The Holy Month of Aspandarmad has already commenced as per the Shehenshahi Zoroastrian calendar. Interestingly, the Zoroastrian calendar commences with Fravardin as the first month and Aspandarmad as the twelfth and last month. Fravardin is dedicated to Fravahar or the prototype of all creation and Aspandarmad is dedicated to earth, where we see all good creations of Ahura Mazda thrive. It is such a meaningful arrangement. This article is an attempt to study how some ancient traditions, including Zoroastrianism have viewed earth.

Since 1970, the world (193 countries) celebrates ‘Earth Day’ on 22^nd April. However, Zoroastrians, since centuries, have celebrated Aspandarmad Roj of Aspandarmad Mah as ‘Earth Day’. It is the original and perhaps the world’s first ‘Earth Day’!

Today, we know from radiometric dating that Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. With an environment devoid of oxygen and high in methane, for much of its history, Earth took its own time for life to begin. The earliest life forms that we know of were microscopic organisms (microbes) that left signals of their presence in rocks that are about 3.7 billion years old. Scientists believe that the ‘first human’ (homo erectus) lived from around two million to about a hundred-thousand years ago. These were the first humans to walk out of Africa and push into Europe and Asia.

Environmentalists believe that humans are the greatest threat to planet earth. Though Earth is home to millions of species, just the human species seems to dominate it. Modern technology and inventions to some extent, but more significantly, our greed and irresponsible activities have modified almost every fragment of our planet. Climate change is not a distant future risk. It is already here to stay. Unless each one of us takes climate change personally, we will be leaving a legacy that future generations will hate us for!

Climate Change

We hear the term ‘climate’ and ‘climate change’ all the time. However, climate is not the same as weather. Climate is one of the Earth’s fundamental life support systems, one that determines whether we humans can live on this planet. It is generated by four components: the atmosphere (the air we breathe); the hydrosphere (the planet’s water); the cryosphere (the ice sheets and glaciers); the biosphere (the planet’s plants and animals). Our activities have modified every one of these components.

Our carbon emissions have modified our atmosphere. Our increasing water use has modified our hydrosphere. Rising atmospheric and sea-surface temperature have modified the cryosphere, most notably in the shrinking of the Arctic and Greenland ice sheets. Our increasing use of land, for agriculture, cities, roads, mining, as well as all the pollution we are generating has modified our biosphere. In other words, we have started to change our climate.

There are now more than 8.1 billion of us on Earth. As our numbers continue to grow, we continue to increase our need for far more water, far more food, far more land, far more transport and far more energy. As a result, we are accelerating the rate at which we are changing our climate. In Sanskrit, the term Paryavarana is used for environment, meaning that which encircles us, or which is all around our surroundings. Ancient Vedic seers knew Paryavarana or what we know today as ‘climate’ and the importance of keeping that vital balance in Nature!

Earth as ‘Mother’

Almost every ancient tradition has viewed earth as a mother and the Divinity presiding over it as female. ‘Mother Nature’ or ‘Mother Earth’ or the ‘Earth Mother’ is a personification of Nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it, in the form of a mother or mother goddess. The word ‘Nature’ comes from the Latin word, ‘Natura’, meaning birth or character. In English, its first recorded use (in the sense of the entirety of the phenomena of the world) was in 1266. ‘Natura’ and the personification of Mother Nature were widely popular in the Middle Ages. It is a crying shame that we treat earth and Nature which is a mother to us, so shabbily.

In Greek mythology, Gaia is the personification of Earth and revered as the ancestral mother of not just human beings but all life on earth. In Roman mythology, Tellus Mater or Terra Mater (Mother Earth) is the personification of the Earth. Jord is the Norse goddess of the earth, known for her association with the natural world, fertility, and growth.

Prithvi is the name for the goddess of Earth in Hinduism. The Divinity Prithvi, also called Devi basundhara, mata dharitri and bhoomidevi, is considered a symbol of wealth and prosperity. The consort of Lord Vishnu, Prithvi is the preserver of the universe, caring for all living beings on Earth.

Zoroastrian Perspective

Aspandarmad or Spendarmad is dedicated to Spenta Armaity – the Divinity that presides over Mother Earth. The term Spenta has been variously translated as increasing, growing, good, holy, and benevolent; while the term Armaity has been variously translated to mean devotion, piety, and peace. Thus, Spenta Armaity is a Divinity that advances peace and piety in this world – little wonder that she is constantly referred to in the Gatha.

In Zoroastrianism, earth is called ‘Zam’, understood in terms of land, soil, and the world. The term Zamana for world is derived from Avesta Zam and Zam changed to Zamin (earth) in later Persian. Zamin, as a term like the Baltic Zemes, Slavic Zem, Serbian Zemlja, and Greco-Thracian Semele, means the planet Earth as well as soil.

The Zamyad Yasht, is a hymn devoted to Zam or earth. Its first eight chapters enumerate geographical landmarks, while the rest praises those who possess kavaem khareno (Royal Kiyan Khoreh or Glory). The remaining verses begin with the creation of the earth, that is, with a verse to Ahura Mazda and closes with a verse to the Saoshyant (Saviour). Various ancient Kings are also invoked in this hymn which led the French oriental scholar, Professor James Darmesteter to comment that this Yasht could serve as a short history of the Iranian monarchy or, “an abridged Shahnameh.”

Curiously Zamyad is Hamkara (Co-worker) of Amarded, the Divinity that presides over vegetation and not Aspandarmad which presides over the earth. Regardless, it is considered meritorious to pray the Zamyad Yasht during this holy month.

The final paragraph of this hymn is inspiring and hope-giving! It affirms that: Akem-Mano (evil mentality) smites, but Vohu-Mano (good mentality) shall smite him; the Word of falsehood smites, but the Word of truth shall smite it. Haurvatat (Khordad or perfection) and Ameretat (Amardad or eternity) shall smite both hunger and thirst: The evil-doing Angra Mainyu bows and flees, becoming powerless.

Interestingly, this Yasht does not speak of Angra Mainyu being destroyed, because, one can only destroy what exists. Angra bows (accepting defeat) and simply flees, just like darkness flees when light is brought in. In like manner, ultimately, evil mentality shall bow to the good mentality and flee and the world will know Frasho Kereti or a Perfect World.