|
Pronunciation symbols
I have adopted the following transcription
(after Kanga and Taraporewala) as permitted by my
software, while avoiding the
encoding of the ITRANS convention hoping to make the reading (for
non-academic purposes) generally easier: -
a as in
fun; ā as in far; ã (nasal sound ãn) as in ‘āvãn’;
ə as in fed, ē as in fade; i as in
fill; ī as in feel; o as in for; ō
as in fore; u as in full; ū as in fool.
The nasal sounds are ãn as in āvãn; ən
as in the French ‘trés biən’, ĩn as in Ahĩnsā
(also pronounced ‘ĩm’ as in Sanskrit Ahĩmsā
and as also in Avestan and Gathic languages) and ũn
as in Humayũn. The pronunciation of some consonants (as
permitted by my software) are ‘ś’ for ‘sh’, ‘š’ for
‘ss’, ‘ŗ’ for ‘ri’, ñ for ‘ni’, ‘ž’
for ‘zh’.
The pronunciation of the vowel sounds ‘ə’
as in fed and ‘ən’ as in the French ‘trés biən’
is unique to the Gathic / Avestan languages. These vowel sounds ‘ə’
and ‘ən’ are not found in the alphabets of Sanskrit and (Shuddha)
Gujarāti (and possibly also in other Indic group of Prakrit languages)
where all ‘e’ vowel sounds are pronounced as ē as in fade. Also,
it is interesting that Vedic texts appear to be conspicuous by the absence
of a double negative although double negatives do occur later in
‘Classical’ Sanskrit.
Abbreviations
Gāthic: Gāth; Avestan: Aves; Sanskrit: Skt;
Pāhlavi: Pāh; Fārsi: Fārs; Gujarāti: Guj; Khordēh
Avestā: Kh Av; Yasna: Ys; Yasht: Yt; Vəndidād:
Vən: Visparad: Visp.
Avestan
Womanhood (Nāirithwana) - its high esteem
(Aibi-gairya)
The
Zarathushtrian pattern of society, both in Iran and on the Subcontinent is
governed 'outwardly' by an overt patrilineal tradition. Yet, deep down
'inwardly', there seems to have remained a silent undercurrent of a covert
matrilineal way of life. So covert, indeed, have been the ways that few
'outsiders', who have volunteered to study the way of life, have managed
to detect them. Possibly, they have been unable to put their study of the
covert ways in words effectively. The 'outsider', somehow, sees some
attitudes and behaviours as “common practices”. The onus of the burden
seems to have been put on and borne by the woman, although admittedly, in
a rather bravely subtle and subterranean manner.
Such ways have, in fact,
remained so for millennia through the trials and tribulations of our
wanderings, displacements, migrations and resettlements during which
period the woman has borne, with silent fortitude, the tremendous burden
of the transmission and continuity of our customs, our attitudes, our
mannerisms and our ancient Indo-Iranian traditions enjoined in the Avestan
Scriptures.
Even in the westernised
modern way of life the Avestan woman has, under considerable pressures and
‘taken-for-granted expectations’, managed to keep the domestic traditions
well and truly alive within the community with a vigour which, like the
undercurrent of a flowing river, has continued to remain silent and
unperceived to others.
During our frequent
movements/displacements over the millennia some of the local practices of
the host populations, have, to some extent understandably, been imbibed.
This too has occurred not without persistent resistance and strict
adherence to Zarathushtrian values from the domestic front, thus
pointing towards the Zarathushtrian home as the main pivot for the hopeful
continuity and progress of lived Zarathushtrian experience (Gāth/Aves:
Shyaōthnā
and
Hushyaōthnā
- meaningful
experience.
The personal
sacrifices (which have been left almost unquestioned and undiscussed) the
Avestan woman, in her self-adjusted matrilineal way of domestic life, was
expected to offer were enormous. But then, could it be possible that such
demanding ways could well have been borne intuitively through the mere
necessity of survival, during our many stages of resettlement and
subsequent attempts at reliving new ways and languages to help incorporate
the many social and domestic lifestyle re-adjustments for subsequent
generations to come? This fact is borne out in a paragraph from the (Pahlavi)
Book of Ardā
Virāf
(Ardā
Virāz
Nāmag,
Chapter 68),
where Ardā
Virāf
talks of the torments he saw during his deep sleep of seven days and
seven nights after drinking consecrated wine. He was credited as having
'witnessed' the fate of a woman, who had remained impious during life by
‘not following the tenets of the Faith’, and also of a man who had ‘not
been able to encourage his wife to follow the tenets’.
On the Subcontinent, until
the more recent arrival of gas and electric stoves, among the many pious
domestic responsibilities of the woman the most obligatory one, to ensure
the continuity of the domestic hearth fire, which was never
extinguished, cannot be underestimated. The vision of the Wadias in
building charitable low budget community homes for the Parsis and Iranis
of the Subcontinent was initiated, naturally, by a previously little known
woman - Jerbai Wadia. She had established a provision for the
incorporation of a hearth fire (the Chulā-vāti) in the
building each new home. The embers of the burning coal, at the end of the
day, were not discarded or extinguished, but were buried carefully under
the ashes held in the ‘vāti’ (a receptacle for the ashes expended by the
burning coal during the day) and re-used the following day to re-ignite
the fire for cooking.
It is of interest to note
how this pious tradition too has been kept alive. Vəndidād 3.2
refers to the many ways of making the Earth most happy - “the second
manner in which the Earth becomes most happy is for the righteous man to
build a house where a fire is kept burning (unextinguished) and where
cattle, wife and a retinue of off-springs live.” It is worthy of
note that he invaluable and beneficent cattle (during the times of a land
based agricultural economy) were mentioned first. Vəndidād 3.1 adds:
“the first manner of making the Earth most happy is for the man, who
possesses a strong, able pair of hands to be industrious and capable
enough to till the soil (with the help of cattle, that is) of Mother
Earth.”
The improper notion that
‘all humans’ be referred to as ‘man or mankind’ has not been considered
acceptable in our Scriptures. Women, throughout the texts from the Gāthās
down to the ultimate Rivāyats and also in the rock inscriptions of the
Achaemenian and Sassānian era, have been denoted as equal to men. Each
gender is mentioned specifically and in its proper context. For example,
the above quote from Vəndidād 3.2 which places ‘cattle before wife
and retinue of off-springs’ is balanced by subsequent phrases like
‘cattle and horses and men’. Throughout our Scriptures there
is a repetitive allusion to beneficent animals gaining precedence over man
as well as woman in the order of mention and praise.
Many non-Zarathushtrian
writers, among them women, have been fascinated by such Gāthic/Avestan
treatment of the genders, by the talk of women in noble terms and by the
fact that the wife held a position equal to the husband, both in the house
and in the community. She also took part in the religious ceremonies as
equal in the congregation and in acts of worship. There are no separate
sections for worship and offer of prayers to the fire.
Unlike the trend in other
civilisations the birth of an Avestan girl heralded as much joy as the
birth of a boy. During ancient times the 5th day (Spandārmad Ruz) of
the month of Spandārmad was a special feast day of honor for women - a
Mother’s Day. The Yazata, Spəntā Ārmaiti (Pāh: Spəndārmad) as the
patron Yazata of Mother Earth, especially looked after the good, chaste
and beneficent mother and wife, who cared for and loved her children and
her husband. Liberal presents as thanksgiving were bestowed on the woman
of the house by the men in the household. The custom still exists among
Zarathusti communities in Iran and her former colonies of the former
Greater Persia.
Mary Boyce in her ‘Textual
Sources’ quotes from an English translation of dogmatic Pāhlavi passages
from ‘Chidāg Andārz i Pōryōtkēshan’: “…..……..each man or woman who attains
the age of fifteen should know these things: “Who am I? Whose am
I? From where have I come? To where shall I return?.......My mother is
Spəndārmad, my father is Ormazd. My humanity is from….................”
We will come to the purpose of this insertion, later in the modern
interpretation of this topic.
Unlike the heated and
inconclusive theosophical debates occurring in the other Faiths of the
world, whose Archangels and the subordinate pantheon of divinities are all
masculine and the allusion to the gender of the Creator is denoted as
‘He’/ ‘Him’ (with a capital ‘H’) only, there is no such disputation
in Avestan beliefs. The Creator’s Divine attributes have a fairly equal
distribution of the two genders and some are even described as neuter. Of
the seven Divine attributes [the Avestan Archangels/ the Aməshā Spəntā (Pāh:
Amshāspand)/ the Divine Heptad which are the Holy Immortal attributes of
the Creator] feminine genders are given to Spəntā Ārmaiti (Pāh: Spəndārmad),
Haurvatāt (Pāh: Khordād) and Amērētāt (Pāh: Amardād). Spəntā
Mainyu the Holy Spirit of Ahurā Mazdā (like all other Mainyus) is
masculine. The remaining three Divine attributes Khshathra Vairya (Pāh:
Shēhrēvar), Vōhu Manō (Pāh: Bahman), and Āshā Vahishta (Pāh: Ardibēhēst)
have been kept neuter, but have been given either gender during the
translations / interpretations by different scholars at different times.
Being the essence of
Ahurā Mazdā’s very nature they are so close to him that, in the Gāthās,
Zarathushtra addresses the Creator as the singular 'thou' and sometimes
when he apprehends the Creator together with more than one of these Divine
attributes with the plural 'you (i.e. all of you'). Yet, Zarathushtra has
not used the word Aməšā
Spəntā
(which appears later in the Younger Avesta) to denote these Divine
attributes of the Creator. The inextricably woven total gender
conglomerate is given the Spiritual (Minō) title of Lord (Ahurā) of Wisdom
(Mazdā) to the Creator in our Faith rather than of god (as in the
other Faiths. Borrowed from their own Roman masters the words God, Gods
and Godesses were imposed by over zealous missionaries and entered
common vocabulary after the (so-called) Third World colonial empires were
established. The Indo-Iranian words have always been the ‘Creator’
and the ‘Divinities’.
These Divine attributes, in
the Earthly (Gəti) sense, when attained by an ordinary mortal makes the
person a Superior man or woman - an Ashavan - who then becomes worthy of
experiencing, in his body, mind and heart, the supreme feeling of
ecstasy.
Several of the 33
subordinate Yazatas (Angels) are of the female gender, too.
The feminine
Avestan Yazatas are
Āpō/ Apam Napāt (Avest: Āvān/ Pāh, Fārs & Guj: Ābān), Māh
(Pāh: Māh/ Guj: Mohor), Gēush Urvān (Pāh: Gōsh/ Guj: Gōsh),
Rashnu (Pāh: Rashna/ Guj: Rashne), Daēna (Pāh:
Din/ Guj: Din), Ashi(sh) (Pāh & Fārs: Ard/ Guj: Ashi(sh)-svang),
Ārshtād (Pāh: Āshtād/ Guj: Āstād), Zāmyād (Pāh:
Zāmyād/ Guj: Jamiād), Dahma Vanghui Āfriti (Pāh: Dahma/
Guj: Daham). Besides the Yazatas of calendar dedications, which remained
the 'chief' among the subordinate Yazatas, there are other Yazatas many of
whom again are female - Arēdvi Sura Anāhita, Ushā,
Tushnāmaiti .........etc.
A chronological
journey
The Avestan word
for womanhood is Nāirithwana.
Let us, now, proceed to
examine our voluminous Scriptures and look into the fascinating aspects
of Avestan womanhood to investigate its legitimate merits in days of
yore and, even try to trace, sketchily, the impact the preserved Avestan
values have had on the private devotional life and the social standing
of Zarathushtrian women and, therefore, on the Zarathushtrian family
unit in modern times.
In our quest to identify
the merits of the Avestan woman we will need to trace the life of a
hypothetical newborn girl and follow her progress through life.
The newborn:
According to the Book
of Rivāyats the infant girl must be “breast fed for 15
months and in case of the male infant for 17 months.” This
discrepancy in feeding between the genders clearly resulted from the fact
that infant mortality was higher among male infants, as it is still so
to the present day. If the mother were to wean the infant earlier and if
the husband consented to it they were both regarded as committing a sinful
offence.
Age 7:
the Avestan child, a
minor of tender age from infancy to early childhood (Aves:
apērē-nāyuka / Skt and Guj: Nājuka) of either gender
(Aves and Skt: Strī is feminine gender) was deemed immature and
therefore unfit to be made responsible for her thought, word or action.
The onus was on the mother (Aves: Mātar) and father (Aves:
Ptā; Skt: Pitā) or the guardian (Aves:
Paiti-pāyu), who would have replaced one of the parents. As such
she is permitted to indulge in childhood liberties. The child, at age 7
years, is considered grown up to a 'major' age but is still not fully
grown up, i.e. in physiological terms (Aves: apērē-nayav).
She then becomes responsible for her own thought, word and action and
therefore is deemed fit to be made ready for the initiation into the Good
Faith by the investiture of the Sudrēh and Kushti. The ideal age,
documented in the Book of Rivāyats, is “7 years and 3 months”.
Age 9:
The Pah text, Sad-dār (literally: 100 doors. Actual
meaning: 100 openings/avenues of knowledge) in Chapter 34 advises:
“a daughter, until she is 9 years old, should not be affianced (i.e.
engaged. Aves: Paradata) or betrothed to anyone.”
Age 12:
When the girl is 12 years old (i.e. the average Avestan age of puberty)
she should be given in marriage. At this age of puberty the
awkward little pre-pubertal girl becomes a young Avestan woman (Avest:
Charaiti). Her mature female form develops and, with the
gradual change in her figure, her composure becomes pleasing and her
deportment more admirable, befitting a young and beautiful maiden.
Hādokht Nask,
XXII.10 talks of
an encounter at the Chinvat Bridge between a righteous man's soul and his
own conscience (Daēna) appearing in the image of a
Charaiti (a beautiful young maiden) to assist him cross over the
Chinvat Bridge: “the soul of the righteous man asks: “What maiden
art thou - you, who possess such a delightful figure to behold?”
The reply is in
Hādokht Nask XXII.11:
“thou art ..........good,
of lofty character, fair in dealings, sweet scented, of fearless strength
and free from spite….such as I, thy own Conscience, appear to thee”,
the maiden (his own
conscience) says to the pious soul of the righteous man’s own conscience
-Daēna.
The unwedded
maiden:
Vəndidād 3.24
equates, in a prosaic manner, “the sin of
keeping a Charaiti (a charming and dignified 12 year old girl) unwed to a
virtuous man and thus barren is equal to the sin of tillable soil that is
kept uncultivated. In both instances the Earth remains most unhappy.”
Our Avestan text is full of
praiseworthy and recommended advice for the unwedded woman, a virgin
maiden (Aves: Kaininā; Kainyā/ Skt and Guj: Kanyā).
Such was the importance given to the institute of marriage that the
merits of giving an unwedded maiden in hand of marriage was considered a
highly meritorious act, for which many relatives vied, one with the other,
to achieve this end. Parents (as they do even now) were all too eager to
assist in the grooming of their daughters, so that they remained
presentable in appearance, behaviour, deportment and character.
Yazata Āvān, Divinity of
‘purity in the life-giving waters’ is described in Āvān Yasht,
Verse 64 as “an attractive maiden, confidently courageous,
carrying her well formed figure in a high-girded dress. She has an
untainted, innocent but radiating outlook having been born of noble
parentage. She thus walks tall in slippers with laces tied up to her
ankles, wearing a shiny diadem of gold to hold her fair hair in a
dignified fashion.”
It was not surprising
that boons were asked of the Divinity of purity (Arēdvi Sura Anāhita)
as in Āvān Yasht, Verse 87 “........from you, unwedded maidens
will ask for right royal residences and for highly respectable husbands
of strong physique.”
In Rām Yasht, Verse
39 unwedded maidens implore Ahurā Mazdā to help bestow a boon
through Yazata Rām to ask him to help them secure such handsome young men
“as are fit to become 'keepers of the house' who will, as long as
they live, remain amicable and continue to give them off-springs, who will
be lively of body, sharp of intellect and fluent of tongue.”
The Yazata of righteous
thought, Ashi Vanghui (in Ashi(sh)-svang Yasht, Verse 11)
beseeches parents to “adorn their unmarried daughters' legs with
anklet chains bearing trinkets (which may have been believed to
possess charm like qualities) to enhance the beauty of their figure,
of a slim waist line and a well proportioned torso, for the eyes of
their admirers to behold (in righteousness) and for their minds to wish
for the lady of their choice.”
The Yazata Ashi(sh) in
Ashi(sh)-svang Yasht, Verse 54, in addition, makes it known
that she would clearly “decline offerings if they are from, among a
list of other persons, those who have remained unwed for long.”
To such spinsters, who have
long remained unmarried, Ys: 9.23 advises that they “hasten to
request Haōma Yazata, discreetly asking him to bestow on them truthful
husbands, soon.”
Femininity
(Aves: Nāiri/
Pah: Nāirik/ Skt and Guj: Nāri)
Alternately, the word common for masculinity in all four languages - Avest/Pāh/Skt
and Guj is Nara. The word for a female united to a man by
marriage is entitled Nāirika (akin to the title Mrs. in
western society).
Traditional Gāth/Aves
courtesy: When a
couple is mentioned together, the phrase always commences with the lady
being mentioned first before the man. Thus, in Gāthā
Vahishtōisht 53.8: it is jə-nərām Woman and man/
wife and husband and jān-nāirīm (Woman and man). Further,
we would have heard of the stories of Lailā-Majnun and Shirin-Farhād,
unlike the Romeo-Juliet and Mr. and Mrs. of the western tradition. In
days of yore in Iran, through even to this day, many wives opt to retain
their maiden family names after marriage or add it to the husband's family
name, with a hyphen, to change to a double-barrelled surname. This was
later, in the post-Sassanian period, adopted by western societies.
The
outstanding Avestan woman:
Nāiri-ghēna
(one who has given
birth to and nurtured many off-springs) has been used to denote the highly
celebrated lady, who has fulfilled all the attributes of Avestan womanhood
to a level when she is worthy of honour and even of reverence.
For example in
Aiwisruthrəm Gāh, Verse 4 the reverential 'ghēnāō'
are so ‘highly praiseworthy ladies’ among the common people
as to be considered the Spiritual leaders of women, a title otherwise
reserved for the feminine Aməshā Spəntas and the female Yazatas.
In Yasna Haptangaiti
41.2 and 35.6 there is a strong emotional plea (probably from
Zarathushtra himself): “Thy Kingdom come, O Ahurā Mazdā, shall last
for ever and for ever since thou art a just sovereign on Earth as thou
art in Heaven ruling over men and women, themselves worthy of reverence,
outstanding and abounding in thy Spirit. In thy Kingdom, too, both such
men and women shall remain in harmony with thy Spirit and in accord with
thy desire.”
In Gāthā Ushtavaiti,
46.10 Zarathushtra talks of the promise of a reward he will offer
to those who will adhere to his teachings. “Whosoever, man or woman
[na(rəm)-gh(ē)nā], O Mazdā Ahurā, giveth unto life that which thou hast
deemed the best....... with them I will myself walk to cross over the path
of the Chinvatō Pərētu (The ‘Bridge of the Separator’ of the good from the
evil).”
Age 15:
(Aves:
Panch-dasayāō - 15 year old): The Avestan lady is deemed to have
become ‘a fully formed adult (Aves: pērē-nayav)’
possessing a beautiful healthy figure (Aves: Srira / Skt
and Guj: Sharira). Praises galore have been sung in the
Avesta regarding the attractive female form, the body-beautiful in words
like Srāō-tanvō (attentive make-up), Sraēshta Kēhrpa
(choicest form), Srirayāō (body beautiful) with detailed
descriptions of the elegant adornments and fancy apparel and jewellery
the Avestan ladies were fond of bedecking themselves with:-
In Āvān Yasht (verse
after verse) the feminine distinctions of the immaculate Lady,
Arēdvi Sura Anāhita is described in quite glowing and, at times, candid
and explicit terms (instead of separating each I have made a composite
description, which also avoids repetition:-
“She stands there
dignified, Arēdvi, the lady immaculate in the figure of a fair maiden,
wearing a flowing garment, her girdle tightened high above her middle to
hold her well-formed breasts under a richly embroidered cloak of finely
woven gold, making her lovely to behold.
She, of noble
lineage, carries a well built frame of tall stature, thus exhibiting a
strong and courageous personality. Her fair and pretty arms,
adorned with precious sorts of ornaments, are much more strong and capable
of dutiful work than the legs of a horse.
With bārsom in hand,
pendant ear-rings composed of four-cornered gemstones set in gold
scintillating in her ears, a right royal necklace around her bare neck
and with golden slippers luminous in different colours covering her feet
up to her ankles, she has a composure that is most admirable.
Her fair hair is held
in an attractive style by a rich diadem adorned with a hundred twinkling
gemstones cut in an octagonal shape (like the spokes of a wheel) and
mounted in gold; and, with well positioned decorating fillets streaming
beyond her hair, her manner appears most pleasing.
During winter she
wears garments of beaver skins, each obtained from three select beavers,
whose rich furs are harvested at the appropriate time (i.e. only after
they had borne young for four seasons. The mature skins of the beavers
then exhibit a beautiful gloss, shiny like silver and gold).”
In Ashi(sh)-svang
Yasht we noted, previously, the adornment of the feet of the
unmarried daughters with anklets. They were considered good looking if
“they possessed a slim waist, long pointed fingers and a figure so
well-proportioned as to be a joy to behold by those who were chaste and
righteous.”
We have noted too,
previously, that each one of us will meet (after judgement) Daēna, our own
conscience, at the Chinvat Bridge.
The Vəndidād
further quotes that the more righteous from amongst us will see their
own conscience in a better light in the figure of a pleasant 12 year old
Chairita, as attractive as the most beautiful in the land, to hold their
hand and escort them across the Bridge of the Separator (of the good from
the evil). “She, the beautiful, fair Daēnā of queenly stature
possessing a skilful confident and distinguished composure, will appear
respectfully before them wearing a crown on the head.”
Hādokht Nask
describes a 15 year old lady “of fair arm,
tall stature and pleasant composure, of well developed breasts and
attractive build, of noble birth and of glorious lineage. Her presence,
as she steps forward and extends her arm to hold the hand, is felt in the
breeze blowing across the mountain peak at the commencement of the
Chinvat Bridge.”
Avestan Love:
The Avestan word for love is Fritha (Skt and Guj:
Prita). There is no mention at all of or reference to pure
unadulterated love between the genders before marriage in the Avesta.
However, the pre-nuptial Avestan love of a person for another (i.e.
a couple due to be wed) is clearly identified, each time, in the context
of the particular quality or attribute, which is admired by the ‘lover’.
This is emphasized in Ashi(sh)-svang Yasht, verse 59 where
the sin of wilfully keeping man and (future) potential wife apart
(wilfully preventing them from meeting for whatever reason; hoping to
block there marriage, as it were) is mentioned. “The worst deed
that men and cruel persons can commit is to wilfully keep asunder woman
and man in a state of prolonged separation and to prevent them from
meeting.”
In the Gāthās, Zarathushtra
specifically talks of true unadulterated love for Ahurā Mazdā in the
Gāthic words, Frinat and Frinai.
In Gāthā Spənta
Mainyu, 49.12, Zarathushtra uses the Gāthic equivalent Frinai
to declare his own love: “I, verily, with hymns of praise would
love thee, O Mazdā Ahurā.”
In Gāthā Ahunavaiti,
29.5, he uses the word Frinəmna to describe Ahurā
Mazdā’s love for humanity: “With uplifted heart and outstretched
hands, O Ahurā Mazdā, I invoke thy grace.”
In Gāthā Ahunavaiti,
28.5, he reassures his followers that “devout (vaintya -
that which is close to the heart/ loving) prayers offered attentively (sravāyō)
for righteous causes, will never go unfulfilled.”
The non-Gāthic form of
love (if we may use the word, 'platonic'), denoting (almost) revered
respect for the subject, who possessed certain admirable qualities, were
reserved for the reverence shown to the Aməšā Spəntās and Yazatas as in
:-
In Tir Yasht, verse
43, it is “the bright radiant light of Ahurā Mazdā as seen
in the awe-inspiring brilliant glow of the star, Sirius [Tishtriya/Tēshtar/Tir
- the brightest star in the night sky], which is loved and honoured.”
In Sraōsha Yasht
Hādokht, verse 20, the Yazata Sraōsha is “loved and respected in
the house, where lives a pious man full of good thoughts, words and
deeds.”
In Fravardin Yasht,
verse 29, the word hudaōithra -“with eyes of love”
is used to describe the eagerness gaze of those, who revere the beneficent
Fravashis.
Similarly, in several
verses - the Gāthic Hymns of praise, the Fravashis of the righteous, all
houses of righteous persons, cattle, draught animals and rich pastures,
good waters, trees, plants used as medicinal herbs, the qualities like
courageous truth in face of adversities and timely assistance given - are
all ‘loved’.
The Avestan
Beloved:
True 'love' between two Avestan persons of the opposite gender after
wedlock, it seems from the texts, was interpreted as the living of a
virtuous life in a symbiotic relationship to fulfil the purpose of
Creation, thus leading to expected results both, during Earthly existence
and thereafter, as ordained by Ahurā Mazdā. Any other way that was likely
to defeat that purpose was considered evil, such that it was fraught with
negativism and it, ultimately, led to disastrous consequences. There is,
as such, no word in the Avestan texts to describe the word ‘beloved’ i. e.
a person of the opposite gender especially dear to one’s heart, in a one
to one relationship outside the institute of marriage (i.e. not
prenuptial, where the couple is due to wed). In real life such affairs of
the heart would have been expected to occur. In the Sassānian era the
epic tragedies of Shirin-Farhād and in a later period of Lailā-Majnun are
examples.
It was, then, obviously a
pious obligation on the part of the parents (or the guardian) to ensure
that a proper life partner was made available to their sons and
daughters. In the case of the daughters this obligation was apparently
based on the Avestan premise that “a woman is in need of a ‘protector’
(Aves: paiti-pāyu) throughout life”. The lady was deemed to
be ‘given’ (in marriage and adoption) rather than be ‘taken’ ”.
In the Avestan text,
interpretation of the word ‘beloved’ is quite different from the modern
one. It very much refers to a certain closeness by ‘relating to with
respectful, favourable regard showing sentiments of warm affection while
holding the person in high esteem, without any direct personal sense of
an attachment’.
In Rām Yasht, verse
36, Kai Vishtāspa’s wife, Queen Hutaōssa, who was convinced of the
humanitarian goodness in Zarthushtra’s vision and preachings, beseeches
Ahurā Mazdā hoping that he will bestow her the supreme favour that her
dignity will be upheld with respect, so that she “remains beloved
(Aves: paiti-zanta/ buyata/ manyəntē; Skt: Lōkmānya) of society and the
courtiers and will be legitimately welcome in the Court of her husband.”
(This was during the most crucial moments in the life of the
Zarathushtra, when he was incarcerated in a dungeon for 9 days and 9
nights by Vishtāspa’s orders).
In Fravardin Yasht,
verse 147, there is a fervent plea that the Āthravans (Fire
priests) of the country remain, with respect, ‘beloved of the
populace’, too.
The Unwed Woman:
Aves & Skt: Ghra means a matrimonial home with a husband and
housewife. A-Ghra means not with a husband; defacto; separated.
Appropriately, Skt and Guj: ghra literally means a family
household.
In Ys: 9.2
“the unwed women (Aves: aghravō) who have truly revered
Yazata Haōma pray that they be soon blessed with honest husbands.”
The Virginal Maiden: (Aves:
an-upayata/ an-upaēta)
In Ashi(sh)-svang Yt:
verse 54, we have previously noted that offerings given to
the Yazata Ashi Vanghui were not acceptable if they remained unwed, but
then in the next verse 55 there is a clear distinction emphasised
between virginal maidens of tender age and mature women.
Again in
Ashi(sh)-svang Yt: verse 59, the sin of wilfully keeping man and
(future) potential wife separate has been mentioned. “The worst
deed that men and cruel persons can commit is to wilfully keep asunder
woman and man in a state of prolonged separation and to prevent them from
meeting.”
The Avestan
Marriage (of Pāhlavi times):
The word for ‘matrimony’ is Nāirithwant.
In the Book of
Rivāyats an interesting account is given about the ‘proper
procedure of negotiating’ a marriage contract through (a long suffering)
match-maker or messenger. The father sends a message on behalf of
his son to the father of the prospective bride asking for the daughter’s
hand in marriage to his son. The proper thing for the father of the
prospective bride was to say: -
“Let me think it over.”
After a few days he recalls the messenger and says.
“If my daughter receives
2000 dirhams as marriage gift (māhr) I will give her
to him.” After some days the messenger returns to the father of the
prospective bride and says.
“All is well. The father of
the man agrees to give 2000 dirhams.”
Later, the messenger
returns to ask.
“But will you give your
daughter’s hand in marriage to this man (addressed as ‘the son of ‘. The
first names are still discreetly avoided). And the father of the
prospective bride replies.
“I would not have asked for
the gift had I not considered proper to give my daughter to this man.”
There is no mention about what gain the messenger received for all these
tedious goings-on, but there is mention of the sin the father of the girl
would have committed if he later retracted this verbal contract.
Just before the marriage
ceremony three married men need to approach the girl to confirm her
intentions to marry this particular man and to reconfirm whatever was said
with her father.
The officiating priest (who
has qualified as a nāvar and is himself married) then offers
to put her right hand in the right hand of the bridegroom and asked the
couple to nominate one of the Amēsha Spəntas for guidance during the
ceremony. Only the priest is entitled to tie the marriage knot, literally
a knot of cloth between the garments of the bride and groom. The marriage
gift (Māhr) of 2000 silver dirhams is, sometimes,
topped with 2 gold dinars, depending upon the financial state of the
father of the groom.
According to ‘A guide
to the Zoroastrian Religion’ (which clears the traditionally held
misconceptions in our mind in the form of easy to understand Questions and
answers) Dastoor Firoze M Kotwal and James W Boyd explain the tying of
‘marriage knot’ in the present day ceremonies conducted on the
Subcontinent. They say that the tying of the couple’s hand with a thread
is not tying the knot. Rather it is the asking of questions by the priest
(in the Pāzand language, which is not understood in Gujarati) first to
the father of the groom, regarding payment of silver and gold (coins) and
then to the father of the bride whether he will accept the gift. When
both fathers have answered in the affirmative he asks the father of the
bride.
“Do you swear to welcome
the bridegroom with truthful thought for the increase of good action and
progeny, so long as you live?”
“Yes, I do promise,”
replies the father.
The priest then turns to
the couple and asks each one separately whether they agree to abide by
these promises with truthful intent through their lives.
“Yes, we do approve of it,”
they both say individually.
Besides, the incorrect
notion about the question - “Passand kardid?” being “do you
like your partner?” is also corrected. The couple is again asked whether
they approve of the oath given by the two witnesses. Each replies,
“Passand kardam” which means “I approve”.
Zarathsuhtra’s
authoritative suggestions:
As
seen by my mind, below are my humble interpretations of Gāthā
Vahishto Isht -Yasna 53.5 to 9 while comparing Irach J S
Taraporewala's interpretations of the Gāthic words with the meaning of
some vital Sanskrit equivalents found in the Vēdic and later Sanskrit
Texts.
Verse 5:
“Listen attentively to these words (of
instructions) as I speak to ye, Maidens and to ye, Youths prepared to
engage in the bonds of holy matrimony. Understand them well and bear
them in thy Good Minds. Let each one of ye do earnestly strive to surpass
the other, both, in Righteousness and in Love, to such a degree as to
deserve the more gainful of the reward.”
Verse 6:
“Through
thine entire life accept, O' Men and Women, that the instructions of Truth
shall prevail in the face of convenient Untruths of obvious advantage,
trying to lead thee away from thine own true selves (remain true to thine
own selves). Then, verily, such woeful deceit of the evil eye shall
envelope and dim the glow of thy Inner Selves (like smoke around fire)
enticing ye to perversions in life.”
Verse 7:
“But, the reward of this pious bond of
togetherness shall be there if ye, as wedded couple, continue to
exercise zealous devotion to each other in all walks of life (high or
low) where the evil spirit of those devoted to untruth is encountered.
However, should ye decide to renounce this pious bond of togetherness
‘woe’ shall remain thy last word.”
Verse 8:
“Needless, those intimidators will undoubtedly
face the consequences of their guilt-ridden acts when they are countered
by our just rulers in favour of our Maidens and Men, who will, then,
become free of dissension and attain happiness for evermore ...........”
Verse 9:
“Such perpetrators of evil, who promote the
disapproval of our worthy Maidens and Men, are themselves given to craving
passions, to scorning Righteousness and to strife among themselves and
with their own Inner Selves ............”
Then, follows
Zarathushtra’s Airyəmā Ishyō recitation, Yasna 54.1 which is
traditionally recited during all Zarathushtrian wedding ceremonies as a
Wedding benediction (blessings - Pah and Guj: Āshirwād) from
the priest. The benediction confers a Desire for lasting friendship
(for their togetherness during the entire life) of the couple. The Yazata
of Friendship (and of Healing), Airyamān, is invoked;-
“May the much desired
and lasting friendship come, in the pursuit of this noble purpose of the
Good Mind, to the support of the men and women of Zarathushtra whose
Inner Selves seek to earn this precious reward. I will pray to Āshā for
the bestowing of this righteous blessing, you so desire, which Ahurā Mazdā
has intended.”
Marriage among
close relatives:
Aves: Khvaētvadatha literally means ‘giving of oneself’/
Pah: Khvētōdas/Khvēdyōdath (probably initially referred to
a ‘given adopted person’ and not a ‘close relative given in marriage’).
Visparad 3.3
even sings the praise of the ‘given person’. “Reverence be to
Khvētōdas.”
The next-of-kin wedlock
appears to have been, not only encouraged, but considered a highly
meritorious act in later Avestan texts. Yet among the closely related
Vedic people (who look upon their cousins as sisters and brothers; thus,
automatically debarring them from getting married) inquiries are made into
the previous seven generations to exclude a relative before the wedding
is arranged. It is possible that when the conquering Aryans
occupied Semitic lands (commencing with the Achaemenid Period) the common
Semitic attitudes, regarding intermarriage between close relatives, became
more frequently adopted by our ancestors. It was, at first, presumed to
be ‘safeguarding family virtues and qualities.’ Although such
presumptions may have been justifiable to some extent, it cannot be
denied that the tradition had, later, become deeply rooted in some
families to help “safeguard” the family fortunes. The terrible
consequences of transmitting fickle genes through consanguineous union
over a long period of time (in our case close to 1,400 years) in a small
restricted community (in our case only 12,000 ladies of child bearing age
recorded in 2001) is well documented in medicine. It is common knowledge
that some characteristic inherent physical and mental afflictions,
resulting in lifelong suffering, have been unfortunately transmitted
through the generations in a rapidly increasing number of Zarathushtrian
families as genetic transmission become more and more saturated.
The righteous
husband:
Vəndidād
4.47 talks of the relative merits possessed by a
Nāirivant (one who has a wife). “Having a wife, O Spitamā
Zarathushtra, is abundantly preferable to a righteous man, who is able to
lead a more meaningful life than the one who does not have a family.”
Then follows in merit, “the man who begets children (Av:
puthravant), who acquires honest wealth and who
is in pursuit of good knowledge.”
The achievement
of wedlock:
The marriage of a virtuous woman to a righteous man was an ideal yearned
by many prospective partners, then, as it is now.
The book
Shāyast-Nāshāyast (Proper-Improper 19.10) recommends that
“ten Ahunavars (the Book of Rivāyats recommends eleven) be recited before
leaving home in the yearning quest (Aves: vadhrya) of a marriageable
(eligible) lady (Aves: kaininā-vadhrē).”
The ‘giving’ of
a virtuous woman
(according to the Dinkard (Book VIII 17.3) to a
righteous man carries such high merits that the person acquires some
immunity for his soul from entering hell (Aves: Daōzangha/ Pah: Duzakh/
Guj: Dōjakh). Further, the Dinkard (Book VIII 20.126)
says “it is a most grievous and deceitful sin
to encourage a change of heart and allow a woman to marry another person
once the decision to marry has been finalised.”
The wedlock
household:
This having been established, the couple live as wife and husband (Gāthic:
jə-narəm/ Aves: pathni-paithe. Also
jan-nāirim/ Skt: patni-pati. Also jam-pati).
The Avestan texts say the
virtuous and loving wife, who holds an honourable position in society
(Aves: vantaōngha) is one who:- is well taught in her
feminine duties by parents of good lineage, is a diligent house-wife
(Aves: nmāna-pathni in Aiwisruthrəm Gāh,verse 8), is the
rightful lady of the house (nāirivat-nmānəm - Vəndidād
3.2), is a progenitor, rich in off-springs (Aves:
frazaintivant of Hādokht Nask), of many off-springs (hachāt-puthrāō),
is “a strict follower of the laws of purity, is as much
proficient in the home as with the domestic cattle in the barn and in
the growing fields, does not indulge in the sin of slander, is well
principled and not discourteous to her husband whom she assists in
creating a life-style of mutual enjoyment. She then becomes qualified to
be deemed a respected and loved wife (Aves: vantav - the all-conquering)
and thus promotes a happy home life (Aves: hukhshina - well organised).”
Avestan
Motherhood:
The Barēthri (the fertile woman of child-bearing age) of
many off-springs (frazainti) has been repeatedly praised as
we have already noted.
Vəndidād 2.10
pleads to “divine wisdom to go forth and pay homage to women, who bear
off-springs.”
The credit is given to the
"brilliant and glorious influence of the helpful Fravashis (Fravardin
Yasht, verse 15) that the “mothers bringing forth
off-springs’ conceive (Aves: paiti-puthra), give birth (Av: zamava), have
a safe delivery (Aves: hu-zamita) and become rich with off-springs (Av:
haēchāt-puthrāō).”
As in Ys: 23.1,
which suggests “Reverence to the Fravashis (is desirable), who
assist the unborn (young of animal and) child in the womb, sheltering it
as it continues to progress in its development.”
It is interesting to note
that our Fravashis were in existence in the Mino state before we were
born. They remain as our guardian spirit near our right side during our
life and they will also continue to exist forever in the Minō state (in
the case of those among us who have remained more just and righteous
during earthly life). This bears out well in Fravardin Yasht, verse
17.
In Ys: 10.4,
there is a rather prosaic comparison of the Avestan mother, who has given
birth to several off-springs, with the fertility of the open fields
possessing productive soil, which bore and supported abundant life and to
the righteous plant for the devoted Haōma worshipper.
There is a constant
emphasis on and a fervent desire to carry through a safe and healthy
pregnancy with all attempts made to safeguard the unborn child (says
Fravardin Yasht, verse 11) ‘against the assaults of the evil
adversary, Vidhōtu’ to full term, followed by an uncomplicated, safe
delivery.’
In Fravardin Yt:
verse 15 the Fravashis of the departed are praised and invoked -
“It is through their radiant aura that women conceive (Aves: puthrē
varənvainti), give birth through safe deliveries (Aves: huzamiyō), thus
remaining blessed with many off-springs.”
In Āvān Yt: verse 87
women in labour pray to the lady immaculate, Arēdvi Sura Anāhita
entreating her to “allow the delivery to occurs safely”,
since the Divinity exercises authority in such matters.
In Āvān Yt: verse 2
the clean waters of the river, Arēdvi Sura Anāhita, were credited as
possessing ‘purifying qualities’, offering good health and strength during
the child-bearing phase, thus, “protecting the womb, aiding a
trouble free delivery and ensuring an abundant and timely supply of milk
for the newborn.”
Vəndidād
19.6 talks of the birth of Zarathushtra.
“O thou righteous Zarathushtra thou art the son of
Pourushāspa, born of your mother (who is Dughdōva) of the illustrious
Zawishi family.”
Then again in
Vəndidād 19.46: “Born among us is the righteous
Zarathushtra (in the house of Pourushāspa) in possession of such a potent
weapon as to smite all evil.”
And in Fravardin
Yasht, verse 94 “Good fortune has come unto us. Spitamā
Zarathushtra, an Āthravan, has been born among us. Henceforth, the good
religion of MazdāYasna shall spread forth and be accepted over all the
seven regions of the Earth.”
The worthy
Gathic and Avestan Daughter:
The Gāthic word was Dughēda and the Avestan word,
Dukhtar/ Dughtar (Skt: Duhitar).
Both mean “one, adept
at milking cows” (Skt: Duh - ‘to milk/to extract’). During times
of a soil-based economy it was the early morning duty of the daughters of
the house to milk the cows.
In Gāthā Ushtāvaiti, Yasna
45.5 Zarathushtra uses symbolic language in describing the attributes of
the Lord Father, Ahurā Mazdā's attributes - Spənta Ārmaiti and Vōhu Manō
as his daughters
Again, in Ashi(sh)svang
Yasht the divinity, Ashi Vanghui, is described, symbolically, as
the daughter of Ahurā Mazdā and the sister of Āshā Vahishtā.
In Gāthā Vahishtō Ishti,
Yasna 53.3 uses the epithet ‘the last achievement’ for his youngest
daughter,'Pouruchista' (presumably of an unwed lady), while
singing the praise of his great-great-grandfather, Haēchāt-aspa of the
family of Spitamā, as per the traditional norms of ancestor worship (Skt:
pitris) of those days.
The devout
(religious) Woman:
Zarathushtra, in his Yənghē Hātām prayer recitation,
effectively sums up the concept of ‘spiritual holiness’ of humans:
“Reverence be to those men and women who, among all other living beings,
having received Ahurā Mazdā's gift of rational thought, themselves seek to
excel in acts of worshipful reverence, in righteousness.” This
short prayer is held in such high regard that it is prayed at the end of
each of the 17 Hāitis (chapters, also Hās for short) of the Gāthās, at the
end of the main text of all the Yashts and the 5 Gāhs, as if to reinforce
the rationality behind the holiness of humans (amongst all other living
creatures).
In the Fravardin Yasht more
than 250 holy persons have been named with reverence to their Fravashis.
Among the list are the names of 27 holy women of the time.
They appear to have been named in a chronological order. Commencing with
the Prophet's wife, Hvaōgvā (later Aves: Hvōvi), follow his
three daughters - Frēni, Thrita and Pouruchista and then
Kai Vishtāspa's wife, Hutaōssa and his daughter, Humāyā
(Pāh:Humāyun/ Humāyin/Humāi. Guj: Homāi). The unwed Avestan
ladies names always had the traditional prefix, 'Kainyā' (Skt & Guj: Kanyā/
the modern Miss) before their names.
The high
esteem of the female gender
(Aves: Strī/ Skt: Strī):
In the
Avestan society and culture, as described in our Scriptures, the esteem
was closely parallel to the described attributes of the feminine Yazatas.
She was considered worthy of honour who “giveth into life what
Ahura Mazda deemest the best,” according to Zarathushtra (Yasna 46.10)
and who almost possessed the qualities of the feminine Yazatas, Spənta
Ārmaiti (Pah: Asfandārmad/Spəndārmad), the patron Aməšā Spəntā of and
protector of women, was “full of grace, of beautiful features, high
in intellect, well disciplined and of unblemished conduct.”
The high esteem
(aibi-gairya), in which they were held, was way ahead of such regard shown
to women in other cultures of the time.
Their dignified standing of a high degree as mother, wife and the lady of
the house was envied and the virtues she prayed for and inculcated in her
children were celebrated in verse and prose. What, then, were the
qualities of these Avestan holy women?
Aiwisruthrəm
Gāh, verse 9:
“The Holy woman is more righteous, is of an amicable frame of mind
and is better instructed in the many practices of good words and good
deeds, is respectful of her husband and is of a truthful tongue. She is
endowed with the most serene of dispositions and possesses almost Yazata-like
attributes, like those of Spənta
Ārmaiti. Such women are indeed worthy, O Ahurā Mazdā, of reverence.”
Further, in Haptan Yasht
(in the section of Aiwisruthrəm Gāh), it is recommended that
the Fravashis of such holy women, who have borne many sons, be revered
because of their impressive courage (child bearing was fraught with great
calamities, then), their great physical endurance and their triumphant
achievement, who, by the Grace of Ahurā, were themselves born of noble
lineage.
Even Ahurā Mazdā showed
reverence to Queen Hutaōssa (of many brothers), a descendent of the
illustrious Naōtar family, says Rām Yasht, verse 35.
Visparad 3. 4
adds a modified touch to the above. “Women
rich in holy thoughts, words and deeds, are, well informed and, as devoted
wives, are, in return, in tune with and pleasantly agreeable and
courteous to their husbands.”
Women as
Priests:
The Book on Aerpatistān and Nirangistān describes how both, men as well as
women, were asked to officiate as Priests and in doing so had to give up
there important work of tending the growing fields (during times of a
land-based economy) in order to fulfil this pious requirement, but only to
a maximum of six days, probably in a rotating roster. Those willing to
become priests had to go through the intensive training like their
husbands did.
Visparad 4.4
talks of women being summoned to serve during the ‘obligatory' Seasonal
festivals of ‘Gahanbār’. Unlike on the Subcontinent the lay persons in
Iran actually took (and still take) active part in the solemnity of some
rituals of the ceremonies.
In the Gahanbār ceremony,
while eight priests surround the glowing Fire, the representatives of the
community in the village, district and the household, including a
respected (and holy) housewife of many off-springs (hushham sasta:
‘well-versed’ in the ritualistic procedures), are all
expected to be readily available to fulfil certain obligations during the
ceremony conducted by the eight Priests.
Sad-Dār (100
doors/openings to knowledge) 5.5
talks of men and women being, both, equally proficient
in performing the Navazud (Guj: Navjōte; literally new birth) Ceremony and
the Gəti Kharid (literally the entry to heaven obtained during worldly
existence) by themselves for their own benefit.
Women as Judges:
In
the Stud Yasna, Dinkard XXI 7.8 “the proficiency of a woman, who was
thoroughly acquainted with the Avestan Law was recommended for Judgeship
and presided over a court of law and often in preference to a man, less
acquainted with the law.”
Women as Rulers:
In
Gāthā Spənā Mainyu Ys: 48.5 Zarathushtra implores, “May a
just sovereign (not an oppressive one), either man or woman, through
experiences of good understanding rule over us (in both, our earthly, Geti,
as well as in our spiritual, Mino, existences).”
The Queen:
The Khshathri (consort
of the King, the Khshathra), a renowned and dignified personality, was a
highly respected person holding unquestioned public authority. She was
known to make herself readily available to the masses, who often reached
out to her for assistance during social disquiet and moments of crises in
the realm.
Women of Royal birth:
Ladies born of noble lineage (not
necessarily only those of regal / royal birth) were hu-ptār (Av: hu
is good; ptā is father/seed meaning of an illustrious/ respected family).
In a society divided into the privileged nobility, the Lord - the Ahurā
and the land-based commoner, the 'Lady' (born of or wedded to the Lord)
was the Ahurāni (the ‘Lordly’Lady) incorrectly translated by some
western scholars as ‘wives of Ahurā Mazdā’. In several verses of Ys: 68
the Ahurāni is pictured as a highly respected lady, a favourite of the
masses because, as a very influential public figure, she remained caring
for the needy. She is revered with “offerings of rich flocks
of grazing animals (the Avestan source of love and warm regard), is
of noble thoughts, words and deeds, of off-springs blessed with an
inborn ability to acquire intellect thus rendering prosperity to the
home, village, province, country and to the good religion.”
The Lady-immaculate,
Arēdvi Sura Anāhita, is also called an Ahurāni (in several verses
of Yasna 68) because she is “worthy of reverence with rich
gifts. Her pure flowing streams of waters and gentle springs emanating
from the rapid river create, in the surrounding atmosphere, water vapour,
dewdrops and showers of rain to render the good Earth fertile and
conducive to good health. She shows deep reverence to Fire and, overall,
centres herself round a delightful home worthy of the joyful family to
live in.”
Avestan social
norms:
Widows:
According to the Book of Rivāyats
(in keeping with the constant tenor of positivism and a rich abundance in
the Avestan way of life), widowed ladies were capable of remarrying
after only 4 months and 10 days, if they was not nursing a newborn.
Otherwise, they had to wait for 18 months to marry again.
Lack of children:
In Avestan tradition a married couple that
remains childless literally has a calamity at hand. In Vəndidād
3.24 this stands out as a constant reminder: “Certainly
the Earth is most unhappy when her soil, which is fit for cultivation,
remains uncultivated for a prolonged period. It is almost as if a
virtuous and beautiful woman remains childless by her virtuous husband.”
The husband is then
entitled to remarry if his wife is unable to conceive. It is not clear
how the conclusion was arrived at, that the wife was barren (Aves:
a-frazainti). There could well have been an equal possibility
that it was, in fact, the husband who was sterile.
Separation or divorce:
This was indulged in, mainly, for reasons of
inability to conceive by the wife. Childlessness and divorce equally, were
both not looked upon favourably by the Avestan society. The Book of
Rivāyats recommends that “when a couple is childless the husband
may wed another wife, but the first wife should not be divorced.”
Surprisingly, there is no mention of adoption being recommended as an
alternative in such cases. Also, the possibility of the husband being
sterile does not seem to have been mentioned and taken into account.
Adoption:
Av:
Khvaētvadatha / Pah: Khvētodas/Khvēdyōdath -
literally means giving of oneself. We have noted before the word probably
refers to a ‘given adopted person’ and probably also to a ‘given in
marriage’ to a close relative. There is no direct mention, at all, of
adoption in the Avestan Text. Most of the importance given to it appears
to date back only to the 9th century CE, when the writing of the Pāhlavi
Texts flourished. There seems to be an emphasis on the naming of an
off-spring (adopted daughter or son, whether a child or a grown up -
Dādistan i Dinik 57.3) in the prayer rituals (Pah:
nāmaganih) during life as well as in the funerary rites of the
deceased “to assist in the safe crossing of Chinvat Bridge on the 4th
dawn”. Also, “to obtain assistance from the Fravashi of the living adopted
person for the propitiation of the soul of the departed, while continuing
the lineage in this world so that religious ceremonies and other
meritorious deeds may be performed in the name of the deceased” in later
prayers on behalf of the departed. The acknowledgment of this tradition
was so intense at the time that, according to the Book of Rivāyats,
“the same person could be adopted many times.”
Grandmother and
Old Age:
Aves: nyākē meaning ‘a lady bent down through age’ was a respected
figure in the Avestan household even though old age, per se, during
Avestan times was deemed to be a result of the evil workings of Angra
Mainyu.
Even King Jāmshid (in
Rām Yasht, verse 16) implores Yazata Rām to ‘spare him
from extremes of cold or heat, from old age and untimely death and also
from the evil envies.’
And, the Pēshdādian King,
Haōshang (in Ashi(sh)svang Yasht, verse 30) asks favours
from Ashi Vanghui to ‘grant him such righteousness that it would
succeed in restraining old age and untimely death from Ahurā Mazdā's
creation.’
The Avestan ideal
for the relationship between the genders, as we have noted before, was
that of a distinctly separate but clearly equal and complementary
symbiotic duo partnership in a life-long bond of togetherness. This
symbiosis was based on the acceptance of the obviously natural, innate
difference (of opposites) between the genders. Such an inborn nature of
each gender was valued equally and seen as essential to the total human
enterprise. There was a division of labor, based on the natural bent of
each gender, as preordained by Ahurā Mazdā. Women and men worked at
different tasks in a complementary capacity, neither being more (or less)
important than the other.
With the advent of industrialization,
the cultural influences of materialism created an unfortunately narrow
stereotype of what women (and men) are, or should be, really like. As
modernization progressed those, whose talents and temperaments did not
‘fit the stereotype’, were even labeled as suppressing much in themselves
that would seek expression ‘to become equal’. This stance, sadly, led to
a social disquiet, improperly based on ‘unfair inequality’ totally
ignoring the vital propriety of ‘individuality’ into account. In a
materialistic way of industrialized life, where speed and quick profits
became more important, this surmise turned out to be somewhat true in the
conduct of such aspects as the government of the arms race, environmental
degradation and of many other present day ills. The urge for being heard
to be and being seen to be ‘doing something worthwhile’ during life, with
a consequent need to seek approval (i e of external energies)
increased and, further, strained the ‘individualistic’ emotional values of
togetherness.
In such different times,
when the requirement of two earnings, oftentimes, becomes
necessary to be able to meet costs, it would help to delve into the
crucial elements pointed out by Zarathushtra of intimacy and trust
(internal energies): - Gāthā Vahishtō Isht, verse 7:
“But, the reward of this pious bond of togetherness shall be there if
ye, as wedded couple, continue to exercise zealous devotion to each
other in all walks of life (high or low) where the evil spirit of those
devoted to untruth is encountered. However, should ye decide to renounce
this pious bond of togetherness ‘woe’ shall remain thy last word.”
It is really not important
whether one works or stays at home or whether the other is always able to
help out in housework or not. As such, all work is sacred without having
to feel obsessed about the choice. A high degree of trust in the other’s
decision in the area of special competence is, obviously, vital as, also,
the respect and acknowledgment of the other’s viewpoints. Ultimately, it
all comes down to the phrase, ‘know thyself’ enough to strengthen
the bond of togetherness. Gāthā Vahishtō Isht, verse 6: “Through
thine entire life accept, O' Men and Women that the instructions of Truth
shall prevail in the face of convenient Untruths of obvious advantage,
leading thee away from thine own true selves (remain true to thine own
selves). Then, verily, such woeful deceit of the evil eye shall envelope
and dim the glow of thy Inner Selves (like smoke around fire) enticing ye
to perversions in life.” It is really an individual choice to be
able to say ‘yes’ to a (mutually adjusted) symbiotic life and together and
to be brave enough to even remain ‘unconventional’, if need be. This, as
observed above could become counter to the expectations of the community,
society and, even, friends. In modern terms, the worthy Gāthic
expectations (of those times) obviously have become quite unthinkable to
many in present times.
According to the Gāthās,
the ‘who-should-I-be?’ person should really be asking ‘who-am-I?’ The
basis of Zarathushtra’s teaching was reflection. He emphasized on
the concept of individuality (the personal quality of consciousness
in each individual) in desisting from becoming a mere unreflecting member
of a herd. This does not imply, by any means, violation of the time
honored traditions, which have preserved the vital elements of the
faith. The awareness of and the nurturing of the physical world, well
and truly welded into the Avestan woman’s defined role from ancient times,
is (a silent, but) the greatest strength of our faith. This relationship
of the Avestan woman to the physical world (hu-shyaōthnā - meaningful
experience) has become recognized as being more significant, in
combating the workings of Angra Mainyu, than all the pious rituals enacted
by the well-meaning priesthood can ever attain. The reflective nature of
our faith has always remained meaningful in our response to a fundamental
need, that of our physical striving during our constant movements out of
the primal homeland. Prof. Kaikhosrov Irani calls this need a Primary
religious demand. The Secondary religious demand, he says,
arises when, encountering a particular religious tradition, the person
(here, the Avestan woman) demands a religious vision (an intensely
personal one) which she can dedicate herself (and her family) to.
The modern Avestan woman
has, certainly, come a long way from her ancient domestic responsibilities
of observing strict rules of sanitation, tending the domestic cattle,
spinning and weaving the sacred Kushti, overseeing the chores in the
fields and the early morning milking of the cows. Properly accomplished
in the various levels of education, she has raised herself to a bright and
responsible companion to her husband, capable of understanding his duties
and sharing his joys and his sorrows. Through her daily activities, now
of a different sort, says Khojeste Mistree, “she is able to create a
concurrence of the physical and the spiritual and in this way she is able
to achieve an ideal in the lives of those she cares for.”
References:
The interpretations are mostly of my own
humble making with the priceless help of and inquiry into: -
The Avesta-English
Dictionary of Ervad Kavasji Edulji Kanga ‘Avasthā
bhāshā
ni sampurna farhang’ (A Dictionary in Avesta,
Gujerati and English languages), Education Society’s Steam Press, Bombay,
1900.
The Khordeh Avesta of Ervad
Kavasji Edulji Kanga (1926 Gujarati Reprint of the original 1880 in
Gujarati and the 1993 English print by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet).
Ashō Zarathushtra
nā Gāthā’,
Trend Printers, Bombay-4, 1962
(in Gujarati)
and ‘The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra’, Bombay, 1993
(a reprint of
his First Edition of 1951
in English) by Taraporewala, Irach J.
S.
Translations of the Avestan
and Pahlavi Texts by Tehmurasp Rustamjee Sethna, 46, Parsi Colony,
Karachi, 1976-1977.
The Sanskrit Dictionary by Sir
Moniér Moniér-Willims, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi 1988.
The Sanskrit Dictionary by
Vāman Shivrām Āpte, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi 1979.
Comparisons and cross
references of the Gathic/Avestan words found in the Vēdās and the Sanskrit
Texts, assisted by some personal communications with a ‘Sanskrit Team’.
Sam Kerr (Sydney, Australia)
Qaddimi Ruz Mehr, Mah Ardibehest, Yazdegardi
Era 1375 (4th September 2005)
[i]
This paper was posted on vohuman.org on September 15, 2005. It is
based on a version of serialized articles ‘Avestan Womanhood: its
high esteem’ published from Jan- Dec 1997 in ‘Manashni’, the voice of
the Australian Zoroastrian Association of NSW, Sydney, Australia.
|
