Earth:Vourukasha
Vourukasha, also known as Warkash or Fraxkard, is the world ocean in Zoroastrian cosmology and Iranian mythology.[1] In addition to its role in mythology, it may also have referred to real-world places at different times.[2]
Name
The ocean appears in Avestan texts as Vourukasha with the meaning having many inlets.[3] In the Middle Persian texts, the ocean is called Warkash[4] or Fraxkard (Middle Persian: plʾhwklt).[5] Here, Warkash is the Middle Persian rendering of the Avestan term, whereas Fraxkard is a translation from Avestan.[6] It consists of frax, meaning vast,[7] and kard, meaning bay or inlet.
Description
According to the description in the Vendidad, Vourukasha lies south of Hara Berezaiti and covers roughly one third of the earth's surface.[8] At the center of the ocean, the mountain Ushendava stands, where the vapors gather as rain clouds.[9] Vourukasha is, consequently, the source of all waters and the two mythical rivers, Arang and Wehrot, originate there and eventually flow back there.[10]
The Gaokerena tree grows at the deepest part of Vourukasha[11] and it is the dwelling place of the Kar fish and the Wāsī pančā sadwarām.[12] According to the Tishtar Yasht, it is the place where the fight between Tishtrya and Apaosha takes place.[13]
Location
Vourukasha is seen as a primarily mythological place. However, like, e.g., Hara Berezaiti or Airyanem Vaejah, it may also have referred to real-world locations at different times and in different contexts.[14] Bartholomae has for instance speculated that it may have originally referred to the Aral Lake or the Caspian Sea.[2] Based on the geographical references in the Zamyad Yasht, it has also been connected to Hamun Lake.[15]
References
Citations
- ↑ Tafażżolī 2013, "FRĀXKARD [...], name of the cosmic ocean in Iranian mythology".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bartholomae 1904, col. 1429: "Welcher See ursprünglich so genannt wurde - der Kaspische, der Aralsee?—, ist nicht festzustellen, da. er jedenfaUs schon frühleilig sagenhaft wurde".
- ↑ Bartholomae 1904, col. 1429: "vouru.kaša-'> Adj. 'mit weit(ausgedehnten Buchten', nur mit srayah- n. Name eines grossen Sees, der in der Vorstellung mit dem Weltozean zusammenfloss".
- ↑ Yarshater 1983, p. 352.
- ↑ Nyberg 1974, p. 77: "Frāx'-kart [~-krt'] the name of a mythical lake; later: the great ocean".
- ↑ Nyberg 1974, p. 77: "Frāx'-kart [~-krt'] [...] A translation of Av. (1429) Vouru.kaša".
- ↑ MacKenzie 1971, p. 33: "frāx [...] large".
- ↑ Boyce 1996, pp. 135 - 136.
- ↑ Boyce 1982, "In the center of Vourukaša rose the mountain Us.həndava".
- ↑ Markwart 1938, pp. 181-182.
- ↑ Markwart 1938, p. 129.
- ↑ Alam 2000.
- ↑ Panaino 1990, p. 112.
- ↑ Panaino 1995, p. 18.
- ↑ Humbach & Ichaporia 1998, p. 189.
Bibliography
- Alam, Houshang (2000). "FISH iii. IN PRE-ISLAMIC PERSIAN LORE". Encyclopædia Iranica. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fish-iii/.
- Bartholomae, Christian (1904). Altiranisches Wörterbuch. Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner. https://archive.org/details/altiranischeswr00bartgoog/page/n792/mode/2up.
- Boyce, Mary (1996). A History of Zoroastrianism. 1. Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill. pp. 27. ISBN 9004088474. https://ia600206.us.archive.org/33/items/AHistoryOfZoroastrianismVolI/BoyceMaryaHistoryOfZoroastrianismI.pdf.
- Boyce, Mary (1982). "ĀB i. The Concept of Water in Ancient Iranian Culture". Encyclopædia Iranica. 1. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 27. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ab/ab-i-the-concept-of-water-in-ancient-iranian-culture/.
- Humbach, Helmut; Ichaporia, Pallan R. (1998). Zamyad Yasht: Yasht 19 of the Younger Avesta. Text, Translation, Commentary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 3447040262. https://books.google.com/books?id=eMXoo2FQTxgC&pg=PA9.
- MacKenzie, David N. (1971). A concise Pahlavi dictionary. London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press. https://archive.org/details/a-concise-pahlavi-dictionary/page/32/mode/2up.
- Markwart, Josef (1938). Schaeder, Hans Heinrich. ed. Wehrot und Arang - Untersuchungen zur mytischen und geschichtlichen Landeskunde von Ostiran. Leiden: E. J. Brill. https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.41224/page/n87/mode/2up.
- Nyberg, Henrik S. (1974). A Manual of Pahlavi II - Ideograms, Glossary, Abbreviations, Index, Grammatical Survey, Corrigenda to Part I. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. ISBN 3447-01580-2. https://archive.org/details/a-manual-of-pahlavi-1-henrik-samuel-nyberg/A%20MANUAL%20OF%20PAHLAVI%202%20-%20HENRIK%20SAMUEL%20NYBERG/page/77/mode/2up.
- Panaino, Antonio (1990). Tištrya. Part I: The Avestan hymn to Sirius. Serie orientale Roma. LXVIII-1. Roma: Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. https://www.academia.edu/35233576.
- Panaino, Antonio (1995). Tištrya. Part II: The Iranian Myth of the Star Sirius. Serie orientale Roma. LXVIII-2. Roma: Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. https://www.academia.edu/8581156.
- Tafażżolī, Aḥmad (2013). "FRĀXKARD". Encyclopædia Iranica. X. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 2. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/fraxkard/.
- Yarshater, Ehsan (1983). "Iranian National History". in Yarshater, Ehsan. The Cambridge History of Iran. 3(1). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24693-4. https://archive.org/details/yarshater-1983-iranian-hist-trad/page/358/mode/2up.
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