ABSTRACT
The equation Sanskrit asura = Avesta ahura is always given to exemplify the identity of the two great branches of the Āryan group of languages. We also know that the word asura is, in the most ancient Vedic literature, used for Varuṇa, the highest of the Vedic deities. But it would be information to most that the word ahura (the Avesta word itself) has been used in Vedic literature also. It is a unique occurrence in the Mantra Brāhmaṇa of the Sāma Veda, 1.6.21. The passage is:
