Proto-Indo-Iranian paganism (or Proto-Aryan paganism) was the beliefs of the speakers of Proto-Indo-Iranian and includes topics such as the mythology, legendry, folk tales, and folk beliefs of early Indo-Iranian culture. By way of the comparative method, Indo-Iranian philologists, a variety of historical linguist, have proposed reconstructions of entities, locations, and concepts with various levels of security in early Indo-Iranian folklore and mythology (reconstructions are indicated by the presence of an asterisk). The present article includes both reconstructed forms and proposed motifs from the Proto-Indo-Iranian period, generally associated with the Sintashta culture (2050–1900 BCE).[1]
OPers. *Baga is inferred from Bāgayādi, month of the feast *Bagayāda- ('worshiping Baga = Mithra').[2] The etymology indicates a societal deity that distributes wealth and prosperity.[5][6]Slavicbog ('god') and bogátyj ('rich') are generally seen as loanwords from Iranian.[7]
Perhaps related to ToBśer(u)we, ToAśaru 'hunter'.[8]
Probably meaning 'hunter' (cf. Khot.hasirä 'quarry, hunted beast', Oss.suryn 'to chase, hunt', syrd 'wild beast'). An epithet of Rudra or Śiva in Sanskrit. Name of one the daēuua (demons) in Young Avestan.[8]
Meaning 'heaven, daylight sky'. Name of the inherited Proto-Indo-European sky-god (cf. Hitt. šīuš, Grk Zeus, Lat. Jove)[9] See Dyēus for further information.
Perhaps a borrowing from a Central Asian language (cf. ToA atär, ToB etre 'hero').[13]
Name of a primordial priest. The Sanskrit cognate is the name of the primordial priest, while the Young Avestan form designates the first social class (i.e. the priests). Scholars have rendered the stem *HatHar- as a 'religious-magical fluid' or 'magical potency'.[13]
*wr̥trás means 'defence' (the original meaning may have been 'cover'). Skt Vṛtrá is the name of a demon slain by Indra, often depicted as a cobra. YAv. Vǝrǝθraɣna, meaning 'breaking of defence, victory', is the name of a god. Cf. also Middle Persian Wahrām ('war god, god of victory'). The Arm. god Vahagn is a loanword from Iranian.[15]
Divine being associated with the Soma. In Sanskrit, the divine archer that guards the celestial Soma; in Young Avestan, name of a hostile king driven away by Haoma.[19]
Probably from PIE *nes- ('save, heal'; cf. Goth. nasjan).[21]
Skt Nā́satyā is another name for the Aśvínā ('horse-possessors'); Nā̊ŋhaiθya is the name of a demon in the Zoroastrian religious system. According to scholar Douglas Frame, "the Iranian singular suggests that in Common Indo-Iranian the twins’ dual name also occurred in the singular to name one twin in opposition to the other".[21] See Divine Twins.
Name of the deified earth. The Sanskrit poetic formula kṣā́m ... pṛthivī́m ('broad earth') is identical to YAv. ząm pərəθβīm (id.)[22] See Dʰéǵʰōm for further information.
The Indo-Iranian ancestry is supported by Mitanni Aruna.[18] The Avestan *Vouruna is postulated as the form the god would have taken in Iran, perhaps later replaced by Ahura Mazdā or Apam Napat.[26]
Meaning 'twin'; inherited from Proto-Indo-European (cf. Old Norse Ymir, the primeval giant). In Indo-Iranian, name of the mythical primeval man, first presser of the Soma, and son of the god *Hui(H)uasuant .[29] Cognate to the Indic goddess Yamuna, a deified river. See Indo-European cosmogony for further information.
From PIE *h₂éḱmōn, 'stone, stone-made weapon; heavenly vault of stone'.[31][32]
Skt áśman means 'stone, rock, sling-stone, thunderbolt', YAv. asman 'stone, sling-stone, heaven'.[30] The original PIE meaning appears to have been 'stone(-made weapon)' > 'heavenly vault of stone' (cf. Grk ákmōn 'anvil, meteoric stone, thunderbolt, heaven', Goth. himins 'heaven', Lith. akmuõ 'stone').[31][32] See Perkwunos (Heavenly vault of stone) for further information.
^The word baga is attested once in Old Avestan (possibly, but its interpretation remains unclear), and about ten times in the Young Avesta: baɣa- appears as an epithet for Ahura Mazda, the Moon and Miθra, while a compound hu-baɣa- refers to female deities.[3][4]
^Boyce, Mary (1996). "THE GODS OF PAGAN IRAN". In: A History of Zoroastrianism, The Early Period. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. pp. 57-58. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004294004_003
^Derksen, Rick (2008). Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon. Brill. p. 50. ISBN978-90-04-15504-6.