Concept
Ashi
Related concepts (13)
Anahita
Anahita ɑːnə'hiːtə is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom. There is also a temple named Anahita in Iran. Aredvi Sura Anahita is Ardwisur Anahid (اردویسور آناهید) or Nahid (ناهید) in Middle and Modern Persian, and Anahit in Armenian.
Asha
Asha (ˈʌʃə) or arta (ˈɑrtə; 𐬀𐬴𐬀 Aṣ̌aArta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right working'. For other connotations, see Meaning below. It is of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aṣ̌a/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism".
Ashavan
Ashavan (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).
Yasht
The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns in the Younger Avestan language. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. Yasht chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as Yt. The word yasht derives from Middle Persian 𐭩𐭱𐭲 yašt (“prayer, worship”) probably from Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬱𐬙𐬀 (yašta, “honored”), from 𐬫𐬀𐬰 (yaz, “to worship, honor”), from Proto-Indo-European *yeh2ǵ- or *Hyaǵ-, and several hymns of the Yasna liturgy that "venerate by praise" are—in tradition—also nominally called yashts.
Aban
Apas (ˈɑːpəs,_æp-, āpas) is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerable aggregate states, is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters. Āb (plural Ābān) is the Middle Persian-language form. "To this day reverence for water is deeply ingrained in Zoroastrians, and in orthodox communities offerings are regularly made to the household well or nearby stream." The ape zaothra ceremony—the culminating rite of the Yasna service (which is in turn the principal act of worship)—is literally for the "strengthening of the waters.
Sraosha
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.
Yasna
Yasna (ˈjʌsnə; ,) is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's principal act of worship. It is also the name of the primary liturgical collection of Avesta texts, recited during that yasna ceremony. The function of the yasna ceremony is, very roughly described, to strengthen the orderly spiritual and material creations of Ahura Mazda against the assault of the destructive forces of Angra Mainyu. The yasna service, that is, the recitation of the Yasna texts, culminates in the apæ zaothra, the "offering to the waters.
Ahura
Ahura (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬀) is an Avestan language designation for a particular class of Zoroastrian divinities. The term is assumed to be linguistically related to the Asuras of Indian Vedic era. Avestan ahura "lord" derives from Proto-Indo-Iranian language *Hásuras, also attested in an Indian context as Rigvedic asura. As suggested by the similarity to the Old Norse æsir, Indo-Iranian *Hásuras may have an even earlier Proto-Indo-European language root.
Yazata
Yazata (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".
Zoroastrian calendar
Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire. Qadimi ("ancient") is a traditional reckoning introduced in 1006. Shahanshahi ("imperial") is a calendar reconstructed from the 10th century text Denkard. Fasli is a term for a 1906 adaptation of the 11th century Jalali calendar following a proposal by Kharshedji Rustomji Cama made in the 1860s.