{{Short description|Wisdom and knowledge deity in Zoroastrianism}} {{Infobox deity | type = Zoroastrian | name = Chista | deity_of = Wisdom, knowledge, insight | image = | caption = | Sanskrit_transliteration = | script_name = Native name | script = {{script|Avst|𐬗𐬌𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬃}} | affiliation = Zoroastrianism | consort = <!-- or | consorts = --> | texts = Avesta | Greek_equivalent = Athena | Hinduism_equivalent = | equivalent1_type = | equivalent1 = | region = Greater Iran | ethnic_group = Iranian peoples (Parsis, Iranis) }} {{Zoroastrianism sidebar}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=February 2023}}
'''Chista''' ({{langx|ae|{{script|Avst|𐬗𐬌𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬃}}|cistaiiā̊}})<ref name="Avesta_16">{{cite web |title=AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA: YASHTS (Hymns) |url=http://www.avesta.org/ka/yt_jamaspa.htm#yt16 |website=www.avesta.org |access-date=3 February 2023}}</ref> is the yazata most closely associated with wisdom, knowledge, and insight in Zoroastrianism.<ref name="Iranica"/> Her name is derived from the Avestan derivative of the verb ''Cit'', 'to notice, to understand'. The sixteenth yasht (or "hymn") of the Avesta is dedicated to Chista and she is also mentioned in the tenth yasht (Yt. 10.126).<ref name="Hambartsumian2009">{{cite journal | last1 = Hambartsumian | first1 = Arthur | title = The Sacred Aryan Forest in the Avestan and Pahlavi Texts | journal = Iran and the Caucasus | date = 2009 | volume = 13 | issue = 1 | pages = 125–130 | issn = 1609-8498 | eissn = 1573-384X | doi = 10.1163/160984909X12476379008043 | pmid = | url = }}</ref><ref name="Iranica"/>
Zarathustra's youngest daughter was named "Pouro Chista" or "Pouručistā", meaning “the one who is noticed by many people, the charming one,"<ref name="Iranica">Jean Kellens, “[https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cista-and-cisti-avestan-derivatives-of-the-verb-cit-to-notice-to-understand ČISTĀ],” Encyclopædia Iranica, Fasc. V, Vol. 6, pp. 601-602; available online at https://www.iranicaonline.org. (accessed in print on 3 February 2023).</ref> or a very wise and knowledgeable person.<ref name="Jnasci_2013">Behnamfar, Zahra, Abbasali Maghsoodlou, and Kobra Nodehi. "[https://jnasci.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1085-1088.pdf Principles of Education in Ancient Iran with a Look at Yashts]." ''Journal of Novel Applied Sciences'' (2013): 1085-1088.</ref>
The Iranian cultural magazine ''Tchissta'', founded in 1981 by mathematician and activist Parviz Shahriari, was named after Chista.<ref name="Parviz_PBS">{{cite news |last1=SAHIMI |first1=MUHAMMAD |title=Obituary - Parviz Shahriari, Mathematician and Activist, Dies at 85 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2012/05/obituary-parviz-shahriari-mathematician-and-activist-dies-at-85.html |access-date=3 February 2023 |work=FRONTLINE - Tehran Bureau |date=17 May 2012 |language=en}}</ref>
==Nomenclature and etymology== Though a direct etymology is unknown, the name Chista is probably derived from the feminine form of the Avestan participle čista “noticed, noticeable.” The action noun čisti “intuition, idea” appears only within the special vocabulary of the ''Gathas'' and the ''Yasna haptaŋhāiti''.<ref name="Iranica"/>
==In scripture== Together with ''Verethragna'', ''Čistā'' is a principal companion of Mithra (''Mihr Yasht'' 10.70).
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Ancient Iranian goddesses Category:Names of God in Zoroastrianism Category:Wisdom goddesses Category:God Category:Iranian goddesses Category:Iranian deities Category:Yazatas