Ashi

Ashi (Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬌 aṣ̌i/arti) is the Avestan language word for the Zoroastrian concept of "that which is attained." As the hypostasis of "reward," "recompense," or "capricious luck," Ashi is also a divinity in the Zoroastrian hierarchy of yazatas. Avestan 'ashi' is a feminine abstract noun, deriving from the root ar-, "to allot," with a substantivizing -ta suffix, hence aṣ̌i/arti "that which is granted." In the Avesta, the term implies both material and spiritual recompense. Although conceptually older than Zoroastrianism, Ashi has no attested equivalent in Vedic Sanskrit. The late Middle Persian equivalent as attested in the Zoroastrian texts of the 9th-12th century is ard-, which is subject to confusion with another ard for aṣ̌a/arta- "truth". In the younger Avesta, divinified Ashi is also referred to Ashi Vanuhi or Ashi Vanghuhi (Aši vaηuhī, nominative Ašiš vaηuhī "Good Reward"), the Middle Persian equivalent of which is Ahrishwang (Ahrišwang). Ashi is also attested as a dvandvah compound as Ashi Vanghuhi-Parendi. Avestan ashi is already attested in the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrianism and believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra himself. In these hymns, where the term occurs 17 times, ashi is still an abstract concept and is not yet the divinity that she would become in the younger Avesta. With the adjective "good" (hence -vanuhi), ashi occurs thrice. In the Gathas, ashi is frequently identified with asha "truth", so for instance in Yasna 51.10 where the poet calls "truth to [him], to come with good reward." The idea being expressed here is a soteriological one, with "truth" being connected to the afterlife (see asha for details) and ashi being the appropriate recompense for the soul after death (cf. ashavan). This is also apparent in Yasna 43.5 where Ahura Mazda appoints "reward for deed and word: bad for the bad, good reward for the good." Subject to proper conduct in life, ashi is then tied to Zoroaster's concept of free will, evident for instance in Yasna 50.