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 ...
: đŹđŹŽđŹđŹŹđŹđŹ„ ''aĆĄavan'') is 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 ...
theological term. It literally means "possessing/mastering '' aĆĄa''" and has been interpreted as "possessing/mastering truth" or "possessing/mastering righteousness", but has further implications:
* It is an epithet of
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura MazdÄ; ), 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''. ...
(''
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 ...
'' 1.12). The term may then be applied to anything within the domain of Ahura Mazda and/or AĆĄa (i.e. all of Creation), and excludes only that which is ''dr''É''gvant'' "possessing lie" ( YAv: ''drvant'').
* With respect to mortals and in an
eschatological
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...
and sotereological context, ''aĆĄavan'' is also a quality that can be acquired in life. Then, having acquired the qualities of an ''aĆĄavan'', one becomes an ''aĆĄavan'' (through "blessed union with aĆĄa") after death. (See also: ''aĆĄa'': in eschatology and sotereology). This sotereological meaning of ''aĆĄavan'' is also evident in Xerxes' ''
daiva
A daeva (Avestan: đŹđŹđŹđŹđŹđŹ ''daÄuua'') 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 ...
inscription'', an
Old Persian
Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
text (XPh, early 5th century BCE). This next-world meaning of ''aĆĄavan'' is preserved in
Middle Iranian
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are groupe ...
languages as Pahlavi ''ahlav''.
* ''AĆĄavan'' may be used to denote any follower of the "Good Religion." This is the most common use of ''aĆĄavan'', applicable to any who walk the "path of truth" (''
Middle Iranian
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are groupe ...
languages as Pahlavi ''ardav''.
The linguistic cognate of Avestan ''aĆĄavan'' is
Vedic
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 ...
à€à€€à€Ÿà€”à€šà„ ''áčtÄÌvan'', which, however, has some functional differences vis-Ă -vis the Zoroastrian term:
* The dichotomy of the ''aĆĄavan'' and the ''dr''É''gvant'' is not attested 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 ...
.
* In Zoroastrianism any mortal may strive to possess ''aĆĄa'', but in the Vedas, '' áčtĂĄ'' is hidden from ordinary mortals and only initiated seers are allowed to possess it (become ''áčtÄÌvan''s).
That the souls of the dead dwell in the radiant quarters of Asha (''Yasna'' 16.7) has a Vedic parallel in which the seat of truth is located in the other world.