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TheBook of Arda Viraf (Middle Persian:Ardā Wirāz nāmag, lit. 'Book of the Righteous Wirāz') is aZoroastrian text written inMiddle Persian. It contains about 8,800 words.[1] It describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the Wirāz of the story) through the next world. The text assumed its definitive form in the 11th-12th centuries after a series of redactions[2] and it is probable that the story was an original product of 9th-10th centuryPars.[3]
Ardā (cf.aša (pronouncedarta) cognate with Sanskritṛta) is anepithet of Wirāz and is approximately translatable as "truthful, righteous, just."[4]Wirāz is probably akin toProto-Indo-European *wiHro--, "man", cf.Persian:bīrAvestan:vīra.[5] Given the ambiguity inherent toPahlavi scripts in the representing the pronunciation of certain consonants,Wirāz, the name of the protagonist, may also betransliterated asWiraf orViraf, but the Avestan form is clearlyVirāza, which suggests that the correct reading isz.[6][5]Nāmag means "book".
The date of the book is not known, but inThe Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East,Prof. Charles Horne does not provide a definitive date for the tale.[7] Most modern scholars simply state that the text'sterminus ad quem was the 9th or 10th century.[5]
According to translator of the text, Fereydun Vahman, the origin of the story probably goes back to the 9th or 10th century and was from the Pars region.[8] TheEncyclopædia Iranica indicates that the story of the completion of his liberation after the Islamic conquest of Persia[9]
The introductory chapter indicates a date after the Arab conquest and was apparently written in Pars. It is probably one of the 9th or 10th century literary products of the province. A linguistic analysis supports this view.
According to Encyclopædia Iranica, the story's definitive form goes back to the 9th to 10th century:[3]
The Arda Wiraz-namag, like many of the Zoroastrian works, underwent successive redactions. It assumed its definitive form in the 9th-10th centuries AD, as may be seen in the texts frequent Persianisms, usages known to be characteristic of early Persian literature.
Wirāz is chosen for his piety to undertake a journey to the next world in order to prove the truth of Zoroastrian beliefs, after a period when the land ofIran had been troubled by the presence of confused and alien religions. He drinks a mixture ofwine,mang, andHaoma, after which his soul travels to the next world. Here he is greeted by a beautiful woman namedDēn, who represents his faith and virtue. Crossing theChinvat Bridge, he is then conducted by "Srosh, the pious andAdar, theyazad" through the "star track", "moon track" and "sun track" – places outside of heaven reserved for the virtuous who have nevertheless failed to conform to Zoroastrian rules. In heaven, Wirāz meetsAhura Mazda who shows him the souls of the blessed (ahlaw, an alternate Middle Persian version of the wordardā[4]). Each person is described living an idealised version of the life he or she lived on earth, as a warrior, agriculturalist, shepherd or other profession.[10] With his guides he then descends into hell to be shown the sufferings of the wicked. Having completed his visionary journey, Wirāz is told byAhura Mazda that the Zoroastrian faith is the only proper and true way of life and that it should be preserved in both prosperity and adversity.[10]
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