Persian (Iranian) Tradition
Sraosha
Sraoša(Sraosha; Middle Persian Srosh; Persian Sorush)
Also known as Srosh, Sorush
- obedience to the divine word
- prayer
- protection of the soul
- judgment
The yazata of 'hearkening' to the divine word, who guards the world by night against the demons, protects the soul for three nights after death, and judges it at the Chinvat Bridge with Mithra and Rashnu; in the Shahnameh, as Sorush, a heavenly messenger.
About Sraosha
The hymn of Sraosha
The Srosh Yasht (Yasna 57) praises Sraosha as the first to worship Ahura Mazda with the sacred twigs and the first to sing the Gathas, and as a warrior who strikes down Aeshma, the demon of fury. He never sleeps, but watches over the world through the night, when the demons are strongest; the rooster, which wakes people for dawn prayer, is his bird.
Guardian of the dead
In Zoroastrian tradition the soul of the dead remains near the body for three nights, protected by Sraosha, and prayers to him (the Srosh Baj) are recited during that time. On the fourth dawn the soul comes to the Chinvat Bridge, where Mithra, Sraosha, and Rashnu weigh its deeds.
Sorush in the Shahnameh
Ferdowsi's Sorush is a heavenly messenger who appears at crucial moments: he warns King Kayumars of the demon who has killed his son, and he instructs Fereydun not to kill the defeated Zahhak but to chain him in Mount Damavand.
Origin story
A being created by Ahura Mazda; no birth narrative is told.
Worship and cult
Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Sraosha
The Srosh Baj prayer, recited at night and for the soul of the dead during the three nights after death; the seventeenth day of each Zoroastrian month is dedicated to him.
In the atlas
Where Sraosha appears
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Avesta, Yasna 57 (Srosh Yasht) (paraphrase)
- Ferdowsi, Shahnameh, reign of Fereydun (paraphrase)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.
Genealogy
Family tree
Sraosha's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.