Visperad
Visperad (also Visparad and Vîspered , Avestian language ) is the name of the fourth book of the Avesta , the sacred script of the Zoroastrian teaching that goes back to the Iranian religious founder Zarathustra .
The word “Visparad” is made up of two parts: Vispa ( Avestian and Old Persian ; Pahlavi : Visp : “all”) and Ratu (Avestian; Pahlavi and Neupersian : wheel ; “Spiritual Master and Lord” or “Spiritual Role Model”).
The Visparad consists of 22 to 27 sections according to various classification schemes. One section is called the "Karda". The well-known classification according to Geldner results in 24 Kardas.
In terms of content, the Visparad can be described as a song of praise to creation, which was connected with the Yasna in the liturgy . In Zoroastrianism , the term “ratu” or “wheel” applies to those elements of being that are considered good and of particular value, especially as promoting life and increasing joy.
In the Visparad, in addition to the various parts of creation, to which a highlighted subspecies or subunit is assigned as particularly valuable and thus as "Ratu", also basic terms are called "Ratu", which at the same time a framework of Zoroastrian worldview and sources of the ancient reveal Iranian philosophy. These include various terms, some of which can be found as old Iranian “deities” ( Avestian : Yazata , Pahlavi : Yazd , Neupersian : Izad or the Amesha Spenta ), for example Vohumana (“good thinking”), Anahita (including Yazat of purity), "Tschisti" ("knowledge") or "Adâ" ("good reward").
In the Visparad Zarathustra himself appears as “Ratu”, as do women and men who believe and walk through life with “good thinking, good words and good deeds”.
Nature appears in the Visparad as a place of diverse blessings, which are named and whose highest kind is highlighted as "Ratu". Animals, plants, mountains and the sea find a “highest”. Specifically, among the Haoma plants and among all mountains the summit “ Hokar ” (Avestian “Hukairyah”) is assigned this rank, a mountain on whose slopes Anahita gives the earth the blessing of water.
The text turns into a hymn of thanks to God, Ahura Mazda , who - like the person of Zarathustra elsewhere - is referred to as Ahu and Ratu , "Ahu" ( Avestic ) in the sense of the "Worldly Lord" compared to " Ratu ”as the“ Spiritual Lord and Master ”.
Six “rats” are assigned to the element of time. These correspond to the six old Iranian "Gâhânbârs" ( Pahlavi and Neupersisch ), joyous festivals, some of which are still widespread today, including the most famous and well-known festival Nouruz , which is celebrated far beyond the borders of the Zoroastrians and today 's Iran . The joyful character of these "Gâhânbârs" and the lack of a funeral festival at this point is seen against the background of the life-affirming character of Zarathustra's teaching.
The idea of the “highest” of every kind of being also appears in later works, for example in the Middle Persian book “ Bundahischn ”. The highest, Ratu, appears at the same time as a link between all beings and as a reference to God, Ahura Mazda. Developments and characteristics of later epochs of Iranian and especially Persian poetry and philosophy, including the post-Islamic era, are partly considered in this context, for example in Rumi's and Saadi's recurring formula that through a clear view of every phenomenon of being from the whole to the individual detail of God Face can be seen in sublime beauty. Under this aspect, God, nature and creation appear united. Ethical principles of Zoroastrian thought find specific expression on the basis of this unity and specifically in the descriptions laid down in the Visparad and in the Book of Yasna des Avestas.
literature
- Encyclopaedia of Ancient Iran . Hashem-e Razi, Tehran, Sokhan, 2002.
- Encyclopedia Iranica . Edited by Ehsan Yarshater
- Translations: J. Darmesteter, LH Mills, F. Wolff. See also Avesta.org .
- Old Avestan Glossary . P. Octor Skjaervo, Harvard University.
- Avesta . Translation of the text. Jalil Doostkhah. Morvarid, 1996.
- A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary . DN MacKenzie. Routledge Curzon, 2005.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Horn: History of Persian Literature. CF Amelang, Leipzig 1901 (= The literature of the East in individual representations, VI.1), p. 4 f.