History of the Parsis : including their manners, customs, religion and present position : with coloured and other illustrations : in two volumes

CHAP. IV.] THE WORD “GOD.” 183

questions put to the “dasturs” of Iran by their coreligionists in India on certain religious matters. Those best known are the Rayvayets of Burzo Kamdin and Darab Hormazdiar.

These later Pehlevi books and Persian Ravayets are not published. Copies of some of them are to be only found in the libraries of the present high priests, Dasturs Peshotanji and Jamaspji.

Now, what, it will be asked, is the religion of the Parsis as propounded in the sacred works enumerated? What do we find on examination of the ZendAvesta to be the nature of the religion of Zoroaster ? The Persians, before the advent of that prophet, were professedly believers in one God, but were more or less polytheists. The mission of Zoroaster, therefore, was to effect a thorough reformation of the religion, or rather superstition, prevalent in Persia, and to lead the people into the path of virtue and piety.

That the mission of Zoroaster was to inculcate in the minds of men monotheism and to suppress polytheism is clearly shown by the fact that whereas in most of the Aryan nations the word for “God” is derived from the very old Aryan root div, ‘‘to shine,” in the Zend-Avesta the word for “ God,” Ahura Mazda, has no connection whatever with it. For example, God is called Daeva in Sanscrit, Dios or Zeus in Greek, Deus in Latin, Tis in German, Diewas in Lithua-