Avestan asha (aša; Old Persian arta, Middle Persian ard) is a central principle of Zoroastrianism, representing "truth", "justice" or "order". Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. ... See Aryan Language or Old Persian For more information visit: *[Ancient Iranian Languages & Literature The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS) ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... Zoroastrianism (Avestan DaÄ“nā Vañuhi the good religion)[1][2] is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ...

The opposite of asha is druj (Old Persian drauga), representing "untruth", "chaos".

Etymology

Avestan aša and its Vedic equivalent ṛtá both derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian *árta "truth", which derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r-to- "properly joined, right, true", from the root *h₂ar also found in *h₂ar-yo-. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, which are the earliest sacred texts of India,. The Vedas were first passed down orally and therefore have no known date. ... RTA is a TLA that could mean: Chicagos Regional Transportation Authority (AAR reporting mark RTA) Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Road Traffic Accident, see car accident Roads and Traffic Authority, in New South Wales, Australia Renal Tubular Acidosis Riverside Transit Agency, in Riverside County, California Rewriting Techniques and Applications... The term Indo-Iranian includes all speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, i. ... This article is about the baked good, for other uses see Pie (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Avestan druj, like its Vedic Sanskrit cousin druh, appears to derive from the PIE root *dreugh, also continued inBulgarian DRUG means OTHER" in German Trug "fraud, deception". Old Norse draugr and Middle Irish aurddrach both mean "spectre, spook". The Sanskrit cognate druh means "affliction, afflicting demon".

The concept

In a literal sense, asha means "truth", more literally "what is properly joined, in its proper place", hence "cosmic order" (see cosmos). The Ancient and Medieval cosmos as depicted in Peter Apians Cosmographia (Antwerp, 1539). ...

For the Indo-Iranians, all physical creation (geti) was determined to run according to a "master plan" - in Zoroaster's revelation inherent to Ahura Mazda - and violations of the order (druj) were violations against creation, and thus violations against Ahura Mazda. Map of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture (red), its expansion into the Andronovo culture during the 2nd millennium BC, showing the overlap with the BMAC in the south. ... Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Indo-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all (God). ...

Asha represents order, creation and truth, while druj represents the inversion of these concepts (chaos, decay, untruth, faithlessness). In their lives, mortal beings (humans and animals both) are active participants in the conflict of asha versus druj, and it is their duty to defend order, which would decay without counteraction.

This concept of asha versus the druj presents a similarly absolute moral dichotomy as that of good versus evil in Abrahamic religions, with the difference that Zoroastrianism - similar to other eastern religions - did not originally hypostasize 'bad' and 'good' (or rather 'bad' vs. 'better'). Like western religions however, God is the Creator of only the good, and hence (epitomized) Badness had to have a source other than God. The resolution of this conundrum was a primary factor in the monist developments of Zurvanite Zoroastrianism and its extreme dualism. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Bouguereaus LInnocence (Innocence). Both the child and the lamb represent fragility and peacefulness, as seen in religious art. ... map showing the prevalence of Abrahamic (purple) and Dharmic (yellow) religions in each country. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Zurvan is the Persian god of infinite time, space and fate. ... It has been suggested that Combative dualism be merged into this article or section. ...

As a divinity

In the Zoroastrian hierarchy of yazatas, asha is represented by and is the epitome of Asha Vahista, the Amesha Spenta of 'best righteousness'. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrian angelology. ... In Zoroastrianism, Amesha Spentas are the Holy Immortals, the equivalent of Archangels in Christian theology. ...

In proper names

Together with its old and middle Persian equivalents, the term asha appears in a number of theophoric names, including Ardešir, Arda Viraf and Arta-xšaϑra (Greek: Artaxerxes). It is also the root of the name of the city of Ardabil. Theophoric names are exceedingly common in the Ancient Near East and Mesopotamia, where the personal name of an individual included the name of a god in whose care the individual is entrusted. ... The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text which describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian through the next world. ... Artaxerxes was the name of several rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia: Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes II Artaxerxes III Arses of Persia is believed to have taken the royal title of Artaxerxes IV. Bessus, the Persian nobleman who murdered Darius III of Persia, renamed himself Artaxerxes when he claimed the... Ardabil (in Persian: اردبیل; also known as Ardebil; ancient name: Artavil) is a historical city in north-western Iran. ...

The asronih, the Parthian and Sassanid era feudal class that represented the priesthood, is the equivalent of the Avestan term ashavan, the "righteous man".