Index:History of Zoroastrianism.djvu
CONTENTS PAGE PRE-GATHIC PERIOD CHAPTER THE GATHIC PERIOD
The problem of evil—The existence of evil is a stubborn fact of life—Zarathushtra stigmatizes evil as evil—Life is co-operation with good and conflict with evil—"Resist evil" is the clarion call of Zarathushtra to humanity—Man's duty to resist evil in his own nature—Man's duty to resist evil in society—To be good and eschew evil are passive virtues; to further good and to fight evil are active virtues—Angra Mainyu—The Evil Spirit and his characteristics—Daevas—The infernal
crew—Aka Manah—The Evil Mind—Druj—The Kingdom of Wickedness—The adherents of Druj—Druj's followers are to be requited with evil in this world—Druj's disciples fare no better in the next world—Final defeat of the Druj—Aeshma—The demon of wrath.
THE AVESTAN PERIOD
The Zoroastrian angels—History of the Yazatas—Characteristics of the Yazatas—The functions of the Yazatas—Offerings and sacrifices to the Yazatas—Division of the Yazatas according to their grammatical gender—Group Yazatas—Dual Yazatas—Classification of the Yazatas—Celestial Yazatas—Terrestrial Yazatas—Daena—Religion deified—The names of the religion—The excellence of the Mazda-worshipping religion—Chisti—Divinity of religious wisdom—Sraosha—His personality—Sraosha's attributes—The work of Sraosha—Sraosha's gifts—Mithra—His place in the Avestan pantheon—Mithra's attributes—Mithra's associates—Mithra, the genius of light—Mithra, the inveterate foe
of falsehood—Mithra, the guardian of contracts—Mithra as a war divinity—Mithra's chariot—Mithra's wrath—Sacrifices to Mithra—Mithra's boons—Rashnu—Personification of truth—Rashnu presides at the ordeal court—Arshtat—Divinity of rectitude—Erethe and Rasanstat—Minor divinities of truth—Verethraghna—The angel of victory—The patron angel of the Iranian countries—Verethraghna's work—His metamorphoses—Raman—He causes the joy of life—Rata—Physical and mental inequality leads to economic inequality—Charity personified—Akhshti—The angel of peace—Manthra Spenta—The Spirit of the spells—The potency of the spells—The chief spells—Ahuna Vairya—The number of times that the spells are recited—Those privileged to recite the spells—Dahma Afriti—She personifies the power of benediction—Damoish Upamana—He personifies the power of anathema—Airyaman—The genius of health—Haoma—The divinity of joint Indo-Iranian fame—Haoma pleads the greatness of his cult—Haoma's titles—His gifts—Haoma implored to rout the wicked—Haoma's due—Haoma's curse—Haoma, king of plants—Ashi Vanghuhi—Physically she stands for plenty, morally for piety—Ashi's attributes—Her supplicants—Her work—What offends Ashi most—Parendi—Ashi's associate—Drvaspa—The female genius of cattle—Her sacrificers—Geush Tashan and Geush Urvan—Drvaspa's associates—Hvarekhshaeta—The sun deified—Maonghah—The moon personified—Anaghra Raochah—Deification of the endless light—Asman—Firmament deified—Ushah—The female divinity of dawn—Tishtrya—The star genius directs the rain—Tishtrya's attributes—The sacrificial offerings enable Tishtria to work with added vigour and strength—His fight with the demon of drought—Vanant—A star-Yazata—Satavaesa—An acolyte of Tishtrya—Haptoiringa—Another acolyte of Tishtrya—Vayu—The deification of the wind—Vayu's attributes—Those who offer sacrifices unto Vayu—Atar—The fire cult in Iran—Atar is both the genius of fire and the element fire itself—Atar's boons—His work—What causes grief to Atar—Nairyosangha—Mazda's celestial herald—Ardvi Sura Anahita—The angel of waters—Her image in words found in the texts, corresponds with her statue in stone—Ahura Mazda heads the list of the sacrificers who entreat her for various boons—She refuses to concede the wicked persons their wishes—The offerings of libations—Animal sacrifices to Anahita—Any defilement of the waters evokes Ardvi Sura's displeasure—Ardvi Sura's chariot—Apam Napat—His nature and work—Ahurani—Another water genius—Zam—The earth deified.
THE PAHLAVI PERIOD
Death is the completion of life—Srosh's help indispensable for the disembodied souls—The souls visualize the good or bad deeds of the lives they have just completed—The souls escorted by the genii of their own deeds to the other world—The heavenly judges—Location of the Bridge of Judgment—The
bridge provides a wide passage to the pious souls, but confronts the wicked with its sharp edge—Insane persons and children are not accountable for their own deeds, but their parents are responsible—The method of administering justice in the heavenly tribunal—Heaven—The graduated heavens—Location of heavens—Nature of heaven—Condition of the souls in heaven—Celestial food—Duration of heavenly bliss—Hamistagan—The intermediary place between heaven and hell—The condition of its inmates till the final day of the Renovation—Hell—Graduated hells—Location of hell—Description of hell—Ahriman greets the wicked souls in hell with scorn and mockery—Punishments and retributive justice—All conceivable forms of physical torture prevail in hell—Solitude in hell is appalling—Intensity of the darkness and stench of hell—The foulest food served to the sinners—Duration of punishment in hell.
A PERIOD OF DECADENCE
A PERIOD OF REVIVAL Awakening of the communal conscience—The new knowledge profoundly modified the religious conceptions of the
young—An illiterate priesthood failed to satisfy the intellectual wants of the enlightened youth.
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