Airyaman
Encyclopedia
In the Avesta
, (or ) is both an Avestan language
common noun as well as the proper name of a Zoroastrian
divinity.
The common noun is a theological and social term literally meaning "member of (the) community or tribe." In a secondary development, the common noun became the proper name of a divinity Airyaman, who is the yazata
of health and healing.[*]
In Zoroastrian tradition, Avestan Airyaman is Middle Persian
Erman (Ērmān).
, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and considered to have been composed by Zoroaster
himself. In the few instances where the term does appear (Yasna
32.1, 33.4, 49.7), airyaman is a common noun denoting the social division of priests.
unleashed innumerable sicknesses upon it. In response, Ahura Mazda requested Manthra Spenta, Sraosha
and Airyaman to find a cures for them, promising each that he would reward them and bless them with Dahma Afriti. With Airyaman's assistance, Ahura Mazda then brought 10,000 plants to the earth, so providing Thraetaona with the means to cure the world of all ills (Vendidad
22.5).
Airyaman is closely associated with Asha Vahishta, the Amesha Spenta
of "Best Truth" (or "Best Righteousness"). In Vendidad 20.11 and in Yasht 2 (dedicated to the seven Amesha Spentas), he is described as "following" asha
, which is what Asha Vahishta is the hypostasis of. The third Yasht
, which is nominally a hymn to Asha Vahishta is for the greater part a praise of the airyaman ishyo, which in Zoroastrian tradition is considered to be an invocation of the divinity Airyaman.
Like the truth/order (asha) that is preserved through the proper recitation of prayer, "Airyaman does not heal by means of herbs and drugs, medicine and surgery, but by the holy spells." Although Airyaman does not have a day-name dedication in the Zoroastrian calendar
, he is invoked together with Asha Vahishta on the third day of the month (Siroza 2.3).
Airyaman's stock epithet is ishya "desirable" (Yasna 27.5, Visparad 1.8, 2.10, Vendidad 22.9, 22.19, 22.20). In other passages of the Vendidad, Airyaman is "vow-fulfilling" (11.7, 21.20 and 21.21).
3.157, it is due "to the superior assistance and friendship" of Airyaman (→ MP
Erman) that a physician can heal through medicinal herbs. The physician's medical skills depend on the quality of his relationship with Airyaman. In the same section, Airyaman's healing powers are said to be "hidden" or have "occult efficacy." He has the God-commanded power to cure 4,333 kinds of diseases.
The Avesta's identification of Airyaman with Asha Vahishta (→ MP Ardavahisht) is carried forward into Zoroastrian trandition. In Denkard 8.37.13, Airyaman's role as healer is even shared with Asha Vahishta: While Airyaman is responsible for corporeal health, Asha Vahishta is responsible for spiritual health.
In the eschatology of Zoroastrian tradition, "Fire and Airyaman will melt the metals that are in the mountains and hills, and they will flow over the earth like rivers. And they will make all men to pass through that molten metal and thereby make them clean." Similarly, in the Bundahishn
(completed 12th century), the proper noun airyaman is an epithet of the saoshyant
, an eschatological figure who brings about the final renovation of the world. Like the divinity Airyaman, the saoshyant is closely connected to Asha Vahishta.
In a Pazend nuptial hymn that continues to recited as Zoroastrian weddings, the divinity of health is invoked as the guardian of matrimony. The doctrinal foundation of this identification is Yasna 54.1 (reiterated in the hymn), which invokes Airyaman "for the joy of the marrying couple."
In present-day Zoroastrianism, the Gathic airyaman ishyo prayer is considered to be an invocation of the divinity Airyaman.
The common meaning of airyaman/aryaman as "member of community" is preserved in both Avestan and Vedic sources, as in both cultures the common noun airyaman/aryaman defines "a type of social group."
However, the respective divinities do not have a common primary attribute: While the RigVedic Aryaman is apparently the "[friend by] hospitality," Avestan Airyaman is unambiguously a divinity of healing. Attempts to explain this anomaly range from an alternate interpretation of the masculine form of the Vedic noun, for example, as "protector of aryan men," . to a reinterpretation of "healing", for example, "he [Vedic Aryaman] also exists in the Avesta, under the name Airyaman, and there also is he the helper, the benefactor of man, inasmuch as he is a healing god"
Name versus Function
Zoroastrian divinities are – Airyaman being a solitary exception – hypostases
of the common nouns that their names represent. Why this is not so for airyaman/Airyaman is generally accepted to be a secondary development:
One hypothesis dates the identification with healing to before the composition of the Gathic airyaman ishyo. Here, (following a well established meaning) "member of (the) community," is interpreted to signify a member "of the fellowship of priests (sodalis)." Accordingly, Airyaman came to be understood as the divinity of healing (and the prayer came to be considered a charm against sickness) because in antiquity priests were repositories of medicinal knowledge and "the healer among healers was he who healed by the holy WORD."
According to a "strict philology" methodology that relies only on etymological and grammatical evidence, the genenis of Airyaman lies in a Younger Avestan exegesis of the Gathic airyaman ishyo prayer. The proper noun was misconstrued to be an invocation of a divinity named Airyaman, who became the yazata
of healing because the prayer was identified with healing (for example, eulogized in Yasna 3 as "the greatest of manthras against sickness"). While it was accepted that the Avestan common noun airyaman and Vedic aryaman- both indicate a type of social group, that 'Avestan Airyaman is a chimera ... would have been determined long ago if a Vedic divinity of this name [had not confused the issue].'
Avesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
, (or ) is both an Avestan language
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
common noun as well as the proper name of a Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
divinity.
The common noun is a theological and social term literally meaning "member of (the) community or tribe." In a secondary development, the common noun became the proper name of a divinity Airyaman, who is the yazata
Yazata
Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept. The word has a wide range of meanings but generally signifies a divinity...
of health and healing.[*]
In Zoroastrian tradition, Avestan Airyaman is Middle Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
Erman (Ērmān).
In the Gathas
The divinity Airyaman does not appear in the GathasGathas
The Gathas are 17 hymns believed to have been composed by Zarathusthra himself. They are the most sacred texts of the Zoroastrian faith.-Structure and organization:...
, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and considered to have been composed by Zoroaster
Zoroaster
Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...
himself. In the few instances where the term does appear (Yasna
Yasna
Yasna is the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts of the Avesta as well as the name of the principal Zoroastrian act of worship at which those verses are recited. The Yasna, or Izeshne, is primarily the name of the ceremony in which the entire book is recited and appropriate...
32.1, 33.4, 49.7), airyaman is a common noun denoting the social division of priests.
In the Younger Avesta
According to a cosmogonical story preserved in the Vendidad, not long after Ahura Mazda had created the world, Angra MainyuAngra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.-In Zoroaster's revelation:...
unleashed innumerable sicknesses upon it. In response, Ahura Mazda requested Manthra Spenta, Sraosha
Sraosha
Sraosha is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian divinity of "Obedience" or "Observance", which is also the literal meaning of her name....
and Airyaman to find a cures for them, promising each that he would reward them and bless them with Dahma Afriti. With Airyaman's assistance, Ahura Mazda then brought 10,000 plants to the earth, so providing Thraetaona with the means to cure the world of all ills (Vendidad
Vendidad
The Vendidad or Videvdat is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the Vendidad is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual.-Name:...
22.5).
Airyaman is closely associated with Asha Vahishta, the Amesha Spenta
Amesha Spenta
' is an Avestan language term for a class of divine entities in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous Immortal" The noun is amesha "immortal", and spenta "furthering, strengthening, bounteous, holy" is an adjective of it...
of "Best Truth" (or "Best Righteousness"). In Vendidad 20.11 and in Yasht 2 (dedicated to the seven Amesha Spentas), he is described as "following" asha
Asha
Asha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
, which is what Asha Vahishta is the hypostasis of. The third Yasht
Yasht
The s are a collection of twenty-one hymns in Younger Avestan. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. Yasht chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as Yt....
, which is nominally a hymn to Asha Vahishta is for the greater part a praise of the airyaman ishyo, which in Zoroastrian tradition is considered to be an invocation of the divinity Airyaman.
Like the truth/order (asha) that is preserved through the proper recitation of prayer, "Airyaman does not heal by means of herbs and drugs, medicine and surgery, but by the holy spells." Although Airyaman does not have a day-name dedication in the Zoroastrian calendar
Zoroastrian calendar
This article treats of the reckoning of days, months and years in the calendar used by adherents of the Zoroastrian faith. Zoroastrian religious festivals are discussed elsewhere, but have a fixed relationship to Nawruz, the New Year festival, whose timing is discussed below...
, he is invoked together with Asha Vahishta on the third day of the month (Siroza 2.3).
Airyaman's stock epithet is ishya "desirable" (Yasna 27.5, Visparad 1.8, 2.10, Vendidad 22.9, 22.19, 22.20). In other passages of the Vendidad, Airyaman is "vow-fulfilling" (11.7, 21.20 and 21.21).
In tradition
According to DenkardDenkard
The Dēnkard or Dēnkart 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...
3.157, it is due "to the superior assistance and friendship" of Airyaman (→ MP
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
Erman) that a physician can heal through medicinal herbs. The physician's medical skills depend on the quality of his relationship with Airyaman. In the same section, Airyaman's healing powers are said to be "hidden" or have "occult efficacy." He has the God-commanded power to cure 4,333 kinds of diseases.
The Avesta's identification of Airyaman with Asha Vahishta (→ MP Ardavahisht) is carried forward into Zoroastrian trandition. In Denkard 8.37.13, Airyaman's role as healer is even shared with Asha Vahishta: While Airyaman is responsible for corporeal health, Asha Vahishta is responsible for spiritual health.
In the eschatology of Zoroastrian tradition, "Fire and Airyaman will melt the metals that are in the mountains and hills, and they will flow over the earth like rivers. And they will make all men to pass through that molten metal and thereby make them clean." Similarly, in the Bundahishn
Bundahishn
Bundahishn, meaning "Primal Creation", is the name traditionally given to an encyclopædiaic collections of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi. The original name of the work is not known....
(completed 12th century), the proper noun airyaman is an epithet of the saoshyant
Saoshyant
Saoshyant is a figure of Zoroastrian eschatology who brings about the final renovation of the world, the Frashokereti. The Avestan language name literally means "one who brings benefit," and is also used as common noun.-In scripture:...
, an eschatological figure who brings about the final renovation of the world. Like the divinity Airyaman, the saoshyant is closely connected to Asha Vahishta.
In a Pazend nuptial hymn that continues to recited as Zoroastrian weddings, the divinity of health is invoked as the guardian of matrimony. The doctrinal foundation of this identification is Yasna 54.1 (reiterated in the hymn), which invokes Airyaman "for the joy of the marrying couple."
In present-day Zoroastrianism, the Gathic airyaman ishyo prayer is considered to be an invocation of the divinity Airyaman.
Scholastic issues
In relationship to Vedic aryaman-The common meaning of airyaman/aryaman as "member of community" is preserved in both Avestan and Vedic sources, as in both cultures the common noun airyaman/aryaman defines "a type of social group."
However, the respective divinities do not have a common primary attribute: While the RigVedic Aryaman is apparently the "[friend by] hospitality," Avestan Airyaman is unambiguously a divinity of healing. Attempts to explain this anomaly range from an alternate interpretation of the masculine form of the Vedic noun, for example, as "protector of aryan men," . to a reinterpretation of "healing", for example, "he [Vedic Aryaman] also exists in the Avesta, under the name Airyaman, and there also is he the helper, the benefactor of man, inasmuch as he is a healing god"
Name versus Function
Zoroastrian divinities are – Airyaman being a solitary exception – hypostases
Hypostasis (linguistics)
In linguistics, a hypostasis , is a relationship between a name and a known quantity, as a cultural personification of an entity or quality...
of the common nouns that their names represent. Why this is not so for airyaman/Airyaman is generally accepted to be a secondary development:
One hypothesis dates the identification with healing to before the composition of the Gathic airyaman ishyo. Here, (following a well established meaning) "member of (the) community," is interpreted to signify a member "of the fellowship of priests (sodalis)." Accordingly, Airyaman came to be understood as the divinity of healing (and the prayer came to be considered a charm against sickness) because in antiquity priests were repositories of medicinal knowledge and "the healer among healers was he who healed by the holy WORD."
According to a "strict philology" methodology that relies only on etymological and grammatical evidence, the genenis of Airyaman lies in a Younger Avestan exegesis of the Gathic airyaman ishyo prayer. The proper noun was misconstrued to be an invocation of a divinity named Airyaman, who became the yazata
Yazata
Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept. The word has a wide range of meanings but generally signifies a divinity...
of healing because the prayer was identified with healing (for example, eulogized in Yasna 3 as "the greatest of manthras against sickness"). While it was accepted that the Avestan common noun airyaman and Vedic aryaman- both indicate a type of social group, that 'Avestan Airyaman is a chimera ... would have been determined long ago if a Vedic divinity of this name [had not confused the issue].'