Facts about Zarathustra

• • Zarathustra (or Zoroaster as he is known in Greek), was perhaps the first known prophet of mankind and the founder of the Zoroastrian religion. Information on  Zarathushtra/Zoroaster can be found here (courtesy: Wikipedia)

  • The life of Zarathustra as we know it, comes from two Zoroastrian texts of the 9th century, A.D. - the Denkard and the Zadspram. An English translation of the Denkard can be found here . An English translation of the Zadspram can be found here (both courtesy: www.avesta.org)

  • Detailed information about Zarathustra and his philosophy can be found here (courtesy: Wikipedia)

  • FOR KIDS : A concise story of Zarathustra's life (that can be read to a child) can be found here (courtesy: www.zoroastriankids.com).  

  • Scholars are unable to arrive at a date when Zarathustra was born - or how long he lived. Dates range from 1200 BC to 6000 BC. Mention of Zarathustra is found in the Rig Veda (an olden text of Hinduism composed around 1500 BC). This conclusively proves that Zarathustra lived earlier than this date. Many reputed scholars on Zoroastrianism like Mary Boyce seem to agree on about 1500 - 1200 BC. The historians Plutarch and Diogenes believed Zarathustra lived 5000 years before the war of Troy (1184 bce). Plato and Aristotle dated him 6000 years before their time. 

  • Zarathustra seems to have been born in Bactria (or Aria) as the son of a not very powerful nobleman named Porushaspa and a lady named Dughdova. Zarathustra was the third of five brothers. He became a priest and seems to have showed a remarkable care for humans and cattle. The family is often called Spitama, which is a honorary title meaning 'most beneficient', but was later taken for a family name.  For more on this topic, please refer on this website to the section "Award Winning Essays" for the topic "Glimpses of Parsi History - 1: By Roni K. Khan"

  • According to linguists, the word "Zarathustra" means "golden shining star" : 

    • "Zar-" means "gold"

    • "-ush-" means "shining"

    • "-stra" means "star"

    • However, some scholars say that the "tu" in "-tushtra" means "two". That makes the prophet's name "The golden shining double star" or "The golden Sirius", as "-tushtra" and "tishtrya"/"tishtar" can be the same words and Sirius is indeed the "double star". The constellation "Orion" is often mentioned in Zoroastrian texts as is the star "Sirius". Interestingly the constellation Orion and the star Sirius find mention in various other olden civilizations of the world as well. In fact, the three pyramids of Giza in Egypt are said to be aligned exactly with prominent stars in the Orion constellation! The Egyptians firmly believe that the god Osiris (who created mankind) will one day return back from the Orion constellation. These tales can be found also in several other civilizations in antiquity.

    • It is sometimes also translated to mean "he of the golden camels"

  • It is stated that as a baby, Zarathustra came into this world smiling (while all babies usually cry!). Other miracles that happened while Zarathushtra was a child can be read here

  • Greeks called him "Zoro-aster" (the shining star). To the Indo-Aryans (Rig Veda?) he was known as Rishi Kapila ("camel coloured sage"). This was because the word "Zarathustra" is also pronounced as "Zara-ushtar" (meaning "golden camel"). The Iranians called him "nar-os-nar" ("man amongst men") - this is translated in the Hindu scriptures as "narayana" ("ideal man")

  • Zarathustra obtained his first vision of Ahura Mazda on Roj Daepmeher, Mah Ardibehst (refer to Zoroastrian calendar)

  • Zarathustra's lineage is described as below:

            King Manushchehar --> Durasrob --> Razan --> Ayajem --> Vidasht --> Spitama --> Haidar --> Hardashn --> Paitarasp --> Chakhshmush --> Haechataspa --> Urvadasp --> Peterasp --> Pourusaspa --> Zarathushtra

• • Zarathustra's family chart is shown below:

• • It is said that all priests have descended from Zarathustra's son Estavastra, while Urvatatnara is the leader of all agriculturists and Hurchithra is the leader of all warriors.