The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.

History

Early transmission

The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas, in 'Gathic' Avestan, are the hymns thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. The liturgical texts of the Yasna, which includes the Gathas, is partially in Older (i.e. 'Gathic') and partially in Younger Avestan. The oldest portions may be older than the Gathas, later adapted to more closely follow the doctrine of Zoroaster. The various Yashts are in Younger Avestan and thought to date to the Achaemenid era (559–330 BC). The Visprad and Vendidad, which are also in Younger Avestan, were probably composed even later but this is not certain.The Vendidad were written primarily for ritual purification. The Visparat, another group of writings in the 'Avesta', were believed to be made for the honor and prayer of the celestial lords.

The various texts are thought to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form in the 3rd century. According to legend preserved in the Book of Arda Viraf, a 3rd or 4th century work, a written version of the religious texts had existed in the palace library of the Achaemenid kings (559–330 BC), but which was then supposedly (Arda Viraf 1.4-7 and Denkard 3.420) lost in a fire caused by the troops of Alexander. However, neither assertion can be confirmed since the texts, if they existed, have been lost.

Nonetheless, Rasmus Christian Rask concluded that the texts must indeed be the remnants of a much larger literature, as Pliny the Elder had suggested in his Naturalis Historiae, where he describes one Hermippus of Smyrna having "interpreted two million verses of Zoroaster" in the 3rd century BC. Peter Clark in Zoroastrianism: An Introduction to an Ancient Faith (1998, Brighton) suggests the Gathas and older Yasna texts would not have retained their old-language qualities if they had only been orally transmitted.

Later redaction

According to the Dēnkard, a semi-religious work written in the 9th century, the king Volgash (thought to be the Parthian king Vologases I, c. 51–78 AD) attempted to have the sacred texts collected and collated. The results of this undertaking (the so-called "Arsacid archetype"), if it occurred, have not survived.

All texts known today derive from a single master copy, now lost but known as the "Sassanian archetype", most likely a product of the 3rd or 4th century. According to tradition, in the 3rd century, the Sassanian emperor Ardashir I (r. 226-241 AD) commanded his high priest Tonsar (or Tansar) to compile the theological texts. According to the Dēnkard, the Tonsar effort resulted in the reproduction of twenty-one volumes, called nasks, subdivided into 348 chapters, with approximately 3.5 million words in total. One final redaction took place under Shapur II (r. 309-379).

The Avesta, as known today, represents only those parts of the text that are used liturgically, and therefore survived in the memory of the priests; and, as it now consists of all surviving liturgical texts in the Avestan language, it may or may not include material that never formed part of the 21 nasks at all. In that sense, the current Avesta is a "prayer book" rather than a "Bible". The remainder of the 21 nasks, including the Chihrdad, has been lost since then, especially after the fall of the Sassanid empire, after which Zoroastrianism was supplanted by Islam. However, some secondary literature in Pahlavi purports to contain paraphrases or lists of contents of the lost books.

The origin of the term 'Avesta' is uncertain. The book "A Manual of Khshnoom" reads in its introduction (p. 36) that the words "Avesta" comes from "a" "negation of" and "vid", "[to] know" and thus is a teaching about the Unknown, the secret , . This is a Khshnoomian vision of the Avesta and of its etymology. A derivation from Middle Persian , meaning "praise", is a frequently noted possibility.

European scholarship

The texts became available to European scholarship comparatively late. Abraham Anquetil-Duperron travelled to India in 1755, and discovered the texts in Parsi communities. He published a French translation in 1771, based on a Modern Persian language translation provided by a Parsi priest.

Several Avesta manuscripts were collected by Rasmus Rask on a visit to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1820, and it was Rask's examination of the Avestan language that first established that the texts must indeed be the remnants of a much larger literature of sacred texts.

Rask's collection now lies in the Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen. Other manuscripts are preserved in the East India House, the British Museum in London, the Bodleian library at Oxford, and at various university libraries in Paris.

The Zend

The word Zend or Zand, literally meaning "interpretation", refers to late Middle Persian (see Pazend and Pahlavi) language paraphrases of and commentaries on the individual Avestan books: they could be compared with the Jewish Targums. These commentaries - which date from the 3rd to 10th centuries - were not intended for use as theological texts by themselves but for religious instruction of the (by then) non-Avestan-speaking public. In contrast, the texts of the Avesta proper remained sacrosanct and continued to be recited in Avestan, which was considered a sacred language.

Manuscripts of the Avesta exist in two forms. One is the Avesta-o-Zand (or Zand-i-Avesta), in which the individual books are written together with their Zand. The other is the Vendidad Sadeh, in which the Yasna, Visperad and Vendidad are set out in alternating chapters, in the order used in the Vendidad ceremony, with no commentary at all.

The use of the expression Zend-Avesta to refer to the Avesta in general is a misunderstanding of the phrase Zand-i-Avesta (which literally means "interpretation of the Avesta").

A related mistake is the use of Zend as the name of a language or script. In 1759, Anquetil-Duperron reported having been told that Zend was the name of the language of the more ancient writings. In his third discourse, published in 1798, Sir William Jones mentions a conversation with a Hindu priest who told him that the script was called Zend, and the language Avesta. This is considered a misunderstanding of the term pazend, which actually refers to the use of the Avestan alphabet in writing the Zand and other Middle Persian religious texts, as an expression meaning "in Zend".

The confusion then became too universal in Western scholarship to be reversed, and Zend-Avesta, although a misnomer, is still occasionally used to denote the older texts.

Rask's seminal work, A Dissertation on the Authenticity of the Zend Language (Bombay, 1821), may have contributed to the confusion. N. L. Westergaard's Zendavesta, or the religious books of the Zoroastrians (Copenhagen, 1852–54) only propagated the error.

Structure and content

In its present form, the Avesta is a compilation from various sources, and its different parts date from different periods and vary widely in character. Only texts in the Avestan language are considered part of the Avesta.

There are strong linguistic and cultural similarities between the texts of the Avesta and those of the Rigveda; the similarities are assumed to reflect the common beliefs of Proto-Indo-Iranian times, with the differences then assumed to reflect independent evolution that occurred after the pre-historical split of the two cultures.

According to Denkard, the 21 nasks (books) mirror the structure of the 21-word-long Ahuna Vairya prayer: each of the three lines of the prayer consists of seven words. Correspondingly, the nasks are divided into three groups, of seven volumes per group. Originally, each volume had a word of the prayer as its name, which so marked a volume’s position relative to the other volumes. Only about a quarter of the text from the nasks has survived until today.

The contents of the Avesta are divided topically (even though the organization of the nasks is not), but these are not fixed or canonical. Some scholars prefer to place the categories in two groups, the one liturgical, and the other general. The following categorization is as described by Jean Kellens (see bibliography, below).

The Yasna

:The Yasna (from yazišn "worship, oblations", cognate with Sanskrit yajña), is the primary liturgical collection, named after the ceremony at which it is recited. It consists of 72 sections called the Ha-iti or Ha. The 72 threads of lamb's wool in the Kushti, the sacred thread worn by Zoroastrians, represent these sections. The central portion of the Yasna is the Gathas, the oldest and most sacred portion of the Avesta, believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. The Gathas are structurally interrupted by the Yasna Haptanghaiti ("seven-chapter Yasna"), which makes up chapters 35-42 of the Yasna and is almost as old as the Gathas, consists of prayers and hymns in honour of the Supreme Deity, Ahura Mazda, the Angels, Fire, Water, and Earth. The younger Yasna, though handed down in prose, may once have been metrical, as the Gathas still are.

The Visperad

:The Visperad (from vîspe ratavo, "(prayer to) all patrons") is a collection of supplements to the Yasna. The Visparad is subdivided into 23 or 24 kardo (sections) that are interleaved into the Yasna during a Visperad service (which is an extended Yasna service).

:The Visperad collection has no unity of its own, and is never recited separately from the Yasna.

The Vendidad

:The Vendidad (or Vidēvdāt, a corruption of Avestan Vî-Daêvô-Dāta, "Given Against the Demons") is an enumeration of various manifestations of evil spirits, and ways to confound them. The Vendidad includes all of the 19th nask, which is the only nask that has survived in its entirety. The text consists of 22 Fargards, fragments arranged as discussions between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. The first fargard is a dualistic creation myth, followed by the description of a destructive winter on the lines of the deluge mythology. The second fargard recounts the legend of Yima. The remaining fargards deal primarily with hygiene (care of the dead in particular) [fargard 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 19] as well as disease and spells to fight it [7, 10, 11, 13, 20, 21, 22]. Fargards 4 and 15 discuss the dignity of wealth and charity, of marriage and of physical effort, and the indignity of unacceptable social behaviour such as assault and breach of contract, and specify the penances required to atone for violations thereof. The Vendidad is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual, and there is a degree of moral relativism apparent in the codes of conduct. The Vendidad's different parts vary widely in character and in age. Some parts may be comparatively recent in origin although the greater part is very old.

:The Vendidad, unlike the Yasna and the Visparad, is a book of moral laws rather than the record of a liturgical ceremony. However, there is a ceremony called the Vendidad, in which the Yasna is recited with all the chapters of both the Visparad and the Vendidad inserted at appropriate points. This ceremony is only performed at night.

The Yashts

:The Yashts (from yešti, "worship by praise") are a collection of 21 hymns, each dedicated to a particular divinity or divine concept. Three hymns of the Yasna liturgy that "worship by praise" are—in tradition—also nominally called yashts, but are not counted among the Yasht collection since the three are a part of the primary litury. The Yashts vary greatly in style, quality and extent. In their present form, they are all in prose but analysis suggests that they may at one time have been in verse.

The Siroza

:The Siroza ("thirty days") is an enumeration and invocation of the 30 divinities presiding over the days of the month. (cf. Zoroastrian calendar). The Siroza exists in two forms, the shorter ("little Siroza") is a brief enumeration of the divinities with their epithets in the genitive. The longer ("great Siroza") has complete sentences and sections, with the yazatas being addressed in the accusative.

:The Siroza is never recited as a whole, but is a source for individual sentences devoted to particular divinities, to be inserted at appropriate points in the liturgy depending on the day and the month.

The Khordeh Avesta

:The Khordeh Avesta ("little Avesta") is both a selection of verses from the other collections, as well as three sub-collections that do not appear elsewhere. Taken together, the Khordeh Avesta is considered the prayer book for general lay use. In a wider sense, the term Khordeh Avesta includes all material other than the Yasna, the Visparad and the Vendidad, as it is only the ceremonies contained in these three books that are reserved for the priests.

:The Khordeh Avesta is divided into 4 sections: # Five introductory chapters, accompanied by excerpts from different parts of the Yasna. # Five Niyayishns "praises," addressed to the sun, Mithra, the moon, the waters, and the fire. In the main, the material overlaps with that of the Yashts. The Niyayishn to fire derives from Yasna 62. # Five Gahs "moments of the day," addressed to the five divisions of the day. # Four Afrinagans "blessings," each recited on a particular occasion: the first in honor of the dead, the second on the five epagomenal days that end the year, the third is recited at the six seasonal feasts, and the fourth at the beginning and end of summer.

Fragments

:All material in the Avesta that is not already present in one of the other categories falls into a "fragments" category, which - as the name suggests - includes incomplete texts. There are altogether more than 20 fragment collections, many of which have no name (and are then named after their owner/collator) or only a Middle Persian name. The more important of the fragment collections are the Nirangistan fragments (18 of which constitute the Ehrbadistan); the Pursishniha "questions," also known as "Fragments Tahmuras"; the Aogemadaeca "we accept," a treatise on death; and the Hadokht Nask "volume of the scriptures" with two fragments of eschatological significance.

Other Zoroastrian religious texts

Only texts preserved in the Avestan language count as scripture and are part of the Avesta. Several other secondary works are nonetheless crucial to Zoroastrian theology and scholarship.

The most notable among the Middle Persian texts are the Dēnkard ("Acts of Religion"), dating from the 9th century; the Bundahishn ("Primordial Creation"), finished in the 11th or 12th century, but containing older material; the Mainog-i-Khirad ("Spirit of Wisdom"), a religious conference on questions of faith; and the Arda Viraf Namak ("Book of Arda Viraf"), which is especially important for its views on death, salvation and life in the hereafter. Of the post-14th century works (all in New Persian), only the Sad-dar ("Hundred Doors, or Chapters"), and Rivayats (traditional treatises) are of doctrinal importance. Other texts such as Zartushtnamah ("Book of Zoroaster") are only notable for their preservation of legend and folklore.

See also

The Gathas, the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith.

Notes

Bibliography

Texts and translations

There is a three-volume text of the Avesta, in its original script, edited by Karl Friedrich Geldner.

Reichelt, Avesta Reader, contains extracts, some in the original script and some in Bartholomaean transcription.

A full translation by James Darmesteter and L. H. Mills forms part of the Sacred Books of the East series, but is now regarded as obsolete.

Secondary works

Modi, J. J., The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees

Further reading

avesta.org: Translations of the Avesta texts

Avestan Digital Archive

All chapters of Avesta & Khordeh Avesta Prayers

The Avesta (Catholic Encyclopedia)

The Avesta at LIVIUS

Online Original Avesta Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences

a short description

Category:Zoroastrian texts

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Coordinates	35°0′41.69″N135°46′5.47″N
name	Laidback Luke
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen
alias	Laidback Luke, Nouveau Yorican
born	October 22, 1976 Manila, Philippines
instrument	Software (Ableton, Fl Studio)
genre	Electro House, House
occupation	DJ, Producer
label	Mixmash Records
website
notable instruments	}}

Laidback Luke (born Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen, 22 October 1976 in Manila, Philippines) is a Dutch DJ, producer. He was voted #46 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJ list in 2008, before jumping to #27 in 2009 and jumping up 10 places in 2010.

Laidback Luke grew up in The Netherlands and made his name as a graffiti artist before turning to making music. He has worked with artists such as David Guetta, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Junior Sanchez and played throughout Europe and North America as well as shows in Japan and Ibiza. He has released two studio albums: Psyched Up (1998) and Electronic Satisfaction (2002) as well as a successful mix album, Windmill Skill (2003). In 2003, van Scheppingen did a remix of the Daft Punk song "Crescendolls" for the duo's remix album Daft Club. Luke has also released his own mix album, titled Ibiza Closing Party, as a free covermount CD in the October 2008 issue of Mixmag. He has currently released his new album on the 4th of July 2011, called Cream Ibiza Super You & Me.

Discography

Cream Ibiza - Super You And Me (2011)

Singles

! Year	! Single	! Artist	! Album
	Double 0		Double 0 - EP
	"Pass The Fury"	Fuck The Revolution/Pass The Fury
	"Don't Let Go (feat. Paul V.K.)"	Laidback Luke & Paul V.K.	Laidback Luke & Marchand Present Highstreets – Don't Let Go
"Otherwize Then"	Steve Angello & Laidback Luke
	Killing the Kitchen
Show Rocker
Hypnotize	Laidback Luke & Stephen Granville	Hypnotize - EP
Get Dumb	Axwell, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Laidback Luke
Ambition	DJ DJG & Laidback Luke
Be	Steve Angello & Laidback Luke
Rocking With The Best	Laidback Luke
Break The House Down	Laidback Luke
Chaa Chaa	Sebastian Ingrosso & Laidback Luke
	Generation Noize	Laidback Luke, Roman Salzger & Boogshe
Shake It Down	Laidback Luke & A-Trak
Show	Laidback Luke & Tom Stephan feat. Romanthony
Down With The Mustard	Laidback Luke
		Steve Angello & Laidback Luke feat. Robin S
Leave The World Behind	Axwell,Sebastian Ingrosso,Steve Angello, & Laidback Luke feat. Deborah Cox	Leave the World Behind - EP
Blau!	Laidback Luke & Lee Mortimer	Blau!
My G*O*D* (Guns On Demo)	Laidback Luke	My G*O*D*
Step By Step
Shine Your Light
Hey!	Laidback Luke & Diplo
Jackit
	Boriqua
Chiuso
Timebomb
Till Tonight	Till Tonight (feat Jonathan Mendelsohn)
Indestructible	Robyn & Laidback Luke
		Laidback Luke & Steve Aoki feat. Lil Jon	Turbulence (Radio Edit) [feat. Lil Jon] - Single
Mortal Comeback	Laidback Luke feat. Lady Bee
Speak Up	Laidback Luke feat. Wynter Gordon
Natural Disaster	Laidback Luke feat. Example

Remixes, Bootlegs, Edits and Unofficial Reworks

1996: Green Velvet - The Stalker (LBL Remix)

2002: Damon Wild & Tim Taylor - Bang The Acid

2002: Green Velvet - Land Of The Lost

2003: Daft Punk - Crescendolls (LBL Remix)

2004: Steve Angello - Voices (LBL Remix)

2004: Jaimie Fanatic - B Boy Stance

2005: MYPD - You're Not Alone (LBL Remix)

2006: Hardrox - Feel The Hard Rock (LBL Remix)

2006: Another Chance - The Sound Of Eden (LBL Remix)

2007: TV Rock vs Dukes Of Windsor - The Others (LBL Remix)

2007: DJ DLG & Laidback Luke - Ambition (LBL Remix)

2007: David Guetta feat. Cozi - Baby When The Lights (LBL Remix)

2008: Natalie Williams - U Don't Know (LBL Remix)

2008: Roger Sanchez - Again (LBL Remix)

2008: Paul Johnson - Get Get Down (LBL Remix)

2008: Juice String - Sex Weed (LBL Remix)

2008: David Guetta feat. Tara McDonald - Delirious (LBL Remix)

2008: TV Rock feat. Rudy - Been A Long Time (LBL Remix)

2008: Steve Angello - Gypsy (LBL Remix)

2008: Underworld - Ring Road (LBL Remix)

2008: The Black Ghosts - Repetition Kills You (LBL Remix)

2008: Martin Solveig - I Want You (LBL Remix)

2008: Roger Sanchez feat. Terri B - Bang That Box (LBL Remix)

2008: Hervé (DJ) - Cheap Thrills (LBL Bootleg)

2008: Madonna vs Dirty South - 4 Minutes To Let It Go (LBL Bootleg)

2008: Joachim Garraud - Are U Ready (LBL Remix)

2008: Bob Sinclar - Gymtonic (LBL Bootleg)

2008: Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (LBL Remix)

2008: Beyonce - Me, Myself & I (LBL Bootleg)

2008: Coldplay - Viva La Vida (LBL Bootleg)

2008: Tocadisco - Streetgirls (LBL Remix)

2008: Surkin - White Knight Two (LBL Remix)

2008: Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (LBL Bootleg)

2008: Daft Punk - Teachers (LBL Rework)

2008: Dada Life - Rubber Band Boogie (LBL Remix)

2008: Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters Theme (LBL Remix)

2009: Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy & Mase - Mo Money Mo Problems (LBL Bootleg)

2009: David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over (LBL Remix)

2009: Nas - Made You Look (LBL Bootleg)

2009: Tiesto - I Will Be Here (LBL Remix)

2009: MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend - Heartbreaker (LBL Remix)

2009: Junior Sanchez feat. Good Charlotte - Elevator (LBL Remix)

2009: Avicii - Ryu (LBL Edit)

2009: The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feelin' (LBL Remix)

2009: Dizzee Rascal feat. Chrome - Holiday (LBL Remix)

2009: Martin Solvieg feat. Dragonette - Boys & Girls (LBL Remix)

2009: Sandro Silva - Prom Night (LBL Remix)

2009: Depeche Mode - Fragile Tension (LBL Remix)

2009: Robbie Rivera - Rock The Disco (LBL Edit)

2009: Calvin Harris - You Used To Hold Me (LBL Remix)

2009: System F - Out of The Blue 2010 (Laidback Luke's remix)

2009: Korgis - Need Your Lovin' (Laidback Luke Remix)

2010: Wynter Gordon - "Dirty Talk" (Laidback Luke Remix)

2010: Jay-Z feat. Swizz Beatz - On To The Next One (Laidback Luke Bootleg)

2010: Moby - Wait For Me (Laidback Luke Remix)

2010: Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight (Laidback Luke Remix)

2010: Carte Blanche Feat. Kid Sister - Do! Do! Do! (Laidback Luke Remix)

2010: Bad Boy Bill feat. Eric Jag - Got That Feeling (Laidback Luke Remix)

2010: Lil' Jon feat. Kee - Give It All You Got (Laidback Luke Remix)

2010: Steve Angello vs. Dr. Dre - Knas Episode (Laidback Luke & Junior Sanchez Mashup)

2010: Afrojack Vs. Radioclit Vs. Armand van Helden - I Want Your Divine Control (Laidback Luke Mash Up)

2010: iSquare - Hey Sexy Lady (Laidback Luke Remix)

2011: Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go - Cinema (Laidback Luke Remix)

2011: Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone (Laidback Luke Bootleg)

2011: Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (Laidback Luke Bootleg)

2011: Jump Jump Dance Dance - 2.0 (Laidback Luke Remix)

2011: Skream feat. Sam Frank - Where You Should Be (Laidback Luke Remix)

2011: Anjulie - Brand New Bitch (Laidback Luke Remix)

2011: GTA feat. Zashanell - U & I (Laidback Luke Remix)

2011: Benny Benassi feat. Chris Brown - Beautiful People (Laidback Luke Edit)

2011: Kanye West feat. Rihanna - All Of The Lights (Mata vs Laidback Luke Edit)

Notes

External links

Interview on Clubplanet

Category:1976 births Category:Dutch DJs Category:Living people

de:Laidback Luke es:Laidback Luke fr:Laidback Luke it:Laidback Luke nl:Laidback Luke pl:Laidback Luke pt:Laidback Luke sv:Laidback Luke