Some Remarks Regarding the aṣ̌əm vohū

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Some Remarks Regarding the aṣ̌əm vohū "
Amir Ahmadi

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1068803
Doc. No	:	LA112432
Call No	:	‭10.1163/15728536-05800050‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Amir Ahmadi
Title & Author	:	Some Remarks Regarding the aṣ̌əm vohū [Article]\ Amir Ahmadi
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Indo-Iranian Journal
Date	:	2015
Volume/ Issue Number	:	58/2
Page No	:	101–116
Abstract	:	This article attempts to show the eschatological horizon of the Avestan prayer aṣ̌əm vohū. Its placement in the Yasna at the threshold of the Old Avestan corpus and the virtues ascribed to it in other Avestan texts reveal its high stature in Zoroastrianism. The sense of the prayer remains obscure in its current translations. The problem is in part due to the fact that the text is syntactically defective. One must assume that the significance attributed to it in Avestan tradition is a reflection of what it says, its actual meaning. This is the guiding principle of its interpretation in this article. I critically consider the translations and interpretations of the prayer to date. Some of these are problematic even on the linguistic level. But the problem of sense remains even in those that are formally impeccable. The reason for this is that the translation reproduces the tautology that the original contains, instead of unfolding it. An attempt at unfolding the tautology can be seen in the Young Avestan exegesis of the prayer. Once the tautology is unfolded, the sense of the text becomes evident: those who support aṣ̌a (the primordial order of creation) will have their wish for a blissful afterlife in aṣ̌a (the divine sphere) fulfilled. This article attempts to show the eschatological horizon of the Avestan prayer aṣ̌əm vohū. Its placement in the Yasna at the threshold of the Old Avestan corpus and the virtues ascribed to it in other Avestan texts reveal its high stature in Zoroastrianism. The sense of the prayer remains obscure in its current translations. The problem is in part due to the fact that the text is syntactically defective. One must assume that the significance attributed to it in Avestan tradition is a reflection of what it says, its actual meaning. This is the guiding principle of its interpretation in this article. I critically consider the translations and interpretations of the prayer to date. Some of these are problematic even on the linguistic level. But the problem of sense remains even in those that are formally impeccable. The reason for this is that the translation reproduces the tautology that the original contains, instead of unfolding it. An attempt at unfolding the tautology can be seen in the Young Avestan exegesis of the prayer. Once the tautology is unfolded, the sense of the text becomes evident: those who support aṣ̌a (the primordial order of creation) will have their wish for a blissful afterlife in aṣ̌a (the divine sphere) fulfilled.
Descriptor	:	Avesta
Descriptor	:	eschatology
Descriptor	:	Gāthās, aṣ̌a-
Descriptor	:	ūšta
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/15728536-05800050‬