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Apas (/ˈɑːpəs,æp-/,Avestan:āpas) is theAvestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerableaggregate states, is represented by the Apas, thehypostases of the waters.
Āb (pluralĀbān) is theMiddle Persian-language form.
"To this day reverence for water is deeply ingrained inZoroastrians, and in orthodox communities offerings are regularly made to the household well or nearby stream."[1] Theape zaothra ceremony—the culminating rite of theYasna service (which is in turn the principal act of worship)—is literally for the "strengthening of the waters."
Avestanapas (from singularāpō) is grammatically feminine, and the Apas are female. TheMiddle Persian equivalents areābān/Ābān (alt:āvān/Āvān), from whichParsi Gujaratiāvā/Āvā (in religious usage only) derive.
The Avestan common nounāpas corresponds exactly toVedic Sanskritāpas, and both derive from the sameproto-Indo-Iranian word, stem*ap- "water", cognate with the British riverAvon. In both Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit texts, the waters—whether as waves or drops, or collectively as streams, pools, rivers or wells—are represented by the Apas, the group of divinities of the waters. The identification of divinity with element is complete in both cultures : in theRig Veda the divinities are wholesome to drink, in theAvesta the divinities are good to bathe in.[2]
As also in the Indian religious texts, the waters are considered a primordial element. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, the waters are the second creation, after that of the sky.[3] Aside from Apas herself/themselves, no less than seven Zoroastrian divinities are identified with the waters: all threeAhuras (Mazda,Mithra,Apam Napat), twoAmesha Spentas (Haurvatat,Armaiti), and two lesser Yazatas (Aredvi Sura Anahita andAhurani).
Abans, a crater onAriel, one of the moons ofUranus, is named afteraban.
In the seven-chapterYasna Haptanghaiti, which interrupts the sequential order of theGathas and is linguistically as old as the Gathas themselves, the waters are revered as theAhuranis, wives of theAhura (Yasna 38.3). Although not otherwise named, Boyce[4] associates this Ahura withApam Napat (middle Persian:Burz Yazad), another divinity of waters.
InYasna 38, which is dedicated "to the earth and thesacred waters",apas/Apas is not only necessary for nourishment, but is considered the source of life ("you that bear forth", "mothers of our life"). InYasna 2.5 and 6.11,apas/Apas is "Mazda-made and holy".
In theAban Yasht (Yasht 5), which is nominally dedicated to the waters, veneration is directed specifically atAredvi Sura Anahita, another divinity identified with the waters, but originally representing the "world river" that encircled the earth (seeIn tradition, below). The merger of the two concepts "probably"[4] came about due to prominence given to Aredvi Sura during the reign ofArtaxerxes II (r. 404-358 BCE) and subsequent Achaemenid emperors. Although (according to Lommel[5] and Boyce[2]) Aredvi is of Indo-Iranian origin and cognate with VedicSaraswati, during the 5th century BCE Aredvi was conflated with a Semitic divinity with similar attributes, from whom she then inherited additional properties.[6]
In other Avesta texts, the waters are implicitly associated with[Spenta] Armaiti (middle PersianSpendarmad), theAmesha Spenta of the earth (this association is properly developed inBundahishn 3.17). InYasna 3.1, the eminence ofAban is reinforced by additionally assigning guardianship to another Amesha SpentaHaurvatat (middle Persian:(K)hordad).
According to theBundahishn ('Original Creation', an 11th- or 12th-century text),aban was the second of the seven creations of the material universe, the lower half of everything.
In a development of a cosmogonical view already alluded to in theVendidad (21.15),aban is the essence of a "great gathering place of the waters" (Avestan:Vourukasha, middle Persian:Varkash) upon which the world ultimately rested. The great sea was fed by a mighty river (proto-Indo-Iranian:*harahvati, Avestan:Aredvi Sura, middle Persian:Ardvisur). Two rivers, one to the east and one to the west, flowed out of it and encircled the earth (Bundahishn 11.100.2, 28.8) where they were then cleansed byPuitika (Avestan, middle Persian:Putik), the tidal sea, before flowing back into theVourukasha.
In theZoroastrian calendar, the tenth day of the month is dedicated to the (divinity of) waters (Siroza 1.10), under whose protection that day then lies. Additionally,Aban is also the name of theeighth month of the year of the Zoroastrian calendar (Bundahishn 1a.23-24), as well as that of theIranian calendar of 1925, which follows Zoroastrian month-naming conventions. It might be the precursor of the holy month ofSha'aban in theHijri calendar.Sha'aban meaningthe Zoroastrian name-day feast ofAbanagan, also known as theAban Ardvisur Jashan by Indian Zoroastrians (see:Parsis), is celebrated on the day that the day-of-month and month-of-year dedications intersect, that is, on the tenth day of the eighth month. The celebration is accompanied by a practice of offering sweets and flowers to a river or the sea.
From among the flowers associated with theyazatas,aban's is thewater-lily (Bundahishn 27.24).
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