Indra, who holds the second place in the infernal council, is evidently the Vedic god whom the Zoroastrians regarded as a powerful demon, and therefore made one of Angro-mainyus’s chief councillors.  He probably retained his character as the god of the storm and of war, the destroyer of crops and cities, the inspirer of armies and the wielder of the thunder-bolt.  The Zoroastrians, however, ascribed to him only destructive actions; while the more logical Hindoos, observing that the same storm which hurt the crops and struck down trees and buildings was also the means of fertilizing the lands and purifying the air, viewed him under a double aspect, as at once terrible in his wrath and the bestower of numerous blessings.

Qaurva, who stands next to Indra, is thought to be the Hindoo Shiva, who has the epithet qarva in one of the Vedas.  But the late appearance of Shiva in the Hindoo system makes this highly uncertain.

Naonhaitya, the fourth member of the infernal council, corresponds apparently to the Vedic Nasatyas, a collective name given to the two Aswins, the Dioscuri of Indian mythology.  These were favorite gods of the early Hindoos, to whose protection they very mainly ascribed their prosperity.  It was natural that the Iranians, in their aversion to their Indian brethren, should give the Aswins a seat at Angro-mainyus’s council-table; but it is curious that they should represent the twin deities by only a single councillor.

Taric and Zaric, “Darkness” and “Poison,” the occupants of the fifth and sixth places, are evidently personifications made for the occasion, to complete the infernal council to its full complement of six members.

As the two Principles of Good and Evil have their respective councils, so have they likewise their armies.  The Good Spirit has created thousands of angelic beings, who everywhere perform his will and fight on his side against the Evil One; and the Evil One has equally on his part called into being thousands of malignant spirits who are his emissaries in the world, doing his work continually, and fighting his battles.  These are the Devas or Dives, so famous in Persian fairy mythology.  They are “wicked, bad, false, untrue, the originators of mischief, most baneful, destructive, the basest of all beings.”  The whole universe is full of them.  They aim primarily at destroying all the good creations of Ahura-mazda; but if unable to destroy they content themselves with perverting and corrupting.  They dog the steps of men, tempting them to sin; and, as soon as sin, obtaining a fearful power over them.

At the head of Ahura-mazda’s army is the angel Sraosha (Serosh).  Serosh is “the sincere, the beautiful, the victorious, the true, the master of truth.”  He protects the territories of the Iranians, wounds, and sometimes even slays the demons, and is engaged in a perpetual struggle against them, never slumbering night or day, but guarding the world with his drawn sword, more particularly after sunset, when the demons have the greatest power.