Taurvi- Persian DemonDemon"Demon of Hunger"
Also known as: Tauru
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Description
Paired with Zairicha, Taurvi brings hunger and thirst into the world, assaulting the water and plants that Haurvatat and Ameretat protect. The Vendidad answers him with a command: cultivate the earth. Every irrigated field is a defeat for the demon of famine.
Mythology & Lore
Hunger and Thirst
Angra Mainyu created Taurvi and Zairicha as a paired assault on human survival. Taurvi brings hunger and famine. Zairicha brings thirst and the poisoning of nourishment. Together they attack the creations of Haurvatat and Ameretat, water and plants, the foundations of bodily life. The Bundahishn places them among the archdaevas, each one targeting a particular Amesha Spenta's charge.
Their assault works through the body to reach the soul. The hungry cannot maintain fire temples or keep festivals. The parched cannot practice the generosity that truth demands. A community weakened by famine has nothing left for devotion. Taurvi does not need to corrupt the spirit directly. He starves it at the root.
The Vendidad's Answer
The Vendidad responds with a command: cultivate the earth. Bring barren land under irrigation. Feed travelers. The text condemns those who let fertile ground lie fallow and praises those who turn wasteland into fields. Every harvest is an act against famine, every meal offered to a stranger a defeat for Taurvi.
At the Frashokereti, Taurvi and Zairicha will be destroyed. When creation is restored, hunger and thirst will cease to exist. The blessed will eat without end, and no field will need tending again.