Vedic Elements in the Ancient Iranian Religion of Zarathushtra Subhash Kak Scholars generally agree that before the advent of Zarathushtra, the religion of the devas was current in Iran. For want of a better term, some have called the 1 pre-Zoroastrian religion Persian paganism. But here we argue that to do so is to obscure its connections with the Vedic religion. The similarities between the pre- Zoroastrian Persian religion and the Vedic religion are too many to give it any other name. The term Zoroastrian is after the Greek version of the name of the prophet Zarathushtra (zarat, like Sanskrit harit, golden; us..tra, Sanskrit or Old Persian for camel) who has been variously estimated to have lived either around the time 1200 BC or perhaps half a millennium later. A Greek tradition assigns him to an age 258 years 2 prior to Alexander, that is the 6th century BC. The name by which the Zoroastrians call their own religion is Mazdayasna, the religion of Ahura Mazda (Sanskrit Asura Medh¯a, “Lord of Wisdom”). The R.gveda 8.6.10 has the expression medh¯am r.tasya, “wisdom of truth”. Zarathushtra presented his religion as rival to the re- ligion of the daevas, that is Daevayasna. Zarathushtra came from Bactria in northeast Iran, near Afghanistan. 47 48 The Adyar Library Bulletin TheAvestaspeaksofseverallandsthatincludetheSapta- Sindhu (Sindhu-Sarasvati region of North and Northwest India). The scripture of the Zoroastrians is the Avesta. It includes the Yasna (Sanskrit yajna) with the Ga¯tha¯s of Zarathushtra,VidevdatorVendidad(Vi-daeva-dat,“anti- Daeva”), and Yaˇst (hymn), which are hymns for worship. During the Sasanian period the Avesta was translated into Pahlavi and this version is called Zend Avesta. The Zoroastrians speak of mathra (Skt. mantra) as utterances that accompany meditation. Like the Vedic tripartite division of society, the Zoroastrians have the classes priests (zaotar), warriors (nar), and pasturers (va¯star). It has been assumed formerly that the daevas of the MazdafaitharethesameastheVedicdevasandtherefore Zarathushtra inverted the deva-asura dichotomy of the Vedic period. In reality, the situation is more complex and the Vedic and the Zarathushtrian systems are much less different than is generally supposed. FromKashmir,whichbelongssquarewithintheVedic world, comes crucial evidence regarding a three-way divi- sion consisting of devas, asuras, and daevas. The scheme reflectsthethree-waydivisionthatisbasictoVedicthought. These three divisions in the outer realm are the earth, at- mosphere, and the sun; in the inner world they are the body, breath (pr¯an.a), and consciousness or ¯atman. This tripartite classification is mirrored in the gunas of Indian thought: sattva, rajas, and tamas. Deva, or devat¯a (heavens, sattva): power related to un- derstanding Vedic Religion in Ancient Iran 49 Asura (atmosphere, rajas): power related to activity Daeva (earth, body, tamas): power related to acquisi- tiveness Kashmiri folklore has many tales where daevas are counterpoints to devas and asuras. Sometimes the term r¯aks.asaisusedasasynonymfordaeva. Thistermr¯aks.asa occurs very frequently in Sanskrit literature. The word raks.as appears in the R.gveda, the Aitareya Bra¯hman.a and other texts; it is also considered equivalent to Nirr.ti. The r¯aks.asa form of marriage is the violent seizure or rape of a girl after the defeat or destruction of her rela- tives. It is entirely possible that the term daeva came into Kashmir late as a result of the immigration of Persians. If that were the case, the reason why it took root is be- cause it served as a synonym for an existing idea. It is equally possible that the term has been current in Kash- mir from ancient times and its usage there parallels that by Zarathushtra from the nearby Bactria. Further sup- port for this view comes from the fact that the Kashmiri Hindus, who have remained isolated from any Persian immigrations of the last few centuries, follow many prac- tices that are prescribed for Zoroastrians. These include thesacredthreadforwomen(calledae.tapaninKashmiri) and the sacred shirt (sadr). The Vedic view of seeing the world in triple categories was in the later Pura¯n.ic gloss simplified into dichotomies likethatofdevaversusasura(includingr¯aks.asa). Zarathus- thra made a similar simplification using the dichotomy of asura (including deva under the label yazata) and daeva. The asuras are the ground on which the devas emerge. 50 The Adyar Library Bulletin TheZarathushtrianreductionisnotparticularlydifferent from the Pura¯n.ic. In this essay, I summarize the general structural and nomenclatural similarities between the Zoroastrian and the Vedic systems. I hope to show that the Zoroastrian innovations on the prior Vedic system in Iran have par- allels in the adaptations that were taking place in India in the Pura¯n.ic period. But Zarathushtra’s emphasis on a sharp dichotomy between good and evil gave rise to an aesthetic and an approach that was quite unique. The General System HereisalistofdivinitiesthatareincludedbytheZoroas- trians amongst the forces of the good where I provide the corresponding Sanskrit spelling within brackets: The Great Lord: ThesupremeGodoftheZoroastrianfaithisAhuraMazda (AsuraMedha¯). Heisself-created,omniscient,omnipresent, holy, invisible, and beyond human conceptualization. In Yaˇst 1, Ahura Mazda proclaims: My sixth name is understanding; my seventh is Intelligent One; my eighth name is Knowl- edge; my ninth is Endowed with Knowledge; my twentieth is Mazda (Wisdom). I am the WiseOne; mynameistheWisestoftheWise. This is reminiscent of Purus.a in the Vedas. The Cos- mic Purus.a projects on the three planes of the heavens, the sun, and the earth into the Vi´sve Devah., Indra, and Vedic Religion in Ancient Iran 51 Agni. Likewise, Ahura Mazda projects his power of good through the Amesha Spenta (Immortal Energy). Vohu Manah (Vasu Manah, or Sumanas): Good Inten- tion; Persian Bahman Asha Vahishta (R.ta Vasi´st.ha): Best Law; Ardvahisht Kshathra Vairya (Ks.atra Vairya): Heroic Dominion Spenta Armaiti (Spanda Aramati): Bounteous Devo- tion Haurvatat (Sa¯rvatva): Wholeness Amaratat (Amaratva): Immortality The first three are conceived of as masculine beings, thelastthreeasfeminine. ThedivisionofthesixAmesha Spentas in three classes, with masculine and feminine forms, appears to parallel the projection of the power of Purus.a into divinities in the three planes of Mind, Law, and Kingship. Common deities (Yazatas): Many deities are identical in the Zoroastrian and the Vedic systems. Some can be recognized by noting the peculiar sound transformation in going from Sanskrit to Avestan such as aˇsa obtained from r.ta. The Vedic deities are conceived within the frame- work of the bandhu between the astronomical, the ter- 3 restrial, and the physiological and the spiritual. There seems to be a similar conception behind the Adorable Gods (Yajatas) since they include several stars such as the Pleiades, Sirius, and Vega. 52 The Adyar Library Bulletin ¯ Airyaman (Aryaman): An Aditya who appears together withMitra. InYaˇst3,thereisinvocationtoAiryama¯ iˇsyo, the “Desirable Airyaman”. Aryaman repre- sents hospitality. ¯ ¯ ¯ Apas (Apah.): Cosmic Waters; Aba¯n Apam Napa¯t: Child of the Waters. The pre-Zoroastrian Varun.aisstillinvokedintheyasnaserviceasApam Napa¯t. ´ Aradvi Su¯ra¯ Ana¯hita¯ (Sarasvati Su¯ra¯): also Harahvati and the goddess Ana¯hita¯. Arˇsta¯t (R.ta): Justice, Order Aˇsi, Maza¯-ray¯ı (Maha¯-ray¯ı): Fortune, “treasure-laden” (Yaˇst 17) Asma¯n (A´sman): Stony vault, Sky; seen in opposition to Zam, Earth. ¯ Atar (Atharvan): Agni ¯ Atharvan (Atharvan) ˇ ´ Cista¯ (Sis.t.a¯): Goddess of the Way, Mithra’s companion (16th Yaˇst) Da¯ena¯: Religion,inlaterPersianD¯en,“Womanwhocan possessyou”. Thewordd.aenasurvivesinKashmiri and Punjabi. Da¯da¯r (Da¯ta¯): Giver Ga¯v (Gauh.): Cosmic Cow, Earth Vedic Religion in Ancient Iran 53 Hvar (Svar) : Sun; in later Persian the prefix Khor as in Khorda¯d (given by Sun) ¯ Iˇza (Id.a¯/Il.a¯): Goddess of Sacrifice Mithra (Mitra), also Mihr. Seen in Ra¯man Khra¯ˇstra, “Ra¯ma’s Ks.atra”, Ra¯mara¯jya, in the Ra¯m Yaˇst. Good Va¯y (Va¯yu) is called Ra¯m (signifying joy and peace). Sraoˇsa (Br.has-pati): Companion of Mithra. In later Persia, as Saro¯ˇs or Siroos, he is the angel who me- diates between God and man. Thworeˇsta (Tvas.t.r.): Fashioner Ushah(U´sa¯): TheGoddessDawnthatmakesself-illumination possible. Va¯d (Va¯ta): Wind Va¯yu, Va¯y (Va¯yu): Breath Verethraghan (Vr.trahan): Indra as destroyer of the veil of ignorance (Vr.tra) as in the Vedas = Persian Bahra¯m Vivanhvant (Vivasvant): Sun Yima (Yama); as in Jam or Jamshed (Yima Khˇsaeta, “YimaRadiant”)desertedbyKhvarnah(Suvarn.ah.), Sun. ¯ Mitra and Bhaga are two of the Adityas, names of the ¯ Sun, in the Vedas. The other Adityas from a late list are 54 The Adyar Library Bulletin Indra, Aryaman, Vivasvant, Vis.n.u, Parjanya, Varun.a, Dha¯tr., Pu¯s.an, Am.´su, and Tvas.t.a¯. Since Mitra and Varun.a are dvandva partners in the Vedas, the omission of Varun.a from the Zoroastrian lists indicates that Zarathushtra was from the borderlands of the Vedic world where the Vedic system was not fully in place. This would also explain the omission of divini- 4 ties such as Vis.n.u and Rudra. Likewise, it explains why the names of the Pleiades (Kr.ttika¯ in Sanskrit) are very different: Paoirya¯en¯ı. But since Varun.a is mentioned in the Mitanni docu- ments, it is clear that the pre-Zoroastrian religion in Iran included Varun.a. It is remarkable that Baga (Skt. Bhaga), the pre- Zoroastrian name of God in Iran, is not listed amongst the Yazatas. This omission may be a consequence of the adoption of a new divinity, Ahura Mazda, in place of the old one. Common cultural concepts: The Zoroastrian innovations did not change the basic Vedic character of the culture in Iran. The worship ritual remained unchanged as was the case with basic concep- tions related to divinity and the place of man. In disease the Zoroastrians speak of A¯eˇsma in place of Yaks.ma¯. Ameˇsa (Amr.ta): Immortal. The emphasis is on a state beyondtimefromwhichthephenomenalworldemerges. Arta (R.ta): Asha; Cosmic Order Aˇzi(Ahi): Dragon. Thisisthedragonthatcoverstruth. Vedic Religion in Ancient Iran 55 Ba¯resman (Barhi): grass strewn on vedi Druj (Druh): opposite of Asha, falsehood, anr.ta Frama¯yiˇsn (Yajama¯na) Frashasti (Pra´sasti) Hamkar (Samska¯ra) Haoma (Soma); Used in ritual Humayi (Su+ma¯ya¯): good ma¯ya¯ Karapan (Kr.pan): Niggardliness, Zarathusthra is hos- tile to it Kav, Kay, Kavi (Kavi): Inspired seer Mahal (Maha¯laya) Na¯hn (Sna¯na): ritual bath Pa¯vi (Pavitra): place to sacrifice ´ Saena (Syena): the eagle; also Saena meregh (mr.ga), Simurgh Sogand (Saugandha): oath Urvar (urvar): the original plant or productive ground; later Persian ruva¯n, soul Va¯h, Va¯h (Sva¯ha¯, Sva¯ha¯): Invocation at the fire ritual Varah (Vrata): Vow Yasna (Yajn˜a); also Jashn; the act of worship; sacrifice 56 The Adyar Library Bulletin Yatu (ya¯tu): magic; ja¯du Yima son of Vivanhvant (Yama son of Vivasvant) Yazata (yajata); worthy of worship Zaotar (hota¯): priest Zaothra (Stotra): Worship ¯ The struggle between the Arya and the Dasyu in the ¯ Vedas is paralleled by one between the Arya and the Tu- rya (Turks). Five divinities in Yasna Haptanhaiti ¯ Aˇsi (A´s¯ı): Reward, called Maza¯-rayi (Maha¯ray¯ı) ¯ Iˇs (I´sa): Enjoyment ¯ ¯ Azuiti (Ahu¯ti): Plenty Frasasti (Pra´sasti): Satisfaction Pa¯randhi (Purandhi): Nourishment Zarathushtra nowhere names the daevas born of An- graMainyu(PahlaviAhriman, HostileSpirit)butMiddle IranianbookslabelIndar(Indra), Nanhaithya(Na¯satya), and Savol. These appear to be a personification of the acquisitiveaspectsofthedevas. Confirmationofthisidea comes from the fact that Va¯yu in the Zoroastrian view is said to have two aspects, one good and another harmful (zinake). The good Indra, as Verethraghan (Vr.trahan), the destroyer of the veil of ignorance, is Yazata “worhty of worship.”