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Apam Napat is a deity in the Indo-Iranian
pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
associated with water. His names in the
Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
, ''Apām Napāt'', and in
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
, ''Apąm Napāt'', mean "child of the waters" in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Avestan 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 ...
respectively. '' Napāt'' ("grandson", "progeny") is cognate with
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''nepos'' and English ''
nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...
''. In the
Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
, he is described as the creator of all things. In the
Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
it is often apparent that ''Apām Napāt'' is being used as a title, not a proper name. This is most commonly applied to
Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
, god of fire, and occasionally to
Savitr Savitṛ (Sanskrit: stem ', nominative singular '), also rendered as Savitur, in Vedic scriptures is an Aditya i.e. off-spring of the Vedic primeval mother goddess Aditi. His name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes "impeller, rouser, vivifier." H ...
, god of the sun. A correspondence has also been posited by Boyce between both the Vedic and Avestic traditions of Apam Napat, and
Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...
, who is also addressed as "Child of the Waters", and is considered a god of the sea. In the Iranian tradition, he is also called ''Burz'' ("high one," fa, برز}) and is a ''yazad''.


Role

In
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 wo ...
 19 of the Zoroastrian
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 litu ...
''Apąm Napāt'' appears as the creator of mankind. However, since in Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazdā Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
is venerated as supreme creator, this function of Apąm Napāt has become reduced. This is one reason ''Apąm Napāt'' is no longer widely worshipped, though he is still honoured daily through the Zoroastrian liturgies. The creator-god status is also seen in a hymn in honour of the Vedic ''Apām Napāt''. Alongside
Mithra Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing ...
, Apąm Napāt maintains order in society, as well as
Khvarenah Khvarenah (also spelled khwarenah or xwarra(h): ae, 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 aidi ...
, by which legitimate rule is maintained among the Iranian peoples. It is his duty to distribute water from the sea to all regions.


Fire and water

In one Vedic hymn ''Apām Napāt'' is described as emerging from the water, golden, and "clothed in lightning", which has been conjectured to be a reference to fire. His regular identification with Agni, who is described a number of times as hiding or residing in water, and comparison with other Indo-European texts, has led some to speculate about the existence of a Proto-Indo-European myth featuring a fire deity born from water. Other such texts include a ninth-century Norwegian poem that uses the name ''sǣvar niþr'', meaning "grandson of the sea," as a
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English po ...
for fire, and an old Armenian poem in which a reed in the middle of the sea spontaneously catches fire, from which springs the hero
Vahagn Vahagn or Vahakn ( hy, Վահագն), also known as Vahagn Vishapakagh ( hy, Վահագն Վիշապաքաղ, lit=Vahagn the Dragon-reaper, label=none), is a warrior god in Armenian mythology. Scholars consider him to be either the thunder, or s ...
, with fiery hair and eyes that blaze like sun.


Conjectured original fireless myth

Whether fire was an original part of Apam Napat's nature remains a matter of debate, especially since this connection is absent from the Iranian version.
Hermann Oldenberg Hermann Oldenberg (31 October 1854 – 18 March 1920) was a German scholar of Indology, and Professor at Kiel (1898) and Göttingen (1908). Work Oldenberg was born in Hamburg. His 1881 study on Buddhism, entitled ''Buddha: Sein Leben, seine Lehr ...
believed Apam Napat was originally an independent water deity who later came to be associated with Agni, in part because of an ancient Indian belief that water contained fire within itself, fire appearing to "enter into" water when quenched by it.
Associations with Savitr could be understood as similarly deriving from an image of the setting sun sinking into the ocean. Another theory explains the connection between fire and water through lightning, "the flash of fire born from the rainbearing clouds".


'Swamp gas' conjecture

Based on the idea that this fire-from-water image was inspired by flaming seepage natural gas, attempts have been made to connect the name "Apam Napat" to the word "
naphtha Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ''n ...
", which passed into Greek – and thence English – from an Iranian language. However, there is only a modest amount of evidence for a link between the sacred fires of Iranian religion and petroleum or natural gas – although the account of the blowing of the 3 sacred fires out to sea from the back of the ox Srishok where, unquenched, they continue to burn on the water is suggestive – particularly in relation to
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...
deposits in the Southwestern part of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
, exploited currently by the
Absheron gas field The Absheron gas field ( az, Abşeron yatağı) is an offshore natural gas field in the Caspian Sea. The field is located southeast of Baku and northeast of the Shah Deniz gas field. It covers approximately . Partners of the Absheron field ar ...
near
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
in
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
. The etymology of the word "naphtha" has been claimed likely to relate to the Akkadian ''napṭu'', "petroleum".


See also

*
Ateshgah of Baku , image = Jahlinmarceta baku temple.jpg , caption = , former_names = , map_type = , building_type = Ancient Syncretic (Zoroastrian/Hindu) Fire Temple, Mandir and Gurudwara , architectural_style = , str ...
*
Atropatene Atropatene ( peo, Ātṛpātakāna; grc, Ἀτροπατηνή), also known as Media Atropatene, was an ancient Iranian kingdom established in by the Persian satrap Atropates. The kingdom, centered in present-day northern Iran, was ruled by ...
*
Baba Gurgur Baba Gurgur (Arabic: بابا كركر, ku, بابە گوڕگوڕ ,Babagurgur) is an oil field and gas flame near the city of Kirkuk, which was the first to be discovered in Northern Iraq in 1927. It was considered the largest oil field in ...
*
Eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
*
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
*
The Land of Fire ''The Land of Fire'' ( az, Odlar Yurdu) is the adopted motto of Azerbaijan. Historical and political development The etymology of the phrase is thought to be related to Atropates, who ruled over the region of Atropatene (present Iranian Azerbaij ...
*
Yanar Dag Yanar Dagh ( az, Yanar Dağ, meaning "burning mountain") is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (a country which itself is known as "the Lan ...


Notes


References


Further reading

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External links

* * () {{Authority control Hindu gods Rigvedic deities Sea and river gods Neptune (mythology) Persian mythology Yazatas