View source for Mah

{{Short description|Zoroastrian deity}}
{{other uses|Mah (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox deity
|type = Zoroastrian
| deity_of = God of Moon <br /> Guardian of Plants and Livestock
| image = [[File:Persépolis. Lion & taureau2.jpg|260px]]
| caption = [[Persepolis]] mural: The death of [[Gavaevodata]], the primordial bovine, whose ''cithra''<ref group=lower-alpha name="cithra" /> is rescued by the moon god.
| other_names = Chāndra
| script_name = [[Avestan]]
| script = Mångha 𐬨𐬂𐬢𐬵𐬀
| gender = male
| attributes = Increase of the flock of sheep, Lush vegetation and Prosperity, Care for the stars, Life-Giving and Honorable
| planet = [[Moon]]
| affiliation = The Thirty-Three Deities, [[List of Zoroastrian month days|Guardians of the Days of the Month]]
| symbol = Moon, Cow (due to the resemblance of its horns to the crescent moon)
| day = 12th of each month in the [[Iranian calendar]], [[Monday]] of each week
| associated_deities = [[Vohu Manah]], [[Rama]], [[Drvaspa]]
| sacred_flower = [[Narcissus (plant)|Narcissus]]
| abode = Sky
| festivals = Māh Ruz
| Greek_equivalent = [[Artemis]]
| Roman_equivalent = [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]
| equivalent1_type = Indian 
| equivalent1 = [[Chandra|Soma]]
}}
{{Zoroastrianism sidebar}}

'''''Mångha''''' (''{{Transliteration|ae|måŋha}}'') is the [[Avestan language|Avestan]] for "[[Moon]], [[month]]",  equivalent to [[Persian language|Persian]] '''''Māh''''' ({{lang|fa|ماه‎}}; [[Old Persian]] {{lang|peo|𐎶𐎠𐏃}} [[:wikt:𐎶𐎠𐏃#Old Persian|{{Transliteration|peo|māha}}]]).
It is the name of the [[lunar deity]] in [[Zoroastrianism]]. The Iranian word is masculine.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kanga|first=Kavasji Edalji|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFogAQAAMAAJ&pg=339|title=An English-Avesta Dictionary|date=1909|publisher=Printed at the Fort Printing Press|language=fa}}</ref> Although Mah is not a prominent deity in the [[Avesta|Avestan scripture]], his [[crescent]] was an important symbol of royalty throughout the  [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] and [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid]] periods.

The Iranian word is cognate with the English ''moon'', from PIE ''[[:wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/mḗh₁n̥s|*mēns]]''

==Avesta==
{{see also| Mah Yasht}}
[[File:Deities of Earth and Moon Scene (MIK III 6278).jpg|left|thumb|Painting of the Earth and Moon God in Manichaeism]]
Although there are two Avestan hymns dedicated to the Moon, he is not a prominent divinity. 
In both the third ''Nyaish'' as well as in the ''[[Mah Yasht|seventh Yasht]]'', the 'moon' more commonly spoken of is the physical moon. In these hymns, the phases of the moon are described at length. [[Ahura Mazda]] is described to be the cause of the moon's waxing and waning, and the [[Amesha Spenta]]s evenly distribute the light of the moon over the earth.<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;7.3, ''Nyaish''&nbsp;3.5</ref> The [[Fravashi]]s are said to be responsible for keeping the moon and stars on its appointed course.<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;13.14-16</ref> The sun, moon, and stars revolve around the peak of [[Hara Berezaiti]].<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;12.25</ref>

The Moon<!-- caps --> is however also "bestower, radiant, glorious, possessed of water, possessed of warmth, possessed of knowledge, wealth, riches, discernment, weal, verdure, good, and the healing one".<ref>Dhalla (1938) p.&nbsp;214; ''Yasht''&nbsp;7.5, ''Nyaish''&nbsp;3.7</ref> "During the spring, the Moon causes plants to grow up out of the earth".<ref>''Yasht''&nbsp;7.4, ''Nyaish''&nbsp;3.6</ref>

<!-- [[Image:Persia.jpg|thumb|left|300px|the same tableau at [[Apadana]] Hall.]] -->
The Moon is repeatedly spoken of as possessing the ''{{lang|ae|cithra}}''{{efn|name="cithra"|The precise meaning of the word ''cithra'' in this context is unknown. It is traditionally translated as "seed", which in the sense of "prototype" carries the connotation of a particular physical form or appearance. It can also mean "seed" in the sense of "race", "stock", or progeny.}} of the primeval bull. This is an allusion to a cosmological drama that is however only properly attested in the texts of Zoroastrian tradition (see below).

==In tradition==
[[File:Huvishka with Mao.jpg|thumb|Coinage of [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] ruler [[Huvishka]], with the Lunar deity Mah (''Mao'') on the reverse, 2nd century CE. The lunar crescent appears behind the shoulders.<ref name="AHH327">{{cite book |last1=Dani |first1=Ahmad Hasan |last2=Harmatta |first2=János |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |year=1999 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-1408-0 |pages=327–328 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DguGWP0vGY8C&pg=PA327 |language=en}}</ref>]]
[[Herodotus]] states that the moon was the [[tutelary deity|tutelary]] divinity of the Iranian expatriates residing in [[Asia Minor]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Herodotus |author-link=Herodotus |title=Histories |at=7.3.7}}</ref> 
The divinity Mah appears together with [[Mithra]] on [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] coins.

In the [[Zoroastrian calendar]], the twelfth day of the month is dedicated to and is under the protection of the Moon.

The Moon plays a prominent role in Zoroastrian cosmogony, in particular as described in detail in the  ''Bundahishn'', a text finished in the 12th&nbsp;century. The legend runs as follows:<ref>''Bundahishn''&nbsp;7</ref> [[Ahriman]] (Av: [[Angra Mainyu]]) incites Jeh ([[Jahi]]) the primeval whore to kill the primordial bovine Gawiewdad (Av. [[Gavaevodata]]). Jeh does as told, but as the creature lies dying, the ''chihr''<ref group=lower-alpha name="cithra"/> is rescued and placed in the care of the moon. This ''chihr'' is then the "prototype" (''karb'') of all creatures of the animal world.

In the hierarchy of [[yazata|''yazata''s]], the Moon is the assistant (or 'cooperator', ''hamkar'') of [[Vohu Manah]] (MP: Bahman), the [[Amesha Spenta]] of animal welfare, in particular of cattle. The identification with [[Vohu Manah]] - the [[hypostasis (linguistics)|hypostasis]] of "Good Purpose" or "Good Mind" - is reflected in other texts where the moon is associated with mental harmony and [[inner peace]].{{efn|''Mah'' is also the [[Persian language]] name of a species of fish, which gives rise to the Persian language expression, ''az mah ta mahi'', "from the moon to the ''mah''-fish", to mean "everything". That expression has its origin in Persian mythology, where the world is believed to sit on a rock, on the back of a bull, on a ''kamkam'', on the back of the ''mah'' fish, on water, on wind, and on the veil of darkness.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}
<br/>
cf. ''[[The Rubaiyat]]'', Omar Khayyam,:<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rubaiyat |author=Khayyam, Omar |translator=Fitzgerald, Edward |at=stanza 52}}</ref> 
:Whose secret Presence, through Creation's veins
:Running, Quicksilver-like eludes your pains:
:Taking all shapes from ''Mah to Mahi''; and
:They change and perish all – but He remains;
}}

==See also==
*[[Men (deity)]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist|1}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Dhalla |first=M. N. |title=The History of Zoroastrianism |year=1938 |location=New York |publisher=OUP |pages=213–214}}
* {{cite encyclopaedia |last=Kreyenbroek |first=Philip G. |article=Cosmogony and Cosmology I: In Zoroastrianism |encyclopaedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |volume=6 |year=1993 |location=Costa Mesa |publisher=Mazda |pages=303–307}}
{{refend}}
{{reflist|25em}}

{{Zoroastrian Calendar}}

[[Category:Yazatas]]
[[Category:Lunar gods]]