Page:History of Zoroastrianism.djvu/303

Rh which make two mentions of the name of this demon, do not give us his life-story. In the diabolical host he is the adversary of the archangel Khshathra Vairya, through whom shall be established the Kingdom of Ahura Mazda.

She thwarts devotion. This feminine demoniacal impersonation of heresy and counterpart of Spenta Armaiti is to be smitten by the recital of the sacred formulas; she will flee away as soon as the Airyaman Ishya prayer is uttered. The faithful, in consequence, pray that the genius of devotion may dispel this demoness from their houses.

A demon of incipient personality. Naonghaithya corresponds to the Vedic Nasatya, the epithet of the heavenly Ashvins, and is likewise mentioned in the Boghaz-keui tablets, but is classed in the Zoroastrian works among the evil powers. The demon is twice mentioned in the Avestan texts, but the passages in question shed no real light on the sphere of his activity. During the Pahlavi period, however (and the same may reasonably be presumed for the Avesta), Naonghaithya, or Naunghas, as he is then called, is seen working in antagonism to Spenta Armaiti.

The adversaries of Haurvatat and Ameretat. The names of the dual demons Taurvi and Zairicha personify, in later texts at least, fever and thirst. They occur together and are mentioned in two places in the Younger Avesta, yet without any special description of their work. They are in the Pahlavi texts depicted as the adversaries of the dual divinities Haurvatat and Ameretat, whose active mission in the world has been described above.