Page Text
________________
ZOROASTER MAGNIFIED.
261 represented as being enraged at the birth of Zoroaster. The evil spirits are the daevas, (devas) male, and the druj (female). There are six principal evil The daevas spirits corresponding to the Amesha-Spenta: and druj. thus (1) Akomano, evil mind; (2) Andra (Indra), destructive fire; (3) Saru, the tyrant, opposed the first three of the Amesha-Spentas.
The first section of the Vendidad exhibits in detail the way in which Ahriman counterworked the beneficent creation of Ormuzd. His first creation was the serpent in the river, and winter, followed by the cattle-fly, corncarrying ants, the mosquito, demon-nymphs and wizards, etc., and also the sinful lusts, unbelief, pride, unnatural sins, the burying and burning of corpses, the oppression of foreign rulers, and excessive heat, each following a beneficial creation of Ormuzd. Ahriman was also represented as the killer of the first bull, the poisoner of plants, the causer of smoke, of sin, and of death.
Some of the associate spirits of evil can be identified with Vedic spirits, such are the Yatus, wizard demons. The Pairikas are demon-nymphs who keep off the rainfloods. The Drvants or Dregvants are head- The Yatus, long-running fiends. The Varenya daevas are Drvants, etc. the fiends in the heavens. Bushyasta sends people to sleep at dawn, and makes them forget to say their prayers. We cannot go into the details relating to all these.
We must note how in the Yasts Zoroaster appears as the typical and best human being, who first antagonised Ahriman. Thus, we read in Yast 13, “ We worship the piety and the Fravashi (see p. 262) spirit of the Zoroaster holy Zarathushtra, who first thought, spoke, and magnified. did what is good, who was the first priest, the first warrior, the first plougher of the ground, who first knew and taught; who first possessed the bull, and holiness, the word and obedience to the word, and dominion, and all the good things made by Mazda; who first in the material world proclaimed the word that destroys the daevas, the law of Ahura ; who was strong, giving all the good things of life, the first bearer of the law among the nations; for whom the Amesha-Spentas longed, in one
| SR No. | 007305 |
| Book Title | Great Indian Religion |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | G T Bettany |
| Publisher | Ward Lock Bowden and Co |
| Publication Year | 1892 |
| Total Pages | 312 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 42 MB |