--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "A." <xthanex@...> wrote:
>
>
> I was just reading Oldenberg's 'The religion of the Veda' and
> something he said about Varuna stuck in my mind, the phrase "the
> Asura" was most frequently used to refer to Varuna.
> Varuna is also the deity possessed of great "maya".
>
> I know that via certain linguistic formulas, Sanskrit and Avestan
can
> be interchanged, my question is...
>
> Does "Ahura Mazda" equate to "Asura Maya" ???
>
> Sincerely,
> Aydan
***********
From Puhvel's "Comparative Mythology", which I take as pretty
reliable for etymologies, I learn that Ahura Mazdah is the Iranian
counterpart of Varuna and Asura and Ahura are indeed equivalent;
Avestan 'mazda' "wise" "formally matches Vedic 'medha-' "wisdom" (<
I.E. 'mns-dhe' "mind-setting"). Puhvel cites a description of Varuna
as 'medhira' "wise" in RV 1.25.20. I don't know the etymology
of 'maya' (Watkins doesn't give any in AHD), but it doesn't seem to
have anything to do with 'medha" or the *men- I.E. root.
Dan Milton