Khvarenah
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Khvarenah (also spelled khwarenah or xwarra(h):
In 3rd- to 7th-century
Avestan khvarenah is probably
Of the numerous Iranian languages in which the word is attested, the initial xᵛ- is evident only as Avestan khvar(e)nah and as Zoroastrian Middle Persian khwarrah, from which New Persian khorra then derives. In other Iranian dialects the word has an f- form, for instance as Median and Old Persian farnah-, from which Middle- and New Persian farr(ah) and adjectival farrokh derive. For many decades, the f- form was believed to represent a specific Median sound-law change of proto-Iranian xᵛ- to f-. The hypothesis has since been shown to be untenable, and the proto-Iranian form is today reconstructed as *hu̯,[2] preserved in Avestan as xᵛ- and dissimilated as f- in other Iranian dialects.
Pre-Christian
In the Iranian languages of the Middle Period, the word is also attested as
The term also appears as a borrowing in Armenian pʿarkʿ, but with a greater range of meaning than in Iranian languages.
In scripture
Bisyllabic khvarenah is only attested once in the
Two distinct forms of khvarenah are discernible in Yasht 19:[6]
- kavam khvarenah (kauuaēm xᵛarənah), the fortune of the kavis, the Kayanian kings
- akhvaretem khvarenah (axᵛarətəm xᵛarənah), glory that both divinities and mortals should strive for.
Similarly Yasht 18, although nominally dedicated to
Yasht 19, which is nominally dedicated to Zam "Earth", further typifies khvarenah as a yazata,[7] that is, itself "worthy of worship." The same hymn includes a list of divinities and mortals who perform their duties due to the power of khvarenah. Among these are the mythological Kayanian kings – the kavis (kauuis) – who are rulers through the grace of, and empowered by, khvarenah.
Khvarenah is however also glory held by divinities:
According to Yasht 13.14, the waters flow, the plants spring forth, and the winds blow through the khvarenah of the
In Yasna 60.2, the family priest is seen to request joy and blessings for the righteous, good nature, truth, prosperity, power, and glory for the house in which he offers prayers. The hymn to Mithra speaks of the divinity as the "dispenser of khvarenah" (Yasht 10.16, 10.128, 10.141). Other texts describe Mithra as "most endowed with glory" (Yasht 19.35, Vendidad 19.15).
In Yasht 19.46,
At the final renovation of the world, the royal glory will follow the Saoshyants (Yasht 19.89).
In tradition
In the 9th-12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition khvarenah (→ Middle Persian khwarrah) is a spiritual force that exists before the creation of the tan-gohr, the mortal body (Bundahishn II.7ff, Zadspram 3.75). In these later texts, the glory appears to be acquirable through learning and knowledge (Bundahishn II.9ff).
Khwarrah continues to be identified with astral bodies (Dadistan-i Denig I.25, I.35-36), but its primary function is in its role as the divine glory of kings, the continuation of the Avestan notion of the kavam khvarenah. New in tradition is an identification of khwarrah with religion, as in "the great khwarrah-bestowing force of the pure religion" (Dadistan-i Denig I.36)
The
The representation of khwarrah as a ram reappears on Sassanid seals and as an ornament in Sassanid architecture. Khwarrah also appears in Sassanian crowns as a bird with a pearl in its beak. Depictions of khwarrah as a bird are allusions to the Avestan myth of Yasht 19.35-36, 19.82 in which khvarenah takes the shape of a bird as it leaves
The ring of kingship that appears in Sassanian investiture reliefs is often identified as representing khwarrah.[10] This is also the case for the ring held by the bearded figure in the Achaemenid winged sun-disk symbol that is traditionally considered to represent a fravashi (MP: fravahr). The Achaemenid winged sun-disk has in its entirety also been occasionally been interpreted as a representation of khvarenah.[10]
That khwarrah – in addition to its significance as "royal fortune" – also signified "fortune" in a general sense is demonstrated by the use of an
Syncretic influences
"The fundamental motif of Iranian kingship, a hereditary dynastic charisma [...], which, could however be lost, was at the root of ideas that were widespread in the Hellenistic and Roman periods."
Because the concepts of khvarenah/khwarrah and Aramaic gd(y) circulated in the same areas and have many characteristics in common, it is possible that the Mesopotamian concept influenced the Zoroastrian one.[8] On the other hand, khvarenah may also be a facet of Zoroastrianism's Indo-Iranian cultural inheritance since khvarenah appears to have a parallel in Indic tejas, in which kingship is likewise associated with the bright splendor and power of light and fire.[8]
The concept of the royal khwarrah survived the 7th century downfall of the
In culture
- The 1995 Ossetian film "ФАРН" (en:Farn) produced for North Ossetian Television by Murat Dzhusoyty.[12]
See also
- Senmurv
- Shekinah
References
- Citations
- ^ Gnoli 1999, p. 313.
- ^ Gnoli 1996, p. 171.
- ISBN 978-1-4724-2552-2; location: 6731
- ISBN 978-0-520-96436-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4724-2552-2.
- ^ Lubotsky 1998, p. 480.
- ^ Boyce 1975, pp. 66–68.
- ^ a b c Gnoli 1999, p. 316.
- ^ de Jong 2004, p. 364.
- ^ a b cf. Gnoli 1999, p. 316.
- ^ a b c d e Gnoli 1999, p. 315.
- ^ "ФАРН (1995)", www.kino-teatr.ru
- Bibliography
- Boyce, Mary (1975), History of Zoroastrianism, vol. 1, Leiden: Brill.
- de Jong, Albert (2004), "Sub Specie Maiestatis: Reflections on Sasanian Court Rituals", in Stausberg, Michael (ed.), Zoroastrian Rituals in Context, Numen 102, Leiden: Brill, pp. 345–365.
- Gnoli, Gherardo (1996), "Über das iranische *hu̯arnah-: lautliche, morphologische und etymologische Probleme. Zum Stand der Forschung", Altorientalische Forschungen, 23: 171–180, S2CID 163727744.
- Gnoli, Gherardo (1999), "Farr(ah)", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 9, Costa Mesa: Mazda, pp. 312–316, archived from the original on 2008-05-27, retrieved 2007-08-04.
- Lubotsky, Alexander (1998), "Avestan xᵛarənah-: the etymology and concept", in Meid, W. (ed.), Sprache und Kultur. Akten der X. Fachtagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft Innsbruck, 22.-28. September 1996, Innsbruck: IBS, pp. 479–488.