Proto-Indo-Iranian religion
Proto-Indo-Iranian religion was the religion of the Indo-Iranian peoples and includes topics such as the mythology, legendry, folk tales, and folk beliefs of early Indo-Iranian culture. Reconstructed concepts include the universal force *Hṛta-, the sacred plant and drink *sawHma- and gods of social order such as *mitra- and *bʰaga-. Proto-Indo-Iranian religion is an archaic offshoot of Indo-European religion.
Origins and development
Indo-Iranian languages include three subgroups: the Indo-Aryan languages, the Iranian languages, and the Nuristani languages. From these various and dispersed cultures, a set of common ideas may be reconstructed from which a common, unattested proto-Indo-Iranian source may be deduced.Relationship to Proto-Indo-European religion
When Vedic texts were the oldest surviving evidence of early Indo-European-speaking peoples, it was assumed that these texts preserved aspects of Proto-Indo-European culture with particular accuracy. Many ethnologists hoped to unify Indo-Iranian, Celtic, Norse, Greek, Germanic and Roman into a Proto-Indo-European religion. Max Müller believed that Indo-Iranian religion began as sun worship. Georges Dumézil stressed the tripartite social system of Indo-European religion and society. Later scholarship has moved away from considering all these religions near-identical.Development
Some beliefs developed in different ways as cultures separated and evolved. For example, the word 'daeva,' which appears in the Avesta, also bears a linguistic relationship to the Sanskrit word 'deva,' referring to one of the principal classes of gods, as well as other related words throughout the Indo-European traditions. Indeed, Indra, the greatest of the devas from Vedic literature, is often listed in Zoroastrian texts as one of the greatest of the evil forces, sometimes second only to Angra Mainyu himself. In the traditional Zoroastrian confession of faith as recorded in the Avesta, the rejection of the daevas is one of the most significant qualifiers for a follower of the tradition, alongside worshipping Ahura Mazda and following the teachings of Zarathustra. Similarly, the parallels between the malevolent Vedic Asuras and benevolent Zoroastrian Ahuras are particularly obvious and striking.Varuna, the most powerful of the Asuras, does not directly correspond to Ahura Mazda but shares several traits in common with him, particularly in terms of his role as king among the lesser gods and arbiter of law and morality among mortals. Even as Ahura Mazda rules by and upholds asha, the cosmic moral order, in the Avesta, so too do Varuna and the Asuras uphold the analogous concept of rta in the Vedas.Sometimes certain myths developed in altogether different ways. The Rig-Vedic Sarasvati is linguistically and functionally cognate with Avestan *Haraxvaitī Ārəduuī Sūrā Anāhitā. In the Rig-Veda she battles a serpent called Vritra, who has hoarded all of the Earth's water. In contrast, in early portions of the Avesta, Iranian *Harahvati is the world-river that flows down from the mythical central Mount Hara. But *Harahvati does no battle — she is blocked by an obstacle placed there by Angra Mainyu.
Contemporary traces
The pre-Islamic religion of the Nuristani people and extant religion of the Kalash people is significantly influenced by the original religion of the Indo-Iranians, though mostly infused with accretions developed locally from Hinduism.Cognate terms
By way of the comparative method, Indo-Iranian philologists, a variety of historical linguist, have proposed reconstructions of entities, locations, and concepts with various levels of security in early Indo-Iranian folklore and mythology. The present section includes both reconstructed forms and proposed motifs from the Proto-Indo-Iranian period, generally associated with the Sintashta culture.The following is a list of cognate terms that may be gleaned from comparative linguistic analysis of the Rigveda and Avesta. Both collections are from the period after the proposed date of separation of the Proto-Indo-Iranians into their respective Indic Iranian branches.
Divine beings
| Proto-Indo-Iranian reconstruction | Indo-Aryan | Iranian | Mitanni | Etymology | Notes |
| *Háǰʰiš | Ahi | Aži | – | – | |
| *Aryamā́ | Skt Aryaman | Av. Airiiaman | – | – | |
| *Bʰagás | Skt Bhaga | OPers. *Baga | – | OPers. *Baga is inferred from Bāgayādi, month of the feast *Bagayāda-.' The etymology indicates a societal deity that distributes wealth and prosperity. Slavic bog and bogátyj are generally seen as loanwords from Iranian. | |
| *Ćarwa | Skt Śarva | YAv. Sauruua | – | Perhaps related to ToB śerwe, ToA śaru 'hunter'. | Probably meaning 'hunter'. An epithet of Rudra or Śiva in Sanskrit. Name of one the daēuua in Young Avestan. |
| *Dyauš | Skt Dyáuṣ | OAv. diiaoš | – | From PIE *dyēus, the daylight-sky god. | Meaning 'heaven, daylight sky'. Name of the inherited Proto-Indo-European sky-god See Dyēus for further information. |
| *Hagníš | Skt Agni | YAv. Dāšt-āɣni | From PIE *h₁n̥gʷnis, the fire as an active force. | Name of the inherited Proto-Indo-European fire-god. See H1n̥gʷnis for further information. | |
| *Hāpam-''nápāts | Skt Apā́m nápāt | YAv. apᶏm napāt | – | From PIE *h2ep- and *h2nepot-. | Meaning 'Grandsons of the Waters'. See Apam Napat for further information. |
| *Haramati | Skt Arámati | Av. Ārmaiti | – | No known IE cognate.' | Goddess of obedience and piety. Cf. Skt arámanas and Av. ārmaiti. |
| *HatHarwan | Skt Átharvan' | YAv. Āθrauuan | – | Perhaps a borrowing from a Central Asian language. | Name of a primordial priest. The Sanskrit cognate is the name of the primordial priest, while the Young Avestan form designates the first social class. Scholars have rendered the stem *HatHar- as a 'religious-magical fluid' or 'magical potency'. |
| *Hwiwaswant | Skt Vivásvant | YAv. Vīuuanhvant | – | From PIE *h2ues- 'dawn'. | Meaning 'morning dawn'. Father of *YamHa. Cf. Skt vaivasvatá and Av. vīuuaŋhuša-. |
| *Wr̥trás | Skt Vṛtrá | YAv. Vǝrǝθraɣna | – | No known IE cognate. | *wr̥trás means 'defence'. Skt Vṛtrá is the name of a demon slain by Indra, often depicted as a cobra. YAv. Vǝrǝθraɣna, meaning 'breaking of defence, victory', is the name of a god. Cf. also Middle Persian Wahrām. The Arm. god Vahagn is a loanword from Iranian. |
| *Hušā́s | Skt Uṣás' | OAv. Ušå | – | From PIE *h₂éws-ōs, the Dawn-goddess. | Name of the dawn-goddess. See H₂éwsōs for further information. |
| *Índras | Skt Índra | YAv. Indra | Mit. Indara | No known IE cognate. | – |
| *Krćānu ~ *Krćāni | Skt Kṛśā́nu | YAv. Kərəsāni | – | No known IE cognate. | Divine being associated with the Soma. In Sanskrit, the divine archer that guards the celestial Soma; in Young Avestan, name of a hostile king driven away by Haoma. |
| *Mánuš | Skt Manu | Av. *Manūš | – | From PIE *Manu-. | Av. *Manūš.čiθra is inferred from Old Persian Manūščihr, the name of a high priest. |
| *Mitrás | Skt Mitrá | Av. Miθra | Mit. Mitra | See Mitra. | |
| Skt Nā́satyā | Av. Nā̊ŋhaiθya | Mit. Našattiya | Probably from PIE *nes-. | Skt Nā́satyā is another name for the Aśvínā ; Nā̊ŋhaiθya is the name of a demon in the Zoroastrian religious system. According to scholar Douglas Frame, "the Iranian singular suggests that in Common Indo-Iranian the twins’ dual name also occurred in the singular to name one twin in opposition to the other". See Divine Twins. | |
| *Pr̥tHwíH | Skt Pṛth(i)vī́' | YAv. ząm pərəθβīm | – | From PIE *pleth₂wih₁ 'the broad one'. | Name of the deified earth. The Sanskrit poetic formula kṣā́m... pṛthivī́m is identical to YAv. ząm pərəθβīm See Dʰéǵʰōm for further information. |
| *PuHšā́ | Skt Pisán | – | – | From PIE *ph2uson. | Name of a herding-god, protector of roads, inspector of creatures. |
| *Sušna | Skt Śúsna | Sh. sāɣ | – | From PIE ḱues-. | Name of a malevolent being. Proto-Iranian *sušnā- is inferred from Sh. sāɣ̌. |
| *Tritá | Skt Tritá | YAv. θrita | – | From PIE trito 'third'. | Mythical hero; one of the first preparers of the Soma. |
| Skt Váruṇa | Av. *Vouruna | Mit. Aruna | The Indo-Iranian ancestry is supported by Mitanni Aruna. The Avestan *Vouruna is postulated as the form the god would have taken in Iran, perhaps later replaced by Ahura Mazdā or Apam Napat. | ||
| *Ućan | Skt Uśánā | YAv. Usan | – | Probably a non-IE name based on the same root as *ućig-.' | Name of a sage. |
| *HwaHyúš and *HwáHatas | Skt Vāyú and Vā́ta | OAv. Vaiiu and Vāta' | – | From PIE *h2ueh1iu and *h2ueh1nto. | Gods of winds.' |
| *YámHas | Skt Yamá | OAv. yə̃ma- YAv. Yima | – | From PIE *imH-o 'twin'.' | Meaning 'twin'; inherited from Proto-Indo-European. In Indo-Iranian, name of the mythical primeval man, first presser of the Soma, and son of the god *Huiuasuant''.' Cognate to the Indic goddess Yamuna, a deified river. See Indo-European cosmogony for further information. |