Khara
Also called Three-Legged Ass.
Khara is the three-legged ass of Zoroastrian cosmology, an enormous purifying beast standing in the cosmic sea whose horn and cry destroy corruption and whose stated anatomy is deliberately impossible.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Persian mythology
- Region
- Persia (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Swallowers
- Symbols
- numbers
Near this figure
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- numbers bears Numbers denote qualitative as well as quantitative principles of cosmic origin and harmony; traditions assign them magical meanings and use systems including Mesoamerican base twenty.
why
It is described with a precision that is clearly systematic rather than observational: three legs, six eyes, nine mouths, two ears and one horn, of enormous size, and the numbers are given as figures rather than approximations.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Single lethal horn
why
It is described with a precision that is clearly systematic rather than observational: three legs, six eyes, nine mouths, two ears and one horn, of enormous size, and the numbers are given as figures rather than approximations. Its function is purification — the water it stands in is cleansed by its presence, and the texts state that what it does to corruption is destroy it outright.
Behaviour
- Breath purifies the air
why
Its function is purification — the water it stands in is cleansed by its presence, and the texts state that what it does to corruption is destroy it outright. The horn is singled out as golden and hollow, and from it, in the accounts, a thousand branching horns grow; by it the creature overcomes and scatters malignity.
Defensive powers
- Poison neutralization
why
The horn is singled out as golden and hollow, and from it, in the accounts, a thousand branching horns grow; by it the creature overcomes and scatters malignity.
Utility powers
- Air purification
why
Its function is purification — the water it stands in is cleansed by its presence, and the texts state that what it does to corruption is destroy it outright. The horn is singled out as golden and hollow, and from it, in the accounts, a thousand branching horns grow; by it the creature overcomes and scatters malignity.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Hero meets
3 citations
- Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons, s.v. "Khara."
- John Dowson, A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, s.v. "Khara."
- Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore, s.v. "Khara."
- Water meets
3 citations
- Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons, s.v. "Khara."
- John Dowson, A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, s.v. "Khara."
- Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore, s.v. "Khara."