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Yazata (Avestan:𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀) is theAvestan word for aZoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) adivinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",[1][2] and is thus, in this more general sense, also applied to certain healing plants, primordial creatures, thefravashis of the dead, and to certain prayers that are themselves considered holy. Theyazatas collectively are "the good powers underAhura Mazda", who is "the greatest of theyazatas".[3]
Yazata is anAvestan-language passive adjectivalparticiple derived fromyaz-; "to worship, to honor, to venerate", fromProto-Indo-European*yeh₂ǵ- (“to worship, revere, sacrifice”). The wordyasna oryagna– "worship, sacrifice, oblation, prayer" – comes from the same root. Ayaza+ta is accordingly "a being worthy of worship", "an object of worship" or "a holy being".
As the stem form,yazata- has theinflectednominative formsyazatō (𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬋), pl.yazatåŋhō (𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬂𐬢𐬵𐬋). These forms reflectProto-Iranian*yazatah and pl.*yazatāhah. InMiddle Persian the term becameyazad oryazd (𐭩𐭦𐭲𐭩), pl.yazdān, continuing inNew Persian as’êzaḏ (ایزد).
Related terms in other languages areSanskritयजति (yájati, meaning "he worships, he sacrifices"),यजत (yajatá-, "worthy of worship, holy"),यज्ञ (yajñá, "sacrifice"), and perhaps[a] alsoGreekἅγιος (hagios, "devoted to the gods, sacred, holy").
The termyazata is already used in theGathas, the oldest texts ofZoroastrianism and believed to have been composed byZarathustra himself. In these hymns,yazata is used as a generic, applied toAhura Mazda as well as to the "divine sparks" that are in later tradition theAmesha Spentas. In the Gathas, theyazatas are effectively what thedaevas are not; that is, theyazatas are to be worshipped while thedaevas are to be rejected.
The Gathas also collectively invoke theyazatas without providing a clue as to which entities are being invoked, and—given the structure and language of the hymns—it is generally not possible to determine whether theseyazatas are abstract concepts or are manifest entities. Amongst the lesser Yazatas being invoked by name by the poet of the Gathas areSraosha,Ashi,Atar, Geush Tashan,Geush Urvan, Tushnamaiti, and Iza, and all of which "win mention in his hymns, it seems, because of their close association with rituals of sacrifice and worship".[5]
In theYounger Avesta, theyazatas are unambiguously divine, with divine powers though performing mundane tasks such as serving as charioteers for otheryazatas. Severalyazatas are givenanthropomorphic attributes, such as cradling a mace or bearing a crown upon their heads, or not letting sleep interrupt their vigil against the demons.
At some point during the late 5th or early 4th century BCE, theAchaemenids instituted a religious calendar in which each day of the month was named after, and placed under the protection of, a particularyazata. These day-name dedications were not only of religious significance because they ensured that those divinities remained in the public consciousness, they also established a hierarchy among theyazatas, with specific exalted entities having key positions in the day-name dedications (seeZoroastrian calendar for details).
Although these day-name dedications are mirrored in scripture, it cannot be determined whether these day-name assignments were provoked by an antecedent list in scripture (e.g.Yasna 16), or whether the day-name dedications provoked the compilation of such lists. Relatively certain however is that the day-name dedications predate theAvesta'sSiroza ("30 days"), which contain explicit references to theyazatas as protectors/guardians of their respective days of the month.
The 9th–12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition observe theyazatas (by then asMiddle Persianyazads) in much the same way as the hymns of the Younger Avesta. In addition, in roles that are only alluded to in scripture, they assume characteristics of cosmological or eschatological consequence.
For instance,Aredvi Sura Anahita (Ardvisur Nahid) is both a divinity of the waters as well as a rushing world river that encircles the earth, which is blocked up byAngra Mainyu (Ahriman) thus causing drought. The blockage is removed byVerethragna (Vahram), andTishtrya (Tir) gathers up the waters and spreads them over the earth (Zam) as rain. In stories with eschatological significance,Sraosha (Sarosh),Mithra (Mihr), andRashnu (Rashn) are guardians of theChinvat bridge, the bridge of the separator, across which all souls must pass.
Further, what the calendrical dedications had begun, the tradition completed: at the top of the hierarchy wasAhura Mazda, who was supported by the great heptad ofAmesha Spentas (Ameshaspands/Mahraspands), through which the Creator realized ("created with his thought") the manifest universe. The Amesha Spentas in turn hadhamkars, "assistants" or "cooperators", each a caretaker of one facet of creation.
In both tradition and scripture, the terms 'Amesha Spenta' and 'yazata' are sometimes used interchangeably. In general, however, 'Amesha Spenta' signifies the six divine emanations of Ahura Mazda.[6] In tradition,yazata is the first of the101 epithets of Ahura Mazda. The word also came to be applied to Zoroaster, though Zoroastrians today remain sharply critical of any attempts to deify the prophet. In a hierarchy excluding either Ahura Mazda or the Amesha Spentas amongst theyazatas, the most prominent amongst those "worthy of worship" isMithra, who "is second only in dignity to Ohrmazd (i.e. Ahura Mazda) himself."[7]
Outside of the traditional yazatas, local and foreign deities may have been incorporated into local religious practice in various distant territories of the Persian Empires. This features prominently in Zoroastrian worship inArmenia, theKushan Empire,Sogdia, China, and other regions where Zoroastrianism was practiced outside of Iran.[8]
In the 1860s and 1870s, the linguistMartin Haug interpreted Zoroastrian scripture in Christian terms, and compared theyazatas to the angels of Christianity. In this scheme, the Amesha Spentas are the arch-angel retinue of Ahura Mazda, with thehamkars as the supporting host of lesser angels.
At the time Haug wrote his translations, theParsi (i.e. Indian Zoroastrian) community was under intense pressure from English and American missionaries, who severely criticized the Zoroastrians for—as John Wilson portrayed it in 1843—"polytheism", which the missionaries argued was much less worth than their own "monotheism". At the time, Zoroastrianism lacked theologians of its own, and so the Zoroastrians were poorly equipped to make their own case. In this situation, Haug's counter-interpretation came as a welcome relief, and was (by-and-large) gratefully accepted as legitimate.[9]
Haug's interpretations were subsequently disseminated as Zoroastrian ones, which then eventually reached the west where they were seen to corroborate Haug. Like most of Haug's interpretations, this comparison is today so well entrenched that a gloss of 'yazata' as 'angel' is almost universally accepted; both in publications intended for a general audience[10][11] as well as in (non-philological) academic literature.[12][13]
Amongst the Muslims of Iran,Sraosha came to be "arguably the most popular of all the subordinate Yazatas", for as the angel Surush, only he (of the entire Zoroastrian pantheon) is still venerated by name.[14]
Media related toYazatas at Wikimedia Commons