Information about Yazata

Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept. The word has a wide range of meaning but generally signifies (or is an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship."

Etymology

Yazata- is the stem form of a noun that in Avestan has the inflected nominative forms yazatō, pl. yazatåŋhō. These forms reflect Proto-Iranian *yazatah and pl. *yazatāhah. In Middle Persian the term became yazad or yazd, pl. yazdān, continuing in New Persian as izad.

Yazata- is originally an adjective derived from the verbal root yaz- "to worship, to honor, to venerate". From the same root comes Avestan yasna "worship, sacrifice, prayer". A yazata is accordingly "a being worthy of worship" or "a holy being".

Related terms in other languages are Sanskrit yájati "he worships, he sacrifices", yajatá- "worthy of worship, holy", yajñá "sacrifice", and Greek ἅγιος hagios "devoted to the gods, sacred, holy".

In scripture

The term yazata is alread used in the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and believed to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. In these hymns, yazata is used as a generic, applied to God as well as to the "divine sparks," that in later tradition are the Amesha Spentas. In the Gathas, the yazatas are effectively what the daevas are not, that is, the yazatas are to be worshipped while the daevas are to be rejected. The Gathas also collectively invoke the yazatas without providing a clue as to which entities are being invoked, and - given the structure and language of the hymns - it is generally not possible to determine whether these yazatas are abstract concepts or are manifest entities.

In the Younger Avesta, the yazatas are unambiguously entities, with divine powers but performing mundane tasks such as serving as charioteers for other divinities. Other divinites are described with anthropomorphic attributes, such as cradling a mace or bearing a crown upon their heads, or not letting sleep interrupt their vigil against the demons.

At some point during the late 5th or early 4th century BCE, the Achaemenids instituted a religious calendar in which each day of the month and month of the year was named after, and placed under the protection of, a particular yatata. These day-name and month-name dedications were not only of religious significance because they ensured that those divinities remained in the public consciousness, they also established a hierarchy among the yazatas, with specific exalted entities having key positions in the day-name dedications (see Zoroastrian calendar for details).

In tradition

The 9th - 12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition observe the yazatas (by then as Middle Persian yazads) in much the same way as the hymns of the Younger Avesta. In addition, in roles that are only alluded to in scripture, they assume characteristics of cosmological or eschatological consequence.

So for instance, Aredvi Sura Anahita (Ardvisur Nahid) is both a divinity of the waters as well as a rushing world river that encircles the earth but that is blocked up by Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) to cause drought. The blockage is removed by Verethragna (Vahram), and Tishtrya (Tir) gathers up the waters and spreads them over the earth (Zam) as rain. In stories with eschatological significance, Sraosha (Sarosh), Mithra (Mihr) and Rashnu (Rashn) are guardians of the Chinvat bridge, the bridge of the separator, across which all souls must pass.

Further, what the calendrical dedications had begin, the tradition completed: At the top of the hierarchy was Ahura Mazda, who was supported by the great heptad of Amesha Spentas (Ameshaspands/Mahraspands), through which the Creator realized ("created with his thought") the manifest universe. The Amesha Spenta's in turn had hamkars "assistants" or "cooperators", each a caretaker of one facet of creation.

In both tradition and scripture, the terms 'Amesha Spenta' and 'yazata' are sometimes used interchangeably. In general however, 'Amesha Spenta' signifies the six great "divine sparks." In tradition, yazata is the 1st of the 101 epithets of Ahura Mazda. The word also came to be applied to Zoroaster, but Zoroastrians to this day remain sharply critical of any attempts to divinify the prophet.

In the present-day

In 1878, Martin Haug proposed a new interpretation of scripture that allowed the yazatas to be compared to the angels of Christianity. This in turn provided the Zoroastrians of India (the Parsis) with a defence against Christian missionaries who were attempting to gain converts among the relatively wealthy and well-educated Zoroastrian community. One of the points of criticism raised by the missionaries was the - as they saw it - polytheism inherent to Zoroastrianism, while the Parsi community - until Haug's interpretation - had trouble defending themselves.

Haug's theories were subsequently disseminated as Parsi ones, which then eventually reached the west where they were seen to corroborate Haug. Today, these theories are so well entrenched that they are almost universally accepted as doctrine. In this scheme, the Amesha Spentas are the arch-angel retinue of God, each supported by host of lesser angels.

The best known of the yazatas is Mithra, a figure that predates Zoroastrianism, but in Zoroastrianism is one of the three hamkars of Ahura Mazda Himself.

References

Further reading

• id="CITEREFPeterson">Peterson, Joseph H. (June 04, 2003), Angels in Zoroastrianism, Herndon: avesta.org, <[1]
  Daeva (daēuua, daāua, daēva) is the Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics.
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  Writing system: Avestan alphabet
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  Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). Mazdaism is the religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of
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  Writing system: Avestan alphabet
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  Yasna (Avestan: 'oblation' or 'worship') is the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts of the Avesta as well as the name of the principal Zoroastrian act of worship at which those verses are recited.
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  The Gathas (Gāθās) are 17 hymns believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. They are the most sacred texts of the Zoroastrian faith.
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  Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). Mazdaism is the religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of
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  Zoroaster (Greek Ζωροάστρης, Zōroastrēs) or Zarathustra (Avestan: Zaraθuštra), also referred to as Zartosht (Persian:
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  Amesha Spenta (Aməša Spənta) is an Avestan language term for a class of divinity/divine concepts in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous Immortal".
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  Daeva (daēuua, daāua, daēva) is the Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics.
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  The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The texts originate over a period spanning most of the 1st millennium BC, and notably include the Old Avestan
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  Achaemenid Empire (Persian: هخامنشیان IPA: [haχɒmaneʃijɒn]) (559 BC–330 BC), or
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  Zoroastrian calendar is a religious calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith, and it is an approximation of the (tropical) solar calendar. To this day, Zoroastrians, irrespective of geographic location, adhere to (variations of) this calendar for religious purposes.
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  Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE) became a
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  "Anahita" is also a genus of the wandering spider Ctenidae

  Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā
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  Angra Mainyu (alt: Aŋra Mainiuu) is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the satanic "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.
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  Vahrām or Bahrām (modern Persian, var: Behrām; middle Persian: Warahran) is the Zoroastrian concept of "victory over resistance" and, as the hypostasis of victory, is one of the principal figures in the Zoroastrian pantheon of
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  Tishtrya (Tištrya) is the Avestan language name of an Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. Tishtrya is Tir in Middle- and Modern Persian.
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  Sraosha is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian divinity of "Obedience" or "Observance", which is also the literal meaning of his name.
  
  In the Middle Persian commentaries of the 9th-12th centuries, the divinity appears as Srosh.
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  This article is about the Zoroastrian yazata Mithra (Miθra). For other divinities with related names, see the general article Mitra.

  
  
  Mithra (Avestan Miθra, modern Persian مهر Mihr, Mehr
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  Rashnu is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian yazata of justice. Together with Mithra and Sraosha, Rashnu is one of the three judges who pass judgment on the souls of people after death. Rashnu's standard appellation is "the very straight.
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  The Chinvat bridge or Chinvat peretum is Zoroastrianism's "bridge of judgement" that all souls of the dead must cross.
  
  According to tradition, the width of the bridge varies according to the righteousness (Asha) of the person.
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  Ahura Mazda (Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator, hence God.
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  Amesha Spenta (Aməša Spənta) is an Avestan language term for a class of divinity/divine concepts in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous Immortal".
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