[Mehrbod]

Asha Vahishta
aka: Asha, Ardwahisht

Asha Vahishta (Avestan: Excellent Order, or Truth) is the lawful order of the cosmos according to which all things happen. He presides over fire, sacred to the Zoroastrians as the inner nature of reality. To the devotee he holds out the path of justice and spiritual knowledge.

Asha Vahishta is closely associated with fire. Fire is "grandly conceived as a force informing all the other Amesha Spentas, giving them warmth and the spark of life."In Yasht 17.20, Angra Mainyu clamours that Zoroaster burns him with Asha Vahishta. In Vendidad 4.54-55, speaking against the truth and violating the sanctity of promise is detected by the consumption of "water, blazing, of golden color, having the power to detect guilt."

Asha Vahishta protects the physical and moral order on the Earth. He is the most prominent of the (male) Amesha Spentas and the principal adversary of the world of the demons. The second month of the calendar(Ordibehesht) is dedicated to him. His eternal opponents are the Demoness of lie, Drug and the Arch-Demon of apostasy, Indra.

It is the Divine Law-it embodies Righteousness, Truth, order, Justice and Progress. It is the universal law of righteous precision. Every Zoroastrian strives to follow the Path of Asha in its highest and deepest spiritual sense. Asha is the personification of the "most righteous truth".

The text of the Gathas itself demonstrates just how important Asha is for Zoroastrian thought and practice. Almost every single verse of these poetic hymns contains the word ASHA somewhere. This constant repetition is more than just a buildup of information or a prophet's rhetorical device. It is a sacred litany, weaving the word into the mind of the listener until it becomes a permanent part of spiritual consciousness.