Hara Berezaiti
Harā Bərəzaitī is the name given in the
Avestan language to a legendary mountain or mountain range around which the world is structured.
Harā Bərəzaitī reflects Proto-Iranian *Harā Bṛzatī. *Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective *bṛzant- "high", the ancestor of modern Persian
boland (بلند). Harā may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from an
Indo-European root *ser- "protect". In
Middle Persian, Harā Bərəzaitī became
Harborz, Modern Persian
Alborz.
The mountain has several secondary appellations, including
Haraitī "the guarding one" (feminine),
Ta"ra "peak" (Middle Persian
T"rag) and
Hukairya "of good deeds" (Middle Persian
Hukar).
The legendary mountain has given its name to two physical features of the world: the
Alborz range in northern Iran, which parallels the southern edge of the
Caspian Sea; and
Mount Elbrus in the
Caucasus range, near the border of
Russia and
Georgia.
In the ancient
Zoroastrian scripture of the
Avesta, Harā Bərəzaitī it is a polar mountain around which the stars revolve; it is also the mountain behind which the sun hides at night. Given the latter function, Harā was also interpreted as the mountain chain that surrounds the world.
Harā is tall and luminous, free from darkness and the predations of the
da"vas or evil spirits. The sacred plant
haoma grows on Harā. It is also the home of the
yazata Mithra. The river Arədvī Sūrā (personified as the goddess
Anāhitā) springs from Harā and flows into the Vourukaša Sea. It is the site in legend of sacrifices (
yasnas) to the yazatas Mithra,
Sraoša, Arədvī Sūrā, Vayu, and Druvāspa, by sacrificers such as the divine priest Haoma (personification of the sacred plant) and kings like
Haošyaŋha and
Yima.
In later Zoroastrian, the Harborz mountain was the site of the Činvat bridge, where souls are judged. Later Persian legend endowed the mountain with characteristics that placed it more firmly in this world, distant but accessible. Harborz is to be found in
'rānv"j, the original homeland of the Iranian peoples. In
Ferdowsi's
Shāhnāma, Alborz is the place of refuge for
Fereydun when he is sought for by the spies of
Zahhāk. It is the dwelling-place of the
Simorgh, where he brings up the infant . It is also the region where
Key Qobād dwells before being summoned to the throne of Iran by
Rostam.
The concept of Harā shares many characteristics with the Hindu
Mount Meru and the Buddhist
Sumeru, and the name was indeed used for Sumeru by the Iranian
Sakas who converted to Buddhism.
Encyclopaedia Iranica, article Alborz.
