A fravashi /frəˈvɑːʃi/ (Avestan fravaši; Middle Persian fravard, fravahr, fravash, fravaksh) is the guardian spirit mentioned in the Avesta of an individual, who sends out the urvan (often translated as 'soul') into the material world to fight the battle of good versus evil. On the morning of the fourth day after death, the urvan returns to its fravashi, where its experiences in the material world are collected.
Etymology[edit]
In general, fravashi is believed to have at its root var- "to choose." From reconstructed *fravarti (/rt/ clusters inAvestan usually appear as /š/), fravashi could then be interpreted to mean "one who has been selected (for exaltation)." Also following var- "to choose" is the interpretation as "to choose/profess a faith," as also attested in the word fravarane, the name of the Zoroastrian credo.
Other interpretations take other meanings of var- into consideration: Either as var- "to cover" that in abahuvrihi with fra- "to ward" provides "protective valor," or a derivation from var- "to make/be pregnant" which gives "promoter of birth, birth-spirit." One interpretation considers a derivation from vart- "turn" hence "turning away, departing, death."
In scripture[edit]
The concept of the fravashis, unlike that of many of the other yazatas, does not appear to have an equivalent in other Indo-Iranian religions. Although there are parallels with the Indian pitaras and Greek Prythani, the historical development of the concept is unclear, and there are several conflicting theories as to when and why fravashis received the role they play in the texts of the Avesta. Boyce speculates that perhaps thefravashis are the remnants of the hero-cult of the "Iranian Heroic Age" (c. 1500 BCE onwards), when ancestor-worship was widespread.
Early Zoroastrian texts such as Yasht 17 make a clear departure from ancestor worship[specify], but thefravashis may have been re-integrated later in an effort to make the religion more widely acceptable. The military prowess of the fravashis is celebrated throughout the Yashts, and in two sections they are clearly identified with the urvan. According to Boyce, both are more consistent with the beliefs of the Iranian Heroic Age than with the philosophy expressed in the Gathas, the most important part of the Avesta and thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself.[1]
The fravashis are not mentioned at all in the Gathas. The earliest mention of them is in the Haptan Yasht, where they are mentioned several times. In chapter 57 of the Yasna, the fravashis are responsible for the course of the sun, moon, and stars (and will do so until the renovation of this world), and in nurturing waters and plants, and protecting the unborn in the womb. They would annually strive to ensure that "family, settlement, tribe, and country" had rain.
The principal source of information on the fravashis is Yasht 13 (Farvardin Yasht), the hymn that is addressed to them and in which they appear as beings who inhabit the stratosphere, and aid and protect those who worship them. In this hymn, the farvashis are described as a vast host of "many hundreds, many thousands, many tens of thousands" aiding Ahura Mazda in the creation of the universe.
In tradition[edit]
Although there is no physical description of a fravashi in the Avesta, the faravahar, one of the best known symbols of Zoroastrianism, is commonly believed to be the depiction of one. The attribution of the name (which derives from the Middle Iranian word for fravashi) to the symbol is probably a later development. In Avestan language grammar, the fravashi are unmistakably female, while the faravahar symbol is unmistakably male.
In the hierarchy of the yazatas, the fravashis are the assistants of the Amesha Spenta Haurvatat (Middle Persian:Khordad) of "Wholeness", whose special domain are "the Waters" (Avestan Apo, Middle Persian: Aban).
In the day-name dedications of the Zoroastrian calendar, the fravashis preside over the 19th day of the month and the 1st month of the year, and both are named Farvadin after these yazatas. The Iranian civil calendar of 1925 follows Zoroastrian month-naming conventions and hence also has Farvadin as the name of the first month of the year.
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Faravahar is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism, the state religion of ancient Iran. This religious-cultural symbol was adapted by the Pahlavi dynasty to represent the Iranian nation.
While the symbol is currently thought to represent a Fravashi (approximately a guardian angel) and from which it derives its name (see below), what it represented in the minds of those who adapted it from earlier Mesopotamianand Egyptian reliefs is unclear. Because the symbol first appears on royal inscriptions, it is also thought to represent the 'Divine Royal Glory' (Khvarenah), or the Fravashi of the king, or represented the divine mandate that was the foundation of a king's authority.
This relationship between the name of the symbol and the class of divine entities it represents, reflects the current belief that the symbol represents a Fravashi. However, there is no physical description of theFravashis in the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, and in Avestan the entities are grammatically feminine.
In present-day Zoroastrianism, the faravahar is said to be a reminder of one's purpose in life, which is to live in such a way that the soul progresses towards frasho-kereti, or union with Ahura Mazda, the supreme divinity in Zoroastrianism. Although there are a number of interpretations of the individual elements of the symbol, none of them are older than the 20th century.
Contents
[hide]Etymology[edit]
The New Persian word فروهر is read as forouhar or faravahar (it was pronounced as furōhar in Classical Persian). The Middle Persian forms were frawahr (Book Pahlavi: plwʾhl, Manichaean: prwhr), frōhar(recorded in Pazend as 𐬟𐬭𐬋𐬵𐬀𐬭; it is a later form of the previous form), and fraward (Book Pahlavi: plwlt',Manichaean: frwrd), which was directly from Old Persian *fravarti-.[1][2] The Avestan language form wasfravaṣ̌i (𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌).
In Iranian Culture[edit]
Even after the Islamic conquest of Iran, Zoroastrianismcontinued to be part of Iranian culture. Throughout the year, festivities are celebrated such as the Iranian New Year or Nowroz, Mehregan, and ChaharShanbe Souri. These are remnants of Zoroastrian traditions. From the start of the 20th century, the Farvahar icon found itself in public places and became a known icon amongst all Iranians.
The Shahname by Ferdowsi is Iran's national epic and contains stories (partly historical and partly mythical) from pre-Islamic Zoroastrian times. The tomb of Ferdowsi which is visited by numerous Iranians every year, contains the Faravahar icon as well.
The Sun Throne, the imperial seat of Persia, has strong relations from the Farahavar. The sovereign would be seated in the middle of the throne, which is shaped like a platform or bed that is raised from the ground.
After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the Lion and Sun, which was part of Iran's original national flag, was banned by the government from public places in order to prevent people from being reminded of life prior to the revolution. Nevertheless, Farvahar icons were not removed. As a result, the Farvahar icon became a national symbol amongst the people, and it became somewhat tolerated by the government as opposed to the Lion and Sun. The Farvahar is the most worn pendant amongst Iranians and has become a national symbol, rather than a religious icon, although its Zoroastrian roots are certainly not ignored. It was a symbol of the state religion of the Persian Empire: Zoroastrianism. Nowadays, it is a common symbol of both the modern and ancient Iranian state (which used to be Persia). Although Zoroastrianism is no longer the region of Iran's state religion, it is an important, customary and traditional symbol.
Gallery[edit]
Pitaras ( Sanskrit पितरस् pitaras "the fathers"), also Pitris (from Sanskrit पितृ pitr "father") refers to the Indian mythology :
the souls of the ancestors, which at a certain time of water and cereal balls ( Sanskrit पिण्ड Pinda ) to be sacrificed,
the sons of the gods, which their fathers against Brahma , known made sinned with remorse and repentance, and the
the Prajapati , the ten mythical ancestors of the people.
Avestan Fravashi etymologically corresponds to the Sanskrit word pravartī (f.) meaning something that flows or moves forward or causes such movement. It is interesting that its Middle Persian form "fravahr" is used by the Iranian Manicheans as designation of the first of the five elements of light - usually translated as "breeze" and associated with the ether and the golden colour. However I think that the actual correspondence of the ether is not this, but the third Manichean element - the light (white colour), while the first ("fravahr" - element of life/spirit) stands here instead of earth as complementary to the element of wind (air - blue), just as fire (red) is complementary to water (green). Those correspondendes were most likely derived from the laws of colour perception which Mani being himself a painter has known well.
FRAVASHIS...."In the ancient Persian tradition, fravashis were powerful supernatural beings able to protect their descendants if duly worshipped. Yast 13." ..Mary Boyce, "Zoroastrians Their religious beliefs and practices", Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, UK, 1979.
"In Zoroastrian tradition, life is a temporary state in which a mortal is expected to actively participate in the continuing battle between truth and falsehood. Prior to being born, the urvan (soul) of an individual is still united with its fravashi (guardian spirit), and which have existed since Mazda created the universe. During life, the fravashi acts as a guardian and protector. On the fourth day after death, the soul is reunited with its fravashi, in which the experiences of life in the material world are collected for the continuing battle in the spiritual world. For the most part, Zoroastrianism does not have a notion of reincarnation, at least not until the final renovation of the world. Followers of Ilm-e-Kshnoom in India believe in reincarnation and practice vegetarianism, two principles unknown to Orthodox Zoroastrianism.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
"There are many gods....They are always present everywhere.....the dieties of the indigenous traditions of Western Europe and The Americas especially were dismantled, suppressed, undermined, abused, forgotten...followers were not even allowed to mention them.....but they still have not been able to destroy them, even with the desecration of the entire planet...the drala principle exists everywhere, always."..(Trungpa)
"The belief in a double of the living and dead, animate or inanimate things, which influences the persons involved....The fravashis are a class of higher intelligences playing a prominent part in the world of humanity. (fravashi or fravarti:the Persian King Phraortes in 647 BC). The last ten days of the year are especially set aside for their cult. The 19th day is consecrated to their memory and the first month of the Iranian calendar receives its name after them. The Fravashis resemble the Vedic Pitrs, the Roman Manes, of the Platonic Ideas. The Fravashis constitute the internal essence of things, as opposed to the contingent and accidental. They are not mere abstractions of thought but have objective existence and work as spiritual entities. They are immanent in the particular bodies that come into this world after their divine images.Every object which has a name is endowed with a Fravashi. Some Fravashi are wise, beautiful, courageous, efficacious, etc. From the greatest god down to the tiniest shrub, every object has this divine element implanted in it. During the lifetime of every individual, his Fravashi accompanies him to earth...they render great help to those who invoke them...They rush down in the thick of battle to crush the foes...They are eager to communicate with the living...loving when propitiated, dreadful when offended...(Dhalla: 1963..pg 234)...
FRAVASHIS...."A class of higher intelligences...guardian spirits and prototypes of mankind in its purest creation. The Persian name of the Median King Phraortes (647 BC), and also the Median rebel mentioned in the Behistan inscription to Darius is derived from the word fravashi or fravarti. One of the longest of the Yashts is dedicated to the fravashi. The nineteenth day of every month is consecrated to them. They resemble the Vedic Pitrs, the Roman Manes, or the Platonic Ideas, though they are wholly the same. The multifarious objects of this world are so many terrestial duplicates of these celestial originals. They are the manifestations of energy...They are eager to communicate with the living and seek their invocation...They bless those who make offerings and become dreadful to those who offend them....they come down to the rituals on the days consecrated to them...They are not all of equal rank..." (Dhalla: 1963..pg 233+)
FRAVASHIS ......"A class of higher intelligence that are ancient Persian guardian warrior spirits. The 19th day of every month is consecrated to them. King Phraortes' (647 BC) Persian name is derived from the term."(Dhalla:1963..pg 235)..... "Hence Finite Time and Finite Space control man's destiny from the cradle to the grave. Yet the whole of the macrocosm is kept in being by the Fravashis (Dralas ??), the spiritual powers that are indissolubly linked with each human being and with humanity as a whole. Finite time-space, then, is not a kenoma, an empty nothingness, but a pleroma, a 'full' and vital organism...."...(Zaehner..1961..pg 150)...
" Jehovah is a local deity who abides on Mount Sanai.............we would like to make a pilgrimage.........what we will do with Jehovah is what Padmasambhava did.... He is going to be one of our friends.........Jehovah is a "very gentle person".....He will be subjugated as the local deity of Mt Sanai. We have to look for the site.......We have to perform the appropriate ceremonies for him to come along......Subjugating Jehovah is conquering both the Christian and Islamic traditions at the same time."
"Subjugation is bringing the gods around so that they begin to realize some basic understanding. They can't be purely "I am what I am" which they have to give up ......they have to be willing to relate and be willing to work with the other world altogether...they have to work for the sake of others rather than creating their own kingdoms......"
"Boyce speculates that perhaps the fravashis are the remnants of the hero-cult of the "Iranian Heroic Age" (c. 1500 BCE onwards), when ancestor-worship was widespread.....Although there are parallels with the Indian pitaras and Greek Prythani, thehistorical development of the concept is unclear.....Yasht 13 (Farvardin Yasht), the hymn that is addressed to them and in which they appear as beings who inhabit the stratosphere, and aid and protect those who worship them. In this hymn, the farvashis are described as a vast host of "many hundreds, many thousands, many tens of thousands".....Each family or clan has its own spirit, which guards and looks after only them......Each individual’s fravashi, distinct from his incarnate soul, subtly guides him in life toward the realization of his higher nature. ...The Avesta tells us that the Fravashi is inherent in every animate and inanimate object of Nature and helps in its development. ......In the Parsi festival Fravartigan, the last 10 days of each year, each family honours the fravashis of its dead with prayers, fire, and incense......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fravashi
"After death the uravan and Fravashi are separated from the tanu which is disposed off. The Fravashi which is pure and perfect returns to the celestial abode....In pre-Zoroastrian times, the spirits of the departed heroes were believed to be powerful winged beings and were invoked by the living for protection and help...http://www3.sympatico.ca/zoroastrian/fravar.htm