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Verethragna

VerethragnaorBahram(Avestan:𐬬𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬖𐬥𐬀‎,romanized:vərəθraγna) is aZoroastriandeity.[3][4]

Verethragna
Orlagno (Verethragna) on the coinage ofKanishka I,2nd century CE.[1][2]

The neuter nounverethragnais related to Avestanverethra,'obstacle' andverethragnan,'victorious'.[5]Representing this concept is the divinity Verethragna, who is thehypostasisof "victory", and "as a giver of victory Verethragna plainly enjoyed the greatest popularity of old."[6]In Zoroastrian Middle Persian, Verethragna became𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭Warahrām,from which Vahram, Vehram, Bahram, Behram and other variants derive.

The Proto-Aryan adjective *vrtraghan, which corresponds to the Avestan noun Verethragna, also has an etymological cognate in Vedic Sanskrit -Vrtra.In Vedic literature, Vrtrahan is predominantly an epithet used for Indra[7]after he defeated Vrtra. Vrtrahan literally means "slayer of Vrtra."

The name and, to some extent, the deity was borrowed intoArmenianՎահագնVahagnandՎռամVṙam,and has cognates inBuddhist Sogdian𐫇𐫢𐫄𐫗‎wšɣn w(i)šaɣn,Manichaen Parthian𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭇𐭓𐭌wryḥrmWahrām,Kushan BactrianορλαγνοOrlagno.[8]While the figure ofVerethragnais highly complex, parallels have also been drawn between,PuranicVishnu,ManichaeanAdamas,Chaldean / BabylonianNergal,EgyptianHorus,HellenicAresandHeracles.

In scripture

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In theBahram Yasht

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Yasht14, the hymn of praise to Verethragna, "though ill-preserved, contains what seem very archaic elements".[6]There, Verethragna is described as "the most highly armed" (Yasht14.1), the "best equipped with might" (14.13), with "effervescent glory" (14.3), has "conquering superiority" (14.64), and is in constant battle with men and daemons (14.4, 14.62).

Verethragnais not exclusively associated with military might and victory. So, for instance, he is connected with sexual potency and "confers virility" (Yasht14.29), has the "ability to heal" (14.3) and "renders wonderful". TheYashtbegins with an enumeration of the ten forms in which the divinity appears: As an impetuous wind (14.2-5); as an armed warrior (14.27) and as an adolescent of fifteen (14.17); and in the remaining seven forms as animals: a bull with horns of gold (14.7); a white horse with ears and a muzzle of gold (14.9); a camel in heat (14.11-13); a boar (14.15); a bird of prey (veregna,14.19-21); a ram (14.23); and a wild goat (14.25). Many of these incarnations are also shared with other divinities, for instance, the youth, the bull and the horse are also attributed toTishtrya.Likewise, the bird, the camel and the wind toVayu-Vata,another member of the Zoroastrian pantheon associated with martial victory.

In other texts

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Together withČistā,Verethragnais a principal companion ofMithra(Mihr Yasht10.70). Several sections of theBahram Yashtalso appear in hymns dedicated to other divinities, but it is rarely possible to determine in which direction those sections were copied.

The identification of Verethragna as a boar inYasht14 led Ilya Gershevitch to identify Dāmōiš Upamana – a boar in the Avestan hymn to Mithra – to be an alter-ego of Verethragna.[9][10][11]

In culture and tradition

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Statue of Hercules in Behistun,dedicated in the name of "Herakles Kallinikos" (Ἡρακλῆν Καλλίνικον,"Hercules glorious in victory" ) by aSeleucidgovernor in 148 BCE.[12]Some have interpreted it as anHellenistic-era depiction of Verethragna asHeracles.[13]Kermanshah,Iran.[13]

In the Zoroastrian hierarchy

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In the Zoroastrian hierarchy of divinities, Bahram is a helper ofAsha Vahishta(Avestan, middle Persian:Ardvahisht), theAmesha Spentaresponsible for the luminaries. In theZoroastrian calendarinstituted during the lateAchaemenid era(648–330 BCE), the twentieth day of the month is dedicated to Bahram (Siroza1.20).

In the later middle Persian textsBahramis especially venerated as one of theAmesha Spentas,effectively giving him the high rank for his success in driving backAngra Mainyu[14][15]

As the name of a planet

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SyncreticParthianrelief carving of Bahram (Nergal) from Hatra inIraq,dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD

In the astronomical and calendrical reforms of theSasanian(224-651 CE), the planetMarswas named Bahram. Zaehner attributes this to the syncretic influences of theChaldeanastral-theological system, where BabylonianNergalis both the god of war and the name of the red planet.[16](see also: "Fatalistic"Zurvanism).

In the name of a class of fire

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According to Boyce, the present-day expressionAtash-Behramas the name of the most sacred class of fires is a confusion of the adjectival "Victorious Fire" with "Fire of Bahram"[17]The former is the way it appears in Middle Persian inscriptions such as theKartirinscription atKabah-i Zardusht,while the latter is what is now understood by the termAtash-Behram.Gnoli attributes the change to natural misunderstanding "abetted in Islamic times by a progressive decay in Zoroastrian priestly teaching"[18]

In art and iconography

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KushanrulerKanishka Iwith godOrlagno(Verethragna).

The only evidence of a cult appears in the first century account ofStrabo,who reports, probably on authority ofNearchus,that theCarmaniansworshipped a divinity of victory (Geographika,15.2.14). That this was Bahramb / Verethragna is unlikely if, as per Strabo, he was their "only god."[citation needed]However, the account does reveal that divinities of war were known to the people who were not of the Iranian plateau, evidence for which also comes fromHerodotus(4.59-62).

Under theSeleucids(330–150 BCE) andArsacids(250 BCE–226 CE), that is, in the Empires influenced by Hellenic culture,Verethragnawas both identified asAresand associated withHeracles,and given the Greek nameArtagnes.[19]This syncretism is well attested in statuary and iconography, most notably in that of the inscription ofAntiochus I Theos of Commagene,in which all three names occur together.

That Bahram was considered the patron divinity of travelers is perhaps reflected by the life-size rock sculpture of the divinity on the main highway at Behistun. There Bahram reclines with a goblet in his hand, a club at his feet, and a lion-skin beneath him.

In the early Sasanian period Bahram is still represented as the Greek Heracles. In the relief ofArdeshir Iat Naqs-e Rajab III,[citation needed]Bahram appears as one of the two smaller figures betweenAhura Mazdaand the king. There, he has a lion's skin in his left hand and brandishes a club in his right. The other small figure – who appears to be paying homage to Bahram – is the future kingBahram I.

Bahram also appears as wings, or as a bird of prey, in the crowns of the Sasanian kings. This iconography first appears in the crown ofBahram IIwhich also bears the name of the divinity. A similar image is adopted byPeroz(whose name also means 'victorious') as well as byKhosrau Parwez(again, Parwez meaning 'ever-victorious'). Similarly, boar and eagle heads on caps crown the heads of princes. Boar figures are widespread in Sasanian art, appearing in everything from textiles to stucco and in silver ornaments, coins, and seals. Other animal motifs have been found that recall the aspects of Bahram (see the ten forms of Bahramin the Avesta,above). The bird motif on Sasanian-era fire altars are also believed to represent Bahram.

As the name of kings

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Bahram was the name of sixSasaniankings:

In Twelver Shi'ism

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In his famous book, Al-Najm Al-Thaqib,Mirza Husain Noori Tabarsilists 182 names of theShia Mahdi.There were a number of ancient Persian and Zoroastrian titles, andTabarsilistedBahrāmas one of theMahdi'snames,[20]possibly alluding to the role of theMahdibeing a victorious military commander.

In Avestan scholarship

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A boar in a frescoe atBamiyan,symbol of the Mazdean god of victory Verethragna. 6th-7th century CE.[21]

The interpretation of the divinity was once one of the more widely debated fields in Zoroastrian scholarship since the theories of origin reflected a radical revolution in ethical, moral and religious values.[22]

Primarily because the Avestan adjectiveverethragnan('victorious') had a corresponding Vedic termvrtrahanwhere it appeared "preponderantly [as] a qualification of Indra", Zoroastrians and Hindus accept that[23][page needed]in Indo-Iranian times there existed the warrior godIndraand that AvestanVerethragnamight be analogous to that divine figure. The Sanskrit cognate of Verethragna is Vritraghna, which is an epithet forIndrain Vedic literature, and he too is the destroyer of "Vritra",an Asura whose name literally means obstacle.

But western scholars oppose this identification: In the Avesta, it is the hero warrior-priestFereydunwho battles the serpentAži Dahāka(which, for the virtue of 'Azi' being cognate with Sanskrit 'Ahi', snake, is – by proponents of the theory - associated with VedicVritra[a]). One Western scholar claims that, in the Vedas, the epithet 'hero' (sura) is itself almost exclusively reserved forIndra,while in the Avesta it is applied toThraetaonaand other non-divine figures. The term "victorious" is not restricted toVerethragna,but is also a property of a number of other figures, both divine and mortal, includingThraetaona.Then, while in the Vedas it isIndrawho discoversSoma,in the Avesta, it is humans who first pressHaomaandThraetaonais attributed with being the "inventor of medicine". In the Vedas,Indrastrikes withvajra,but in the AvestavazraisMithra's weapon.

Attempts to resolve these objections led to the development of another theory, in which, in addition to the pre-historical divinity of victory, there was also a dragon-slaying heroIndra.Then, while the Iranians retained the figures independently of one another, the Indians conflated the two (leaving an echo in the character ofTrita Aptya).

This theory too had its problems, in particular the fact thatIndrawas already evidently a divine figure, and not a man, inthe Mittani treaties,where he appears in the company ofMitraandVaruna.That again raises more questions since the treaties echo theRig Veda's invocation of all three as protectors of contract, again, not a property associated withVerethragna.[b]

However, as Benveniste and Renou demonstrated, many of the objections to the first theory could be negated if the evidence were reviewed in light of the fact that the principal feature ofVerethragnawas not to slay noxious creatures but to overcome obstacles (verethra), in particular to unblock the flow ofapas,the waters, the holiest of the elements.[24]

Paul Thieme agreed with this principal feature, but clarified that while the wealth of archaic elements in theBahram Yashtclearly point to the pre-Zoroastrian era, the interpretation of proper names is "highly conjectural", and "in no case do we get a decisive argument against their Indo-Aryan or old Indic character"[25][c] Adopting "the exact linguistic and exegetic analysis" of Benveniste and Renou, Thieme concludes "Proto-Aryan*Indrahas assumed the functions of a Proto-Aryan god*Vrtraghna."Noting thatVrtrahanis the name of Indra only in the later Sanskrit texts (but not in the Rig Veda), Thieme adds "there is no valid justification for supposing that the Proto-Aryan adjective*vrtraghanwas specifically connected with*Indraor any other particular god. "[27]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^It remains unclear why those two and not any other Azi, or for that matter, Vedicahi budhnya,should be related.
  2. ^ Boycedraws attention to the fact thatIndrais specifically named as a demon in both the Avesta (Vendidad10.9) and also in later middle Persian texts (e.g.Bundahishn21.6)[22]Boyce adds that it is preferable to see individual developments rather than elements inherited from a different past.[28]
  3. ^ Since "Vedic Indra must be distinguished from a presumable Proto-Aryan*Indra[of the Mittani treaties] "[25]"we may go so far as to say that the AvestanVərəθraγnain his role as the fighting companion ofMiθrais the equivalent of the Vedic Indra in his role as the helper of theAdityas.This does not necessarily mean thatVərəθraγnahas taken the place of Proto-Aryan*Indra;it may just as well mean that Vedic Indra has replaced a Proto-AryanVərəθraγna."[26]

References

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  1. ^Fleming, Benjamin; Mann, Richard (26 March 2014).Material Culture and Asian Religions: Text, Image, Object.Routledge. p. 433.ISBN978-1-135-01372-1.
  2. ^Stewart, Sarah; Williams, Alan; Hintze, Almut (16 February 2016).The Zoroastrian Flame: Exploring Religion, History and Tradition.Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 184.ISBN978-0-85772-815-9.
  3. ^Kuehn, Sara (12 July 2011).The Dragon in Medieval East Christian and Islamic Art.BRILL. p. 103.ISBN978-90-04-18663-7.With a foreword by Robert Hillenbrand
  4. ^Fragner, Bert G. (30 September – 4 October 1991)."[no title cited]".Proceedings of the Second European Conference of Iranian Studies: Held in Bamberg, 30th September to 4th October 1991, by the Societas Iranologica Europaea.Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (published 1995).
  5. ^Gnoli (1989),p. 510.
  6. ^abBoyce (1975),p. 63.
  7. ^Thieme 1960.
  8. ^"Orlagno".British Museum (britishmuseum.org).
  9. ^Gershevitch (1959),pp. 166–169.
  10. ^Gnoli (1989),p. 511.
  11. ^Boyce (1975),p. 83, note 416.
  12. ^Visscher, Marijn S. (2020).Beyond Alexandria: Literature and Empire in the Seleucid World.Oxford University Press. p. 75, note 26.ISBN978-0-19-005908-8.
  13. ^abGnoli & Jamzadeh (1988),pp. 510–514.
  14. ^de Menasce (1958),pp. 5–18.
  15. ^Gnoli (1989),p. 513.
  16. ^Zaehner (1955),p. 147 ff.
  17. ^Boyce (1982),p. 222 ff.
  18. ^Gnoli (1989),p. 512.
  19. ^Duchesne-Guillemin (1973).
  20. ^"من أسماء المهدي".
  21. ^Rowland, Benjamin (1975).The art of Central Asia.New York, Crown. p. 89.
  22. ^abBoyce (1975),pp. 62–64.
  23. ^Benveniste & Renou (1934).
  24. ^Benveniste & Renou (1934),p. 182.
  25. ^abThieme (1960),p. 302.
  26. ^Thieme (1960),p. 312.
  27. ^Thieme (1960),p. 312-313.
  28. ^Boyce (1975),p. 283.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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