Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. Starting from the first civilizations in sumer and ur to the vast metropolitans of today like new york and london, religion has been around and played a key part in lives of people. Compiled over many centuries, the avesta was not completed until persias sassanid dynasty 226641 ce. The traditional date of 600 bce was assigned by priests of zoroastrianism in the older avesta is written in a language similar to the sanskrit of the rigveda, which would give it a date of about 2000 3500 bce, and making zoroastrianism one of the oldest religions in the world. Vendidad videvdad or laws against the demons avesta. Apr 10, 2015 zoroastrian texts the zoroastrian sacred text is the avesta book of the law, a fragmentary collection of sacred writings. List of books and articles about zoroastrianism online. These many different texts are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they were written down in the 3rd century. What is the name of the holy book of zoroastrianism. One of the most obvious tenets of christianity that has its roots in zoroastrianism is the concept of dualism. Ahura mazda is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the yasna. May 27, 2005 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. Permanent altars exist from the sasanian period and are depicted on coins with a burning fire. Oct 02, 2009 this article examines zoroastrian beliefs about god, zoroaster and the immortals.
Chahartaq s sacred buildings with four gates or doors are scattered over most of iran. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have. It is composed in the avestan language and it is only known and attested because of that. The zoroastrianbiblical connections influence of zoroastrianism in other religions. Zoroastrianism is often described as a dualism because of its teaching on a wholly good god, ahura mazda, who is opposed by the evil angra mainyu. In his visions, zarathustra was taken up to heaven, where ahura mazda revealed that he had an opponent, aura mainyu, the spirit and promoter of evil. Zoroastrianism download books, sacred, spiritual texts. The religion of those peoples has been reconstructed by means of common elements contained in the sacred books of iran and india, mainly the avesta and the.
Hi everyone, i am really interested in zoroastrianism and would like to know some more. This book should be at least 25% bigger than it is, and the font size along with it. The ancients saw in zoroastrianism the archetype of the dualistic view of the world and of mans destiny. Although the teachings of prophet zarathushtra were primarily spiritual, and substantially devoid of mythological and ritualistic beliefs, zoroastrianism, the religion that was based on his teachings incorporated many aspects of prezarathushtra traditions as well as novel and creative approaches to ritualism. Most of the texts in these archives are extremely rare. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. This book is useful for the later history of the zoroastrians. I know that zoroastrianism influenced the abrahamic religions and hinduism, but my question is how are they compatible, if at all, with one another like christianzoroastrian or muslimzoroastrian etc. The zoroastrian book of holy scriptures is called the avesta. Ascribed to the teachings of the iranianspeaking spiritual leader zoroaster, it exalts an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom, ahura mazda, as its supreme being. Have you ever wondered when popular religions started to develop. The avesta is the analogue of the bible for zoroastrians. It influenced the other major western religionsjudaism, christianity, and islam.
Oct 02, 2009 the zoroastrian calendar holy days, feasts and festivals. The zoroastrian calendar is full of holy days, feasts and festivals, giving zoroastrians the reputation of being a joyful religion full of. As is the kitabiaqdas, which translated means the most holy book. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. For four centuries zoroastrianism was the state religion of the sassanids, and it successfully met the challenge of nascent christianity and, later, of heretical manichaeism. What are the top ten religions and what is the holy book.
The religious texts of the zoroastrian faith of ancient persia are referred to as the avesta. This is the holy book of zoroastrianism itself and its printed here in a book that is just way too small. History of zoroastrianism 1938, part 2 it is a very long book, interesting, it contains some faults because it is quite old and they didnt have the same resources back then. You can read dastur dhallas history of zoroastrianism, tome i m. In ancient times, the modern country of iran was known as persia. Comparision of judaism and zoroastrianism religion has been a major focal point in any society and in any culture. It was founded by the prophet zoroaster approximately 3500 years ago. The zoroastrian book of holy scriptures is called the. Download the zend avesta in full text pdf download free here. It was the official religion of persia iran from 600 bce to 650 ce. Particular attention is given to disposal of the dead and other dead matter nasu, to keep disease from spreading, as well as avoid polluting the earth, water, etc. Jun 07, 2011 zoroastrianism clearly has had a large influence on christianity. Traditional zoroastrian teachings are found in the holy book, the avesta, and the pahlavi literature. Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m.
Zoroastrianism practices and institutions britannica. Humanity, human beings to zoroaster, played a part in the struggle of good forces against the bad forces in the world by being free to choose cooperate with either one. This part of the site has complete online editions of the sacred books of the easts zoroastrian texts. The extant avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently zoroasters transformation of a very ancient tradition. I know too little of that source of many beliefs in the abrahamic and probably other religions, like the sacred fire in the ot, and perhaps the hindu god agni or is he the source of the zoroastrian fire worship. Founded by the persian prophet and reformer zoroaster, the religion contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. Zoroastrian scriptures presentation at north american mobed. Angels and demons also feature in all four of these religions. February 1, 2007 zoroastrian texts translated with notes by prods oktor skj.
Jul 25, 2011 the zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and. But some more recent researches date zoroastrianism to around 1200 b. The holy book of zoroastrianism is called the zend avesta, believed to be.
Zoroastrians believe in one god, called ahura mazda meaning wise lord. Its religious core is a collection of songs or hymns, the gathas, thought to be in the. Holy text, beliefs and practices religious tolerance. A moment later, vesta became aware that her life was passing her by in that busy city, where no man could capture her heart what if she married someone, who wasnt mentally prepared to keep his zoroastrian identity intact. The link didnt work for me, but i sure will dig into zoroastrianism from that angle. From the beginning, zarathushtras prophetic teachings were embodied in words, though they were not written down until more than a millennium later. The latter represent the basic source of the religion. We provide the complete text of the extant avesta, the most ancient scriptures of zoroastrianism, as well as many pahlavi scriptures. An essential feature of all worship yasna, centred on fire, is physical and moral purity. Avesta, also called zendavesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. And forget about any increased price for doing that it would be worth it to have a truly readable book.
Surprising it is, when reflecting the fact that this ancient persian religion has had. Zoroastrianism, like other religions is a religion with a book or rather a religion possessing written texts. One of the leastknown religions in the world is also one of the oldest of all revealed world religions and likely the first to be monotheistic recognize a single god. Zoroastrianism and the abrahamic religions question. Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions. I feel that waterhouse was holding back on his belief that judaism picked up a lot of its ideology and tales from zoroastrianism. Ad 226 under ardashir i, who established the sassanid dynasty and fostered a general revival of achaemenian culture. The religious text of judaism is the jewish bible or tanakh. Comparision of judaism and zoroastrianism, religion. The religious ceremonies and customs of the parsees. The christian book of revelation, the last book in the new testament canon, is a later example of a form that goes back all the way through its jewish sources to the distant, ancient worlds of iran and mesopotamia. Religious texts are to be found in the avesta, which is the holy book of zoroastrianism. Similarities between zoroastrianism and christianity although these are two different religions, they have many things in common.
Zoroastrianism zoroastrianism practices and institutions. There are less than 190,000 followers of zoroastrianism worldwide. This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. Hinduism, has many holy books, but most popular is shreemad bhagavad gita, upanishads and veda. The description of zoroastrianism reflects the authors personal. The symbol of fire, an important christian symbol of the holy spirit and everlasting life, is also important in zoroastrianism for essentially the same reason. It also includes information about the avestan language, and other useful information for students of zoroastrian religion. Nov 06, 2015 zoroastrian beliefs the zoroastrian concept of god incorporates elements of both monotheism and dualism. The religious philosophy of zoroaster divided the early iranian gods of the. Zoroaster comes from the avestaa collection of zoroastrian religious scriptures. Zoroastrianism is the most difficult of living faiths to study, because of its antiquity, the vicissitudes which it has undergone, and the loss, through them, of many of its holy texts.
It is a multitendency faith centered on a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheismmonism, and polytheism. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Not only was it a cohort of the ancient vedic hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of judaism and christianity. There are many aspects of christianity that were not drawn from judaism, although that religion was the major predecessor of christianity. Similarities between zoroastrianism and christianity. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. The zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith.
The zend avesta is the holy book of zoroastrianism. The videvdad or vendidad is an ancient collection of zoroastrian myths, prayers, and religious observances, intended to defend against sources of infection and evil. Reading this book is an excellent way to pick up that thread and see where the big three monotheistic religions, starting with judaism, picked up many of their ideas. For example, the holy book of christianity is the bible, the holy book of islam is the quran, and the holy book of the baha. Qiginatingover 3500 years ago in 3ri1ze age culture on the asian steppes, it became the state. According to a legend preserved in the book of arda viraf, a 3rd or 4th century work, a written version of the zend avesta had existed in the.
Although herodotus wrote that the persians had no temples, some have been found, in the shape of terraces or towers or square rooms. The most important texts of the religion are those of the avesta, which. The similarities between zoroastrianism and christianity. There are many devoted jewish and christian believers who deny that zoroastrianism had any influence on their religions.
1117 54 44 1200 224 988 101 588 88 1071 822 736 1320 1144 1126 574 52 205 1004 900 585 376 154 488 1494 97 1453 994 1203 268 704 1473 1283 977 584