Amesha Spenta
| Part ofa serieson |
| Zoroastrianism |
|---|
 |
 Religion portal |
InZoroastrianism,theAmesha Spenta(Avestan:𐬀𐬨𐬆𐬱𐬀⸱𐬯𐬞𐬆𐬧𐬙𐬀,romanized:Aməša Spəṇta—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering" ) are a class of seven divine entities emanating fromAhura Mazda,the highest divinity of the religion.[1][a]LaterMiddle Persianvariations of the term include the contraction 'Ameshaspand' as well as the specifically Zoroastrian 'Mahraspand' and 'Amahraspand'.
As divine entities
[edit]Significantly more common than the non-specific meaning ofAmesha Spenta(seebelow) is a restrictive use of the term to refer to the great seven divine entities emanating fromAhura Mazda.[1]In Zoroastrian tradition, these are the first seven emanations of the uncreated creator, through whom all subsequent creation was accomplished. This fundamental doctrine is only alluded to in theAvesta,but is systematically described in later Middle Persian language texts, in particular in theBundahishn,[2]an 11th or 12th century work that recountsZoroastrian cosmology.
The expressionAmesha Spentadoes not occur in theGathas,but "it was probably coined byZoroasterhimself.Spentais a characteristic word of his revelation, meaningfurthering, strengthening, bounteous, holy."[1][a] The oldest attested[3]use of the term is in part of theYasna Haptanghaiti[4]and in which the two elements of the name occur in reverse order, that is, asSpenta Amesha.Like all other verses of theYasna Haptanghaiti,Yasna39.3 is also inGathic Avestanand is approximately as old as the hymns attributed to Zoroaster himself.
| Gathic name | Approximate meaning |
|---|---|
| Spəṇta Mainyu (𐬯𐬞𐬆𐬧𐬙𐬀 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎)[6] | Holy/Creative Spirit/Mentality |
| [Vohu] Manah([𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎] 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬵) | [Good] Purpose |
| Aṣ̌a[Vahišta](𐬀𐬴𐬀 [𐬬𐬀𐬵𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬀]) | [Best] Truth / Righteousness |
| Xšaθra[Vairya](𐬑𐬱𐬀𐬚𐬭𐬀 [𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀]) | [Desirable] Dominion |
| [Spəṇta]Ārmaiti([𐬯𐬞𐬆𐬧𐬙𐬀] 𐬁𐬭𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌) | [Holy] Devotion |
| Haurvatāt(𐬵𐬀𐬎𐬭𐬬𐬀𐬙𐬁𐬙) | Wholeness |
| Amərətāt(𐬀𐬨𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬙𐬁𐬙) | Immortality |
The attributesvohu"good",vahišta"best",vairya"desirable" andspenta"holy" are not always present in the oldest texts. If they appear at all, they do not necessarily appear immediately adjacent to the noun.[b]But in later tradition, these adjectives are integral to the names themselves.
WhileVohu Manah,Aša Vahišta,andXšaθra Vairyaare consistently of neuter gender in Avestan grammar; in tradition they are considered masculine.Armaiti,Haurvatāt,andAmərətātare invariably feminine.
In the Gathas, each Amesha Spenta represents a good moral quality that mortals should strive to obtain. Thus, the doctrine of the great seven is that through good thoughts, words, and deeds, each individual should endeavor to assimilate the qualities of an Amesha Spenta into oneself.
Each of the seven has an antithetical counterpart, and five of the seven are already assigned one in the Gathas:[7]aša/arta-(truth) is opposed to thedruj-(deceit, lies), spəṇta-mainyu to angra-mainyu,vohu-manahis opposed toaka-manah-,xšaθra-todušae-xšaθra-,andarmaiti-totaraemaiti-.Not evident in the Gathas and first appearing in the Younger Avesta[8]are the oppositions ofhaurvatāt-(wholeness) totaršna-(thirst), andamərətāt-(life) tošud-(hunger). These latter assignments reflect Haurvatat's identification with water and Ameretat's identification with plants.
In the Gathas,aša/artais the most evident of the seven, and also the most commonly associated with wisdom (mazda-). In the 238 verses of these hymns,aša-/arta-appears 157 times. Of the other concepts, onlyvohumanah-appears nearly as often (136 occurrences). In comparison, the remaining four of the great sextet appear only 121 times altogether:xšaθra-:56 times;armaiti-:40;amərətāt-:14;haurvatāt-:11 times.[7]
In the context of Zoroastrian cosmology, the group of the Amesha Spenta is extended to includeAhura Mazda,represented by (or together with)Spenta Mainyu,who is the instrument or "active principle" of the act of creation.[9][10]It is also through this "Bounteous Force", "Creative Emanation", or "Holy Spirit" that Ahura Mazda is immanent in humankind,[11]and how the Creator interacts with the world.[12]
The doctrine also has a physical dimension, in that each of the heptad is linked to one of the seven creations, which in ancient philosophy were the foundation of the universe. A systematic association is only present in later Middle Persian texts, where each of the seven is listed with its "special domain":[1][9]
| Gathic name | Middle Persian | New Persian | Systematic association |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spəṇta Mainyu | of humans and guardian of all | ||
| Vohu Manah | Wahman | Bahman | of cattle (and all animals) |
| Aša Vahišta | Ardwahišt | Urdībihišt | of fire (and all other luminaries) |
| Xšaθra Vairya | Šahrewar | Šahrivar | of metals (and minerals) |
| Spənta Ārmaiti | Spandarmad | Esfand/Espand | of earth |
| Haurvatāt | Hordād | Xurdād | of water |
| Amərətāt | Amurdād | Murdād | of plants |
In the Gathas,Xšaθra[Vairya] does not have an association with a specific creation, and it is only in later texts that this Amesha Spenta is considered the guardian of metals. This anomaly is explained in modern scholarship by the fact that, inStone Agecosmogony, the sky was considered to be the first of the creations (and thought to be of stone), but metal has no place among the creations (theBronzeandIron Ageswere yet to come). This is also reflected in Zoroaster's revelation, where the sky is "of the hardest stone".[13]Later, with the event of bronze and then iron tools, this sky evolved to being of crystal, which was seen as both of stone and of metal.[14]In due course,Xšaθra'sassociation with a stony firmament was eclipsed by the association with a metallic sky, and thence to metals in general.
In non-specific usage
[edit]In non-specific usage, the termAmesha Spentadenotes all the divinities that furthered or strengthened creation and all that are bounteous and holy. It not only includes theAhuras(a term that in theGathasis also used in the plural but only includesAhura Mazdaby name), but also all the other divinities that are alluded to in these texts. In this non-specific sense of the term,Amesha Spentais then equivalent to the termyazata.
Non-specific usage is significantly less common than the use of the term to specifically denote the great divine entities (seeabove). The non-specific usage is particularly evident in the 9th-14th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, but there are also instances in the Avesta proper where it is used this way. InYasna1.2 for instance, theyazataAtaris declared to be "the most active of the Amesha Spentas." Even in present-day Zoroastrianism, the term is frequently used to refer to the thirty-three divinities that have either a day-name dedication in theZoroastrian calendaror that have aYashtdedicated to them (or both).
This general, non-specific, meaning of the termAmesha Spentaalso has an equivalent in theVedicSanskritVishve Amrtas,which is the collective term for all supernatural beings (lit: 'all immortals').
Doctrine
[edit]The doctrine of the Amesha Spenta, through their connection with creation, unites ethereal and spiritual concepts with material and manifest objects in a "uniquely Zoroastrian"[1]way: not only as abstract "aspects" of Ahura Mazda but also worthy of reverence themselves and personified or represented in all material things.
The relationship between Ahura Mazda and the Amesha Spenta is an altogether subtle one. InYasna31.11 of the Gathas, Ahura Mazda is said to have created the universe with his "thought". In other passages, such asYasna45.4, he is described as the metaphorical "father" of the individual Amesha Spenta, which, even though it is figurative, suggests a familial closeness. In particular, the relationship between Ahura Mazda andSpenta Mainyuis multifaceted and complex and "as hard to define as that ofYahwehand theHoly Spiritin Judaism and Christianity. "[15]
A veneration for the Amesha Spenta through the living world is still present in modern Zoroastrian tradition and is evident in every religious ceremony, when each of the Amesha Spenta is visibly represented by objects of which they are the guardians. In addition, the first seven days of the month of theZoroastrian calendarare dedicated to the great heptad and to creation, acknowledging the preeminence of the Amesha Spenta and so ensuring the inculcation of their doctrine.
Ethical and ontological dualism in the same entity "accounts for the difficulty which some aspects of the doctrine have presented for Western scholars".[1]The reverence of the Amesha Spenta and theYazatashas been frequently attacked by non-Zoroastrian sources for its polytheist nature, not only in modern times but also theSassanid era.While the "worship of the elements" was a repeated accusation during the 4th and 5th centuries, [16]Christian missionaries (such asJohn Wilson[17]) in 19th-century India specifically targeted the immanence of the Amesha Spenta as indicative of (in their view) a Zoroastrian polytheistic tradition worthy of attack.[18][19]
A frequent target for criticism was the Zoroastrian credo in which the adherent declares, "I profess to be a worshiper of Mazda, follower of the teachings of Zoroaster,... one who praises and reveres the Amesha Spenta" (theFravaraneh,Yasna12.1). Some modern Zoroastrian theologians, especially those identifying with the Reformist school of thought, believe that ethereal spirit and physical manifestation are not separable in any sense and that a reverence of Ahura Mazda's creations is ultimately a worship of the Creator.[16]
In the second half of the 19th century,Martin Haugproposed[20]that Zoroaster himself had viewed the Amesha Spenta as merely philosophical abstractions and that a personification of the heptad was really a later corruption. TheParsisof Bombay gratefully accepted Haug's premise as a defense against the Christian missionaries and subsequently disseminated the idea as a Parsi interpretation, which corroborated Haug's theory. The "continuing monotheism" principle eventually became so popular that it is now almost universally accepted as doctrine.[15][18][19]
Notes
[edit]- ^abThe noun isamesha"immortal" from the negative prefix a + *mer (ProtoIndoEuropean: "death" ), and the adjectivespenta"furthering, strengthening, bounteous, holy" is its qualifier.
- ^This is also true for all other compounds, including [Ahura] Mazda; only in theYounger Avestaare these unambiguously identifiable as proper nouns.
References
[edit]- ^abcdefBoyce, Mary (1983). "Aməša Spənta".Encyclopaedia Iranica.Vol. 1. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 933–936.
- ^Bundahishn3.12
- ^Boyce, 1983:933
- ^Yasna39.3
- ^Yasna47.1
- ^"Spenta Mainyu | Zoroastrian deity".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2019-07-14.
- ^abSchlerath, Bernfried (1987). "Aša: Avestan Aša".Encyclopaedia Iranica.Vol. 2. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 694–696..
- ^Yasht19.96
- ^abKREYENBROEK, PHILIP G. (1993). "On Spenta Mainyu's Role in the Zoroastrian Cosmogony".Bulletin of the Asia Institute.7:97–103.ISSN0890-4464.JSTOR24048432.
- ^Yasna44.7, 31.3, and 51.7
- ^Yasna33.6
- ^Yasna43.6
- ^Yasna30.5
- ^Yasht13.2
- ^abBoyce, Mary (1983), "Ahura Mazda",Encyclopaedia Iranica,vol. 1, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 684–687.
- ^abDhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji (1938),History of Zoroastrianism,New York: OUP
- ^Wilson, John (1843),The Parsi religion: Unfolded, Refuted and Contrasted with Christianity,Bombay: American Mission Press
- ^abManeck, Susan Stiles (1997),The Death of Ahriman: Culture, Identity and Theological Change Among the Parsis of India,Bombay: K. R. Cama Oriental Institutepp. 182ff.
- ^abVazquez III, Pablo (2019).""O Wise One and You Other Ahuras": The Flawed Application of Monotheism Towards Zoroastrianism ".Academia.edu.
- ^Haug, Martin; West, Edward W., eds. (1884),Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings and Religion of the Parsis,London: Trubner
Further reading
[edit]- Boyce, Mary (1975),History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. I,Leiden: Brill,ISBN90-04-10474-7
- Boyce, Mary (1982),History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. II, Under the Achamenians,Leiden: Brill,ISBN90-04-06506-7
- Colpe, Carsten (1975), "Reflections on the history of the Amesha-Spenta conception",Proceedings of the XXIX International Congress of Orientalists,Paris.
- Corbin, Henry(1977).Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shi'ite Iran.Princeton University Press.
- Kotwal, Firoze (1969),The Supplementary Texts to the 'Shayest ne-Shayest',Bombay: K. R. Cama Oriental Institute
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
