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Home Articles Sanskrit And The Language Of Avestan

 

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As they lit their fires, chanted their mantras and made their offerings, the Magi were the old world order, the priests of Zarathustra, the teachers of Avesta, and just as the Brahmans were to Vedic India and the Druids were to Europe so the Magi to Iran and the Middle East.

 

'Magi' means 'priest' its source being 'maga' a word from the ancient language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'magician' and the 'priest of the sun' and as this departs the shores of Vedic India its seen within other lands as the words 'magic' and 'magician'.

 

'Zarathustra' was their prophet and as a man who was born into a family of animal traders his name is said to mean 'one whose camels are old' the 'zara' being the Sanskrit 'jara' whose meaning is 'old' and the 'ustra' is the Sanskrit 'ustra' whose meaning is 'camel'.

 

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Their object of worship and their supreme deity was known as 'Ahura Mazda' a name which is formed of words from the language of Sanskrit as the 'ahura' is from 'asura' whose meaning is 'divine' and the 'mazda' is from 'medha' whose meaning is 'wisdom' as in one who possesses divine ( asura ) wisdom ( medha ).

 

The beginnings of the Zoroastrians are said to go back in time some 3500 to 6000 years ago and their teachings was once a vast library of knowledge which was known as 'Avesta' yet their names for God, the name of their prophet and the name of their priests were all Sanskrit.

 

Max Muller was an orientalist and a professor of philology and within his book 'The Science of Language' he writes "It was more faithfully preserved by the Zoroastrians who migrated from India to the northwest and whose religion has been preserved to us in the Zind Avesta, though in fragments only. The Zoroastrians were a colony from northern India”.

 

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Avesta had its capital within the lands of Iran whose original name was 'Aryan' and its citizens were known as 'Aryans' a word from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is that which is 'noble' an emphasis upon character which has nothing to do with skin colour nor geographical locations and everything to do with the cultivation of higher things.

 

Upon the walls of a cliff face within the region of Bagastan within the lands of Iran we find the following "I am Darius the great King, King of Kings, King of many countries and many people, King of this expansive land, the Archaiemenid, son of a Persian, Aryan from the Aryan race”. We also have Herodotus the famous historian who writes "Medes and Persians were called anciently by all people as the Aryans".

 

And so this was the Middle East some 2000 years ago known as the 'kingdom of the Aryans' an extension of Vedic India where 'Iran' is a corruption of 'Aryan' where 'Darius' is 'dharya' meaning 'holding' as in one 'holding the good' and even 'Bagastan' is 'Bhagavan' meaning 'God' and 'sthana' meaning 'abode' as in the abode ( sthana ) of god ( bhagavan ) all names from Sanskrit.

 

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The gods of Avesta were the gods of old, the ancient gods, the gods of the Vedas where the winds which blew across their lands came from 'Vayu' and 'Vata' the Sun appeared as 'Vivahvant' and 'Ushas' and the waters which covered the lands were controlled by 'Varuna' all gods from the ancient Vedas of India.

 

'Mithra' is the god of Avesta, the god of the Romans and the god of the Vedas yet he is owned by the language of Sanskrit where the root 'Mi' means a 'limit' a 'border' and 'tra' means to 'protect' as in one who protects ( tra ) the borders ( mi ) which divide night from day and one who protects ( tra ) the borders ( mi ) which separate the Seas from the land.

 

'Mithra' can be found within stone tablets which go back in time some 3400 years where upon the stone tablets of Armana a King calls the gods to witness his testimony “The  Mitra gods, the Varuna gods, Indra, the Nasatya gods, Lord of Vasukhani, the mountains and rivers, the deities of heaven and the deities of earth“ all gods from the Vedas of India.

 

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The first month of the Avesta calendar is called 'fravashi' a word formed from Sanskrit meaning first ( pra ) growth ( vaksatha ) and their summer begins with the month of 'tishtrim starem' words formed from Sanskrit whose meaning is the auspicious ( tishya ) star ( str ).


'Ameratat' is a month of the Avesta calendar whose meaning is 'immortality' and 'deathless' and this is from 'amara' a word from the language of Sanskrit meaning 'immortal' and the sixth month upon their calendar is 'khshathrem vairim' words formed from Sanskrit meaning the power to rule ( ksatra ) at will ( vara ).

 

'Athro' is the ninth month of the Avesta calendar whose meaning is 'the pure form of fire' from the Sanskrit 'atharvi' and 'atharvam' meaning 'fire' and 'priest of the sacrificial fire' and the eleventh month is 'vohu mana' which is formed from Sanskrit meaning great ( vasu ) mind ( mana ).

 

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Professor Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern wrote a book entitled 'About The Word Zarathustra' and within it he says "The Bactrian ( Avesta ) is so greatly related to the old Indian language and in particular that of the Vedas that without exaggeration it can be called a dialect thereof".

 

Avesta describes its verses as 'gathas' whose source is 'gatha' a word from Sanskrit meaning 'verse' and these verses are said to come from 'yasna' meaning 'sacrifice' whose origin is 'yajna' a word from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'sacrifice'.

 

We also find the 'Videvdat' which are the texts of Avesta and this is formed of words from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is that which protects ( datta ) against ( vi ) the gods ( devas ) and this reflects the eternal struggle between the gods and the demons.

 

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The celestial ocean known as 'Vourukasha' is the ocean of Avesta from which all the rivers of the world emerge and this seems to be formed from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is a multitude ( vara ) of celestial oceans ( akasa ) as in that from which the elements come.

 

'Vouruksha' produces 'Haravati' who is the river goddess of Avesta and this is none other than 'Sarasvati' the great river goddess of the Vedas and we can also see how the language of Avesta has a tendency to change a Sanskrit 'S' into an Avestan 'H'.

 

Sarasvati is also known within the culture of Avesta as 'Aredvi Sura Anahita' who is the goddess of the waters and although 'aredvi' is somewhat vague the 'sura' is from Sanskrit meaning 'one who possesses greatness' and 'anahita' is 'ahita' meaning 'unclean' and 'an' meaning 'not' as in one who is not ( an ) unclean ( ahita ) as in one who is 'pure'.

 

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“The original name of the Indo/Iranian Goddess was Sarasvati ( she who possesses waters ). In India she continued to be worshipped by this name, which she gave there to a small but very holy river in Madhyadesa ( Punjab ) whereas in Iran Sarasvati became, by normal sound changes, Harahvati, a name preserved in the region called in Avestan Harakhvaiti and known to the Greeks as Anacosia, a region rich in rivers and lakes." Mary Boyce

 

"The Bactrian ( Avesta ) is so greatly related to the old Indian language and in particular that of the Vedas that without exaggeration it can be called a dialect thereof". Professor Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern


"It was more faithfully preserved by the Zoroastrians who migrated from India to the northwest and whose religion has been preserved to us in the Zind Avesta, though in fragments only. The Zoroastrians were a colony from northern India”. Max Muller

 

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Last Updated (Saturday, 03 September 2022 07:49)

 
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