Haoma
Encyclopedia
Haoma is the Avestan language
name of a plant and its divinity, both of which play a role in Zoroastrian
doctrine and in later Persian culture and mythology. The Middle Persian
form of the name is hōm, which continues to be the name in Modern Persian
and other living Iranian languages.
Sacred haoma has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic
soma
. For haoma' s relationship to Vedic soma, see comparison to soma.
soma derived from proto-Indo-Iranian
*sauma. The linguistic root of the word haoma, hu-, and of soma, su-, suggests 'press' or 'pound'. (Taillieu, 2002)
, include:
The indirect attributes (i.e. as effects of its consumption) include:
), ...
According to Falk, Parsi-Zoroastrians use a variant of Ephedra, usually Ephedra procera, imported from the Hari River valley in Afghanistan. (Falk, 1989)
In the late 19th century, the highly conservative Zoroastrians of Yazd
(Iran) were found to use Ephedra
(genus Ephedra
), which was locally known as hum or homa and which they exported to the Indian Zoroastrians. (Aitchison, 1888) The plant, as Falk also established, requires a cool and dry climate, i.e. it does not grow in India (which is either too hot or too humid or both) but thrives in central Asia. Later, it was discovered that a number of Iranian languages
and Persian dialects have hom or similar terms as the local name for some variant of Ephedra. Considered together, the linguistic and ritual evidence appeared to conclusively establish that haoma was some variant of Ephedra.
In the latter half of the 20th century, several studies attempted to establish haoma as a psychotropic substance, and based their arguments on the assumption that proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma was a hallucinogen. This assumption, which invariably relied on professed Vedic 'evidence' (one hymn of c. 120), was, as Falk (1989) and Houben (2003) would later establish, not supported by either the texts or by the observation of living practice. Moreover, the references to entheogen
ic properties were only in conjunction with a fermentation of the plant extract, which does not have enough time to occur in living custom.
In the conclusion of his observations on a 1999 Haoma-Soma workshop in Leiden, Jan E. M. Houben writes: "despite strong attempts to do away with Ephedra by those who are eager to see *sauma as a hallucinogen, its status as a serious candidate for the Rigvedic Soma and Avestan Haoma still stands" (Houben, 2003, 9/1a). This supports Falk, who in his summary noted that "there is no need to look for a plant other than Ephedra, the one plant used to this day by the Parsis." (Falk, 1989)
Haoma, also known by the middle Persian name Hōm Yazad, is the epitome of the quintessence of the haoma plant, venerated in the Hōm Yašt, the hymns of Yasna 9-11.
In those hymns, Haoma is said to appear before Zoroaster in the form of a "beautiful man" (this is the only anthropomorphic reference), who prompts him to gather and press haoma for the purification of the waters (see Aban
). Haoma is 'righteous' and 'furthers righteousness', is 'wise' and 'gives insight' (Yasna 9.22). Haoma was the first priest, installed by Ahura Mazda
with the sacred girdle aiwiyanghana (Yasna 9.26) and serves the Amesha Spenta
s in this capacity (Yasht 10.89). "Golden-green eyed" Haoma was the first to offer up haoma, with a "star-adorned, spirit-fashioned mortar," and is the guardian of "mountain plants upon the highest mountain peak." (Yasht 10.90)
Haoma is associated with the Amesha Spenta
Vohu Manah (Avestan, middle Persian Vahman or Bahman), the guardian of all animal creation. Haoma is the only divinity with a Yasht who is not also represented by a day-name dedication in the Zoroastrian calendar
. Without such a dedication, Haoma has ceased to be of any great importance within the Zoroastrian hierarchy of angels.
Shahnameh
, which incorporates stories from the Avesta (with due acknowledgement), Hom appears as a hermit, dweller of the mountains, incredibly strong. He binds Afrasiab (middle Persian, Avestan: "the fell Turanian Frangrasyan", Yasna 11.7) with the sacred girdle, and drags him from deep within the earth (named the hankana in Avestan, hang-e-Afrasiab in middle Persian) where Afrasaib has his "metal-encircled" kingdom that is immune to mortal attack.
In another episode, Vivaŋhat is the first of the humans to press haoma, for which Hom rewards him with a son, Jamshid
. Yasna 9.3-11 has Zoroaster
asking the divinity who
(first) prepared haoma and for what reward, to which Haoma recalls Vivahngvant (Persian: Vivaŋhat) to whom Yima Xshaeta (Jamshid
) is born; Athwya (Abtin) to whom Thraetaona (Feredon) is born; and Thrita to whom Urvaxshaya and Keresaspa (Karshasp and Garshasp) are born. The latter two are also characters in priestly heroic tradition, and among conservative Zoroastrians of the hereditary priesthood, Haoma is still prayed to by those wanting children (in particular, honorable sons who will also become priests).
The account given in the Indian Vedas closely agrees with that of the Iranian Avesta. The first preparers of Soma are listed as Vivasvat, who is the father of Yama and Manu, and Trita Aptya.
A legendary 'White Hom' grows at the junction of the "great gathering place of the waters" and a mighty river. According to the Zadspram, at the end of time, when Ormuzd
triumphs over Ahriman
, the followers of the good religion will share a parahom made from the 'White Hom', and so attain immortality for their resurrected bodies. (Zadspram 35.15)
James Darmesteter
, in his 1875 thesis on the mythology of the Avesta, speculating on
the Parsi belief that Ephedra twigs do not decay, wrote: "it comprises the power of life of all the vegetable kingdom... both the ved and the avesta call it the 'king of healing herbs'... the zarathustri scriptures say that homa is of two kinds, the white haoma and the painless tree (no doubt the source of the 'tree of knowledge' and 'the tree of life' in the biblical paradise)... could it be that soma is the tree of life
? the giver of immortality?"
The Indian-Zoroastrian belief mentioned above also manifests itself in the present-day Zoroastrian practice of administering a few drops of parahaoma to the new-born or dying (see Ab-Zohr
). The belief also appears to be very old, and be cross-cultural. As Falk, recalling Aurel Stein
discovery of Ephedra plants interred at 1st century CE Tarim Basin
burial sites, notes: "an imperishable plant, representing or symbolizing the continuity of life, is most appropriate to burial rites" (Falk, 1998).
It is possible that the barsom (Var. Avestan baresman) bundle of twigs was originally a bundle of Haoma stalks. The Haoma divinity is identified with priesthood (see Haoma as a divinity), while the barsom stalks "cut for the bundles bound by women" (Yasna 10.17) is the symbol and an instrument of the Zoroastrian priesthood. Today the barsom is made from pomegranate twigs (cf: preparation of parahaoma for the Ab-Zohr
).
The Haoma plant is a central element in the legend surrounding the conception of Zoroaster
.
In the story, his father Pouroshaspa took a piece of the Haoma plant and mixed it with milk. He gave his wife Dugdhova one half of the mixture and he consumed the other. They then conceived Zoroaster who was instilled with the spirit of the plant.
According to tradition, Zoroaster received his revelation on a riverbank while preparing parahaoma for the Ab-Zohr
(Zatspram 21.1), that is, for the symbolic purification of Aban
("the waters"). This symbolic purification is also evident in Yasna 68.1, where the celebrant makes good for the damage done to water by humanity: "These offerings, possessing haoma, possessing milk, possessing pomegranate, shall compensate thee".
Houben's observation is also significant in that, as of 2003, no significant comparative review of cultural/sacred Haoma/Soma had extended beyond Alfred Hillebrandt's 1891 comparison of the Vedic deity and the Zoroastrian divinity.
All more recent studies that address commonality have dealt only with botanic identification of proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma. Houben's workshop, the first of its kind, dealt with "the nature of the Soma/Haoma plant and the juice pressed from it" and that "the main topic of the workshop (was) the identity of the Soma/Haoma." (Houben, 2003, 9/1b)
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...
name of a plant and its divinity, both of which play a role in 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...
doctrine and in later Persian culture and mythology. The 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...
form of the name is hōm, which continues to be the name in Modern Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and other living Iranian languages.
Sacred haoma has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedic
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
. For haoma
Etymology
Both Avestan haoma and SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
soma derived from proto-Indo-Iranian
Proto-Indo-Iranian language
Proto-Indo-Iranian is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium BC, and are usually connected with the early Andronovo archaeological...
*sauma. The linguistic root of the word haoma, hu-, and of soma, su-, suggests 'press' or 'pound'. (Taillieu, 2002)
In the Avesta
The physical attributes, as described in the texts of the AvestaAvesta
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,...
, include:
- the plant has stems, roots and branches (YasnaYasnaYasna 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...
10.5). - it has a pliant asu (Yasna 9.16). The term asu is only used in conjunction with a description of haoma, and does not have an established translation. It refers to 'twigs' according to Dieter Taillieu, 'stalk' according to Robert Wasson, 'fibre' or 'flesh' according to Ilya Gershevitch, 'sprouts' according to Lawrence Heyworth MillsLawrence Heyworth MillsThe Rev. Dr. Lawrence Heyworth Mills , who generally published as L. H. Mills, was Professor of the Persian language at Oxford University.Mills was born in New York City to Philo L. Mills and Elizabeth Caroline Kane....
. - it is tall (Yasna 10.21, Vendidad 19.19)
- it is fragrant (Yasna 10.4)
- it is golden-green (standard appellation, Yasna 9.16 et al.)
- it can be pressed (Yasna 9.1, 9.2)
- it grows on the mountains, 'swiftly spreading', 'apart on many paths' (Yasna 9.26, 10.3-4 et al.) 'to the gorges and abysses' (Yasna 10-11) and 'on the ranges' (Yasna 10.12)
The indirect attributes (i.e. as effects of its consumption) include:
- it furthers healing (Yasna 9.16-17, 9.19, 10.8, 10.9)
- it furthers sexual arousal (Yasna 9.13-15, 9.22)
- it is physically strengthening (Yasna 9.17, 9.22, 9.27)
- it stimulates alertness and awareness (Yasna 9.17, 9.22, 10.13)
- the mildly intoxicating extract can be consumed without negative side effects (Yasna 10.8).
- it is nourishing (Yasna 9.4, 10.20) and 'most nutritious for the soul' (Yasna 9.16).
In present-day Zoroastrianism
Many of the physical attributes as described in the texts of the Avesta coincide with the choice of plant used in present-day Zoroastrian practice. Although it cannot be ruled out that the plant, as it is used today, is a surrogate of the plant that was revered by ancient Zoroastrians, the choice of such a surrogate would presumably have been made to suit ancient practice. In present-day preparation of parahaoma (for details, see Ab-ZohrAb-Zohr
The Ab-Zohr is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy....
), ...
- the twigs are repeatedly pounded in the presence of a little water, which suggests ancient haoma was also water-soluble.
- the twigs have to be imported by Indian-Zoroastrians, who believe that they are, for climatic reasons, not obtainable on the Indian subcontinent.
- very small quantities are produced.
According to Falk, Parsi-Zoroastrians use a variant of Ephedra, usually Ephedra procera, imported from the Hari River valley in Afghanistan. (Falk, 1989)
Botanic identification
Since the late 18th century, when Anquetil-Duperron and others made portions of the Avesta available to western scholarship, several scholars have sought a representative botanical equivalent of the haoma as described in the texts and as used in living Zoroastrian practice. Most of the proposals concentrated on either linguistic evidence or comparative pharmacology or reflected ritual use. Rarely were all three considered together, which usually resulted in such proposals being quickly rejected.Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
(Iran) were found to use Ephedra
Ephedra
Ephedra refers to the plant Ephedra sinica. E. sinica, known in Chinese as ma huang , has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years for the treatment of asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold...
(genus Ephedra
Ephedra (genus)
Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in its family, Ephedraceae, and order, Ephedrales. Ephedra grows in dry climates over wide areas of the northern hemisphere, including southwestern North America, Europe, north Africa, and southwest and central Asia, and, in the southern...
), which was locally known as hum or homa and which they exported to the Indian Zoroastrians. (Aitchison, 1888) The plant, as Falk also established, requires a cool and dry climate, i.e. it does not grow in India (which is either too hot or too humid or both) but thrives in central Asia. Later, it was discovered that a number of Iranian languages
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
and Persian dialects have hom or similar terms as the local name for some variant of Ephedra. Considered together, the linguistic and ritual evidence appeared to conclusively establish that haoma was some variant of Ephedra.
In the latter half of the 20th century, several studies attempted to establish haoma as a psychotropic substance, and based their arguments on the assumption that proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma was a hallucinogen. This assumption, which invariably relied on professed Vedic 'evidence' (one hymn of c. 120), was, as Falk (1989) and Houben (2003) would later establish, not supported by either the texts or by the observation of living practice. Moreover, the references to entheogen
Entheogen
An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...
ic properties were only in conjunction with a fermentation of the plant extract, which does not have enough time to occur in living custom.
In the conclusion of his observations on a 1999 Haoma-Soma workshop in Leiden, Jan E. M. Houben writes: "despite strong attempts to do away with Ephedra by those who are eager to see *sauma as a hallucinogen, its status as a serious candidate for the Rigvedic Soma and Avestan Haoma still stands" (Houben, 2003, 9/1a). This supports Falk, who in his summary noted that "there is no need to look for a plant other than Ephedra, the one plant used to this day by the Parsis." (Falk, 1989)
As a divinity
The YazataYazata
Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept. The word has a wide range of meanings but generally signifies a divinity...
Haoma, also known by the middle Persian name Hōm Yazad, is the epitome of the quintessence of the haoma plant, venerated in the Hōm Yašt, the hymns of Yasna 9-11.
In those hymns, Haoma is said to appear before Zoroaster in the form of a "beautiful man" (this is the only anthropomorphic reference), who prompts him to gather and press haoma for the purification of the waters (see Aban
Aban
Apas is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which—in its innumerable aggregate states—is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters....
). Haoma is 'righteous' and 'furthers righteousness', is 'wise' and 'gives insight' (Yasna 9.22). Haoma was the first priest, installed by Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
with the sacred girdle aiwiyanghana (Yasna 9.26) and serves 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...
s in this capacity (Yasht 10.89). "Golden-green eyed" Haoma was the first to offer up haoma, with a "star-adorned, spirit-fashioned mortar," and is the guardian of "mountain plants upon the highest mountain peak." (Yasht 10.90)
Haoma is associated with 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...
Vohu Manah (Avestan, middle Persian Vahman or Bahman), the guardian of all animal creation. Haoma is the only divinity with a Yasht who is not also represented by 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...
. Without such a dedication, Haoma has ceased to be of any great importance within the Zoroastrian hierarchy of angels.
In tradition and folklore
In Ferdowsi'sFerdowsi
Ferdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...
Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
, which incorporates stories from the Avesta (with due acknowledgement), Hom appears as a hermit, dweller of the mountains, incredibly strong. He binds Afrasiab (middle Persian, Avestan: "the fell Turanian Frangrasyan", Yasna 11.7) with the sacred girdle, and drags him from deep within the earth (named the hankana in Avestan, hang-e-Afrasiab in middle Persian) where Afrasaib has his "metal-encircled" kingdom that is immune to mortal attack.
In another episode, Vivaŋhat is the first of the humans to press haoma, for which Hom rewards him with a son, Jamshid
Jamshid
Jamshid is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition.In tradition and folklore, Jamshid is described as having been the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian dynasty . This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture Jamshid (Middle-...
. Yasna 9.3-11 has 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...
asking the divinity who
(first) prepared haoma and for what reward, to which Haoma recalls Vivahngvant (Persian: Vivaŋhat) to whom Yima Xshaeta (Jamshid
Jamshid
Jamshid is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition.In tradition and folklore, Jamshid is described as having been the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian dynasty . This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture Jamshid (Middle-...
) is born; Athwya (Abtin) to whom Thraetaona (Feredon) is born; and Thrita to whom Urvaxshaya and Keresaspa (Karshasp and Garshasp) are born. The latter two are also characters in priestly heroic tradition, and among conservative Zoroastrians of the hereditary priesthood, Haoma is still prayed to by those wanting children (in particular, honorable sons who will also become priests).
The account given in the Indian Vedas closely agrees with that of the Iranian Avesta. The first preparers of Soma are listed as Vivasvat, who is the father of Yama and Manu, and Trita Aptya.
A legendary 'White Hom' grows at the junction of the "great gathering place of the waters" and a mighty river. According to the Zadspram, at the end of time, when Ormuzd
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
triumphs over Ahriman
Angra 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:...
, the followers of the good religion will share a parahom made from the 'White Hom', and so attain immortality for their resurrected bodies. (Zadspram 35.15)
James Darmesteter
James Darmesteter
James Darmesteter was a French author, orientalist, and antiquarian.He was born of Jewish parents at Château-Salins, in Alsace. The family name had originated in their earlier home of Darmstadt...
, in his 1875 thesis on the mythology of the Avesta, speculating on
the Parsi belief that Ephedra twigs do not decay, wrote: "it comprises the power of life of all the vegetable kingdom... both the ved and the avesta call it the 'king of healing herbs'... the zarathustri scriptures say that homa is of two kinds, the white haoma and the painless tree (no doubt the source of the 'tree of knowledge' and 'the tree of life' in the biblical paradise)... could it be that soma is the tree of life
Tree of life
The concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science , religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas...
? the giver of immortality?"
The Indian-Zoroastrian belief mentioned above also manifests itself in the present-day Zoroastrian practice of administering a few drops of parahaoma to the new-born or dying (see Ab-Zohr
Ab-Zohr
The Ab-Zohr is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy....
). The belief also appears to be very old, and be cross-cultural. As Falk, recalling Aurel Stein
Marc Aurel Stein
Sir Marc Aurel Stein KCIE, FBA was a Hungarian archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at various Indian universities.-Early life:Stein was born in Budapest into a Jewish family...
discovery of Ephedra plants interred at 1st century CE Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
burial sites, notes: "an imperishable plant, representing or symbolizing the continuity of life, is most appropriate to burial rites" (Falk, 1998).
It is possible that the barsom (Var. Avestan baresman) bundle of twigs was originally a bundle of Haoma stalks. The Haoma divinity is identified with priesthood (see Haoma as a divinity), while the barsom stalks "cut for the bundles bound by women" (Yasna 10.17) is the symbol and an instrument of the Zoroastrian priesthood. Today the barsom is made from pomegranate twigs (cf: preparation of parahaoma for the Ab-Zohr
Ab-Zohr
The Ab-Zohr is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy....
).
The Haoma plant is a central element in the legend surrounding the conception of 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...
.
In the story, his father Pouroshaspa took a piece of the Haoma plant and mixed it with milk. He gave his wife Dugdhova one half of the mixture and he consumed the other. They then conceived Zoroaster who was instilled with the spirit of the plant.
According to tradition, Zoroaster received his revelation on a riverbank while preparing parahaoma for the Ab-Zohr
Ab-Zohr
The Ab-Zohr is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy....
(Zatspram 21.1), that is, for the symbolic purification of Aban
Aban
Apas is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which—in its innumerable aggregate states—is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters....
("the waters"). This symbolic purification is also evident in Yasna 68.1, where the celebrant makes good for the damage done to water by humanity: "These offerings, possessing haoma, possessing milk, possessing pomegranate, shall compensate thee".
Comparison of haoma/soma
Beyond the establishment of a common origin of haoma and soma and numerous attempts to give that common origin a botanic identity, little has been done to compare the two. As Indologist Jan Houben also noted in the proceedings of a 1999 workshop on Haoma-Soma, "apart from occasional and dispersed remarks on similarities in structure and detail of Vedic and Zoroastrian rituals, little has been done on the systematic comparison of the two" (Houben, 2003, 9/1a).Houben's observation is also significant in that, as of 2003, no significant comparative review of cultural/sacred Haoma/Soma had extended beyond Alfred Hillebrandt's 1891 comparison of the Vedic deity and the Zoroastrian divinity.
All more recent studies that address commonality have dealt only with botanic identification of proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma. Houben's workshop, the first of its kind, dealt with "the nature of the Soma/Haoma plant and the juice pressed from it" and that "the main topic of the workshop (was) the identity of the Soma/Haoma." (Houben, 2003, 9/1b)
See also
- preparation and use of parahaoma in the Ab-ZohrAb-ZohrThe Ab-Zohr is the culminating rite of the greater Yasna service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy....
, "offering to waters". - SomaSomaSoma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
, the Vedic equivalent of Haoma. - other Tree of lifeTree of lifeThe concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science , religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas...
concepts.