Etymology
Avestan ahura derives from Indo-Iranian *asura, also attested in an Indian context as RigVedic asura. As suggested by the similarity to the Old Norse æsir, Indo-Iranian *asura may have an even earlier Indo-European root.
It is commonly supposed that Indo-Iranian *Asura was the proper name of a specific divinity, with whom other divinities were then identified.
For not altogether obvious reasons, the Oxford English Dictionary lists asura, rather than ahura, as a Zoroastrian term.
AHURA, pronounced in 2 syllables, viz. AHU and RAA means Supreme Divinity. Specifically AHU means that being who is self-sustaining, that is unlike a mortal does not need any sustenance of say food or oxygen to continue existence. RAA means radiance. Thus AHURA is the radiant immortal divinity. As the Avestic "H" is substituted by "S" in Vedic language; one can say that both Ahu-ra and Asu-ra mean the same divine primordial immortal entity. The Vedas in fact state clearly that "Asura" was the God of the ancients prior to being deposed by the Devas. Due to the schism between the Avestic and Vedic philosophy; this term was adjusted by the vedics from Asu-ra to A-sura meaning impure. Here "Sura" means pure and the attachment of "A" means negative, in effect not-pure.
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