Dahman or Dahman Afrin 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 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 on ...

concept, later considered to be the embodiment of prayer, and ultimately (also) as a divinity, one of the ''yazata''s. ''Dahman Afrin'' in its true sense literally translates to 'devout blessing(s)', and the divinity ''Dahman'' is the active principle and hypostasis of the Gathic Avestan ''Dahma Afriti'' invocation (''Yasna'' 60.2-7). ''Yasna'' 61 also refers to the prayer as ''Dahma Vangui Afriti'' and considers it to be the fourth most potent incantation. The prayer is invoked as a blessing upon the house of the ''

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 ha ...

'', which may be translated as 'just' or 'true' man. The concept has its origin in the more ancient Indo Iranian religion and is similar to Vedic concept of Dharma In Zoroastrian tradition, the divinity ''Dahman'' appears 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 Per ...

''Dahm''.

In scripture

As used in ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

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''. ...

's reward for a cure for disease (''

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). It is also the payment a priest may give for medicinal services rendered unto him (''Vendidad'' 7.41, 9.37), which – a ''Zend'' commentary explains - is more valuable than any other form of payment. As the essence of the just man, ''dahman'' was eventually personified as the divinity ''Dahman Afrin'', or just ''Dahman''. As a divinity, ''Dahman'' only appears thrice in the surviving texts of 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 litu ...

(once in ''Siroza'' 33, and once each in fragments P31 and P32) and once in a ''Zend'' translation of the lost ''Sudgar Nask''.

In tradition

In addition, ''Dahman'' appears several times in the ''

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 ...

'', as the greatest saviour from the ''daeva''s (815.4-815.8), a description also provided by the ''Shayest ne shayest'' supplementary (13.43). A Sassanid era commentary on ''Siroza'' 33 notes that property acquired honestly is protected by ''Dahman Afrin''. Boyce (1982) suggests that ''Dahman'' may once have had a dedication of the twenty-third day of the month of 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'' ...

, but was displaced when three additional days were assigned to

. Dahman continues to be invoked with ''Apam Napat'' (middle Persian: ''

Burz Apam Napat is a deity in the Indo-Iranian pantheon associated with water. His names in the Vedas, ''Apām Napāt'', and in Zoroastrianism, ''Apąm Napāt'', mean "child of the waters" in Sanskrit and Avestan respectively. '' Napāt'' ("grandson", ...

Yazad'') and ''Haoma'' ('' Hom'') together with ''Anagra Raoca'' (''Aneran''), the divinity of the thirtieth day of the month. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, Dahman was created though, and is associated with, 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 Persian ...

''Shahrevar'' (Avestan: ''Kshathra airya'), the guardian of metals and minerals. (''Bundahishn'' 3.16) Dahman also plays a role as the ''yazata'' who receives the souls of the just/pious at sunrise on the fourth day after death. In that ''Afringan'' ('ritual of blessing'), ''Dahman'' is summoned to accept the soul of the deceased from ''

Sarosh Sraosha ( ae, 𐬯𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬴𐬀 or ) 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 div ...

'' (under whose care it had remained for the previous four days) and accompany it until the soul's

Fravashi Fravashi ( ae, 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌, translit=fravaṣ̌i, ) is the Avestan language term for the Zoroastrian concept of a personal spirit of an individual, whether dead, living, or yet-unborn. The ''fravashi'' of an individual sends o ...

is united with it. (Dhalla, 1938) Beyond these references, ''Dahman Afrin'' is of no great significance in modern Zoroastrianism, and is overshadowed by ''Sarosh'', with whom Dahman is frequently associated. There is no ''

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 ...

'' dedicated to ''Dahman'', but it has been suggested that the divinity of prayer was once important to the Zoroastrian priesthood. (Boyce, 1993b) Unlike most other ''yazata''s, ''Dahman'' is a purely

concept, with no pre-Zoroastrian equivalent, and was not inherited as an entity by later Persian mythology.

Bibliography

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References

{{Reflist Yazatas