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In the
Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the lit ...
, (or ') is both an
Avestan language Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
common noun as well as the proper name of a
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
divinity. The common noun is a theological and social term literally meaning "member of (the) community or tribe." In a secondary development, the common noun became the proper name of a divinity Airyaman, who is the ''
yazata Yazata ( ae, 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 i ...
'' of health and healing. /sup> In Zoroastrian tradition, Avestan Airyaman is
Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...
''Erman'' (''Ērmān'').


In scripture


In the Gathas

The divinity Airyaman does not appear in the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and considered to have been composed by
Zoroaster Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...
himself. In the few instances where the term does appear (''
Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
'' .


In the Younger Avesta

According to a cosmogonical story preserved in the ''Vendidad'', not long after Ahura Mazda had created the world,
Angra Mainyu Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of th ...
unleashed innumerable sicknesses upon it. In response, Ahura Mazda requested Manthra Spenta, Sraosha and Airyaman to find a cures for them, promising each that he would reward them and bless them with Dahma Afriti. With Airyaman's assistance, Ahura Mazda then brought 10,000 plants to the earth, so providing Thraetaona with the means to cure the world of all ills (''
Vendidad The Vendidad /ˈvendi'dæd/ or Videvdat or Videvdad is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the ''Vendidad'' is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual. Name ...
'' 22.5.). Airyaman is closely associated with
Asha Vahishta Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) 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(eousness)', 'ord ...
, the Amesha Spenta of "Best Truth" (or "Best Righteousness"). In ''Vendidad'' 20.11 and in ''Yasht'' 2 (dedicated to the seven Amesha Spentas), he is described as "following" '' asha'', which is what Asha Vahishta is the hypostasis of. The third
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.'' Overview The wor ...
, which is nominally a hymn to Asha Vahishta is for the greater part a praise of the ''
airyaman ishyo The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Avestan language, Gathic Avestan Mantra (Zoroastrianism), invocations. Name The prayer is named after its opening words, ''ā ...
'', which in Zoroastrian tradition is considered to be an invocation of the divinity Airyaman.''cf.'' . Like the truth/order (''asha'') that is preserved through the proper recitation of prayer, "Airyaman does not heal by means of herbs and drugs, medicine and surgery, but by the holy spells.". Although Airyaman does not have a day-name dedication in the
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'' ...
, he is invoked together with Asha Vahishta on the third day of the month (''Siroza'' 2.3). Airyaman's stock epithet is ''ishya'' "desirable" (''Yasna'' 27.5, ''Visparad'' 1.8, 2.10, ''Vendidad'' 22.9, 22.19, 22.20). In other passages of the ''Vendidad'', Airyaman is "vow-fulfilling" (11.7, 21.20 and 21.21).


In tradition

According to ''
Denkard The ''Dēnkard'' or ''Dēnkart'' (Middle Persian: 𐭣𐭩𐭭𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭲 "Acts of Religion") is a 10th-century compendium of Zoroastrian beliefs and customs during the time. The Denkard is to a great extent considered an "Encyclopedia of Ma ...
'' 3.157, it is due "to the superior assistance and friendship" of Airyaman (→ MP ''Erman'') that a physician can heal through medicinal herbs. The physician's medical skills depend on the quality of his relationship with Airyaman. In the same section, Airyaman's healing powers are said to be "hidden" or have "occult efficacy." He has the God-commanded power to cure 4,333 kinds of diseases. The Avesta's identification of Airyaman with
Asha Vahishta Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) 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(eousness)', 'ord ...
(→ MP ''Ardavahisht'') is carried forward into Zoroastrian tradition. In ''Denkard'' 8.37.13, Airyaman's role as healer is even shared with Asha Vahishta: While Airyaman is responsible for corporeal health, Asha Vahishta is responsible for spiritual health. In the eschatology of Zoroastrian tradition, "Fire and Airyaman will melt the metals that are in the mountains and hills, and they will flow over the earth like rivers. And they will make all men to pass through that molten metal and thereby make them clean.". Similarly, in the ''
Bundahishn ''Bundahishn'' (Avestan: , "Primal Creation") is the name traditionally given to an encyclopedic collection of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi. The original name of the work is not known. Although the ''Bundahishn'' ...
'' (completed 12th century), the proper noun ''airyaman'' is an epithet of the ''
saoshyant Saoshyanet (Avestan: 𐬯𐬀𐬊𐬳𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬧𐬝 saoš́iiaṇt̰) is the Avestan language expression that literally means "one who brings benefit", and which is used in several different ways in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition. In par ...
'',. an eschatological figure who brings about the final renovation of the world. Like the divinity Airyaman, the ''saoshyant'' is closely connected to Asha Vahishta. In a
Pazend Pazend () or Pazand ( pal, 𐭯𐭠𐭰𐭭𐭣; ae, 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 𐬰𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬙𐬌) is one of the writing systems used for the Middle Persian language. It was based on the Avestan alphabet, a phonetic alphabet originally used to ...
nuptial hymn that continues to be recited at Zoroastrian weddings, the divinity of health is invoked as the guardian of matrimony. The doctrinal foundation of this identification is ''Yasna'' 54.1 (reiterated in the hymn), which invokes Airyaman "for the joy of the marrying couple.". In present-day Zoroastrianism, the Gathic ''
airyaman ishyo The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Avestan language, Gathic Avestan Mantra (Zoroastrianism), invocations. Name The prayer is named after its opening words, ''ā ...
'' prayer is considered to be an invocation of the divinity Airyaman.


Scholastic issues

;In relationship to Vedic ''aryaman-'' The common meaning of ''airyaman''/''aryaman'' as "member of community" is preserved in both Avestan and Vedic sources, as in both cultures the common noun ''airyaman''/''aryaman'' defines "a type of social group." However, the respective divinities do not have a common primary attribute: While the RigVedic Aryaman is apparently the " riend byhospitality,". Avestan Airyaman is unambiguously a divinity of healing. Attempts to explain this anomaly range from an alternative interpretation of the masculine form of the Vedic noun, for example, as "protector of ''aryan'' men,"Dumézil qtd. in
   .
to a reinterpretation of "healing", for example, "he also exists in the Avesta, under the name Airyaman, and there also is he the helper, the benefactor of man, inasmuch as he is a healing god.". ;Name versus Function Zoroastrian divinities are – Airyaman being a solitary exception – hypostases of the common nouns that their names represent. Why this is not so for ''airyaman''/Airyaman is generally accepted to be a secondary development: One hypothesis dates the identification with healing to before the composition of the Gathic ''
airyaman ishyo The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Avestan language, Gathic Avestan Mantra (Zoroastrianism), invocations. Name The prayer is named after its opening words, ''ā ...
''. Here, (following a well established meaning) "member of (the) community," is interpreted to signify a member "of the fellowship of priests (''sodalis'').". Accordingly, Airyaman came to be understood as the divinity of healing (and the prayer came to be considered a charm against sickness) because in antiquity priests were repositories of medicinal knowledge and "the healer among healers was he who healed by the holy WORD.". According to a "strict philology". methodology that relies only on etymological and grammatical evidence, the genenis of Airyaman lies in a Younger Avestan exegesis of the Gathic ''
airyaman ishyo The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Avestan language, Gathic Avestan Mantra (Zoroastrianism), invocations. Name The prayer is named after its opening words, ''ā ...
'' prayer. The proper noun was misconstrued to be an invocation of a divinity named Airyaman, who became the ''
yazata Yazata ( ae, 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 i ...
'' of healing because the prayer was identified with healing (for example, eulogized in ''Yasna'' 3 as "the greatest of manthras against sickness"). While it was accepted that the Avestan common noun ''airyaman'' and Vedic ''aryaman-'' both indicate a type of social group, that 'Avestan Airyaman is a chimera ... would have been determined long ago if a Vedic divinity of this name ... had not confused the issue.'


Notes


References


Bibliography

* (fasc., 1979, Berlin: de Gruyter) * * * * *''Vendîdâd'' in * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Yazatas