ĀTRƎVAXŠ (Mid. Pers ādurwaxš), one of the eight Zoroastrian priests (ratu) necessary for performance of the yasna ritual. As the…

DAY (Av. daδuuah-, Pahl. day “creator”), an epithet of Ahura Mazdā that became the name of the tenth month, as well…

ĀSNATAR (Pahl. āsnadār, lit. “washer”), one of the eight Zoroastrian priests (ratu) necessary for the performance of the yasna ritual….

ĀBƎRƎT (Phl. ĀBURD, ĀB-BURDĀR), one of the eight Zoroastrian priests (ratu) necessary for the performance of the yasna ritual. As…

JĀMĀSPA (GAv. Də′ǰāmāspa; Elam. Zamašba, Za-mišba; Arm. Zmsp; Gk. Zamaspes; Akk. Za-ma-as-pa-a’), name of an official at the court of…

INDRA, the name of a demon (daēwa) in the Avesta. In sharp contrast to the Indra of the Ṛgveda [RV],…

HŌM YAŠT, name given to a section of the Avestan Yasna, namely, Y. 9-11.11, which thus, technically, is not one…

GŌŠ YAŠT, the title of the ninth Yašt of the Avesta, also known as Drwāsp Yašt, after the goddess Druuāspā…

ZOROASTER ii. GENERAL SURVEY “Zoroaster” is the name generally known in the West for the prophet of ancient Iran, whose…

KARAPAN (or Karpan), designation of members of a class of daivic priests opposed to the religion of Zarathustra. These priests…

RAŠN, Avestan Rašnu, the deity of the ancient Iranian pantheon who functions as the divine Judge. The word rašnu- is…

SAOŠYANT, a term in Zoroastrianism sometimes rendered as “savior” (Bartholomae). This approximation of the meaning, in eschatological contexts only, has…

KHORDEH AVESTA (Pahlavi xwurdag abistāg; Pers. Ḵorda Avestā) “The Little Avesta,” the name given to collections of Zoroastrian texts used primarily by the laity for everyday…

VĀYU “Wind, Atmosphere, Space,” name of a deity. Indo-Iranian religion recognized two wind gods: Av. vayu, Ved. vāyú, and Av….

SRAOŠA (MPers. Srōš) a major deity (yazata) in Zoroastrianism, whose great popularity reserved a place for him in Iranian Islam…

ŠAHREWAR, name of one of the Amahraspandān (see AMƎŠA SPƎNTA) in Zoroastrianism. This is the Middle Persian form of the…

VISPERAD (or Visprad), name of a lengthy Avestan text divided into 24 chapters (Pahl. kardag, Pers. karda); the name derives…

MĀH YAŠT (Yašt 7), one of what have been termed ‘minor Yašts’  of the Avesta. As the name indicates, it…

VENDĪDĀD i. Survey of the History and Contents of the Text Of the three major divisions of the 21 Nasks of…

ƎRƎTI, the name of a minor goddess. One of a number of abstract deities who appear in the Avesta only…

CHARIOT (Av. raθa, vāša-, Mid. Pers. rah, wardyūn, etc.). Chariots in ancient Iran were light horse-drawn, two-wheeled vehicles designed for…

CAUTES AND CAUTOPATES, the two dadophoroi or torch bearers who often flank Mithras in the bull-slaying scene and who are…

SACRIFICE i. IN ZOROASTRIANISM Conceptual orientation. There exists a vast literature on the subject of sacrifice, much of which has…

KAĒTA, an Avestan word whose approximate meaning is ‘soothsayer.’ The only occurrence of the word is in Yt. 8.5 to…

JACKSON, ABRAHAM VALENTINE WILLIAMS (b. New York City, 9 February 1862; d. New York City, 8 August 1937; FIGURE 1,…

GRAY, LOUIS HERBERT, orientalist and philologist (b. Newark, New Jersey, 10 April, 1875; d. New York, New York, 18 August,…

GŌŠURUN, the Pahlavi name for the soul of the Sole-created Bull (Gāw i ēwdād, q.v.). The name itself derives from…

GƎˊUŠ URUUAN “the soul of the Cow,” the name of the archetypal Bovine, whose plight is a subject of Zoroaster’s…

GƎˊUŠ TAŠAN (the fashioner of the Cow), a divine craftsman who figures prominently in the Gathas (q.v.) of Zoroaster but…

GĀW Ī ĒWDĀD (also ēwagdād), the name of the primordial Bovine in Zoroastrian mythology. Although the name gav- aēvō.dātā- appears…

GARŌDMĀN, the Pahlavi name for heaven and paradise, derived from GAv garō.dəmāna- (lit. “house of song”; cf. YAv garō.nmāna-, Man….

ii. TRANSLATIONS Of the entire corpus of the Avesta, the Gathas have been translated far more frequently than any of…

FRAWARDĪGĀN (New Pers. farvardagān), name of the ten-day Zoroastrian festival (gāhānbār) at year’s end in honor of the spirits of…

FRAHANG Ī OĪM, an Avestan-Pahlavi glossary so named after its first entry, Av. oīm glossed by Pahl. ēwag, though the…

ZOROASTRIANISM i. HISTORICAL REVIEW: This article presents an overview of the history of Zoroastrianism from its beginnings up to the…

YASNA, the name for the central ritual in Zoroastrianism and for the long liturgical text recited during the daily performance…