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Concept
Sraosha
Summary
Sraosha (𐬯𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬴𐬀 or 𐬯𐬆𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬴𐬀 'sroː.ʃa) is the Avestan name of the Zoroastrian yazata of "Conscience" and "Observance", which is also the literal meaning of his name.
In the Middle Persian commentaries of the 9th-12th centuries, the divinity appears as 𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭱, S(a)rosh. This form appears in many variants in New Persian as well, for example سروش, Sorūsh. Unlike many of the other Yazatas (concepts that are "worthy of adoration"), Sraosha is also frequently referred to as the "Angel of Conscience" or "Voice of Conscience", which overlaps with both of his role as the "Teacher of Daena", Daena being the hypostasis of both "Conscience" and "Religion" and Guardian/Companion over the Chinvat Bridge.
Sraosha is already attested in the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and believed to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. In these earliest texts, Sraosha is routinely associated with the Amesha Spentas, the six "Bounteous Immortals" through which Ahura Mazda realized ("created by His/Her thought") creation.
In the Gathas, Sraosha's primary function is to propagate conscience and the beauty of life, secondly the religion of Ahura Mazda to humanity, as Sraosha himself learned it from Ahura Mazda. This is only obliquely alluded to in these old verses but is only properly developed in later texts (Yasna 57.24, Yasht 11.14 etc.). Directly evident in the Gathas is the description as the strongest, the sturdiest, the most active, the swiftest, and the most awe-inspiring of youths (Yasna 57.13), and as the figure that the poor look to for support (57.10).
In the ethical goals of Zoroastrianism ("good thoughts, good words, good deeds") as expressed in Yasna 33.14, Sraosha is identified with good deeds. This changes in Zoroastrian tradition (Denkard 3.13-14), where Sraosha is identified with good words. In Yasna 33.5, the poet speaks of Sraosha as the greatest of all (decision makers) at the final renovation of the world.
In 50.4-5, the poet sees the path of Sraosha (an allusion to the Chinvat bridge) as
In 43.
Official source
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