Yazata ( ae, 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀) is the
Avestan word for 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 ...
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 is thus, in this more general sense, also applied to certain healing plants, primordial creatures, the ''
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 ...
s'' of the dead, and to certain prayers that are themselves considered holy. The ''yazata''s collectively are "the good powers under
Ahura Mazda", who is "the greatest of the ''yazata''s".
[.]
Etymology
''Yazata'' is an
Avestan-language passive adjectival
participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
derived from ''yaz-''; "to worship, to honor, to venerate", from
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
''*yeh₂ǵ-'' (“to worship, revere, sacrifice”). The word ''
'' or
yagna
Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...
– "worship, sacrifice, oblation, prayer" – comes from the same root. A ''yaza+
ta'' is accordingly "a being worthy of worship", "an object of worship" or "a holy being".
As the stem form, ''yazata-'' has the
inflected
In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and defi ...
nominative forms ''yazatō'' (), pl. ''yazatåŋhō'' (). These forms reflect
Proto-Iranian ''*yazatah'' and pl. ''*yazatāhah''. In
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 ...
the term became ''yazad'' or ''yazd'' (), pl. ''yazdān'', continuing in
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 ...
as ''izad'' ().
Related terms in other languages are
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 ...
(''yájati'', meaning "he worships, he sacrifices"), (''yajatá-'', "worthy of worship, holy"), (''yajñá'', "sacrifice"), and perhaps also
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
(''
hagios'', "devoted to the gods, sacred, holy").
In scripture
The term ''yazata'' is already used in the
Gathas, the oldest texts of
Zoroastrianism
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 ...
and believed to have been composed by
Zarathustra
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 s ...
himself. In these hymns, ''yazata'' is used as a generic, applied to
Ahura Mazda as well as to the "divine sparks" that are in later tradition the
Amesha Spentas. In the Gathas, the ''yazata''s are effectively what the
''daeva''s are not; that is, the ''yazata''s are to be worshipped while the ''daeva''s are to be rejected.
The Gathas also collectively invoke the ''yazata''s without providing a clue as to which entities are being invoked, and—given the structure and language of the hymns—it is generally not possible to determine whether these ''yazata''s are abstract concepts or are manifest entities. Amongst the lesser Yazatas being invoked by name by the poet of the Gathas are
Sraosha,
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 Zoroastria ...
,
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 ...
, Geush Tashan,
Geush Urvan, Tushnamaiti, and Iza, and all of which "win mention in his hymns, it seems, because of their close association with rituals of sacrifice and worship".
[.]
In the
Younger 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 ...
, the ''yazata''s are unambiguously divine, with divine powers though performing mundane tasks such as serving as charioteers for other ''yazata''s. Several ''yazata''s are given
anthropomorphic attributes, such as cradling a mace or bearing a crown upon their heads, or not letting sleep interrupt their vigil against the demons.
At some point during the late 5th or early 4th century BCE, the
Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
s instituted a religious calendar in which each day of the month was named after, and placed under the protection of, a particular ''yazata''. These day-name dedications were not only of religious significance because they ensured that those divinities remained in the public consciousness, they also established a hierarchy among the ''yazata''s, with specific exalted entities having key positions in the day-name dedications (see
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'' ...
for details).
Although these day-name dedications are mirrored in scripture, it cannot be determined whether these day-name assignments were provoked by an antecedent list in scripture (e.g. ''
'' 16), or whether the day-name dedications provoked the compilation of such lists. Relatively certain however is that the day-name dedications predate 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 ...
's ''Siroza'' ("30 days"), which contain explicit references to the ''yazata''s as protectors/guardians of their respective days of the month.
In tradition
The 9th–12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition observe the ''yazata''s (by then 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 ...
''yazad''s) in much the same way as the hymns of the Younger Avesta. In addition, in roles that are only alluded to in scripture, they assume characteristics of cosmological or eschatological consequence.
For instance,
Aredvi Sura Anahita
Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...
(''Ardvisur Nahid'') is both a divinity of the waters as well as a rushing world river that encircles the earth, which is blocked up by
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 ...
(''Ahriman'') thus causing drought. The blockage is removed by
Verethragna (''Vahram''), and
Tishtrya
Tishtrya ( ave, 𐬙𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀, Tištrya, fa, تیر, Tir) or Roozahang is the Avestan language name of a Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. Tishtrya is Tir in Middle- and Moder ...
(''Tir'') gathers up the waters and spreads them over the earth (
Zam Zam or ZAM or similar may refer to:
Places
* Zam, Burkina Faso, a town
**Zam Department
*Zam Rural District of Iran
*Zam, Hunedoara, a commune in Romania
*Zam (river), Hunedoara County, Romania
People
* ZAM-1, Australian artist and designer
*C ...
) as rain. In stories with eschatological significance,
Sraosha (''Sarosh''),
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-seein ...
(''Mihr''), and
Rashnu
Rashnu ( ae, 𐬭𐬀𐬴𐬢𐬏) is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian ''yazata'' of justice. Together with Mithra and Sraosha, Rashnu is one of the three judges who pass judgment on the souls of people after death. Rashnu's standar ...
(''Rashn'') are guardians of the
Chinvat bridge
The Chinvat Bridge (Avestan: 𐬗𐬌𐬥𐬬𐬀𐬙𐬋 𐬞𐬈𐬭𐬈𐬙𐬏𐬨 ''Cinvatô Peretûm'', "bridge of judgement" or "beam-shaped bridge") or the Bridge of the Requiter in Zoroastrianism is the sifting bridge, which separates t ...
, the bridge of the separator, across which all souls must pass.
Further, what the calendrical dedications had begun, the tradition completed: at the top of the hierarchy was
Ahura Mazda, who was supported by the great heptad of
Amesha Spentas (''Ameshaspand''s/''Mahraspand''s), through which the Creator realized ("created with his thought") the manifest universe. The Amesha Spentas in turn had ''hamkars'', "assistants" or "cooperators", each a caretaker of one facet of creation.
In both tradition and scripture, the terms 'Amesha Spenta' and 'yazata' are sometimes used interchangeably. In general, however, 'Amesha Spenta' signifies the six divine emanations of Ahura Mazda. In tradition, ''yazata'' is the first of the
101 epithets of Ahura Mazda. The word also came to be applied to Zoroaster, though Zoroastrians today remain sharply critical of any attempts to deify the prophet. In a hierarchy excluding either Ahura Mazda or the Amesha Spentas amongst the ''yazatas'', the most prominent amongst those "worthy of worship" is
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-seein ...
, who "is second only in dignity to Ohrmazd (i.e. Ahura Mazda) himself."
[.]
Outside of the traditional yazatas, local and foreign deities may have been incorporated into local religious practice in various distant territories of the Persian Empires. This features prominently in Zoroastrian worship in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, the
Kushan Empire,
Sogdia, China, and other regions where Zoroastrianism was practiced outside of Iran.
In the present day
In the 1860s and 1870s, the linguist
Martin Haug
Martin Haug (30 January 1827 – 3 June 1876) was a German orientalist.
Biography
Haug was born at Ostdorf (today a part of Balingen), Württemberg. He became a pupil in the gymnasium at Stuttgart at a comparatively late age, and in 1848 he en ...
interpreted Zoroastrian scripture in Christian terms, and compared the ''yazata''s to the angels of Christianity. In this scheme, the Amesha Spentas are the arch-angel retinue of Ahura Mazda, with the ''hamkars'' as the supporting host of lesser angels.
At the time Haug wrote his translations, the
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
(i.e. Indian Zoroastrian) community was under intense pressure from English and American missionaries, who severely criticized the Zoroastrians for—as John Wilson portrayed it in 1843—"polytheism", which the missionaries argued was much less worth than their own "monotheism". At the time, Zoroastrianism lacked theologians of its own, and so the Zoroastrians were poorly equipped to make their own case. In this situation, Haug's counter-interpretation came as a welcome relief, and was (by-and-large) gratefully accepted as legitimate.
Haug's interpretations were subsequently disseminated as Zoroastrian ones, which then eventually reached the west where they were seen to corroborate Haug. Like most of Haug's interpretations, this comparison is today so well entrenched that a gloss of 'yazata' as 'angel' is almost universally accepted; both in publications intended for a general audience
[''cf.'' .][''cf.'' .] as well as in (non-philological) academic literature.
[''cf.'' .][''cf.'' .]
Amongst the Muslims of Iran,
Sraosha came to be "arguably the most popular of all the subordinate Yazatas", for as the angel Surush, only he (of the entire Zoroastrian pantheon) is still venerated by name.
[.]
Notes
See also
*
Uthra
An uthra or ʿutra ( myz, ࡏࡅࡕࡓࡀ; plural: ʿutri) is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency". Jorunn J. Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'u ...
-Mandaean light beings that compare to Yazata
References
;Bibliography
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Further reading
*
External links
*{{Commonscatinline, Yazatas
Middle Eastern deities
Persian legendary creatures
Zoroastrian legendary creatures
Ancient Iranian legendary creatures