Ahura is the Avestan language designation for a class of divinity, adopted by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) from prehistoric proto-Indo-Iranian religion. The term was subsequently inherited by Persian mythology, where ahura (Persian: اهورا) has the same meaning as in Zoroastrianism. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ... Zoroaster, in a popular Parsi Zoroastrian depiction. ... The beliefs and practices of the culturally and linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the Iranian Plateau and its borderlands, as well as areas of Central Asia from the Black Sea to Khotan (modern Ho-tien, China), form Persian mythology. ... Persian is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrians. ...

Etymology and definition

The term ahura is cognate to the Vedic asura, a designation that remains in use in present-day Vedic religions. Both terms may have an even earlier proto-Indo-European root, as suggested by the similarity to the old Germanic æsir. For not altogether obvious reasons, the Oxford English Dictionary lists asura, rather than ahura, as a Zoroastrian term. The Vedas (Sanskrit वेद) are an extremaly large series of writings originating in Ancient India. ... The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language, a prehistoric people of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. ... Old German could refer to: Old High German Old Low German (also Old Saxon) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In Old Norse, the Æsir (singular Áss, feminine Ásynja, feminine plural Ásynjur, Anglo-Saxon Ós, from Proto-Germanic *Ansuz) are the principal gods of the pantheon of Norse mythology. ... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ...

The meaning of asura in the Vedic religions is the moral opposite of the meaning of ahura in Zoroastrianism (and in all Iranian languages). Although Vedic religions are not as polarized on issues of good versus evil as Zoroastrianism is, the Vedic devas are more propitious than not, while the asuras are more easily associated with death and destruction. In Zoroastrianism, where the battle between good and evil is a distinguishing characteristic of the religion, the ahuras are wholly benevolent, and the daevas are wholly malevolent. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrians. ... Deva (देव in Devanagari script, pronounced as dévə) is the Sanskrit word for god, deity. It can be variously interpreted as a spirit, demi-god, celestial being, angel, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence. ... // In Hinduism In Hindu mythology, the Asura (Sanskrit: असुर) are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes misleadingly referred to as demons. ...

The process by which the terms came to have different meanings remains unclear, but the use of ahura to designate the 'right' divinities and daeva to designate the 'wrong' divinities was firmly established by the time the Gathas, the oldest and most sacred of the texts of the Avesta, were composed (roughly contemporary to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit). The Daeva are a fictional clan of vampires in the role-playing game Vampire: The Requiem, published by White Wolf Game Studio . ... The Gathas are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... The Brahmana (Sanskrit ब्राह्मण) are part of the Hindu Shruti; They are composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and the period of their composition is sometimes referred to as the Brahmanic period or age (approximately between 900 BC and 500 BC). ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ...

In the oldest of the Vedic texts, asura is used to denote the "older gods" presiding over the moral and social phenomena of the primeval universe, while the devas are the "younger gods" who preside of nature and the environment (Rig Veda 10.124.3). In the Vedic account of creation, some of these "older gods" went over to the "younger gods", so joining the ranks of the devas, and the remaining asuras were exiled to the nether world. While this distinction between asuras and asuras-who-became-devas is preserved in the texts of the Rig Veda, in later texts, asura is simply an epithet to categorize all non-devas, or alternately, those who are opposed to the devas. The Rigveda (Sanskrit: , a tatpurusha compound of praise, verse and knowledge) is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns counted among the four Hindu religious texts known as the Vedas. ...

In the Gathas, which are thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, the prophet exhorts his followers to pay reverence to only the ahuras, and to rebuff the daevas and others who act "at Lie's command". In the Fravaraneh, the Zoroastrian credo summarized in Yasna 12.1, the adherent declares: "I profess myself a Mazda worshiper, a follower of the teachings of Zoroaster, rejecting the daevas, ... " This effectively defines ahura by defining what ahura is not. The Gathas are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ...

Association

The most notable of the proto-Indo-Iranian asuras as indicated by the Rig Veda are *agni (Atar in Avestan), *soma (Haoma), *mitra (Mithra) and *vouruna. The latter does not have an obvious equivalent in Zoroastrianism, but Kuiper believes *vouruna is the otherwise nameless "Father Asura" of Rig Veda 10.124.3, who - perhaps in conjunction with *mitra - is "historically identical" to Ahura Mazda. Boyce disagrees, and equates *vouruna with the mythological "grandson of the waters", Apam Napat, also known as Ahura Berezant or Burz Yazad. See also Atar, Mauritania. ... See Soma (disambiguation) for other uses. ... This article is about the Zoroastrian yazata Mithra (Miθra). ... Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all (God). ... In Hinduism, Apam Napat is the god of fresh water, such as in rivers and lakes. ... Burz is the middle Persian name for the Indo-Iranian divinity of waters. ...

In the Gathas, Zoroaster does not specify which of the divinities (aside from Ahura Mazda) he considers to be an ahura. While Ahura Mazda is "the mightiest Ahura" (Yasna 33.11) and Zoroaster speaks of "the Wise one and the (other) Ahuras" (Yasna 30.9, 31.4), specifics are not provided. Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all (God). ...

In later texts of the Avesta however, in particular in the Yashts, the texts dedicated to the individual divinities of the Zoroastrian hierarchy, Mithra is frequently named as one of the ahuras. In Achaemenid era iconography, Mithra, Anahita and the Baga (*vouruna, according to Boyce) are recorded as ahuras. The Persepolis Ruins The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian:Hakamanishiya, Persian: هخامنشیان) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ...

See also

• asura, the Vedic equivalent of ahura.
• daeva, the moral opposite of ahura.
• Zoroastrian angels: Yazatas, and Amesha Spentas

// In Hinduism In Hindu mythology, the Asura (Sanskrit: असुर) are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes misleadingly referred to as demons. ... The Daeva are a fictional clan of vampires in the role-playing game Vampire: The Requiem, published by White Wolf Game Studio . ... Zoroastrian angelology is branch of Zoroastrian doctrine that deals with the hierarchical system of divinities introduced by the reforms of Zarathustra (Zoroaster). ... In Zoroastrianism, the yazatas are supernatural beings created by Ahura Mazda to help him fight the evil forces of Ahriman and keep the world in order. ... In Zoroastrianism, Amesha Spentas are the Holy Immortals, the equivalent of Archangels in Christian theology. ...

Bibliography

• Boyce, Mary (1996). History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. I, The early period. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9004104747.
• Boyce, Mary (1997). History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. II, Under the Achamenians. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9004065067.
• Boyce, Mary (2002). Ahura Mazda. In Encyclopaedia Iranica. New York: Mazda Pub.
• Kuiper, B. F. J. (2002). Ahura. In Encyclopaedia Iranica. New York: Mazda Pub.