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Asha
Asha (/ˈʌʃə/) or arta (/ˈɑːrtə/; Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬀 Aṣ̌a / Arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right working'. It is of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aṣ̌a/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism". The opposite of aṣ̌a is druj (Avestan: 𐬛𐬭𐬎𐬘, lit. 'deceit, falsehood').
Its Old Persian equivalent is arta-.[c] In Middle Iranian languages the term appears as ard-.[a]
The word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or "genius" of "Truth" or "Righteousness". In the Younger Avesta, this figure is more commonly referred to as Asha Vahishta (Aṣ̌a Vahišta, Arta Vahišta), "Best Truth".[b] The Middle Persian descendant is Ashawahist or Ardwahisht; New Persian Ardibehesht or Ordibehesht. In the Gathas—the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism, thought to have been composed by Zoroaster—it is seldom possible to distinguish between moral principle and the divinity. Later texts consistently use the 'Best' epithet when speaking of the Amesha Spenta; only once in the Gathas is 'best' an adjective of aṣ̌a/arta. The Ashem Vohu, which is one of the most important prayers Zoroastrianism is dedicated to Asha.
Avestan aṣ̌a and its Vedic equivalent ṛtá both derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hṛtá- "truth", which in turn continues PIE *h₂r-to- "properly joined, right, true", from the root *h₂er. The word is attested in Old Persian as arta.
It is unclear whether the Avestan variation between aṣ̌a and arta is merely orthographical. Benveniste suggested š was only a convenient way of writing rt and should not be considered phonetically relevant. According to Gray, ṣ̌ is a misreading, representing – not /ʃ/ - but /rr/, of uncertain phonetic value but "probably" representing a voiceless r. Miller suggested that rt was restored when a scribe was aware of the morpheme boundary between the /r/ and /t/ (that is, whether the writer maintained the –ta suffix).[h]
Avestan druj, like its Vedic Sanskrit cousin druh, appears to derive from the PIE root *dhreugh, also continued in Persian دروغ d[o]rūġ "lie", Welsh drwg "evil", and German Trug "fraud, deception". Old Norse draugr and Middle Irish airddrach mean "spectre, spook". The Sanskrit cognate druh means "affliction, afflicting demon". In Avestan, druj- has a secondary derivation, the adjective drəguuaṇt- (Young Avestan druuaṇt-), "partisan of deception, deceiver" for which the superlative draojišta- and perhaps the comparative draoj(ii)ah- are attested (Kellens, 2010, pp. 69 ff.).
Aṣ̌a "cannot be precisely rendered by some single word in another tongue" but may be summarized as follows:
It is, first of all, 'true statement'. This 'true statement', because it is true, corresponds to an objective, material reality that embraces all of existence. Recognized in it is a great cosmic principle since all things happen according to it.[j] "This cosmic [...] force is imbued also with morality, as verbal Truth, 'la parole conforme', and Righteousness, action conforming with the moral order."
Asha
Asha (/ˈʌʃə/) or arta (/ˈɑːrtə/; Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬀 Aṣ̌a / Arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right working'. It is of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aṣ̌a/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism". The opposite of aṣ̌a is druj (Avestan: 𐬛𐬭𐬎𐬘, lit. 'deceit, falsehood').
Its Old Persian equivalent is arta-.[c] In Middle Iranian languages the term appears as ard-.[a]
The word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or "genius" of "Truth" or "Righteousness". In the Younger Avesta, this figure is more commonly referred to as Asha Vahishta (Aṣ̌a Vahišta, Arta Vahišta), "Best Truth".[b] The Middle Persian descendant is Ashawahist or Ardwahisht; New Persian Ardibehesht or Ordibehesht. In the Gathas—the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism, thought to have been composed by Zoroaster—it is seldom possible to distinguish between moral principle and the divinity. Later texts consistently use the 'Best' epithet when speaking of the Amesha Spenta; only once in the Gathas is 'best' an adjective of aṣ̌a/arta. The Ashem Vohu, which is one of the most important prayers Zoroastrianism is dedicated to Asha.
Avestan aṣ̌a and its Vedic equivalent ṛtá both derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hṛtá- "truth", which in turn continues PIE *h₂r-to- "properly joined, right, true", from the root *h₂er. The word is attested in Old Persian as arta.
It is unclear whether the Avestan variation between aṣ̌a and arta is merely orthographical. Benveniste suggested š was only a convenient way of writing rt and should not be considered phonetically relevant. According to Gray, ṣ̌ is a misreading, representing – not /ʃ/ - but /rr/, of uncertain phonetic value but "probably" representing a voiceless r. Miller suggested that rt was restored when a scribe was aware of the morpheme boundary between the /r/ and /t/ (that is, whether the writer maintained the –ta suffix).[h]
Avestan druj, like its Vedic Sanskrit cousin druh, appears to derive from the PIE root *dhreugh, also continued in Persian دروغ d[o]rūġ "lie", Welsh drwg "evil", and German Trug "fraud, deception". Old Norse draugr and Middle Irish airddrach mean "spectre, spook". The Sanskrit cognate druh means "affliction, afflicting demon". In Avestan, druj- has a secondary derivation, the adjective drəguuaṇt- (Young Avestan druuaṇt-), "partisan of deception, deceiver" for which the superlative draojišta- and perhaps the comparative draoj(ii)ah- are attested (Kellens, 2010, pp. 69 ff.).
Aṣ̌a "cannot be precisely rendered by some single word in another tongue" but may be summarized as follows:
It is, first of all, 'true statement'. This 'true statement', because it is true, corresponds to an objective, material reality that embraces all of existence. Recognized in it is a great cosmic principle since all things happen according to it.[j] "This cosmic [...] force is imbued also with morality, as verbal Truth, 'la parole conforme', and Righteousness, action conforming with the moral order."
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