The Gaokerena: The White Haoma, Tree of Immortality
- Dala Sarkis
- 21 hours ago
- 13 min read
Introduction
The Gaokerena, also called the white Haoma, is one of the most beautiful images of Zoroastrian cosmology: the mythical Tree of Immortality, the king of healing plants, growing at the heart of the cosmic sea, whose life-giving essence will confer immortality on the resurrected at the renovation of the world.
In the cosmology preserved chiefly in the Bundahishn, the great compendium of Zoroastrian creation lore, the Gaokerena grows in the depths of the cosmic sea Vourukasha, the mightiest of the healing plants, whose juice is the source of the immortality to come. Created by Ahura Mazda for the healing and renewal of the world, it is assailed by a creature of the evil spirit Ahriman and guarded by the sacred fish and the watchful beings of the good creation.
Like the other elements of Zoroastrian cosmology, the Gaokerena belongs to the shared ancient religious and mythological heritage of the Iranic peoples, a tradition the Kurds hold in common with the Persians and others of the Iranic world. To know the Gaokerena is to encounter one of the loveliest images of Iranic myth, the Tree of Immortality at the heart of the cosmic sea, the source of the deathless life of the world to come.
Contents
What Is the Gaokerena?
The Gaokerena, also called the white Haoma, is the mythical Tree of Immortality of Zoroastrian cosmology, the greatest and most sacred of the healing plants, growing at the heart of the cosmic sea Vourukasha. It is a divine and cosmic plant, distinct from the ordinary, earthly Haoma plant, and its life-giving essence is the source of the immortality that will be conferred upon the resurrected at the renovation of the world. Created by Ahura Mazda for the healing and renewal of the world, the Gaokerena is the king of healing plants, surrounded by all the other healing herbs, and its juice is the elixir of deathless life. In the cosmic drama, it is assailed by a noxious creature, a lizard or frog, fashioned by the evil spirit Ahriman to destroy it, and it is guarded by the sacred fish and other watchful beings of the good creation who protect it until the renovation. The Gaokerena is thus the Tree of Immortality, the cosmic source of the deathless life to come, one of the central and most beautiful images of Zoroastrian cosmology.
The White Haoma and the Yellow
The Gaokerena is closely connected with, yet distinct from, the Haoma, the sacred plant and divinity of the Zoroastrian tradition. To understand the Gaokerena, it helps to distinguish the white Haoma from the yellow.
In the tradition, there are, in a sense, two Haomas. The yellow or earthly Haoma is the ordinary sacred plant of the ritual, pressed to yield the sacred juice offered in worship, the terrestrial Haoma that gives strength and is honoured as a divinity. The white Haoma, the Gaokerena, is the mythical and cosmic counterpart, the great Tree of Immortality growing in the cosmic sea, the source of the immortality to come, distinct from the ordinary ritual plant. The two are related, both being forms or manifestations of the sacred Haoma, the one earthly and used in ritual, the other cosmic and mythical, the source of deathless life. The Gaokerena, the white Haoma, is the higher and cosmic form, the Tree of Immortality whose essence will confer the deathless life of the renovated world, while the yellow Haoma is its earthly counterpart used in the sacred rites. This distinction between the white and the yellow Haoma is important for understanding the Gaokerena, the cosmic Tree of Immortality as distinct from the ritual plant. It is the white Haoma, the Gaokerena, that is our subject here, the mythical king of healing plants and source of immortality at the heart of the cosmic sea, distinct from the earthly Haoma of the ritual.
Key Takeaways
The Gaokerena, or white Haoma, is the Zoroastrian Tree of Immortality.
It grows at the heart of the cosmic sea Vourukasha, the king of healing plants.
Its life-giving essence will confer immortality on the resurrected at the renovation.
It is distinct from the ordinary, earthly (yellow) Haoma plant of the ritual.
It is assailed by a creature fashioned by the evil spirit to destroy it.
It is guarded by the sacred fish and other beings of the good creation.
Quick Facts
Name: Gaokerena; the white Haoma; the Tree of Immortality
Nature: Mythical, cosmic king of healing plants
Location: The heart of the cosmic sea Vourukasha
Created by: Ahura Mazda, for the healing and renewal of the world
Power: Its essence confers immortality on the resurrected
Distinct from: The ordinary, earthly (yellow) Haoma of the ritual
Assailed by: A lizard or frog fashioned by the evil spirit
Guarded by: The sacred Kar fish and other beings of the good creation
Chief source: The Bundahishn and the Avesta
Heritage: Shared Iranic religious and mythological tradition
The Tree at the Heart of the Cosmic Sea
The Gaokerena grows at the very heart of the cosmic sea Vourukasha, the great heavenly ocean of Zoroastrian cosmology, the mightiest of the healing plants rooted in the deep waters at the centre of the world.
In the cosmology of the Bundahishn, the cosmic sea Vourukasha is the great heavenly ocean created by Ahura Mazda, at the centre of which grow the most sacred of plants. Near the Tree of All Seeds, which holds the seeds of all the plants of the world, grows the Gaokerena, the white Haoma, the king of healing plants, surrounded by the multitude of other healing herbs. The cosmic sea and its sacred plants are at the very heart of the world in the Zoroastrian vision, the source of the waters, the plants, and the healing and renewal of the creation. The Gaokerena, growing in the depths of this sea, is the central and mightiest of these sacred plants, the Tree of Immortality rooted at the heart of the cosmic ocean. In the tradition, the mythical bird the Simurgh, or a bird of similar kind, is associated with the great cosmic tree, and the scattering of the seeds of the Tree of All Seeds is connected with the rains and the renewal of the plants of the earth, bound up with the rain-bringing star Tishtrya. The location of the Gaokerena at the heart of the cosmic sea is thus a central feature of its significance, the Tree of Immortality rooted in the deep waters at the very centre of the world, the source of healing and deathless life. It is at the heart of the cosmic sea that the Gaokerena holds its place, the mightiest of the sacred plants of the Zoroastrian cosmos.
The Source of Immortality
The great significance of the Gaokerena is that its life-giving essence is the source of the immortality that will be conferred upon the resurrected at Frashokereti, the renovation and renewal of the world.
In the Zoroastrian vision of the end of time, when the world is renewed and the dead are raised in the final renovation, the resurrected will be given to drink of a life-giving draught that will confer upon them immortality, deathless and perfect life in the renewed world. The essence of the Gaokerena, the white Haoma, is the source of this elixir of immortality, the life-giving juice of the Tree of Immortality that will make the resurrected deathless forever. In this way, the Gaokerena is bound up with the ultimate hope of the tradition, the immortality of the renewed world, and with the work of the savior, the Saoshyant, who brings about the renovation. The Gaokerena is thus connected with the holy immortal of immortality, Ameretat, who presides over the plants and embodies the deathless life that the Tree of Immortality will confer. This role as the source of immortality is the crowning significance of the Gaokerena, the Tree of Immortality whose life-giving essence will make the resurrected deathless in the renewed world. It is as the source of the immortality to come that the Gaokerena holds its central place in the Zoroastrian vision of the end of time, the cosmic plant whose essence is the elixir of the deathless life of the renovated world.
Assailed by Evil, Guarded by the Good
A vivid part of the myth of the Gaokerena is that, because it is the source of immortality and so precious to the good creation, it is assailed by the evil spirit and guarded by the watchful beings of the good.
In the tradition of the Bundahishn, the evil spirit Ahriman, seeking to destroy the source of immortality and to prevent the renewal of the world, fashioned a noxious creature, a lizard or frog, and set it in the depths of the cosmic sea to gnaw at and destroy the Gaokerena. But Ahura Mazda, to protect the Tree of Immortality, created ten sacred fish, the Kar fish, which ceaselessly circle the Gaokerena, ever watchful, so that one of them always has its gaze fixed upon the noxious creature, keeping it at bay. In some accounts, other watchful beings of the good creation also guard the sacred tree. Thus the Gaokerena is protected against the assault of evil until the renovation of the world, when it will yield the elixir of immortality. This drama of the sacred tree assailed by evil and guarded by the good is a vivid and beautiful part of the myth, expressing the cosmic struggle between the good creation and the forces of evil, focused on the precious source of immortality. The guardianship of the Gaokerena, the ceaseless vigilance of the sacred fish against the creature of the evil spirit, is one of the most memorable images of Zoroastrian cosmology, the protection of the Tree of Immortality until the renewal of the world. It expresses the truth that the source of deathless life is precious and contended-for, assailed by evil but ever guarded by the good until the final triumph.
The King of Healing Plants
The Gaokerena is honoured as the king of healing plants, the mightiest and most sacred of all the healing herbs, the source and chief of the healing power of the plant world.
In the tradition, the Gaokerena is surrounded by all the other healing plants, the multitude of herbs and medicinal plants created by the Wise Lord for the healing of the world, and it is reckoned the king and chief of them all, the greatest and most potent of the healing plants. The plant world, in the Zoroastrian vision, is a beneficent part of the good creation, full of healing power for the body and the world, and the Gaokerena is the source and summit of this healing power, the king of healing plants whose essence is the ultimate healing, the conferring of immortality itself. This role as the king of healing plants connects the Gaokerena with the whole beneficent world of plants and healing herbs, the good creation's power of healing and renewal, of which the Tree of Immortality is the chief and source. The honouring of the Gaokerena as the king of healing plants reflects the Zoroastrian reverence for the plant world and its healing power, and the vision of the Tree of Immortality as the summit of that power, the source of the ultimate healing and the deathless life to come. As the king of healing plants, the Gaokerena is the chief and source of the healing power of the good creation, the mightiest of the sacred plants and the summit of the world's healing, whose essence is the elixir of immortality.
Symbolism and Meaning
The Gaokerena embodies, above all, the hope of immortality and the renewal of the world, the Tree of Immortality whose life-giving essence will confer deathless life upon the resurrected at the renovation. As the source of the immortality to come, it represents the ultimate hope of the Zoroastrian vision, the deathless life of the renewed world.
The Gaokerena embodies, too, the healing and life-giving power of the good creation, the king of healing plants and the source of the world's healing, and, in the drama of its assault and guarding, the cosmic struggle between the good creation and the forces of evil over the precious source of life. In this, it represents the preciousness of life and immortality and the protection of the good against the assault of evil. In all this, the Gaokerena is among the most beautiful and significant images of the Iranic religious tradition, embodying the hope of immortality, the healing power of the good creation, and the struggle of good and evil. It is the white Haoma, the Tree of Immortality at the heart of the cosmic sea, the source of the deathless life of the renewed world, distinct from the earthly Haoma of the ritual, one of the loveliest images of the cosmology that the Kurds share with the other heirs of the Iranic tradition. The image of the Tree of Immortality, guarded at the heart of the cosmic sea until the renewal of the world, is among the most enduring and resonant of the tradition.
The Gaokerena and the Kurds
The Gaokerena, like the other elements of Zoroastrian cosmology, belongs to the shared ancient religious and mythological heritage of the Iranic peoples, a tradition that the Kurds, as an Iranic people, hold in common with the Persians and others of the Iranic world. The image of the Tree of Immortality and the cosmic sea is part of the deep heritage of the whole region.
For the Kurds, the ancient Iranic religious heritage, including the cosmology of the cosmic sea and the Tree of Immortality, is part of the deep background of their cultural and spiritual world. The image of the tree of life and immortality is a profound and widespread one, found in various forms across the religious traditions of the region and the world, and the Zoroastrian Gaokerena is one of its most beautiful expressions. It is honest and accurate to understand the Gaokerena as part of this shared Iranic and Zoroastrian heritage, rather than as a uniquely Kurdish image; it belongs to the common ancient religious tradition of the Iranic peoples. As an Iranic people with ancient roots in this world, the Kurds share in this heritage, of which the Tree of Immortality is a part, alongside the other heirs of the Iranic tradition. In presenting the Gaokerena, then, we present an image of the shared ancient Iranic heritage to which the Kurds are heirs, the Tree of Immortality at the heart of the cosmic sea, one of the loveliest images of the cosmology that underlies the traditions of the region. The hope of immortality and renewal that it embodies is a value of the deepest and most universal resonance.
Debates and Misconceptions
Is the Gaokerena the same as the Haoma plant used in ritual? Not quite. The Gaokerena, the white Haoma, is the mythical and cosmic Tree of Immortality growing in the cosmic sea, the source of the immortality to come, while the ordinary, earthly Haoma, the yellow Haoma, is the sacred plant pressed in the ritual to yield the sacred juice offered in worship. The two are related, both forms of the sacred Haoma, but distinct: the white Haoma is the cosmic Tree of Immortality, the yellow its earthly ritual counterpart. So the Gaokerena is not simply the ritual plant but its higher, mythical, and cosmic form, the Tree of Immortality at the heart of the world.
Is the Gaokerena a literal tree, or a symbol? The Gaokerena belongs to the religious and mythological cosmology of the tradition, the symbolic and cosmic vision of the world preserved chiefly in the Bundahishn, rather than a literal botanical reality. It is best understood as a profound mythological and symbolic image, the Tree of Immortality that expresses the hope of immortality, the healing power of the good creation, and the cosmic struggle of good and evil. The chief source for the developed myth is the Bundahishn, drawing on the older Avesta. It is a religious and cosmological image, not a claim about the natural world.
Is the Gaokerena a specifically Kurdish image? No; like the other elements of Zoroastrian cosmology, it belongs to the shared ancient Iranic religious heritage, a tradition the Kurds hold in common with the Persians and others of the Iranic world, rather than a uniquely Kurdish image. As an Iranic people, the Kurds share in this broad and ancient heritage, of which the Gaokerena is a part, alongside their neighbours.
Related Topics
Haoma: the sacred plant and divinity, the earthly counterpart
Ahura Mazda: the Wise Lord who created the Tree of Immortality
Ahriman: the evil spirit who assails the sacred tree
Frashokereti: the renovation, when the Gaokerena confers immortality
The Saoshyant: the savior who brings about the renovation
Haurvatat and Ameretat: the holy immortals of wholeness and immortality
The Simurgh: the mythic bird associated with the cosmic tree
Tishtrya: the rain-bringing star, bound up with the cosmic sea
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Gaokerena in Zoroastrian myth?
The Gaokerena, also called the white Haoma, is the mythical Tree of Immortality of Zoroastrian cosmology, the greatest and most sacred of the healing plants, growing at the heart of the cosmic sea Vourukasha. Created by Ahura Mazda, its life-giving essence is the source of the immortality that will be conferred on the resurrected at the renovation of the world. It is assailed by a creature of the evil spirit and guarded by the sacred fish of the good creation.
How is the Gaokerena different from the Haoma plant?
The Gaokerena, the white Haoma, is the mythical and cosmic Tree of Immortality growing in the cosmic sea, the source of the immortality to come; the ordinary, earthly Haoma, the yellow Haoma, is the sacred plant pressed in the ritual to yield the sacred juice offered in worship. The two are related, both forms of the sacred Haoma, but distinct: the white is the cosmic Tree of Immortality, the yellow its earthly ritual counterpart.
Where does the Gaokerena grow?
The Gaokerena grows at the very heart of the cosmic sea Vourukasha, the great heavenly ocean of Zoroastrian cosmology created by Ahura Mazda. Near the Tree of All Seeds, which holds the seeds of all plants, grows the Gaokerena, the king of healing plants, surrounded by the multitude of other healing herbs. The cosmic sea and its sacred plants are at the very heart of the world, the source of the waters, plants, and the healing and renewal of creation.
How does the Gaokerena confer immortality?
In the Zoroastrian vision of the end of time, when the world is renewed and the dead are raised at Frashokereti, the resurrected will be given a life-giving draught that confers immortality, deathless and perfect life in the renewed world. The essence of the Gaokerena, the white Haoma, is the source of this elixir of immortality, the life-giving juice of the Tree of Immortality that will make the resurrected deathless forever, bound up with the work of the savior, the Saoshyant.
Why is the Gaokerena guarded by fish?
Because the Gaokerena is the source of immortality and precious to the good creation, the evil spirit Ahriman fashioned a noxious creature, a lizard or frog, and set it in the cosmic sea to destroy the tree. To protect it, Ahura Mazda created ten sacred Kar fish, which ceaselessly circle the Gaokerena, ever watchful, so that one always has its gaze fixed on the noxious creature, keeping it at bay until the renovation of the world. It is a vivid image of the struggle of good and evil.
Is the Gaokerena a Kurdish image?
The Gaokerena belongs to the shared ancient Zoroastrian and Iranic religious heritage, a tradition the Kurds hold in common with the Persians and others of the Iranic world, rather than a uniquely Kurdish image. As an Iranic people with ancient roots in this world, the Kurds share in this heritage, of which the Tree of Immortality is a part, alongside their neighbours. The image of the tree of life and immortality resonates widely across the region and the world.
References and Further Reading
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