A Theosophical and Esoteric Interpretation of the Zoroastrian Karshipta Bird

A Theosophical and Esoteric Interpretation of the Zoroastrian Karshipta Bird

The ancient Zoroastrian scripture named Vendidad or Vidēvdād (“The Law Repudiating the Demons”) mentions a holy bird sent to humanity by God (Ahura Mazda), for the purpose of bringing to them the true religion of Mazda. This holy bird was named Karshipta (sometimes spelled Karshipt, Karshift, or Karšift, from the Avestan Karšiptar).

"O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! 

Who is he who brought the Religion of Mazda into the Vara (Enclosure) which Yima made?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It was the bird Karshipta, O holy Zarathushtra!’"

- Vendidad 2:42

According to the Bundahishn, chapters 19 and 24, "The bird Karshipta dwells in the heavens: were he living on the earth, he would be the king of birds... He brought the Religion into the Vara of Yima, and recites the Avesta in the language of the birds."

Theosophist H.P. Blavatsky, in Volume 2 of her Secret Doctrine, offers an esoteric interpretation: "Karshipta is the human mind-soul, and the deity thereof, symbolized in ancient Magianism by a bird, as the Greeks symbolized it by a butterfly. No sooner had Karshipta entered the Vara or man, than he understood the law of Mazda, or Divine Wisdom."

A literal translation of the Avestan "karšiptar" would be “the black-winged” - from karši- “black” and -ptar “wing”. This name possibly hints at the bird's identity as the raven, who played the role of divine messenger in many Indo-European legends. Interestingly, karši- “black” comes from the same root word as Sanskrit kṛṣṇa, or "black" - from which comes the name of Vishnu's Avatar, Lord Krishna. In Middle Persian, another word for raven was warāɣ, which was also related to the Avestan vārǝɣna- “falcon”.

A commentary on the Vendidad associates the Karshipta with the Chakravaka or ruddy shelduck (Anas casarca), also known as the Brahmany duck of India, with its black flight feathers. It may be likewise related to the Hamsa, the goose or swan of Brahma. From a theological standpoint, one may also notice the close resemblance of the Karshipta to the dove of the Holy Spirit from Christianity, as well as to the various sacred birds of ancient Egypt, such as the Horus falcon - and to the Persian Simurgh, which has its nest in the Tree of Life or Tree of Knowledge.

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

https://random-religion-and-spirituality.blogspot.com/

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