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THE SEVEN DIVINE BEINGS AND THEIR OPONENTS
Amesha Spentas
The Amesha Spentas
("Beneficent Immortals"), are the seven divine beings who belong to the
retinue of the highest god, Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd).
The Amesha Spentas come directly after him in the hierarchy
of gods, and can be compared with archangels. They are gods without
being gods and creatures without being creatures.
Together they fight for truth and justice. The Amesha Spentas all
have one of the archfiends, the Daevas,
as their eternal opponent and enemy.
| Ameretat | female | "Not Dying", "Living" | She is the personification of immortality and the protector of plants.
The fifth month is dedicated to her. Her eternal opponent is the
archdemon of aging, Zarich. |
| Armaiti | female | "Beneficent Devotion" | She is the personification of holy devotion, the daughter of the
creator and represents righteous obedience. She is associated with
the earth and in that capacity she is the goddess of fertility and
the dead, who are buried in the earth.
She is linked with earth.
The fifth day of every month
and the twelfth month are dedicated to her. Her eternal opponent is
the archdemon of discontent, Nanghaithya.
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| Haurvatat | female | "Wholeness" | She is the personification of perfection and is associated with
life after death. She brings prosperity and health. The third month
is dedicated to her. Her eternal opponent is the archdemon of hunger,
Tawrich. Later pronounced Hordad.
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| Asha Vahishta | male | "Excellent Order" | He is the personification of the 'best truth' and protects the
physical and moral order on earth. He is the most prominent of
the (male) Amesha Spentas and the principal adversary of the world
of the demons.
He is linked with fire.
The second month is dedicated to him. His eternal opponents
are the archdemon of lie, Drug and the archdemon of apostasy, Indra.
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| Khshathra Vairya | male | "Desirable Dominion" | He is the personification of desirable dominion and is associated with
metal. He is the protector of the poor even though he would rather
defend royalty. He enforces peace by using his weapons. His attributes
are the helmet, the shield and the spear.
He is linked with metals.
The sixth month is dedicated to him.
His eternal opponent is the archdemon Saurva.
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| Srosa | male | "Obedience" | He is the personification of obedience and the messenger of the
great god Ahura Mazda. He also guides the souls of the deceased to
find their way to the after live. His symbolic animal is the cock,
whose crowing will call the pious to their religious duties.
The seventeenth day of the month is dedicated to him.
His eternal opponent is the archdemon Aesma Daeva
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| Vohu Manah | male | "Good Sense" | He is and the personification of wisdom. He is the protector of
the animal world and is on earth represented by beneficial animals,
especially the cow. Thus, he is traditionally linked with cattle.
Furthermore, he takes the souls of the just to Paradise.
The eleventh month is dedicated to him. His eternal opponent is the
archdemon Aka Manah.
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The Daevas
The Daevas
are demons who cause plagues and diseases and who fight every
form of religion. They are the servants of
Angra Mainyu (Ariman).
Sometimes, the female servants are called the Drugs and the
male are called Daevas only.
There are seven Main Daevas as direkt opponents to the
Amesha Spentas
and more Lesser Daevas.
Together they fight Ahura Mazda.
Originally, the Daevas, together with the
Ahuras,
were a classification of gods and spirits. In later Persian
religion they were degraded to a lesser kind of beings,
demons. The word 'devil' is derived from their name.
| Zarich | female | "Age" | She is the personification of aging. Her eternal opponent is Ameretat.
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| Nanghaithya | female | "Discontentment" | She is the personification of discontentment. Her eternal opponent is Armaiti.
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| Tawrich | female | "Hunger" | Tawrich is the personification of hunger.
Her eternal opponent is Haurvatat.
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| Drug | female | "Lie" | She is the representation of the lie. Together with horny men she causes much
evil. She is the eternal opponent of Asha vahishta.
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| Indra | male | "Lie" | He is one of the seven Daevas and the personification of apostasy.
Not to be confused with the Indian god Indra. His eternal
opponent is Asha vahishta.
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| Saurva | male | "Hunger" | His eternal opponent is Khshathra vairya.
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| Aesma Daeva | male | "Fury" | He is the demon of lust and anger, wrath and revenge. His wrath is
mainly directed towards the cow. He is the personification of
violence, a lover of conflict and war. Together with the demon
of death, Asto Vidatu, he chases the souls of the deceased when
they rise to heaven. The Jewish evil spirit Asmodeus is derived from
his image. His eternal opponent is Sraosa. |
| Aka Manah | male | "Lust" | He is the demon of sensual desires who was sent by Ahriman to
seduce the prophet Zarathustra. His eternal opponent is Vohu Manah.
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