Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 221

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Indo-Iranian Literary & Cultural Traditions best among them. “The name 'Zarathustra', therefore, must have conveyed in ancient times about the same sense, as the word Destur now-a-days, meaning the spiritual guide and head of a whole district, or even province. The Zarathustrotamo then is to be compared with the Destur-i-Desturin or Chief High priest......"
Writing about the significance of the prophet's name, I.J.S. Taraporewala disapproves of the meanings in which ushtra is taken to mean 'camell, and observes : "Far beiter is the suggestion made by some scholars deriving the name from zararha (golden) and ushtra (light), from the root ush "to shine". Thus this designatioa of the Prophet would mean "He of the Golden Light", which is just the appropriate name to be given to one of the Greatest of the Light-Bringers of the world".
Bailey, whose article is mentioned above, proposes to establish a verbal base Av, zar, Skt. jar 'to move' and on its strength explain the prophet's name as 'one who can manage camels'. He compares with this name other proper names like yuxrāspas 'he who has harnessed horses' and hitåspa 'he who has put horses into a team'. He believes that understood this way Zarathustra can be looked upon as quile a respectable name, for, "This skill among a nomad people deserved the respect its use in a proper name implies." He rejects Bartholomae's explanation, referred to above, in which zarat is taken to mean 'old' for he says "...it is hard to conceive why a mun (or a boy) should be named froin the possession of zarant -- 'old, decrepit' camels. With zarat-moving, driving, controlling' the name has an important meaning befitting the local life".
Bailey's explanation thus retains the meaning of the word ustra 'camel', but changes that of the word zarar. The meaning obtained by him does give some respectability to the prophet's name. But even with this new meaning the name appears to be somewhat of a general nature and has nothing specific in it to be looked upon as suitable for the prophet. The explanation attempted in this paper, however, has a direct bearing on an important aspect of the prophet's teaching which must have brought about economic, as well as religious revolution in ancient Iran.
It is well known that killing cows and oxen and offering them in sacrifices were practised by Indo-Iranians as acts of religion before the days of Zarathushtra.' It is against these practices that Zarathustra speaks very vehemently in the Gåthås. He exhorts people to take good care of the cattle and offer them protection. He says that giving fodder to the cow and offering worship to Ahura Mazdah are the best things for any one to do (Yasna 35.7). It is hardly necessary to cite the different passages from the Gathas in support of this contention.
Zarathustra, thus, appears in his new religion in the role of the protector of the ox'. If we remember this as one of the striking features of his new religion, it would be easy for us to recognise the verb tră -'to protect' in the final syllable of the prophet's name. And since we know that the word 'uxsan-(Skt. uksán) 'ox' . is well attested in the Avesta, it should not be difficult for us now to guess that ustra, occurring in the prophet's name, has nothing to do with camels, but is to be
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