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40-413: As described in the liturgy that accompanies the procedure, the rite constitutes a symbolic offering ( 𐭦𐭥𐭧𐭫 ‎, zohr < 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬚𐬭𐬀‎ , zaoθra ) to the waters ( aban < apas ) in order to purify them. The technical terms Middle Persian ab-zohr and Avestan apé zaoθra literally mean "offering to water" ( ab , water; zohr , offering; cf Apas ). The words of

80-555: A pomegranate tree. The second parahaoma also includes milk (in Iran from a cow, in India from a goat). The consecration of the water and haoma (accompanied by ritual laving) also occur during the preliminary rites. In the first parahaoma , which is prepared immediately prior to the Yasna service (during the preliminary ritual that also sanctifies the site of worship), the leaves or small twigs from

120-663: A crater on Ariel , one of the moons of Uranus , is named after aban . In the seven-chapter Yasna Haptanghaiti , which interrupts the sequential order of the Gathas and is linguistically as old as the Gathas themselves, the waters are revered as the Ahuranis , wives of the Ahura ( Yasna 38.3). Although not otherwise named, Boyce associates this Ahura with Apam Napat (middle Persian: Burz Yazad ), another divinity of waters. In Yasna 38, which

160-470: A crater on Ariel , one of the moons of Uranus , is named after aban . In the seven-chapter Yasna Haptanghaiti , which interrupts the sequential order of the Gathas and is linguistically as old as the Gathas themselves, the waters are revered as the Ahuranis , wives of the Ahura ( Yasna 38.3). Although not otherwise named, Boyce associates this Ahura with Apam Napat (middle Persian: Burz Yazad ), another divinity of waters. In Yasna 38, which

200-514: A translation in Denkard 8.25.24, the ingredients and materials for an offering to the waters were carried by the priests accompanying an army so that soldiers could perform the ritual before battle. The decontamination symbolism in the Ab-Zohr is a reflection of Zoroastrian cosmogony , wherein the primeval waters (the lower half of the sky, upon which the universe rests, and from which two rivers encircle

240-411: Is also called the parahaoma rite, reflecting the technical name of the liquid, the haoma , being prepared and consecrated during the ritual. In the 9th-12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition the procedure is also occasionally referred to as the hom-zohr , also reflecting the use of the haoma plant in the rite. The Haoma plant (Avestan, middle and modern Persian: hōm ) is the source for

280-481: Is dedicated "to the earth and the sacred waters ", apas /Apas is not only necessary for nourishment, but is considered the source of life ("you that bear forth", "mothers of our life"). In Yasna 2.5 and 6.11, apas /Apas is "Mazda-made and holy". In the Aban Yasht ( Yasht 5), which is nominally dedicated to the waters, veneration is directed specifically at Aredvi Sura Anahita , another divinity identified with

320-429: Is dedicated "to the earth and the sacred waters ", apas /Apas is not only necessary for nourishment, but is considered the source of life ("you that bear forth", "mothers of our life"). In Yasna 2.5 and 6.11, apas /Apas is "Mazda-made and holy". In the Aban Yasht ( Yasht 5), which is nominally dedicated to the waters, veneration is directed specifically at Aredvi Sura Anahita , another divinity identified with

360-764: Is deeply ingrained in Zoroastrians , and in orthodox communities offerings are regularly made to the household well or nearby stream." The ape zaothra ceremony—the culminating rite of the Yasna service (which is in turn the principal act of worship)—is literally for the "strengthening of the waters." Avestan apas (from singular āpō ) is grammatically feminine, and the Apas are female. The Middle Persian equivalents are ābān /Ābān (alt: āvān /Āvān), from which Parsi Gujarati āvā /Āvā (in religious usage only) derive. The Avestan common noun āpas corresponds exactly to Vedic Sanskrit āpas , and both derive from

400-470: Is essentially the same as the first, but includes milk, and is accompanied by even more pounding and straining. This second parahaoma preparation begins with the recitation of Yasna 22, and continues until the beginning of Yasna 28 ( Ahunavaiti Gatha ). During the recitation of Yasna 25, the priest dedicates the mixture to "the waters" (see Aban ), which mirrors the purpose of the parahaoma preparation (see below). The mortar remains untouched during

440-471: Is itself dictated by this restriction. The first parahaoma is prepared during the preliminary rites (prior to the Yasna service) in which the site of worship is consecrated. The second parahaoma preparation occurs during the middle third of the Yasna service. The recipes for the two parahaoma preparations, though not identical, are largely the same. In both cases, the ingredients include three small haoma twigs; consecrated water; twigs and leaves from

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480-553: Is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerable aggregate states, is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters. Āb (plural Ābān ) is the Middle Persian -language form. "To this day reverence for water is deeply ingrained in Zoroastrians , and in orthodox communities offerings are regularly made to the household well or nearby stream." The ape zaothra ceremony—the culminating rite of

520-533: The Bundahishn , ('Original Creation', an 11th- or 12th-century text), aban was the second of the seven creations of the material universe, the lower half of everything. In a development of a cosmogonical view already alluded to in the Vendidad (21.15), aban is the essence of a "great gathering place of the waters" (Avestan: Vourukasha , middle Persian: Varkash ) upon which the world ultimately rested. The great sea

560-432: The Bundahishn , ('Original Creation', an 11th- or 12th-century text), aban was the second of the seven creations of the material universe, the lower half of everything. In a development of a cosmogonical view already alluded to in the Vendidad (21.15), aban is the essence of a "great gathering place of the waters" (Avestan: Vourukasha , middle Persian: Varkash ) upon which the world ultimately rested. The great sea

600-521: The Hijri calendar . sha'aban meaning The Zoroastrian name-day feast of Abanagan , also known as the Aban Ardvisur Jashan by Indian Zoroastrians (see: Parsis ), is celebrated on the day that the day-of-month and month-of-year dedications intersect, that is, on the tenth day of the eighth month. The celebration is accompanied by a practice of offering sweets and flowers to a river or the sea. From among

640-412: The Hijri calendar . sha'aban meaning The Zoroastrian name-day feast of Abanagan , also known as the Aban Ardvisur Jashan by Indian Zoroastrians (see: Parsis ), is celebrated on the day that the day-of-month and month-of-year dedications intersect, that is, on the tenth day of the eighth month. The celebration is accompanied by a practice of offering sweets and flowers to a river or the sea. From among

680-466: The Yasna service (which is in turn the principal act of worship)—is literally for the "strengthening of the waters." Avestan apas (from singular āpō ) is grammatically feminine, and the Apas are female. The Middle Persian equivalents are ābān /Ābān (alt: āvān /Āvān), from which Parsi Gujarati āvā /Āvā (in religious usage only) derive. The Avestan common noun āpas corresponds exactly to Vedic Sanskrit āpas , and both derive from

720-410: The pomegranate tree are cut into pieces, and together with the consecrated haoma twigs and a little consecrated water are repeatedly pounded and strained. The liquid is retained in a bowl, while the twig and leaf residue is placed next to the fire to dry. The second parahaoma preparation occurs during the middle third of the Yasna service. It is prepared by the celebrant priest of the Yasna and

760-641: The 5th century BCE Aredvi was conflated with a Semitic divinity with similar attributes, from whom she then inherited additional properties. In other Avesta texts, the waters are implicitly associated with [Spenta] Armaiti (middle Persian Spendarmad ), the Amesha Spenta of the earth (this association is properly developed in Bundahishn 3.17). In Yasna 3.1, the eminence of Aban is reinforced by additionally assigning guardianship to another Amesha Spenta Haurvatat (middle Persian: (K)hordad ). According to

800-534: The 5th century BCE Aredvi was conflated with a Semitic divinity with similar attributes, from whom she then inherited additional properties. In other Avesta texts, the waters are implicitly associated with [Spenta] Armaiti (middle Persian Spendarmad ), the Amesha Spenta of the earth (this association is properly developed in Bundahishn 3.17). In Yasna 3.1, the eminence of Aban is reinforced by additionally assigning guardianship to another Amesha Spenta Haurvatat (middle Persian: (K)hordad ). According to

840-468: The damage done to water by humanity: "These offerings, possessing haoma , possessing milk, possessing pomegranate, shall compensate thee". This is underscored in Vendidad 14.4, where the appropriate atonement for the sin of killing a "water dog" (an otter) is an "offering to the waters." Vendidad 18.72 also recommends its use as a general penance. According to a passage of the Avesta that survives only as

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880-645: The divinities are wholesome to drink, in the Avesta the divinities are good to bathe in. As also in the Indian religious texts, the waters are considered a primordial element. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, the waters are the second creation, after that of the sky. Aside from Apas herself/themselves, no less than seven Zoroastrian divinities are identified with the waters: All three Ahuras ( Mazda , Mithra , Apam Napat ), two Amesha Spentas ( Haurvatat , Armaiti ) and two lesser Yazatas ( Aredvi Sura Anahita and Ahurani ). Abans,

920-548: The divinities are wholesome to drink, in the Avesta the divinities are good to bathe in. As also in the Indian religious texts, the waters are considered a primordial element. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, the waters are the second creation, after that of the sky. Aside from Apas herself/themselves, no less than seven Zoroastrian divinities are identified with the waters: All three Ahuras ( Mazda , Mithra , Apam Napat ), two Amesha Spentas ( Haurvatat , Armaiti ) and two lesser Yazatas ( Aredvi Sura Anahita and Ahurani ). Abans,

960-463: The earth) fear pollution by humankind. According to Bundahishn 91.1, Ahura Mazda promised the waters to "create one (i.e. Zoroaster) who will pour haoma into you to cleanse you again." According to tradition, Zoroaster frequently made the offering to water ( Zatspram 19.2-3), and received his revelation on a riverbank while preparing parahaoma ( Zatspram 21.1). Aban Apas ( / ˈ ɑː p ə s , æ p -/ , Avestan : āpas )

1000-450: The essential ingredient for the parahaoma (middle Persian: parahōm ), the consecrated liquid that constitutes the offering ( zaothra ). In Zoroastrian tradition, two independent preparations of parahaoma are made for the offering. Both preparations must be made between sunrise and noon, in the Hawan gah (Avestan: havani ratu ), the "time of pressing". The time of day of the Yasna service

1040-474: The expression have Indo-Iranian roots. The Parsi (Indian Zoroastrian) name for the procedure is jōra-mēḷavī ( Gujarati : જોરમેળવી , lit.   'strengthen'), which reflects the symbolic purpose of the "offering to water", which is to give it "strength" by purifying it (see Symbolism and Purpose , below). "Ab-Zohr" is pronounced ab-zor in the Zoroastrian Dari language . The procedure

1080-425: The flowers associated with the yazatas , aban 's is the water-lily ( Bundahishn 27.24). Aban Apas ( / ˈ ɑː p ə s , æ p -/ , Avestan : āpas ) is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerable aggregate states, is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters. Āb (plural Ābān ) is the Middle Persian -language form. "To this day reverence for water

1120-436: The following recital of Yasna 62, 64, 65 and 68, the celebrant repeatedly pours the combined parahaoma s between two bowls and the mortar, such that, by the end of Yasna 68, all three vessels contain the same amount of liquid. The service then concludes with the recitation of Yasna 72, immediately after which the priest carries the mortar with parahaoma to a well or stream. There, in three pourings, libations are made to

1160-407: The pomegranate leaves and twigs), combined with the strengthening and healing properties attributed to haoma . Through the addition of consecrated water, the preparation of the parahaoma symbolically returns the life given by Aban ('the waters'). The principal purpose of the Ab-Zohr is to "purify" those waters, as is evident in Yasna 68.1, where the zaothra ('offering') makes good for

1200-415: The priest who made the first parahaoma moves the (now dry) twig and leaf residue from next to the fire into the fire itself. Although this is done at a specific point during the recitation of the liturgy, the burning of the residue is not an offering to the fire, but the ritually proper way to dispose of combustible consecrated material. Yasna 62.11 also marks the beginning of the actual ab-zohr . During

1240-429: The recitation of Yasna 28–30. Finally, during the recitation of Yasna 31–34, the priest pounds the mixture a last time and then strains the liquid into the bowl that also contains the first parahaoma . The twig and leaf residue from the second parahaoma is also placed next to the fire to dry. Yasna 62 marks the beginning of the final stage of the Yasna service. At the beginning of the recitation of that chapter,

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1280-503: The same proto-Indo-Iranian word, stem *ap- "water", cognate with the British river Avon . In both Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit texts, the waters—whether as waves or drops, or collectively as streams, pools, rivers or wells—are represented by the Apas, the group of divinities of the waters. The identification of divinity with element is complete in both cultures : in the Rig Veda

1320-403: The same proto-Indo-Iranian word, stem *ap- "water", cognate with the British river Avon . In both Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit texts, the waters—whether as waves or drops, or collectively as streams, pools, rivers or wells—are represented by the Apas, the group of divinities of the waters. The identification of divinity with element is complete in both cultures : in the Rig Veda

1360-519: The tenth day of the month is dedicated to the (divinity of) waters ( Siroza 1.10), under whose protection that day then lies. Additionally, Aban is also the name of the eighth month of the year of the Zoroastrian calendar ( Bundahishn 1a.23-24), as well as that of the Iranian calendar of 1925, which follows Zoroastrian month-naming conventions. It might be the precursor of the holy month of Sha'aban in

1400-416: The tenth day of the month is dedicated to the (divinity of) waters ( Siroza 1.10), under whose protection that day then lies. Additionally, Aban is also the name of the eighth month of the year of the Zoroastrian calendar ( Bundahishn 1a.23-24), as well as that of the Iranian calendar of 1925, which follows Zoroastrian month-naming conventions. It might be the precursor of the holy month of Sha'aban in

1440-490: The waters ( Aban ), accompanied by invocations to Aredvi Sura Anahita . The remaining parahaoma in the two bowls is given to persons attending the ceremony. Since the liquid, in its ritually pure state, is considered beneficial, participants may choose to drink a little of it, or provide some to infants or the dying. The remainder is poured away on the roots of fruit-bearing trees. The offering (the parahaoma mixture) represents animal life (the milk) and plant life (the sap of

1480-417: The waters, but originally representing the "world river" that encircled the earth (see In tradition , below). The merger of the two concepts "probably" came about due to prominence given to Aredvi Sura during the reign of Artaxerxes II ( r. 404-358 BCE) and subsequent Achaemenid emperors. Although (according to Lommel and Boyce ) Aredvi is of Indo-Iranian origin and cognate with Vedic Saraswati , during

1520-417: The waters, but originally representing the "world river" that encircled the earth (see In tradition , below). The merger of the two concepts "probably" came about due to prominence given to Aredvi Sura during the reign of Artaxerxes II ( r. 404-358 BCE) and subsequent Achaemenid emperors. Although (according to Lommel and Boyce ) Aredvi is of Indo-Iranian origin and cognate with Vedic Saraswati , during

1560-509: Was fed by a mighty river (proto-Indo-Iranian: *harahvati , Avestan: Aredvi Sura , middle Persian: Ardvisur ). Two rivers, one to the east and one to the west, flowed out of it and encircled the earth ( Bundahishn 11.100.2, 28.8) where they were then cleansed by Puitika (Avestan, middle Persian: Putik ), the tidal sea, before flowing back into the Vourukasha . In the Zoroastrian calendar ,

1600-404: Was fed by a mighty river (proto-Indo-Iranian: *harahvati , Avestan: Aredvi Sura , middle Persian: Ardvisur ). Two rivers, one to the east and one to the west, flowed out of it and encircled the earth ( Bundahishn 11.100.2, 28.8) where they were then cleansed by Puitika (Avestan, middle Persian: Putik ), the tidal sea, before flowing back into the Vourukasha . In the Zoroastrian calendar ,

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