DaevaA daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 daēuua) is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the daevas are "gods that are (to be) rejected". This meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian "daiva inscription" of the 5th century BCE. In the Younger Avesta, the daevas are divinities that promote chaos and disorder. In later tradition and folklore, the dēws (Zoroastrian Middle Persian; New Persian divs) are personifications of every imaginable evil.
YazataYazata (𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀) is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration", and is thus, in this more general sense, also applied to certain healing plants, primordial creatures, the fravashis of the dead, and to certain prayers that are themselves considered holy. The yazatas collectively are "the good powers under Ahura Mazda", who is "the greatest of the yazatas".
MithraMithra ( Miθra, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 Miça), commonly known as Mehr or Mithras among Romans, is an ancient Iranian deity of covenants, light, oath, justice, the sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth, and the guardian of cattle, the harvest, and the Waters. The Romans attributed their Mithraic mysteries to Zoroastrian Persian sources relating to Mithra.
HaomaHaoma (ˈhoʊmə; Avestan: 𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and mythology. Haoma has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic soma. Both Avestan haoma and Sanskrit soma derived from proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma. The linguistic root of the word haoma, hu-, and of soma, su-, suggests 'press' or 'pound'. In Old Persian cuneiform it was known as 𐏃𐎢𐎶 hauma, as in the DNa inscription (c. 490 BC) which makes reference to "haoma-drinking Scythians" (Sakā haumavargā).
AtarAtar, Atash, Azar (𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭) or Dāštāɣni, is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to be the visible presence of Ahura Mazda and his Asha through the eponymous Yazata. The rituals for purifying a fire are performed 1,128 times a year. In the Avestan language, ātar is an attribute of sources of heat and light, of which the nominative singular form is ātarš, source of Persian ātaš (fire).
Amesha SpentaIn Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (Aməša Spəṇta—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the term include the contraction 'Ameshaspand' as well as the specifically Zoroastrian 'Mahraspand' and 'Amahraspand'. Significantly more common than the non-specific meaning of Amesha Spenta (see below) is a restrictive use of the term to refer to the great seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda.
JamshidJamshid (dʒæmˈʃiːd) (جمشید, Jamshēd; Middle- and New Persian: جم, Jam) also known as Yima (Avestan: 𐬫𐬌𐬨𐬀 Yima; Pashto/Dari: یما Yama) is the fourth Shah of the mythological Pishdadian dynasty of Iran according to Shahnameh. In Persian mythology and folklore, Jamshid is described as the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian Dynasty (before the Kayanian dynasty). This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture (e.g.
AshavanAshavan (Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬀𐬬𐬀𐬥 ašavan) is a Zoroastrian theological term. It literally means "possessing/mastering aša" and has been interpreted as "possessing/mastering truth" or "possessing/mastering righteousness", but has further implications: It is an epithet of Ahura Mazda (Yasht 1.12). The term may then be applied to anything within the domain of Ahura Mazda and/or Aša (i.e. all of Creation), and excludes only that which is drəgvant "possessing lie" (YAv: drvant).
KhvarenahKhvarenah (also spelled khwarenah or xwarra(h): 𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀𐬵 ) is an Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aiding the appointed. The neuter noun thus also connotes "(divine) royal glory", reflecting the perceived divine empowerment of kings. The term also carries a secondary meaning of "(good) fortune"; those who possess it are able to complete their mission or function.
RashnuRashnu (𐬭𐬀𐬴𐬢𐬏) is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian yazata of justice. Together with Mithra and Sraosha, Rashnu is one of the three judges who pass judgment on the souls of people after death. Rashnu's standard appellation is "the very straight." In the Bundahishn, a Zoroastrian account of creation finished in the 11th or 12th century, Rashnu (Middle Persian: Rashn) is identified as an assistant of the Amesha Spenta Ameretat (Amurdad), "immortality". (GBd xxvi.115).
