The force for good and the opponent of Angra Mainyu (the Destructive Spirit), Ahura Mazda (“wise deity”) is the chief god of the ancient Iranians and later the Zoroastrians. Ahura means “lord” and is an ancient Iranian term that is equivalent to the Vedic term “asura” found in the ancient Rigveda.

Zoroaster or Zarathustra (lived mid second millennium BE or 6th century BCE) believed he had seen Ahura Mazda personally in a prophetic vision and had been called by him, therefore securing at the foundations of the Zoroastrianism a concept of a personal God.

Zoroaster believed Ahura Mazda to be the guardian of justice, and a friend of the just man, which motivated Zoroaster to speak to him, seeking enlightenment and help. Zoroaster learned divine truth from his god, which he shared with others. Ahura Mazda could also be approached for counsel, help, and support.

In the Gathas, which are the seventeen hymns of Zoroaster, and thus texts of fundamental authority for Zoroastrians, Ahura Mazda is referred to as the creator of cosmic order, the heavens, and of humanity, both materially and spiritually. His goodness and knowledge are emphasized in the developed Zoroastrian tradition, although he is restricted by the activities of the wholly independent evil Angra Mainyu. Ahura Mazda can diminish and in the end annihilate evil, but not control or direct them in the present.

Ahura Mazda also created the Spenta Mainyu. This is a beneficent, heavenly force that protects and maintains many realms and creatures—the sky, water, earth, plants, and children yet to be born, and who “are glad to please Ahura Mazda by dutiful actions” (Y. 30). Beneath them in the heavenly hierarchy are the yazatas, or worshipful beings.

References

Bowker, John. 2000. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford University Press.

Leeming, David. 2002. A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Oxford University Press.