Zoroastrian concept representing insight and revelation
Da?n?
(
Avestan pronunciation:
[d?eːnaː]
) is a
Zoroastrian
concept representing insight and revelation, hence "conscience" or "religion." Alternately,
Daena
is considered to be a divinity, counted among the
yazata
s
.
Nomenclature
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Daena is a feminine noun which translates to "that which is seen or observed". In
Zoroastrianism: An Introduction to an Ancient Faith
, Peter Clark suggests that the term might also be tied to the Avestan root "deh" or "di-" to gain understanding.
[1]
The
Avestan
term
??????????
– trisyllabic
da?n?
in Gathic Avestan and bisyllabic
d?n?
in Younger Avestan – continues into
Middle Persian
as
d?n
(
??????
) (origin of
New Persian
???
[2]
), which preserves the Avestan meanings. For comparison, it has a
Sanskrit
cognate
dhen?
which means thought, but thought in its higher and spiritual reaches.
[3]
[4]
The word
Zen
, as used in the name of the religious sect of
Zen Buddhism
, is derived from the cognate
dhayan?
(see also
Dhy?na in Buddhism
).
It is thought that the Daena of
Zoroastrianism
is related to Sanskrit
Dharma
, also meaning "the Law".
[5]
In Scripture
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The concept of Daena is mentioned in the
Gathas
, a series of seventeen hymns supposedly written by
Zoroaster
.
[1]
Daena appears both in the Ahunavaiti Gatha
[6]
and in the Ushtavaiti Gatha,
[7]
where it is written that Daena is somehow affiliated with the reward that the faithful will receive in the afterlife. However, references to Daena in the Gathas are brief, leaving much ambiguity on its nature.
Later Avestan writings, such as the
Vendidad
, describe the concept of Daena further. The Vendidad portrays Daena as something of a
psychopomp
, guiding good and pure souls over the
Chinvat Bridge
to the
House of Song
, Zoroastrian paradise, while the wicked are dragged to the
House of Lies
, a place of punishment. She is described as being finely dressed and accompanied by
dogs
.
[8]
Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
writes in
Zoroastrian Theology
that on the dawn of the fourth day after death, "there appears then to the soul its own daena, or religious conscience in the shape of a damsel of unsurpassed beauty, the fairest of the fair in the world."
[9]
Daena is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the
Mathra Spenta
"Holy Words". Daena has been used to mean religion, faith, law, even as a translation for the Hindu and Buddhist term Dharma, often interpreted as "duty" or social order, right conduct, or virtue. The metaphor of the 'path' of Daena is represented in Zoroastrianism by the muslin
sedreh
undershirt, the "Good/Holy Path", and the 72-thread
Kushti
girdle, the "Pathfinder".
See also
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References
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