"be feasted upon by birds of prey, because the burial or burning of the corpses would cause water and soil to become dirty, which is forbidden in the ancient religion. The burial traditions in historical periods are known through archaeological evidence and sacred texts like the Zoroastrians’ Avesta as well as Pahlavi texts. With the recognition of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran, body burial was strictly prohibited and the only way to eliminate the corpses was to place the deceased in rows so their bodies would be feasted upon by birds of prey.In a Zoroastrian religious text, which is a"
"Zoroastrianism and sexual orientation Homosexuality in Zoroastrianism is, as in many other religions, a controversial topic. The most sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism is called the Avesta. The oldest portion of the Avesta are the writings of Zarathustra himself and called the Gathas. Traditionalist Zoroastrians argue that the Vendidad, one of the books of the Avesta, is an inherent part of Zoroastrian oral tradition even if it was compiled far later than other parts of the Avesta. This passage has been interpreted to mean that homosexuality is a form of demon worship, and thus sinful. Ancient commentary on this passage suggests"
"of the world`s oldest religions Zoroastrianism was also practiced in the territory of Azerbaijan in ancient times. Zoroastrianism, sharing its name with its founder Iranian prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra), was the first monotheistic belief in the world and the official religion in Persia from 600 BCE to 650 CE. Zoroastrians believed that a god called Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) created the universe. Sacred book of Zoroastrianism Avesta consists of two main sections: the oldest section contains the Gathas including seventeen hymns and the younger Avesta containing commentaries to the older one. It also includes myths, stories and details"
"texts. Among those texts is the ""Bundahishn"", which has ""Zand-Agahih"" (""Knowledge from the ""Zand"""") as its subtitle and is crucial to the understanding of Zoroastrian cosmogony and eschatology. Another text, the ""Wizidagiha"", ""Selections (from the Zand)"", by the 9th century priest Zadspram, is a key text for understanding Sassanid-era Zoroastrian orthodoxy. The Denkard, a 9th or 10th century text, includes extensive summaries and quotations of ""zand"" texts. The priests' practice of including commentaries alongside the text being commented upon led to two different misunderstandings in 18th/19th century western scholarship: Propagated by N. L. Westergaard's ""Zendavesta, or the religious books of"
"""Yasht""s, almost all surviving Avestan texts have their Middle Persian ""zand"", which in some manuscripts appear alongside (or interleaved with) the text being glossed. These glosses and commentaries were not intended for use as theological texts by themselves but for religious instruction of the (by then) non-Avestan-speaking public. In contrast, the Avestan language texts remained sacrosanct and continued to be recited in the Avestan language, which was considered a sacred language. The corpus of medieval texts of Zoroastrian tradition include around 75 works, of which only a few are well known: A manuscript known as the ""miscellaneous codex"" or ""MK"""
"Avesta The Avesta is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the otherwise unrecorded Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the liturgical group is the ""Yasna"", which takes its name from the Yasna ceremony, Zoroastrianism's primary act of worship, and at which the ""Yasna"" text is recited. The most important portion of the ""Yasna"" texts are the five Gathas, consisting of seventeen hymns attributed to Zoroaster himself. These hymns, together with five other short Old Avestan texts that are also part of"
"which once served as the basis for a speculation that only one quarter of the texts had survived. In the 20th century it was determined that the Denkard's divisions also took Sassanid-era translations and commentaries into account; these were however not considered to be a part of the Avesta. Book 8 also includes several, today mostly discredited, legends related to the ""history"" of the texts. Book 9 is a commentary on the gathic prayers of ""Yasna"" 27 and ""Yasna"" 54. Together, these make up Zoroastrianism's four most sacred invocations: the ""ahuna vairya"" (Y 27.13), the ""Ashem Vohu"" (Y 27.14), the"
"important for its views on death, salvation and life in the hereafter. Of the post-14th century works (all in New Persian), only the ""Sad-dar"" (""Hundred Doors, or Chapters""), and ""rivayat""s (traditional treatises) are of doctrinal importance. Other texts such as ""Zartushtnamah"" (""Book of Zoroaster"") are only notable for their preservation of legend and folklore. The ""Aogemadaeca"" ""we accept,"" a treatise on death is based on quotations from the Avesta. Avesta The Avesta is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the otherwise unrecorded Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect,"
"of everything that can and cannot be seen, the Eternal, the Pure and the only Truth. In the Gathas, the most sacred texts of Zoroastrianism thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, the prophet acknowledged devotion to no other divinity besides Ahura Mazda. ""Daena"" (""din"" in modern Persian) is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the ""Mathra-Spenta"" (""Holy Words""). ""Daena"" has been used to mean religion, faith, law, and even as a translation for the Hindu and Buddhist term Dharma, to which it is related. The latter is often interpreted as ""duty"" but can also"
"lower right corner. The prophet is holding a star-studded globe. Zoroaster Zoroaster (, ; ""Zōroastrēs""), (Persian: زرتشت pronounced as Zartusht) also known as Zarathustra (, ; ""Zaraθuštra""), Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra, was an ancient Persian prophet, spiritual leader and ethical philosopher who taught a spiritual philosophy of self-realization and realization of the Divine. His teachings challenged the existing traditions of the Indo-Iranian religion and later developed into the religion of Mazdayasna or Zoroastrianism. He inaugurated a movement that eventually became the dominant religion in Ancient Persia. He was a native speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern"
"Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism, or Mazdayasna, is one of the world's oldest religions that remains active. It is a monotheistic faith (i.e. a single creator god), centered in a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate destruction of evil. Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra), it exalts a deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda (""Wise Lord""), as its Supreme Being. Major features of Zoroastrianism, such as messianism, judgment after death, heaven and hell, and free will have influenced other religious systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. With"
"(i.e. reiteration of passages in works of other authors) is a complete Coptic tractate titled ""Zostrianos"" (after the first-person narrator) discovered in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945. A three-line cryptogram in the colophones following the 131-page treatise identify the work as ""words of truth of Zostrianos. God of Truth [""logos""]. Words of Zoroaster."" Invoking a ""God of Truth"" might seem Zoroastrian, but there is otherwise ""nothing noticeably Zoroastrian"" about the text and ""in content, style, ethos and intention, its affinities are entirely with the congeners among the Gnostic tractates."" Another work circulating under the name of ""Zoroaster"" was the"
"as ""Fragments Tahmuras""; and the ""Hadokht Nask"" ""volume of the scriptures"" with two fragments of eschatological significance. Only texts preserved in the Avestan language count as scripture and are part of the Avesta. Several other secondary works are nonetheless crucial to Zoroastrian theology and scholarship. The most notable among the Middle Persian texts are the ""Dēnkard"" (""Acts of Religion""), dating from the ninth century; the ""Bundahishn"" (""Primordial Creation""), finished in the eleventh or twelfth century, but containing older material; the ""Mainog-i-Khirad"" (""Spirit of Wisdom""), a religious conference on questions of faith; and the ""Book of Arda Viraf"", which is especially"
"in Iraqi Kurdistan. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânism is still practised amongst Kurds. The most important texts of the religion are those of the ""Avesta"", which includes the writings of Zoroaster known as the Gathas, enigmatic poems that define the religion's precepts, and the Yasna, the scripture. The full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is: Ahura, The Lord Creator, and Mazda, Supremely Wise. The religious philosophy of Zoroaster divided the early Iranian gods of Proto-Indo-Iranian tradition, but focused on responsibility, and did not create a devil per se. Zoroaster proclaimed that there is only"
"Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible, also called the Tanakh (; , or ; also ""Tenakh"", ""Tenak"", ""Tanach"") or Mikra, is the canonical collection of Jewish texts, which is also the textual source for the Christian Old Testament. These texts are composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in Biblical Aramaic (in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few others). The form of this text that is authoritative for Rabbinic Judaism is known as the Masoretic Text (MT), and is divided into 24 books, while the Protestant Bible translations divide the same material into 39 books. Modern scholars seeking"
"Ginza Rba The Ginza Rba or Ginza Rabba (Mandaean script-Mandaean '; literally ""The Great Treasury"") or Siddra Rabba, ""The Great Book"" (""""rabba"""", meaning great), and formerly, the Codex Nazaraeus, is the longest of the many holy scriptures of the Mandaean religion. It is also occasionally referred to as The Book of Adam. The language used is classical Mandaic, a dialect of Eastern Aramaic written in Mandaic script (Parthian chancellory script), similar to Syriac script. The authorship is unknown, and dating is a matter of debate. Some scholars place it in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, while others such as S. F."
"hell to be shown the sufferings of the wicked. Having completed his visionary journey, Wīrāz is told by Ahura Mazda that the Zoroastrian faith is the only proper and true way of life and that it should be preserved in both prosperity and adversity. Book of Arda Viraf The ""Book of Ardā Wīrāz"" (Middle Persian ""Ardā Wīrāz nāmag"", , sometimes called the ""Arda Wiraf"") is a Zoroastrian religious text of the Sasanian era written in Middle Persian. It contains about 8,800 words. It describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the Wīrāz of the story) through the next world. The"
"Zoroaster Zoroaster (, ; ""Zōroastrēs""), (Persian: زرتشت pronounced as Zartusht) also known as Zarathustra (, ; ""Zaraθuštra""), Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra, was an ancient Persian prophet, spiritual leader and ethical philosopher who taught a spiritual philosophy of self-realization and realization of the Divine. His teachings challenged the existing traditions of the Indo-Iranian religion and later developed into the religion of Mazdayasna or Zoroastrianism. He inaugurated a movement that eventually became the dominant religion in Ancient Persia. He was a native speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian Plateau, but his exact birthplace is"
"The Book of Mysteries The Book of Mysteries (also known as the Book of Secrets) is an ancient Essene text found in fragmentary form among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scroll fragments are given the alphanumeric designations of 1Q27 and 4Q299-301. ""The Book of Mysteries"" is closely related to another unnamed wisdom book found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, variously called ""The Secret of the Way Things Are"" or the ""Sapiential Work"". In both texts, the term ""raz"" occurs frequently. ""Raz"" means ""mystery"" or ""secret"", and is defined as a type of wisdom or knowledge that is known by God"
"religions as it was founded 3500 years ago. It was also one of the most powerful religions in the world for about 1000 years. Now, however, it is considered one of the smallest religions with only 190,000 followers worldwide. There are two deities: Azhura Mazda, who fights for a person’s goodness, and Ahriman, who fights for a person’s evil. It is ultimately up to the individual to decide which deity they will follow. Zoroastreans follow the Avesta which is their primary sacred text. According to a 2012 WIN-Gallup International ‘Religiosity and Atheism Index’, atheists are a small minority in the"
"Zohar The Zohar (, lit. ""Splendor"" or ""Radiance"") is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology. The Zohar contains discussions of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of Ego to Darkness and ""true self"" to ""The Light of God"", and the relationship between the ""universal energy"" and man."
"Zand-i Wahman yasn The Zand-i Wahman Yasn is a medieval Zoroastrian apocalyptical text in Middle Persian. It professes to be a prophetical work, in which Ahura Mazda gives Zoroaster an account of what was to happen to the ""behdin"" (those of the ""good religion"", i.e. the Zoroastrians) and their religion in the future. The oldest surviving manuscript (K20, in Copenhagen) is from about 1400, but the text itself is older, written and edited over the course of several generations. The work is also known as the ""Bahman Yasht"" and ""Zand-i wahman yasht"". These titles are scholastic mistakes, in the former"
"Book of Arda Viraf The ""Book of Ardā Wīrāz"" (Middle Persian ""Ardā Wīrāz nāmag"", , sometimes called the ""Arda Wiraf"") is a Zoroastrian religious text of the Sasanian era written in Middle Persian. It contains about 8,800 words. It describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the Wīrāz of the story) through the next world. The text assumed its definitive form in the 9th-10th centuries after a long series of emendations. The full title is ""Ardā Wīrāz nāmag"", ""Book of the Just Wīrāz"". Due to the ambiguity inherent to Pahlavi scripts, ""Wīrāz"", the name of the protagonist, may also be"
"Living Water Books (2011) Sydney, Australia. Under the official auspices of the Mandaean spiritual leadership, Dr. Qais Al-Saadi and Hamed Al-Saadi made an equivalent English translation of the Ginza ""Ginza Rabba, The Great Treasure"", published by Drabsha, Germany, 2012. Ginza Rba The Ginza Rba or Ginza Rabba (Mandaean script-Mandaean '; literally ""The Great Treasury"") or Siddra Rabba, ""The Great Book"" (""""rabba"""", meaning great), and formerly, the Codex Nazaraeus, is the longest of the many holy scriptures of the Mandaean religion. It is also occasionally referred to as The Book of Adam. The language used is classical Mandaic, a dialect of"
"Kushti Kushti ( also: Kusti, Koshti) is the sacred girdle worn by Zoroastrians around their waists. Along with the ""Sedreh"", the ""Kushti"" is part of the ritual dress of the Zoroastrians. The ""Kushti"" is worn wound three times around the waist. It is tied twice in a double knot in the front and back, the ends of the ""Kushti"" hanging on the back. The ""Kushti"" is made of 72 fine, white and woolen threads, which represent the 72 chapters of the ""Yasna"", the primary liturgical collection of texts of the ""Avesta"". The ritual of untying and tying the ""Kushti"" is"
"other general. The following categorization is as described by Jean Kellens (see bibliography, below). The ""Yasna"" (from ""yazišn"" ""worship, oblations"", cognate with Sanskrit ""yajña""), is the primary liturgical collection, named after the ceremony at which it is recited. It consists of 72 sections called the ""Ha-iti"" or ""Ha"". The 72 threads of lamb's wool in the ""Kushti"", the sacred thread worn by Zoroastrians, represent these sections. The central portion of the Yasna is the ""Gathas"", the oldest and most sacred portion of the Avesta, believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. The ""Gathas"" are structurally interrupted by the"
"""yasna"" ceremony, without extensions, takes about two hours when it is recited by an experienced priest. The ""Yasna"" texts constitute 72 chapters altogether, composed at different times and by different authors. The middle chapters include of the (linguistically) oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon. These very ancient texts, in the very archaic and linguistically difficult Old Avestan language, include the four most sacred Zoroastrian prayers, and also 17 chapters comprising the five Gathas, hymns that are considered to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. Several sections of the ""Yasna"" include exegetical comments. ""Yasna"" chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated"
"too sacred to be disclosed to anyone other than the initiated. For example, the disciples of the Gnostic Prodicus boasted that they possessed the secret () books of Zoroaster. The term in general enjoyed high consideration among the Gnostics (see Acts of Thomas, pp. 10, 27, 44). Sinologist Anna Seidel refers to texts and even items produced by ancient Chinese sages as apocryphal and studied their uses during Six Dynasties China (A.D. 220 to 589). These artifacts were used as symbols legitimizing and guaranteeing the Emperor's Heavenly Mandate. Examples of these include talismans, charts, writs, tallies, and registers. The first"
"is Akal Purakh (which means ""the true immortal"") or Waheguru, the Primal Being. Zoroastrianism combines cosmogonic dualism and eschatological monotheism which makes it unique among the religions of the world. Zoroastrianism proclaims an evolution through time from dualism to monotheism. Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion, although Zoroastrianism is often regarded as dualistic, duotheistic or bitheistic, for its belief in the hypostatis of the ultimately good Ahura Mazda ""(creative spirit)"" and the ultimately evil Angra Mainyu ""(destructive spirit)"". Zorastrianism was once one of the largest religions on Earth, as the official religion of the Persian Empire. By some scholars, the Zoroastrians"
"Denkard The Dēnkard (Middle Persian pronunciation: [de:nˈkard]) or Dēnkart (Middle Persian: 𐭣𐭩𐭭𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭲 ""Acts of Religion"") is a 10th-century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs. The Denkard is to a great extent an ""Encyclopedia of Mazdaism"" and is a most valuable source of information on the religion. The ""Denkard"" is not itself considered scripture. The name traditionally given to the compendium reflects a phrase from the colophons, which speaks of the ""kart""/""kard"", from Avestan ""karda"" meaning ""acts"" (also in the sense of ""chapters""), and ""dēn"", from Avestan ""daena"", literally ""insight"" or ""revelation,"" but more commonly translated as ""religion."" Accordingly,"
"temple in Zoroastrianism is the place of worship for Zoroastrians. Zoroastrians revere fire in any form, and their temples contains eternal flame, with Atash Behram (Fire of Victory) is the highest grade of all, as it combined 16 different types of fire gathered in elaborate rituals. In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (Atar), together with clean water (Aban), are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white ""ash for the purification ceremonies is regarded as the basis of ritual life,"" which, ""are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple fire is that of the hearth fire"
"Fire temple A fire temple in Zoroastrianism is the place of worship for Zoroastrians, often called ""dar-e mehr"" (Persian) or ""agiyari"" (Gujarati). In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (see ""atar""), together with clean water (see ""aban""), are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white ""ash for the purification ceremonies [is] regarded as the basis of ritual life"", which ""are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple [fire] is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity"". For, one ""who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand ..., is given happiness"". , there"
"""Asteroskopita"" (or ""Apotelesmatika""), and which ran to five volumes (i.e. papyrus rolls). The title and fragments suggest that it was an astrological handbook, ""albeit a very varied one, for the making of predictions."" A third text attributed to Zoroaster is ""On Virtue of Stones"" (""Peri lithon timion""), of which nothing is known other than its extent (one volume) and that pseudo-Zoroaster ""sang"" it (from which Cumont and Bidez conclude that it was in verse). Numerous other fragments preserved in the works of other authors are attributed to ""Zoroaster,"" but the titles of those books are not mentioned. These pseudepigraphic texts"