Fravashi

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In Zoroastrian doctrine a fravashi (Avestan fravaši; Middle Persian fraward, frawahr, frohar, frawash, frawaksh) is the guardian spirit of an individual, who sends out the urvan (often translated as 'soul') into the material world to fight the battle of good versus evil. On the morning of the fourth day after death, the urvan returns to its fravashi, where its experiences in the material world are collected.

Etymology

In general, fravashi is believed to have at its root var- "to choose." From reconstructed *fravarti (/rt/ clusters in Avestan usually appear as /š/), fravashi could then be interpreted to mean "one who has been selected (for exhaltation)." Also following var- "to choose" is the interpretation as "to choose/profess a faith," as is also attested in the word fravarane, the name of the Zoroastrian credo.

Other interpretations take other meanings of var- into consideration: Either as var- "to cover" that in a bahuvrihi with fra- "to ward" provides "protective valor," or a derivation from var- "to make/be pregnant" which gives "promoter of birth, birth-spirit." One interpretation considers a derivation from vart- "turn" hence "turning away, departing, death."

In scripture

The concept of the fravashi, unlike that of many of the other yazatas, does not appear to have an equivalent in other Indo-Iranian religions. Although there are parallels with the Indian pitaras, the historical development of the concept is unclear, and there are several conflicting theories as to when and why fravashi received the role they play in the texts of the Avesta. Boyce speculates that perhaps the fravashi are the remnants of the hero-cult of the "Iranian Heroic Age" (c. 1500 BCE onwards), when ancestor-worship was widespread.

Early Zoroastrian texts such as Yasht 17 make a clear departure from ancestor worship, but the fravashi may have been re-integrated later in an effort to make the religion more widely acceptable. The military prowess of the fravashi is celebrated throughout the Yashts, and in two sections they are clearly identified with the urvan. Both are more consistent with the beliefs of the Iranian Heroic Age than with the philosophy expressed in the Gathas, the most important part of the Avesta and thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself.

The fravashi are not mentioned at all in the Gathas. The earliest mention of them is in the Haptan Yasht, where they are mentioned several times. In chapter 57 of the Yasna, the fravashi are responsible for the course of the sun, moon, and stars (and will do so until the renovation of this world), and in nurturing waters and plants, and protecting the unborn in the womb. They would annually strive to ensure that "family, settlement, tribe, and country" had rain.

The principal source of information on the fravashi is Yasht 13 (Farvardin Yasht), the hymn that is addressed to them and in which they appear as beings who inhabit the stratosphere, and aid and protect those who worship them. In this hymn, the farvarshi are described as a vast host of "many hundreds, many thousands, many tens of thousands" aiding Ahura Mazda in the creation of the universe.

In tradition

Although there is no physical description of the fravashi in the Avesta, the faravahar, one of the best known symbols of Zoroastrianism, is commonly believed to be the depiction of a fravashi. The attribution of the name (which derives from the Middle Iranian word for fravashi) to the symbol is probably a later development. In Avestan language grammar, the fravashi are unmistakably female, while the faravahar symbol is unmistakably male.

In Zoroastrian angelology, a fravashi is a Yazata, responsible to the Amesha Spenta Haurvatat (MP: Khordad) of "Wholeness", whose special domain is water (Aban).

In the day-name dedications of the Zoroastrian calendar, the fravashis preside over the 19th day of the month and the 1st month of the year, and both are named Farvadin after these yazatas. The Iranian civil calendar of 1925 follows Zoroastrian month-naming conventions and hence also has Farvadin as the name of the first month of the year.

References

In the 2004 film, Crash, a Persian store owner named Farhad accidentally shoots a young girl in the midst of a confrontation with her father. Unknown to Farhad, his gun is loaded with blanks and the girl is unharmed when he fires the gun at her as just jumps in front of her father. Farhad later relates to his daughter how he shot a young girl, but that she's not hurt, saying "she is my Fravashi, my guardian angel."

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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 20:06:56 PDT (GMT -0700)
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