘Nurama ltd, rena tac The usage tally contrasts wt ‘atom in the ori of ita Mita, fort am exp ule reir nent that hia dviy must be ase by bis name if evoion Aoshi ito be efltve™ and in thi again the Iranian Bir at 1 Se sate, te a nie mvp, BAS RH, 9739. Sidra rarer aE gd ai tye Seg SST tac oo Ca ISS FEISS 728% oe vat Ih, Mi nd rem ai ca css a a as sn nanan mace Fortunate, fr the fact that *Vourana was regularly addressed simply as “Ahura” must have made it esis for Zoroastrian theologians gradually to annex sch of reat to Abra Mauda. Later the popularity of the Fiver gokes Arai Sar (probably dun pat to her assimilation under the Aetaereaians to an alien mother goddess) ems to have riven him ‘even watergod sill further nto the background, so that although in {heyjait is aways he wh is nvoked with "Maad-cteated Water, the seciie prayer tothe Waters, the daw Nisiye, came to consist anost thtiely of verses frog Aedvis's yt, andthe geat Ahura was no longer ‘even mentioned there. Nevertheless, it was his part in the calk which ‘ensured *Vouruna Apa Nap leting worship by Zoroastrians. Its Ioveovet, probably cute facts which brought t about that whea he and Mithea aw splen of togeter (asin the ancient gat passages) its aay Mithea who stands fist, for ae protector of the morning wath he i ‘regularly ive in the litrgie beloe his brother Ahora, wo follows him in guarding the hours afternoon; an this ust have se the segular pattern oftheir lationship. The diversity in *Voaruna’s invocation, 5 Sn ofthe Waters" and “igh Lord together with 2 fly general ne Aierenceon the part of Western scholars to Zoroastrian devotional ie, Ihave combined to abscuc the fat ofthis elatenship fr alien nguiers. “in pga times the great tind of Asaras repesentd, it seems, 28 coup the chief moral deities ofthe Tndo-Trantns. Inthe case of each the ethical aepct "is decidedly prevalent and makes up the personality ‘nd typical carater ofthe god" The dgity and wort of the bse oncepions indeed sn tikng tha forme some boars lt that they ‘were tot in harmony with Ue apparertiy more pimitive character of Imany Teaalan and Vedic gods, Unscesfal attempts weze accordingly nade to derive these particular dete from some alien cultre, such as {Hat of Babylon; but their Indo-Kanian oiia may beheld By now to be fil established, [thas bee sauibly soggested that their once and ‘worip evolved daring the dime when the Indians and Tranans, stl living together as one commanity, under Wags and possibly high King.” fame fo reflect more desply pon rule and rolerhip, upon social and ‘mic odes, “The ol inherited sese of a general unity, of «certain egulaity inthe enves, led sot speak othe concept of set of divine laws which were ander the protection ofthe divine rulers, just as earthly ‘riers protected Ue avs which preva i hae realms. Dest is Ey et nt a en aug ‘Ue 008 OF AAs RAN 3 twsiton of authority, the king was bound to ht own undertakings and “hand withthe rasfrence of the state of art Ue cours, the “ermal kw [came to be conelvedaliost as primary’. The naire ‘ofthe great moral Asuras indicates necessary a society Whose const ‘on ad laws were ao lenge at an entirely pimitive lve. The beige which atach to them may of coure have deeper oot in an older socal ‘ystem, but thee development beats the imprint of the farther evaltion sf tbe Ind-Lanian state" This devlopreat bas been further defined in he following word "In place ofthe ol eling of bles dependence en natural Yor twas ever increasingly the hun, sol and pita Conditions of life whieh farnshed the peeotyp fer the concept of de [endence on higher powers; dependence onthe King onthe strong warn, ‘en the wise priest, on the man of wealth, So instead of dvaied natural ‘Phenomena there appeared [inthe eas of Indra the form of the godlike hero or benefactor inthe case of Mitra and Varupa those of godlike ge and jogs 28 There can be no doubt thatthe heroic Toda belongs ke the three Auras, tothe common Indo-Iranian pantien, fore apts among the ‘adver in Zoroastan teaition, that, he was among the divine beings ‘ejected by Zoroaster a alae ge. Even In the Vedas, whet Indra and ‘Varupa both rule as universal king, the oppostion between them i ee ‘ogni, thls characters being whally diferent Hoth are regal; but whereas Varuna rales by ins, to which be demands obedience ro gods {nd men, Indra owes hs power ta his own overwbeiming might. Hef gtr, wieder of the thinderblt,nurtuced onthe fntoeating soma, tex of many myths, violet, lavish reckless, sens. He fs beld 0 cenbody the tpecf the Indo-Iranian wari, night in combat andi bis tations, and generous to his followers with the booty guna in bate fen as Tada eld to be most bountfl to Bs worshipper, althoogh ‘kmanding from them in turn ample offerings, fr tx thoe rater than ‘ethical actions which secure his favour. The contrast between im 30d ‘Varuna is strikingly expressed in 3 Rigveda in which the two gos state ip tum thet diferent claims to greatness” Varuoa dears Lordship belongs indeed tome, the perpetual sovereign, all he Im