Fravashi
Fravashi (
In the 9/10th-century works of Zoroastrian tradition, the
Etymology
The word fravashi is commonly perceived to have var- "to choose," as its root. From reconstructed *fravarti (/rt/ clusters in Avestan usually appear as /š/), fravashi could then mean "one who has been selected (for exaltation)." The same root, in the sense of "to choose/profess a faith," is found in the word fravarane, the name of the Zoroastrian credo.
Other interpretations take other meanings of var- into consideration: Either as var- "to cover" that in a bahuvrihi with fra- "to ward" provides "protective valor," or a derivation from var- "to make/be pregnant" which gives "promoter of birth, birth-spirit." One interpretation considers a derivation from vart- "turn" hence "turning away, departing, death." The Epistles of Zadspram, a 10th century exegetical work, derives fravashi from fra-vaxsh "to grow forth."[2]
In scripture
Like most other Zoroastrian yazatas, the fravashis are not mentioned in the Gathas. The earliest mention of them is in the Old Avestan Yasna Haptanghaiti (Y. 37) which includes an invocation of "the fravashis of the righteous" (ashavan). In chapter 57 of the Yasna, the fravashis are responsible for the course of the sun, moon, and stars (and will do so until the renovation of this world), and in nurturing waters and plants, and protecting the unborn in the womb.
The principal source of information on the fravashis is Yasht 13 (frawardin Yasht), the hymn that is addressed to them and in which they appear as beings who inhabit the stratosphere, and aid and protect those who worship them, and in which the fravashis are presented on the same level as the lesser yazatas.[3] Yasht 13 is one of the eight "great" yashts, and at 158 verses the longest text in the collection, and one of the better preserved ones as well.[4] It is also the second-most frequently recited Yasht (after Yasht 1 to Mazda).[4] Several different authors contributed to the hymn, and its literary quality is uneven; while some verses are rich in traditional poetic phrases, others are of dully imitative prose.[3] The frequently repeated kshnuman (formulaic invocation) of Yasht 13 is "We worship the good, strong, bounteous fravašis of the righteous (ashavan)."
Yasht 13 begins with a cosmogonical chapter in which the Creator
In 13.49-52, the hymn turns to the function of the fravashis in relation to the dead. There, the fravashis of the dead are said to return to their (former) homes during the last days of the year (Hamaspathmaedaya,
According to Mary Boyce, the perplexing anomalies of Yasht 13 are residual traces of fravashi cult, which she defines as a form of an ancestor worship and/or hero-cult that developed during (what she calls) the 'Iranian Heroic Age' (c. 1500 BCE onwards).[8]
In tradition
Although there is no physical description of a fravashi in the
In the Denkard's myth of Zoroaster's conception (Dk., 7.2.15-47), his frawahr is sent down from heaven within a unique hom-plant to be united on earth with his mortal body (tanu) and appointed glory (xwarrah).[9] In the Bundahishn's creation myth narrates a fable in which the fravashis are given a choice of either remaining protected with Ahura Mazda, or being born into mortals, suffering but also helping bring about the defeat of Angra Mainyu. The fravashis are shown the future before the creation of the getik material world. Ohrmazd's offer of security with inaction is rejected and the fravashi consent to enter the material world as active allies in the battle against evil (GBd. 34.12f).[10] In another cosmological myth (Zadspram 3.2-3), when Angra Mainyu breaks into the created world, the fravashis draw together on the rim of the sky to imprison him.[9] The Denkard, Shikand gumanic vichar, Menog i khrat, Zatspram, and several other works together include an extensive theological exegesis on the distinction between getik and menok (material and immaterial) aspects of creation, and between the fraward and urvan.[11]
In the hierarchy of the yazatas, the fravashis are the assistants of the Amesha Spenta Haurvatat (Middle Persian: Khordad) of "Wholeness", whose special domain are "the Waters" (Avestan Apo, Middle Persian: Aban).
In the day-name dedications of the Zoroastrian calendar, the fravashis preside over the 19th day of the month and the first month of the year, and both are named after the frawards. The intersection of the month-name and day-name dedications are the name-day feast of the frawards. This feast day of farvardin jashan is especially observed by Zoroastrians who have lost a relative in the preceding year. Additionally, the fourth watch (gah) of the twenty-four-hour day, from sunset to midnight, is under the protection of the frawards.
References
- Citations
- ^ Boyce 2001a, p. 195.
- ^ Bailey 1943, p. 109.
- ^ a b c d e Boyce 2001b, p. 200.
- ^ a b Boyce 2001b, p. 199.
- ^ Boyce 2001b, p. 201.
- ^ Boyce 2001a, p. 196.
- ^ Boyce 2001a, p. 197.
- ^ Boyce 2001a, pp. 195–198.
- ^ a b Boyce 2001b, p. 197.
- ^ Bailey 1943, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Bailey 1943, pp. 97–118.
- Works cited
- Bailey, Harold Walter (1943), Zoroastrian Problems in the Ninth-Century Books, Ratanbai Katrak Lectures, Oxford: Clarendon.
- Boyce, Mary (2001a), "Fravaši", Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 10, Costa Mesa: Mazda, pp. 195–199
- Boyce, Mary (2001b), "Frawardīn Yašt", Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 10, Costa Mesa: Mazda, pp. 199–201.
- Malandra, William (1971), The Fravaši Yašt, Ann Arbor: University Microfilms
- Narten, Joanna (1985), "Avestisch frauuaši", Indo-Iranian Journal, 28: 35–48,