A mysterious entity similar to the occultists' Fohat in Zoroastrian holy texts.
- It's a Vedic and Avestian name that means "Son of the Waters."
A water-related god in the Indo-Iranian pantheon is known as Apam Napat.
His names, Apam Napat and Apam Napat, are Avestan names that translate to "child of the rivers" in the Vedas and Zoroastrianism, respectively.
The words "grandson" and "progeny" are cognates of the Latin word nepos and the English word nephew.
He is referred to be the creator of everything in the Rig Veda.
It is often clear from the Vedas that Apam Napat is being used as a title rather than an actual name.
Agni, the deity of fire, and Savitr, the god of the sun, are the two deities to whom this is most often ascribed.
Boyce has also suggested a connection between Varuna, who is known as "Child of the Waters" and is regarded as a deity of the sea, and both the Vedic and Avestic traditions of Apam Napat.
He is a yazad and also goes by the name Burz, which means "high one" in Persian.
The founder of humanity, Apam Napat, is depicted in the Zoroastrian Avesta's Yasht.
However, as Ahura Mazda is regarded as the greatest creator in Zoroastrianism, Apam Napat's role has been diminished.
Apam Napat is no longer extensively worshiped for this reason, even though he is still honored every day via Zoroastrian rituals.
A song written in praise of the Vedic Apam Napat also acknowledges the creator-god status.
Apam Napat, with Mithra, upholds social order, while Khvarenah upholds rightful authority among the Iranian peoples.
It is his responsibility to provide water from the sea to all areas.
One Vedic song describes Apam Napat as coming out of the river, golden, and "clothed with lightning," which has been taken to mean fire.
Some have theorized that a Proto-Indo-European story involving a fire god born from water may have existed due to Agni's frequent connection with him and the fact that Agni is often shown as hiding or staying in water.
Other such texts include an old Armenian poem in which a reed in the middle of the sea spontaneously catches fire, from which springs the hero Vahagn, with fiery hair and eyes that blaze like sun, and a ninth-century Norwegian poem in which the name svar nir, meaning "grandson of the sea," is used as a kenning for fire.
It's still up for question if fire was always a part of Apam Napat's character, particularly because this relationship isn't there in the Iranian translation.
According to Hermann Oldenberg, Apam Napat was initially a separate water god who subsequently became linked with Agni, in part due to an old Indian belief that water held fire within itself and that when fire was quenched by it, it seemed to "merge into" water.
Similar associations with Savitr might be attributed to the idea of the sun lowering into the water.
Another idea states that lightning, "the burst of fire born from the rainbearing clouds," explains the relationship between fire and water.
There have been efforts to link the name "Apam Napat" to the term "naphtha," which originated in an Iranian language and found its way into Greek and then English.
This connection is based on the theory that this fire-from-water picture was inspired by burning seepage natural gas.
The account of the sacred fires being blown out to sea from the back of the ox Srishok, where they continue to burn unquenched on the water, is suggestive, but there is only a small amount of evidence for a connection between the sacred fires of Iranian religion and petroleum or natural gas.
This is especially true in relation to hydrocarbon deposits in the Southwestern part of the Caspian Sea, which are currently being exploited by the Absheron gas field near Baku in Azerbai It has been suggested that the term "naphtha" derives from the Akkadian word napu, which means "petroleum." Zoroastrian god APAM NAPAT (Son of the Waters), whose actual identity, like that of his Vedic counterpart, Apam Napat, has been hotly contested.
The Avestan writings and the Zoroastrian religion both imply that he is a great god who has gotten somewhat obscured.
He is referenced in songs dedicated to other water divinities, but no hymn has been preserved in his honor.
In Yat 5 (v. 72), a hymn to the river goddess Ardv Sra, there is a brief mention of him.
In Yat 8, a hymn to the rain god Titrya, it is stated in one verse (v. 34) that "Apam Napat distributes to the material world those waters assigned to dwelling places," and in another verse (v. 4) that worshipers honor Titrya because "from whom, the lofty one, is fame, from Apam Napat is In two passages, Apam Napat is depicted working alongside Mithra to uphold order in human society: "Mithra of wide pastures will further all ruling councils of the lands and pacify (the lands that are in turmoil)." Apam Napat is given the title of Ahura (Lord), which is normally only given to Mithra and Ahura Mazda himself.
Mighty Apam Napat will now support all governing bodies of the lands and calm any unrest in those regions.
(Yt. 13.95; for further information on this stanza, see I. Gershevitch's The Avestan Hymn to Mithra, Cambridge, 1959, repr. 1967, pp. 27–29, 59–60. According to a tale described in Yt. 19.35f, these two Ahuras are working together to defend the divine xvarnah (Pahl. xwarrah, NPers. farr[ah]), which is the means by which the Iranian people's rightful dominion is maintained.
A "lying, false statement" that Yima, the first monarch, permitted into his mind caused xvarnah to flee from him and be safeguarded by Mithra and fire.
It is stated that xvarnah first resided with Yima.
When evil once again attacked it, it fled to the sea, Vourukaa, where Apam Napat caught it "at the bottom of unfathomable bays." (The old text [vv. 36–46] has blatant interpolations that obfuscate this sequence of events and the intimate relationship between the two divinities.)
A lovely poem honoring Apam Napat is next read (Yt. 19.52):
"We worship the High Lord (brzantm ahurm), a kingly, brilliant Son of the Waters, a rider of rapid horses, and a savior who lends assistance when needed.
The deity in the seas who moulded and formed man is the one who hears prayers the quickest of all."
This passage is referenced in a song written in praise of the Vedic Apam Napat, who is described as having "made all creatures via his strength as Asura" in the hymn (Rigveda 2.35.2).
All Zoroastrian invocations of Apam Napat begin with the Avestan verse, and as a result, Apam Napat has also been referred to as Borz or Bor since at least Sasanian times.
This name is a contraction of the Avestan term brzant-, the "High One," which is glossed in one Pahlavi text (Zatspram 3.18) as Borz Abannaf, "The High One who is Apam Napat is once again depicted in the Pahlavi literature as a powerful water deity that guards Xwarrah.
"Where Ardvsr and the unpolluted streams are, it is the dwelling of the yazad Borz.
And his main responsibility is to provide water from the sea to all areas.
He is also responsible for saving animals from strong waves as they are crossing the sea, and he always keeps an eye on Xwarrah (Bundahi, 26.91).
The following bizarre story also honors his concern for the Xvarnah of the Iranian peoples: "Every third year, numerous people from non-Iranian regions assemble on Mount Harborz (Alborz) in preparation to invade Iranian territory and inflict havoc and disaster to the globe.
Then, the yazad Borz emerges from the lake of Arang and awakens the bird "amr" on the summit of the whole high mountain, which picks up all visitors from non-Iranian countries as a bird picks up grain (Bundahi, 24.24).
In the Zoroastrian writings, Apam Napat is essentially only mentioned in passing; nonetheless, according to the cult, he was formerly a powerful deity.
The calendar does not dedicate a day or a month to him, but the day's divisions—which are obviously far older than the calendar dedications—place Mithra in the morning and Apam Napat in the afternoon.
Because of this, the two minor Ahuras were likely significantly and equally venerated in pre-Zoroastrian days.
Even today, a Zoroastrian must inevitably invoke the "Son of the Waters" when he offers the prayers that are appropriate to the Uzrn Gah.
Additionally, anytime water is called in the yasna ritual (which is done often), Apam Napat is also invoked (Y. 1.5 and passim).
Thus, he is revered every day in the Zoroastrian religion.
Although no act of devotion is now presented to him exclusively, Apam Napat is routinely invoked (together with Haoma and Dahman Afrn) after the deities of the calendar dedications whenever one is devoted to all the yazatas.
(Continued under Zoroastrian calendar.) Although the traits and background of the Indian Apam Napat are likewise puzzling, Vedic usages at least confirm what might be inferred from the Iranian evidence—that Apam Napat is a title rather than a real name.
In the Vedas, Agni, a deity not included in the Iranian pantheon, is most often referred to as "Son of the Waters," which may seem rather out of place for the god of fire.
While the deity called as Apam Napat in the song previously given (Rigveda 2.35) is not explicitly specified, other than as a water god and an Asura, the term is also sometimes used to refer to Savit, who is associated with the sun.
H. Oldenberg hypothesized that the original Apam Napat had been a separate divinity, an Indo-Iranian "water-spirit," who had become associated with and partially absorbed in Agni because, to ancient Indian thinkers, water held fire within itself (Die Religion des Vedas, 2nd ed., Berlin, 1917, repr. 1970, pp. 100-01, 117-19). (ibid., pp. 113-14).
Because it was believed that the setting sun sank into the oceans underneath the ground, the connection between this "water-spirit" and Savit might also be explained in a similar way.
The only thing that connected Apam Napat to rites in India and Iran was water.
Oldenberg's theory was adopted by L. H. Gray ("The Indo-Iranian deity Apam Napat," ARW 3, 1900, pp. 18-51) before M. Boyce ("On Varuna's Part in Zoroastrianism," Mélanges E. Benveniste, ed. M. Monfar, Paris, 1975, pp. 57-66; idem, Zoroastrianism, pp. 46f.) went further and This theory seems to be supported by at least two lines from the Rigveda, which sometimes associate Agni with Varuna.
You, Agni, are Varuna when you are born, that is, when fire is lit with sticks, according to Rigveda 5.3.1.
Agni is once again addressed by the poet in Rigveda 10.8.5, who says to him: "You become the eye and defender of vast ta [= Avestan aa]—you become Varuna, and because you enter on behalf of ta, you become Apam Napat." Furthermore, the Kautaki-Brahmana 18.9 states the following about Savit: "When the [sun] descends in the ocean, it becomes Varuna." In addition, Varuna is referred to as "Child of the Waters" (apam iur, Vajasaneyisahita 10.7; see H. Lüders, Varuna, Göttingen, 1951-59, I, pp. 50-51) and is often shown as a goddess of the sea and water (ibid., p. 9).
Although the idea that Iranian Apam Napat is Varuna is still debatable, an argument against the idea has not yet been made and published.
It has also been suggested that Iranian Baga, Vedic Bhaga, "the Dispenser," another epithet of Varuna, which in India came to be regarded as the name of an independent divinity, closely associated with Varuna, on the assumption that the Iranians never invoked Varuna by name, but only by title or cult-epithet.
According to this interpretation, Mithra and Varuna were addressed by the Avestan people in the pair-compound Mira-Ahura brzant (on which see F. Spiegel, Die arische Periode und ihr Zustand, Leipzig, 1887, pp. 187-88) and by the Old Persians in the compound Mira-Baga, both of which were parallel to the Vedic compound Mitra-Varuna; it would also be possible to interpret Zoroaster (A3 Pa 24-25; see Kent, Old Persian, p. 156).
It is undeniable that the Iranian Apam Napat refers to a strong deity called an Ahura, a close companion of Mithra, who, while still celebrated daily through Zoroastrian liturgies, has ceased to be widely worshipped.
The decline of his cult has a number of potential causes.
The crucial verse Yat 19.52 reveals that the ancient Apam Napat was, in one of his aspects, a powerful creator-god, "who created men, who shaped men" (y nru da'a, y nru tata'a); however, in Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda is revered as the supreme Creator, and Apam Napat thus came to be robbed of this function.
Words used to describe Ahura Mazda in the relatively recent Yasna 1.1., perhaps in an echo of Yat 19.52: "who made us, who fashioned (us)" (y n da'a, y tataa), powerfully illustrate the process (see F. Windischmann, Zoroastrische Studien, Berlin, 1863, p. 180).
As a result of losing this significant function, which belonged to both the Indian Varuna and the Indian Apam Napat, it is clear that the Iranian Apam Napat gradually became more constrained to his own water deity.
Then, over time, the accolades that were initially directed at Apam Napat were transferred to Ahura Mazda, the Ahura of Zoroastrianism, according to his cult title of Ahura brzant, "High Lord," and his apparent ancient invocation of simply "Ahura" (see Boyce, Zoroastrianism I, pp. 49–51).
This is eloquently demonstrated in the ancient Yasna Hapta Haiti, which was written to the two lesser Ahuras Mithra and Apam Napat in accordance with their respective roles in the priestly offerings to fire and water.
The current form of this ritual clearly dedicates Ahura Mazda in accordance with orthodoxy; yet, one of its archaic aspects is that the Waters are referred to as "the Ahura's women" (ahuran ahurahya) there, i.e., the wives of Apam Napat.
(See Rigveda 2.32.8 and 7.34.22, where the Waters are referred to as varunan, "women of Varuna").
The usage of using only the epithet Brzant, i.e., "High One," instead of Ahura brzant developed, which is why the common Middle Persian name for him is Borz Yazad.
It may have been done to lessen confusion or what may have been perceived as the improperness of speaking of Apam Napat as Ahura.
Evidently, the Achaemenians' devotion to Anahiti and their absorption of her worship into Zoroastrianism via her identification with Ardv Sra Anahita, whereby this star goddess also became a water divine, contributed to Apam Napat's eclipse.
While inscriptions of his son Artaxerxes III show a return to a more traditional invocation, it was these three who subsequently became the most adored of all Zoroastrian deities, at least in western Iran.
In inscriptions of Artaxerxes II, "Anahita" replaces the third Ahura, for this king invokes auramazda anahita uta mira (e.g., As a result, both popular and royal devotion of Anahita as the "Lady of the Waters" progressively replaced that of the "Son of the Waters."
The fact that neither divinity received a calendar dedication, with the efforts of their respective supporters presumably coming to a standstill in this regard, suggests that this development was not initially uncontested.
That priests were then among the leading upholders of Apam Napat can be inferred from the fact that this divinity is still frequently worshipped as Ahura brzant/Borz Yazad with the "calendar gods" at the temple of Ahura Mazda (see above, and further Boyce, Zoroastrianism II, pp. 247-48).
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