Avesta, also called zendavesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. The danger of contamination is present until the birds have eaten the flesh. It is even harder to prove that they did not influence each other. Additional notes on zoroastrian pilgrimage and sacred sites. For the most part, zoroastrianism does not have a notion of reincarnation, at least not until the frashokereti. At the heart of avestas scriptural core are the gathas. The oldest surviving versions of these tales are found in the ninth to 11th century ce texts of zoroastrian tradition i. This book was just too dense to really get into or appreciate. There are references to zoroastrian beliefs to the greekborn roman author plutarch from 46 to 120.
Zoroastrianism is one of the worlds great ancient religions. Are abrahamic religions copied from the zoroastrianism. The major beliefs of zoroastrianism can be found in its principal holy text, the avesta. The zoroastrian mountain shrines of the yazd region were used as holy places long before the birth of islam and therefore predate any legends associated with that religion. It is hard to prove either that zoroastrianism influenced judaism or that judaism influenced zoroastrianism. The obscure religion that shaped the west bbc culture. This text claims that the highest god and creator, ahura mazda, is engaged in a primeval battle against angra mainyu, the destructive spirit. The prophet zoroaster zarathrustra in ancient persian is regarded as the founder of zoroastrianism, which is arguably the worlds oldest monotheistic faith. In fact, there is little mention or reference to zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism, also called zarathustrism, mazdeism or parsism, is the. The central belief of zoroastrianism is that god, ahura mazda the wise.
Zoroastrianism is defined by the merriam webster 1 online dictionary as a persian religion founded in the sixth century b. First of all, the earliest writing down of the scripture of zoroastrianism was in the fourth century ad yes, ad. The gathas are a part of the holy book of the avesta meaning knowledge. You might as well ask what similarities does hinduism and christianity have with each other because zoroastrianism is way more similar to christianity than it is to hinduism. The avesta can be roughly split into two main sections. Zoroastrianism has one book that is considered sacred and that contains all the stories, lessons, and ideals that zoroastrians live by. People who subscribe to zoroastrianism believe in the sacred writings of the avesta. Does zoroastrianism predate christianity and is the idea that. The holy book of zoroastrianism is called the zend avesta, believed to be written by zoroaster himself. Geographical characteristics and the origin of the zoroastrians pilgrimage places in iran. Although marrying foreign wives had always been the most favored jewish practice, such marriages violate zoroastrian law e. In hinduism, we have philosophical books such as the sankhya karika, a treatise on human suffering, nyaya sutra, a book on logic, and kathamrita, treatise on spirtual unity. Are the ideas of jesus and christianity borrowed from mithra.
This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. Similarly buddhism, islam, christianity and jainism have their own philosophical books. Neither islam nor the holy quran was taken from zoroastrian tradition. The zoroastrian book of holy scriptures is called the avesta. There are several laws of the zoroastrians religion that the followers must obey. Mar 05, 2012 dog is a most holy animal in zoroastrianism, see the chapter of vendidad. The holy book of the zoroastrian religion avesta is believed to have been written in 346360ad, although its earliest copies date back to 1200ad. Zoroastrianism or more natively mazdayasna, is one of the worlds oldest still practiced religions, and is known for being one of the more unique religions, due to combining cosmological dualism with a monotheistic styled framework.
Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m. The prophet zarathushtralater referred to by the greeks as zoroasterfounded zoroastrianism about 3500 years ago. Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions. This is a rather limited definition that actually tells us very. All people have free will but after death their good thoughts, words and deeds will be weighed. Zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion. These many different texts are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they were written down in the 3rd century. Are the ideas of jesus and christianity borrowed from. Beliefs fire is a very important symbol in zoroastrianism. Most agree that the latest it began would have been around 600 bce. The zoroastrian holy book is called the avesta this includes the original words of their founder zoroaster, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. Moulton was correct in seeing these similarities and recognizing them for what they are worth comparatively. The book of zoroastrianism is avesta which contains holy scripts and ancient writings. The religious text of judaism is the jewish bible or tanakh.
The avesta is the holy book of the zoroastrians, and contains the religions sacred scriptures. It is composed in the avestan language and it is only known and attested because of that. If a man does it, it is considered a sin and that the evil spirits have taken hold of him. The zend avesta is the holy book of zoroastrianism. This religion is also called the religion of the fire worshippers and magianism.
It was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra. The extant avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently zoroasters transformation of a very ancient tradition. Persian literature the oldest texts are the gathas, 16 or perhaps 17 short hymns written in an archaic form of an old iranian language called avestan, named for the avesta, the holy book of zoroastrianism. May 27, 2005 i do not know how much you know about this religion, but it was founded by someone called zoroaster or zarathushtra who was born around 1200 bc and has a holy text called the avesta. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. The zorastrian holy book is called the avesta and it is a compilation of all zoroastrian prayers, which were composed over several centuries, some dating back to more than 3500 years. The zoroastrian followers should never force someone to obey their religion as it is against peace. These religious ideas are encapsulated in the sacred texts of the zoroastrians and assembled in. In presentday iran, significant communities of zoroastrians who take their name from the founder of the faith, the remarkable religious reformer zoraoster still practice the rituals and teach the moral precepts that once undergirded the officially statesanctioned faith of the mighty sasanian empire. This dualism is often regarded as having been influential in the formulation of jewish theology, and through judaism, that of christianity. But if we interpret them in a reasonable manner and corroborate them by facts of history, they clearly apply to the holy prophet mohammad and none else. Influence of zoroastrianism on judaism and christianity cais. This was the religion of the iranian people before islam. Does zoroastrianism predate christianity and is the idea.
Zoroastrianism, which is commonly known as parsiism, is the ancient religion of persia. These are seventeen hymns considered to have been composed by zoroaster himself. Comparisons between zoroastrianism and christianity. Who is considered the sacred text and holy scriptures of zoroastrianism. According to texts from the period, zoroaster may have been born in 628 b.
What is the name of the holy book of zoroastrianism. It used to be one of the most popular religions in the world, but has since dwindled down to about 140,000 members, most in india. It represents god and helps zoroastrians focus when they are praying. After reading these books, the zoroastrian religion slowly started gaining clarity in my mind. An introduction to zoroastrianism the british library. Zoroastrian dietary laws, animal friendship and stewardship.
Holy books, prop hets and followers little is known about the prophet zoroaster himself. The alien nature of other laws to the jews shows itself in the distinction between clean and unclean animals in leviticus and ezekial which was derived from the vendidad, a zoroastrian holy book. Were quran and islam taken from zoroastrian tradition. Persian literature the oldest texts are the gathas, 16 or perhaps 17 short hymns written in an archaic form of an old iranian language called avestan, named for the avesta, the holy book of zoroastrianism beside above, what does spenta mainyu mean. Zoroastrians also called parsees in some places christians. Zoroastrianism zoroastrianism, the dominant preislamic religious.
But, if you are looking to read a book that can educate you and introduce you to zoroastrianism, id have to say look else. The first part of the book is collectively called the gathas. The avesta is the oldest and core part of the scriptures, which contains the. Let us consider some facts about zoroastrianism and its scripture.
To breakdown the different books, ill copy and paste a summary i made for a similar question. This book is useful for the later history of the zoroastrians. The difficulty of a zoroastrian theology proper is in defining the six amesha spentas, or holy immortals2, who interpreted by some scholars are part of ahura mazdas the zoroastrian name for god essence, and by others as deities created by and independent of him. Jan 02, 2020 many doctrines of the christian faith have parallels in zoroastrianism, e. During the ninth century, muslims started to use isolated verses from the bible to. The gathas, the most ancient, describe zoroasters followers often as. Pliny is the first person to refer to zoroastrianism and was born after jesus. Zoroastrianism history and beliefs schoolworkhelper. The oldest manuscript we have of the avestathe principle scripture of zoroastrianism is from the fourteenth century ad. You can find every aspect of life in it, from creation to death, but we want to look closely at some of them.
Believers anticipate ahura mazdas eventual victory, after which the followers of angra mainyu will suffer before all of humanity experiences eternal bliss. In fact dogs and horses enjoy a number of legal privileges and special rights in the zoroastrian jurisprudence. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Sraosha is the avestan name of the zoroastrian yazata of observance, which in context means observance of the holy laws, which is also the literal meaning of his name. Zoroastrianism, ancient preislamic religion of iran with both monotheistic and dualistic elements that likely influenced the other major religions, including in angelology and eschatology. The quran is clearly original in many aspects, including the arabic language although similar and related to. Different religions have different holy books books they consider holy. Oct 02, 2009 the zoroastrian book of holy scriptures is called the avesta. Praise to thee, ahura mazda, threefold before other creations. It exalts a deity of wisdom, ahura mazda wise lord, as its supreme being. The claim you have come across is that zoroastrianism, with its dualism, influenced judaism and, therefore, also christianity. Jan 07, 2020 the zend avesta complete free pdf ebook july 25, 2011 by lichtenberg the zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith.
Dogs are not at all permissible for consumption and their most kind treatment is enjoined upon every zoroastrian. Theyre monotheistic in the tradition of ethical monotheism similar to the abrahamic religions. It needs complex rituals to clean themselves from evil spirits by using the rituals and spells in the holy book. Zoroastrianism definition, beliefs, founder, holy book. The twentyone nask s books of the avesta were created by ahura mazda and brought by zoroaster to his patron vishtaspa denkard 4a, 3a. Zoroastrian influences on judaism and christianity and. Islam is a perfect religion of the prophet muhammad s. It is written in an eastern iranian dialectlanguage that is called avestan for the lack of more suitable terms. The sacred scripture of zoroastrianism is known as the avesta although much like the bible, it is not a single text but a collection of texts written at different times by different authors for different purposes.
Religious texts are to be found in the avesta, which is the holy book of zoroastrianism. It is thought that he wrote the gathas, a collection of songs in the form of dialogue between himself and ahura mazda. Spenta mainyu is an aspect of the wise lord himself. The religious scriptures of the parsis are found in two languages, zendi and pahlawi. When i realized that the gathas the most sacred text of the zoroastrian faith themselves were only in a language that was a sister of rigvedic sanskrit, i began. The book bible from its beginnings in late near eastern antiquity has been as. I was trying to look for some zoroastrian books on philosophy but couldnt find any. Zoroasters gathas are in a holy book called avesta, which has different parts. Zoroastrian element, as quoted here from the zendavesta, is the nee.
Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have originated as early. The zoroastrian representative of the kurdistan regional government in iraq has claimed that as many as 100,000 people in iraqi kurdistan have converted to zoroastrianism recently, with community leaders repeating this claim and speculating that even more zoroastrians in the region are practicing their faith secret ly. Apr 06, 2017 even the idea of satan is a fundamental ly zoroastrian one. There are numerous clear prophecies in zend avesta, the recognized book of the prophet zartushtra, about the holy quran, the prophet mohammad and his companions. It is composed in the avestan language and it is only known and attested. The latter represent the basic source of the religion. Zoroastrian communities still exist in iran and in india, where they are known as parsis. We have seen that zoroastrianism parallels christianity in many ways, from its theology proper and anthropology to its eschatology. The zoroastrian representative of the kurdistan regional government in iraq has claimed that as many as 100,000 people in iraqi kurdistan have converted to zoroastrianism recently, with community leaders repeating this claim and speculating that even more zoroastrians in the region are practicing their faith secretly.
Comparing zoroastrianism and christianity kids of courage. The yasts and vendidad are said to compose the younger avesta. Williams jackson on the zoroastrian religion, as well as works by r. Ahura mazda is depicted in the zoroastrian scriptures as a kind of trinity. No man should touch a woman when she is on her period. A further structural feature of the postsoviet area regarding religion is not only the diversification of. In these earliest texts, sraosha is routinely associated with the amesha spentas, the six. Avesta is a repository of oral texts, transmitted orally in fixed linguistic form until it was written down.
The original book is currently kept in the fire temple. Some, however, think zoroastrianism had its beginnings as early as 6000 bce, and zoroaster simply revived a faith that had been practiced thousands of years earlier. What is the zoroastrian holy book and where can i read it. The gathas, the most ancient, describe zoroasters followers often as depressed and endangered. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. Sraosha is already attested in the gathas, the oldest texts of zoroastrianism and believed to have been composed by zoroaster himself. The language is closely related to sanskrit and might have been mutually inteligible with it. Zoroastrian influences on judaism and christianity and monotheism. Zoroastrians believe the way to heaven is by doing good works. This part of the site has complete online editions of the sacred books of the easts zoroastrian texts. The literature appears to designate the period and condition of the church. This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of. Whether a vast collection of semi religious texts written on parchment in gold ink, as suggested by the denkard.
312 1648 1014 1413 469 325 1175 1483 845 859 1360 836 329 985 1248 505 1617 314 843 954 252 10 852 1089 564 529 243 1054 1026 1203 321