ҴŌٲĀ, the Pahlavi name for heaven and paradise, derived from GAv garō.dəmāna- (lit. “house of song”; cf. YAv garō.nmāna-, Man. Mid. Pers. grʾsmʾn, Prth.grdmʾn, Sogd. °γrδmn). It frequently appears as a synonym for wahišt, paradise, e.g., in hendiadys wahišt ud ō峾 (Pahlavi Texts, p. 151) or in the phrase wahištīᶃpad ō峾 ī Ohrmazd “resident of Paradise in Ohrmazd’s ō峾” (Wištāsp Yt. 42). But in the other contexts ō峾 is used to designate specifically the highest station of heaven, while wahišt is the general term covering all the “stations” of heaven. Accordingly, Ardā Wīrāz (q.v.) is shown dušox (hell), ٲ (limbo), and wahišt through which he ascends in four steps successively from the star (=humat) to the moon (=ū) to the sun (=huwaršt) stations and finally ō (Chap. 7 ff.). Another synonym for ō is anagr rošnīh or simply Բ (the infinite lights; e.g., Mēnōg ī xrad 94). In the Pahlavi literature ō is described as the radiant pleasant, peaceful, sweet-smelling abode of Ohrmazd, the Amahrspands (see AMƎŠA SPƎNTA) and the deities, to which the souls of the pious go after death and to which all souls will go after the completion of the Frašgird (q.v.). For the most part the language used to describe ō is concrete and evokes images of a sublime earthly existence where one has all the best food and drink, where one can sit upon one’s golden throne or recline upon a soft couch with cushions, where one is reunited with loved ones and can enjoy music and other forms of entertainment.
Bibliography:
P. Gignoux, “L’enfer et le paradis d’après les source pehlevi,” JA, 256, 1968, pp. 219-45, with references to primary and secondary sources.
(William W. Malandra)
Originally Published: December 15, 2000
Last Updated: February 2, 2012
This article is available in print.
Vol. X, Fasc. 3, pp. 317-318
William W. Malandra, “ҴŌٲĀ,” Encyclopædia Iranica, X/3, pp. 317-318, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/garodman- (accessed on 30 December 2012).
