The Zend Avesta

by Anonymous, James Darmesteter

THE Zend-Avesta is the sacred book of the Parsis, that is to say, of the few remaining followers of that religion which feigned over Persia at the time when the second successor of Mohammed overthrew the Sassanian dynasty, and which has been called Dualism, or Mazdeism, or Magism, or Zoroastrianism, or Fire-worship, according as its main tenet, or its supreme God, or its priests, or its supposed founder, or its apparent object of worship has been most kept in view. In less than a century after their defeat, nearly all the conquered people were brought over to the faith of their new rulers, either by force, or policy, or the attractive power of a simpler form of creed. But many of those who clung to the faith of their fathers, went and sought abroad for a new home, where they might freely worship their old gods, say their old prayers, and perform their old rites. That home they found at last among the tolerant Hindus, on the western coast of India and in the peninsula of Guzerat. There they throve and there they live still, while the ranks of their co-religionists in Persia are daily thinning and dwindling away.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, History, Theology, Middle East, Classics

629 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 501

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Britt Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first dip into zorastrianism. I appreciated the long introduction and all the foot notes the avestas are some of our earliest holy writings.

It is a little work because so many terms and names are new. There are a bit of cleansing rituals which are interesting but can be repetitive as with any religion. I really enjoyed the third fargard and discussed it verse by verse. I found it very inspiring i will read it again and broaden my understanding of zorastrainsim.

[Larry Kooper]

Enjoyed James Darmesteter's introduction. But the text is another story. It's overwhelmingly a weird and repetitive set of religious laws, mainly dealing with the corpses of people and dogs.

What a waste of time. Repeated formulas of praise for a fuckton of gods and minor deities. .

[Frank Nocera · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy book ( supposedly) for a fake religion that has less than one million followers today. The Zen Avesta is full of crap and fake info like about bulls.

The Holy Bible OTOH has incredible scientific accuracy like round Earth 🌎 and hydrologic cycle and much more.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting trip back in time. Mostly a weird set of repetitive rules and punishments for their violations. Unless you have to read this for a class, probably should just skip.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like trying to understand the Catholic College of Cardinals by reading the book of Psalms.

[Mason Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really beautiful work. I read it when I was quite young and into religions. Loved it for sure. I hope to read it again.

[mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kindle- Not quite what I expected. There were some problems with the naming of Gods. Not really a thorough exploration of Zoroastrianism but a collection of cleansing ritual translations.