<< Asura >>?!!??

• water_rat

  4 Jul 05, 17:53

  
  Real Name: presumably Asura; possibly Ahura Mazdah (see comments)
  
  Identity/Class: Hyborian God; possibly God of Zoroastrian religion
  
  Occupation: Deity
  
  Affiliations: worshipped by Priests of Asura (Hadrathus) and possibly Zoroastrians; Yaamai?
  
  Enemies: Set and his followers; formerly Yaamai
  
  Known Relatives: None
  
  Aliases: None
  
  Base of Operations: Unrevealed. Likely some extra-dimensional realm of the Gods; He was worshipped in Vendhya (what is now modern day India and Pakistan), as well as in secret in Aquilonia during the Hyborian era.
  
  First Appearance: not actually seen in the MU;
  First referenced in REH's "Hour of the Dragon" from Weird Tales (1935-1936), collected in Conan the Conqueror;
  (First referenced in the MU) Giant-Size Conan#3 (April, 1985)
  
  Powers: Unrevealed. Asura would likely possess immunity or resistance to againg and conentional disease. He presumably possessed magical powers, some of which he granted to his followers. He also would likely possess some degree of superhuman strength and durability.
  
  History: Virtually nothing is known about Asura, the God of the Hyborian age.
  
  (GS Conan#3(fb)-BTS) - According to Hadrathus, "Asura is a new god who bound up older ones...Such as yonder Yaamai, four armed God of Death and Sleep. Armed with trident, fire-sword, mace, and noose, he conquered ALL... save ASURA!"
  
  (Official Handbook of the Conan Universe) - The eastern kingdom of Vendhya is ruled by a goddess-queen called a Devi, a mortal woman thought to be the reincarnation of a goddess. The Devi's power is upheld both by the noble warrior caste of Kshatriyas and those servants of the throne, the Priests of Asura, Vendhya's most popular deity. In Conan's day the current Devi is Yasmina, whose life he saved from the Black Seers of Yimsha and whom he once had carnal designs upon.
  
  (text feature in SSoC#7 by Robert L. Yaple) -
  "Asura had followers in Aquilonia, though the cult was persecuted until Conan imposed toleration soon after his succession. Even after this, they remained hidden due to the great fear and hatred to which it continued to be held by the mass of Hyborians, who mistakenly believed the cult to be Set-worshipping cannibals. this belief was enhanced by their habitual secrecy and their habit of wearing black.
  The Khorotas may have had some mystical significance to the cult, for it seems to have been located only along or near that great river. Certainly when an Aquilonian Asuran died, his body was last seen by the uninitiated floating down the river in a black, skull-decorated "pilgrim-boat," whither no outsider new.
  Little is known of the ceremonies of the cult in Vendhya, beyond some fragmentary rites, in which wailing priests beat drums and temple gongs, blew conch-horns, and gashed themselves with knives."
  
  (Hour of the Dragon/Conan the Conqueror/GS Conan#3, 4, SSoC#8, 10--all BTS) - Priests of Asura assisted in Conan in defeating the Acheronian sorcerer Xaltotun and his allies who had conquered Aquilonia.
  
  Comments: Created by Robert E. Howard, adapted by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane.
  
  --I place the Hyborian era as beginning shortly after the great Cataclysm (16, 000 BC), although it came to exist as it was usually seen around 12, 000 BC-10, 000 BC. Conan's adventures take place @ 10, 000 BC. For a truly excellent pre-modern era Chronology of the Marvel Universe, check out Robert Wicks' Unofficial Chronology of the Marvel Universe.
  
  Asuras were Hindu gods of the underworld opposed to the Devas, Hindu Gods of heaven. Some texts I've read remark that they were not inherently evil while other texts remark they were indistinguishable from the Rakshasas, Hindu demons.--Will U
  This seems to tie in with the Devi mentioned in the Conan Universe.
  
  The Index of Hyborian Names found in the back of Conan the Swordsman and compiled by various Howardian scholars from Robert E. Howard's own notes lists Asura as a "god of an Eastern religion secretly flourishing in Aquilonia. In Indian mythology a term for a god, spirit, or demon cognate with the Persian 'Ahura' "
  This Ahura would be Ahura Mazdah, Lord Wisdom," who is the supreme god of the Zoroastrian religion. See the comments on Zoraster for a discussion on this.
  Given the fact that Vendhya represents ancient Persia, and the connections to Ahura from the Index of Hyborian names, AND the use of the Heart of Ahriman (also tried to Zoroastrianim), I think it very LIKELY that the Asura of the Hyborian era is meant to represent Ahura Mazdah. This remains conjecture, however...and I have only the tiniest pea of understanding of Zoroastrianism (based on info given to me by other profilers and fans of the site).
  
  I suppose it could be surmised that once defeated and bound by Asura, Yaamai became subservient to him.
  In the Conan the King series, during a battle between the Stygian sorcerer Crassus and his former apprentice, the apprentice calls upon Crom, Mitra, Bel, and Asura. Crassus mocks him for not calling upon Set, because Father Set would know his apprentice had betrayed the serpent god.
  Overall I'm guessing that Asura the Hyborian God could be seen as the ruler,binder, and/or father of the asuras of modern myth.
  The Heart of Ahriman coming from a "far universe of light" is a little ironic since Ahriman was the embodiment of the spirit of evil/darkness of Zoroastrianism (founded by the semi legendary Zoroaster aka Zarathustra in Greek) a light/darkness cult that was based upon the various Ages of man's empire on earth and the eternal war between Ormazd (the principle of Light/Good) and Ahriman (the principle of Darkness/Evil). My guess is the Heart of Ahriman is a power for good/life because it was taken with Ormazd back to his univers of light after defeating Ahriman and cutting it from his chest. Also in some myths man was born from the blood of Ahriman hence the restorative/resurrection powers of the Heart.
  
  http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/asurah.htm
  
  
• water_rat

  4 Jul 05, 18:00

  
  Birth of Zoroastrianism
  
  About 5000 years ago, i.e. around 3000 BCE a group of people called the Proto Indo-Iranians lived on the South Russian Steppes, to the east of the river Volga [Boyce]. The Proto Indo-Iranians believed in a primitive concept of order (called rta in Sanskrit). They knew that order existed in the universe because night followed day, the moon waxed and waned and each year the seasons followed one another. They believed that divinities or gods called Asuras, among which Varuna and Mithra were most popular, guarded this law. The Proto Indo-Iranians worshiped instinctively and often, through fear. For example, when they saw lightning and heard thunder they thought that the gods were angry with them. For every natural phenomenon such as an earthquake, snowstorm or hurricane they would make sacrifices of animals, plants and food to their deities in order to appease them.
  
  About a thousand years later i.e. ~2000 BCE, the Proto Indo-Iranians split into two groups. One group migrated westwards and came to be known as the Iranians while the other group went east and was known as the Vedic Indians or Vedic Aryans. Because of this common root the early religious scriptures of the Indian and the Iranian have some similarities but after the split each of them developed separately.
  
  The Iranians were mostly nomads, they did not have a fixed place to live, for they herded cattle and would keep moving around in search of fresh pasture and water. Since they lived in the open they worshiped nature and they had a god or goddess for each of the elements of nature, i.e. they believed that one god looked after the sky (Asman), another took care of the Earth (Zam), the third looked after the Moon (Mah) and a goddess called Anahita looked after the waters. They called this whole pantheon of gods and goddesses as Ahuras. The word Ahura comes from the root Ah meaning, "to be", so Ahura can be derived as the Being. The Iranians believed their Ahuras to be very powerful and their priests called Karapans had many rituals and made sacrifices of animals and plant food to fire and water. Their Ahuras were similar to Asuras of the Proto Indo-Iranians and of the Rig Vedas.
  
  Several hundred years later the Iranians learned the use of bronze and developed horse drawn chariots. Some Iranians abandoned the task of herding cattle and became warriors and they would go from place to place raiding cattle. These lawless people worshiped the gods of war and were called Daevas. Their priests were called Kavis who were very shrewd and practiced black magic.
  
  It was during this time somewhere around 1400 BCE that Zarathushtra was born. As a young boy he was interested in nature and wanted to know as to how the world was created. His search for creation and the creator lead him to God with whom he communed after several years of meditation. When he was 30 years old, he introduced a religion known today as Zoroastrianism. The ancient Greeks knew Zarathushtra as Zoroaster and hence his followers are called Zoroastrians. Some followers who live in India prefer to be called Zarathustis.
  
  Tenets of Zoroastrianism
  
  Zarathushtra was the first to introduce a novel way of thinking and a completely new philosophy of life. He taught that there is only ONE God whom he called Ahura Mazda. This term consists of two Avestan (a language used during the time of Zarathushtra) words, Ahura and Mazda. The first word Ahura was already used by the pre-Zoroastrians for their God and Zarathushtra introduced the concept of God as the creator who infused life into the physical world. This is probably why many scholars have derived the word Ahura from the root Ahu meaning life giving force and translate it to mean Lord. The new word, Mazda, that Zarathutra introduced means super-intellect or supreme wisdom. Hence the term Ahura Mazda means Lord of Wisdom. (GE had named their light bulb Mazda to honor the God of Light, probably in the misconception that Mazda means light. The Japanese cars were named after light bulbs; so whoever drives a Mazda drives a "wise" car).
  
  Zarathushtra communed with Ahura Mazda and his dialogues are composed into hymns or songs called the Gathas. The term Ahura Mazda, as well as the separate terms Ahura and Mazda, appears several times in the Gathas. Zarathushtra has used the term Mazda 164 times, Ahura 131 times, Mazda Ahura 50 times and Ahura Mazda 8 times in his Gathas. It is imperative to note that prior to Zarathushtra the Gods and Goddesses were known for their power and strength while Zarathushtra laid the stress on Ahura Mazda's creative ability and wisdom.
  
  According to Zarathushtra, Ahura Mazda conceived the idea of creating the universe and not only let it evolve into the inanimate objects such as the Sun, the Moon, the stars and the Earth but also the living species such as the plants, animals and human beings i.e. he infused life into his creations. Ahura Mazda is not a static God who has finished his creations for he his dynamic and progressive and a continuous creator. In his Gathas, Zarathushtra refers to Ahura Mazda as Tashô (Yasna 31-11). This word stems from the root tash meaning to cut, to shape [Dhalla]. When a tailor cuts a cloth he designs it into a garment, so the word Tashô signifies a designer and conveys the idea of improvement, progress and evolution. According to Zarathushtra, Ahura Mazda is the creator of life in this universe, he is omniscient, he is super intelligent, he is the wisest and he knows everything. He knows that at this very moment we are discussing him. He has supreme wisdom and he is kind, friendly and loving. Ahura Mazda is omnipresent for he is everywhere at the same time.
  
  We, Zoroastrians, usually start our prayers with the words Kshnotra Ahurai Mazdao, which means glory be to Ahura Mazda. We praise Ahura Mazda for creating this world, for creating the Sun that gives us light and heat, for creating the air that we need to breathe, for creating the water that we need to survive and for creating the animals, birds, plants, fruits and flowers that bring us joy and happiness. We believe that Ahura Mazda has no form, shape of color attributed to him. This is why Zoroastrians never worship idols. We do not build some shape from clay or wood or metal and call it Ahura Mazda because, to us, Ahura Mazda is ever glowing eternal light from which emanates bounty and goodness.
  
  Zarathushtra also taught that Ahura Mazda regulates the universe through ASHA, the law of precision. At the physical level Asha represents the laws in the universe. Scientists try to understand these laws, such as the laws of gravity and electric and magnetic fields. On the psychological level Asha is the powerful force of truth while at the spiritual level Asha is the fusion of order and truth leading us to the path of righteousness. Truth or righteousness is doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place with the right means to achieve the right purpose [Dhalla]. Righteousness is the universal law that stands for order, evolution, progress and projection.
  
  Zarathushtra taught that Ahura Mazda has given every human being a Vohu Manoh (Good Mind) in order to help us follow this path of righteousness. The Human Mind is the best gift that Ahara Mazda has bestowed upon us. With our Vohu Manoh we can not only think but we can reason and articulate and this is what makes us so unique from all other living species on this planet. We have a mind that can help us differentiate and distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil.
  
  Ahura Mazda is in accord with Asha and he wants us to promote this path of asha, ashoi and ashem. According to this law good deeds produce good rewards and evil deeds have bad consequences. A scientist working in a lab, a mathematician solving a formula, a mother caring for her family, a student struggling with his homework, a musician composing or creating beautiful music and a person counseling the needy are all implementing Asha in their lives, if they act with truth and integrity. We know that if we do not live in harmony with nature it would lead to catastrophic consequences. Hence, in order to make this world a better place, not only for this generation but for generations to come, we must follow the path of Asha. Human beings are co-workers of Ahura Mazda, but we are not his slaves. We are not forced into doing something or being someone that we don't want to be. Zoroastrians do not believe that good things in life are detrimental to the spiritual life or that we should denigrate the material world.
  
  http://www3.sympatico.ca/zoroastrian/