Patterns of Substitution in the Zoroastrian Sanskrit Translation of Ogamadecā
Linguistic Features of Parsi Sanskrit
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/CIS.28.2026.01.12Keywords:
Zoroastrian Sanskrit, Parsi Sanskrit, Pāṇini’s Grammar, Aṣṭ ādhyāyī, substitution, Aogəmadaēcā, Old- and Middle Iranian linguistics, Sanskrit linguisticsAbstract
This study examines the Sanskrit translation of a text designated in the target language as Ogamadecā. The original Middle Persian text was based on selected quotations from Avesta with its title derived from the first word: aogəmadaēcā ‘and we pronounce’. The result is a multi-layered document of intertwined grammar, vocabulary and syntax drawing from Indian and Iranian heritage. The analysis centers on systematic deviations from Pāṇini’s grammatical framework, with particular emphasis on substitution, a foundational principle in Aṣṭādhyāyī and a key mechanism in Pāṇinian linguistics. The methodological approach adopted here foregrounds phonological, morphological, and syntactic irregularities within the translation, thereby elucidating characteristic features of Parsi Sanskrit renderings. The structural clarity inherent in Pāṇini’s system is juxtaposed with examples drawn from Ogamadecā, accompanied by detailed commentary on the violated rules. This comparative perspective advances our understanding of Zoroastrian Sanskrit translations within their broader linguistic, cultural, and religious conditions, contributing to the study of Indo-Iranian textual transmission and the adaptation of classical grammatical norms in Zoroastrian setting.
References
Bartholomae, Ch. 1904. Altiranisches Wörterbuch. Strassburg: Verlag von Karl J. Trübner.
Bharucha, E. Sh. D. 1933. Collected Writings of the Parsis, Consisting of Old Translations of Avesta and Pahlavi Pâzend Books as well as Original Compositions with Various Readings and Notes. Part VI. Bombay: The Trustees of the Parsee Punchayet Funds and Prope rties.
Boyce, M. 1975. A History of Zoroastrianism. Vol. 1. The Early Period. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004294004
(Handbuch der Orientalistik. Abt. 1: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten.
(ed. B. Spuler) Bd. 8: Religion. Abschn. 1, Religionsgeschichte des alten Orients. Lfg. 2, H. 2a. Leiden. (1982 etc.).
Candotti, M. and T. Pontillo. 2004. Substitution as a Descriptive Model in Pāṇini’s Grammar: Towards an Opposition between Phonological and Morphological Levels? In: R. Ronzitti and G. Borghi (eds ). Atti del Secondo Incontro Genovese di Studî Vedici e Pāṇiniani (Genova, 23 Iuglio 2003-15 Ottobre 2003). Recco: Le Mani: 1–45.
Duchesne-Guillemin, J. 1986. Aogəmadaēcā. In: Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. II, Fasc. 2: 145. https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_5523. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_5523
Geiger, W. 1878. Aogemadaêcâ. Ein Pârsentractat in Pâzend, Altbaktrisch und Sanskrit. Erlangen: Verlag von Andreas Deichert.
Gnoli, G. 2004. Indo-Iranian Religion. In: Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIII, Fasc. 1: 97 –100. https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_3429. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_3429
Goldman, L. 2018. The Sanskrit Yasna Manuscript S1: Facsimile Edition. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004357730
(Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2: South Asia, Vol. 32/1; Corpus Avesticum). Leiden-Boston: Brill.
JamaspAsa, K. M. 1982. Aogəmadaēcā. A Zoroastrian Liturgy. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Kellens, J. and C. Herrenschmidt. 1993. Daiva. In: Encyclopaedia Iranica.
Vol. VI, Fasc. 6: 599 –602. https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7971. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7971
Kellens, J. and C. Redard. 2021: Introduction a l’Avesta. Le récitatif liturgique sacré des zoroastriens. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/books.lesbelleslettres.24943
Kiparsky, P. 1979. Pāṇini as a Variationist. Poona-Cambridge: Poona University Press-MIT Press.
Kuryłowicz, J. 1987. Czas i aspekt w językach indoeuropejskich. In: A. Heinz (ed.), Studia Językoznawcze. Warsaw: PWN. 318-321.
MacKenzie, D. N. 1971. A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary. Reprint. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203462515
Malandra, W. W. 2000. Saošyant. In: Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 1 January 2000. https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_11309. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_11309
Martínez, J. and M. de Vaan. 2014. Introduction to Avestan. Leiden: Brill. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004257771_002
Mayrhofer, M. 1987. Sanskrit-Grammatik. Berlin-New York: Walter de Gruyter.
Monier-Williams, M. (ed.). 1899. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and Other Cognate Indo-European Languages. Oxford. Reprint 16th edition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 2011.
Narten, J. 1982. Die Aməšạ Spəṇtas im Avesta. Wiesbaden. Otto Harrasowitz.
Narten, J. and P. Gignoux. 1988. Bahman. In: Encyclopaedia Iranica Vol. III, fasc. 4: 487 –488. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bahman-vohumanah/.
Palladino, M. 2022. The Sanskrit Version of Yasna 1 –8. (PhD thesis). London: SOAS University of London.
Rezai Baghbidi, H. 2012. Parsi Sanskrit. In: J. S. Klein and K. Yoshida (eds ). Indic across the Millennia: From the Rigveda to Modern Indo-Aryan
(14th World Sanskrit Conference, Kyoto, Japan, September 1 –5, 2009, Proceedings of the Linguistic Section). Bremen: Dr. Ute Hempen Verlag: 1 –8.
Skjærvø, P. O. 2007. Avestan and Old Persian Morphology. In: A. S. Kaye (ed.). Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns: 853 –940. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5325/j.ctv1bxh537.41
Tafazzoli, A. 1991. Činwad puhl. In: Encyclopaedia Iranica Vol. V, fasc. 6: 594 –595. https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7728. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_7728
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
