Download or read book Encyclopedia Iranica written by Ehsan Yarshater and published by Routledge. This book was released on 1982 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Yasna Sacred Gathas Hymns of Zarathushtra written by Zoroaster and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zoroastrianism, or more natively Mazdayasna, is one of the world's oldest religions, "combining a cosmogonic dualism and eschatological monotheism in a manner unique... among the major religions of the world." Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra), he exalted their deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda, (Wise Lord) as its Supreme Being. Leading characteristics, such as messianism, heaven and hell, and free will are said to have influenced other religious systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, and Islam. With possible roots dating back to the second millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the 5th-century BCE, and including a Mithraic Median prototype and Zurvanist Sassanid successor it served as the state religion of the pre-Islamic Iranian empires from around 600 BCE to 650 CE. Zoroastrianism has no major theological divisions, though it is not uniform; modern-era influences having a significant impact on individual and local beliefs, practices, values and vocabulary, sometimes merging with tradition and in other cases displacing it. In Zoroastrianism, the purpose in life is to "be among those who renew the world...to make the world progress towards perfection." Its basic maxims include: Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta, which mean: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds. There is only one path and that is the path of Truth. Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, and then all beneficial rewards will come to you also. The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, which includes the writings of Zoroaster known as the Gathas, presented here in this book which are enigmatic poems that define the religion's precepts, and the Yasna, the scripture. The full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is: Ahura, The Lord Creator, and Mazda, Supremely Wise. He proclaimed that there is only one God, the singularly creative and sustaining force of the Universe. He also stated that human beings are given a right of choice, and because of cause and effect are also responsible for the consequences of their choices. Zoroaster's teachings focused on responsibility, and did not introduce a devil, per se. The contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit. Post-Zoroastrian scripture introduced the concept of Ahriman, the Devil, which was effectively a personification of Angra Mainyu. Included in this interpretation of the book is a list of Glossary terms for the reader to further understand one of the oldest religions in the world.

Download or read book The Sanskrit Yasna Manuscript S1 written by Leon Goldman and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-11-13 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The manuscript S1 is one of the chief witnesses to the Sanskrit Yasna, containing the Avestan text of the Zoroastrian Yasna liturgy to chapter 46.19, together with a Sanskrit translation and commentary. This book contains the complete, full-colour set of facsimile images of S1. An introduction by Leon Goldman provides an overview of the Zoroastrian Sanskrit tradition together with a discussion of the S1 manuscript covering its physical appearance, its age and history, and for the first time, a detailed palaeographic analysis of the Avestan and Sanskrit text.

Download or read book The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra written by D. J. Irani and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zarathusthtra brought about important religious reform in Iran, giving a definitely moral character and direction to religion whilst at the same time preaching the doctrine of monotheism, which offered an eternal foundation of reality to goodness as an ideal of perfection. This volume provides a substantial introduction on the life and doctrines of Zarathushtra and compares the development of religion in India with that of Iran.

Download or read book Zoroastrianism written by Mary Boyce and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Zoroastrian Scholasticism in Late Antiquity written by Zeini Arash Zeini and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-03 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines Zoroastrian exegesis by investigating a late antique translation of an ancient Iranian textChallenges the view that considers the study of the Zand an auxiliary science to Avestan studiesViews the Zand of the YH as a text in its own right and investigates it within the wider Pahlavi leiteratureConsiders the so-called glosses in the Zand for the first time as an integral part of the textOffers a variorum edition of the Middle Persian text, refusing to establish an UrtextIn late antiquity, Zoroastrian exegetes set out to translate their ancient canonical texts into Middle Persian, the vernacular of their time. Although undated, these translations, commonly known as the Zand, are often associated with the Sasanian era (224-651 ce). Despite the many challenges the Zand offers to us today, it is indispensable for investigations of late antique exegesis of the Avesta, a collection of religious and ritual texts commonly regarded as the Zoroastrians' scripture.Arash Zeini also offers a fresh edition of the Middle Persian version of the Avestan Yasna HaptaA hA iti, a ritual text composed in the Old Iranian language of Avestan, commonly dated to the middle of the second millennium bce. Zeini challenges the view that considers the Zand's study an auxiliary science to Avestan studies, framing the text instead within the exegetical context from which it emerged.

Download or read book The Zend Avesta written by and published by Library of Alexandria. This book was released on 1965-01-01 with total page 2167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Zend-Avesta is the sacred book of the Parsis, that is to say, of the few remaining followers of that religion which feigned over Persia at the time when the second successor of Mohammed overthrew the Sassanian dynasty, and which has been called Dualism, or Mazdeism, or Magism, or Zoroastrianism, or Fire-worship, according as its main tenet, or its supreme God, or its priests, or its supposed founder, or its apparent object of worship has been most kept in view. In less than a century after their defeat, nearly all the conquered people were brought over to the faith of their new rulers, either by force, or policy, or the attractive power of a simpler form of creed. But many of those who clung to the faith of their fathers, went and sought abroad for a new home, where they might freely worship their old gods, say their old prayers, and perform their old rites. That home they found at last among the tolerant Hindus, on the western coast of India and in the peninsula of Guzerat. There they throve and there they live still, while the ranks of their co-religionists in Persia are daily thinning and dwindling away. As the Parsis are the ruins of a people, so are their sacred books the ruins of a religion. There has been no other great belief in the world that ever left such poor and meagre monuments of its past splendour. Yet great is the value which that small book, the Avesta, and the belief of that scanty people, the Parsis, have in the eyes of the historian and theologist, as they present to us the last reflex of the ideas which prevailed in Iran during the five centuries which preceded and the seven which followed the birth of Christ, a period which gave to the world the Gospels, the Talmud, and the Qur’ân. Persia, it is known, had much influence on each of the movements which produced, or proceeded from, those three books; she lent much to the first heresiarchs, much to the Rabbis, much to Mohammed. By help of the Parsi religion and the Avesta, we are enabled to go back to the very heart of that most momentous period in the history of religious thought, which saw the blending of the Aryan mind with the Semitic, and thus opened the second stage of Aryan thought.

Download or read book Martyrdom and Ecstasy written by Sylwia Surdykowska and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2012-04-25 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is concerned with one of the most important issues in Persian culture, that is to say a broadly conceived idea of sacrifice and martyrdom. At present, it is contained in the concept of shahadat, which arouses much controversy in the Western world today. In successive chapters, the author discusses the origin and evolution of this concept in Persian culture, the process of shaping attitudes conducive to the attainment of readiness for shahadat and the role of this concept in propaganda, as well as presenting its modern-day interpretation. The basic research material was provided by political and religious publications of contemporary Iranian authors, including Ali Shari‘ati, Morteza Motahhari, Ruhollah Khomeini and Abdolkarim Soroush, who have exerted a significant influence on the formation of the Iranian consciousness. The book is an interdisciplinary publication. The author refers to philology, literary studies, cultural anthropology, social psychology, and, interestingly, to the psychology of emotions in order to explicate the traditional Persian system of upbringing and shaping the readiness for martyrdom and sacrifice. The book shows the idea of shahadat as part of the Persian cultural paradigm, which, due to religious and literary tradition, has influenced the shaping of Iranian identity over the centuries and, as a result, it has affected social and political attitudes of the Iranian people. The book is mainly directed to Iranologists. Nevertheless, it will also be of interest to anthropologists, psychologists of culture, sociologists and philosophers due to its interdisciplinary character.

Download or read book The Spirit of Zoroastrianism written by Prods Oktor Skjærvø and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2012-02-07 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest religions, though it is not among the best understood. Originating with Iranian tribes living in Central Asia in the second millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the Iranian empires until Islam superseded it in the seventh century AD. Centered on the worship of Ahura Mazda, the All-knowing Ruler, Zoroastrianism follows the practices and rituals set out by the prophet Zarathustra, according to the indigenous tradition. As one of the world's great religions, Zoroastrianism has a heritage rich in texts and cultic practices. The texts are often markedly difficult to translate, but in this volume, Prods Oktor Skjærvø, professor of ancient Iranian languages and culture at Harvard, provides modern and accurate translations of Zoroastrian texts that have been selected to provide an overview of Zoroastrian beliefs and practices. In a comprehensive introduction to these sacred texts, Skjærvø outlines the history and essence of Zoroastrianism and discusses the major themes of this the first fully representative selection of Zoroastrian texts to be made available in English for over a century.

Download or read book The Zend Avesta written by James Darmesteter and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Avestan Vowels written by Michiel Arnoud Cor de Vaan and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2003 with total page 754 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first time, the vowels of Avestan are studied comprehensively on the synchronic and diachronic level. All vowel changes which have occurred after the Proto-Iranian stage are discussed, and they are placed in a relative chronology. The phonological system of Avestan at various stages of its development is reconstructed, and the relationship between Old Avestan and Young Avestan is reviewed. Also, many philological details are discussed. This volume is of interest for Indo-Iranian philology, for Indo-European linguistics and for Iranian linguistics.

Download or read book Amavant written by Akhilesh Upadhyay and published by Notion Press. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before the process of Aryanization began - India was called Amavant. The name Amavant was derived from - Amavart. The literal meaning of Amavart is - the land of rivers. rAm-shayanem hu-shayanem Airyabyo danghubyo This is an Avestan hymn. Avesta and Vedic Sanskrit are very closely related. In Sanskrit, ‘Shayanem’ exactly means - governance, rule. The hymn says - The rule of Lord Rama was the golden period of the country of Aryans. Avesta speaking ancient Iranians worshipped the river Ardvi Sur. But Ardvi Sur is none other than the river-Narmada. If you chant aloud ‘Namo Ardvebhyo’ repeatedly, observe how easily it tends to become ‘Narmadebhyo’. Zoroaster died at the place called ‘Gaya’. Almost three thousand years after that incident, Gaya was to become the seat of enlightenment of Lord Buddha. In all probability, Zoroaster got enlightened at ‘Kushinagar’, and roughly three thousand years later, Kushinagar was to become the place of Mahaparinibban (death) of Buddha.

Download or read book Khordeh Avesta written by Kavasji Kanga and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-10-24 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The oldest Zoroastrian religious scripture, handed down from ancient times, is the Avesta. One section of the holy book is known as the "Khordeh Avesta" or "Smaller (i.e. Selected) Avesta." This is the book of daily prayers of the Zoroastrians, including the most sacred prayers or manthras, as well as graces said over meals and other occasions, blessings, and hymns to spiritual beings. It is a cherished possession of every devout Zoroastrian household. Zoroastrians recite their prayers in a sacred language known as Avestan. The celebrated Avesta scholar and priest (Ervad) Kavasji Edulji Kanga prepared an edition of this prayer book in 1880 A.D., with Gujarati translation. An English edition was first printed in 1993, which has become very scarce. Due to the popularity of Kanga's editions, and the accuracy of its pronunciation, this new printed edition was prepared, correcting the frequent printer's errors found in the 1993 edition.

Download or read book The Zend Avesta written by Frederich Max Muller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 1178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a subset of the Sacred Books of the East Series which includes translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions which have exercised a profound influence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The works have been translated by leading authorities in their field. Parts I, II and III.

Download or read book Ashavid Zarathustra the Nordkind Race and Asha Divine Natural Law written by Eric Dryden and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extending from the dawn of Creation to the twenty-first century, Ashavid by author Eric Dryden, presents both an iconoclastic religious manifesto and an inspired out-of-the-box scholarly narrative. Dryden focuses on the ancient race of Nordic Indo-Europeans, the Prophet Zarathustra's divine revelation, and the corruptions of both. Ashavid discusses: The crucial role of Spitama Zarathustra of the Second Millennium BCE-the first to proclaim the one Creator God and to reveal the spiritual and ethical path leading to both the good earthly life and eternal life. Ancient West Asia's ethnic and cultural transformations including the multiple corruptions of Zarathustra's Ashavid doctrine. The Indo-Europeans' gradual genetic and cultural adulterations and partial extinctions resulting from their imperialistic and economic-driven migrations into alien spheres of the earth.

Download or read book The Journal of Hellenic Studies written by and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 878 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Birth of the Persian Empire written by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2010-01-08 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of the great ancient civilizations, that of Persia is the least known and the most enigmatic. This book explores the formation of the first Persian Empire under the Achaemenid Persians. It brings together a multi-disciplinary view of ancient Iran in the first millennium BC and concentrates on the art, archaeology, history and religion of a geographical area far beyond the present borders of modern Iran in the period beginning just before the formation of the Persian empire in the middle of the 6th century up to its collapse following conquest by Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC. Eminent scholars here give a critical approach to some of the traditional interpretations and discuss topics which help the reader towards a better understanding of the formation of the Persian empire. This is the first volume in the "Idea of Iran" series which will be a four-volume collection encompassing the history of that country.