Fravashi

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 exaltation)." Also following "var-" "to choose" is the interpretation as "to choose/profess a faith," as 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"s, unlike that of many of the other "yazata"s, 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"s received the role they play in the texts of the Avesta. Boyce speculates that perhaps the "fravashi"s 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"s may have been re-integrated later in an effort to make the religion more widely acceptable. The military prowess of the "fravashi"s is celebrated throughout the "Yasht"s, 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"s 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"s 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"s 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 "farvashi"s 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 a "fravashi" in the Avesta, the "faravahar", one of the best known symbols of Zoroastrianism, is commonly believed to be the depiction of one. 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 the hierarchy of the "yazata"s, the "fravashi"s are the assistants of the Amesha Spenta "Haurvatat" (MP: "Khordad") of "Wholeness", whose special domain are "the Waters" (Avestan "Apo", MP: "Aban").

In the day-name dedications of the Zoroastrian calendar, the "fravashi"s preside over the 19th day of the month and the 1st month of the year, and both are named "Farvadin" after these "yazata"s. 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.

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