01-11-2006, 06:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-11-2006, 06:42 AM by Hauma Hamiddha.)
Briefly:
The comparison between Brahmo of Ram Mohan Rai and the Zarathushtrian reform is indeed reasonable. Just that the I believe Zarathushtra was an internal rebel not influenced greatly by external ideas as seen in the case of the British influence of Ram Mohan. Zarathushtra was definitely of a high priestly class of Haoma sacrificers related to the bhR^igus of the Indo-Aryans. So he did not modify many of the basic features such as Yasna (fire and soma sacrifice) and composition of Gathas (hymns similar to R^igvedic sUkta-s). While Zarathushtra presents devas as evil even in his gathas the old terms are not entirely purged: for example we see daevitana= divine, daevanjyati= divine lustre. But he did have a rather exclusivist tirade on idols. We see the following in the gathas of Zarathushtra:
"kadA ajem murthem ahya maghahya ya AngrayA Karpanao urupayeinti"
When shall I be able to uproot the idol from this assemblyâthis [idol] set up by the A~Ngirasas and the karpaNas?
Here you can see the roots of Abrahmistic exclusivism in Zarathushtra's words.
<!--QuoteBegin-mitradena+Jan 10 2006, 09:43 PM-->QUOTE(mitradena @ Jan 10 2006, 09:43 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->I have heard that there were many Indo-Aryans belonging to the Katha sakha of the Yajurveda living in Iran and that they were wiped out either by the Greeks or the Arabs. Is this true?
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A branch of kaThas were prominent in what is now TSP. They fought Alexander with much fury when he tried to storm a brAhmaNa town of theirs. The subsequent ravages of their land destroyed them. Our forum member Rajita's family belongs to this shAkha- fragmentary communities descending from the old kaTha ritualists were in Kashmir and Himachal but largely extinct now. They had somewhat different sacrificial traditions from those of the taittirIyas, kANvas, mAdhyaMdina etc, which might show slight overlap with the Iranian practices such as use of the yaGYa varAha in place of the horse.
BTW samidh in Vedic means fire sticks which in Iranian becomes Hamiddh
The comparison between Brahmo of Ram Mohan Rai and the Zarathushtrian reform is indeed reasonable. Just that the I believe Zarathushtra was an internal rebel not influenced greatly by external ideas as seen in the case of the British influence of Ram Mohan. Zarathushtra was definitely of a high priestly class of Haoma sacrificers related to the bhR^igus of the Indo-Aryans. So he did not modify many of the basic features such as Yasna (fire and soma sacrifice) and composition of Gathas (hymns similar to R^igvedic sUkta-s). While Zarathushtra presents devas as evil even in his gathas the old terms are not entirely purged: for example we see daevitana= divine, daevanjyati= divine lustre. But he did have a rather exclusivist tirade on idols. We see the following in the gathas of Zarathushtra:
"kadA ajem murthem ahya maghahya ya AngrayA Karpanao urupayeinti"
When shall I be able to uproot the idol from this assemblyâthis [idol] set up by the A~Ngirasas and the karpaNas?
Here you can see the roots of Abrahmistic exclusivism in Zarathushtra's words.
<!--QuoteBegin-mitradena+Jan 10 2006, 09:43 PM-->QUOTE(mitradena @ Jan 10 2006, 09:43 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->I have heard that there were many Indo-Aryans belonging to the Katha sakha of the Yajurveda living in Iran and that they were wiped out either by the Greeks or the Arabs. Is this true?
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A branch of kaThas were prominent in what is now TSP. They fought Alexander with much fury when he tried to storm a brAhmaNa town of theirs. The subsequent ravages of their land destroyed them. Our forum member Rajita's family belongs to this shAkha- fragmentary communities descending from the old kaTha ritualists were in Kashmir and Himachal but largely extinct now. They had somewhat different sacrificial traditions from those of the taittirIyas, kANvas, mAdhyaMdina etc, which might show slight overlap with the Iranian practices such as use of the yaGYa varAha in place of the horse.
BTW samidh in Vedic means fire sticks which in Iranian becomes Hamiddh