The most recent study on the maternal DNA of the Parsi Zoroastrians of India appears in The mtDNA Landscape of the Southwestern Asian Corridor.

While close to 60% of Parsi Zoroastrians show distinctive Indian and Asian maternal lineages, with NO links to ancient Iran, over a third however show distinctive, and rare maternal haplogroups going back to ancient Indo Europeans and pre Islamic Aryan Iran.

Interestingly, the YDNA or paternal lineages of the Parsis mostly come from the Iranian Northeast and the Caspian region of Mazandaran, but these lineages seem not to go back to the Sassanid times. Instead, the make up of Parsi YDNA show clear effects of the arab invasion, and appear to go back to 400-500 years after the arab invasion or about 1000 years ago. Parsi mtDNA statistics is as follows:

M* – 54.5%

M is the single most common mtDNA haplogroup in Asia, and peaks in Japan and Tibet, where it represents on average about 70% of the maternal lineages and is prevalent in India, where it has approximately 60% frequency. This maternal lineage is NOT linked to ancient Iranians.

U4 – 13.6%

U4 is the second most prevalent maternal lineage among the Parsi Zoroastrians. It is an ancient Indo European mitochondrial haplogroup^. U4 is relatively rare in modern populations except in Europe, with highest concentrations in Scandinavia and the Baltic states. Outside Europe U4 is found especially in Iran.

U4 appears to have been a relatively common lineage among Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers. It was identified in skeletons from Mesolithic Russia, Lithuania, Sweden and Germany. U4 seems to have been much more common in Northeast Europe than elsewhere. U4 correlates strongly with Y-haplogroup R1a, the distinct, marker of ancient Aryans and Indo Iranians.

Originally from Eastern Europe, these R1a/U4 populations would have crossed all Europe and survived in isolated pockets of northern Europe and the Baltic region from the Neolithic onwards.

HV* – 2.3%
H – 2.3%

Haplogroup HV is the most successful maternal lineage in Western Europe. Over half of the Western European populations descend from Haplogroup HV. Most Europeans belonging to the HV lineage descend from a branch that was renamed haplogroup H.

HV2 – 9.1%

HV2 is the earliest mutation of HV, and is my very own maternal lineage. HV2 is an extremely rare haplogroup, and the third most prevalent haplogroup among the Parsi Zoroastrians. HV2 is closely associated with ancient Scythians roaming the Caspian Pontic Steppes and the Altai mountains. The famed Siberian Ice Maiden, found in the Altai belongs to haplogroup HV2.

HV2 can be found among Iranians, kurds, balochs, in Volga-Ural region of Russia and in Slovakia. HV2’s distribution and origins seem very similar to maternal haplogroup U7.

U7 – 2.3%

U7 is considered a West Eurasian-specific mtDNA haplogroup, believed to have originated in the Black Sea area. In modern populations, U7 occurs at low frequency in the Caucasus, the western Siberian tribes, and about 10% in Iranians.

Genetic analysis of individuals associated with the Late Hallstatt culture from Baden-Württemberg Germany considered to be examples of Iron Age “princely burials” included haplogroup U7. Haplogroup U7 was found in 1200-year-old human remains (dating to around 834), in a woman believed to be from a royal clan who was buried with the Viking Oseberg Ship in Norway. However, U7 is rare among present-day ethnic Scandinavians.

T1 – 6.8%
T* – 4.5%

Haplogroups T* have been found in skeletons from late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers respectively from Russia and Sweden. Wild et al 2014 tested mtDNA samples from the Yamna culture, the presumed homeland (or Urheimat) of Proto-Indo-European speakers, and found T2a1b in the Middle Volga region and Bulgaria, and T1a both in central Ukraine and the Middle Volga.

The frequency of T1a and T2 in Yamna samples, were each 14.5%, a percentage higher than in any country today and only found in similarly high frequencies among the Udmurts of the Volga-Ural region. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia had maternal haplogroup T.

Haplogroup T is found in approximately 10% of native Europeans. It is also common among modern day Iranians.

U1 – 4.5%

Haplogroup U1 is a very ancient haplogroup, found at very low frequency throughout Europe. It is more often observed in Eastern Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus. DNA analysis of excavated remains now located at ruins of the Church of St. Augustine in Goa, India revealed the unique mtDNA subclade U1b, which is absent in India, but present in Georgia and surrounding regions.

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An inherent sense of struggle for the sublime in the face of the forces of decay is characteristic of Zoroastrianism. Mazdyasna is a faith rooted in the unshakeable will power to “overcome, excel, and transcend,” to unleash/awaken the Titans or the original god-powers or Ahûrás within.

The Genius God Ahûrá Mazdá (Öhrmazd) and his brilliant Immortals perpetually struggle against the limited, abysmal anti-God añgrö (ahriman) and his diabolic, dark demons.

In Zoroastrianism, the Ahûrás are equated with the “inspiring creativity/genius” Mazdá of the cosmic order. Evil is a hostile distrust in the will to triumph and excel or Godhood. It is evil that brings disintegration, distortion and destruction, while God means victory over limitations and discovery of new horizons.

Man stands with valiance and heroic courage beside the brilliant Immortals, and fights in the great battle for eternal progress and ushering in of a new age of ever-higher consciousness. Through the battle/struggle of heroes and Immortal Gods against the powers hostile to excellence and light, mindfulness and genius are awakened, and the cosmic order reinvents itself anew.

In the poetic gathas, the word for “battle” is ýáh (iáh) and the word for “warrior” is ýáhî (iáhî.) The original meaning of the Avestan word for “battle” is to “act vigorously, be fiery.” Warrior is “one imbued with the force or vigorous activity.”

If the Greek word heros (hero, demigod) and Hērá (the embodiment of idealized female warrior, divine heroine) are in fact rooted in the reconstructed Indo European *įeh (*ya-,) the Greek words share at least a similar CONCEPT with the Avestan terms for “battle and warrior” in the sense of “vigorous activity and valiant struggle.”

In the poetic gathas, the “magnificent struggle or the great battle” (mazé ýáv.aηhö) is closely associated with “awakening or enlightenment” (baôd.añtö.) This association between “great, heroic struggle and awakening” has also a parallel in the Rig Veda. Avestan baôd “to awaken” is a cognate of Old English bēodan and Old Church Slavonic buditi, the blue-eyed Buddha or “the enlightened or awakened one” comes from the same root.

In Yasna 30.2, 3^rd rhymed verse line, men are counseled: “to awaken to the wise sayings of the ahûrás prior to ushering in of the magnificent struggle or the great battle.” pará mazé ýáv.aηhö//ahmái né saz.diiái baôd.añtö paitî

The magnificent struggle or the great battle is linked to purging by fire and illumination in the gathas, See Yasna 36.2 3^rd rhymed verse line, maziš.tái ýáv.aηhãm//paitî jam.iiáv.

The Zoroastrian accounts of the great battle and god warriors are eerily similar to the concept of einherjar. The einherjar are the warriors trained by Asgardians in Norse mythology. They are the elite troops of the æsir, preparing for the events of Ragnarök during that time they will advance for an immense battle at the field of Vígríðr.

The word einherjar refers to ein “one in a kind or especial” army of Odin, (Compare her to German Heer. “army troops.”) The last part of the word jar refers to “jolting, shaking or vigorous activity.” At Ragnarök, in the final battle between the gods and the giants, the einherjar will fight valiantly by the side of Óðinn. The Einherjar will march with Óðinn to battle the enemies of the Æsir. I shall add that æsir and ahûrás are cognates, and convey the same concept in the ancient Indo European lore.

In Zoroastrianism this great or immense battle/struggle awakens the godhood within man and nature, and ushers in a new age of Titans. The great battle is called meh kár in the ancient commentaries of the poetic gathas, and the bravest of warriors such as chieftain Vištásp and wise Jámásp are called kárîg, (See Yasna 46.14, 3^rd rhymed verse line and Yasna 49.9, 5^th rhymed verse lines.)

The Avestan word kár denotes “doing, making, building, creating.” In fact, the ancient commentaries equate the term with “building a new splendid world and the future invincible body.” Lithuanian kuriù “build, make, create” kērás “wonder-worker, magician” and keréti “enchantment, charm” all come from the same root and are cognates.

I shall conclude by stating that the most adorable god being “yazatá” in Zoroastrianism, and the most recited hymns of praise are to vərəθra.ghna “triumph, victory, the yazatá of combat/battle.”

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In a previous article we talked about the common term for “battle/combat” in the poetic gathas, and how the word for “battle” ýáh (iáh,) and “warrior” ýáhî (iáhî) actually refers to “heroic struggle/wrestling” and “hero and/or one imbued with the force, vigorous activity.”

The other term for warfare is ýudh appearing as ýöiθ in the gathas. The term is a cognate of Old Welsh jud “fight” Polish judzić “encourage, motivate” Lithuanian judù “fire up, stir” Vedic yùdhyati “fights” Tocharian A yutk “fervent, be eager” Latin iubeō “order, command in battle,” all rooted in the reconstructed Indo European *įudh *yeudh “warfare, struggle, fight, to strive eagerly.”

The word ýöiθ appears in Yasna 28.9, 2^nd rhymed verse line of the poetic gathas: manas.čá hiiat vahištem//ýöi vé ýöiθe.má dase.mæ stütãm

The gathic verse considers “battle/combat” as striving eagerly to manifest the signs of the superb/best mind of the God-force, thereby offering praise to the brilliant disposition of the Immortals.

The ancient commentaries add that this verse refers to giving council/advise by the saôšiiants “heralds of good luck/success” in ushering in a new age of the gods.

The warrior’s goal is manifestation of superb spirit/mind and wondrous signs of the god-force through eager striving. Heroic experience and struggle will bring about the splendid, fresh re-creation of the worlds.

The world will evolve and become a new world with new, higher species, far above the human species, just as human species have evolved after the animal species, (See the reference to the future body in the ancient gathic commentaries.)

All existence according to the poetic gathas is a manifestation of the superb mind, brilliant disposition of the God-force. The purpose of the spiritual battle is to TRANSCEND to the level of the “superb mind and boundless evolution of mind-power” manas vahištem.

Manas in the gathic sacred verse, is the same as ménos “courage, power of the spirit, consciousness/mind, imagination, creative energy.”

Mallory/Adams in the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, p. 438 states that “the spiritual property of the hero is embedded in the concept of *menes– “spirit, mind energy, consciousness-force” that motivates and enables the hero to accomplish great deeds.

Vahištem “Superb, the Best” is superlative of vôhü, the active principle of “goodness, betterment and brilliance.” For in the poetic gathas and Zoroastrianism, “goodness is brilliance and the triumph of the spirit.”

Vásu, vôhü, vesu, wisi/visi, eús “superb, good, brilliant,” appears frequently in divine names among the Indo European people. The Germanic tribal name Visigoths “the good or superb goths” comes from the same root.

The evolution of consciousness has the purpose/goal of ascending to the boundless level of the superb mind, and to an age of ever-new, wondrous horizons, a new age of the gods. The battle is about revelation of the signs of the superb mind or ever higher-consciousness. And this realization of the superb wisdom, innovative imagination, and inspiring creativity is the true praise of the Immortals.

The word for “praise” in the Avesta stü (in this verse stütãm) is a cognate of Greek steûtai “make a show or gesture of something,” that goes back to reconstructed Indo European *steu “praise.” In the Avesta and the poetic gathas in particular, “praise” is “manifesting the signs of, and awakening the brilliant forces of Godhood.”

Battle ýudh allows mortals to transcend the limitations of our degraded age of impurity, and to step over the threshold into a world of heroism and higher, ever-better consciousness, the brilliant, wondrous world of the Immortals.

To manifest the wondrous signs of the god-force is the noblest expression of the spirit, and the true praise of the gods. In Zoroastrianism, worship is in striving, fighting and overcoming, not in fatalism, defeatism, and escapist emotions.

I like to conclude by the following beautiful gathic verse from Yasna 30.1, 2^nd rhymed verse line:

staôtá.čá ahûrái//ýæsn.iiá.čá vaηhéûš man.aηhö

Manifesting the signs/praise of the ahuras//(is) the zeal/zelos, fervent yearning for the good/brilliant mind

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With sincere gratitude to My Scholar Friend, Didier Calin for his precious inputs and corrections in Indo European etymologies and studies.

If art can be called the wondrous re-creation and a new formulation of reality through the lens of human experience, then the magic of words is the greatest achievement of art. Each word is a spell of vision and sound, a vital expression of the soul, a revelation of subconscious forces behind the sounds, in which the transformation of reality into melodious energy takes place.

Words stir our deepest feelings, elevate our innermost being, and vibrate with the melody of the intent/spirit behind them. The magic of words/poetry is due to their rhythm and subconscious intent.

Through the vision of the seer/poet, the sounds and words become the vehicle of the primeval mind energies- a creative tool of the spirit, and life becomes a rhythmical dance of artful imagery and creativity.

Words cast their spirit/energy through their vibrations into reality, thereby reshaping the world and the state of things, as they exist. This give Words magical properties, BINDING us to their mysterious force.

Modern humanity is simply unable to imagine how profoundly the magic of words was experienced in ancient civilizations, and how enormous is the subconscious influence of words on the entire life even today.

Avestan ûrvátá is the term for “WORD or binding formula” in the poetic gathas. Ûrvátá is a cognate with Lithuanian vardas, Latvian vārds, Gothic waúrd, German wort, all are rooted in reconstructed Indo European *wer– “word, to bind.” Russian vru “pagan formula/lie,” and Vedic vrata “law, binding rule” are also cognates, and come from the same root. (See Didier Calin)

Hanns-Peter Schmidt has argued at great length that úrvátá means “vow” in the sense of “a sort of promissory oath,” or “a commandment and binding formula implying an obligation.” The common gathic word for “friend” ûrvatha, refers in fact to the “bond of friendship” and “vow/oath to fulfill an obligation.”

Ûrvátá is “the power of the WORDs to command, oblige, to do something, to bind.” Words/formulas determine the order of all things and beings in the world, and imply the idea of man’s obligation to adhere to the wondrous example of the gods. Ûrvátá properly belongs to the sphere of the gods.

The fourth and the longest hymn in the poetic gathas is that of Tá–vé–úrvátá or “These your binding formulas/words.” Here úrvátá or WORDS are formulas of knowledge, spells of vision and wisdom, rules that establish the ordered cosmos.

According to the ancient commentaries the 22 stanzas of Tá–vé–úrvátá are about “discerning wisdom and judiciousness” (dádistán.) So that when they pray/recite the Tá–vé–úrvátá by line and stanza, prudence and good judgment are manifested in the supplicant and the jurist. The 22 stanzas are described in another Avestan passage of Hadôkht Nask as: Anaômö man.aηhæ daiia vispái: kva, kva parö “all that mind has devised beyond the infinity.”

The ancient commentaries connect the 22 stanza of Tá–vé–úrvátá or “These your binding formulas/words,” with the 22 stanzas of the “wondrous dominion of baga (Russian bog “god”) or Yasna 51 of the gathas.

The “established laws” dátá and the “binding formulas” úrvátá, imply a mutual relationship between the Mazda-worshiper and the divine world (See Yasna 51.14.) A reciprocal relationship which is binding between the world of the god-beings and humans, where both men and the Immortals have their assigned obligation/duties to do, and until those sacred duties are fulfilled, they remain obligated to the other.

In conclusion, I shall add that the concept of úrvátá “binding formula/word” in the gathas implies: that the noble fellowship of Mazda-worshippers has never been about a delusional sense of entitlement and privileges, but has always consisted in a higher notion of sacred DUTY toward the world of the gods, higher virtues and discerning wisdom.

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Yule was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples. Yule-tide fell between what is now mid-November and early January.

Similarly, the Avestan Maiδ-yaar literally “mid-year” was/is the second, most sacred Zoroastrian festival after the Vernal Equinox, falling in early January (4^th or 5^th depending on the leap year.)

The Avestan yaar “year” is a cognate with Old Church Slavonic jara, German Jahr, Luvian āra/i, and Greek hōros, and refers to “turning points, new season/time” in addition to “year.” In the Avestan original, gahan-bar or “gatha banquets” are referred to as yaair.iia ratvö  “sacred rituals/festivities around the turning points of the year.”

Andreas Nordberg suggests that the heathen Scandinavian lunisolar calendar was also divided into turning points, marked with festivals and religious gatherings.

The ancient Zoroastrians reckoned “time/year” according to winters, hence, the association of Maiδ-yaar with the winter festivities.

Of important note here is that both the Yule tide and the Zoroastrian Maiδ-yaar festival suggest that the new year started in summer. While Vernal Equinox marks the beginning of the new-year in the Avestan calendar, both the ancient and royal calendars of the Iranian and Parsi Zoroastrians, reckon the beginning of the new-year from summer.

The 6 Avestan yaair.iia “turning points,” known as gahan-bar or “gatha banquets” in the later literature are as follows:

Maiδyö.zarəm.iia “mid-spring;” or literally “middle of the greenery and flowers season,” is the first sacred turning point of the year, (Compare Avestan zarəm.iia with Russian zelënyj “green.”) Maiδyö.zarəm is the festival of the pure essence/nectar of flowers and plants. However, the word for SPRING in the Avesta is vanri, a cognate of Latin vēr and Old Church Slavonic vesna.

Maiδyö.šam means “mid-summer,” the arrival of summer was/is most important in the Zoroastrian calendar, and has always been celebrated with huge outdoor bonfires and festive spirit.

Paitiš.hahya, is the “harvest time festival.” Paitiš alludes to “footsteps, direction, passage” and hahya means “grain, fruit, crops,” (Compare Avestan hahya with Welsh haidd, Briton heiz, “rye, barley,” Vedic sasya “seed-field, crop,” Hittite sesa(na) “fruit.”) It is a time to celebrate the bountifulness of nature.

Ayáθrima is the time/season for RETURNING of the livestock to their shelters before winter sets in. The word translates as “returning, homecoming.” The livestock are colorfully decorated, and walked around or between bonfires.

Maiδ.yaar.iia literally means “mid-year.” This is the second most sacred festival in the Avestan lunisolar calendar. The fact that “mid-winter” is called Maiδ-yaar “midyear,” suggests a calendar in which the year was reckoned from the summer. The word for WINTER in the Avesta is ziimá (Compare with Russian zimá, Latvian ziema, Lithuanian žiemâ.)

Hamaß.paθ.maiδ.iia refers to EQUINOX, or the moment when the center/middle position maiδ.iia of the Sun and the celestial points/paths paθ are at the same hamaß, or equal distance from each other. The joyous celebration of the Vernal Equinox as the most sacred Zoroastrian religious holiday is a reminder of the future age of the gods, and the coming of everlasting spring.

The Zoroastrian Magi priests sanctified these points in time by linking them with the sacred songs/metre gáθá of the ancient Aryan seer/prophet Zarathustra. It is highly meritorious to recite the gáθás (Lithuanian giedóti “sing hymns,”) as part of the sacred rituals in these auspicious points of time in the year yaair.iia ratvö .

In the Āfrīn “loving blessing formula” for gatha banquets; it is enjoined that all have the duty to bring some kind of offering to the feast, even if it is a stick of dry wood or if nothing at all, a heartfelt prayer.

Communal banquets were held at which consecrated food was shared, with drinking of wine and much merrymaking. These banquets brought rich and poor together, and were times for renewal of fellowship, with forgiveness of wrongs and charity.

One can tell a lot about a people by their rituals, symbols and festivities. The rituals used by the ancient Zoroastrians involved the recurrently rising sun, bonfires, and symbols of an abundant life. Holiness in this ancient, noble faith equals health and vital energy, and Sacred is what is auspicious, radiant and triumphant.

The fire rituals in Zoroastrianism symbolize the infinity and beyond, the eternal quest for excellence, and the sacred will to bring the creative brilliance of the Immortals to us, for the discovery of new horizons, and making the life force ever more splendid and victorious.

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Recently the History Channel has aired a short story about Wojtek, the Iranian bear soldier of Monte Cassino. The account of RYSZARD ANTOLAK, the Polish writer, poet, and blogger is probably the most heartfelt and accurate of all stories concerning the soldier bear.

Antolak was born in the late 1950s, and is a gifted writer. He lives in Scotland, and has found Zarathustra by accident. Antolak’s narration best grasps the true meaning of géûš ûrvá the “soul of the animals” in the poetic gathas of the ancient seer/prophet Zarathustra.

The first verse of the gathas conclude with the following words: ýá ḵšnevîšá géûš.čá ûrvánem “to delight the soul of the primordial cow/the totality of all creatures or animals.”

Avestan géûš is the “primordial cow,” the personification of all animal life. Parallels could be drawn between Avestan géûš and the Greek concept of GAIA. In Avestan gaiia is life, and the primordial cow géûš is the progenitor of all animal and plant life, and is almost identical to the Norse account of primeval cow Auðumla.

 The first sacred verse talks about the SOUL of the animals, and the sacred duty to delight ḵšnevîšá the spirit of all the creatures. The ancient commentaries of this verse emphasis are on “the loving stewardship of the ANIMAL LIFE.”

Avestan ḵšnevîšá comes from the root ḵšnû to “greatly delight.” It appears that the original meaning of the term is “to sharpen, cause to shine, make radiant.”

To delight the soul/consciousness of the animals, and judicious stewardship of the living worlds is a most repeated and fundamental tenet of the Mazda-Worshiping religion or Zoroastrianism. The true account of Wojtek touches on the consciousness and beautiful soul of the animals. May Wojtek’s memory and soul be always shinning and bright.

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After the Battle of Monte Cassino, one of the fiercest and bloodiest conflicts of the Second World War, many accounts emerged of the bravery and heroism of the soldiers. But perhaps the strangest story of all was of an Iranian brown bear who served alongside the allied soldiers in the worst heat of the battle. Despite the incessant bombardment and constant gunfire, the bear carried vital supplies of ammunition and food to his fellow-soldiers fighting on the mountainside. Many observers who witnessed his remarkable actions doubted the reality of what they were seeing. But the story was no legend

At the time of his death in 1964, he was the most famous bear in the world, visited by countless celebrities and adored by the international press. Books and articles were written about him, statues and plaques commemorated his actions. To the men of the 22nd Transport Company (Artillery Supply) however, he was merely “Voytek” a remarkable fellow soldier, and their beloved comrade.

He was born in the mountains of Hamadan, in one of the many caves to be found in that dusty mountainous area. At the age of eight weeks his mother was killed by a group of hunters, but he was rescued by a young Iranian boy who thrust him into a hempen sack and set off with him homeward along a narrow dusty path.

Iran at that time was going through one of the unhappier periods of her history. Occupied by the Russians and the British, her relations with the soldiers of those two countries were understandably tense and strained. In April 1942, however, Iran opened its arms to receive hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens (men, women and children) who had been released from the Soviet labour camps of Siberia and Kazakhstan. Having arrived at the port of Pahlevi (now Bandar-e Anzali), they were suffering from various diseases, including malnutrition, and had to be rested in the vast tented city hastily built for them on the shores of the Caspian. When they were well enough to travel, however, they were taken to more substantial military and civilian resettlement camps all over Iran.

Most of the civilians (women and children) were destined to remain as guests of Iran for up to three years. But the able-bodied men were almost immediately sent westwards to join the Polish forces in Lebanon. A long stream of covered trucks left Anzali daily carrying the future soldiers along the narrow twisted roads via Qazvin, Hamadan and Kermanshah to the borders of Iraq and beyond.

It was on one of the narrow mountain roads somewhere between Hamadan and Kangavar, that the trucks were brought to an abrupt halt by the sight of a small Iranian boy carrying a bulky sack. He looked tired and hungry, so the men offered him a billy-can of meat. And as he ate, they gasped in astonishment as the sack beside him began to move and the head of a honey-coloured bear cub emerged sleepily into the sunlight.

Although none of the men could understand Farsi, the boy was able to indicate by his actions that he had found the bear cub whimpering outside one of the caves, its mother having been shot by a hunter. The orphaned cub was in poor condition and it was almost certain he would not survive the day. One of the men, therefore, offered to buy the orphaned cub for a few toumans. Someone else fumbled for a bar of chocolate and a tin of corned beef to give him. Another took from his pocket an army penknife that opened up like a flower. The boy smiled, pocketed the offerings and disappeared forever from their lives.

A feeding bottle was hastily improvised from an empty bottle of vodka into which a handkerchief had been stuffed to serve as a teat. They filled it with condensed milk, diluted it with a little water, and gave it to the little bear to drink. When he had finished it, he crept up close to one of the soldiers for warmth and fell asleep on his chest. The soldier’s name was Piotr (Peter) and he became forever afterward, the bear’s closest and most enduring friend.

The cub clung desperately to his substitute mother all through the tortured journey across Persia, Iraq and Jordan, along vast distances that seemed to loose heart and succumb to the despair of barrenness. Sometimes the man would lock the bear in the warmth of his greatcoat so that it became part of him. In the evenings, as he sat with the other men around the fire telling tales late into the night, the bear cub would be rocked to sleep in the sound of his immense laughter. In time, the orphan lost himself in the lives of these strangers and entangled himself completely in the rhythms and cadences of their speech. From that time onwards he became wholly theirs: body, will and soul.

In this way, Voytek the Iranian brown bear from Hamadan entered the lives of the soldiers of the Second Polish Army Corps, transforming all their destinies.

In the months that followed, he won over the hearts of all who met him. The soldiers, who had all endured the horrors and hardships of Siberia, needed something in their lives to love, and the presence of Voytek was a wonderful tonic for their morale. Despite his brute strength, which grew day by day, he was always an amiable and a gentle giant. The soldiers treated him from the start as one of their own company and never as a pet. They shared their food with him, allowed him to sleep in their tents at night and included him in all their activities. If the unit was ordered to march out, he would march with them on two legs like a soldier. When they were being transported to some distant location, he would ride in the front seat of the jeeps (or transport wagons) to the great amazement of passers-by. More than anything, however, he loved to wrestle with the soldiers, taking on three or four of them at a time. Sometimes he was even gracious enough to allow them the courtesy of winning. Over the next few years, he shared all their fortunes, and went with them wherever they were posted throughout the Middle East. He grew to be almost six feet tall and weighed 500 pounds.

In early 1944, the men of Voytek’s unit were ordered embark for Italy to join the Allied advance on Rome. The British authorities gave strict instructions that no animals were to accompany them. The Poles therefore enrolled Voytek into the army as a rank-and-file member of their company and duly waved the relevant papers in front of the British officers on the dockside at Alexandria. Faced with such impeccable credentials, the British shrugged their shoulders and waved the bear aboard. In this way, Voytek the Iranian bear became an enlisted soldier in the 22nd Transport Division (Artillery Supply) of the Polish 2nd Army Corps.

Monte Cassino was the strategic key to the allied advance on Rome. Three bloody attempts by the British, Americans, Indians, French and New Zealanders to dislodge the enemy from the famous hill-top monastery had failed. In April 1944, the Polish forces were sent in. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Much of the fighting was at close quarters. The shelling, which continued night and day without interval, scarred and cratered the landscape until it resembled the pock-marked surface of the moon.

During the most crucial phase of the battle, when pockets of men were cut off on the mountainside desperately in need of supplies, Voytek, who all this time had been watching his comrades frantically loading heavy boxes of ammunition, came over to the trucks, stood on his hind legs in front of the supervising officer and stretched out his paws toward him. It was as if he was saying: “I can do this. Let me help you”. The officer handed the animal the heavy box and watched in wonder as Voytek loaded it effortlessly onto the truck. Backwards and forwards he continued, time and time again, carrying heavy shells, artillery boxes and food sacks from truck to truck, from one waiting man to another, effortlessly. The deafening noise of the explosions and gunfire did not seem to worry him. Each artillery box held four 23 lbs live shells; some even weighed more than a hundred. He never dropped a single one. And still he went on repeatedly, all day and every day until the monastery was finally taken. One of the soldiers happened to sketch a picture of Voytek carrying a large artillery shell in his arms, and this image became the symbol of the 22nd artillery transport, worn proudly on the sleeves of their uniforms ever afterwards and emblazoned on all the unit’s vehicles.

Now famous, he completed his tour of duty in Italy and when the war was over, he sailed the Polish Army to exile in Scotland. Here, once again, he found himself a celebrity. In Glasgow, people lined the streets in their thousands to catch sight of the famous soldier-bear marching upright in step with his comrades.
Voytek’s last days, however, were steeped in sadness. In 1947, the Polish army in Scotland was demobilized and a home had to be found for him to live out his retirement.

Although he was world-famous, the bear of Monte Cassino was forced to spent his last years behind bars in Edinburgh’s Zoological gardens. Artists came to sketch him and sculptors to make statues of him. Sometimes his old army friends arrived to visit him, leaping over the barriers to wrestle and play with him in the bear enclosure (to the utter horror of all the visitors and zoo officials). But he did not take well to captivity, and as the years passed, he increasingly preferred to stay indoors, refusing to meet anyone.

I was lucky enough to see him just before his death in 1963. He was sitting at the back of his large enclosure, silent and immobile. It was said that he was sulking, angry at being abandoned by those he had loved. Others said he was merely showing the symptoms of old age. None of the shouts from his assembled visitors seemed to catch his attention. But when I called out to him in Polish, something seemed to stir in him at last, and he turned his head towards me as if in recognition.

He died in Edinburgh at the age of 22 on 15th November 1963. A plaque was erected in his memory by the zoo authorities. Statues of him were placed in the Imperial War Museum in London and in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. But although he had entered the pages of military history, the Iranian soldier-bear of Monte Cassino would have preferred to remain in the company of the soldiers with whom he had shared five years of war and countless memories of devoted companionship.

The Avestan hymn to Tištar or the Tri-star, recounts the epic story of araḵš or ereḵšö, the champion archer of the Aryans.

According to the Avesta, ereḵšö “of the swift arrow, having the swiftest arrow among the Aryans” shot an arrow from Mount Airyö.ḵšaôθa to Mount Xᵛanvant. Historian Bīrūnī states, Āraḵš displayed himself naked and said: “Behold! My body is free of any deformity or fault; but after this bowshot I will be ripped apart into pieces.” At dawn araḵš shot the arrow and the wind bore the arrow as far as the remote regions of the Iranian Northeast, and in this way the boundary between the Aryan kingdoms of Iran and Nomadic kingdoms of Central Asia was established.

Avestan ereḵšö Old Iranian araḵš, is cognate with Latin ursus, Greek arktos, Welsh arth “a bear” and all go back to reconstructed Indo European *rtko. The constellations of Ursa Major and Minor were named as a “bear.” Names such as Ursula come from the same root, so is the Persian male name Áraš.

In Greek Mythology the name of Artemis, “the Mistress of Animals” is derived from arktos or “bear.” In Slavic the bear is called the “honey eater” medvēdi. However, the closest parallel to the Avestan account of Bear warrior/archer are the Norse berserkr champion warriors. Berserkr or “bear-shirted” is the term in Old Norse for a warrior in battle frenzy. They are reported to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic that later gave rise to the English word berserk. These champion warriors would often go into battle wearing only bear pelts In Germanic the bear is the “brown one” Old Norse bjørn. Bearskin dress Hartagga was observed also in Hittite sacred rituals.

The epic story of araḵš, the champion archer of the Aryans is about the cosmic order of things, sacred duty, heroism and selfless sacrifice. In Zoroastrianism life is an epic battle, and man must choose the Gods, goodness and nobility throughout the ages of this world, not because of fear or in hope of favors, but for the sake of virtue only.

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Aæšm in the poetic gathas and the Avesta is the arch-demon of “wrath, ruin and devastation.” Aæšm comes from the root aēš or aæš “to set into frenzied motion, chaos.” In the Zoroastrian sacred lore aæšm is the opposite of sraôš “melodies/songs of the gods, divine music, inspiration.” In the poetic gathas “the diabolic powers daævás rush into aæšm “frenzied mania” to sicken/corrupt all that is ahuric/godly in mortal’s existence, (Yasna 30.6, 3^rd rhymed verse line.)

The Old Norse eisa “go about recklessly, be rowdy” is a cognate. Lithuanian aistrā “violent passion, rage,” coming from the root *heis is a synonym. Eris the personification of “discord, strife” who supposedly initiated the Trojan wars in Greek mythology can be compared with aæšm. In Greek mythology Eris is the opposite of Harmonia, and seems to share many collective attributes with demon aæšm in the Avesta.

Interestingly the Zoroastrian arch-demon aæšm takes a whole new identity in Jewish mystic literature. Hebrew Ashmedai was borrowed from the Persian/Zoroastrian arch demon aæšm. But, the (Hebrew: אשמדאי‎ Ashmedai) is no longer the dreaded arch-fiend of Zoroastrianism; but the king of the Jewish demons (Pes. 110 a.)

An aggadic narrative describes Ashmedai as the king of all the demons (Pesachim109b–112a). In the Zohar, Ashmedai is represented as the teacher of Solomon, to whom he gave a book of extraordinary knowledge (Zohar Lev. pp. 19a, 43a; ib. Num. 199b, ed.) Ashmedai is also mentioned in Talmudic legends, in the story of the construction of the Temple of Solomon.

According to Zohar; many Jewish demons study Torah, and will not harm a human Torah scholar. Ashmedai himself is said to ascend to Heaven to study the Torah.

While there is NO doubt that Zoroastrianism has exerted a great influence on other faiths in areas of apocalyptic literature, and the ultimate battle between good and evil. Yet, it is also irrefutable that so many original gathic and Avestan concepts often took a WHOLE and entirely DIFFERENT identity/meaning in their new Judeo-Christian context.

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In the poetic gathas, fryá is the personification of “love.” Intense feeling of passion/love appears as fryá, fryái and fryö in the sacred poetry of the gathas. Fryán “lovely, free” appears as a personal name in Yasna 46.12, 2^nd rhymed verse line of the gathic songs.

Avestan fryá “lovely, dear and free” is cognate with the reconstructed Proto Germanic friyō “Lovely,” Old Norse frī “beloved,” and Old Norse Frigg, “the wife of Odin/Woden,” and Vedic priyá.

Modern Persian áfrin “blessing, divine favor” is derived from the same ancient root. The English weekday Friday is named after Norse goddess Frigg, and Old High German Frîja, who was the northern equivalent of Venus. In Rig Veda 1.46.1, the beautiful Dawn goddess is called priyá.

 Freya’s Tears by Gustav Klimt, the most prominent Austrian symbolist painter, has best expressed the immortal beauty and love of Freyja in art.

In Norse Mythology frigg is the goddess of love. Frigg bore Baldur the personification of light whose death will initiate a series of apocalyptic events leading to Ragnarök or twilight of the Gods.

The relationship of the divine to mortals is expressed in the term fryá or friiá “love” in the gathas. The divine epithet Fryá “love, intense passion” comes in close connection with the supreme god of “Inspiration, Creativity, Imagination, Mind Power Mazdá and the brilliance of the cosmic order ašá/arthá in the gathas.

In Zoroastrianism, the god force ná is “loveliness fryái, wisdom vaæd, ability to enchant/own isvá and power to give of oneself daidît,” hiiat ná fryái vaædamnö isvá daidît, See Yasna 43.14, 1^st rhymed verse line.

The essential thing about the Immortal ahûrás is their “brilliance, loving essence, virtue and wisdom that give them the wondrous skill to enchant and own, the power to be lords isvá.”

Avestan isæ “lordship, ability to enchant/own” is cognate with Tocharian aik “own” Old Norse eiga Old English āgan “own, possess” all going back to the reconstructed Indo European *heik.

The good and virtuous man is above all a friend of Ahûrá Mazdá, and his brilliant Immortals. The belief in the Immortal Gods as “loving wise powers and friends” corresponds to the idea of kinship between the good-minded and brilliant mortals, and the Wise Ahûrás. This kinship rests above all on the view that the Wise Ahûrás and mortal men are bound through “truth, loving virtues and wisdom.”

Zoroastrianism teaches that mortal man could and should share in the “Good, the Lovely and the Beautiful” as partners of the Immortals.

In Zoroastrianism, the worship of “Inspiring Creativity” Mazdá means the loving adoration of godly virtues/powers, and cultivation of all the goodness and loveliness of the Immortals in oneself. This idea is expressed in the term frînái, frînáiti “befriend” in the poetic gathas. See Yasna 29.5, 1^st rhymed verse line and Yasna 49.12, 3^rd rhymed verse line.

Avestan frînáiti is a cognate of Old Norse frjá “love,” and frændi “beloved, friend.”

Interesting is the connection between “love and freedom” in the Avestan speech. In Mazdyasna, the Love of the Gods is manifested in giving mortals freedom from imperfections, and the wondrous wisdom to overcome their limitations.”

The submissive and slavish relation of man to Gods is NOT characteristic of Zoroastrianism. Mortals in Zoroastrianism are not slaves before an omnipotent God whose nature is intimidation and terror.

Interestingly, The Ifrits a class of infernal Jinn (demons) noted for their enchanting powers in the Islamic lore, seem to have been derived from fryá. (although the etymology is uncertain.)

As with other jinn (demons,) an ifrit may be either a believer or an unbeliever. The Ifrits are greatly skilled in crafts, and in building amazing objects or structures. King Solomon is said to have compelled the jinn into his service

The ‘ifrit is cited only once in the Qur’an, in reference to a good demon, with enchanting powers, who fetched the throne of the Queen of Sheba at the command of King Solomon.

An Ifrit from the jinn said: ‘I will bring it to you before you rise from your place. And verily, I am indeed strong, and trustworthy for such work.'” 

Qur’an, Sura An-Naml:39. (27:39) 

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In the poetic gathas of the ancient Aryan prophet, and the Avestan sacred lore a recurring term is xšnû or ḵšnû “ to delight, be congenial, well disposed, be good natured.”

Avestan xšnû is about “reciprocating, and corresponding to the brilliant and well disposed nature” of the supreme god Ahûrá Mazdá, his brilliant, wise immortals, and the soul of the primordial cow géuš ûrvá, as the personification of all life in the universe. The term also appears in relation to ties of reciprocity/generosity between mortals.

Many Avestan Prayers and formulas start with the phrase xšnaôthra ahûrahæ mazdáv “May we delight, mirror your good, brilliant disposition Ahura Mazda.

Avestan xšnû is a cognate of Greek xénos “extending hospitality to guest/strangers.” The Greek theme Theo-xenia or Theo-xeny however is closest to the Avestan original. The concept is that of extending “goodness, virtue, hospitality” towards a stranger/guest xénos, who turns out to be a disguised deity theos.

Xenía “guest-friendship” is centralized around the divine and both the disguised divinity as xénos “guest” and the host are bound by the ties of reciprocity. Gods, taking the likeness of strangers from elsewhere and assuming every kind of aspect, go from one community to another, monitoring men’s vile or virtuous conduct’ (Od. 17. 485–7.)

Several Greek and Roman myths tell how a god, or two or three gods together, travelled about and received hospitality from someone who did not know what they were and who impressed them with his goodness and virtue, or his/her lack of it. Animals such as dogs are better than humans at sensing the presence of gods and spirits. But a human being may be temporarily granted the special kind of vision that enables him to see the gods in their true form and know them for what they are.

In Nordic mythology Odin goes about similarly, accompanied by Loki and Hœnir.

The Trojan War described in the Iliad of Homer actually resulted from a violation of xenia. Paris, from the house of Priam of Troy, was a guest of Menelaus, king of Mycenaean Sparta, but seriously transgressed the bounds of xenia by abducting his host’s wife, Helen.

Avestan xšnû has remarkably survived almost intact in modern Persian in the form of xšnud “happy, delighted.”

The implication of the term xšnû in Zoroastrianism is to celebrate the world as an inherent potential for becoming divine.

Godhood in Zoroastrianism is not about a supremely powerful anthropomorphic being, but about “the eternal quest for excellence” manifested in the wonderful order and ingenuity of all that exists.

Godhood is the odyssey of consciousness and the evolution of Mind Power Mazdá. The Immortals personify the “overcoming of limitations” and the “discovery of new horizons.”

The way to adore the Gods in Zoroastrianism is to emulate/reciprocate their brilliant nature, good disposition and their virtues.

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Kayánid in the ancient Iranian sacred tradition were a dynasty of “visionary leaders” who governed and ruled over the Aryans before their entry into the world stage as the greatest Empire of the ancient world.

Kayánid is the plural of Kay, and comes from the Avestan kavá “priest ruler” or “philosopher king.” Kaváis were great rulers/kings renowned for their gift of foresight/vision. They were the great leaders/kings of men in the Avestan lore.

Avestan kavá goes back to proto Indo European speech, and is rooted in the reconstructed Indo European *keuh “to perceive.” It comes in the same sense of “perceive, having visions of ” in the poetic gathas, See Yasna 33.6, 1^st rhymed verse line.

Kavá is a cognate of Vedic kaví Lydian kawe “visionary poet/priest,” Latin cavaeō “take heed” Old Church Slavonic čujo “note,” čudo “wonder,” Old English hāwian “look at.”

Avestan kavá– has a perfect identical cognate in Lydian kawe-, making it not only Indo-European, but Proto-Indo-European, (See Didier Calin.)

In the Rig Veda, the term kaví refers to poets and priests, and is also a term applied to the gods, gift of foresight and visions. The kavís compose their poetry by the power of their thoughts mati and send their “poetic visions” dhī into the divine world.

In the Avesta, the kaváis were entrusted with the guardianship of xᵛarənah or farnah. Farnah means “fiery splendor, divine luminosity, god energy.” Farnah represents a link between the energy of light/blazing fire in connection with kingship and the life force.

Farnah or xᵛarənah comes from a Scytho-Sarmatian and Alan background, and is a cognate of Ossetic farnä and farn “a magic force or power of fiery nature.”

The Avestan Yashts talk of the fiery splendor of kaváis (kavaæm xᵛarənö), of the fiery splendor of the Aryans (airyanəm or airyanąm xᵛarənö) and farnah the fiery splendor of daæná, the “luminous vision” of the Immortals or the Zoroastrian religion.

In the Avestan lore and the poetic gathas, most of the kaváis have forsaken their gift of foresight, their wondrous, superior wisdom/craft ḵratü, and have gone over to the realm of darkness, greed and corrupted power.

However, FEW have stayed faithful/true to the farnah or xᵛarənah of the noble ones and the luminous vision of Immortals such as Kavá Vištáspö, who was the great patron of the Aryan Prophet Zarathûštrá, and whose name comes in connection with the Magian fellowship and dominion/kingship in the gathas, See Yasna 51.16, 1^st rhymed verse line.

 In the beautiful Yašt 19 of the Avesta, the farnah or xᵛarənah of the kaváis is closely associated with cosmic order, new dawn/day and the fresh creation of the worlds, faršö kereitî.

This fiery energy that belonged/belongs to Ahûrá Mazdá, his Auspicious, brilliant Immortals, and the yazatás or “adoreable god-beings” in both worlds when they established the creations, shall make the existence fraša splendid/new again (Yašt 19.10-24.)

According to the sacred Zoroastrian lore, Kavá Siāwaxš built the Kang castle (Kang–dæž) by the fiery splendor of kaváis (kavaæm xᵛarənö.) From the stronghold of this castle the rule of the Aryans, the victory of daæna Zoroastrian religion or “luminous vision” of the Immortals will be commanded at the end of times, before the setting in of an eternal spring, and the fresh, new age of the god-men.

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In Indo-European Poetry and Myths page 142, M.L. West points out that the both the name Iran (Airan) and Irish Eire coming from Aire “a noble lord,” developed from the same root as the Zoroastrian Airyaman or literally “Aryan-ness,” the divine principal of “honor, goodness, virtue, and nobility.”

West mentions other cognates with the Zoroastrian Airyaman in other Indo-European languages including the other name/title of Odin Iormunr, the Irish Eremon, and the Old English Eormencyn “noble, mighty race.”

The poetic gathas of prophet Zarathustra start with the “will to become godlike” ahü vairyö and concludes airyemá išyö “the noble lordship or higher ideal.”

The xᵛarənah or farnah “fiery splendor/fortune” that created the worlds in the Avesta, is coupled with airyanąm xᵛarənö “fiery glory of the Aryans,” and the luminous vision daæná of the Zoroastrian religion that will again make the creations frašö “splendid, new, excellent” in an eternal spring.

In the Avestan lore Airya is an ethnic epithet and contrasts with other ethnic groups such as Tüirya, Sairima, Dāha, Sāinu, and with the outer world of the An–Airya “non-Aryans.”

Old Persian ariya– occurs in the phrase of Darius the Great: ariya: ariya: ciça, “Arya, of Aryan origin,” and of Xerxes: pārsa:pārsahyā: puça: ariya: ariyaciça, “a Persian, son of a Persian, Arya, of Aryan origin.”

The phrase with ciça, “descent, ancestry, and roots” assures that the term arya is an ethnic designation wider in meaning than parsá, and not a simple adjectival epithet.

The ancient native Elamites have preserved the gloss to the name of the supreme god Ahûrá Mazdá in DB 4.89 Behistun 62: u-ra-mas-da na-ap har-ri-ia-na-um, “Ahûrá Mazdá, god of the Ariyās or Aryans.

Kava Hû-sravö of “good glory” is called arša airyanąm “the bull/champion (aršan– “male”) of the Aryas, in Yt. 15.32 of the Avesta.

The all noble/Aryan forest called vīspe.aire.razuraya  (Yt. 15.32) was where Hû-sravö of “good repute” slew the evil, lower wind.

Avestan ereḵšö or araḵš “bear man” is the archer of the Aryans in the Avesta. The Tri-star hymn states that like the mind-swift arrow which the archer ereḵšö shot, swift-arrowed, most swift-arrowed of the Aryas, from Mount Airyö-xšuθa to Mount Xvanvant.” yaθa tiγriš mainya-asǡ yim aŋhaṱ ərəxšō xšviwi.išuš xšviwi.išvatəmō airyanąm airyō.xsuθaṱ hača garōiṱ xᵛ anvantəm avi gairīm

The airyanąm dahyunąm “lands of the Aryans” in the Avesta contrasts with anairya– “non-Arya lands” anairyǡ diŋhāvō. This dichotomy is continued later in Persian Zoroastrian tradition. Airyö.šayana– “dwelling of the Aryans” is also another recurring term in the Avesta.

airyanəm vaēǰō “cradle of the Aryans” is the first of the beautiful lands created by Ahûrá Mazdá (Vidēvdāt 1.3) and is the birth place of Prophet Zarathustra, the term is frequented in Zoroastrian apocalyptic literature, and in relation to the coming eternal spring.

The holy Denkart, the great encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism associates arya– with “honorable, virtuous lineage/birth among mortals” hû-töhmaktom ēr martöm. This phrase in holy Denkart compares with ariyačiça in the Old Persian Inscriptions.

Similarly ērīh ut dahyupatīh “honor and lordship,” contrasts with arg ut bār hač škōhišn, “labor and burdens from poverty” in holy Denkart.

I shall conclude by stating that both Ireland and Iran referring to the “land of the Noble Ones” goes back to the ancient Indo European past, and to a time when the idea of land was sacred, “honor, nobility and virtue” were ideals to strive, fight and fall for.

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Nowruz or more accurately NAUV ROOZ is the most sacred and happy festival of Zoroastrianism. The “new dawn/light” after equinox is called Nauv rooz. This fresh “new dawn/day” is a reminder of the fresh “New Dawn/light” which will bring the future age of the Immortals, and the coming of everlasting spring, the faršö kereiti, when the worlds entire will be made “splendid, glorious and brilliant” for all eternity.

Our “limited time” will be succeeded by the “Time of Long Ages or the Age of the Gods” daregö xva-dhátahæ. The worlds will be made “pristine and pure,” as it was first in the luminous thought of Ahûrá Mazd­­á.

The ancient Avestan texts talk of celebrating the sacred moment when the center/middle position maiδ.iia of the Sun and the celestial points/paths paθ are at the same hamaß, or equal distance from each other called Hamaß.paθ.maiδ.iia or EQUINOX in the Avestan. Nauv rooz is the first “new dawn/light” after the spring equinox.

Nauv means “new” Rooz “light” comes from Avestan raôča, Vedic rociṣ-/ruci, Tocharian B lyuke Old Norse ljós, Old English lēoht, German licht, Latin. lūx, AstLeon. lluz; Spanish luz, all going back to reconstructed Proto Indo European *lóuks/léukos– “light.” (Courtesy of Didier Calin)

In Zoroastrianism, the “brilliant dawn” or uš bám prayer formula is a must read for every devout Zoroastrian in early morning hours.

In the gathic poetry, the glory of fresh dawn ûšá and “fulfillment of wishes” ûštá from the root vas ”wish, heart’s desire” are closely connected phonetically and through poetic imagery.

Likewise in the Vedas there is talk of “seers having found the hidden light and regenerating dawn” (Rig Veda 7.76.4.)

In Germanic Polytheism Ēostre, Old English: Ēastre, Old High German Ôstara is the glorious goddess of spring and dawn. Ôstara derives from Proto-Germanic *austrōn meaning “dawn,” a descendent of the Proto-Indo-European root *aus-, “to shine” (modern English EAST also derives from this root.)

Like the Avestan account the emphasis in Germanic Paganism is on the “regeneration of god-powers and a new age of Immortals.”

In Yasna 44.5 of the poetic gathas we read:

ké ýá ûšáv arém-piθwâ ḵšapá.čá

 ýáv man.aôθrîš čaž.döηh.vañtem areθ.ahiiá

From whom (is) dawn, high noon and night? That makes the discerning, wise, mindful of the accomplishments/triumph (in the future age of the gods.)

Per the ancient commentary areθ “accomplishment, fulfillment, success” refers to the coming saôšiiánt and the future age of the victorious Immortals in an eternal spring.

Avestan Spring Celebrations start with bonfires few nights before the equinox. Bonfires are in honor of the departed souls. People dress in costumes, and go door to door for treats while wearing masks. This ritual is very similar to Halloween.

Nauvrooz table is adorned with sprouted lentils, colored eggs, hyacinth flower, apples, mirror, fire, sacred rue (incense,) wine, milk, bread, coins and sweets.

The table shall symbolically reflect the physical creation of the 7 foremost brilliant Immortals, called speñtá “auspicious, sacred, bright” in the Avestan. Hence, each symbolic item on the nauv rooz table item must start with the letter S.

I shall conclude by stating that the Roman Pagan New Year also started in spring season. The name of the months October, November, December respectively meaning 8^th, 9^th and 10^th months point to a new year starting in march or in spring.

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In the Avestan calendar, the 3^rd day after the vernal equinox is associated with aša vahišta or artha vahišta “truth, cosmic order, excellence, the very best,” and rapithwin “high noon,” when the sun is at the zenith of its radiance.

High noon is a powerful symbol in Zoroastrianism. It is a time of highest radiance, when there are no shadows, when everything is seen in the clear light, and when there is no obscurity/hiding.

In the Zoroastrian sacred lore, Öhrmazd performed the Yazišn “intense desire, zeal, yearning” with his brilliant Immortals, in the Rapithwin watch, and in that Yazišn he supplied every formula for overcoming blemish and all imperfections. Öhrmazd deliberated with baôd the “awakening force,” and fravaši “the primeval spirits.”

The duel between good and evil began at high noon, and it will be on high noon that the evil spirit will perish, and the worlds will become splendid and immortal.

Rapithwin appears in the form of arem pithwá in the poetic gathas. The term refers to the “highest point of the sun, and the southerly direction.”

This is confirmed by the Avestan prayer formula of Yasna 36.6 recited at high noon: imá raôč.áv//bareziš.tem barezi.ma.nãm, avat ýát//hvaré a.váčî

This light raôč.áv (German licht,) highest of the high bareziš.tem barezi.ma.nãm, yonder sun hvaré (Greek hélios.) is called a.váčî (voiced, expressed in words.)

The epithet bareziš.tem barezi.ma.nãm “highest of the high, the most lofty” comes from the Avestan root barez “high, lofty.” The word is connected to German berg “height, hill, mountain,” and Old Irish goddess Brigit “high, lofty one.”

Brigit in Celtic mythology is a continuation of the Indo-European dawn goddess, and associated with the spring season, fertility, healing, and poetry.

Saint Brigid shares many of the ancient goddess’s attributes and her feast day was originally a pagan festival (Imbolc) marking the beginning of spring.

High noon also marks the moment of truth, excelling and judgment in the Iliad poetry of ancient Greeks. The momentum of the fighting between the Achaeans and Trojans is hanging in the balance—until high noon arrives, at which point Zeus decides to get out his golden talanta ‘scales’, I.08.69, as he readies to weigh who will win and who will lose.

Then Zeus thunders from on high on top of Mount Ida, and he sends a flaming thunderbolt toward the Achaeans (I.08.076.) The word for the thunderbolt is selas, meaning literally a ‘flash of light’. This “flash of light” signals the Will of Zeus.

Bartholeme’s etymology of Rapithwin and suggested connection to Lithuanian pietūs appears to be wholly wrong.

High Noon is a time of highest radiance. The high radiance/light of noon symbolizes the judgment of the immortals, will to excel, powers of growth and the promise of an eternal spring.

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Zarathustra was the ancient Aryan poet/prophet whose birth coincided with the celebration of spring, new dawn and renewal of vitality. His philosophy and ancient poetry is as well based on the Celebration of life/light, the will to excel and thrive, splendid new dawn, powers of renewal, and arising of the immanent Godhood within nature and man.

In his poetic gathas, the seer/prophet sings: “arise within me ahura” ûs-möi ûz.árešvá ahûrá, referring to the ascension of Godhood within nature and man. Zarathustra teaches to bring out the god within, and to nurture, develop the inner creative artist, and the skillful gardener of the worlds.

The religious sentiments of Zarathustra come straight from the heart; and there is a distinctively personal and passionate note about them. His poetic gathas sing of a luminous vision of the ahuras (Norse aesir,) and are a roadmap to become like the Immortal Gods, tãm daænãm ýá ḵšmá.vatö ahûrá.

The keynote of Zarathustra’s religious doctrine is that we share the same ingenious/brilliant essence as the Immortals, and bear likeness to Godhood in lofty mind, purity, radiance, goodness and genius.

The gathas/songs of the ancient Aryan prophet start with the phrase ahiiá yásá. The word ahiiá “essence of being” is the equivalent of Vedic asiiá, and refers to sharing “the same essence as” the Immortal Gods/Godhood per the ancient Avestan commentaries. The second word yásá is a cognate of Greek zelós, and connects “essence of being” to “intense desire, passion, yearning, the quest for never-ending excellence.”

There is, indeed, nothing more characteristic of Zarathustra, than the conviction that we are impelled by the very constitution of our nature to wrestle and strive towards betterment, Godhood and excellence. Cosmic order/truth according to the famous ašem vôhü formula is about becoming ever better, and striving to excel ever higher.

According to the poet/prophet of the ancient Aryans, the supreme control of the universe and mortals belongs not to a blind or implacable fate, but to watchful and discerning ahuras, hvö vîčirö ahûrö//aθá-né aηhat ýaθá hvö vasat. The wisdom and will of Godhood impel the chariot of time forward. In the gathas, and the Avestan lore time is always cyclical. But the cyclical movement of time has a purpose and plan. The rotation of the wheel of time is not a blind movement, but an intelligent march of titans forward. See Yasna 44.17 concerning the wheel of time and chariot imagery in the poetic gathas.

In Zoroastrianism, the march of time will ultimately bring to fulfillment the triumph of the spirit, the will of the Immortals, and the overcoming of all limitations and flaws.

The wheel of Time rotates forward to create/redesign a more splendid, loftier creation always. There is no falling back to the age of reptilian monsters and apes in Zoroastrianism.

Godhood for the Aryan poet/prophet is ONLY the “odyssey of mind power, creative imagination, consciousness, the sacred Will to overcome limitations, the passionate desire to excel and thrive.”

Zarathustra teaches that visions/ideas are the real prime mover force, and that the secrets of the universe are encoded in the rhythms, modes, frequency, and vibrations of mind energy, imagination and consciousness.

He declares himself to be the prophet of the supreme god of “mind power and inspiring creativity” MAZDA. In Indo European sacred lore, MAZDA is closest to ODIN, “the wanderer wisdom.” Yet, etymologically MAZDA is related to Greek MUSES, who personified mind/will power, remembered all things that had come to pass, and gave artists, philosophers and individuals the necessary inspiration for creativity and innovation.

The gathas of the Aryan prophet talk of Mazdá and his ahûrás (in plural.) These ahûrás of the gathas have become the later Zoroastrian Auspicious or Brilliant Immortals.

The nature of ahûrás is connected to cosmic order/truth and eternal quest for excellence. Per the holiest mantra of Zoroastrianism: To become ahü or godlike is “one and the same as” becoming the knower of riddles of the cosmic order ratü, that is to know all the rites and formulas of the universe.

There is NO diversity of interests and clash of contending wills among the different Immortals or aspects of Godhood in Zoroastrianism, See Yasna 51.20.

Zarathustra teaches the Oneness of Godhood in “inspiring creativity, goodness, genius and truth,” but in NO remote way implies biblical kind of monotheism. Almost every poetic verse and metre in the gathas is an ode to the Brilliant Immortals.

The association of Zoroastrianism with monotheism is fairly recent, and goes back to 19^th century Protestant Evangelist Martin Haug. NO ancient Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hebrew, Christian, Chinese or Arab account of Zoroastrianism says or confirms ANYTHING about monotheism in relation to Zoroastrianism. More importantly, there is absolutely nothing in the Zoroastrian sacred lore that remotely resembles the shema of the Old Testament or hints at possible Old Testament like monotheism.

In the gathas and the rest of the Avestan lore, the Immortals are ONE LUMINOUS FORCE. Godhood headed by Mazdá is the force that “discovers, imagines, innovates, thinks, overcomes limitations and ever designs a more splendid creation.” Immortals are the author of goodness, genius, discovery and brilliance ONLY.

Zarathustra objected to the idea of the gods acting for some deranged pleasure of theirs. Immortals are exempt from the lower passions incident to human nature. In the vision/religion of Zarathustra Immortals are incapable of deception, cruelty, and infliction of misery. The Gods “know not sadism, flaws nor imperfections. They are pure goodness, genius and splendid mind power that press for the advantage and betterment of creation.

Powerful beings that ask for blood sacrifices of innocent animals, who show sadistic pleasure in tormenting mortals, who trick and deceive are NOT Gods but devils daævás. There is no killing of innocent animals in the gathic doctrine of Zarathustra. The only acceptable offering to Immortals is holy water, purity, good thoughts, good words, good deeds, and becoming ingenious/brilliant like Immortal Gods themselves.

Zarathustra does NOT believe in the doctrine of the envy of the Gods either. In the eyes of the seer/prophet of the ancient Aryans, the divine nature is NOT jealous or petty, and the so called gods that will not suffer any but themselves to think high thoughts or excel are NO Gods but “devil gods and demons” daævás, who are not worthy of worship.”

Man in Zoroastrianism is a free moral agent, not a slave. Zoroastrianism entirely rejects the notion of victimhood, and believes in consequences of choices, will power and the eventual triumph of the spirit. Mortal man in Zoroastrianism is the co-creator and fellow warrior of the Immortal Gods. The ultimate prize in the gathas belong to the fellow/co creators of the Immortals, those who write new, ever better songs in the celestial abode of music garö demánæ, where Mazdá, the supreme god of “mind power and inspiring creativity” arrived first and foremost See Yasna 51.15. This makes the Zoroastrian notion of immortality and glory pretty novel and unique.

Zoroastrian faith is not simply a very ancient Indo European religion, but a spiritual way of life meant for the noble ones. It is about the triumph of the sacred will to excel/overcome, and is exclusive to the co-workers of the Immortals, the wanderer wise, the philosopher warrior, and the noble stewards of the creation. Zoroastrianism is not and has never been a faith for the sheepish and the masses.

The Aryan seer/prophet Zarathustra brought into prominence the nobler and more ideal features of the Indo European pantheon, and purified the traditional theology of Aryans to its pristine purity according to the Avestan lore. May splendid glory be always to the Mazda worshipping religion, the teaching of the wise ahuras ahûra-tkaæšö.

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April 30^th marks the beginning of the Zoroastrian “mid-spring” festival. The mid-spring festival lasts 5 days and culminates on May 4^th. Maiδyö.zarəm literally means “middle of greenery and flowers,” and refers to the “bright golden green color of spring flowers and vegetation.” Compare Avestan zarəm.iia with Russian zelënyj “green.”

The word for SPRING in Avesta is however vanri, a cognate of Latin vēr and Old Church Slavonic vesna.

Maiδyö.zarəm is one of the 6 major thanks giving holidays of Zoroastrianism, along with Hamaß.paθ.maiδ.iia “Vernal EQUINOX” or the moment when the center/middle position maiδ.iia of the Sun and the celestial points/paths paθ are at the same hamaß or equal distance from each other; Maiδyö.šam “mid-summer;” and Maiδ.yaar “mid-year,” dating to the times that count of years were by winters.

Four of the thanksgiving holidays celebrate equinoxes and solstices, and the 2 others honor bountiful harvest, animal welfare and stewardship.

Maiδyö.zarem lies halfway between vernal equinox and summer solstice, and is the festival of the pure essence/nectar of flowers and plants. The Avestan epithet of maiδyö.zarem is paiian meaning “milk, syrup, nectar,” a cognate of Lithuanian pienas “milk” Greek pion “fat, cream.”

During the mid-spring holiday rituals using the symbolic use of fire and bright flowers are performed to encourage growth, the abundance of milk and dairy products, and protect the cattle, crops and people from harm and negative energies.

Doorways, windows, equipment for milking, butter making and cattle themselves are decorated with bright flowers to evoke fire and youthfulness.

Like all other Zoroastrian rituals, bonfires are kindled, and their flames, smoke and ashes are used in sacred rituals. Family hearths and sacred flames are re-lit from the bonfires. When the bonfire has died down, the ashes from it are thrown in the fields for increased energy, renewed vitality, and assuring future bountiful harvest.

No Indo European poet is more keenly alive to the praises of all that is sublime and beautiful in nature more than the Aryan seer/prophet Zarathustra.

Zoroastrian worship is closely connected to the celebration of the joyous things in life and the sacredness of pristine nature.

Central to the Zoroastrian belief is the assertion that each aspect of the material universe is a symbol of one of the Immortals. Thus the invocation invoked to each of the Brilliant Immortals is addressed to the material representation of the same Immortal in the material universe.

Zoroastrian faith has really no sacred icons, idols or any congregational worship. Instead worshippers, pay homage to lofty mountains, sacred springs, trees, holy waters, wind, hearth fire, celestial lights, stars, sun, moon and morning dawn.

Thus, the sacred poetry of the ancient Aryan poet-prophet as well as the Zoroastrian ritual worship, suggest a kind of poetical pantheism, and sees Godhood in all that is sublime and beautiful in pristine nature.

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The second song/hymn of the poetic gathas start with the words ḵšma.ibiiá géuš ûrvá gereždá “To You (the Multiplicity of Immortals,) the soul of the primeval cow géuš ûrvá (personification of all animal life,) lamented/grieved gereždá.

The “primeval cow” géuš of Zoroastrianism as proto type/progenitor of all animal life is almost identical to the primordial cow called Auðumbla in the Norse ancient sagas.

The second gathic song/hymn is called ḵšma.ibiia as it narrates the lament of the animal soul to the Sacred Immortals. The poem starts with ḵšmá, and ends with the word yüšmá both referring to “YOU in PLURA,” addressing the manifold nature of Godhood.

The Persian word shomá comes from the Avestan ḵšmá and goes back to reconstructed Proto Indo European *sué. German has a similar formal expression for “You in Plural” Sie.

The religious poetry of the sacred songs/gathas reveal a multiplicity of ahûrás (cognate with the Norse æsir.) however, with a clear recognition that ultimately the many Immortals are ONE in Mazdá the “supreme god of “mind power, imagination and inspiring creativity.”

Mazdá and the Primordial Greek Musues “inspiration for music, sciences and the arts” have the same linguistic derivation/root, and convey almost the same idea.

In the poetic gathas, Mazdá and his ahûrás who embody “imagination, inspiring creativity, discovery, new horizons, and overcoming of adversity,” are continuously in struggle with añgrö, “the lord of defects” and his host of diabolic demons, (See Yasna 45.2.)

The “blemish giver” añgrö comes from a root that means “rigidity, stagnation and rot.” This festering/putrefaction of the “spirit, mind power” is the anti God in Zoroastrianism. While the “passion, fire, vigor, energy of mind/consciousness” is Godhood.

In the second gathic hymn, géuš tashan the “artisan of the Immortals, the fashioner/sculptor of life” inquires of ašá/arthá the will, spirit/mind power mainiiuu, which strives to EXCEL and introduce “order, superb artistry” into cosmos, concerning a champion/proponent for the spirit of animals.

Avestan taša/tashan “to fashion, shape, form” is a cognate of ancient Greek *tétk̑ōn, Greek τέκτων téktōn, Vedic tákṣan (See Didier Calin) and Germanic Þahsuz/thahsuz, all going back to reconstructed Proto Indo European *teḱs “to weave, compose, fashion, form.”

Mazdá the supreme god of “mind power, imagination and inspiring creativity” declares that the ails of animal life on earth can only be healed through an inspired seer who communicates the wisdom/speech of vôhû man, See Yasna (29.7.)

Vôhû Man is “goodness, full energy, brightness of consciousness, mind, spirit,” and is the realm/home of the ahûrás, (See Yasna 39.3 and Yasna 44.9.)

In Zoroastrianism, the Immortals are “innately good, luminous and are only givers of good things.” The very “mind, spirit, disposition” manö of Godhood is “goodness, genius and luminous vision.”

This “goodness, full energy and brightness of the spirit/mind” is denoted with the words vôhü, vaŋhuu and vaŋhéuš (Proto Indo European *wesu-) in the poetic gathas.

In the Vedas, vásu-pati “lord of good things” is an attribute of the gods, occurring some 15 times in the Rig Veda. In the Rig Veda, there is also a class of deities, known as the Vasus (Vásavah,) the Good/Bright Ones. The Germanic Visigoths the “Good Goths,” also known as Alanic Goths derive their name from this same ancient root.

In Zoroastrianism, Godhood is the brilliant force that overcomes adversity, and always fashions/sculpts a more splendid creation. Godhood NEVER sanctions animal sacrifice/cruelty, plagues and misfortune. Instead Godhood is odyssey of consciousness/mind-power, and the “superior wisdom” to overcome afflictions and limitations.

No ancient Indo European poet is more keenly alive to the joyous things in life: the praises of youth and vigorous energy, of prosperity and good fortune, and of all that is sublime, noble, pure and beautiful in nature, than the seer/prophet Zarathustra.

In the second gathic song, the Mazda Worshipping faith is declared to be the defender, and loving steward of animals. Zarathustra is said to be the seer/prophet of the brilliant disposition/wisdom vôhü man.aŋhá of the Immortals. Vôhü Man.aŋhá is the very spirit/will to enhance life, and joyously celebrate growth, health, vigor and vitality.

This unequivocal rejection of all animal sacrifice, and absolute assertion of animal rights as well as animal stewardship in the poetic gathas, sets the teachings of the ancient Aryan prophet apart from almost all other ancient pagan Indo European beliefs.

To bless” in English means “to consecrate with blood,” for it comes from Old English blēdsian, blōd “blood = consecrate with blood,” See Didier Calin.)

However, the concept of any blood consecration is utterly rejected by the ancient poet/prophet of the Aryans, and is deemed as a vile offering, demanded by, and only fit for diabolic demons.

In Zoroastrianism, the will to enhance life, virtue, wisdom, and stewardship of animals/nature are the only acceptable offering to the Immortals. Animal welfare, and protection of the purity of nature/elements are fundamental principles in the noble faith of Zarathustra.

The later extensive animal welfare laws in Zoroastrianism are diluted versions of the laws introduced by the seer/prophet himself. Although, faint hint to animal sacrifice can be found in only 1 place in younger Avesta, and in 1 or 2 passages in holy Denkart, yet later Zoroastrianism has by far entirely discarded animal sacrifice, and has replaced it with cutting open of fruit offerings during the sacred rituals.

In Zoroastrianism, creation is to be cherished for its own sake, and animals are to be protected for their own sake. Zoroastrianism is certainly NOT anthropocentric, but centered on virtue, wisdom, goodness and will to become godlike through enhancing life.

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The ancient Iranian system of government can be understood under the term Érán–shahr. The word ērān is derived from middle Iranian ehrih “honor, nobility, German Ehre.” It goes back to Avestan airya “noble.” The term for “state, realm, dominion” in middle Iranian is shahr. The term airya daiŋhvö “lands, realms, kingdoms of the Aryans” is repeatedly mentioned in the Avestan hymns.

Érán is attested in the title of Ardeshir I, founder of the Sassanid dynasty on his investiture relief at Naqš-e Rostam. Ardeshir is called in Middle Iranian šāhān šāh ērān, and in Parthian šāhān šāh aryān “King of kings of the Noble Ones/the Aryans.”

The great trilingual inscription of Shāpūr I at the Kaʿba-ye Zartôšt in the Pars Province, contains the term Érán–shahr (Parthian Aryānšahr.)

The king declares in middle Iranian Ērān.shahr xwadāy hēm, Parthian Áryānšahr xwadāy ahēm, Greek egō . . tou Arianōn ethnous despotēs eimi “I am the god-ruler of the realm of the Aryans.”

Érán–shahr properly denoted the “realm, dominion, country, nation state” of the ancient Iranians, and goes back to the Avestan airyanām.

Shāpūr refers to his son Naresh as: ēr māzdēsn Narseh, šāh Hind, Sagestān, Parthian ary māzdēzn Narseh, “the Aryan, Mazda-worshipping Narseh, king of (northern) India, and the Scythians.”

Other Sassanid rulers from Ardeshir I onwards called themselves “the Noble/Aryan Mazda-worshipping king of kings of the Aryans érán/airán and the Non-Aryans an-érán/an-airán.”

The towering mountain fortress of the Iranian Plateau and the vast steppes of Central Asia were designated as the realm/lands of the Indo Iranians or ancient Aryans.

Other ethnic groups were limited to their respective homelands within the ancient Persian Empire, free to worship, and practice their laws and customs under the Mazda worshipping rule of the Éráns.

The ancient Iranians, as Indo-Europeans, never forced “Ahûrá Mazdá and his brilliant Immortals” on the alien tribes and peoples of their vast Empire.

In holy Denkart 7, the same distinction is made between érán/airán and an-érán. However, it shall be stressed that each ethnic group was considered EQUAL on its own merit in the ancient Persian Empire, and in the Zoroastrian texts.

Diversity in the ancient Persian Empire meant favoring cultural identity of each individual ethnic group within their vast Empire, but with strict boundaries existing between themselves and other alien nations/groups.

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WELKIN “clouds, heaven, abode of the Gods” is an old English word that brings to mind a quote from Shakespeare’s King John Act 5, Scene 5: “The sun of heaven, methought, was loath to set / But stay’d and made the western welkin blush.”

The word welkin has been used in English since at least the 12th century, and it derives from Proto Indo European *welk, *welg “wet, moist.” The German word wolke “CLOUD” comes from the same root.

This brings to mind the primal Greek God personifying “sky/heaven,” Uranus Ouranós. The sky god Uranus comes from *vorsanós “rain-maker,” and belongs with Vedic varṣá, Avestan varəš “to rain,” deriving from Reconstructed Proto Indo European root *ṷérs “to rain, moisten.”

Middle Iranian várûn Persian bárán “rain” are cognates, and go back to the same ancient Indo European root.

The great scholar George Dumézil has considered Ouranós to be the same as Váruṇa the chief god/asura of the Vedic pantheon. Váruṇa is the god embodying “vault of the sky, celestial oceans and rain water.”

Dumézil’s equation of Ouranós with Váruṇa has since been deemed as incorrect. Váruṇa is currently linked with the root *ver “to speak” (Latin verbum “word.”) Váruṇa is the “master of the sacred word, formulas, and rules/laws of the cosmic order.”

Váruṇa is noted for being “all seeing,” and has been brought into connection with the ancient Lithuanian Vélinas, Latvian Velns, the Gaulish Vellaunos, and Hittite Walis, all the latter supposedly deriving from the root *wel “to see.”

The *wel root also comes in connection with the German prophetess Veleda, where it refers to vatic “seeing.”

The passage in the poetic gathas dealing with the “eye that sees all, knows all” is the first rhymed verse line of Yasna 33.13. The gathic term is vôuruu čašánæ. In the Rig Veda, Váruṇa is called uru–cákśas-, 1. 25. 5.

Avestan vôuruu comes from the root *ver/*wer (*vérhus) “vast, wide, limitless, all encompassing.” It is believed that the *wel root is unknown to Indo-Iranian.

Vôuruu–čašánæ is an epithet of Ahûrá Mazdá. For the Mindful lord witnesses everything, watchful, and intent, with his eye’s beam (Yasna 31. 13,) he is not deceived, the ahûrá who sees all’ (Yasna 45. 4.) In the poetic Avestan hymns, the sun is called the eye of Ahûrá Mazdá.

At the same time, in the Avesta, Mithra “friendship with the Immortals,” is said to have ten thousand ears and ten thousand eyes, he is all knowing and cannot be deceived.

In the gathic poetry and the sacred Zoroastrian literature, Godhood is the eternal quest for excellence, and heaven is where there are new horizons, and visionary power.

There is perhaps a Germanic parallel in the Hildebrandslied, where Hiltibrant begins a speech with the words wettu Irmingot obana ab heuene. This corresponds to the position of Odin in the Eddas. Odin has the highest seat among the gods, and from it he surveys all the worlds the sense would be ‘let Irmingot know it from above in heaven. (Irmingot is an epithet of Odin, and is equivalent with Gathic/Avestan Airyaman)

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In the runic alphabet of the ancient Germanic tribes of Northern Europe there is a rune called *þurisaz/thurisaz “frost giant.”

Thurisaz is a protective rune that is depicted as the hammer of THOR. The rune symbolizes “striking powerful blows, delivering heavy defeat” against the “frost giants/anti-Gods, monsters, and demons of chaos and freezing cold.”

All mythologies have their anti-Gods. In the Zoroastrian and Germanic lore, Anti Gods/devils are frost monsters representing “bleakness, freezing cold, and lack of energy/intensity of passion.”

While in most religious traditions Hell is a “fiery abyss,” in the Zoroastrian faith, hell is a “frozen, nauseating wasteland, devoid of life-force/energy.”

Thurisaz “frost giants” of the Germanic lore come from the Old Norse þurs Old English þyrs: Gothic Þaúrnus Old High German durs, Old English þorn “thorn” (See Didier Calin.)

Thurisaz *þurisaz thus means something like “thorny, injurious, sore.” The ancient Indo Iranian term for “spikey/green leaves, grass, thorny bushes,” like Khotian Punjabi tarra is a cognate. Likewise, Finnish tarna “sedge, grass” is a borrowing from the early Indo Iranian.

On the symbolism of THORNS, we read in the Zoroastrian sacred texts that: “On nature of plants it says in daæná (Luminous spiritual vision,) that before the coming of the evil spirit, vegetation had no thorn about it; and, afterwards, when the lord of all flaws enetered, it became covered with thorns.”

The term used for “thorn” in the Zoroastrian text is Xár literally “sore,” referring to “ache, injury and poisonous conditions.”

Concerning FREEZING COLD/WINTER, we read in the first chapter of the Avestan book of “laws/formulas against diabolic forces/demons” vî-dæv-dátá:

“The first of the good lands and countries that I, Ahûrá Mazdá created, was the Airyana Vaæja “Cradle of the Airyá, the Noble Ones” by the Vaηûhi Daitya “the good, bountiful” river.

Thereupon came angra mainyu “evil, decayed spirit/mind” who is “pôuruu-mahrkö” full of death,” and he counter-created the serpent in the river and zyãm “WINTER,” a formation of the demon-gods daævö-dátem.

Ten are the winter months in Airyana Vaæja, two the summer months, and in winter there the waters are freezing, the earth is freezing, and the plants are freezing.”

Airyana Vaæja “cradle of the Noble Ones,” is the holy land of Zoroastrianism. It is the birthplace of the ancient poet/prophet Zarathustra, and the original homeland of proto Indo Europeans.

In the ancient Avestan texts the theme of the “final battle and splendid renewal of the worlds” is an integral component, a subject that is distinctively and uniquely shared with the ancient Norse Scandinavia.

The motif of the severe cosmic winter, as immediate prelude to the “titanic final battle” in Zoroastrianism, and Yima’s underground var, the underground shelter in Airyana Vaæja where the pristine seeds of all the living will be safeguarded, also can closely be compared with the Norse fimbulvetr/fimbulwinter.

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