Mantra
Zoroastrianism

In Zoroastrianism, the use of mantras (Avestan: mąθra) goes back to Zarathustra himself, who describes his role as a prophet of the creator deity Ahura Mazda explicitly as a knower of mantras (Avestan: mąθran; Sanskrit: mántrin). In the Zoroastrian tradition, a mantra is usually a shorter inspired utterance that accompanies religious rituals. They differ from the longer, often eight-syllable praise songs (called Yasht in the Avesta) as well as the often eleven-syllable songs (called Gathas in the Avesta as well as in the Vedas).

The four most important Zoroastrian mantras are the Ahuna Vairya, the Ashem Vohu, the Yenghe hatam, and the Airyaman ishya. The Ashem Vohu states:

aṣ̌əm vohū vahištəm astī uštā astī uštā ahmāi hyat̰ aṣ̌āi vahištāi aṣ̌əm

Holiness (Asha) is the best of all good: it is also happiness. Happy the man who is holy with perfect holiness!

— Ashem Vohu.

Both Vedic and Avestan mantras have a number of functional similarities. One of these is the idea that truth, when properly expressed in the mantra, can compel a deity to grant the speaker's request(compare Sacca-kiriya). Another similarity is the Vedic and Avestic association of mantras with paths, so that a properly formulated mantra can open a path to the deity addressed. Because of the etymological and conceptual similarity, such religious utterances must therefore have already been known during the common Indo-Iranian period, when the people of the Avesta and of the Vedas formed a single people. They are, therefore, not derived from the Vedic tradition, but represent an independent development of ancient Iran, corresponding to that in ancient India. The study of their commonalities is therefore important for understanding the poetic and religious traditions of the early Indo-Iranians.
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