Aban: Waters in Zoroastrianism | Encyclopedia Article

Aban
Apas (/ˈɑːpəs, æp-/, Avestan: āpas) is the
Avestan language term for "the waters",
which, in its innumerable aggregate states,
is represented by the Apas, the hypostases
of the waters.
Āb (plural Ābān) is the Middle Persian-
language form.
Introduction
"To this day reverence for water is deeply
ingrained in Zoroastrians, and in orthodox
communities offerings are regularly made
to the household well or nearby stream."[1]
The ape zaothra ceremony—the
culminating rite of the Yasna service
(which is in turn the principal act of
worship)—is literally for the "strengthening
of the waters."
Avestan apas (from singular āpō) is
grammatically feminine, and the Apas are
female. The Middle Persian equivalents
are ābān/Ābān (alt: āvān/Āvān), from
which Parsi Gujarati āvā/Āvā (in religious
usage only) derive.
The Avestan common noun āpas
corresponds exactly to Vedic Sanskrit
āpas, and both derive from the same
proto-Indo-Iranian word, stem *ap- "water",
cognate with the British river Avon. 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 the RigVeda
the divinities are wholesome to drink, in
the Avesta 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 three Ahuras (Mazda,
Mithra, Apam Napat), two Amesha
Spentas (Haurvatat, Armaiti) and two
lesser Yazatas (Aredvi Sura Anahita and
Ahurani).
Abans, a crater on Ariel, one of the moons
of Uranus, is named after aban.
In scripture
In the seven-chapter Yasna Haptanghaiti,
which interrupts the sequential order of
the Gathas and is linguistically as old as
the Gathas themselves, the waters are
revered as the Ahuranis, wives of the Ahura
(Yasna 38.3). Although not otherwise
named, Boyce[4] associates this Ahura with
Apam Napat (middle Persian: Burz Yazad),
another divinity of waters.
In Yasna 38, which is dedicated "to the
earth and the sacred waters", apas/Apas is
not only necessary for nourishment, but is
considered the source of life ("you that
bear forth", "mothers of our life"). In Yasna
2.5 and 6.11, apas/Apas is "Mazda-made
and holy".
In the Aban Yasht (Yasht 5), which is
nominally dedicated to the waters,
veneration is directed specifically at Aredvi
Sura Anahita, another divinity identified
with the waters, but originally representing
the "world river" that encircled the earth
(see In tradition, below). The merger of the
two concepts "probably"[4] came about due
to prominence given to Aredvi Sura during
the reign of Artaxerxes 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 Vedic Saraswati, 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 Persian Spendarmad), the Amesha
Spenta of the earth (this association is
properly developed in Bundahishn 3.17). In
Yasna 3.1, the eminence of Aban is
reinforced by additionally assigning
guardianship to another Amesha Spenta
Haurvatat (middle Persian: (K)hordad).
In tradition
According to the Bundahishn, ('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 the Vendidad (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 by Puitika (Avestan, middle
Persian: Putik), the tidal sea, before
flowing back into the Vourukasha.
In the Zoroastrian 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 the eighth month
of the year of the Zoroastrian calendar
(Bundahishn 1a.23-24), as well as that of
the Iranian calendar of 1925, which follows
Zoroastrian month-naming conventions. It
might be the precursor of the holy month
of Sha'aban in the Hijri calendar. sha'aban
meaning The Zoroastrian name-day feast
of Abanagan, also known as the Aban
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
the yazatas, aban's is the water-lily
(Bundahishn 27.24).
See also
Temple of Anahita, Istakhr
Temple of Anahita, Kangavar
Qadamgah (ancient site)
Minar (Firuzabad)
References
1. Boyce 1975, p. 155.
2. Boyce 1975, p. 71.
3. Boyce 1975, pp. 132–133.
4. Boyce 1983, p. 58.
5. Lommel 1954, pp. 405–413.
6. Boyce 1982, pp. 29ff.
Bibliography
Boyce, Mary (1975). History of
Zoroastrianism, Vol. I. Leiden: Brill.
ISBN 978-90-04-10474-7.
Boyce, Mary (1982). History of
Zoroastrianism, Vol. II. Leiden: Brill.
ISBN 978-90-04-06506-2.
Boyce, Mary (1983). "Aban".
Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. I. New York:
Mazda Pub. p. 58.
Lommel, Herman (1927). Die Yašts des
Awesta. Göttingen–Leipzig:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht/JC Hinrichs.
Lommel, Herman (1954). "AnahitaSarasvati". Asiatica: Festschrift Friedrich
Weller Zum 65. Geburtstag. Leipzig: Otto
Harrassowitz. pp. 405–413.
Girshman, Roman (1962). Persian art,
Parthian and Sassanian dynasties.
London: Golden Press.
Aban Yasht (http://www.avesta.org/ka/y
t5sbe.htm) , as translated by James
Darmesteter in
Müller, Friedrich Max, ed. (1883). SBE,
Vol. 23. Oxford: OUP.
Yasna 38 (http://www.avesta.org/yasna/
y35to42s.htm#y37) (to the earth and
the sacred waters), as translated by
Lawrence Heyworth Mills in
Müller, Friedrich Max, ed. (1887). SBE,
Vol. 31. Oxford: OUP.
Anklesaria, Behramgore Tehmuras
(1956). The Greater Bundahishn (http://w
ww.avesta.org/mp/grb1.htm) .
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