Vohu Manah

KushanrulerKanishka IwithManaobago(Vohu Manah).

Vohu Manah(Avestan:𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬵vohu manah) is theAvestan languageterm for aZoroastrianconcept, generally translated as "Good Purpose", "Good Mind", or "Good Thought", referring to the good state of mind that enables an individual to accomplish their duties. ItsMiddle Persianequivalent, as attested in thePahlavi scripttexts of Zoroastrian tradition, is 𐭥𐭤𐭥𐭬𐭭Wahman,which is a borrowing of the Avestan language expression and has the same meaning, and which continues inNew PersianasبهمنBahmanand variants. Manah is cognate with theSanskritword Manas suggesting some commonality between the ideas of theGathasand those of theRigveda.The opposite of Vohu Manah isakem manahorAka Manah,"evil purpose" or "evil mind".

The term is a compound of the wordsvohu"good" andmanah"mind, thought, purpose", cognate with theVedicwordsvásuandmánas,both with the same meaning. Both of these derive fromProto-Indo-Iranian*Hwásušand*mánas,in turn fromProto-Indo-European*h₁wésusand*ménos.

In theGathas,the oldest texts of theAvestaand considered to be composed byZoroaster,the term 'Vohu Manah' is not unambiguously used as a proper name and frequently occurs without the "Good" (Vohu-) prefix.

In the post-Gathic texts that expound the principles ofZoroastrian cosmogony,Vohu Manah is anAmesha Spenta,one of seven emanations ofAhura Mazdathat each represent one facet of creation. In the case of Vohu Manah, this is all animal creation, with a particular stress oncattle.Vohu Manah is of neutral gender in Avestan grammar but in Zoroastrian tradition is considered masculine.

In theZoroastrian calendar,the second day of each month as well as the eleventh month of each year are dedicated to Vohu Manah. In theIranian civil calendar,which inherits the names of the months from the Zoroastrian calendar, the 11th month is likewise named Bahman.

TheAchaemenidemperorArtaxerxes II(as it is rendered inGreek) had "Vohu Manah" as the second part of his throne name, which when "translated" into Greek appeared as "Mnemon".New PersianBahmanremains atheophoricin present-day Iranian and Zoroastrian tradition.

See also

• Amesha Spentas,the emanations of Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.

References

• Narten, Joanna (1989)."Bahman i: In the Avesta".Encyclopaedia Iranica.Vol. 3. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 487–488.
• Gignoux, Phillipe (1989)."Bahman ii: In the Pahlavi texts".Encyclopaedia Iranica.Vol. 3. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 487.