Maharashtra SSC Pahlavi L2/L3 (MSBSHSE) key terms

Middle Persian language used in Zoroastrian and secular texts from roughly the 3rd to 10th centuries CE, written in a consonantal Aramaic-derived script with historical spellings and heterograms.

Linguistic stage of Persian between Old Persian and New Persian, attested in Pahlavi, Manichaean, and Pazand texts; the administrative and literary language of the Sasanian empire.

The cursive, ambiguous script of Zoroastrian Pahlavi manuscripts, using fewer than 14 letter shapes for many phonemes and relying on historical spellings and heterograms.

Monumental script used on Sasanian coins, seals, and rock inscriptions; closer to the Aramaic prototype than Book Pahlavi and usually written without heterograms.

Cursive Pahlavi script attested in a Christian Psalter manuscript from the 6th–7th century, showing fuller vowel notation and letter distinctions than Book Pahlavi.

Aramaic word written in Pahlavi script but read as its Middle Persian equivalent, e.g., MLKʾ written for šāh 'king'; also called ideogram or huzwāriš.

Term for the Aramaic heterograms in Pahlavi; also denotes the traditional reading and explanation of these forms in Zoroastrian learned tradition.

Zoroastrian texts written in Avestan script but in Middle Persian language, used especially for translations and ritual explanations; script differs from Book Pahlavi.

Old Iranian language of the Zoroastrian scriptures, written in its own script; Pahlavi texts often quote or translate Avestan passages.

Middle Persian translation and commentary on Avestan texts, especially the Gathas; often transmitted together with the Avestan original.

Dynasty ruling Iran from 224 to 651 CE, during which Middle Persian became the official language and Pahlavi literature flourished.

Founder of the Sasanian dynasty (r. 224–240 CE); his inscriptions and coins provide early examples of Inscriptional Pahlavi.

Sasanian king (r. 531–579 CE) associated with administrative reforms and literary patronage; many Pahlavi works are attributed to his reign.

Corpus of Middle Persian texts including religious, epic, legal, and didactic works, mostly preserved in manuscripts copied after the 9th century.

Large 9th–10th century CE Zoroastrian encyclopedic work in Pahlavi, summarizing religious knowledge, including lost Avestan texts.

Pahlavi cosmological text describing creation, the cosmic struggle, and eschatology; also called Zand-i Wahman Yasn in some recensions.

Pahlavi visionary narrative of a priest's journey to heaven and hell; important for Middle Persian prose style and Zoroastrian afterlife beliefs.

Middle Persian historical romance about the rise of Ardashir I; a key text for Sasanian epic tradition and Pahlavi prose.

Ancient Iranian religion founded by Zarathushtra, centered on Ahura Mazda; its scriptures and commentaries are transmitted in Avestan and Pahlavi.

Supreme deity in Zoroastrianism, often written Ohrmazd in Pahlavi; central to Pahlavi theological texts.

Middle Persian form of Ahura Mazda, the supreme god in Zoroastrianism; appears frequently in Pahlavi literature.

Middle Persian name of the evil spirit, opponent of Ohrmazd in Zoroastrian dualism; common in Pahlavi cosmological texts.

Writing system used for Pahlavi, derived from Aramaic; its cursive and ambiguous nature poses challenges for reading and transcription.

A written sign representing a word or morpheme rather than a sound; in Pahlavi, heterograms function as ideograms read as Middle Persian words.

Representation of Pahlavi letters by Latin characters, often preserving heterograms; distinct from transcription, which gives pronunciation.

Conversion of Pahlavi written forms into pronounced Middle Persian, resolving heterograms and ambiguous letters into phonetic form.

In Pahlavi, nouns inflect for case and number to a limited extent; plural often marked by -ān or -īhā, with case endings rare in late texts.

Pahlavi verbs inflect for person, number, tense, and mood; show stem variation and use particles for perfect and passive constructions.

Verb stem used to form past tenses in Pahlavi, often differing from the present stem; e.g., kard- 'did' vs. kun- 'do'.

Verb stem forming present tenses and imperatives in Pahlavi; frequently shows ablaut or suppletion relative to the past stem.

Verbal adjective in Pahlavi, e.g., past participle in -t/-d used in perfect and passive constructions; also present participle in -ān.

Grammatical category marking noun function; Pahlavi preserves traces of direct and oblique cases, especially in pronouns and early texts.

Grammatical number indicating more than one; in Pahlavi typically marked by suffixes such as -ān, -īhā, or -gal.

Word substituting for a noun; Pahlavi has personal, demonstrative, relative, and interrogative pronouns, some with case distinctions.

Pahlavi prepositions govern nouns and pronouns, often with oblique case; e.g., pad 'in, with', ō 'to', az 'from'.

Particle linking words or clauses in Pahlavi, e.g., ud 'and', kū 'that, so that', ka 'when, if'.

Pahlavi numbers are written with Aramaic-derived heterograms or spelled out; cardinal and ordinal forms exist.

Word describing a noun; in Pahlavi adjectives often precede nouns and may take comparative and superlative suffixes.

Invariable word modifying verbs, adjectives, or clauses; Pahlavi adverbs often formed with suffixes or from prepositional phrases.