Sacred books of the east including selections from the vedic hymns, zendavesta, dhammapada, upanishads, the koran, and the life of buddha e. James darmesteter translated the text in 1880, relying heavily on the pahlavi translation. We provide the complete text of the extant avesta, the most ancient scriptures of zoroastrianism, as well as many pahlavi scriptures. The principal text in the liturgical group is the yasna, which takes its name from the yasna ceremony, zoroastrianisms primary.
Including selections from the vedic hymns, zendavesta, dhammapada, upanishads, the koran, and the life of buddha with critical and biographical sketches by epiphanius wilson, a. The extant avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently zoroasters transformation of a very ancient tradition. Avesta, the bible of zoroaster wikisource, the free online library. Avesta, also called zend avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. The zendavesta is the sacred book of the parsis, that is to say, of the few remaining followers of that religion which feigned over persia at the time when the second successor of mohammed overthrew the sassanian dynasty 1, and which has been called dualism, or mazdeism, or magism, or zoroastrianism, or fireworship, according as its main. The teachings in the book cover commandments for the body and soul, the souls destination, a gatha hymn, prayer of kem na mazda, prayer of ormuzd yast, the creation of the world and gods warning. Wadia 1900 steps to prophet zoroaster with a book of daily zoroastrian prayers m pithwalla. The sacred writings of zoroaster that formed the basis of the religion that prevailed in persia from the 6th century bc to the 7th century ad.
Zendavesta cyclopedia of biblical, theological and. Eirciv 102a, spring 2006 vi february 7, 2006 basic bibliography some useful literature boyce, m. This work of antiquity, dating back some centuries before the christian era, still forms, with the supplementary writings in the pahlavi or. The original prayers and hymns were composed in a nowextinct language known as avestan which takes its. Not only was it a cohort of the ancient vedic hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of judaism and christianity. Zoroastrianism download books, sacred, spiritual texts. The zend avesta pahlavi texts links zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion. This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.
The current avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture. The videvdad is the only complete book nask of the sasanian avesta that has survived. Avesta project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Jan 12, 2020 the avesta is the scripture of zoroastrianism which developed from an oral tradition founded by the prophet zoroaster zarathustra, zartosht sometime between c. A brief guide to zoroaster, zoroastrianism, and the avesta kindle edition by jackson, a. A collection of quotes and sayings by zoroaster on symbol, avesta, gathas, spitama, deeds, thoughts, joy, mind, path, spiritual, heaven, prayer, religion, enemy and mind. The text is attributed to zarathustra, or zoroaster a holy man early in the 2nd millennium bc though some say much later to 600 bc thought to be from afghanistan then part of a pan persian empire or panindoiranian society of sorts. Entry for zend avesta cyclopedia of biblical, theological and ecclesiastical literature one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this encyclopedia, with its nearly 50,000 entries and 17 millin words, dwarfs modern bible encyclopedias with the depth of knowledge. I only discovered him because an old 30 pound dictionary i used to work out of as a teenager and young man had a list of great books. The avesta is the scripture of zoroastrianism which developed from an oral tradition founded by the prophet zoroaster zarathustra, zartosht sometime between c. The teachings of zoroaster, free pdf, ebook global grey.
Most of the texts in these archives are extremely rare. These many different texts are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they were written down in the 3rd century. Zendavesta zendavesta, the sacred writings of zoroaster. The zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith. Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed worldreligions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind. Written in the avestan old iranian language, it is primarily concerned. Darmesteter 1880 zend avesta part 2 translated by j. Today is the birthday of the great american humorist, journalist, novelist and playwright george ade 18661944. The principal text in the liturgical group is the yasna, which takes its name from the yasna ceremony, zoroastrianisms primary act of worship, and at which the yasna text. Vendidad videvdad or laws against the demons avesta the. Avesta, the bible of zoroaster wikisource, the free.
The avesta consists of fragmentary and muchcorrupted texts. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station with abraham, moses, krishna, jesus, muhammad, the bab, and the founder of the bahai faith, bahaullah. According to the zend avesta, the sacred book of zoroastrianism, zoroaster was born in azerbaijan, in northern persia. The zend avesta is mostly praises to ahura mazda the supreme being of light and creator. Key concepts in eastern philosophy key concepts series oliver leaman. Zoroaster, also renowned as ashu zarathushtra, zarathushtra, and zarathushtra spitama, was a preeminent ancient iranianspeaking prophet who is credited with starting a new movement that lead to the development of a new religion called zoroastrianism. Zend avesta a neglected hindu scripture by d b thengadi written on 22267 from his book the perspective, page 32 the vishva hindu parishad is trying to bring together hindus all over the world on a common platform. The library of the worlds best literature, ancient and. The sacred books of parsees, or zoroastrians, and the main source of our knowledge concerning the religious and spiritual life the ancient persians. The avesta contains books written in various but related old indoiranian languages, broadly called the. The teachings of zoroaster and the philosophy of the parsi religion. It is now generally thought that he was born in the eastern part of ancient persia. Library of the worlds best literature audio book, ancient and modern volume 3 by charles dudley warner, ed. Jul 22, 2017 yogapedia explains zend avesta these sacred scriptures are attributed to zoroaster, who was the founder of the religion.
Rasks examination of the avestan language a dissertation on the authenticity of the zend language, bombay, 1821. Avesta, also called zendavesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. The designation zend avesta, which is often employed to denote the sacred code, is not strictly correct. Like the bible, the avesta sometimes incorrectly called zendavesta is. This is part i of the sacred books of the east zend avesta translation. Zoroastrianism zend avesta zoroastrianism, or, more correctly, zarathustraism, is derived from zoroaster, or, more strictly, zarathustra, the founder of the religion. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading a brief guide to zoroaster, zoroastrianism, and the avesta. This work of antiquity, dating back some centuries before the christian era, still forms, with the supplementary writings in the pahlavi or middle persian language, the scriptures of the modern parsis in. Darmesteter 1883 zend avesta part 3 translated by j. The library of the worlds best literature, ancient and modern, is a work of enormous. The extant avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently zoroaster s transformation of a very ancient tradition. In less than a century after their defeat, nearly all the conquered people were brought over to the faith of their new rulers, either by force, or policy, or.
Avesta means the lore, or sacred writings, and zend, the commentary. The zend avesta, part i sacred books of the east, vol. The zend avesta is the sacred book of the parsis, that is to say, of the few remaining followers of that religion which feigned over persia at the time when the second successor of mohammed overthrew the sassanian dynasty 1, and which has been called dualism, or mazdeism, or magism, or zoroastrianism, or fireworship, according. The word avesta avastha means text, or orifiinal text. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Dec 19, 2012 library of the worlds best literature audio book, ancient and modern volume 3 by charles dudley warner, ed. The title is generally accepted as meaning praise, though this interpretation is not universally agreed upon. The avesta is the primary collection of religious texts of zoroastrianism, composed in the otherwise unrecorded avestan language.
The texts of the avesta, also known as the zend avesta, which are all in the avestan language were composed over the course of several hundred years. It is hardly more than a century ago that the western world, already often enriched by the treasures of the east, received another gift, a contribution from persia, and a new text deciphered was added to our list of sacred books of ancient nations this was the avesta, or zend avesta, the bible and prayer book of zoroaster, the prophet of ancient iran. List of books and articles about zoroastrianism online. An old edition of the avesta with zand interspersed is called the zend avesta or zand avesta. It also includes information about the avestan language, and other useful information for students of zoroastrian religion. As it was mentioned above, the word is derived from zoroaster. It is hardly more than a century ago that the western world, already often enriched by the treasures of the east, received another gift, a contribution from persia, and a new text deci phered was added to our list of sacred books of ancient nations this was the avesta, or zendavesta, the bible and prayer book of zoroaster, the prophet of. Apr 26, 2020 the zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith.
Modern scholarship inclines to the belief that this great religious leader was born in west media about b. French edition zoroaster, abraham hyacinthe anquetil duperron on. Zoroastrianism 90 old books on dvd zoraster avesta parsi. These many different texts are believed to have been transmitted orally for. Biography of zarathustra, founder of zoroastrianism. These many different texts are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they were written down read more and download pdf.
According to a legend preserved in the book of arda viraf, a 3rd or 4th century work, a written version of the zend avesta had existed in the. Jan 07, 2020 the zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith. The twentyone nasks books of the avesta were created by ahura mazda. This short book is comprised of selected teachings of zoroaster zarathustra. Zend avesta has the entire preaching of zoroastrianism in an online ebook format. Zend avesta zoroastrianism, or, more correctly, zarathustraism, is derived from zoroaster, or, more strictly, zarathustra, the founder of the religion. The zend avesta was written over a period of centuries, with significant parts dated to the 7th century bce, the 3rd4th centuries ce, and the 9th century and even the 19th century ce. The author himself was a member of the indian zoroastrian community. As the linguists of both europe and india worked with the language of the gathas attributed to zarathushtra it became clear that they were far older than the language spoken in iran at the time of king darius father. I do not say the book of zoroaster which may be charged with being a modern romance of recent invention, but the avesta itself, will have any doubt that zoroaster is no less an essential. Zend avesta, the original document of the religion of zoroaster, still used by the parsees as their bible and prayer book. Vendidad videvdad or laws against the demons avesta. A brief guide to zoroaster, zoroastrianism, and the avesta. This collection of writings occupies the same place in the literature of iran ancient persia that the vedas do in india.
The avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. Avesta by zoroastrian scripture the greatest books. The basis of zoroastrianism is humaya, hukhta and huvarshta, which translate as good thoughts, good words and good deeds. May 30, 2016 and the philosophy of the parsi religion by s. Best android apps to read avesta zoroastrianism online. Hence it is necessary and useful that a thorough research is conducted into our many neglected scriptures. Avesta, the bible of zoroaster wikisource, the free online. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages. The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills and the plains are not these, o soul, the vision of him who reigns.
The language of the avesta is best designated simply as avestan, not as zend, for the reasons given in the beginning of this. Zoroaster appears in the bahai faith as a manifestation of god, one of a line of prophets who have progressively revealed the word of god to a gradually maturing humanity. Apr 03, 2016 it is hardly more than a century ago that the western world, already often enriched by the treasures of the east, received another gift, a contribution from persia, and a new text deciphered was added to our list of sacred books of ancient nations this was the avesta, or zendavesta, the bible and prayer book of zoroaster, the prophet of ancient iran. Fritz wolff later translated the major texts of the avesta into german, based on bartholomaes monumental. The zendavesta is the sacred book of the parsis, that is to say, of the few remaining followers of that religion which feigned over persia at the time when the second successor of mohammed overthrew the sassanian dynasty1, and which.
The zend avesta, the gathas, and the doctrine of zarathustra albert pike. Though he is known most likely to have been persian, his birthplace is uncertain. Hence the application of zend to the ancient iranian language in which the zend avesta is written. This movement inaugurated by him eventually became the dominant religion in ancient persia. It is a set of persian book zoroastrianism farsi zoroaster zend avesta. The zendavesta is the sacred book of the parsis, the few remaining followers of that religion which has been called dualism, or mazdeism, or magism, or zoroastrianism, or fireworship. Scriptures zoroastrianisms scriptures are the avesta or the zend avesta pahlavi avesta law, zend commentary. The canonical book of the religious sect known as the parsees, more frequently though less precisely called zendavestaan inversion of the pahlavi phrase avistak va zand, the scriptures and the commentary or the law and its interpretation. Zend avesta by english avesta meet your next favorite book. Download the zend avesta in full text pdf download. The zend avesta or persian holy scripture charles f. The name zendavesta has been current in europe since the time of anquetil duperron c. Name binding sales rank lowest new lowest used published.