Page:History of Zoroastrianism.djvu/88

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
MAZDA'S MINISTERING ANGELS
55

Fire is the visible symbol of righteousness. Zarathushtra says that the best offerings that the pious can make to the fire of Ahura Mazda are the righteous deeds inspired by Asha and proclaims that as long as he has vitality left in him he will think of Asha whenever he will carry his gift of adoration unto fire.[1] Through the fire and the thought of Ahura Mazda, he says, he will find protection against the Evil Spirit and his evil machinations and it is through them that Asha's righteousness will thrive.[2]

Physical impurity is removed by fire and Zarathushtra employs this emblem of purification in the eschatological sense to burn and destroy spiritual uncleanliness or sin. Thus will the fire be the great purifier of souls steeped in wickedness Through Asha and fire will Ahura Mazda give his final award unto the good and the evil.[3] Asha and Armaiti will help Ahura Mazda when he will separate the righteous from the wicked through his fire.[4] The fire of Ahura Mazda is mighty through Asha and will bring manifest joy unto the righteous but a visible harm unto the wicked.[5] Ahura Mazda's might and holiness, says Zarathushtra, will be manifest when he will deal out the destinies unto the righteous and the wicked through the glow of fire strengthened by Asha.[6]

Khshathra

The sovereign power of Ahura Mazda. One of the first attributes that man learns to discern in the heavenly beings is their might or power. It is manifest in their activities as creators, sustainers, and rulers. The ancestors of the Indo-Iranians called it kshatra, and applied it to Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and the Adityas. Zarathushtra, we find, adopts it in its Iranian form khshathra and uses it in its ordinary meaning, power, or applies it specifically to divine power, symbolized in the Kingdom of Ahura Mazda. He gives it the epithet vohu and calls it vohu khshathra, 'the Good Kingdom,'[7] or speaks of it as khshathra ishtoish, 'the Kingdom of Desire,'[8] or names it Khshathra

  1. Ys. 43. 9.
  2. Ys. 46. 7.
  3. Ys. 31. 3, 19.
  4. Ys. 47. 6.
  5. Ys. 34. 4.
  6. Ys. 43. 4.
  7. Ys. 31. 22; 48. 8.
  8. Ys. 51. 2.