The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت Asha ( aša) or arta is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept ae Amesha Spenta ( ae Aməša Spənta) is an Avestan language term for a class of divinity/divine concepts in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept For the fictional character in the Marvel Universe series see Ahura (comics; for the river see Akhurian River. Daeva ( daēuua, daāua, daēva) is the Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics "Ahriman" redirects here For other uses see Ahriman (disambiguation. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry The Vendidad or Videvdat is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. Ahuna Vairya is the Avestan language name of the most sacred of the Gathic hymns of the Avesta, the revered texts of Zoroastrianism. A Zoroastrian Fire Temple is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs The Bundahishn, meaning "Primal Creation" is an account of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology and reflects ancient Zoroastrian and even pre-Zoroastrian beliefs The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text that describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the 'Viraf' of the story through the next world The Jamasp Nameh (var Jāmāsp Nāmag, Jāmāsp Nāmeh, "Story of Jamasp" is a Middle Persian book of revelations The Story of Sanjan (also Qissa-i Sanjan or Kisse-i Sanjan) is an account of the early years of Zoroastrian settlers on the Indian subcontinent Zurvanism is a now-extinct branch of Zoroastrianism that had the divinity Zurvan as its First The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious Calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith and it is an approximation of the (tropical Solar calendar. Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. In the Zoroastrian faith marriage is encouraged an institution greatly favoured by the religious texts. Zoroastrianism eschatology is the oldest Eschatology in recorded history Zoroastrians in Iran have had a long history being the oldest religious community of that nation to survive to the present-day The Iranis are an ethno-religious community of the Indian subcontinent; descendants of Zoroastrians who emigrated from Greater Iran (in the main from Zoroastrians have faced much religious discrimination including forced conversions harassments as well as being identified as Najis "ritually impure" Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Age of the texts 2.2 Early transmission 2.3 Later redaction 2.4 European scholarship 2.5 The Zend 3 Structure and content 3.1 The Yasna 3.2 The Visperad 3.3 The Vendidad 3.4 The Yashts 3.5 The Siroza 3.6 The Khordeh Avesta 3.7 Fragments 4 Other Zoroastrian religious texts 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Bibliography 7.1 Texts and translations 7.2 Secondary works 8 Further reading

Etymology

The etymology of the term Avesta itself is uncertain, but a derivation from middle Persian abestāg, "praise", is a frequently noted possibility. Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect

History

Age of the texts

The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were collated over several hundred years. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. The most important portion, the Gathas, in Gathic Avestan, are the hymns thought to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself, and date linguistically to around 1000 BCE. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت The liturgical texts of the Yasna, which includes the Gathas, is partially in Older and partially in Younger Avestan. Yasna ( Avestan: 'oblation' or 'worship' is the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts of the Avesta as well as the name of the The oldest portions may be older than the Gathas, later adapted to more closely follow the doctrine of Zoroaster. The various Yashts are in Younger Avestan and thought to date to the Achaemenid era (559–330 BCE). The ae Yashts ( ae Yašt s are a collection of twenty-one hymns in Younger Avestan. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Events and trends Carthage conquers Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Events By place Macedonian Empire January 20 — Alexander the Great defeats the Persians, led by satrap Ariobarzanes The Visperad and Vendidad, which are also in Younger Avestan, were probably composed even later but this is not certain. The Vendidad or Videvdat is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta.

Early transmission

The various texts are thought to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form. The Book of Arda Viraf, a work composed in the 3rd or 4th century, suggests that the Gathas and some other texts that were incorporated into the Avesta had previously existed in the palace library of the Achaemenid kings (559–330 BCE). The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text that describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the 'Viraf' of the story through the next world The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Events and trends Carthage conquers Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Events By place Macedonian Empire January 20 — Alexander the Great defeats the Persians, led by satrap Ariobarzanes According to Arda Viraf 1. 4-7 and Denkard 3. 420 the palace library was lost in a fire caused by the troops of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' However, neither assertion can be confirmed since the texts, if they existed, have been lost.

Nonetheless, Rasmus Christian Rask concluded that the texts must indeed be the remnants of a much larger literature, as Pliny the Elder had suggested in his Naturalis Historiae, where he describes one Hermippus of Smyrna having "interpreted two million verses of Zoroaster" in the 3rd century BCE. Rasmus (Christian Rask (ʁɑsmus ʁɑsɡ̊ ( November 22, 1787 - November 14, 1832) Danish scholar and Philologist, was Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Naturalis Historia ( Latin for "Natural History" is an Encyclopedia written Circa AD 77 by Pliny the Elder. Peter Clark in Zoroastrianism. An Introduction to an Ancient Faith (1998, Brighton) suggests the Gathas and older Yasna texts would not have retained their old-language qualities if they had only been orally transmitted.

Later redaction

According to the Dēnkard, a semi-religious work written in the 9th century, the king Volgash (thought to be the Parthian king Vologases IV, c. The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran Vologases IV of Parthia ruled the Parthian Empire from 147 to 191 147–191 CE) attempted to have the sacred texts collected and collated. Events By Topic Religion Serapion of Antioch becomes Patriarch of Antioch. The results of this undertaking, if it occurred, have not survived.

In the 3rd century, the Sassanian emperor Ardashir I (r. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanid dynasty, was ruler of Istakhr (206-241 subsequently Persia 226-241 CE) commanded his high priest Tonsar (or Tansar) to compile the theological texts. Events By Place Asia Cao Rui becomes emperor of the Kingdom of Wei of China. Events By place Asia Shapur I of Persia succeeds Ardashir I as king of Persia. According to the Dēnkard, the Tonsar effort resulted in the reproduction of twenty-one volumes, called nasks, subdivided into 348 chapters, with approximately 3. The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs 5 million words in total. One final redaction took place under Shapur II (r. Shapur II was the ninth King of the Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379 309-379). For the car known as the 309 see Peugeot 309. Events By Place Roman Empire The Spanish provinces revolt from the Events By Place Roman Empire January 19 — Theodosius I is elevated as Roman Emperor at Sirmium.

The Avesta, as known today, represents only those parts of the text that are used liturgically, and therefore survived in the memory of the priests; and, as it now consists of all surviving liturgical texts in the Avestan language, it may include material that never formed part of the 21 nasks at all. In that sense, the current Avesta is a "prayer book" rather than a "Bible". The remainder of the 21 nasks has been lost since then, especially after the fall of the Sassanid empire, after which Zoroastrianism was supplanted by Islam. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. However, some secondary literature in Pahlavi purports to contain paraphrases or lists of contents of the lost books.

European scholarship

The texts became available to European scholarship comparatively late. Abraham Anquetil-Duperron travelled to India in 1755, and discovered the texts in Parsi communities. Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil Du Perron ( 7 December 1731 &ndash 17 January 1805) French Orientalist, brother of India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Year 1755 ( MDCCLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or He published a French translation in 1771, based on a modern Persian language translation provided by a Parsi priest. Year 1771 ( MDCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Several Avesta manuscripts were collected by Rasmus Rask on a visit to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1820, and it was Rask's examination of the Avestan language that first established that the texts must indeed be the remnants of a much larger literature of sacred texts. Rasmus (Christian Rask (ʁɑsmus ʁɑsɡ̊ ( November 22, 1787 - November 14, 1832) Danish scholar and Philologist, was Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial Year 1820 ( MDCCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year

Rask's collection now lies in the library of the University of Copenhagen. The University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet is the oldest and largest University and research institution in Denmark. Other manuscripts are preserved in the East India House and the British Museum in London; the Bodleian library at Oxford and at various university libraries in Paris. East India House in Leadenhall Street in the City of London in England was the headquarters of the British East India Company. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. The Bodleian Library ( the main Research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

The Zend

The word Zend or Zand, literally meaning "interpretation", refers to late middle Persian (see Pazend and Pahlavi) language paraphrases of/commentaries on the individual Avestan books: they could be compared with the Jewish Targums. Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect The Pazend or Pazand is one of the Writing systems used for the Middle Persian language A targum ( Hebrew: תרגום plural targumim, lit "translation interpretation" is an Aramaic Translation of the Hebrew These commentaries - which date from the 3rd to 10th centuries - were not intended for use as theological texts by themselves but for religious instruction of the (by then) non-Avestan-speaking public. In contrast, the texts of the Avesta proper remained sacrosanct and continued to be recited in Avestan, which was considered a sacred language. A sacred language, or liturgical language, is a Language that is cultivated for religious reasons by people who speak another language in their daily life

Manuscripts of the Avesta exist in two forms. One is the Avesta-o-Zand (or Zand-i-Avesta), in which the individual books are written together with their Zand. The other is the Vendidad Sadeh, in which the Yasna, Vispered and Vendidad are set out in alternating chapters, in the order used in the Vendidad ceremony, with no commentary at all.

The use of the expression Zend-Avesta to refer to the Avesta in general is a misunderstanding of the phrase Zand-i-Avesta (which literally means "interpretation of the Avesta").

A related mistake is the use of Zend as the name of a language or script. In 1759, Anquetil-Duperron reported having been told that Zend was the name of the language of the more ancient writings. Year 1759 ( MDCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil Du Perron ( 7 December 1731 &ndash 17 January 1805) French Orientalist, brother of In his third discourse, published in 1798, Sir William Jones mentions a conversation with a Hindu priest who told him that the script was called Zend, and the language Avesta. Year 1798 ( MDCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Sir William Jones ( September 28, 1746 &ndash April 27, 1794) was an English philologist and student of ancient India This mistake results from a misunderstanding of the term pazend, which actually refers to the use of the Avestan alphabet in writing the Zand and other Middle Persian religious texts, as an expression meaning "in Zend". The Pazend or Pazand is one of the Writing systems used for the Middle Persian language The Avestan alphabet is a writing system developed during the Sassanid era (226-651 in Iran to render the Avestan language.

The confusion then became too universal in Western scholarship to be reversed, and Zend-Avesta, although a misnomer, is still occasionally used to denote the older texts.

Rask's seminal work, A Dissertation on the Authenticity of the Zend Language (Bombay, 1821), may have contributed to the confusion. N. L. Westergaard's Zendavesta, or the religious books of the Zoroastrians (Copenhagen, 1852-54) only propagated the error.

Structure and content

In its present form, the Avesta is a compilation from various sources, and its different parts date from different periods and vary widely in character. Only texts in the Avestan language are considered part of the Avesta. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta.

There are strong linguistic and cultural similarities between the texts of the Avesta and those of the early Indian Rigveda; the similarities are assumed to reflect the common beliefs of Proto-Indo-Iranian times, with the differences then assumed to reflect independent evolution that occurred after the pre-historical split of the two cultures. The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" Proto-Indo-Iranian, is the reconstructed Proto-language of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European.

According the Denkard, the 21 nasks mirror the structure of the 21-word-long Ahuna Vairya prayer: each of the three lines of the prayer consists of seven words. Correspondingly, the nasks are divided into three groups, of seven volumes per group. Originally, each volume had a word of the prayer as its name, which so marked a volume’s position relative to the other volumes. Only about a quarter of the text from the nasks has survived until today.

The contents of the Avesta are divided topically (even though the organization of the nasks is not), but these are not fixed or canonical. Some scholars prefer to place the categories in two groups, the one liturgical, and the other general. The following categorization is as described by Jean Kellens (see bibliography, below).

The Yasna

Main article: Yasna

The Yasna (from yazišn "worship, oblations", cognate with Sanskrit yajña), is the primary liturgical collection. In Hinduism, Yajna ( Devanagari यज्ञ IAST yajña; also anglicized as Yagna, Yagya or Yadnya It consists of 72 sections called the Ha-iti or Ha. The 72 threads of lamb’s wool in the Kusti, the sacred thread worn by Zoroastrians, represent these sections. The central portion of the Yasna is the Gathas, the oldest and most sacred portion of the Avesta, believed to have composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت The Gathas are structurally interrupted by the Yasna Haptanghaiti ("seven-chapter Yasna"), which makes up chapters 35-42 of the Yasna and is almost as old as the Gathas, consists of prayers and hymns in honour of the Supreme Deity, Ahura Mazda, the Angels, Fire, Water, and Earth. The Yasna Haptanghaiti ( ae Yasna Haptaŋhāiti) Avestan for "Worship in Seven Chapters" is a set of 7 hymns within the greater Yasna The structure of the Yasna, though handed down in prose, may once have been metrical, as the Gathas still are.

It is believed by some scholars that the Yasna represents the 21st nask (the seventh and last volume in the third and last group). Six of the nasks from the first group of nasks, which are commentaries on the Gathas, may also be regarded as relevant to the Yasna. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry

The Yasna, or Izeshne, is primarily the name, not of a book, but of a ceremony in which the entire book is recited and appropriate liturgical actions performed. In its normal form, this ceremony can only be performed in the morning.

The Visperad

Main article: Visperad

The Visperad (from vîspe ratavo, "(prayer to) all patrons") is a collection of supplements to the Yasna. Visperad or Visprad is either a particular Zoroastrian religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium The Visparad is subdivided into 23 or 24 kardo (sections) that are interleaved into the Yasna during a Visperad service (which is an extended Yasna service).

The Visperad collection has no unity of its own, and is never recited separately from the Yasna.

The Vendidad

Main article: Vendidad

The Vendidad (or Vidēvdāt, a corruption of Avestan Vî-Daêvô-Dāta, "Given Against the Demons") is an enumeration of various manifestations of evil spirits, and ways to confound them. The Vendidad or Videvdat is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. The Vendidad includes all of the 19th nask, which is the only nask that has survived in its entirety. The text consists of 22 Fargards, fragments arranged as discussions between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator The first fargard is a dualistic creation myth, followed by the description of a destructive winter on the lines of the deluge of mythology. A creation myth is a supernatural mytho-[[religion religious]] story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, Earth, life, and The story of a Great Flood (also known as the Deluge) sent by a Deity or deities to destroy Civilization as an act of Divine retribution is a The second fargard recounts the legend of Yima. Jamshēd, Jamshīd ( or Jam ( in Middle- and New Persian, or Yima in Avestan is a mythological figure of Greater The remaining fargards deal primarily with hygiene (care of the dead in particular) [fargard 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 19] as well as disease and spells to fight it [7, 10, 11, 13, 20, 21, 22]. Fargards 4 and 15 discuss the dignity of wealth and charity, of marriage and of physical effort, and the indignity of unacceptable social behaviour such as assault and breach of contract, and specify the penances required to atone for violations thereof. Breach of contract is a Legal concept in which a Binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance The Vendidad is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual, and there is a degree of moral relativism apparent in the codes of conduct. This article attempts to confine itself to discussion of relativism in morals and ethics The Vendidad's different parts vary widely in character and in age. Some parts may be comparatively recent in origin although the greater part is very old.

The Vendidad, unlike the Yasna and the Visparad, is a book of laws rather than the record of a liturgical ceremony. However, there is a ceremony called the Vendidad, in which the Yasna is recited with all the chapters of both the Visparad and the Vendidad inserted at appropriate points. This ceremony is only performed at night.

The Yashts

Main article: Yasht

The Yashts (from yešti, "worship by praise") are a collection of 21 hymns, each dedicated to a particular divinity or divine concept. The ae Yashts ( ae Yašt s are a collection of twenty-one hymns in Younger Avestan. The faravahar or farohar (transliteration varies is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism. In Zoroastrian doctrine a fravashi ( Avestan fravaši; Middle Persian fraward, frawahr, frohar, frawash The ae Yashts ( ae Yašt s are a collection of twenty-one hymns in Younger Avestan. Three hymns of the Yasna liturgy that "worship by praise" are - in tradition - also nominally called yashts, but are not counted among the Yasht collection since the three are a part of the primary litury. The Yashts vary greatly in style, quality and extent. In their present form, they are all in prose but analysis suggests that they may at one time have been in verse.

The Siroza

The Siroza ("thirty days") is an enumeration and invocation of the 30 divinities presiding over the days of the month. (cf. Zoroastrian calendar). The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious Calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith and it is an approximation of the (tropical Solar calendar. The Siroza exists in two forms, the shorter ("little Siroza") is a brief enumeration of the divinities with their epithets in the genitive. The longer ("great Siroza") has complete sentences and sections, with the yazatas being addressed in the accusative.

The Siroza is never recited as a whole, but is a source for individual sentences devoted to particular divinities, to be inserted at appropriate points in the liturgy depending on the day and the month.

The Khordeh Avesta

The Khordeh Avesta ("little Avesta") is both a selection of verses from the other collections, as well as three sub-collections that do not appear elsewhere. Taken together, the Khordeh Avesta is considered the prayer book for general lay use. In a wider sense, the term Khordeh Avesta includes all material other than the Yasna, the Visparad and the Vendidad, as it is only the ceremonies contained in these three books that are reserved for the priests.

The Khordeh Avesta is divided into 4 sections:

1. Five introductory chapters, accompanied by excerpts from different parts of the Yasna.
2. Five Niyayishns "praises," addressed to the sun, Mithra, the moon, the waters, and the fire. In the main, the material overlaps with that of the Yashts. The Niyayishn to fire derives from Yasna 62.
3. Five Gahs "moments of the day," addressed to the five divisions of the day.
4. Four Afrinagans "blessings," each recited on a particular occasion: the first in honor of the dead, the second on the five epagomenal days that end the year, the third is recited at the six seasonal feasts, and the fourth at the beginning and end of summer.

Fragments

All material in the Avesta that is not already present in one of the other categories falls into a "fragments" category, which - as the name suggests - includes incomplete texts. There are altogether more than 20 fragment collections, many of which have no name (and are then named after their owner/collator) or only a Middle Persian name. The more important of the fragment collections are the the Nirangistan fragments (18 of which constitute the Ehrbadistan); the Pursishniha "questions," also known as "Fragments Tahmuras"; the Aogemadaeca "we accept," a treatise on death; and the Hadokht Nask "volume of the scriptures" with two fragments of eschatological significance.

Other Zoroastrian religious texts

Only texts preserved in the Avestan language count as scripture and are part of the Avesta. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. Several other secondary works are nonetheless crucial to Zoroastrian theology and scholarship.

The most notable among the Middle Persian texts are the Dēnkard ("Acts of Religion"), dating from the 9th century; the Bundahishn ("Primordial Creation"), finished in the 11th or 12th century, but containing older material; the Mainog-i-Khirad ("Spirit of Wisdom"), a religious conference on questions of faith; and the Arda Viraf Namak ("Book of Arda Viraf"), which is especially important for its views on death, salvation and life in the hereafter. The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs The Bundahishn, meaning "Primal Creation" is an account of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology and reflects ancient Zoroastrian and even pre-Zoroastrian beliefs The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text that describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the 'Viraf' of the story through the next world Of the post-14th century works (all in New Persian), only the Sad-dar ("Hundred Doors, or Chapters"), and Rivayats (traditional treatises) are of doctrinal importance. The Sad-dar or Saddar, literally Hundred Doors or chapters is a Persian book about Zoroastrianism. Other texts such as Zartushtnamah ("Book of Zoroaster") are only notable for their preservation of legend and folklore.

See also

• The Gathas, the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry

Notes

Bibliography

Texts and translations

• There is a three-volume text of the Avesta, in its original script, edited by Karl Friedrich Geldner. The Avestan alphabet is a writing system developed during the Sassanid era (226-651 in Iran to render the Avestan language. Friedrich Karl Geldner ( December 17, 1852 &ndash February 5, 1929) was a German Linguist best known for his analysis and
• Reichelt, Avesta Reader, contains extracts, some in the original script and some in Bartholomaean transcription. The Avestan alphabet is a writing system developed during the Sassanid era (226-651 in Iran to render the Avestan language.
• A full translation by James Darmesteter and L. H. Mills forms part of the Sacred Books of the East series, but is now regarded as obsolete. James Darmesteter ( March 28, 1849 &ndash October 10, 1894) French Author and Antiquarian, was born of The Rev Dr Lawrence Heyworth Mills ( 1837 - January 29[[ 918]] who generally published as L The Sacred Books of the East is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious writings edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University

Secondary works

• Gershevitch, Ilya (1955). "Approaches to Zoroaster's Gathas". Iran 33. London: British Institute of Persian Studies.  
• Gnoli, Gherardo (2000). Zoroaster in History. New York: Oxbow.  
• Kellens, Jean (1983). "Avesta". Encyclopædia Iranica 3. Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language Encyclopedia about the history culture and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. 35-44.  
• Modi, J. J. , The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees
• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia

Further reading

• avesta.org: Translations of the Avesta texts
• Avestan Digital Archive
• The Avesta (Catholic Encyclopedia)
• The Avesta at LIVIUS

The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia

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