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Daena is a Zoroastrian concept representing insight and revelation, hence "conscience" or "religion." Alternately, Daena is considered to be a divinity, counted among the yazatas.[1]
Nomenclature
Daena is a feminine noun which translates to "that which is seen or observed".[1] In Zoroastrianism: An Introduction to an Ancient Faith, Peter Clark suggests that the term might also be tied to the Avestan root "di-" to gain understanding.[2]
The Avestan language term – trisyllabic daēnā in Gathic Avestan and bisyllabic dēnā in Younger Avestan – continues into Middle Persian as dēn, which preserves the Avestan meanings.
In Scripture
The concept of Daena is mentioned in the Gathas, a series of seventeen hymns supposedly written by Zoroaster.[2] Daena appears both in the Ahunavaiti Gatha[3] and in the Ushtavaiti Gatha[4], 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 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.[5]
References
- ^ a b http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/daena.html
- ^ a b Clark, Peter (1998), Zoroastrianism: An Introduction to an Ancient Faith, 1, Sussex: Sussex Academic Press: 69-70.
- ^ http://www.avesta.org/yasna/y28to34b.htm
- ^ http://www.avesta.org/yasna/y43to46b.htm
- ^ http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd_tc.htm
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