Ahura Mazda

The Mystica Encyclopedia · All entries · Rewritten September 2026

Ahura Mazda at a glance

Name and forms

The name joins two Avestan words: ahura, "lord," and mazda, "wisdom" or "wise." In the Gathas the two words can appear in either order or separately, so the deity is addressed as Mazda, as Ahura, or as Mazda Ahura. The short form "Ahura" is therefore a common way of naming him. In Old Persian royal inscriptions the name appears as Auramazda, in Middle Persian as Ohrmazd, and in later Persian and European works as Hormozd or Ormazd.

The word ahura is related to the Vedic asura, a title of certain gods in the Rigveda. Scholars have long compared Ahura Mazda with Vedic deities such as Varuna, though how far such a link can be traced remains debated.

Ahura Mazda in the teaching of Zarathustra

In the Gathas, the hymns attributed to Zarathustra himself, Ahura Mazda is the wise creator of the world and the source of Asha, truth and right order. Zarathustra speaks with him directly, questions him and receives revelation. Opposed to Asha is the Druj, the Lie, and each person must choose between them.

The Gathas describe two primal spirits: the beneficent Spenta Mainyu and the destructive Angra Mainyu, later called Ahriman. Mainstream Zoroastrian theology holds that Ahura Mazda alone is God and uncreated, and that evil is not his creation and will ultimately be defeated. Historians debate how to label this combination of monotheism and ethical dualism, and Zoroastrians themselves generally describe their religion as monotheistic. For the broader question, see dualism.

The Amesha Spentas and creation

Ahura Mazda is accompanied by the Amesha Spentas, "Bounteous Immortals," divine aspects or emanations through which creation takes place and which believers are called to embody. Each is linked with a part of the good creation:

• Vohu Manah (Good Mind), cattle and animals;
• Asha Vahishta (Best Truth), fire;
• Khshathra Vairya (Desirable Dominion), metals and the sky;
• Spenta Armaiti (Holy Devotion), the earth;
• Haurvatat (Wholeness), waters;
• Ameretat (Immortality), plants.

Below them are the yazatas, beings worthy of worship, including Mithra and Sraosha.

Royal and imperial worship

The first datable references to Ahura Mazda come from the Achaemenid Persian empire. In the great Behistun inscription, Darius I (reigned 522-486 BCE) repeatedly states that he rules "by the favor of Auramazda," and his successors used similar language. Whether the early Achaemenid kings were fully Zoroastrian in the later sense is debated by historians.

Under the Sasanian dynasty (224-651 CE), Zoroastrianism became the state religion and Ohrmazd appears in royal names and investiture reliefs. Some Sasanian theologians followed the Zurvanite teaching, in which Ohrmazd and Ahriman were twin sons of Time; see Zurvan. Orthodox tradition later rejected this view.

Worship today

Zoroastrians today, including the Parsis of India and the Zoroastrians of Iran and the diaspora, worship Ahura Mazda through prayer, the Yasna liturgy and the tending of consecrated fire, which they regard as a symbol of God's light and purity rather than an object of worship itself; see temple fire. Daily prayers such as the Ahuna Vairya and Ashem Vohu are recited in Avestan.

The winged figure known as the Faravahar is often popularly described as an image of Ahura Mazda. Its original meaning is debated by scholars, and many modern Zoroastrians interpret it as the fravashi, the guardian spirit or higher self, and as a reminder of the ethic of good thoughts, good words and good deeds.

Ahura Mazda in comparative and Western thought

Greek writers knew of the Persian god under names such as Oromazes, and Plutarch described the Persian teaching of a good principle opposed by an evil one. From the Renaissance onward European scholars and occultists were fascinated by Zoroaster as a supposed ancient sage, and the Chaldean Oracles and other texts were wrongly attributed to him. Serious study of Zoroastrianism began only in the eighteenth century, when Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron published a French translation of the Avesta in 1771 after studying with Parsi priests in India.

Historians of religion continue to debate how far Zoroastrian ideas about a single good God, angels, a final judgment and the resurrection influenced Judaism, Christianity and Islam, especially through contact during the Persian period. Some scholars argue for significant influence; others urge caution. Ahura Mazda's name also appears in modern popular culture, but for Zoroastrians it remains first of all the name of the God to whom their daily prayers are addressed. For comparisons with other Iranian and Near Eastern traditions, see Manichaeism.

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