# Mah

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mah
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mah.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah
> Source revision: 1351499395
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Zoroastrian deity}}
{{other uses|Mah (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox deity
|type = Zoroastrian
| deity_of = God of Moon <br /> Guardian of Plants and Livestock
| image = 260px
| caption = [Persepolis](/source/Persepolis) mural: The death of [Gavaevodata](/source/Gavaevodata), the primordial bovine, whose ''cithra''<ref group=lower-alpha name="cithra" /> is rescued by the moon god.
| other_names = Chāndra
| script_name = [Avestan](/source/Avestan)
| script = Mångha 𐬨𐬂𐬢𐬵𐬀
| gender = male
| attributes = Increase of the flock of sheep, Lush vegetation and Prosperity, Care for the stars, Life-Giving and Honorable
| planet = [Moon](/source/Moon)
| affiliation = The Thirty-Three Deities, [Guardians of the Days of the Month](/source/List_of_Zoroastrian_month_days)
| symbol = Moon, Cow (due to the resemblance of its horns to the crescent moon)
| day = 12th of each month in the [Iranian calendar](/source/Iranian_calendar), [Monday](/source/Monday) of each week
| associated_deities = [Vohu Manah](/source/Vohu_Manah), [Rama](/source/Rama), [Drvaspa](/source/Drvaspa)
| sacred_flower = [Narcissus](/source/Narcissus_(plant))
| abode = Sky
| festivals = Māh Ruz
| Greek_equivalent = [Artemis](/source/Artemis)
| Roman_equivalent = [Diana](/source/Diana_(mythology))
| equivalent1_type = Indian 
| equivalent1 = [Soma](/source/Chandra)
}}
{{Zoroastrianism sidebar}}

'''''Mångha''''' ({{langx|ae|{{script|Avst|𐬨𐬂𐬢𐬵𐬀}}}} {{Lang|ae-Latn|måŋha}}) is the [Avestan](/source/Avestan_language) for "[Moon](/source/Moon), [month](/source/month)",  equivalent to [Persian](/source/Persian_language) '''''Māh''''' ({{lang|fa|ماه‎}}; [Old Persian](/source/Old_Persian) {{lang|peo|𐎶𐎠𐏃}} [{{Transliteration|peo|māha}}](/source/%3Awikt%3A%F0%90%8E%B6%F0%90%8E%A0%F0%90%8F%83)).
It is the name of the [lunar deity](/source/lunar_deity) in [Zoroastrianism](/source/Zoroastrianism). The Iranian word is masculine.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kanga|first=Kavasji Edalji|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFogAQAAMAAJ&pg=339|title=An English-Avesta Dictionary|date=1909|publisher=Printed at the Fort Printing Press|language=fa}}</ref> Although Mah is not a prominent deity in the [Avestan scripture](/source/Avesta), his [crescent](/source/crescent) was an important symbol of royalty throughout the  [Parthian](/source/Parthian_Empire) and [Sassanid](/source/Sassanid_Empire) periods.

The Iranian word is cognate with the English ''moon'', from PIE ''[*mēns](/source/%3Awikt%3AReconstruction%3AProto-Indo-European%2Fm%E1%B8%97h%E2%82%81n%CC%A5s)''

==Avesta==
{{see also| Mah Yasht}}
left|thumb|Painting of the Earth and Moon God in Manichaeism
Although there are two Avestan hymns dedicated to the Moon, he is not a prominent divinity. 
In both the third ''Nyaish'' as well as in the ''[seventh Yasht](/source/Mah_Yasht)'', the 'moon' more commonly spoken of is the physical moon. In these hymns, the phases of the moon are described at length. [Ahura Mazda](/source/Ahura_Mazda) is described to be the cause of the moon's waxing and waning, and the [Amesha Spenta](/source/Amesha_Spenta)s evenly distribute the light of the moon over the earth.<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;7.3, ''Nyaish''&nbsp;3.5</ref> The [Fravashi](/source/Fravashi)s are said to be responsible for keeping the moon and stars on its appointed course.<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;13.14-16</ref> The sun, moon, and stars revolve around the peak of [Hara Berezaiti](/source/Hara_Berezaiti).<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;12.25</ref>

The Moon<!-- caps --> is however also "bestower, radiant, glorious, possessed of water, possessed of warmth, possessed of knowledge, wealth, riches, discernment, weal, verdure, good, and the healing one".<ref>Dhalla (1938) p.&nbsp;214; ''Yasht''&nbsp;7.5, ''Nyaish''&nbsp;3.7</ref> "During the spring, the Moon causes plants to grow up out of the earth".<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;7.4, ''Nyaish''&nbsp;3.6</ref>

<!-- [[Image:Persia.jpg|thumb|left|300px|the same tableau at [Apadana](/source/Apadana) Hall.]] -->
The Moon is repeatedly spoken of as possessing the ''{{lang|ae|cithra}}''{{efn|name="cithra"|The precise meaning of the word ''cithra'' in this context is unknown. It is traditionally translated as "seed", which in the sense of "prototype" carries the connotation of a particular physical form or appearance. It can also mean "seed" in the sense of "race", "stock", or progeny.}} of the primeval bull. This is an allusion to a cosmological drama that is however only properly attested in the texts of Zoroastrian tradition (see below).

==In tradition==
[[File:Huvishka with Mao.jpg|thumb|Coinage of [Kushan](/source/Kushan_Empire) ruler [Huvishka](/source/Huvishka), with the Lunar deity Mah (''Mao'') on the reverse, 2nd century CE. The lunar crescent appears behind the shoulders.<ref name="AHH327">{{cite book |last1=Dani |first1=Ahmad Hasan |last2=Harmatta |first2=János |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |year=1999 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-1408-0 |pages=327–328 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DguGWP0vGY8C&pg=PA327 |language=en}}</ref>]]
[Herodotus](/source/Herodotus) states that the moon was the [tutelary](/source/tutelary_deity) divinity of the Iranian expatriates residing in [Asia Minor](/source/Asia_Minor).<ref>{{cite book |author=Herodotus |author-link=Herodotus |title=Histories |at=7.3.7}}</ref> 
The divinity Mah appears together with [Mithra](/source/Mithra) on [Kushan](/source/Kushan_Empire) coins.

In the [Zoroastrian calendar](/source/Zoroastrian_calendar), the twelfth day of the month is dedicated to and is under the protection of the Moon.

The Moon plays a prominent role in Zoroastrian cosmogony, in particular as described in detail in the  ''Bundahishn'', a text finished in the 12th&nbsp;century. The legend runs as follows:<ref>''Bundahishn''&nbsp;7</ref> [Ahriman](/source/Ahriman) (Av: [Angra Mainyu](/source/Angra_Mainyu)) incites [Jeh](/source/Jeh_(Zoroastrianism)) the primeval whore to kill the primordial bovine Gawiewdad (Av. [Gavaevodata](/source/Gavaevodata)). Jeh does as told, but as the creature lies dying, the ''chihr''<ref group=lower-alpha name="cithra"/> is rescued and placed in the care of the moon. This ''chihr'' is then the "prototype" (''karb'') of all creatures of the animal world.

In the hierarchy of [''yazata''s](/source/yazata), the Moon is the assistant (or 'cooperator', ''hamkar'') of [Vohu Manah](/source/Vohu_Manah) (MP: Bahman), the [Amesha Spenta](/source/Amesha_Spenta) of animal welfare, in particular of cattle. The identification with [Vohu Manah](/source/Vohu_Manah) - the [hypostasis](/source/hypostasis_(linguistics)) of "Good Purpose" or "Good Mind" - is reflected in other texts where the moon is associated with mental harmony and [inner peace](/source/inner_peace).{{efn|''Mah'' is also the [Persian language](/source/Persian_language) name of a species of fish, which gives rise to the Persian language expression, ''az mah ta mahi'', "from the moon to the ''mah''-fish", to mean "everything". That expression has its origin in Persian mythology, where the world is believed to sit on a rock, on the back of a bull, on a ''kamkam'', on the back of the ''mah'' fish, on water, on wind, and on the veil of darkness.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
<br/>
cf. ''[The Rubaiyat](/source/The_Rubaiyat)'', Omar Khayyam,:<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rubaiyat |author=Khayyam, Omar |translator=Fitzgerald, Edward |at=stanza 52}}</ref> 
:Whose secret Presence, through Creation's veins
:Running, Quicksilver-like eludes your pains:
:Taking all shapes from ''Mah to Mahi''; and
:They change and perish all – but He remains;
}}

==See also==
*[Men (deity)](/source/Men_(deity))

==Footnotes==
{{notelist|1}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Dhalla |first=M. N. |title=The History of Zoroastrianism |year=1938 |location=New York |publisher=OUP |pages=213–214}}
* {{cite encyclopaedia |last=Kreyenbroek |first=Philip G. |article=Cosmogony and Cosmology I: In Zoroastrianism |encyclopaedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |volume=6 |year=1993 |location=Costa Mesa |publisher=Mazda |pages=303–307}}
{{refend}}
{{reflist|25em}}

{{Zoroastrian Calendar}}

Category:Yazatas
Category:Lunar gods

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mah?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.