Kshatra Vairya
| Part of a series on |
| Zoroastrianism |
|---|
 |
| Primary topics |
| Angels and demons |
| Scripture and worship |
|
| Accounts and legends |
| History and culture |
| Adherents |
| Zoroastrianism portal |
Kshatra Vairya (also Šahrewar,[1] and Xšaθra(an etymon of Kshetra in the Avestan language) {pronounced kşatra) is the third of the great six "divine sparks" of Ahura Mazda in the Zoroastrian religion.
The spelling Xšaθra is used by followers of the Zoroastrian faith in a representation of the dominion of the Creator Ahura Mazda. In the cosmology of the faith, Kshathra Vairya is borne of the divine principal of Vohum Mana, from which comes the core belief of 'Good Thoughts'.
In the Gathas, Xšaθra Vairya does not have an association with a specific creation, and it is only in later texts that this Amesha Spenta is considered the guardian of metals. This anomaly is explained in modern scholarship by the fact that, in Stone Age cosmogony, the sky was considered to be the first of the creations (and thought to be of stone), but metal has no place among the creations (the bronze and Iron Ages were yet to come). This is also reflected in Zoroaster's revelation, where the sky is "of the hardest stone" (Yasna 30.5). Later, with the event of bronze and then iron tools, this sky evolved to being of crystal, which was seen as both of stone and of metal (Yasht 13.2). In due course, Xšaθra's association with a stony firmament was eclipsed by the association with a metallic sky, and thence to metals in general.