Index:Zoroastrian theology from the earliest times to the present day.djvu

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Title	Zoroastrian Theology, from the earliest times to the present day
Author	Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla
Year	1914
Location	New York
Source	djvu
Progress	To be proofread
Transclusion	Index not transcluded or unreviewed

Pages (key to Page Status)

— — — — — — — — — — vii viii ix x xi xii xiii xiv xv xvi xvii xviii xix xx xxi xxii xxiii xxiv xxv xxvi xxvii xxviii xxix xxx xxxi xxxii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 — — — —

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		vii
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		xxi
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		xxvii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		xxix

PRE-GATHIC PERIOD

From the earliest times to about 1000 B.C.

CHAPTER

I.	The Primitive Faith of Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		3
	Pre-Gathic or prehistoric period—The cleavage in the Aryan group—The Aryan settlers of Iran—Presumable characteristics of their religion—Worship of the personifications of nature and other heavenly beings—Designations of the divinities—Kings and heroes pay homage unto the divinities—Form of sacrifice—The Iranians dethrone ‘daeva’ from the pedestal of divinity.

THE GATHIC PERIOD

About 1000 B.C.

II.	Zoroastrianism in Its Early Missionary Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		11
	Zarathushtra gives Mazda’s message to mankind—The proselytizing zeal of the crusaders—Zarathushtra speaks of his faith in terms of a universal religion.
III.	Zoroastrianism in the Gathas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		14
	The Gathas, or the Zoroastrian psalms—The ethics of the Gathas—Phases of the prehistoric Indo-Iranian cult regarding which the Gathas are silent.
IV.	Ahura Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		19
	Ahura Mazda is the name of the supreme godhead of Zoroastrianism—Ahura Mazda is the Being par-excellence—Ahura Mazda is a spirit—Ahura Mazda is the creator—Ahura Mazda is the lord of wisdom—Zarathushtra seeks communion with Ahura Mazda, and finds it—Ahura Mazda is the refuge of Zarathushtra in his trials—Ahura Mazda has ordained that virtue is its own reward, and vice its own retribution—The Holy Spirit of Ahura Mazda.
V.	Mazda's Ministering Angels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	26
	Amesha Spentas in the making—Vohu Manah—The premier spirit in the divine household—Genius of high thinking and wisdom—Zarathushtra exhorts his followers to seek Vohu Manah's grace—Vohu Manah's boons—Vohu Manah as the genius of cattle—Asha—The impersonation of righteouness Zarathushtra is singled out to communicate the Law of Righteousness to humanity—The prophet guides mankind to Asha's righteousness—Righteousness is the pivot around which the ethics of Zarathushtra revolve—The discipline of the individual in righteousness—To further righteousness is only half the duty; to combat wickedness is the other half—On the material side fire is consecrated to Asha—Khshathra—The Divine Kingdom of Ahura Mazda—Armaiti—The personified female abstraction of devotion—Devotion is indispensable to religious life—Haurvatat and Ameretat—Dual divinities of perfection and immortality—Water and plants are consecrated to Haurvatat and Ameretat—Sraosha―The angel of religious obedience—Atar—The fire cult—Ashi—She personifies sanctity—Geush Tashan and Geush Urvan—The spirits of the animal life, or of the universe.
VI.	Evil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	46
	The imperfect side of existence—Zarathushtra stigmatizes evil as evil—Angra Mainyu—The Evil Spirit and his characteristics—Daevas—The infernal crew—Aka Manah—The work of this arch-demon—Druj—Her 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 Druj—Aeshma—The demon of wrath.
VII.	Life After Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	54
	The corporeal and the spiritual worlds—The anomalies of earthly life and their final adjustment in heaven—Reward for the good and retribution for the evil—The soul reaps as it has sown—The bridge of judgment—Heaven—Abode of the righteous after death—The nature of reward in heaven—Intermediary place of rewards—Between heaven and hell—Hell—The wicked are consigned to perdition—The nature of retribution in hell—Duration of punishment in hell.
VIII.	The Final Dispensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	60
	The end of the world—The saviour prophets—Universal judgment—Righteousness triumphs over wickedness—The Kingdom of Righteousness: man's share in its inauguration.

THE AVESTAN PERIOD

From about B.C 800 to about A.D. 200 at the latest

IX.	The Avestan People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	67
	The races that formed the Zoroastrian fold-Athravans, the Zoroastrian priesthood of Eastern Iran-Magi, the Zoro- astrian priesthood of Western Iran—The Magi presumably implant the Zoroastrian practices in Western Iran—The classical writers speak of the Magi, and not of the Athravans―The Zoroastrian practices alleged to have originated with the Magi—The internal evidence of the Avesta militates against the theory of the Magian origin of the sacred texts.
X.	Promulgation of the Faith of Zarathustra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	72
	The Avestan works extol Zoroastrianism as the excellent religion—The Zoroastrian Church soon loses state support in her religious propaganda—The religious propaganda—Spread of Zoroastrianism to remote lands.
XI.	The Younger Avestan Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	76
	From the Gathas to the Younger Avesta, a retrograde step—The Indo-Iranian cult that passes under the mantle of Zarathushtra—The angels that outshine the archangels—Great as the benevolence of these celestial beings is, it is tarnished by their imprecations upon their careless votaries—Ahura Mazda invokes his heavenly ministers for help—Ceremonial implements, textual passages, and objects and expressions that share invocation—Zarathushtra's monologues in the Gathas as against his dialogues in the Avesta—The Avesta looks with unrelenting abhorrence upon idols and images of divinities.
XII.	Ahura Mazda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	82
	Ahura, Mazda, and Ahura Mazda—Ahura Mazda is the highest object of worship—Mazda's titles—Only the world of righteousness is created by Ahura Mazda—Spenta Mainyu, or the Holy Spirit.
XIII.	Amesha Spentas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	87
	The archangels—Their attributes—Their work—Zarathushtra, the first among mortals to sacrifice unto the Amesha Spentas― Vohu Manah—His place in the Later Avesta—Vohu Manah guards wisdom—His work—Asha Vahishta—His righteousness remains the basic doctrine of Zoroastrianism during the Later Avestan period—Righteousness is the highest riches—The world of righteousness, as against the world of wickedness—Bodily purity contributes to righteousness—Asha Vahishta comes to be regarded as the healing spirit of bodily diseases Asha Vahishta's relation to fire—Khshathra Vairya—The change that the concept undergoes—Khshathra Vairya does not stand so much for the celestial riches of the Divine Kingdom in the world hereafter, as for the earthly wealth—Spenta Armaiti—Her position in the Avesta—Haurvatat and Ameretat—The dual archangels.
XIV.	Yazatas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	96
	The Zoroastrian angels—History of the Yazatas—Characteristic 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—Daena—Religion deified—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—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 suppliants—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 Tishtrya 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 her 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—Zamyat—The earth deified.
X.	Fravashis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	143
	What are the Fravashis—Everything that bears the hallmark of belonging to the good creation has its Fravashi―During the lifetime of the individual, his Fravashi accompanies him to this earth—Qualities of the Fravashis―Their work—Fravashis help the living—Fravashis of the dead long for sacrifices—Fravashis bless if satiated, but curse when offended—Fravashis of the righteous ones of one's family, clan, town, or country invoked individually— Fravashis of the righteous ones of all ages and all places invoked collectively—Dual nature of the Zoroastrian ancestor-worship.
XVI.	Personified Abstractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	151
	The infinity of time and immensity of space personified— Zrvan Akarana-Thwasha.
XVII.	Baghas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	153
	The Divinities.
XVIII.	Evil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	155
	Dualism in evolution—The earliest non-Zoroastrian writers speak of Zoroastrianism as the religion of dualism—Angra Mainyu—The titles of the Evil Spirit—The counter-creations of Angra Mainyu—Angra Mainyu grovels before Zarathushtra—Angra Mainyu's final defeat—Daevas—The demons— The work of the demons—Means to confound them—Those who strike terror into the hearts of the demons—The Daevaworshippers—Zoroastrianism is anti-daeva, or against the demons—Aka Manah—The demon of Evil Mind—Druj—The embodiment of wickedness—Other drujes—Druj as the personification of bodily impurity under the name Nasu—The barrier between the ashavans and dregvants is still impassable—Indra—A god in the Vedas, a demon in the Avesta— Saurva—Foe to the archangel Khshathra Vairya—Taromaiti—She thwarts devotion—Naonghaithya—A demon of incipient personality—Taurvi and Zairicha—Taurvi and Zairicha as adversaries of Haurvatat and Ameretat—Astovidhotu—The fiend of death—Vizaresha—This demon's work— Kunda—A demon at the gate of hell—Bushyansta— Sloth personified—Aeshma—The demon of wrath—Buiti―The tempter of Zarathushtra—Apaosha—The demon of drought—Spenjhagri—Apaosha's associate—Azi—Demon of avarice Vayu—A collaborator of Astovidhotu—Minor demons—Pairika—The fairies.
XIX.	Death and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	174
	The mightiest of men cower before death-The recital of the sacred formulas on the deathbed of man helps his soul when it leaves the tenement of the body-From this world to that which is beyond-All souls dwell three nights on earth after death-Daena accompanies the soul to the next world—All souls have to make their way across the Chinvat Bridge into heaven or hell—Heaven—Four heavens—A cordial welcome awaits the pious souls in paradise—The pious enjoy eternally what but few mortals enjoy, and then only for a short period in this world—Misvana Gatu—The intermediary place between heaven and hell—Hell—Four hells—The wicked souls reap in incessant tears the crop they have sown in the finite world.
XX.	The Renovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	181
	The greatest of the renovators—The final reconcilation of the entire creation to its creator.
XXI.	Zoroastrianism Under the Foreign Yoke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	184
	Alexander consigns the Zoroastrian scriptures to the flames—Zoroastrianism thrives better under the Parthians than under the Seleucids—Zoroastrian practices embraced by the Parthians—Classical references to Zoroastrianism during this period—Zoroastrianism spreads its influence abroad—Zoroastrianism at the close of the Parthian empire.

THE PAHLAVI PERIOD

From the third to the ninth century

XXII.	Zoroastrianism as Taught by The Pahlavi Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	191
	Ardashir, a Magus, rejuvenates Zoroastrianism—The revival of Zoroastrianism continues with unabating zeal—The Pahlavi works are written by many hands in successive periods―The Pahlavi literature has its roots in the Avestan soil—The Pahlavi literature is the completion of the Avestan works—The trend of the religious thought of the Pahlavi period—The Sasanian Church became an arbiter of the faith of Zoroaster.
XXIII.	The Active Propaganda of the Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	198
	The Pahlavi works on proselytism—An Armenian account of the Zoroastrian propaganda—Judaism and Christianity penetrate into Persia as the formidable rivals of the national faith—Judaism in Persia—Christian propaganda in Iran.
XXIV.	Sects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	184
	Zoroastrianism split up into a number of sects—Zarvanites—Zarvan according to the Pahlavi writers—Zarvan according to the non-Zoroastrian writers—Fatalists—Fate is the decree of Time—The inscrutable power of Fate—How far Fate affects man's exertions.
XXV.	Heresies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	198
	Heretics detested more than the demon-worshippers—Mani—The arch-heretic of the Sasanian period—Mani's eclectic system—Mani holds matter to be the root of evil, hence self-mortification of the body is a virtue in his system—Zoroastrianism stands for controlling and regulating bodily desires, but not for suppressing and killing them—Celibacy, a virtue with Mani, a vice with Zoroaster—Fasting recommended by Manichaeism, condemned by Zoroastrianism—Mani's doctrine of poverty in the light of Zoroastrianism—Mazdak—The economic basis of his religious reform.
XXVI.	Ormazd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	220
	The supreme godhead—Ormazd is eternal—Ormazd is invisible—He is intangible—He is omniscient—He is omnipotent—Ormazd is the creator and conservator of creation—He is all-good—He is all-merciful—Ormazd is light physically; morally he is truth—He is all-just—Man should devote himself body and soul to Ormazd—The Holy Spirit.
XXVII.	Amshaspands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	226
	The archangels—Their attributes—Their work—Vohuman—His materialization—He protects Zaratusht from the time of the prophet's birth, and helps him in his prophetic work― Vohuman's functions—Goodness and wisdom abound in man when he welcomes Vohuman as his guest—On the material side Vohuman is the patron divinity of animals—Artavahisht—His zeal for the protection of fire now supersedes his primal work of guarding righteousness—His work—Shatravar—Once the genius of the Divine Kingdom of Ormazd, but in the Pahlavi period the guardian spirit of the mineral kingdom only—Spandarmad—Her work—Khurdad—The giver of daily bread—Amardad—Amardad confines his activity to guarding the vegetable kingdom, and does not represent immortality, which is his prerogative.
XXIII.	Izads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	236
	The angels—The Izads are the loving guides and protectors of men—Sacrificial offerings made to the angels—Srosh—His activity A judge of the dead—Mihr—Lord chief justice of the heavenly tribunal—Rashn—He holds the balance of judgment in the celestial court—Khurshed—His message to mankind—Tishtar—He retains his position as the genius of rain.
XXIX.	Farohars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	236
	The Farohars have existed long before the world came into being—They volunteer to descend to earth and stand by men to the end of their lives—In the Pahlavi period their influence is less prominent—It is for the welfare of the living that the Farohars solicit sacrifices—The line of distinction between the souls and the Farohars of the dead is gradually obliterated in the Pahlavi texts.
XXX.	Evil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	247
	Independent origin of evil—Tracing both good and evil to God deprives him of his divinity—The goodness of Ormazd demands that he could on no account be the author of evil—The all-wise God would not create his own adversary— Omnipotent Ormazd has not created evil—Ormazd, the sovereign ruler, would not harass his earthly subjects by the creation of evil—Unmerited harm could not emanate from a just God—God, the embodiment of mercy, could not inflict evil upon his own creatures—It is deemed futile to attempt to resolve Ahriman into a symbolic personification of man's evil nature—Ahriman—The primeval source of evil—Ahriman is a spirit—Ahriman has backward knowledge—As the arch-enemy of Ormazd, Ahriman swears vengeance upon the good creation—Ahriman lures man to destruction by deceit—Ahriman produces seductive demons to pervert mankind—Ahriman introduces disease and death into the world—Ahriman infests the earth with noxious creatures—Ahriman disfigures Ormazd's creation—The end of Ahriman—The final disappearance of evil from the world—Divs—The emissaries of Ahriman—Their work— Akoman—Ahriman's premier—His attempt to enter the mind of the prophet Zaratusht when a child to pervert it is frustrated by Vohuman—Evil thoughts in man come from Akoman—Druj—The change wrought in the conception of her work—Druj's work—What puts her to flight—Indar—Transformation of a great Indian divinity into an execrated demon in Persia—Sovar—Enemy of the divine Kingdom of Righteousness Taromat—The demon that dries up the spring of devotion in man—Naonghas—Taromat's confederate—Tairev The opponent of the archangel of perfection— Zairich—Tairev's comrade—Astovidad—This demon of death casts his deadly noose around all—Vizarsh—Astovidad's collaborator—Eshm—An impetuous assailant of man—Aposh—Tishtar's antagonist—Jeh—A powerful demoness—Other demons.
XXXI.	Life After Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	269
	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.
XXXIII.	The Renovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	284
	Those who further the work of the final restoration—Saviours born immaculately—The millennium of Hoshedar—The millennium of Hoshedar-mah—The millennium of Soshyos—The collaborators of Sosyos—Resurrection of the dead—Universal judgment—Bodily punishment—Ordeal of molten metal—The righteous and the wicked shall no longer remain as divided, but unite into one—The removal of the imperfection of the material bodies of men—The last decisive battle between the forces of good and evil—Humanity attunes its will to the will of Ormazd.

A PERIOD OF DECADENCE

From the seventh to the eighteenth century

XXXIII.	Downfall of the Sasanians, and the Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	297
	Iran sinks before the hordes of Arabs—Persecution and conversion—Almost every vestige of Iranian scholarship perishes—A glimpse into the religious life of the Iranians during the centuries that followed—The Zoroastrian community in Persia, during these centuries, lay steeped in the grossest ignorance and darkness.
XXXIV.	Exodus to India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	304
	The Deva-worshippers of India greet the Daeva-abjurers of Iran—Reviling each other's gods, yet living peacefully together—A period of literary arrest—Pahlavi studies—Parsi-Sanskrit literature.
XXXV.	Rivayats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	307
	Persian Rivayats, or codes of usages and rituals—Theology of the period.
XXXVI.	Mystics and Mysticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	311
	Desatir and Dabistan—Zoroastrian mystics—Azar Kaivan and his disciples Mystic literature during the century—The alleged twofold meaning of the Avesta-Ascetic practices of the Parsi mystics—Unmistakable influence of Hindu Yogism.
XXXVII.	Religious Controversies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	319
	Theological disputations—Intercalation controversy provides a powerful incentive to the study of the ancient Zoroastrian scriptures.
XXXVIII.	An Epoch-making Era in the History of Zoroastrian Researches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	321
	Introduction of Iranian studies in the West—Anquetil du Perron's pioneer work—Western scholarship revives Zoroastrian studies.
XXXIX.	Proselytizing Comes to be Viewed with Disfavour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	323
	Beginning of the spirit of exclusiveness among the Parsis—The community was divided regarding the question of admitting lower classes of aliens into the fold—The fear that the community might be swamped by the undesirable alien element was a reason why proselytizing fell into disfavour.
XL.	Gujarati Literature upon Zoroastrianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	326
	The last independent native version of Avesta—Rendering of other Persian works into Gujarati.

A PERIOD OF REVIVAL

Nineteenth century and after

XLI.	The Revival of Learning Among the Parsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	331
	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.
XLII.	Introduction of the Western Method of Iranian Scholarship in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	331
	Parsi scholarship at this period—Historical studies fared little better—Textual criticism brings startling revelations for the Parsis—Back to the Gathas was the war-cry of the new school—A new theory to defend the Gathas from the accusation of dualism.
XLIII.	Christian Missionaries Attack Zoroastrianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	339
	Indifferentism on the part of the Parsi youth arouses the proselytizing zeal of the Christian missionaries—Salient features of Zoroastrianism assailed by the missionaries—Parsi apologists meet the charges of their opponents by resorting to allegorical explanations—The outcome of this controversy.
XLIV.	The Reform Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	343
	Crusade against the non-Zoroastrian practices engrafted upon Zoroastrianism—The reformers protested against reciting their prayers parrot—wise in an unintelligible language—The Avestan text metamorphosed into an ungrammatical jargon— Too much ritualism, protested the reformer—The progressives denounce the intercessory prayers for the dead—The reformers inveigh against holding woman impure during her menses—Controversy over the religious practice of using the urine of cattle—The good sense of the disputants saves the community from being split into sects.
XLV.	Parsi Theosophists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	352
	Inquiring minds seek a deeper meaning of life—The mode of living of the Parsi theosophists is more austere than that of their neighbours—The Parsi theosophists abstain from animal food—Zoroastrianism, however, has no scruples against a meat diet—Custodians of the only key to Zoroastrianism—Investing Zoroastrianism with a philosophical garb—The theosophists attempt to construct a scientific basis for Zoroastrianism—The theosophists summarily reject the method of the philologist adopted in interpreting the sacred texts—Parsi theosophists as champions of the cause of orthodoxy—Avestan prayers, however unintelligible, are declared the most efficacious owing to their occult significance—An evil magnetic aura, or malign halo, believed to radiate from a woman during the time of menses, hence her isolation most essential—Occult power, according to Parsi theosophic view, emanates from consecrated urine of cattle—Zoroastrianism in the light of theosophy—Zrvan Akarana as an impersonal God in the theosophic light—Zoroastrianism declared by the theosophic claim to be incomplete without the doctrine of transmigration of souls—How the movement affects the communal character.
XLVI.	Zoroastrianism Ceases to be a Missionary Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	367
	The causes that have led the preponderating number of the community to decide against any kind of proselytizing—How the decision of the Parsis not to accept any converts affects the future of the community.
XLVII.	Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	369
	Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	375