# Ashavan

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{{Short description|Zoroastrian theological term}}
{{Zoroastrianism sidebar}}
'''Ashavan''' ([Avestan](/source/Avestan): 𐬀𐬴𐬀𐬬𐬀𐬥 ''ašavan'') is a [Zoroastrian](/source/Zoroastrianism) theological term. It literally means "possessing/mastering ''[aša](/source/asha)''" and has been interpreted as "possessing/mastering truth" or "possessing/mastering righteousness", but has further implications:

* It is an epithet of [Ahura Mazda](/source/Ahura_Mazda){{sfn|Gray|1926|p=101}} (''[Yasht](/source/Yasht)'' 1.12). The term may then be applied to anything within the domain of Ahura Mazda and/or [Aša](/source/Asha) (i.e. all of Creation), and excludes only that which is  ''dr''ə''gvant'' "possessing lie" ([YAv](/source/Avestan_language): ''drvant'').{{sfn|Gnoli|1987|p=705}}
* With respect to mortals and in an [eschatological](/source/Eschatology) and [sotereological](/source/Soteriology) context, ''ašavan'' is also a quality that can be acquired in life. Then, having acquired the qualities of an ''ašavan'', one becomes an ''ašavan'' (through "blessed union with aša"<!--, Y. 30.1-->) after death.{{sfn|Gershevitch|1955|p=483}} (See also: [''aša'': in eschatology and sotereology](/source/Asha)). This soteriological meaning of ''ašavan'' is also evident in [Xerxes](/source/Xerxes_I)' ''[daiva](/source/Daeva) inscription'',{{sfn|Gnoli|1987|p=706}} an [Old Persian](/source/Old_Persian) text (XPh, early [5th century BCE](/source/5th_century_BC)). This next-world meaning of ''ašavan'' is preserved in [Middle Iranian](/source/Iranian_languages) languages as [Pahlavi](/source/Zoroastrian_Middle_Persian) ''ahlav''.
* ''Ašavan'' may be used to denote <u>any</u> follower of the "Good Religion." This is the most common use of ''ašavan'', applicable to any who walk the "path of truth" (''[Yasna](/source/Yasna)'' 68.12 and 68.13). In this context, ''Ašavan'' is frequently translated as "righteous person" or "blessed person." This general meaning of ''ašavan'' is preserved in [Middle Iranian](/source/Iranian_languages) languages as [Pahlavi](/source/Zoroastrian_Middle_Persian) ''ardav''.

The linguistic cognate of Avestan ''ašavan'' is [Vedic](/source/Vedic_Sanskrit) ऋतावन् ''ṛtā́van'', which, however, has some functional differences vis-à-vis the Zoroastrian term:

* The dichotomy of the ''ašavan'' and the ''dr''ə''gvant'' is not attested in the [Vedas](/source/Vedas).{{sfn|Duchesne-Guillemin|1963|pp=46–47}}
* In Zoroastrianism any mortal may strive to possess ''aša'', but in the Vedas, ''[ṛtá](/source/%E1%B9%9Ata)'' is hidden from ordinary mortals and only initiated seers are allowed to possess it (become ''ṛtā́van''s).{{sfn|Gnoli|1987|p=706}}

That the souls of the dead dwell in the radiant quarters of Asha (''Yasna'' 16.7) has a Vedic parallel in which the seat of truth is located in the other world.{{sfn|Gershevitch|1964|p=18}}

==References==
;Citations
{{Reflist|2}}

;Works cited
{{Refbegin}}
*{{citation|last=Duchesne-Guillemin|first=Jacques|title=Heraclitus and Iran|journal=History of Religions|volume=3|issue=1|year=<!--(Summer,-->1963|pages=34–49|doi=10.1086/462470|s2cid=62860085 }}.
*{{citation|title=Word and Spirit in Ossetic|last=Gershevitch|first=Ilya|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=17|issue=3|year=1955|pages=478–489|doi=10.1017/S0041977X0011239X|s2cid=194030467 }}.
*{{citation|title=Zoroaster's Own Contribution|last=Gershevitch|first=Ilya|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=23|issue=1|year=<!--Jan-->1964|pages=12–38|doi=10.1086/371754|s2cid=161954467 }}.
*{{citation|chapter=Ašavan|last=Gnoli|first=Gerardo|title=Encyclopaedia Iranica|series=vol. 2|year=1987|location=New York|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|pages=705–706}}.
*{{citation|last=Gray|first=Louis H.|year=1926|title=List of the Divine and Demonic Epithets in the Avesta|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=46|pages=97–153|doi=10.2307/593793|jstor=593793}}.
{{Refend}}
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Category:Zoroastrianism

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