Master's Thesis in Ancient Culture and Languages
Abstract
This research, by choosing a ritual and natural element, deals with a comprehensive investigation of the deities related to that element in Iranian and Indian religions, and its importance is in collecting and classifying scattered information in Vedic and Avestan sources such as Gahan and Yasht. In this research, the element under investigation is fire because the gods of fire show many changes in the transition from these two important historical periods. In the Indian Vedas, Agni is the only fire deity and one of the three main deities. But in Iranian religions, his duties are divided between a group of gods and goddesses.
In the first part of this research, first the place of fire among Indian customs and traditions, then Agni and the gods related to the sun and light in the Vedic period are examined. In the second part, fire is examined in the myths of the Iranian period, and then the self-cares of Ardibehesht Amshaspand, who is entrusted with fire, and the group of his fellow deities, Azar, Bahram, Soroush, Nariosang, and Repithvin, are studied one by one, and the self-cares left over from ancient times are separated from the new functions that have been attributed to deities such as Bahram and Soroush in more recent periods with recent social and cultural transformations. they become By classifying these new and old rituals, the rituals and characteristics of the ancient Indo-Iranian god are recognized.
In the end, using the obtained information and in a reverse way, the primary Indo-Iranian god that these two peoples worshiped before the separation and in their motherland is reconstructed. For this purpose, in addition to understanding the self-relationships of the fire god among the two peoples and their transformation process, the cultural and biological elements of the Indo-Iranian era have also been investigated, because only by knowing the general characteristics of the Indo-Iranian gods and the cultural and climatic characteristics of the Indo-Iranians, a correct method can be reached to identify and reconstruct the Indo-Iranian fire god.
Key words: fire god, Indo-Iranian, Agni, Atar, Avesta, Vedas, mythology
Foreword
In researches in the field of mythology and knowledge of Indo-European or Indo-Iranian gods, the most focus on Iranian gods is taken from Avesta or Pahlavi texts. In addition, the existing researches about the gods usually define each god separately, its functions and roots. In the same way, researches have been conducted on the sacred elements of religions or the elements of nature that have played a role in religious traditions and rituals, such as water, fire, and plants, which have briefly addressed this element and the rituals associated with it.
According to the above, the design of this research has been formed with a combined approach of these three issues. That is, a research that, by choosing a ritual or natural element, deals with a comprehensive investigation of the deities related to that element in all Iranian and Indian religions and rituals. On the other hand, the evolution of these deities in different historical periods is very important. Some of these gods have undergone fundamental transformations in the transition from the Indo-European period to the Indo-Iranian period and then to the Indian period or the Iranian period, which are usually affected by the change in the geography of their habitat, or the occurrence of historical events and religious, social and cultural transformations of their societies. These transformations have usually occurred in the field of self-care, the degree of importance, the type of prayers, and the rituals and ceremonies associated with them. Sometimes these transformations are so deep that the nature of a god changes, for example, we can point to the evolution of the meaning of the Indian "Deva" as the "holy gods" of India, to the Iranian "devi", which means demon and evil, or to the change of self-care of the great Vedic gods such as Indra, Varuna and Mitra, in the Avestan texts.
One of these gods that changed many times shows, is the god of fire. Agni is the only god of fire in the Vedas. But in Iranian religions, there is no Yazidi with this name. Rather, his duties are divided between gods and gods.This great evolution about God, who is the symbol and guardian of one of the most important natural and ritual elements of human societies, deserves a deeper investigation and approach, because the element of constant fire has played an important role in Aryan and even non-Aryan ceremonies, and traces of these rituals and ceremonies have remained to this day. In addition to Agni, who is the main god of fire, in this research, other gods who are related to the category of fire in some way, whether in the field of self-care or in Vedic or Iranian mythological stories, have also been discussed. In the second part of this research, Agni, the Vedic fire god, Vedic sun gods, and Agni's relationship with other great gods, their investigations and their actions have been categorized and separated. In the third part, the gods of fire in Iran were examined in a specific order. First, the position and identity of Izad among the texts of Avesta and the texts of the middle period have been examined and all references about this Izad have been collected. Then, Izad's rituals are extracted from them and matched according to the Indian Izad's model. Examining the gods of fire from the perspective of the Vedas helps us understand this historical development and provides us with the background of these gods, and in the next step, by examining the Iranian sources of the Vedas, such as Yashta and Gahan, we can correctly compare these gods with each other. By examining the texts of this period, it is possible to understand the place of fire in the Indo-Iranian temple and why Agni was replaced or accompanied by other gods in the Iranian period and did not enter directly into Iranian culture. Kurd.
Gods of fire in India
1-1- Fire in India
Interpreting the surrounding world and analyzing unknown phenomena was a difficult and terrifying task for the first humans. Therefore, by taking refuge under a collective dream - myth - they have solved their spiritual concerns. In the definition of myth, Mircha Eliade says: "Myth is the narrator of a sacred and Minoan story. The narrator is an event that happened in the first time, the wonderful time of the beginning of everything. Therefore, myth always involves the narration of a "creation"; That is, it says how something emerged, came into existence, and began its existence. (Eliadeh, 1362, p. 14)
The myth of creation has a special place in the mythologies of different nations. All nations have myths and the myth of creation is the most important. Among primitive peoples and many small tribes in Africa and Australia, of which there is not much left, usually one of the few remaining relics is the myths related to the creation of the world and man. This in itself is a proof of the stability of the story of creation among myths.
One ??of the most beautiful texts related to creation, which expresses human concerns about the beginning and completion of itself and sings of the beginning disorder in a way, is the creation hymn of the Rig Veda, which is the oldest Indo-European text. In a part of it, it is stated:
"When there was neither the sign nor the absence, there was neither the air nor the country of the sky." There was no cover and no refuge, no water and no deep sea. There was no death and no eternal life. And not a sign that separates day and night. There was one who stood by himself and there was nothing except him. It was dark and anxious, the world was hidden in darkness. What was, was formless and formless, after that it was found as a result of heat, unity, then desire and desire, which is the core of the soul. The wise men (=rishis) who were searching with the mind of the heart, understood the relationship between what was and what was not. The cross line was expanded and a top and bottom were found. Producers and great forces and freedom and power were created in the earth and sky. Who can know and who can say where the creation came from and how it appeared. (Ger, 1337, pp. 98-97)
In this way, the lack of recognition of man from the starting point of creation is the common concern of many myths, which shows a common idea among the first nations and ancient civilizations.