Aka Manah is the

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 ...

name for the

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 monotheisti ...

daeva A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are "gods that are (to be) rejected". This ...

"Evil Mind", "Evil Purpose", "Evil Thinking", or "Evil Intention". Aka Manah is the demon of sensual desire that was sent by

Ahriman 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 the ...

to seduce the prophet

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 ...

. His eternal opponent is

Vohu Manah Vohu Manah (Avestan: 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬵 ''vohu manah'') is the Avestan language term for a Zoroastrian concept, generally translated as "Good Purpose", "Good Mind", or "Good Thought", referring to the good state of mind that ...

. Aka Manah is the hypostatic abstraction of accusative ''akem manah'' (''akәm manah''), "''manah'' made evil". The

objectification In social philosophy, objectification is the act of treating a person, as an object or a thing. It is part of dehumanization, the act of disavowing the humanity of others. Sexual objectification, the act of treating a person as a mere object of sex ...

of this malign influence is the demon Aka/Akem Manah, who appears in later texts as

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 P ...

''Akoman'' and

New Persian New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thr ...

'' Akvan''.

In scripture

In the Gathas

The concept of ''akem manah'' is already attested in the

Gathas The Gathas ()"Gatha"
''

, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and believed to have been composed by

himself. In two of the three instances where the term is used in these ancient texts, ''akem manah'' is an attribute of humans. In ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
'' ''daeva''s, entities that in later Zoroastrianism are demons but in the Gathas are gods that are to be rejected. There, in ''Yasna'' 32.3, the ''daeva''s are identified as the offspring, not of ''angra mainyu'', but of ''akem manah''. Related to, but not entirely equivalent to ''akem manah'', are other terms that express similar ideas. The first is ''aka mainyu'' "evil spirit" or "evil instrument," which in the Gathas is contrasted with ''spenta mainyu'' "bounteous spirit," the instrument through which

Ahura Mazda 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'' ...

realized ("with his thought") creation. The other term is ''

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 ...

'' "destructive spirit," which in Zoroastrian tradition is the epitome of evil, but in the Gathas is the other absolute antitheses of ''spenta mainyu''. Gathic ''akem manah'' may also be equated with ''acishtem manah'' "worst thinking,"''cf.'' . which reflects the later Zoroastrian opposition between ''akem manah'' and ''

vohu manah Vohu Manah (Avestan: 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬵 ''vohu manah'') is the Avestan language term for a Zoroastrian concept, generally translated as "Good Purpose", "Good Mind", or "Good Thought", referring to the good state of mind that ...

'', "good purpose." In ''Yasna'' 32.13, the abode of the wicked is ''acishtem manah''.

In the Younger Avesta

In the Younger Avesta, Akem Manah is unambiguously a demonic entity, an auxiliary of

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 ...

. 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 wor ...

'' 19.46, Aka Manah,

Aeshma Aeshma (Avestan: 𐬀𐬉𐬴𐬨𐬀 ''aēṣ̌ma''; Old Avestan: 𐬀𐬉𐬱𐬆𐬨𐬀 ''aēšəma'') is the Younger Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's demon of "wrath." As a hypostatic entity, Aeshma is variously interpreted as "wrath," "rage, ...

Azi Dahaka Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک) ...

and Spityura battle

, Asha Vahishta and

Atar Atar, Atash, or Azar ( ae, 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭, translit=ātar) 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 ...

for the possession of ''

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 aidin ...

''. Later in the same hymn (19.96), Aka Manah is predicted to be in battle with Vohu Manah at the final renovation of the world, at which time Aka Manah – as all the other ''daeva''s also - will be vanquished. In ''

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 ...

'' 19's account of the temptation of

, Aka Manah poses ninety-nine questions to weaken the prophet's conviction in Ahura Mazda. Zoroaster does not succumb to the trick.

In tradition and folklore

In the Pahlavi texts

In the Zoroastrian texts of the 9th-12th centuries, Akoman (

for Akem Manah) is the second of Ahriman's (MP for Angra Mainyu) creatures (''

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'' ...

'' 1.24), devised to counter Ohrmuzd's (Ahura Mazda's) creation of the world. This rank reflects Akem Manah's opposition to

(cf. ''Bundahishn'' 30.29), who is the second of the

Amesha Spenta In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta ( ae, , 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 Persia ...

s. Also reflecting the hierarchy that mirrors the

s and in which each of the "bounteous immortals" has collaborators (''hamkar''s), Akoman has a special relationship with Anashtih "non-peace". Akoman is also close to Varun/Varan "lust" or "concupiscence," together with whom (so ''Denkard'' 3.33) was created. In the ''Epistles of Zadspram'' (14.8), Akoman is first among the demons who try to injure Zoroaster before and at his birth. He was however "easily defeated by his own weapon of deceit being turned against him. Vohuman, who had chased him to the spot, schemingly turned back and asked him to enter the house. Akoman thought that as his rival was leaving the place, his own work was finished, and consequently eft as wellwithout accomplishing anything.". The ability to make righteous decisions is blunted by Akoman (''

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 ...

'' 3.116). He is the cause of evil intent, and a mortal so afflicted searches for "gross defects" in others while hiding his own (3.255). ''Denkard'' 8 attributes the crying of new-born infants to Akoman, reasoning that the demon frightens the children with ghastly images of the final renovation of the world. According to ''Denkard'' 9.30.8 (reflecting chapter 7.8 of the ''Warsht-mansr Nask'', a lost Avestan text), Akoman causes a mortal's failure to discriminate between good and evil. He so introduces discord and - as a consequence - physical evil in the world (''Denkard'' 6). He perverts a man's thoughts and makes him miserable.. Among all the demons, Akoman is to be dreaded the most (''Denkard'' 9).

In the ''Shahnameh''

Ferdowsi , image = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus, Iran 3 (cropped).jpg , image_size = , caption = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus by Abolhassan Sadighi , birth_date = 940 , birth_place = Tus, Samanid Empire , death_date = 1019 or 1025 (87 years old) , d ...

's ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 5 ...

'', ''Akvan'' is described as having long hair, blue eyes and a head like an elephant with a mouthful of tusks instead of teeth. In one of the tales, the demon traps

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while the hero is asleep, and carries him up into the sky. He then asks Rostam whether he would prefer to be thrown upon a mountain, or into the sea. Rostam, aware that the demon's mind is perverse (''cf.'' In the Pahlavi texts above), asks to be thrown upon a mountain, and the demon in response throws him into the sea. Rescuing himself from the waters, Rostam recovers his horse and confronts the demon again, subsequently beheading it. Another story has an oblique reference to a "Stone of Akvan", suggesting that there were once other legends surrounding Akvan/Akoman that have not however survived..

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Shahnameh Shahnameh Daevas