Translated by L. H. Mills (from Sacred Books of the East,
American Edition, 1898) except as noted.
CONTENT:
- Introduction and dedications (0-8)
- Hom Yasht (9-11)
- The Zoroastrian Creed (12)
- Chapters 13-18
- Commentary on Ahunwar (19)
- Commentary on Ashem Vohu (20)
- Commentary on Yenghe Hatam (21)
- Chapter 22
- Invocation of the Fravashis (Guardian Angels) (23)
- Presentations (24)
- Chapter 25
- Sacrifice and praise to the Fravashis (26)
- Prelude to the chief recital of the Ahunwar (27)
- Ahunavaiti Gatha (28-34)
- Yasna Haptanghaiti (35-42)
- Ushtavaiti Gatha (43-46)
- Spentamainyush Gatha (47-50)
- Vohukhshathra Gatha (51)
- Prayer for sanctity (52)
- Vahishtoishti Gatha (53)
- Airyema Ishyo formula (54)
- Chapter 55
- Introduction to the Srosh Yasht (56)
- Srosh Yasht (57)
- Fshusho Mathra (58)
- Mutual blessings (59)
- Prayers for the dwelling of the sacrificer (60)
- Chapter 61
- To the fire (62)
- Chapters 63-64
- To Ardvi Sura Anahita and the Waters (65)
- Chapters 66-69
- To the Amesha Spentas (70)
- Conclusion (70-71)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVESTA: YASNA (sacred liturgy)
==============================
[Translated by L. H. Mills (from Sacred Books of the East,
American Edition, 1898) except as noted.]
YASNA 0 - INTRODUCTION
----------------------
[Translation of y0.4-6 is from Dhalla, pp. 9 ff. They are in the Old Avesta
dialect. = Y11.17 = Ny1.3 = Ny2.3.]
(In the name of God)
1. Ashem Vohu (1 & 3).
I profess myself a Mazda-worshipper and a Zoroastrian, opposing the Daevas,
accepting the
Ahuric doctrine. For Hawan....
2. To Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda. To you, O Fire, son of Ahura Mazda. With
propitiation,
for worship, adoration, propitiation, and praise.
3. 'Yatha Ahu Vairyo', the zaotar should say to me
'Atha ratush ashatchit hacha', the knowing Ashavan should say.
Ashem Vohu ...(3).
Yatha Ahu Vairyo ...(2).
4. I praise good thoughts, good words, and good deeds and those that are to
be thought, spoken,
and done. I do accept all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. I do renounce
all evil
thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.
5. I proffer to you, O Amesha Spentas, sacrifice and prayer, with thought, with
word, with deed,
with [my] being, with the very life of my body.
6. I praise Asha.
Ashem Vohu ...(3).
7. [=y1.23 = y3.24 = y14.4 = y27.12 = y62.12.]
8. ....
9. [=y22.24 = y24.29.]
10. [=y22.25 = y24.30.]
11. [=y22.26 = y24.31.]
12. [=y24.32.]
13. ....
15. [=y27.13.]
YASNA 1.
--------
1. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the creator Ahura Mazda, the
radiant and
glorious, the greatest and the best, the most beautiful (?) (to our conceptions),
the most firm,
the wisest, and the one of all whose body is the most perfect, who attains His
ends the most
infallibly, because of his Asha, to him who disposes our minds aright, who sends
His joy-
creating grace afar; who made us, and has fashioned us, and who has nourished
and protected
us, who is the most bounteous Spirit!
2. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) to Vohu Mano, and to the Highest
Asha, and to
Khshathra Vairya, and to Spenta Armaiti, and to the two, the Haurvatat and Ameretat,
to the
body of the Kine, and to the Kine's Soul, and to the Fire of Ahura Mazda, that
one who more
than (all) the Amesha Spentas has made most effort (for our succor)!
3. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for Asnya, the masters of Asha, to
Hawan, Asha-
sanctified, master of Asha; and I celebrate, and I carry out (this Yasna) for
Savanghi and for
Visya, Asha-sanctified, master(s) of Asha.
I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for Mithra of wide pastures, of the
thousand ears, and
of the myriad eyes, the Yazad of the spoken name, and for Raman Khwastra.
4. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for Rapithwin, the Asha-sanctified
master of Asha,
and for Fradat-fshu, and for Zangtuma, the holy master(s) of Asha; and I celebrate
and carry
out (this Yasna) to Asha the Best, and to the Fire of Ahura Mazda.
5. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for Uzerin the Asha-sanctified master
of Asha, and
for Fradat-vira and Dakhyuma, the Asha-sanctified master(s) of Asha, and for
that lofty
Ahura Napat-apam (the son of waters), and for the waters which Ahura Mazda made.
6. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for Aiwisruthrem (and) Aibigaya,
the Asha-sanctified
master(s) of Asha, and for the Zarathushtrotema, and for him who possesses and
who gives
that prosperity in life which furthers all. And I celebrate and carry out (this
Yasna) for the
fravashis of the saints, and for those of the women who have many sons[FNOTE]'Men
and
herds?'[/FNOTE], and for a prosperous home life which continues without reverse
throughout
the year, and for that Might which is well-shaped and stately[FNOTE]'Well-
grown'[/FNOTE], which strikes victoriously, Ahura-made, and for that Victorious
Ascendency (which it secures).
7. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for Ushahin, the Asha-sanctified
master of Asha, and
for Berejya (and) Nmanya, the Asha-sanctified master(s) of Asha, and for Sraosha,
companion of Ashi, possessing rewards, victorious, who furthers the world, and
the very
straight Rashnu and Arshtad, who further the world, who augment the world.
8. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the Mahya, the monthly festivals,
masters of
Asha, for the new and the later[FNOTE]Literally, 'the moon within,' showing
little
light.[/FNOTE] moon, the Asha-sanctified master of Asha, and for the full moon
which
scatters night.
9. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the Yairya, yearly feasts, the
Asha-sanctified
masters of Asha. I celebrate and carry out (this Yasna) for Maidyozarem, the
Asha-sanctified
master of Asha, and for Maidyoshahem, the Asha-sanctified master of Asha, and
for
Paitishahem, and for Ayathrem the advancer, and the spender of the strength
of males, the
Asha-sanctified master of Asha, and for Maidyarem, the Asha-sanctified master
of Asha, and
for Hamaspathmaidyem, the Asha-sanctified master of Asha; yea, I celebrate and
carry out
this Yasna for the seasons, masters of Asha.
10. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for all those who are the thirty
three masters of
Asha, which, coming the nearest, are around about Hawan, and which (as in their
festivals)
were instituted by Ahura Mazda, and were promulgated by Zarathushtra, as the
masters of
Asha Vahishta.
11. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the two, for Ahura and Mithra,
the lofty, and the
everlasting, and the Asha-sanctified, and for all the stars which are Spenta
Mainyu's creatures,
and for the star Tishtrya, the resplendent and glorious, and for the Moon which
contains the
seed of the Kine, and for the resplendent Sun, the swift-horsed, the eye of
Ahura Mazda, and
for Mithra the province ruler. And I celebrate and carry out this Yasna for
Ahura Mazda
(once again, and as to him who rules the month), the radiant, the glorious,
and for the
Fravashis of the saints.
12. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for you, o Fire, son of Ahura Mazda,
together with
all the fires, and for the good waters, even for all the waters made by Mazda,
and for all the
plants which Mazda made.
13. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the Bounteous Manthra, the Asha-sanctified
and
effective, the revelation given against the Daevas; the Zoroastrian revelation,
and for the
long descent[FNOTE]'The long tradition;' so Spiegel.[/FNOTE] of the good Mazdayasnian
Faith.
14. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the mountain Ushi-darena, the
Mazda-made, with
its sacred brilliance, and for all the mountains glorious with sanctity[FNOTE]Observe
the
impossibility of the meaning 'comfort,' or mere 'well-being' here.[/FNOTE],
with their
abundant Glory Mazda-made, and for that majestic Glory Mazda-made, the
unconsumed[FNOTE]Or possibly 'the unseized,' the Pahlavi agrift(?); Ner. agrihitam;
hvar, to
eat, may have meant 'seize' originally.[/FNOTE] Glory which Mazda made. And
I announce
and carry out (this Yasna) for Ashi the good, the blessedness (of the reward),
and for Chisti,
the good religious Knowledge, for the good Erethe (Rectitude?), and for the
good Rasastat
(persisting zeal?), and to the Glory and the Benefit which are Mazda-made.
15. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the pious and good Blessing
of the religious man,
the Asha-sanctified, and for the curse of wisdom, the swift and redoubted Yazad
of potency
(to blight).
16. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for these places and these lands,
and for these
pastures, and these abodes with their springs of water(?)[FNOTE]The Pahlavi
with its
afkhvar points here perhaps to a better text. Recall awzhdatemja, awzhdaungho,
awrem.[/FNOTE], and for the waters, land, and plants, and for this earth and
for yon heaven,
and for the Asha-sanctified wind, and for the stars, moon, and sun, and for
the eternal stars
without beginning, and self-disposing, and for all the Asha-sanctified creatures
of Spenta
Mainyu, male and female, the regulators of Asha.[COMMENT]Bailey, xxxviii (avO-
xvarena): "hay-rack, manger"[/COMMENT]
17. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for that lofty lord who is the Asha
(itself), and for
the masters of the days in their duration, and of the days during daylight,
for the moons, the
years, and the seasons which are masters of Asha at the time of Hawan.
18. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for the fravashis of the saints,
the redoubted, which
overwhelm (the evil), for those of the saints of the ancient lore, for those
of the next of kin,
and for the fravashi of (my) own soul!
19. I announce (and) carry out (this Yasna) for all the masters of Asha, and
for all the yazads,
the beneficent, who dispose (of all) aright, for those both heavenly and earthly,
who are
(meet) for our sacrifice and homage because of Asha Vahishta.
20. O Hawan, Asha-sanctified master of Asha, and Savanghi, Rapithwin, and Uzerin,
and
Aiwisruthrem, (and) Aibigaya, (you who aids life!) if I have offended you, and
you, o
Ushahin, Asha-sanctified master of Asha!
21. If I have offended you, whether by thought, or word, or deed, whether by
act of will, or
without intent or wish, I earnestly make up the deficiency of this in praise
to you. If I have
caused decrease in that which is your Yasna, and your homage, I announce (and
carry out) to
you (the more for this)!
22. Yea, all ye masters, the greatest ones, Asha-sanctified masters of Asha,
if I have offended
you by thought, or word, or deed, whether with my will, or without intending
error, I praise
you (now the more) for this. I announce to you (the more) if I have caused decrease
in this
which is your Yasna, and your praise.
23. I would confess myself a Mazda-worshipper, of Zarathushtra's order, a foe
to the Daevas,
devoted to the lore of Ahura, for Hawan, the Asha-sanctified master of Asha,
for (his)
sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise, for Savanghi and for Visya, the
Asha-sanctified
master of Asha, for (his) sacrifice, homage, propitiation and praise, and for
the sacrifice,
homage, propitiation and praise of the masters of the days in their duration,
and of the days
during daylight, for those of the monthly festivals, and for those of the yearly
ones, and for
those of the seasons!
YASNA 2.
--------
1. I desire the libations for this Yasna; I desire the Baresman for this Yasna.
I desire the
Baresman for this Yasna; I desire the libations for this Yasna. I desire the
libations together
with Baresman for this Yasna; I desire the Baresman together with the libations
for this
Yasna. With this libation I desire this Baresman for this Yasna. With this Baresman
I desire
this libation for this Yasna. This Baresman with the libation I desire for this
Yasna. I desire
for this Yasna this Baresman with this libation and with its kusti, and spread
with Asha.
2. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Ashawan Ahura
Mazdah, the
master of Asha. I desire for this Yasna the well-ruling, judicious Amesha Spentas.
3. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Asnya, the master
of Asha. I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified Hawan, the master of Asha.
I desire for
this Yasna the Savanghi and the Asha-sanctified Visya, the master of Asha. With
this libation
and Baresman I desire for this Yasna Mithra of the wide pastures, of the thousand
ears, of the
ten-thousand eyes, the Yazad of the spoken name. I desire for this Yasna Raman
Khwastra.
4. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Rapithwin, the
master of Asha. I desire for this Yasna the Fradat-fshav and the Asha-sanctified
Zantuma, the
master of Asha. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna Asha
Vahishta and
Atar, the Son of Ahura Mazda.
5. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Uzerin, the
master of Asha. I desire for this Yasna the Fradat-vira and the Asha-sanctified
Dahyuma, the
master of Asha. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the
high Lord, the
kingly and brilliant Apam-Napat, of swift-horses, and likewise the water, Mazda-made
and
holy.
6. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Aiwisruthrem
Aibigaya the master of Asha. I desire for this Yasna the Fradat-vispam-hujyatay
and the
Asha-sanctified Zarathushtro-tema, the master of Asha.
With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the good, mighty, bountiful
Fravashis
of the Asha-sanctified.
I desire for this Yasna the women who have many sons. And I desire for this
Yasna the
Yairya Hushitay; and I desire for this Yasna the well-formed, stately Ama; and
I desire for
this Yasna the Ahura-given Verethraghna; and I desire for this Yasna the triumphing
Uparatat.
7. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Ushahina, the
master of Asha. I desire for this Yasna the Berejya and the Asha-sanctified
Nmanya, the
master of Asha.
With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna Sraosha, companion of
Ashi, fair of
form, victorious, furthering the world, Asha-sanctified, the master of Asha.
I desire for this Yasna the straightest Rashnu, and I desire for this Yasna
Arshtat, who
furthers the settlements, and causes them to increase.
8. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Mahya (Monthly
festivals), the master of Asha. I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Antaremah, the
master of Asha.
I desire for this Yasna the Pereno-mah and the Asha-sanctified Vishaptatha,
the master of
Asha.
9. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Yairya (Yearly
festivals), the master of Asha.
I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified Maidyozarem, the master of Asha.
With this
libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified Maidyoshahem,
the master
of Asha. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Paitishahem, the master of Asha.
With this libation and Barasman I desire for this Yasna Ayathrem, the promoter,
who spends
the strength of males, Asha-sanctified, the master of Asha.
With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the Asha-sanctified
Maidyarem, the
master of Asha. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the
Asha-sanctified
Hamaspathmaidyem, the master of Asha. With this libation and Baresman I desire
for this
Yasna the Asha-sanctified Yairya (Yearly festivals), the masters of Asha.
10. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna all of the masters
of Asha, the thirty-
three who come the nearest round about our Hawans, who are masters of Asha Vahishta,
which were inculcated by Mazda, and spoken forth by Zarathushtra.
11. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna Ahura (and) Mithra,
the lofty,
eternal, and Asha-sanctified two.
I desire for this Yasna the Stars and Moon and Sun (and) - with the Baresman-Plants
- and
Mithra, the governor of all the provinces. With this libation and Baresman I
desire for this
Yasna the radiant and glorious Ahura Mazda. With this libation and Baresman
I desire for this
Yasna the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the Asha-sanctified.
12. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna you, the Asha-sanctified
Atar, the
Son of Ahura Mazda, the master of Asha, with all Fires. With this libation and
Baresman I
desire for this Yasna the good, best, Mazda-made, Asha-sanctified Water. I desire
for this
Yasna all the Mazda-made Asha-sanctified Waters. I desire for this Yasna all
the Mazda-
made, Asha-sanctified Plants.
13. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the bounteous Manthra,
the most
glorious. I desire for this Yasna the law instituted against the Daevas. I desire
for this Yasna
the Zoroastrian law. I desire for this Yasna the long tradition. I desire for
this Yasna the good
Mazdayasnian Religion.
14. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna Mount Ushi-darena,
Mazda-made, the
Yazad possessing the ease of Asha. I desire for this Yasna all mountains possessed
of ease of
Asha, full of ease, Mazda-made, Asha-sanctified, the masters of Asha.
I desire for this Yasna the strong, Mazda-made khwarrah of the Kavis. I desire
for this Yasna
the strong, Mazda-made ungraspable khwarrah.
With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the good Ashi, the brilliant,
tall,
vigorous, fair of form, self-sufficient.
I desire for this Yasna the Mazda-made khwarrah; I desire for this Yasna the
Mazda-made
prosperity.
15. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna the pious and good
Blessing. I desire
for this Yasna the pious, Asha-sanctified Man, and I desire for this Yasna the
strong, brave
Yazad Damoish Upamana.
16. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna these Waters and
Lands and Plants; I
desire for this Yasna these places, districts, and pastures, and these dwellings
with their springs
of water, and this land-ruler, who is Ahura Mazda.
17. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna all the greatest
masters: the day-lords,
the month-lords, those of the years, and of the seasons, and the good, mighty,
beneficent
Fravashis of the Asha-sanctified.
18. With this libation and Baresman I desire for this Yasna all the Asha-sanctified
Yazatas. I
desire for this Yasna all the masters of Asha: Hawan at his time, and Savanghi
and Visya at
their times, and all the greatest masters at their times.
YASNA 3 - THE YASNA ADVANCES TO THE NAMING OF THE OBJECTS OF PROPITIATION.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. With a Baresman brought to its appointed place accompanied with the Zaothra
at the time of
Havani, I desire to approach the Myazda-offering with my praise, as it is consumed,
and
likewise Ameretat (as the guardian of plants and wood) and Haurvatat (who guards
the water),
with the (fresh) meat, for the propitiation of Ahura Mazda, and of the Bountiful
Immortals,
and for the propitiation of Sraosha (who is Obedience) the blessed, who is endowed
with
sanctity, and who smites with the blow of victory, and causes the settlements
to advance.
2. And I desire to approach Haoma and Para-haoma with my praise for the propitiation
of the
Fravashi of Spitama Zarathushtra, the saint. And I desire to approach the (sacred)
wood with
my praise, with the perfume, for the propitiation of thee, the Fire, O Ahura
Mazda's son!
3. And I desire to approach the Haomas with my praise for the propitiation of
the good waters
which Mazda created; and I desire to approach the Haoma-water, and the fresh
milk with my
praise, and the plant Hadhanaepata, offered with sanctity for the propitiation
of the waters
which are Mazda-made.
4. And I desire to approach this Baresman with the Zaothra with my praise, with
its binding and
spread with sanctity for the propitiation of the Bountiful Immortals. And I
desire with (?) my
voice the thoughts well thought, and the words well spoken, and the deeds well
done, and the
recital of the Gathas as they are heard. And I desire to approach the well-said
Mathras with
my praise, and this (higher) lordship with this sanctity, and this exact regulation
(of the
Ratu), and the reverential prayer for blessings (spoken at the fitting hour);
and I desire to
approach them for the contentment and propitiation of the holy Yazads, heavenly
and
earthly, and for the contentment of each man's soul.
5. And I desire to approach the Asnya with my praise, the lords of the ritual
order, and the
Havani and Savanghi and Visya, the holy lords of the ritual order. And I desire
to approach
with the Yasht of Mithra of the wide pastures, of the thousand ears, of the
myriad eyes, the
Yazad of the spoken name, and with him Raman Hvastra.
6. And I desire to approach Rapithwina with my praise, the holy lord of the
ritual order, and
Fradat-fshu and Zantuma, and Righteousness the Best, and Ahura Mazda's Fire.
7. And I desire to approach Uzayeirina, and Fradat-vira and Dahvyuma* with my
praise, with
that lofty Ahura Napt-apam, and the waters Mazda-made,
8. And Aiwisruthrima, and Aibigaya, and Fradat-vispam-hujaiti, and Zarathushtrotema
with the
Yasht of the Fravashis of the saints, and of the women who have many sons, and
the year
long unchanged prosperity, and of Might, the well-shaped and stately, smiting
victoriously,
Ahura-made and of the Victorious Ascendency (which it secures).
9. And I desire to approach Ushahina, Berejya, and Nmanya with the Yasht of
Sraosha
(Obedience) the sacred, the holy, who smites with the blow of victory, and makes
the
settlements advance, and with that of Rashnu, the most just, and Arshtat who
furthers the
settlements, and causes them to increase.
10. And I desire to approach the monthly festivals, the lords of the ritual
order, and the new
moon and the waning moon, and the full moon which scatters night,
11. And the yearly festivals, Maidhyo-zaremaya, Maidhyo-shema, Paitishahya,
and Ayathrima
the breeder who spends the strength of males, and Maidhyairya, and Hamaspathmaedhaya,
and the seasons, lords of the ritual order, (12) and all those lords who are
the three and thirty,
who approach the nearest at the time of Havani, who are the Lords of Asha called
Vahishta
(and whose services were) inculcated by Mazda, and pronounced by Zarathushtra,
as the feasts
of Righteousness, the Best.
13. And I desire to approach Ahura and Mithra, the lofty and imperishable two,
the holy, and
with the Yasht of those stars which are the creatures of Spenta Mainyu, and
with the Yasht
of the star Tistrya, the radiant, the glorious, and with that of the moon which
contains the
seed of cattle, and with that of the resplendent sun, the eye of Ahura Mazda,
and of Mithra,
province-lord of the provinces, and with that of Ahura Mazda (as He rules this
day) the
radiant, the glorious, and with that of the Fravashis of the saints, (who rule
this month),
14. And with thy Yasht, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son! with all the fires,
and to the good
waters with the Yasht of all the waters which are Mazda-made, and with that
of all the plants
which Mazda made.
15. And I desire to approach with the Yasht of the Mathra Spenta, the holy,
the effective, the
law composed against the Daevas, the Zarathushtrian, and with that of the long
descent of
the Religion which Mazda gave.
16. And I desire to approach with the Yasht of Mount Ushi-darena, Mazda-made,
and of all,
glorious with sanctity, and abundant in brilliance, and with that of the Kingly
Glory, Mazda-
made; yea, with that of the unconsumed glory which Mazda made, and with that
of Ashi
Vanguhi, and Chishti Vanguhi, and with that of the good Erethe, and the good
Rasastat, and
the good Glory, and of the Benefit which Mazda gave.
17. And I desire to approach with the Yasht of the good and pious Blessing of
the pious man and
of the saint, and with that of the awful and swift Curse of the wise, the Yazad-curse,
(18) and
to these places, regions, pastures, and abodes, with their water-springs, and
with that of the
waters, and the lands, and the plants, and with that of this earth and yon heaven,
and with
that of the holy wind and of the stars, moon, and sun, and with that of the
stars without
beginning, self-determined and self-moved, and with that of all the holy creatures
which are
those of Spenta Mainyu, male and female, regulators of the ritual order, (19)
and with that of
the lofty lord who is Righteousness (himself, the essence of the ritual), and
with that of the
days in their duration, and of the days during daylight, and with that of the
monthly festivals,
and the yearly festivals, and with those of the several seasons which are lords
of the ritual at
the time of Havani.
20. And I desire to approach the meat-offering with a Yasht, and Haurvatat (who
guards the
water), and Ameretatat (who guards the plants and wood), with the Yasht of the
sacred flesh
for the propitiation of Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the mighty, whose
body is the
Mathra, of him of the daring spear, the lordly, the Yazad of the spoken name.
21. And I desire to approach both Haoma and the Haoma-juice with a Yasht for
the propitiation
of the Fravashi of Zarathushtra Spitama, the saint, the Yazad of the spoken
name. And I
desire to approach the wood-billets with a Yasht, with the perfume for the propitiation
of
thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son! the Yazad of the spoken name.
22. And I desire to approach with a Yasht for the mighty Fravashis of the saints,
the
overwhelming, the Fravashis of those who held to the ancient lore, and of those
of the next
of kin.
23. And I desire to approach toward all the lords of the ritual order with a
Yasht, toward all the
good Yazads, heavenly and earthly, who are (set) for worship and for praise
because of Asha
Vahishta (of Righteousness the Best).
24. I will confess myself a Mazdayasnian, of Zarathushtra's order, a foe to
the Daevas, devoted to
the lore of the Lord for Havani, the holy lord of the ritual order, for sacrifice,
homage,
propitiation, and for praise, and for Savanghi and Visya, the holy lord(s) of
the ritual order,
and for the sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise of the day-lords of
the days in their
duration, and of the days during daylight, and for the month-regulators, and
the year-
regulators, and for those of the (several) seasons, for their sacrifice, and
homage, their
propitiation, and their praise.
(The Zaotar speaks): As the Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, let the priest speak
forth to me.
(The Ratu responds): As the Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, let him who is the
Zaotar speak
forth to me.
(The Zaotar again): So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned,
speak forth!
YASNA 4 - THE OFFERING TAKES PLACE.
-----------------------------------
1. These good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, these Haomas, meat-offerings,
and
Zaothras, this Baresman spread with sanctity, this flesh, and the two, Haurvatat
(who guards
the water) and Ameretatat (who guards the plants and wood), even the flesh,
the Haoma and
Haoma-juice, the wood-billets, and their perfume, this sacred lordship and chieftainship,
and
the timely prayer with blessing, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and the
well-said
Mathras, these all we offer, and make known with celebrations (here).
2. Yea, these do we announce with celebrations, and we present them to Ahura
Mazda, and to
Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, and to the Bountiful Immortals, and to the
Fravashis of the
saints, and to their souls, and to the Fire of Ahura Mazda, the lofty lord of
the entire creation
of the holy, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise.
3. Yea, further, we present (them to the Bountiful Immortals with an especial
gift) these
thoughts well thought, these words well spoken, these deeds well done, these
Haomas,
Myazdas, Zaothras, and this Baresman spread with sanctity, the flesh, and Haurvatat
(who
guards the water), and Ameretatat (who guards the plants and wood), even the
flesh, Haoma
and Parahaoma, the wood-billets, the perfume, and this their lordship and their
sanctity, and
this chieftainship, this prayer for blessing, the heard recital of the Gathas,
and the well-said
Mathras.
4. We offer with our celebrations, and we announce them (of a verity) to the
Bountiful
Immortals, those who exercise their rule aright, and who dispose (of all) aright,
the ever-
living, ever-helpful, the male divinities among their number who dwell with
the Good Mind,
[and the female ones as well].
5. And we announce them in our celebrations as more propitious for this house,
and for the
furtherance of this house, of its herds, and of its men, of those now born,
and of those yet to
be born, the holy, yea, for the furtherance of that house of which these (men)
are thus.
6. And we present these offerings to the good Fravashis of the saints who are
mighty and
overwhelming for the succor of the saints.
7. Yea, we present these hereby to the Creator Ahura Mazda, the radiant, the
glorious, and the
heavenly spirit, for the sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise of the
Bountiful Immortals
(all).
8. And we present these hereby to the Day-lords of the ritual order, to Havani,
to Savanghi, and
to Visya, the holy lords of the ritual order, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation,
and for praise,
and to Mithra of the wide pastures, and the thousand ears, and the myriad eyes,
the Yazad of
the spoken name,
9. And to Rapithwina, Fradat-fshu, and Zantuma, the holy lords of the ritual
order, and to
Righteousness the Best, and to Ahura Mazda's Fire,
10. And to Uzayeirina, Fradat-vira, and Dahvyuma, the holy lords of the ritual
order, and to that
lofty lord Napat-apam, and to the water Mazda-made,
11. And to Aiwisruthrima, the life-furtherer, and to Fradat-vispam-hujyaiti
and
Zarathushtrotema, the holy lords of the ritual order, and to the Fravashis of
the saints, and to
the women who bring forth many sons, and to the Prosperous home-life which endures
without reverse throughout the year, and to Force, well-shaped and stately,
and to the Blow
of victory which Mazda gives, and to the Victorious Ascendency which it secures,
for their
sacrifice, homage, their propitiation, and their praise,
12. And to Ushahina, with Berejya and Nmanya, and Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed,
smiting
with the blow of victory and furthering the settlements, and to Rashnu, the
most just, and to
Arstat, furthering the settlements, and causing them to increase.
13. And these we announce and we present hereby to the Month-lords of the ritual
order, to the
new moon and the waning moon (the moon within), and to the full moon which scatters
night, the holy lord of the ritual order, for (their) sacrifice, homage, their
propitiation, and
their praise.
14. And these we announce hereby and we present to the Yearly festivals, to
Maidhyo-zaremaya,
Maidhyo-shema, Patishahya, and to Ayathrima, to Maidhyairya, Hamaspathmaedhaya,
and
to the Seasons as holy lords of the ritual order, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation,
and for
praise.
15. And these we announce and we present hereby to all those lords who are the
three and thirty
lords of the ritual order, who approach the nearest around about our Havani,
and which are
the festivals of Righteousness the Best, inculcated by Mazda, and uttered forth
by
Zarathushtra for their sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise.
16. And these we announce and we present to Ahura and to Mithra, the lofty,
and imperishable,
and holy two, to the stars, the creatures of Spenta Mainyu, and to the star
Tistrya, the
radiant, the glorious, and to the Moon which contains the seed of cattle, and
to the
resplendent Sun, of the swift horses, Ahura Mazda's eye, and to Mithra, the
lord of provinces,
for their sacrifice, homage, their propitiation and their praise; yea, these
we present hereby
to Ahura Mazda (as he rules this day) and to the Fravashis of the saints (as
they rule this
month), for their sacrifice, homage, their propitiation and their praise.
17. And these we announce hereby to thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son! with
all the fires for
thy sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise, and to the good waters for
the sacrifice,
homage, propitiation, and praise of all the waters Mazda-made, and to all the
plants which
Mazda made,
18. And to the Mathra Spenta, the holy, the effective, the law against the Daevas,
the
Zarathushtrian statute, and to the long descent of the good Mazdayasnian religion.
19. And these we announce and we present hereby to Mount Ushi-darena, Mazda-made,
brilliant
with sanctity, and to all the mountains shining with their holiness, abundantly
luminous, and
Mazda-made, and to the Kingly glory, the unconsumed glory Mazda-made, and to
the good
Blessedness, and the good Religious-knowledge, and the good Rectitude, and to
the good
Rasastat, and to the Glory and the Benefit which Mazda created.
20. And these we offer and present to the pious and good Blessing of the pious,
and to the swift
and dreadful Yazad, the Curse of wisdom.
21. And to these places, pastures, and dwellings with their springs of water,
their rivers, to the
lands and to the plants, to this earth and yon heaven, to the holy wind, to
the stars, moon,
and sun, to the stars without beginning, self-disposed, and to all the holy
creatures of the
Spenta Mainyu, male and female (the rulers as they are of the ritual order).
22. And these we announce and we present hereby to that lofty lord who is Asha,
the ritual
righteousness itself, to the Day-lords, and the Month-lords, the Year-lords,
and the Seasons
who are the lords of the ritual at the time of Havani, and for their sacrifice,
homage, their
propitiation and their praise.
23. Yea, these we announce and we present to Sraosha, the blessed and mighty,
whose body is the
Mathra, him of the daring spear, the lordly one, and to the holy Fravashi of
Zarathushtra
Spitama, the saint.
And these we announce and we present to thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son!
for thy
sacrifice, homage, thy propitiation, and thy praise.
24. And these we announce and we present to the Fravashis of the saints, the
mighty and
overwhelming, of the saints of the ancient lore, and of the next of kin.
25. And these we announce and we present hereby to all the good Yazads, earthly
and heavenly,
who are (meet) for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and for praise, because
of Asha Vahishta
(who is Righteousness the Best).
We worship the Bountiful Immortals who rule aright, and who dispose of all aright.
26. And that one of beings (do we worship) whose superior (service) in the sacrifice
Ahura Mazda
knows, and from his righteousness (which he maintains, and those of all female
beings do we
worship) whose (higher service is thus likewise known; yea, all) male and female
beings do we
worship (who are such)!
YASNA 5.
--------
(This chapter is identical with Yasna 37. )
YASNA 6 - THE SACRIFICE CONTINUES WITH FULLER EXPRESSION.
---------------------------------------------------------
1. We worship the Creator Ahura Mazda with our sacrifice, and the Bountiful
Immortals who
rule aright, and who dispose of all aright.
2. And we worship the Asnya with our sacrifice, and Havani, Savanghi and Visya,
the holy lords
of the ritual order, and Mithra of the wide pastures, of the thousand ears,
and myriad eyes,
the Yazad of the spoken name, and we worship Raman Hvastra.
3. And we worship Rapithwina with our sacrifice, and Fradat-fshu, and the Zantuma,
and
Righteousness the Best, and the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, holy lords of the ritual
order.
4. And we worship Uzayeirina, and Fradat-vira, and Dahvyuma*, the holy lord
of the ritual
order, and that kingly Ahura, the radiant Napat-apam, of the fleet horses, and
the water holy,
and Mazda-made.
5. And we worship Aiwisruthrima and Aibigaya in our sacrifice, the holy lord
of the ritual order,
and Fradat-vispam-hujyaiti and the Zarathushtrotema, the holy lord of the ritual
order, and
the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints, and the women who bring
forth many
sons, and the Prosperous home-life which endures without reverse throughout
the year, and
Force which is well-shaped and stately, and the Blow which brings the victory,
which is
Ahura-given, and the Victorious Ascendency (which it secures).
6. And we worship Ushahina with our sacrifice, and Berejya, and Nmanya, and
Sraosha
(Obedience) the blessed and the stately who smites with victory, and makes the
settlements
advance, and Rashnu, the most just, and Arshtat who makes the settlements advance
and
causes them to increase, the holy lords of the ritual order.
7. And we worship the Mahya in our sacrifice, the new moon and the waning moon
(the moon
within) and the full moon which scatters night, the holy lord of the ritual
order.
8. And we worship the Yearly festivals in our sacrifice, Maidhya-zaremaya, Maidhyo-shema,
Paitishhahya, and Ayathrima, the furtherer (or breeder), the spender of virile
strength, and
Maidhyairya, the holy lord of the ritual order, and Hamaspathmaedhaya, and the
Seasons (in
which they are).
9. And we worship with our sacrifice all the lords of the ritual order, who
are the thirty and
three who approach the nearest around about us at Havani, who are the lords
of
Righteousness the Best, and whose observances were inculcated by Ahura Mazda,
and uttered
forth by Zarathushtra.
10. And we worship Ahura and Mithra with our sacrifice, the lofty, and imperishable,
and holy
two, and the stars, moon, and sun, among the plants of the Baresman, and Mithra,
the
province-lord of all the provinces, even Ahura Mazda, the radiant, the glorious,
and the good,
valiant, and bountiful Fravashis of the saints.
11. And we worship thee, the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, together with all the
fires, and the good
waters, the best and Mazda-made, and holy, even all the waters which are Mazda-made
and
holy, and all the plants which Mazda made.
12. And we worship the Mathra Spenta with our sacrifice, the glorious and of
a truth, the law
revealed against the Daevas, the Zarathushtrian law, and we worship with our
sacrifice its long
descent, and the good Mazdayasnian Religion.
13. And we worship Mount Ushi-darena, the Mazda-made, the glorious Yazad, shining
with
holiness, and all the mountains that shine with holiness, with abundant brilliance,
Mazda-
made, the holy lords of the ritual order. And we worship the mighty Kingly glory
Mazda-
made, the mighty glory, unconsumed and Mazda-made, and the good Sanctity, the
brilliant,
the lofty, the powerful and the stately, delivering (men) with its inherent
power. Yea, we
worship the Glory, and the Benefit which are Mazda-made.
14. And we worship the pious and good Blessing with our sacrifice, and the pious
man, the saint,
and that Yazad, the mighty Curse of wisdom.
15. And we worship these waters, lands, and plants, these places, districts,
pastures, and abodes
with their springs of water, and we worship this lord of the district with our
sacrifice, who is
Ahura Mazda (Himself).
16. And we worship all the greatest lords, the Day-lords in the day's duration,
and the Day-lords
during daylight, and the Month-lords, and the Year-lords.
17. And we worship Haurvatat (who guards the water) and Ameretatat (who guards
the plants and
the wood), and Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the stately, who smites with
the blow of
victory, and makes the settlements advance, the holy lord of the ritual order.
18. And we worship Haoma with our sacrifice and the Haoma-juice. And we worship
the sacred
Fravashi of Zarathushtra Spitama the saint.
And we worship the wood-billets, and the perfume and thee, the Fire, Ahura Mazda's
son, the
holy lord of the ritual order.
19. And we worship the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints.
20. And we worship all the holy Yazads, and all the lords of the ritual order
at the time of
Havani, and Savanghi, and all the greatest lords at their (proper) time. (The
Yenhe hatam
follows.)
21. The Ratu. As an Ahu (revered and) to be chosen, the priest speaks forth
to me. The Zaotar.
So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth!
YASNA 7 - PRESENTATION OF OFFERINGS BY THE PRIEST WITH THE OBJECT OF PROPITIATION
NAMED.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. With a complete and sacred offering I offer and I give this meat-offering,
and (with it)
Haurvatat (who guards the water), and Ameretatat (who guards the plants and
the wood), and
the flesh of the Kine of blessed gift, for the propitiation of Ahura Mazda,
and of the
Bountiful Immortals (all, and) for the propitiation of Sraosha (Obedience) the
blessed,
endowed with sanctity, who smites with the blow of victory, and who causes the
settlements
to advance.
2. And I offer the Haoma and Haoma-juice with a complete and sacred offering
for the
propitiation of the Fravashi of Zarathushtra Spitama the saint, and I offer
the wood-billets
with the perfume for Thy propitiation, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son!
3. And I offer the Haomas with a complete and sacred offering for propitiation
[to the good
waters] for the good waters Mazda-made. And I offer this Haoma-water with scrupulous
exactness and with sanctity, and this fresh milk, and the plant Hadhanaepata
uplifted with a
complete and sacred offering for the propitiation of the waters which are Mazda-made.
4. And I offer this Baresman with its Zaothra (and with its binding) for a girdle
spread with
complete sanctity and order for the propitiation of the Bountiful Immortals,
and I offer with
my voice the thoughts well-thought, the words well-spoken, and the deeds well-done,
and the
heard recital of the Gathas, the Mathras well-composed and well-delivered, and
this Lordship,
and this Sanctity, and this ritual mastership, and the timely Prayer for blessings,
with a
complete and sacred offering for the propitiation of the holy Yazads, heavenly
and earthly,
and for the contentment of the individual soul!
5. And I offer to the Asnya with a complete and sacred offering, as lords of
the ritual order, and
to Havani, and to Savanghi and Visya, holy lords of the ritual order, and to
Mithra of the
wide pastures, of the thousand ears, and myriad eyes, the Yazad of the spoken
name, and to
Raman Hvastra.
6. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Rapithwina, the holy lord
of the ritual
order; and I offer to Fradat-fshu and to the Zantuma, and to Asha Vahishta (who
is
Righteousness the Best) and to Ahura Mazda's Fire.
7. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Uzayeirina, Fradat-vira,
and to the
Dahvyuma*, the holy lord of the ritual order, and to that lofty Ahura Napat-apam,
and to
the waters which Mazda created.
8. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Aiwisruthrima, the life-furtherer,
and to
Fradat-vispam-hujyaiti, and to the Zarathushtrotema, and to the Fravashis of
the saints, and
to the women who have many sons, and to the Prosperous home-life which endures
(without
reverse) throughout the year, and to Force, the well-shaped and stately, and
to the Blow
which smites with victory Ahura-given, and to the Victorious Ascendency (which
it secures).
9. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Ushahina, the holy lord
of the ritual order,
and to Berejya, and Nmanya, and to Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, endowed
with sanctity,
who smites with the blow of victory, and makes the settlements advance, and
to Rashnu the
most just, and to Arshtat who furthers the settlements and causes them to increase.
10. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Mahya, lords of the
ritual order, to the
new and the waning moon (the moon within), and to the full moon which scatters
night, holy
lords of the ritual order.
11. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Yearly festivals,
the lords of the ritual
order, to Maidhyo-zaremaya, and Maidhyo-shema, to Paitishahya, and to Ayathrima
the
furtherer (the breeder), the spender of the strength of males, and to Maidhyairya
and
Hamaspathmaedhaya, holy lords of the ritual order, and I offer with sanctity
to the several
seasons, the lords of the ritual order.
12. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to all those lords who are
the thirty and
three, who approach the nearest round about our Havani, and who are the lords
of Asha (the
ritual by-eminence), of Righteousness who is (the Best), whose observances are
inculcated as
precepts by Mazda, and uttered forth by Zarathushtra. 13. And I offer with a
complete and
sacred offering to Ahura and Mithra, the lofty and imperishable, and holy two,
and to the
stars which are the creatures of Spenta Mainyu, and to the star Tishtrya, the
radiant, the
glorious, and to the Moon which contains the seed of cattle in its beams, and
to the
resplendent Sun of the fleet horses, the eye of Ahura Mazda, and to Mithra,
the lord of the
provinces. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Ahura Mazda, the
resplendent,
the glorious, (who rules this day), and to the Fravashis of the saints (who
name the month).
14. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to thee, the Fire, O Ahura
Mazda's son!
together with all the fires, and to the good waters, even to the waters which
are Mazda-made,
and to all the plants which Mazda made.
15. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Mathra Spenta, the
holy, the
effective, revealed against the Daevas, the Zarathushtrian law, and to the long
descent of the
good Religion, of the Mazdayasnian faith.
16. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Mount Ushi-darena, the
Mazda-made,
brilliant with holiness, and to all the mountains shining with holiness, of
abundant brightness,
and which Mazda made, and to the Royal glory unconsumed and Mazda-made. And
I offer
with a complete and sacred offering to Ashi Vanguhi, and to Chishti Vanguhi,
and to Erethe,
and to Rasastat, and to the Glory (and the) Benefit which Mazda made.
17. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the good and pious Prayer
for blessings of
the pious man, and to that Yazad, the swift and dreadful Curse of the wise.
18. And I offer with a complete and sacred blessing to these places, districts,
pastures, and abodes
with their springs of water, and to the waters and the lands, and the plants,
and to this earth
and yon heaven, and to the holy wind, and to the stars, and the moon, even to
the stars
without beginning (to their course), the self-appointed, and to all the holy
creatures of Spenta
Mainyu, be they male or female, regulators (as they are) of the ritual order.
19. And I offer with a complete and sacred blessing to that lofty lord who is
Righteousness (the
Best) and the Day-lords, the lords of the days during their duration, and to
those of the days
during daylight, and to the Month-lords, and the Year-lords, and to those of
the seasons, the
lords who are lords of the ritual, and at the time of Havani.
20. And I offer the Myazda meat-offering with a complete and sacred offering,
and Haurvatat
(who guards the water), and Ameretatat (who guards the wood), and the flesh
of the Kine of
blessed gift, for the propitiation of Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, whose
body is the
Mathra, him of the daring spear, the lordly, the Yazad of the spoken name.
21. And I offer the Haoma and the Haoma-juice for the propitiation of the Fravashi
of
Zarathushtra Spitama the saint, the Yazad of the spoken name.
And I offer the wood-billets with the perfume for Thy propitiation, the Fire's,
Ahura Mazda's
son, the Yazad of the spoken name.
22. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Fravashis of the
saints, the mighty and
overwhelming, to those of the saints of the ancient lore, and to those of the
next of kin.
23. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to all the lords of the
ritual order, and to all
the good Yazads heavenly and earthly who are (meet) for sacrifice and homage
because of
Asha who is Vahishta (of Righteousness who is the Best).
24. May that approach to us, and with a sacred blessing (O Lord!) whose benefits
the offerers are
seeking for. Thy praisers and Mathra-speakers, O Ahura Mazda! may we be named;
we desire
it, and such may we be. What reward, O Ahura Mazda! adapted to myself Thou hast
appointed unto souls,
25. Of this do Thou Thyself bestow upon us for this world and for that of mind;
(yea, do Thou
bestow) so much of this as that we may attain to Thy ruling protection and to
that of
Righteousness for ever.
26. We sacrifice to the Ahuna-vairya and to the veracious word correctly uttered,
and to the
good and pious prayer for blessings, and to the dreadful curse of the wise,
the Yazad, and to
Haurvatat and Ameretatat, and to the flesh of the Kine of blessed gift, and
to the Haoma and
Haoma-juice, and to the wood-billets, and the perfume, for the praise of the
pious and good
prayer for blessings. (The Yenghe hatam:)
27. (To that one) of beings do we sacrifice whose superior (fidelity) in the
sacrifice Ahura Mazda
knows through his Righteousness (within him, yea, even to those female saints
do we
sacrifice) whose (superior sanctity is thus known. We sacrifice to all) both
males and females
whose (superiority is such). (The Ratu speaks.)
As an Ahu (revered and) to be chosen, he who is the Zaotar speaks forth to me.
(The
Zaotar.)
So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth!
YASNA 8 - OFFERING OF THE MEAT-OFFERING IN PARTICULAR. THE FAITHFUL PARTAKE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. A blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best.
It is weal; it is weal to this (man),
When toward Righteousness Best there is right.
I offer the Myazda (of the) meat-offering with a complete and sacred offering;
and I offer
Haurvatatat (who guards the water), and Ameretatat (who guards the plants and
the wood),
and the flesh of the blessed Kine; and I offer the Haoma and the Haoma-juice,
the wood-
billets and the perfume for the praise of Ahura Mazda, and of the Ahuna-vairya,
the
veracious word, and for that of the pious and beneficent Prayer for blessings,
and for the
redoubted Curse of the wise, and for the praise of the Haoma, and of the Mathra
of the holy
Zarathushtra; and may it come to us with sacred fullness (to accept and to recompense
our
gift).
2. (The Ratu speaks.) Eat, O ye men, of this Myazda, the meat-offering, ye who
have deserved
it by your righteousness and correctness.
3. O ye Bountiful Immortals, and thou, the Mazdayasnian law, ye just men and
just women, and
ye Zaothras, whoever among these Mazdayasnians would call himself a Mazdayasnian
desiring
to live in the practice of the liberality of Righteousness [for by sorcery the
settlements of
Righteousness are ruined], do ye cause (such an one) to be (still further) taught,
(ye), who are
the waters, the plants, and the Zaothras!
4. And whoever of these Mazdayasnians, adults, when he invokes with earnestness,
does not
adhere to these words, and (so) speaks, he approaches to that (word) of the
magician; (but, as
against that magician's word) 'a blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best.'
5. May'st Thou, O Ahura Mazda! reign at Thy will, and with a saving rule over
Thine own
creatures, and render Ye the holy (man) also a sovereign at his will over waters,
and over
plants, and over all the clean and sacred (creatures) which contain the seed
of Righteousness.
Strip ye the wicked of all power!
6. Absolute in power may the holy be, bereft of all free choice the wicked !
Gone (may he be),
met as foe, carried out from the creatures of Spenta Mainyu, hemmed in without
power over
any wish! ----------
7. I will incite, even I who am Zarathushtra, the heads of the houses, villages,
Zantus, and
provinces, to the careful following of this Religion which is that of Ahura,
and according to
Zarathushtra, in their thoughts, their words, and their deeds.
8. I pray for the freedom and glory of the entire existence of the holy (man)
while I bless it,
and I pray for the repression and shame of the entire existence of the wicked.
9. Propitiation to Haoma who brings righteousness (to us) for sacrifice, homage,
propitiation,
and for praise. (The Zaotar?) As the Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, the Zaotar
speaks forth
to me. (The Ratu.) As an Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, the Zaotar speaks forth
to me.
(The Zaotar.) So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak
forth!
THE HOM YASHT
=============
YASNA 9.
--------
1. At the hour of Havani. Haoma came to Zarathushtra, as he served the (sacred)
Fire, and
sanctified (its flame), while he sang aloud the Gathas.
And Zarathushtra asked him: Who art thou, O man! who art of all the incarnate
world the
most beautiful in Thine own body of those whom I have, seen, (thou) glorious
[immortal]?
2. Thereupon gave Haoma answer, the holy one who driveth death afar: I am, O
Zarathushtra
Haoma, the holy and driving death afar; pray to me, O Spitama, prepare me for
the taste.
Praise toward me in (Thy) praises as the other [Saoshyants] praise.
3. Thereupon spake Zarathushtra: Unto Haoma be the praise. What man, O Haoma!
first
prepared thee for the corporeal world? What blessedness was offered him? what
gain did he
acquire?
4. Thereupon did Haoma answer me, he the holy one, and driving death afar: Vivanghvant
was
the first of men who prepared me for the incarnate world. This blessedness was
offered him;
this gain did he acquire, that to him was born a son who was Yima, called the
brilliant, (he of
the many flocks, the most glorious of those yet born, the sunlike-one of men),
that he made
from his authority both herds and people free from dying, both plants and waters
free from
drought, and men could eat imperishable food.
5. In the reign of Yima swift of motion was there neither cold nor heat, there
was neither age
nor death, nor envy demon-made. Like fifteen-yearlings walked the two forth,
son and
father, in their stature and their form, so long as Yima, son of Vivanghvant
ruled, he of the
many herds!
6. Who was the second man, O Haoma! who prepared thee for the corporeal world?
What
sanctity was offered him? what gain did he acquire?
7. Thereupon gave Haoma answer, he the holy one, and driving death afar: Athwya
was the
second who prepared-me for the corporeal world. This blessedness was given him,
this gain
did he acquire, that to him a son was born, Thraetaona of the heroic tribe,
8. Who smote the dragon Dahaka, three-jawed and triple-headed, six-eyed, with
thousand
powers, and of mighty strength, a lie-demon of the Daevas, evil for our settlements,
and
wicked, whom the evil spirit Angra Mainyu made as the most mighty Druj [against
the
corporeal world], and for the murder of (our) settlements, and to slay the (homes)
of Asha!
9. Who was the third man, O Haoma! who prepared thee for the corporeal world?
What
blessedness was given him? what gain did he acquire?
10. Thereupon gave Haoma answer, the holy one, and driving death afar: Thrita,
[the most
helpful of the Samas], was the third man who prepared me for the corporeal world.
This
blessedness was given him, this gain did he acquire, that to him two son were
born,
Urvakhshaya and Keresaspa, the one a judge confirming order, the other a youth
of great
ascendant, ringlet-headed, bludgeon-bearing.
11. He who smote the horny dragon swallowing men, and swallowing horses, poisonous,
and green
of color over which, as thick as thumbs are, greenish poison flowed aside, on
whose back once
Keresaspa cooked his meat in iron caldron at the noonday meal; and the deadly,
scorched,
upstarted, and springing off, dashed out the water as it boiled. Headlong fled
affrighted manly-
minded Keresaspa.
12. Who was the fourth man who prepared thee, O Haoma! for the corporeal world?
What
blessedness was given him? what gain did he acquire?
13. Thereupon gave Haoma answer, he the holy, and driving death afar: Pourushaspa
was the
fourth man who prepared me for the corporeal world. This blessedness was given
him, this
gain did he acquire, that thou, O Zarathushtra! wast born to him, the just,
in Pourushaspa's
house, the Daeva's foe, the friend of Mazda's lore, (14) famed in Airyana Vaejah;
and thou, O
Zarathushtra! didst recite the first the Ahuna-vairya, four times intoning it,
and with verses
kept apart [(Pazand) each time with louder and still louder voice].
15. And thou didst cause, O Zarathushtra! all the demon-gods to vanish in the
ground who
aforetime flew about this earth in human shape (and power. This hast thou done),
thou who
hast been the strongest, and the staunchest, the most active, and the swiftest,
and (in every
deed) the most victorious in the two spirits' world.
16. Thereupon spake Zarathushtra: Praise to Haoma. Good is Haoma, and the well-endowed,
exact and righteous in its nature, and good inherently, and healing, beautiful
of form, and
good in deed, and most successful in its working, golden-hued, with bending
sprouts. As it is
the best for drinking, so (through its sacred stimulus) is it the most nutritious
for the soul.
--------------------
17. I make my claim on thee, O yellow one! for inspiration. I make my claim
on thee for
strength; I make my claim on thee for victory; I make my claim on thee for health
and
healing (when healing is my need); I make my claim on thee for progress and
increased
prosperity, and vigor of the entire frame, and for understanding, of each adorning
kind, and
for this, that I may have free course among our settlements, having power where
I will,
overwhelming angry malice, and a conqueror of lies.
18. Yea, I make my claim on thee that I may overwhelm the angry hate of haters,
of the Daevas
and of mortals, of the sorcerers and sirens, of the tyrants, and the Kavis,
of the Karpans,
murderous bipeds, of the sanctity-destroyers, the profane apostate bipeds, of
the wolves four-
footed monsters, of the invading host, wide-fronted, which with stratagems advance.
--------------------
19. This first blessing I beseech of thee, O Haoma, thou that drivest death
afar! I beseech of thee
for (heaven), the best life of the saints, the radiant, all-glorious.
This second blessing I beseech of thee, O Haoma, thou that drivest death afar!
this body's
health (before that blest life is attained).
This third blessing I beseech of thee, O Haoma, thou that drivest death afar!
the long vitality
of life.
20. This fourth blessing I beseech of thee, O Haoma, thou that drivest death
afar! that I may
stand forth on this earth with desires gained, and powerful, receiving satisfaction,
overwhelming the assaults of hate, and conquering the lie.
This fifth blessing, O Haoma, I beseech of thee, thou that drivest death afar!
that I may stand
victorious on earth, conquering in battles, overwhelming the assaults of hate,
and conquering
the lie.
21. This sixth blessing I ask of thee, O Haoma, thou that drivest death afar!
that we may get
good warning of the thief, good warning of the murderer, see first the bludgeon-bearer,
get
first sight of the wolf. May no one whichsoever get first the sight of us. In
the strife with
each may we be they who get the first alarm!
--------------------
22. Haoma grants to racers who would run a course with span both speed and bottom
(in their
horses). Haoma grants to women come to bed with child a brilliant offspring
and a righteous
line.
Haoma grants to those (how many!) who have long sat searching books, more knowledge
and
more wisdom.
23. Haoma grants to those long maidens, who sit at home unwed, good husbands,
and that as soon
as asked, he Haoma, the well-minded.
24. Haoma lowered Keresani, dethroned him from his throne, for he grew so fond
of power, that
he treacherously said: No priest behind (and watching) shall walk the lands
for me, as a
counselor to prosper them, he would rob everything of progress, he would crush
the growth of
all!
--------------------
25. Hail to thee, O Haoma, who hast power as thou wilt, and by thine inborn
strength! Hail to
thee, thou art well-versed in many sayings, and true and holy words. Hail to
thee for thou
dost ask no wily questions, but questionest direct.
26. Forth hath Mazda borne to thee, the star-bespangled girdle, the spirit-made,
the ancient one,
the Mazdayasnian Faith.
So with this thou art begirt on the summits of the mountains, for the spreading
of the
precepts, and the headings of the Mathra, (and to help the Mathra's teacher),
27. O Haoma, thou house-lord, and thou clan-lord, thou tribe-lord, and chieftain
of the land, and
thou successful learned teacher, for aggressive strength I speak to thee, for
that which smites
with victory, and for my body's saving, and for manifold delight!
28. Bear off from us the torment and the malice of the hateful. Divert the angry
foe's intent!
What man soever in this house is violent and wicked, what man soever in this
village, or this
tribe, or province, seize thou away the fleetness from his feet; throw thou
a veil of darkness
o'er his mind; make thou his intellect (at once) a wreck!
29. Let not the man who harms us, mind or body, have power to go forth on both
his legs, or
hold with both his hands, or see with both his eyes, not the land (beneath his
feet), or the
herd before his face.
--------------------
30. At the aroused and fearful Dragon, green, and belching forth his poison,
for the righteous
saint that perishes, yellow Haoma, hurl thy mace!
At the (murderous) bludgeon-bearer, committing deeds unheard of, blood-thirsty,
(drunk) with
fury, yellow Haoma, hurl thy mace!
31. Against the wicked human tyrant, hurling weapons at the head, for the righteous
saint that
perishes, yellow Haoma, hurl thy mace!
Against the righteousness-disturber, the unholy life-destroyer, thoughts and
words of our
religion well-delivering, yet in actions never reaching, for the righteous saint
that perishes,
yellow Haoma, hurl thy mace!
32. Against the body of the harlot, with her magic minds o'erthrowing with (intoxicating)
pleasures, to the lusts her person offering, whose mind as vapor wavers as it
flies before the
wind, for the righteous saint that perishes, yellow Haoma, hurl thy mace!
YASNA 10.
---------
1. Let the Demon-gods and Goddesses fly far away from hence, and let the good
Sraosha make
here his home! [And may the good Blessedness here likewise dwell], and may she
here spread
delight and peace within this house, Ahura's, which is sanctified by Haoma,
bringing
righteousness (to all).
2. At the first force of thy pressure, O intelligent! I praise thee with my
voice, while I grasp at
first thy shoots. At thy next pressure, O intelligent! I praise thee with my
voice, when as
with full force of a man I crush thee down.
3. I praise the cloud that waters thee, and the rains which make thee grow on
the summits of the
mountains; and I praise thy lofty mountains where the Haoma branches spread.
4. This wide earth do I praise, expanded far (with paths), the productive, the
full bearing, thy
mother, holy plant! Yea, I praise the lands where thou dost grow, sweet-scented,
swiftly
spreading, the good growth of the Lord. O Haoma, thou growest on the mountains,
apart on
many paths, and there still may'st thou flourish. The springs of Righteousness
most verily
thou art, (and the fountains of the ritual find their source in thee)!
5. Grow (then) because I pray to thee on all thy stems and branches, in all
thy shoots (and
tendrils) increase thou through my word!
6. Haoma grows while he is praised, and the man who praises him is therewith
more victorious.
The lightest pressure of thee, Haoma, thy feeblest praise, the slightest tasting
of thy juice,
avails to the thousand-smiting of the Daevas.
7. Wasting doth vanish from that house, and-with it foulness, whither in verity
they bear thee,
and where thy praise in truth is sung, the drink of Haoma, famed, health-bringing
(as thou
art). [(Pazand) to his village and abode they bear him.]
8. All other toxicants go hand in hand with Rapine of the bloody spear, but
Haoma's stirring
power goes hand in hand with friendship. [Light is the drunkenness of Haoma
(Pazand).]
Who as a tender son caresses Haoma, forth to the bodies of such persons Haoma
comes to
heal.
9. Of all the healing virtues, Haoma, whereby thou art a healer, grant me some.
Of all the
victorious powers, whereby thou art a victor, grant me some. A faithful praiser
will I be to
thee, O Haoma, and a faithful praiser (is) a better (thing) than Righteousness
the Best; so
hath the Lord, declaring (it), decreed.
10. Swift and wise hath the well-skilled Deity created thee; swift and wise
on high Haraiti did He,
the well-skilled, plant thee.
11. And taught (by implanted instinct) on every side, the bounteous birds have
carried thee to the
Peaks-above-the-eagles, to the mount's extremest summit, to the gorges and abysses,
to the
heights of many pathways, to the snow-peaks ever whitened.
12. There, Haoma, on the ranges dost thou grow of many kinds. Now thou growest
of milky
whiteness, and now thou growest golden; and forth thine healing liquors flow
for the inspiring
of the pious. So terrify away from me the (death's) aim of the curser. So terrify
and crush his
thought who stands as my maligner.
13. Praise be to thee, O Haoma, (for he makes the poor man's thoughts as great
as any of the
richest whomsoever.) Praise be to Haoma, (for he makes the poor man's thoughts
as great as
when mind reacheth culmination.) With manifold retainers dost thou, O Haoma,
endow the
man who drinks thee mixed with milk; yea, more prosperous thou makest him, and
more
endowed with mind.
14. Do not vanish from me suddenly like milk-drops in the rain; let thine exhilarations
go forth
ever vigorous and fresh; and let them come to me with strong effect. Before
thee, holy
Haoma, thou bearer of the ritual truth, and around thee would I cast this body,
a body which
(as all) may see (is fit for gift and) grown.
15. I renounce with vehemence the murderous woman's emptiness, the Jaini's,
hers, with intellect
dethroned. She vainly thinks to foil us, and would beguile both Fire-priest
and Haoma; but she
herself, deceived therein, shall perish. And when she sits at home, and wrongly
eats of
Haoma's offering, priest's mother will that never make her, nor give her holy
sons!
--------------------
16. To five do I belong, to five others do I not; of the good thought am I,
of the evil am I not;
of the good word am I, of the evil am I not; of the good deed am I, and of the
evil, not.
To Obedience am I given, and to deaf disobedience, not; to the saint do I belong,
and to the
wicked, not; and so from this on till the ending shall be the spirits' parting.
(The two shall
here divide.)
--------------------
17. Thereupon spake Zarathushtra: Praise to Haoma, Mazda-made. Good is Haoma,
Mazda-made.
All the plants of Haoma praise I, on the heights of lofty mountains, in the
gorges of the
valleys, in the clefts (of sundered hill-sides) cut for the bundles bound by
women. From the
silver cup I pour Thee to the golden chalice over. Let me not thy (sacred) liquor
spill to
earth, of precious cost.
18. These are thy Gathas, holy Haoma, these thy songs, and these thy teachings,
and these thy
truthful ritual words, health-imparting, victory-giving, from harmful hatred
healing giving.
19. These and thou art mine, and forth let thine exhilarations flow; bright
and sparkling let them
hold on their (steadfast) way; for light are thine exhilaration(s), and flying
lightly come they
here. Victory-giving smiteth Haoma, victory-giving is it worshipped; with this
Gathic word
we praise it.
--------------------
20. Praise to the Kine; praise and victory (be) spoken to her! Food for the
Kine, and pasture!
'For the Kine let thrift use toil; yield thou us food.'
21. We worship the yellow lofty one; we worship Haoma who causes progress, who
makes the
settlements advance; we worship Haoma who drives death afar; yea, we worship
all the
Haoma plants. And we worship (their) blessedness, and the Fravashi of Zarathushtra
Spitama,
the saint.
YASNA 11 - PRELUDE TO THE HAOMA-OFFERING.
-----------------------------------------
1. Three clean creatures (full of blessings) curse betimes while yet invoking,
the cow, the horse,
and then Haoma. The cow cries to her driver thus: Childless be thou, shorn of
offspring evil-
famed, and slander-followed, who foddered fairly dost not use me, but fattenest
me for wife or
children, and for thy niggard selfish meal.
2. The horse cries to his rider thus: Be not spanner of the racers; stretch
no coursers to full-
speed; do not stride across the fleetest, thou, who dost not pray me swiftness
in the meeting
thick with numbers, in the circuit thronged with men.
3. Haoma speaks his drinker thus: Childless be thou, shorn of offspring, evil-famed,
and slander-
followed, who holdest me from full outpouring, as a robber, skulls in-crushing.
No head-smiter
am I ever, holy Haoma, far from death.
4. Forth my father gave an offering, tongue and left eye chose Ahura, set apart
for Haoma's
meal.
5. Who this offering would deny me, eats himself, or prays it from me, this
which Mazda gave
to bless me, tongue with left eye (as my portion).
6. In his house is born no fire-priest, warrior ne'er in chariot standing, never
more the thrifty
tiller. In his home be born Dahakas, Murakas of evil practice, doing deeds of
double nature.
7. Quick, cut off then Haoma's portion, gift of flesh for doughty Haoma! Heed
lest Haoma bind
thee fettered, as he bound the fell Turanian Frangrasyan (the murderous robber)
fast in iron
close-surrounded in the mid-third of this earth!
8. Thereupon spake Zarathushtra: Praise to Haoma made by Mazda, good is Haoma
Mazda-
made.
--------------------
9. Who to us is one hereupon to thee (becomes) two, to be made to three, for
the five-making
of the four, for the seven-making of the sixth, who are your nine in the decade
(?), who serve
you and with zeal.
--------------------
10. To thee, O holy Haoma! bearer of the ritual sanctity, I offer this my person
which is seen
(by all to be) mature, (and fit for gift); to Haoma the effective do I offer
it, and to the sacred
exhilaration which he bestows; and do thou grant to me (for this), O holy Haoma!
thou that
drivest death afar, (Heaven) the best world of the saints, shining, all brilliant.
11. (The Ashem Vohu, &c.)
12-15. May'st Thou rule at Thy will, O Lord....(Repeat Y8.5-7)!
16. I confess myself a Mazdayasnian of Zarathushtra's order.
17. I celebrate my praises for good thoughts, good words, and good deeds for
my thoughts, my
speeches, and (my) actions. With chanting praises I present all good thoughts,
good words,
and good deeds, and with rejection I repudiate all evil thoughts, and words,
and deeds. 18. Here
I give to you, O ye Bountiful Immortals! sacrifice and homage with the mind,
with words,
deeds, and my entire person; yea, (I offer) to you the flesh of my very body
(as your own).
And I praise Righteousness. A blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best, &c.
YASNA 12 - The Zoroastrian Creed
--------------------------------
[Translation by J. H. Peterson, 1996.
This creed probably dates to the earliest days of the faith, but
seems to have undergone some linguistic shift and subsequent recasting
in the Old Avestan dialect. It was probably intended to be recited
before an open assembly. See discussion in Boyce, Zoroastrianism
- Its Antiquity and Constant Vigour, p. 84 and 104 ff. The
last phrase of verse 7, plus all of verses 8 and 9, are incorporated
into the daily Kusti ritual.]
1. I curse the Daevas.
I declare myself a Mazda-worshipper, a supporter of Zarathushtra,
hostile to the Daevas, fond of Ahura's teaching, a praiser of
the Amesha Spentas, a worshipper of the Amesha Spentas. I ascribe
all good to Ahura Mazda, 'and all the best,' the Asha-owning one,
splendid, xwarena-owning, whose is the cow, whose is Asha, whose
is the light, 'may whose blissful areas be filled with light'.
2. I choose the good Spenta Armaiti for myself; let her be mine.
I renounce the theft and robbery of the cow, and the damaging
and plundering of the Mazdayasnian settlements.
3. I want freedom of movement and freedom of dwelling for those
with homesteads, to those who dwell upon this earth with their
cattle. With reverence for Asha, and (offerings) offered up, I
vow this: I shall nevermore damage or plunder the Mazdayasnian
settlements, even if I have to risk life and limb.
4. I reject the authority of the Daevas, the wicked, no-good,
lawless, evil-knowing, the most druj-like of beings, the foulest
of beings, the most damaging of beings. I reject the Daevas and
their comrades, I reject the demons (yatu) and their comrades;
I reject any who harm beings. I reject them with my thoughts,
words, and deeds. I reject them publicly.
Even as I reject the head (authorities), so too do I reject
the hostile followers of the druj.
5. As Ahura Mazda taught Zarathushtra at all discussions, at
all meetings, at which Mazda and Zarathushtra conversed;
6. as Ahura Mazda taught Zarathushtra at all discussions, at
all meetings, at which Mazda and Zarathushtra conversed -- even
as Zarathushtra rejected the authority of the Daevas, so I also
reject, as Mazda-worshipper and supporter of Zarathushtra, the
authority of the Daevas, even as he, the Asha-owning Zarathushtra,
has rejected them.
7. As the belief of the waters, the belief of the plants, the
belief of the well-made (Original) Cow; as the belief of Ahura
Mazda who created the cow and the Asha-owning Man; as the belief
of Zarathushtra, the belief of Kavi Vishtaspa, the belief of both
Frashaostra and Jamaspa; as the belief of each of the Saoshyants
(saviors) -- fulfilling destiny and Asha-owning -- so I am a Mazda-worshipper
of this belief and teaching.
8. I profess myself a Mazda-worshipper, a Zoroastrian, having
vowed it and professed it. I pledge myself to the well-thought
thought, I pledge myself to the well-spoken word, I pledge myself
to the well-done action.
9. I pledge myself to the Mazdayasnian religion, which causes
the attack to be put off and weapons put down; which upholds khvaetvadatha
(kin-marriage), which possesses Asha; which of all religions that
exist or shall be, is the greatest, the best, and the most beautiful:
Ahuric, Zoroastrian. I ascribe all good to Ahura Mazda. This is
the creed of the Mazdayasnian religion.
YASNA 13.
---------
[Translated by L. H. Mills (From Sacred Books of the East, American
Edition, 1898.) Y13.1-6 and the beginning of 7 is in the Old Avesta
dialect.]
1. I address (my invocation to) Ahura Mazda. And I invoke (among guardian beings)
the chief
of the house-lord, and the chief of the Vis-lord, and the chief of the Zantu-lord.
And I invoke
the chief of the province-lord. And the chief of women I invoke, the Mazdayasnian
Faith,
the blessed and good Parendi, her who is the holy one of human-kind. And I invoke
this
(holy) earth which bears us.
2. And I invoke the friendly and most helpful person's lord, the Fire of Ahura
Mazda, and also
the most energetic lords of holy men, those who are most strenuous in their
care of cattle
and the fields, and the chief of the thrifty tiller of the earth. And I invoke
the steady settler
of sanctity, (and) the chief of the charioteer.
3. And I invoke the chief of the fire-priest by means of the most imposing sciences
of the
Mazdayasnian Faith. And I invoke the chief of the Atharvan, and his pupils I
invoke; yea,
the lords of each of them. I invoke these lords, and I summon the Bountiful
Immortals here,
and the Prophets who shall serve us, the wisest as they are, the most scrupulous
in their
exactness (as) they utter words (of doctrine and of service), the most devoted
(to their duties
likewise), and the most glorious in their thoughts(?). And I invoke the most
imposing forces
of the Mazdayasnian Faith, and the fire-priests I invoke, and the charioteers,
the warriors,
and the thrifty tillers of the soil.
4. And to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! Ye who rule aright, and dispose (of
all) aright, I offer
the flesh of my very frame, and all the blessings of my life.
-------
Thus the two spirits thought, thus they spoke, and thus they did;
5. And therefore as Thou, O Ahura Mazda! didst think, speak, dispose, and do
all things good
(for us), so to Thee would we give, so would we assign to Thee our homage; so
would we
worship Thee with our sacrifices. So would we bow before Thee with these gifts,
and so direct
our prayers to Thee with confessions of our debt.
6. By the kinship of the good kindred, by that of Righteousness the good (Thy
righteous
servant's nature) would we approach Thee, and by that of the good thrift-law,
and of Piety
the good.
7. And we would worship the Fravashi of the Kine of blessed gift, and that of
the holy Gaya
Mareyan, and we would worship the holy Fravashi of Zarathushtra Spitama, the
saint. Yea,
that one of beings do we worship whose better (service) in the sacrifice Ahura
Mazda knows;
(even those women do we worship) whose (better service thus is known). Yea,
both (holy)
men and women (do we worship whom Ahura Mazda knows).
As the Ahu is excelling....
A blessing is the Right called the best....
8. We worship the Ahuna-vairya; and we worship Asha Vahishta the best(?), the
bountiful
Immortal. And we sacrifice to the Ha fraoreti, even to the confession and laudation
of the
Mazdayasnian Faith!
YASNA 14 - DEDICATIONS.
-----------------------
1. I will come to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! as a praiser and a priest,
and an invoker and
sacrificer, as a memorizing reciter and a chanter, for Your sacrifice and homage,
which are to
be offered to You, the Bountiful Immortals, and for our dedication and sanctification;
(yea,
for ours) who are the holy prophets (destined to benefit the saints).
2. And to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! would I dedicate the flesh of my very
body, and all
the blessings of a prospered life.
3. In this Zaothra with this Baresman, I desire to approach the holy Yazads
with my praise, and
all the holy lords of the ritual order at their times, Havani at his time, and
Savanghi and Visya
at their times. 4. I confess myself a Mazdayasnian, and of Zarathushtra's order.
5. The Zaotar speaks: As an Ahu (revered and) chosen, the Zaotar (?) speaks
forth to me (?).
The Ratu speaks: As an Ahu (revered and) to be chosen, the Zaotar speaks forth
to me.
The Zaotar: So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak
forth!
YASNA 15 - THE SACRIFICE CONTINUES.
-----------------------------------
1. With precept, praise, and with delight produced by grace, I call upon the
Bountiful Immortals
the good, and also therewith the beautiful by name; and I sacrifice to them
with the blessing
of the good ritual, with the earnest blessings of the good Mazdayasnian Faith.
2. Whose best gift from his Righteousness is mine in the offering Ahura this
knoweth; who have
lived, and live ever, by their names these I worship, while I draw near with
praises. The Good
Kingdom is to be chosen, that lot which most of all bears on (our blessings).
3. Let Sraosha (Obedience) be here present for the sacrifice of Ahura Mazda,
the most
beneficent, the holy, who is so dear to us as at the first, so at the last;
yea, let him be present
here.
4. As the Ahu (revered and) to be chosen, the Atarevakhsha thus speaks forth
to me.
(Response): So let the Ratu from his righteousness, holy and learned, speak
forth!
YASNA 16 - THE SACRIFICE CONTINUES WITH INCREASED FULLNESS OF EXPRESSION.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. We worship Ahura Mazda, the holy lord of the ritual order, who disposes (all)
aright, the
greatest Yazad, who is also the most beneficent, and the one who causes the
settlements to
advance, the creator of good creatures; yea, we worship Him with these offered
Zaothras and
with truthfully and scrupulously delivered words; and we worship every holy
Yazad of the
heaven (as well)!
2. And we worship Zarathushtra Spitama in our sacrifice, the holy lord of the
ritual order with
these Zaothras and with faithfully delivered words; and we worship every holy
earthly Yazad
as we worship him; and we worship also the Fravashi of Zarathushtra Spitama,
the saint. And
we worship the utterances of Zarathushtra and his religion, his faith and his
lore.
3. And we worship the former religions of the world devoted to Righteousness
which were
instituted at the creation, the holy religions of the Creator Ahura Mazda, the
resplendent and
glorious. And we worship Vohu Manah (the Good Mind), and Asha Vahishta (who
is
Righteousness the Best), and Khshathra-vairya, the Kingdom to be desired, and
the good and
bountiful Armaiti (true piety in the believers), and Haurvatat and Ameretat
(our Weal and
Immortality).
4. Yea, we worship the Creator Ahura Mazda and the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son,
and the good
waters which are Mazda-made and holy, and the resplendent sun of the swift horses,
and the
moon with the seed of cattle (in his beams); and we worship the star Tishtrya,
the lustrous
and glorious; and we worship the soul of the Kine of blessed endowment, (5)
and its Creator
Ahura Mazda; and we worship Mithra of the wide pastures, and Sraosha (Obedience)
the
blessed, and Rashnu the most just, and the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis
of the saints, and
the Blow-of-victory Ahura-given (as it is). And we worship Raman Hvastra, and
the
bounteous Wind of blessed gift, (6) and (its) Creator Ahura Mazda, and the good
Mazdayasnian Religion, and the good Blessedness and Arshtat.
And we worship the heaven and the earth of blessed gift, and the bounteous Mathra,
and the
stars without beginning (to their course), self-disposing as they are.
7. And we worship the glorious works of Righteousness in which the souls of
the dead find
satisfaction and delight [(Pazand) which are the Fravashis of the saints], and
we worship
(Heaven) the best world of the saints, shining, all glorious.
8. And we worship the two, the milk-offering and the libation, the two which
cause the waters
to flow forth, and the plants to flourish, the two foes who meet the Dragon
demon-made; and
who are set to meet, to defeat, and to put to flight, that cheat, the Pairika,
and to contradict
the insulting malice of the Ashemaogha (the persecuting heretic) and that of
the unholy
tyrant full of death.
9. And we worship all waters and all plants, and all good men and all good women.
And we
worship all these Yazads, heavenly and earthly, who are beneficent and holy.
10. And we worship thee (our) dwelling-place who art the (earth, our) bounteous
Armaiti, and
Thee, O Ahura Mazda, O holy Lord of this abode! which is the home of healthy
herds and
healthy men, and of those who are both endowed with health and lover(s) of the
ritual right.
(Response of the individual worshipper (?).) Wherefore whichever of persons,
or whatever of
bodily influences, is most helpful and preserving in that abode (thus owned
by Mazda) let this
meet me in mine abode, and there may it abide for summer and for winter. (Or
let that one
meet me in all my house, in whom are what of influences are the most mighty
power for the
body and the person's life; yea, let that one meet me there, and there abide
for summer and
for winter (for my help)!)
YASNA 17 - TO THE FIRES, WATERS, PLANTS, &C.
--------------------------------------------
1-10. (See Y6, which is nearly identical with verses 1-10.)
11. We worship thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son! We worship the fire Berezi-savangha
(of
the lofty use), and the fire Vohu-fryana (the good and friendly), and the fire
Urvazishta (the
most beneficial and most helpful), and the fire Vazishta (the most supporting),
and the fire
Spenishta (the most bountiful), and Nairya-sangha the Yazad of the royal lineage,
and that
fire which is the house-lord of all houses and Mazda-made, even the son of Ahura
Mazda, the
holy lord of the ritual order, with all the fires.
12. And we worship the good and best waters Mazda-made, holy, all the waters
Mazda-made and
holy, and all the plants which Mazda made, and which are holy.
13. And we worship the Mathra-spenta (the bounteous word-of-reason), the Zarathushtrian
law
against the Daevas, and its long descent.
14. And we worship Mount Ushi-darena which is Mazda-made and shining with its
holiness, and
all the mountains shining with holiness, and of abundant glory, and which Mazda
made ---.
15. And we worship the good and pious prayer for blessings, (16) and these waters
and (these
lands), (17) and all the greatest chieftains, lords of the ritual order;
18. And I praise, invoke, and glorify the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis
of the saints, those of
the house, the Vis, the Zantuma, the Dahvyuma, and the Zarathushtrotema, and
all the holy
Yazads!
YASNA 18.
---------
1. Grant me, Thou who art maker of the Kine, plants and waters, Immortality,
Mazda! Grant,
too, Weal, Spirit bounteous.... (See Y51.7 and Y59.1-17).
YASNA 19 - ZAND OR COMMENTARY ON THE AHUNWAR.
---------------------------------------------
(As the Ahu is excellent, so (is) the Ratu (one who rules) from the righteous
Order, a creator
of mental goodness and of life's actions done for Mazda; and the Kingdom (is)
for Ahura
which to the poor shall offer a nurturer.)
1. Zarathushtra asked of Ahura Mazda: O Ahura Mazda, Thou most bounteous Spirit!
maker of
the corporeal worlds, the holy One! which was that word which Thou did'st declare
to me, (2)
which was before the sky, and before the water, before the earth, and before
the cattle, before
the plants, and before the fire, and before the holy man, and the Demon-gods
(the Daevas),
before the Khrafstra-men, and before all the incarnate world; even before all
the good
creatures made by Mazda, and which contain (and are) the seed of righteousness?
3. Thereupon Ahura Mazda said: It was this piece, the Ahuna-vairya, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!
which I pronounced as thine (4) before the sky, and before the waters, before
the land, and
before the cattle and the plants, and before the fire, Ahura Mazda's son, before
the holy man,
and before the Daevas, and Khrafstra-men, and before the entire corporeal world,
even before
the good creatures made by Mazda, which contain (and are) the seed of righteousness.
5. It was these part(s) of the Ahuna-vairya, O Spitama Zarathushtra! which especially
belongs
to me, and when each is intoned aloud without the (needless) repetition of verses
and of
words, and without their omission, it is worth a hundred of their other stanzas,
even although
they are prominent in the ritual, and likewise equally as well recited without
additions or
omissions; nay, further, when it is intoned imperfectly but added to, and with
omissions, it is
even then in effect equivalent (not to a hundred indeed, but) to ten other (stanzas)
that are
prominent.
6. And whoever in this world of mine which is corporeal shall mentally recall,
O Spitama*
Zarathushtra! a portion of the Ahuna-vairya, and having thus recalled it, shall
undertone it,
or beginning to recite it with the undertone, shall then utter it aloud, or
chanting it with
intoning voice, shall worship thus, then with even threefold (safety and with
speed) I will
bring his soul over the Bridge of Chinvat, I who am Ahura Mazda (I will help
him to pass
over it) to Heaven (the best life), and to Righteousness the Best, and to the
lights of heaven.
7. And whoever, O Spitama Zarathushtra! while undertoning the part(s) of the
Ahuna-vairya (or
this piece the Ahuna-vairya), takes ought therefrom, whether the half, or the
third, or the
fourth, or the fifth, I who am Ahura Mazda will draw his soul off from the better
world; yea,
so far off will I withdraw it as the earth is large and wide; [and this earth
is as long as it is
broad].
8. And I pronounced this saying which contains its Ahu and its Ratu before the
creation of this
heaven, before the making of the waters, and the plants, and the four-footed
kine, before the
birth of the holy biped man, before this sun with its body made for the acquisition
of the
creation of the Bountiful Immortals.
9. And the more bountiful of the two Spirits (Ahura) declared to me (Zarathushtra)
the entire
creation of the pure, that which exists at present, that which is in the course
of emerging into
existence, and that which shall be, with reference to the performance and realization
'of the
actions of a life devoted to Mazda.'
10. And this word is the most emphatic of the words which have ever been pronounced,
or which
are now spoken, or which shall be spoken in future; for (the eminence of) this
utterance is a
thing of such a nature, that if all the corporeal and living world should learn
it, and learning
should hold fast by it, they would be redeemed from their mortality!
11. And this our word I have proclaimed as a symbol to be learned, and to be
recited, as it were,
to every one of the beings under the influence of and for the sake of Righteousness
the Best.
12. And 'as' (the worshipper has) here spoken it forth, when he has thus 'appointed'
the 'Lord and
regulator,' so (by thus reciting these authoritative words), he acknowledges
Ahura Mazda (as
prior to, and supreme) over, those creatures who have 'the mind' as their first.
'As' he
acknowledges Him as the greatest of them all, 'so' he assigns the creatures
to Him (as to their
originator).
13. As he undertones the third sentence, he thereby announces that 'all the
amenities of life
appertain to the 'good' Mazda, (and come) from Him. As he recites 'dazda manangho,'
'the
creator of mind,' he acknowledges Him as superior and prior to mind; and as
he makes Him
the one who indicates (the truth) to mind, (saying) 'manangho of mind,' which
means that by
this much he makes Him (its director), and then he makes Him 'the lord of actions.'
14. And when he acknowledges Him for the creatures thus, 'O Mazda!' he acknowledges
Him (as
their ruler) when he assigns the creatures to Him thus. He then assigns the
Kingdom to Ahura,
saying: 'Thine, O Mazda! is the Kingdom.' And he assigns a nourisher and protector
to the
poor, saying: Yim drigubyo dadat vastarem; that is, as a friend to Spitama.
This is the fifth
sentence, (and it concludes) the entire recital and word, (even) the whole of
this word of
Ahura Mazda.
15. He who is the best (of all) Ahura Mazda, pronounced the Ahuna-vairya, and
as He
pronounced it as the best, so He caused it to have its effect, (He, ever) the
same, (as He is).
The evil one at once arose (to oppose Him), but He (Ahura) repelled that wicked
one with
His interdict, and with this repelling renunciation: Neither our minds are in
harmony, nor our
precepts, nor our comprehensions, nor our beliefs, nor our words, nor our actions,
nor our
consciences, nor our souls!
CATECHETICAL ZAND.
------------------
16. And this saying, uttered by Mazda, has three stages, or measures, and belongs
to four classes
(of men as its supporters), and to five chiefs (in the political world, without
whom its
efficiency is marred), and it has a conclusion ending with a gift. (Question.)
How are its
measures (constituted)? (Answer.) The good thought, the good word, and the good
deed. 17.
(Question.) With what classes of men? (Answer.) The priest, the charioteer (as
the chief of
warriors), the systematic tiller of the ground, and the artisan. These classes
therefore
accompany the religious man throughout his entire duty with the correct thought,
the
truthful word, and the righteous action. These are the classes and states in
life which give
attention to the rulers, and fulfill the (laws) of religion; (yea, they are
the guides and
companions of that religious man) through whose actions the settlements are
furthered in
righteousness.
18. (Question.) How are the chiefs (constituted)? (Answer.) They are the house-chief,
the
village-chief, and the tribe-chief, the chief of the province, and the Zarathushtra
as the fifth.
That is, so far as those provinces are concerned which are different from, and
outside of the
Zarathushtrian regency, or domain. [Ragha which has four chiefs (only) is the
Zarathushtrian
(district)] (Question.) How are the chiefs of this one constituted? (Answer.)
They (are) the
house-chief, the village-chief, the tribe-chief, and the Zarathushtra as the
fourth. 19.
(Question.) What is the thought well thought? (Answer.) (It is that which the
holy man
thinks), the one who holds the holy thought to be before all other things (Question.)
What is
the word well spoken? (Answer.) It is the Mathra Spenta, the bounteous word
of reason.
(Question.) What is the deed well done? (Answer.) It is that done with praises,
and by the
creatures who regard Righteousness as before all other things. 20. (Question.)
Mazda made a
proclamation, whom did He announce? (Answer.) Some one who was holy, and yet
both
heavenly and mundane. (Question.) What was His character, He who made this sacred
enunciation? (Answer.) He who is the best (of all), the ruling one. (Question.)
Of what
character (did He proclaim him the coming one)? (Answer.) As holy and the best,
a ruler who
exercises no wanton or despotic power.
21. We sacrifice to the (several) part(s) of the Ahuna-vairya. We sacrifice
to the memorized
recital of the Ahuna-vairya, and its regular chanting and its use in the full
Yasna.
YASNA 20 - ZAND, OR COMMENTARY, ON THE ASHEM VOHU.
--------------------------------------------------
1. A blessing is Righteousness (called) the best; there is weal, there is weal
to this man when the
Right (helps) the Righteousness best, (when the pious man serves it in truth).
Ahura Mazda
spake forth: Ashem vohu vahishtem asti. To this Asha, the holy ritual sanctity,
one
attributes the qualities of 'good' and 'best,' as one attributes property to
an owner; thus this
sentence vohu vahishtem asti is substantiated (at once).
2. Ushta asti ushta ahmai; by this attribution of blessedness (the praiser)
assigns every person
(or thing) of a sacred nature to every holy person, and as one usually (?) and
regularly (?)
assigns every person or thing (?) that is holy to every holy man.
3. Hyat ashai vahishtai; by these words the worshipper ascribes the entire Mathra
(to Asha
Vahishta), and ascribes all to the Mathra, as one ascribes the kingdom to Righteousness,
and
as one ascribes righteousness to the invoking saint; yea, as one ascribes righteousness
to us
who are the prophets (who shall help and bless the people). The three maxims
of the
sentences (are thus fulfilled). And every word (in its detail), and the entire
utterance in its
proclamation, is the word of Ahura Mazda.
CATECHETICAL ADDITION.
----------------------
4. Mazda has made a proclamation. (Question.) Whom did He announce? (Answer.)
That holy
one who is both heavenly and earthly. (Question.) Of what character is He who
has thus
announced Him? (Answer.) He is the best, and the one who is exercising sovereign
power.
(Question.) Of what character is the man whom He announced? (Answer.) The holy
and the
best, the one who rules with no capricious tyranny.
We sacrifice to the (several) part(s) of the Asha Vahishta (prayer). We sacrifice
to the heard-
recital of the Asha Vahishta, to its memorizing, its chanting, and its sacrificial
use!
YASNA 21 - CATECHETICAL ZAND, OR COMMENTARY UPON THE YENHE HATAM.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(The Yenhe. (To that one) of beings do we offer, whose superior (fidelity) in
the sacrifice
Ahura Mazda recognizes by reason of the sanctity (within him; yea, even to those
female
saints also do we sacrifice) whose (superior fidelity is thus likewise known;
thus) we sacrifice
to (all, to both) the males and females (of the saints)!)
1. A word for the Yasna by Zarathushtra, the saint, Yenhe, &c. Here the
worshipper indicates
and offers the Yasna (which is the sacrificial worship) of Mazda as by the command
(or as the
institution) of Ahura. Hatam. Here the worshipper offers the sacrificial worship
as if with the
beings who are among those who are destined to live. 2. Yaungham. Here he indicates
and
offers the sacrificial worship of those holy females who have Aramaiti at their
head, as
homage to the Immortals. These are the three sentences which comprehend all
the Yasnian
speech. (Question.) To whom is this Yasna addressed? (Answer.) To the Bountiful
Immortals
(in the course of the Yasna). 3. Thereupon spake Mazda: Salvation to this one,
whosoever he
may be! May the absolute ruler Ahura grant it. (Question.) 4. Whom did He answer
with this
answer? (Answer.) He answered: The state of salvation; and with this answer,
'the state of
salvation,' he answered every saint who exists, every one who is coming into
existence, and
every one who shall exist in the future. (Question. Who answered thus? Answer.)
The best
One. (Question. What did He answer?) (Answer.) The best thing. (That is,) the
best One,
Mazda, answered the best and the holy (answer) for the better and the holy man.
5. We
sacrifice to this piece, the Yenhe hatam, the prominent and holy Yasht.
YASNA 22 - THE SACRIFICE CONTINUES.
-----------------------------------
1. With the Baresman brought hither together with the Zaothra, for the worship
of the Creator
Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious, and for that of the Bountiful Immortals,
I desire
to approach this Haoma with my praise, offered (as it is) with punctilious sanctity
(or, for a
blessing), and this fresh milk, and this plant Hadhanaepata. 2. And, as an act
of worship to
the beneficent waters, I desire to approach these Zaothras with (my) praise
offered (as they
are) with punctilious sanctity, having the Haoma with them, and the flesh, with
the
Hadhanaepata. And I desire to approach the Haoma-water with my praise for the
beneficent
waters; and I desire to approach the stone mortar and the iron mortar with my
praise. 3. And
I desire to approach this plant for the Baresman with my praise, and the well-timed
prayer
for blessings, that which has approached (to accept our homage), and the memorized
recital
and the fulfillment of the good Mazdayasnian Faith, and the heard recital of
the Gathas, and
the well-timed and successful prayer for blessings, that of the holy lord of
the ritual order.
And I desire to approach these wood-billets and their perfume with my praise,
- thine, the
Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son! Yea, I desire to approach all good things with
my praise, those
which Mazda made, and which have the seed of sanctity (within them), (4) for
the
propitiation of Ahura Mazda and of the Bountiful Immortals, and of Sraosha the
blessed, and
of Ahura Mazda's Fire, the lofty ritual lord! 5-
19. (=Y3.5-19; 20-23=Y3.1-4)
20. And I desire to approach this Haoma with (my) praise, that which is thus
lifted up with
sanctity, and this milk (fresh as it is, and as if) living and lifted up with
sanctity, and this
plant the Hadhanaepata lifted up with sanctity. 21. And I desire to approach
these Zaothras
with (my) praise for the beneficial waters, these Zaothras which have the Haoma
with them
and the milk with them, and the Hadhanaepata, and which are lifted up with sanctity.
And I
desire to approach the Haoma-water with (my) praise for the beneficial waters,
and the two
mortars, the stone one and the iron one, (22) and I desire to, approach this
branch for the
Baresman with my praise, and the memorized recital and fulfillment of the Mazdayasnian
law, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and the well-timed and persistent
prayer for
blessings(uttered) by the holy lords of the ritual order, and this wood and
perfume, even thine,
O Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, and all good objects Mazda-made (23) for the propitiation
of
Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious, and of the Bountiful Immortals,
and of Mithra of
the wide pastures, and of Raman Hvastra, (24) and of the resplendent sun, immortal,
radiant,
of the fleet horses, and of Vayu, (of predominant influence and) working on
high, set over
the other beings in the creation [(Pazand); that is for thee thus (O Vayu) when
thine
influence is that which appertains to Spenta Mainyu], and for the propitiation
of the most
just knowledge Mazda-given, and of the holy and good Religion, the Mazdayasnian
Faith;
(25) for the propitiation of the Mathra Spenta, (the bounteous) and holy, and
the effective,
instituted against the Daevas, the Zarathushtrian law, and of the long descent
of the good
Mazdayasnian Faith [the holding in mind and devotion to the Mathra Spenta, and
knowledge
of the Mazdayasnian Religion] for the propitiation of the understanding which
is innate and
Mazda-made, and of that which is heard by the ear; (26) and for thy propitiation,
the Fire's,
O Ahura Mazda's son! [(Pazand); (yea) thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son]
with all the
fires, and for the propitiation of Mount Ushi-darena, the Mazda-made, radiant
with sanctity;
(27) and of all the holy Yazads, spiritual and earthly, and of the holy Fravashis,
the redoubted
and overwhelming, those of the ancient lore, and those of the next of kin and
of the Yazad
of the spoken name!
YASNA 23 - THE FRAVASHIS OF THE SAINTS; PRAYERS FOR THEIR APPROACH.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I desire to approach with my praise those Fravashis which have existed from
of old, the
Fravashis of the houses, and of the villages, of the communities, and of the
provinces, which
hold the heaven in its place apart, and the water, land, and cattle, which hold
the children in
the wombs safely enclosed apart so that they do not miscarry.
2. And I desire to approach toward the Fravashi of Ahura Mazda, and with my
praise, and for
those of the Bountiful Immortals, with all the holy Fravashis which are those
of the heavenly
Yazads. And I desire to approach the Fravashi of Gaya Maretan (the life-man)
in my worship
with my praise, and for that of Zarathushtra Spitama, and for those of Kavi
Vishtaspa, and of
Isat-vastra, the Zarathushtrian, with all the holy Fravashis of the other ancient
counselors as
well. 3. And I desire in my worship to approach toward every holy Fravashi whosesoever
it
may be, and wheresoever dead upon this earth (its possessor may have lain),
the pious
woman, or the girl of tender years, the maiden diligent (among the cattle) in
the field (who)
may have dwelt (here; yea, all) which are now worshipped from this house, which
are
attentive to, and which attain to (our) good Yasnas and (our) homage. 4. Yea,
I desire to
approach the Fravashis of the saints with my praise redoubted (as they are)
and
overwhelming, the Fravashis of those who held to the ancient lore, and the Fravashis
of the
next-of-kin; and I desire to approach toward the Fravashi of mine own soul in
my worship
with my praise; and I desire therewith to approach toward all the lords of the
ritual, and with
praise; and I desire to approach all the good Yazads with my praise, the heavenly
and the
earthly, who are meet for sacrifice and homage, because of Righteousness the
Best!
YASNA 24 - PRESENTATIONS.
-------------------------
1. (And having approached these Haomas with our worship), we present them to
Ahura Mazda;
(yea, we present) these Haomas, Myazdas, Zaothras, and the Baresman spread with
punctilious sanctity, and the flesh, and the milk, fresh as if living, and lifted
up with
punctilious sanctity, and this branch the Hadhanaepata likewise lifted up with-sanctity.
2. (And having approached these Zaothras in our worship), we present them to
the good waters
having the Haoma with them, and the milk, and the Hadhanaepata, and lifted up
with
scrupulous sanctity; and (with them) we present the Haoma-water to the good
waters, and
both the stone and the iron mortar.
3. And we present this plant of the Baresman! and the timely prayer for blessings,
which has
approached in the due course of the ritual, and the recollection and practice
of the good
Mazdayasnian Religion, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and the timely prayer
for
blessings which has approached as the prayer of the holy lord of the ritual
order; and these
wood-billets, and the perfume, (even) thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son!
and all good
objects Mazda-made, which have the seed of righteousness, we offer and present.
4. And these
we present hereby to Ahura Mazda, and to Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed (and
Righteous),
and to the Bountiful Immortals; and to the Fravashis of the saints, even to
the souls of the
saints, and to the Fire of Ahura Mazda, the lofty lord of entire holy creation,
for sacrifice,
homage, propitiation, and for praise.
5. And these we present hereby to the Fravashi of Zarathushtra Spitama, the
saint, for sacrifice,
propitiation, and for praise, and to that of the people who love Righteousness,
with all the
holy Fravashis of the saints who are dead and who are living, and to those of
men who are as
yet unborn, and to those of the prophets who will serve us, and will labor to
complete the
progress and renovation of the world.
6. And we present these Haomas, Myazdas, Zaothras, and the Baresman spread with
sanctity,
and the flesh, and the milk (fresh as if) living, and lifted up with sanctity,
and the
Hadhanaepata branch.
7. And we present these Zaothras to the beneficial waters having the Haoma with
them, and the
flesh, and the Hadhanaepata lifted up with sanctity, and the Haoma-water, to
the good
waters, with the stone and iron mortars, (8) and this plant of the Baresman,
(and) the tirnely
Prayer and the recollection and practice of the good Mazdayasnian Faith, and
these wood-
billets, and the perfume, thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son! and all objects
which are
Mazda-made, and which have, and are, the seed of Righteousness, these we offer
and present.
9. (Yea,) we present these hereby to the Bountiful Immortals who rule aright,
and who dispose
of all aright, the ever-living, ever-helpful, who abide with the Good Mind (of
the Lord and of
His folk)!
YASNA 25
--------
1. And we worship the Bountiful Immortals with our sacrifice, who rule aright,
and who dispose
of all aright; and we worship this Haoma, this flesh and branch, (2) and these
Zaothras for the
good waters, having the Haoma with them, and the flesh with them, and Hadhanaepata,
and
lifted up with sanctity, and we worship the Haoma-water for the beneficial waters;
and we
worship the two, the stone mortar and the iron mortar; (3) and we worship this
plant for the
Baresman and the well-timed prayer for blessings which has approached (in its
proper place
within the ritual course), and also both the remembrance and the practice of
the good
Mazdayasnian Religion, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and the well-timed
prayer for
blessings of the holy lord of the ritual order which has approached, and these
wood-billets
with the perfume, (even) thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son! and we worship
all good
objects which are Mazda-made, and which contain (and are) the seed of Righteousness.
4. And we worship Ahura Mazda with our sacrifice, the resplendent, the glorious,
and the
Bountiful Immortals who rule aright, and who dispose (of all) aright, and Mithra
of the wide
pastures and Raman Hvastra; and we worship the shining sun, the resplendent,
the immortal,
of the fleet horses.
5. And we worship the holy wind which works on high, placed higher than the
other creatures in
the creation; and we worship this which is thine, O Vayu! and which appertains
to the Spenta
Mainyu within thee; and we worship the most true religious Knowledge, Mazda-made
and
holy, and the good Mazdayasnian law.
6. And we worship the Mathra Spenta verily glorious (as it is), even the law
pronounced against
the Daevas, the Zarathushtrian law, and its long descent; yea, we worship the
good
Mazdayasnian Religion, and the Mathra which is heart-devoted and bounteous (imparting
heart's devotion to the saint); yea, we worship the Mazdayasnian Religion maintained
in the
understanding of the saint; and we honor that science which is the Mathra Spenta,
and the
innate understanding Mazda-made, and the derived understanding, heard with ear,
and Mazda-
made.
7. Yea, we worship thee, the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son I the holy lord of the
ritual order; and we
worship all the Fires, and Mount Ushi-darena (which holds the light) Mazda-made
and holy,
the Yazad mount, brilliant with sanctity. 8. And we worship every holy spiritual
Yazad; and
every holy earthly Yazad (who exists)!
YASNA 26 - THE FRAVASHIS; SACRIFICE AND PRAISE TO THEM.
-------------------------------------------------------
1. I praise, invoke, and weave my hymn to the good, heroic, and bountiful Fravashis
of the
saints; (and having invoked these, then) we worship the Nmanyas, and the Visyas,
and the
Zantumas, and the Dahvyumas, and the Zarathushtrotemas.
2. And of all these prior Fravashis, we worship here the Fravashi of Ahura Mazda,
which is the
greatest and the best, the most beautiful and the firmest, the most wise and
the best in form,
and the one that attains the most its ends because of Righteousness. 3. And
(having invoked
them) hither, we worship the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the holy ones,
those of the
Bountiful Immortals, the brilliant, of effective glance, the lofty, the devoted,
the swift ones
of the creatures of Ahura who are imperishable and holy.
4. And (having invoked them) hither, we worship the spirit and conscience, the
intelligence and
soul and Fravashi of those holy men and women who early heard the lore and commands
(of
God), and loved and strove after Righteousness, the ritual truth; and we worship
the soul of
the Kine of blessed gift. 5. And (having invoked it) hither, we worship the
Fravashi of Gaya
Maretan the holy, and the sanctity and Fravashi of Zarathushtra Spitama the
saint; and we
worship the Fravashi of Kavi Vishtasp the holy, and that of Isat-vastra the
Zarathushtrian,
the saint.
6. And (having invoked them) hither, we worship the life, conscience, intelligence,
soul and
Fravashi of the next of kin, of the saints male and female who have striven
after the ritual
truth, which are those of the dead and living saints, and which are those also
of men as yet
unborn, of the future prophets who will help on the renovation, and complete
the human
progress, with them all.
7. And (having invoked them) hither, we worship the souls of the dead [(Pazand)
which are the
Fravashis of the saints]; and of all the next of kin who have passed away in
this house, of the
Aethra-paitis (the teachers) and of the disciples; yea, of all holy men and
women; (8) and we
worship the Fravashis of all the holy teachers and disciples; and of all the
saints both male
and female.
9. (And having invoked them) hither we worship the Fravashis of all the holy
children who
fulfill the deeds of piety; and we worship the Fravashis of the saints within
the province; and
those of the saints without the province. 10. We worship the Fravashis of (those)
holy men
and holy women; we worship all the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the
saints from Gaya
Maretan (the first created) to the Saoshyant, the victorious.
11. Yea, we worship all the Fravashis of the saints, and we worship the souls
of the dead
[(Pazand) which are the Fravashis of the saints]!
YASNA 27 - PRELUDE TO THE CHIEF RECITAL OF THE AHUNWAR.
-------------------------------------------------------
1. This is to render Him who is of all the greatest, our lord and master (even)
Ahura Mazda. And
this to smite the wicked Angra Mainyu, and to smite Aeshma of the bloody spear,
and the
Mazainya Daevas, and to smite all the wicked Varenya Daevas.
2. And this is to further Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious, to further
the Bountiful
Immortals, and the influences of the star Tishtrya, the resplendent, the glorious,
(and) to the
furtherance of the holy man, and of all the (bountiful and) holy creatures of
the Bounteous
Spirit.
3-5. (The Ahunwar appears here with Y34.5, the A Airyema, and the Ashem Vohu.)
6. The Haomas are crushed, O Mazda, Khshathra, and Asha, O ye Lords! Good is
Sraosha who
accompanies the sacrifice with the great glory,' and may he be present affording
strenuous
help.
7. We are offering saving acts of wisdom and of worship with the sacred gift
of the Ahuna-
Vairya intoned with sanctity, and of the two mortars here brought forward with
holy act, and
with that of the correctly uttered words likewise; and therefore may they be
to us the more
saving in their wise significance.
8-12. (See Y33.11-14; and Y1.23, and Y12.)
13. As the Ahu is excellent, so is the Ratu (one who rules) from (his) sanctity,
a creator of
mental goodness, and of life's actions done for Mazda; and the Kingdom (is)
for Ahura, which
to the poor may offer a nurturer. 14. (What is Your Kingdom, Your riches; how
may I be
Your own in my actions, to nourish Your poor, O Mazda? Beyond; yea, beyond all
we declare
You, far from Daevas and Khrafstra-accursed mortals!)
15. We worship the Ahuna-vairya. We worship Asha Vahishta, the most beautiful,
the Bountiful
Immortal.
Ahunavaiti Gatha
================
[Translation by C. Bartholomae, from I.J.S. Taraporewala, The Divine Songs of
Zarathushtra.
YASNA 28.
---------
1. With outspread hands in petition for that help, O Mazda, I will pray for
the works of the
holy spirit, O thou the Right, whereby I may please the will of Good Thought
and the Ox-
Soul.
2. I who would serve you, O Mazda Ahura and Vohu Mano, do ye give through Asha
the
blessings of both worlds, the bodily and that of the Spirit, which set the faithful
in felicity.
3. I who would praise ye as never before, Right and Good Thought and Mazda Ahura,
and those
for whom Piety makes an imperishable Dominion to grow; come ye to me help at
my call.
4. I who have set my heart on watching over the soul, in union with Good Thought,
and as
knowing the rewards of Mazda Ahura for our works, will, while I have power and
strength,
teach men to seek after Right.
5. O Asha, shall I see thee and Good Thought, as one that knows? (Shall I see)
the throne of the
mightiest Ahura and the following of Mazda? Through this word (of promise) on
our tongue
will we turn the robber horde unto the Greatest.
6. Come thou with Good Thought, give through Asha, O Mazda, as the gift to Zarathushtra,
according to thy sure words, long enduring mighty help, and to us, O Ahura,
whereby we may
overcome the enmity of our foes.
7. Grant, O thou Asha, the reward, the blessing of Good Thought; O Piety, give
our desire to
Vishtaspa and to me; O thou Mazda and King, grant that your Prophet may command
a
hearing.
8. The best I ask of Thee, O Best, Ahura (Lord) of one will with the Best Asha,
desiring (it) for
the hero Frashaostra and for those (others) to whom thou wilt give (it), (the
best gift) of
Good Mind through all time.
9. With these bounties, O Ahura, may we never provoke your wrath, O Mazda and
Right and
Best Thought, we who have been eager in bringing you songs of praise. Ye are
they that are
the mightiest to advance desire and the Dominion of Blessings.
10. The wise whom thou knowest as worthy, for their right (doing) and their
good thought, for
them do thou fulfill their longing for attainment. For I know words of prayer
are effective
with Ye, which tend to a good object.
11. I would thereby preserve Right and Good Thought for evermore, that I may
instruct, do thou
teach me, O Mazda Ahura, from thy spirit by thy mouth how it will be with the
First Life.
YASNA 29.
---------
1. Unto you wailed the Ox-soul, "For whom did ye fashion me? Who created
me? Violence and
rapine (and) savagery hath oppressed me, and outrage and might. I have no other
herdsman
than you; prepare for me then the blessings of pasture."
2. Then the Ox-Creator asked of the Right: "Hast thou a judge for the Ox,
that ye may be able
to appoint him zealous tendance as well as fodder? Whom do ye will to be his
lord, who may
drive off violence together with the followers of the Lie?"
3. To him the Right replied: "There is for the Ox no helper that can keep
him away. Those
yonder have no knowledge how right-doers act towards the lowly".
(The Ox-Creator): "Strongest of beings is he to whose help I come at call".
4. (Asha) "Mazda knoweth best the purposes that have been wrought already
by demons and by
mortals, and that shall be wrought hereafter. He, Ahura, is the decider. So
shall it be as he
shall will."
5. (The Ox-Creator) "To Ahura with outspread hands we twain would pray,
my soul and that of
the pregnant cow, so that we twain urge Mazda with entreaties. Destruction is
not for the
right-living, nor for the cattle-tender at the hands of Liars."
6. Then spake Ahura Mazda himself, who knows the law with wisdom: "There
is found no lord
or judge according to the Right Order for the Creator hath formed thee for the
cattle-tender
and the farmer."
7. This ordinance about the fat hath Ahura Mazda, one in will with Right, created
for cattle, and
the milk for them that crave nourishment, by his command, the holy one.
(The Ox and Cow:) "Whom hast thou, O Good Thought, among men, who may care
for us
twain?"
8. (Vohu Manah:) He is known to me here who alone hath heard our commands, even
Zarathushtra Spitama; he willeth to make known our thoughts, O Mazda, and those
of the
Right. So let us bestow on him charm of speech.
9. Then the Ox-Soul lamented: "That I must be content with the ineffectual
word of an
impotent man for my protector, when I wish for one that commands mightily! When
ever
shall there be one who shall give him (the Ox) effective help?"
10. (Zarathushtra:) Do ye, O Ahura, grant them strength, and O Asha, and O Good
Thought, that
dominion, whereby he (the Savior) could produce good dwellings and peace. I
also have
realized thee, Mazda, as the first to accomplish this.
11. "Where are Right and Good Thought and Dominion? So, ye men, acknowledge
me, for
instruction, Mazda, for the great society."
(The Ox and Cow:) "O Ahura, now is help ours, we will be ready to serve
those that are of
you."
YASNA 30.
---------
1. Now I will proclaim to those who will hear the things that the understanding
man should
remember, for hymns unto Ahura and prayers to Good Thought; also the felicity
that is with
the heavenly lights, which through Right shall be beheld by him who wisely thinks.
2. Hear with your ears the best things; look upon them with clear-seeing thought,
for decision
between the two Beliefs, each man for himself before the Great consummation,
bethinking
you that it be accomplished to our pleasure.
3. Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves in vision as Twins, are
the Better and the
Bad, in thought and word and action. And between these two the wise ones chose
aright, the
foolish not so.
4. And when these twain Spirits came together in the beginning, they created
Life and Not-Life,
and that at the last Worst Existence shall be to the followers of the Lie, but
the Best
Existence to him that follows Right.
5. Of these twain Spirits he that followed the Lie chose doing the worst things;
the holiest Spirit
chose Right, he that clothes him with the massy heavens as a garment. So likewise
they that
are fain to please Ahura Mazda by dutiful actions.
6. Between these twain the Daevas also chose not aright, for infatuation came
upon them as
they took counsel together, so that they chose the Worst Thought. Then they
rushed
together to Violence, that they might enfeeble the world of men.
7. And to him (i.e. mankind) came Dominion, and Good Mind, and Right and Piety
gave
continued life to their bodies and indestructibility, so that by thy retributions
through
(molten) metal he may gain the prize over the others.
8. So when there cometh their punishment for their sins, then, O Mazda, at Thy
command shall
Good Thought establish the Dominion in the Consummation, for those who deliver
the Lie,
O Ahura, into the hands of Right.
9. So may we be those that make this world advance, O Mazda and ye other Ahuras,
come
hither, vouchsafing (to us) admission into your company and Asha, in order that
(our)
thought may gather together while reason is still shaky.
10. Then truly on the (world of) Lie shall come the destruction of delight;
but they who get
themselves good name shall be partakers in the promised reward in the fair abode
of Good
Thought, of Mazda, and of Right.
11. If, O ye mortals, ye mark those commandments which Mazda hath ordained --
of happiness
and pain, the long punishment for the follower of the Druj, and blessings for
the followers of
the Right -- then hereafter shall it be well.
YASNA 31.
---------
1. Mindful of your commands, we proclaim words unpleasant for them to hear that
after the
commands of the Lie destroy the creatures of Right, but most welcome to those
that give
their heart to Mazda.
2. If by reason of these things the better path is not in sight for choosing,
then will I come to
you all as judge of the parties twain whom Ahura Mazda knoweth, that we may
live according
to the Right.
3. What award Thou givest through the (holy) Spirit and through the Fire and
hast taught
through Asha, to both the parties, and what the decision is for the wise, this
do Thou tell us,
Mazda, that we may know, even with the tongue of Thine own mouth, that I may
convert all
living men.
4. If Asha is to be invoked and Mazda and the other Ahuras and Ashi and Armaiti,
do thou seek
for me, O Vohu Manah, the mighty Dominion, by the increase of which we might
vanquish
the Lie.
5. Tell me therefore what ye, O thou Right, have appointed me as the better
portion, for me to
determine, to know and to keep in mind, O thou Good Thought -- which portion
they envy
me. Tell me of all these things. O Mazda Ahura, that shall not or shall be.
6. To him shall the best befall, who, as one that knows, speaks to me Right's
truthful word of
Welfare and of Immortality; even the Dominion of Mazda which Good Thought shall
increase for him.
7. About which he in the beginning thus thought, "let the blessed realms
be filled with Light", he
it is that by his wisdom created Right. (Those realms) that the Best Thought
shall possess
those dost Thou exalt, O Mazda, through the Spirit, which, O Ahura, is ever
the same.
8. I recognize Thee, O Mazda, in my thought, that Thou the First art (also)
the Last -- that
Thou art Father of Vohu Manah; -- when I apprehend Thee with mine eye, that
Thou art the
true Creator of Right, and art the Lord to judge the actions of life.
9. Thine was Armaiti, Thine the Ox-Creator, (namely) the Wisdom of the Spirit,
O Mazda
Ahura, because Thou didst give (the cattle) choice whether to depend on a husbandman
or
one who is no husbandman.
10. So she chose for herself out of the two the cattle-tending husbandman as
her lord to guard the
Right, the man that advances Good Thought. He that is no-husbandman, O Mazda,
however
eager he be, has no part in this good message.
11. When Thou, O Mazda, in the beginning didst create the Individual and the
Individuality,
through Thy Spirit, and powers of understanding - when Thou didst make life
clothed with
the body, when (Thou madest) actions and teachings, whereby one may exercise
one's
convictions at one's free-will;
12. Then lifts up his voice the false speaker or the true speaker, he that knows
or he that knows
not, (each) according to his own heart and mind. Passing from one to another
Armaiti
confers with the spirit in whom there is wavering.
13. Whatever open or whatever secret (acts) may be visited with punishment,
or whether a
person for a little sin demands the highest punishment, -- of all this through
Asha Thou art
aware, observing it with Thy flashing eye.
14. These things I ask Thee, O Ahura, how will these come and happen -- the
dues, that in accord
with the records are appointed for the righteous, and those, O Mazda, for the
followers of the
Druj, -- how shall these be when they come to the reckoning.
15. This I ask, what penalty is for him who seeks to achieve kingdom for a liar,
for a man of ill
deeds, O Ahura, who finds not his living without injury to the husbandman's
cattle and men,
though he does him no injury.
16. This I ask, whether the understanding man, who strives to advance the Dominion
over the
house, or district, or land through Asha, shall become like Thee, O Mazda Ahura,
when will
he be and how will he act?
17. Which is the greater -- what the follower of Asha or what the follower of
Druj believe? Let
him that knows inform the wise; no longer let him that knows nothing deceive.
Be to us, O
Mazda Ahura, the Teacher of Good Thought.
18. Let none of you listen to the words and commands of the follower of the
Druj; for he brings
house and clan and district and land into misery and destruction. Resist them
with weapon!
19. To him should we listen who has understood Asha, to the wise Healer of Life
O Ahura, who
can or will establish the truth of the words of his tongue, when through Thy
red Fire, O
Mazda, the assignment (of rewards) is made to the two parties.
20. Whosoever cometh over to the Righteous, far from him hereafter shall be
long age of misery
(and) darkness, ill-food, and crying of woe. To such an existence, ye followers
of the Lie,
shall your own Self bring you through your (own) action.
21. Mazda Ahura by virtue of His absolute Lordship will grant a perpetuity of
communion with
Haurvatat and Ameretat, and with Asha, with Khshathra, and with Vohu Manah,
to him that
in spirit and in action is his friend.
22. Clear it is to the man of understanding, as one who has realized it with
his thought. He
upholds Asha together with good Dominion by his word and deed. He will be, O
Mazda Ahura,
the most helpful helper to Thee.
YASNA 32.
---------
1. (Zarathushtra) -- And his blessedness, even that of Ahura Mazda, shall the
nobles strive to
attain, his the community with the brotherhood, his, ye Daevas, in the manner
as I declare it.
(The Representatives of the Classes) -- As thy messengers we would keep them
far away that
are enemies to you.
2. To them Mazda Ahura, who is united with Good Thought, and is in goodly fellowship
with
glorious Right, through Dominion, made reply: We make choice of your holy good
Piety --
may it be ours.
3. (Zarathushtra) -- But ye, ye Daevas all, and he that highly honors you, are
the seed of Bad
Thought -- yes, and of the Lie and of Arrogance, likewise your deeds, whereby
ye have long
been known in the seventh region of the earth.
4. For ye have brought it to pass that men who do the worst things shall be
called beloved of the
Daevas, separating themselves from Good Thought, departing from the will of
Mazda Ahura
and from Right.
5. Thereby ye defrauded mankind of happy life and immortality, by the deed which
he and the
Bad Spirit together with Bad Thought and Bad Word taught you, ye Daevas and
the Liars, so
as to ruin (mankind).
6. The many sins by which he has succeeded in being famous whether by these
it shall be thus,
this Thou Knowest by the Best Thought, O Ahura, Thou who art mindful of each
person's
deserts. In Thy Dominion, O Mazda, and that of Asha, shall your decision thereon
be
observed.
7. None of these sins will the understanding commit, in eagerness to attain
the blessing that
shall be proclaimed, we know, through the glowing metal -- sins the issue of
which, O Ahura
Mazda, Thou knowest best.
8. Among these sinners, we know, Yima was included, Vivanghen's son, who desiring
to satisfy
men gave our people flesh of the ox to eat. From these shall I be separated
by Thee, O
Mazda, at last.
9. The teacher of evil destroys the lore, he by his teaching destroys the design
of life, he
prevents the possession of Good Thought from being prized. These words of my
spirit I wail
unto you, O Mazda, and to the Right.
10. He it is that destroys, who declares that the Ox and the Sun are the worst
things to behold
with the eyes, and hath made the pious into liars, and desolates the pastures
and lifts his
weapon against the righteous man.
11. It is they, the liars, who destroy life, who are mightily determined to
deprive matron and
master of the enjoyment of their heritage, in that they would prevent the righteous,
O
Mazda, from the Best Thought.
12. Since they by their lore would pervert men from the best doing, Mazda uttered
evil against
them, who destroy the life of the Ox with shouts of joy, by whom Grehma and
his tribe are
preferred to the Right and the Karapan and the lordship of them that seek after
the Lie.
13. Since Grehma shall attain the realm in the dwelling of the Worst Thought,
he and the
destroyers of life, O Mazda, they shall lament in their longing for the message
of Thy
prophet, who will stay them from beholding the Right.
14. To his undoing Grehma, and the Kavis, have long devoted their purpose and
energies, for
they set themselves to help the liar, and that it may be said, "The Ox
shall be slain that it
may kindle the Averter of Death to help us."
15. Thereby hath come to ruin the Karapan and the Kavi community, through those
whom they
will not have to rule over their life. These shall be born away from them both
to the dwelling
of Good Thought.
16. ..., who hast power, O Mazda Ahura, on him who threatens to be my undoing,
that I may
fetter the men of the Lie in their violence against my friends.
YASNA 33.
---------
1. According as it is with the laws that belong to the present life, so shall
the Judge act with
most just deed towards the man of the Lie and the man of the Right, and him
whose false
things and good things balance (in equal measure).
2. Whoso worketh ill for the liar by word or thought or hands, or converts his
dependent to the
good -- such men meet the will of Ahura Mazda to his satisfaction.
3. Whose is most good to the righteous man, be he noble or member of the community
or the
brotherhood, Ahura -- or with diligence cares for the cattle, he shall be hereafter
in the
pasture of Right and Good Thought.
4. I who by worship would keep far from Thee, O Mazda, disobedience and Bad
Thought, heresy
from the nobles, and from the community the Lie, that is most near, and from
the
brotherhood the slanderers, and the worst herdsmen from the pastures of the
cattle; -
5. I who would invoke thy Obedience as the greatest of all at the Consummation,
attaining long
life, and the Dominion of Good Thought, and the straight ways into Right, wherein
Mazda
Ahura dwells.
6. I, as a priest, who would learn the straight (paths) by the Right, would
learn by the Best Spirit
how to practice husbandry by that thought in which it is thought of; these Twain
of Thine, O
Ahura Mazda, I strive to see and take counsel with them.
7. Come hither to me, O ye Best Ones, hither, O Mazda, in Thine own person and
visibly, O
Right and Good Thought, that I may be heard beyond the limits of the people.
Let the august
duties be manifest among us and clearly viewed.
8. Consider ye my matters whereon I am active, O Good Thought, my worship, O
Mazda,
towards one like you, and O Right, the words of my praise. Grant, O Welfare
and
Immortality, your own everlasting blessing.
9. That Spirit of Thine, Mazda, together with the comfort of the Comrades Twain,
who
advance the Right, let the Best Thought bring through the Reform wrought by
me. Sure is the
support of those twain, whose souls are one.
10. All the pleasures of life which thou holdest, those that were, that are,
and that shall be O
Mazda, according to thy good will apportion them. Through Good Thought advance
thou the
body, through Dominion and Right at will.
11. The most mighty Ahura Mazda, and Piety, and Right that blesses our substance,
and Good
Thought and Dominion, hearken unto me, be merciful to me, when to each man the
recompense comes.
12. Rise up for me, O Ahura, through Armaiti give strength, through the holiest
Spirit give
might, O Mazda, through the good Recompense, through the Right give powerful
prowess,
through Good Thought give the reward.
13. To support me, O Thou that seest far onward, do ye assure me the incomparable
things in
your Dominion, O Ahura, as the Destiny of Good Thought. O Holy Armaiti, teach
the
Daenas about the Right.
14. As an offering Zarathushtra brings the life of his own body, the choiceness
of good thought,
action, and speech, unto Mazda, unto the Right, Obedience, and Dominion.
YASNA 34.
---------
1. The action, the word, and the worship for which Thou, O Mazda, shalt bestow
Immortality
and Right, and Dominion of Welfare - through multitudes of these, O Ahura, we
would that
thou shouldst give them.
2. And all the actions of the good spirit and the holy man, whose soul follows
the Right, do ye
set with the thought (thereof) in thine outer court, O Mazda, when ye are adored
with hymns
of praise.
3. To Thee and to Right we will offer the sacrifice with due service, that in
(Thy established)
Dominion ye may bring all creatures to perfection through Good Thought. For
the reward of
the wise man is for ever secure, O Mazda, among you.
4. Of Thy Fire, O Ahura, that is mighty through Right, promised and powerful,
we desire that it
may be for the faithful man with manifested delight, but for the enemy with
visible torment,
according to the pointings of the hand.
5. Have ye Dominion and power, O Mazda, Right and Good Thought, to do as I urge
upon you,
even to protect your poor man? We have renounced the robber-gangs, both demons
and men.
6. If ye are truly thus, O Mazda, Right and Good Thought, then give me this
token, even a total
reversal of this life, that I may come before you again more joyfully with worship
and praise.
7. Can they be true to thee, O Mazda, who by their doctrines turn the known
inheritances of
Good Thought into misery and woe [usheuru?]. I know none other but you, O Right,
so do ye
protect us.
8. For by these actions they put us in fear, in which peril is for many -- in
that the stronger
(puts in fear) (me) the weaker one -- through hatred of thy commandment, O Mazda.
They
that will not have the Right in their thought, from them shall the Good Abode
be far.
9. These men of evil action who spurn the holy Piety, precious to thy wise one,
O Mazda,
through their having no part in Good Thought, from them Right shrinks back far,
as from us
shrink the wild beasts of prey.
10. The man of understanding has instructed (people) to cling to action of this
Good Thought,
and to the Holy Piety, creator, comrade of Right -- wise that he is, and to
all hope, O Ahura,
that are in thy Dominion, O Mazda.
11. And both thy (gifts) shall be for sustenance, even nectar and ambrosia.
Piety linked with
Right shall advance the Dominion of Good Thought, its permanence and power.
By these, O
Mazda, dost thou bless the foes of thy foes.
12. What is thine ordinance? What willst thou? What of praise or what of worship?
Proclaim it,
Mazda, that we may hear what ordinances Destiny will apportion. Teach us by
Right the
paths of Good Thought that are blessed to go in, -
13. Even that way of Good Thought, O Ahura, of which thou didst speak to me,
whereon, a way
well made by Right, the Daena of the future benefactors shall pass to the reward
that was
prepared for the wise, of which thou art determinant, O Mazda.
14. The precious reward, then, O Mazda, ye will give by the action of Good Thought
to the
bodily life of those who are in the community that tends the pregnant cow, (the
promise of)
your good doctrine, Ahura, that of the wisdom which exalts communities through
Right.
15. O Mazda, make known to me he best teachings and actions, these O Good Thought
and O
Right the due of praise. Through your Dominion, O Ahura, assure us that mankind
shall be
capable according to (Thy) will.
YASNA HAPTANGHAITI.
===================
[Translated by L. H. Mills (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition,
1898.)]
YASNA 35 - PRAISE TO AHURA AND THE IMMORTALS; PRAYER FOR THE PRACTICE AND DIFFUSION
OF THE FAITH.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. We sacrifice to Ahura Mazda, the holy Lord of the ritual order, and to the
Bountiful
Immortals, who rule aright, who dispose of all aright; and we sacrifice to the
entire creation
of the clean, the spiritual and the mundane, with the longing blessing of the
beneficent ritual,
with the longing blessing of the benignant Religion, the Mazdayasnian Faith.
2. We are praisers of good thoughts, of good words, and of good actions, of
those now and those
hereafter [(Pazand) of those being done; and of those completed]. We implant
(?) them (with
our homage, and we do this) the more, and yet the more since we are (praisers)
of the good
(from whom they spring).
3. That, therefore, would we choose, O Ahura Mazda! and thou, O Righteousness
the beauteous!
that we should think, and speak, and do those thoughts, and words, and deeds,
among actual
good thoughts, and words, and actions, which are the best for both the worlds;
(4) and
together with these gifts (?) and actions which are thus the best, we would
pray for the Kine
(which represents the pure creation), that she may have comfort and have fodder
from the
famed! and from the humble, from the potent and the weak.
5. To the best of good rulers (is) verily the Kingdom, because we render and
ascribe it to Him,
and make it thoroughly His own (?), to Mazda Ahura do we ascribe it, and to
Righteousness
the Best.
6. As thus both man or woman knows (the duty), both thoroughly and truly, so
let him, or her,
declare it and fulfill it, and inculcate it upon those who may perform it as
it is. 7. We would
be deeply mindful of Your sacrifice and homage, Yours, O Ahura Mazda! and the
best, (and
we would be mindful) of the nurture of the Kine. And that let us inculcate,
and perform for
You according as we may; and (for) such (praisers as we are).
8. Under the shelter of the ritual Order let us do so in the active fulfillment
of its (precepts)
toward every one of the (clean) and better creatures which are fit to live,
with a gift for both
the worlds.
9. Yea, those words and sayings, O Ahura Mazda! we would proclaim as Righteousness,
and as of
the better mind (?); and we would make Thee the one who both supports (us in
our
proclamation) of them, and who throws still further light upon them (as they
are),
10. And by reason of Thy Righteous Order, Thy Good Mind, and Thy Sovereign Power,
and
through the instrumentality of our praises of Thee, O Ahura Mazda! and for the
purpose of
(still further) praises, by Thy spoken words, and for (still further) spoken
words, through Thy
Yasna, and for (still further) Yasnas (would we thus proclaim them, and make
Thee the
bestower of our light).
YASNA 36 - TO AHURA AND THE FIRE.
---------------------------------
1. We would approach You two, O (Ye) primeval ones in the house of this Thy
holy Fire, O
Ahura Mazda, Thou most bounteous Spirit! Who brings pollutions to this (Thy
flame) him
wilt Thou cover with pollutions (in his turn). 2. But as the most friendly do
Thou give us
zeal, O Fire of the Lord! and approach us, and with the loving blessing of the
most friendly,
with the praise of the most adored. Yea, may'st thou approach to aid us in this
our greatest
(undertaking) among the efforts of our zeal.
3. The Fire of Ahura Mazda art thou verily; yea, the most bounteous one of His
Spirit,
wherefore Thine is the most potent of all names (for grace), O Fire of the Lord!
4. And
therefore we would approach Thee, (O Ahura!) with the help of Thy Good Mind
(which
Thou dost implant within us), with Thy (good) Righteousness, and with the actions
and the
words inculcated by Thy good wisdom!
5. We therefore bow before Thee, and we direct our prayers to Thee with confessions
of our
guilt, O Ahura Mazda! with all the good thoughts (which Thou dost inspire),
with all the
words well said, and the deeds well done, with these would we approach Thee.
6. And to Thy
most beauteous body do we make our deep acknowledgments, O Ahura Mazda! to those
stars
(which are Thy body); and to that one, the highest of the high, [such as the
sun was called]!
YASNA 37 - TO AHURA, THE HOLY CREATION, THE FRAVASHIS OF THE JUST, AND THE BOUNTIFUL
IMMORTALS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Thus therefore do we worship Ahura Mazda, who made the Kine (the living creation),
and the
(embodied) Righteousness (which is incarnate in the clean), and the waters,
and the
wholesome plants, the stars, and the earth, and all (existing) objects that
are good. 2. Yea, we
worship Him for His Sovereign Power and His greatness, beneficent (as they are),
and with
priority among the Yazads who abide beside the Kine (and care for her protection
and
support).
3. And we worship Him under His name as Lord, to Mazda dear, the most beneficent
(of names).
We worship him with our bones, and with our flesh, (with our bodies and our
life). And we
worship the Fravashis of the saints, of holy men, and holy women; (4) and Righteousness
the
Best do we worship, the most beauteous, the Bountiful Immortal and that which
is endowed
with light in all things good.
5. And we worship the Good Mind (of the Lord), and His Sovereign Power, and
the Good Faith,
the good law of our thrift, and Piety the ready mind (within Thy folk)!
YASNA 38 - TO THE EARTH AND THE SACRED WATERS.
----------------------------------------------
1. And now we worship this earth which bears us, together with Thy wives, O
Ahura Mazda!
yea, those Thy wives do we worship which are so desired from their sanctity.
2. We sacrifice
to their zealous wishes, and their capabilities, their inquiries (as to duty),
and their wise acts of
pious reverence, and with these their blessedness, their full vigor and good
portions, their
good fame and ample wealth. 3. O ye waters! now we worship you, you that are
showered
down, and you that stand in pools and vats, and you that bear forth. (our loaded
vessels?) ye
female Ahuras of Ahura, you that serve us (all) in helpful ways, well forded
and full-flowing,
and effective for the bathings, we will seek you and for both the worlds! 4.
Therefore did
Ahura Mazda give you names, O ye beneficent ones! when He who made the good
bestowed
you. And by these names we worship you, and by them we would ingratiate ourselves
with
you, and with them would we bow before you, and direct our prayers to you with
free
confessions of our debt. O waters, ye who are productive, and ye maternal ones,
ye with heat
that suckles the (frail and) needy (before birth), ye waters (that have once
been) rulers of (us)
all, we will now address you as the best, and the most beautiful; those (are)
yours, those good
(objects) of our offerings, ye long of arm to reach our sickness, or misfortune,
ye mothers of
our life!
YASNA 39 - TO THE SOUL OF THE KINE, &C.
---------------------------------------
1. And now we sacrifice to the Kine's soul, and to her created body, and we
sacrifice to the souls
of cattle who are fit to live (for us), and whose (we?) are, such as are the
same to them.
2. And we worship the souls of those beasts which are tame and broken in, and
of wild herds, and
the souls of the saints wherever they were born, both of men and of women, whose
good
consciences are conquering in the strife against the Daevas, or will conquer,
or have
conquered.
3. And now we worship the Bountiful Immortals (all) the good, and both those
male, and those
female (by their names). The males among them do we worship, ever living, and
ever helpful,
who dwell beside the pious, and the females thus the same. 4. As Thou, O Ahura
Mazda! hast
thought and spoken, as thou hast determined, and hast done these things (effecting)
what is
good, therefore do we offer to Thee, therefore do we ascribe to Thee our praises,
and worship
Thee, and bow ourselves before Thee; and therefore would we direct our prayers
to Thee,
Ahura! with confessions of our sin.
5. And we thus draw near to Thee together with the good kinship of our kindred,
with that of
Righteousness the blessed, and the good law of thrift and energy and the good
Piety, the ready
mind (within Thy folk)!
YASNA 40 - PRAYERS FOR HELPERS.
-------------------------------
1. And now in these Thy dispensations, O Ahura Mazda! do Thou wisely act for
us, and with
abundance with Thy bounty and Thy tenderness as touching us; and grant that
reward which
Thou hast appointed to our souls, O Ahura Mazda! 2. Of this do Thou Thyself
bestow upon
us for this world and the spiritual; and now as part thereof (do Thou grant)
that we may
attain to fellowship with Thee, and Thy Righteousness for all duration.
3. And do Thou grant us, O Ahura! men who are righteous, and both lovers and
producers of the
Right as well. And give us trained beasts for the pastures, broken in for riding,
and for bearing,
(that they may be) in helpful companionship with us, and as a source of long
enduring vigor,
and a means of rejoicing grace to us for this.
4. So let there be a kinsman lord for us, with the laborers of the village,
and so likewise let there
be the clients (or the peers). And by the help of those may we arise.
So may we be to You, O Mazda Ahura! holy and true, and with free giving of our
gifts.
YASNA 41 - A PRAYER TO AHURA AS THE KING, THE LIFE, AND THE REWARDER.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Praises, and songs, and adorations do we offer to Ahura Mazda, and to Righteousness
the
Best; yea, we offer and we ascribe them, and proclaim them. 2. And to Thy good
Kingdom, O
Ahura Mazda! may we attain for ever, and a good King be Thou over us; and let
each man of
us, and so each woman, thus abide, O Thou most beneficent of beings, and for
both the
worlds! 3. Thus do we render Thee. the helpful Yazad, endowed with good devices,
the friend
of them (who worship Thee) with (well-adjusted) ritual; so may'st Thou be to
us our life, and
our body's vigor, O Thou most beneficent of beings, and that for both the worlds!
4. Aye, let us win and conquer (?) long life, O Ahura Mazda! in Thy grace, and
through Thy will
may we be powerful. May'st Thou lay hold on us to help, and long, and with salvation,
O
Thou most beneficent of beings!
5. Thy praisers and Mathra-speakers may we be called, O Ahura Mazda! so do we
wish, and to
this may we attain. What reward most meet for our deserving Thou hast appointed
for the
souls, O Ahura Mazda! (6) of that do Thou bestow on us for this life, and for
that of mind. Of
that reward (do Thou Thyself grant this advantage), that we may come under Thy
protecting
guardianship, and that of Righteousness for ever. We sacrifice to that brave
Yasna, the Yasna
Haptanghaiti, the holy, the ritual chief!
YASNA 42 - A SUPPLEMENT TO THE HAPTANGHAITI.
--------------------------------------------
1. We worship You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! the entire collection of this Yasna,
Haptanghaiti (as we sum up all). And we sacrifice to the fountains of the waters,
and to the
fordings of the rivers, to the forkings of the highways, and to the meetings
of the roads.
2. And we sacrifice to the hills that run with torrents, and the lakes that
brim with waters! and
to the corn that fills the corn-fields; and we sacrifice to both the protector
and the Creator,
to both Zarathushtra and the Lord.
3. And we sacrifice to both earth and heaven, and to the stormy wind that Mazda
made, and to
the peak of high Haraiti, and to the land, and all things good.
4. And we worship the Good Mind (in the living) and the spirits of the saints.
And we sacrifice
to the fish of fifty-fins, and to that sacred beast the Unicorn (?) which stands
in Vouru-kasha,
and we sacrifice to that sea of Vouru-kasha where he stands, (5) and to the
Haoma, golden-
flowered, growing on the heights; yea, to the Haoma that restores us, and aids
this world's
advance. We sacrifice to Haoma that driveth death afar, (6) and to the flood-streams
of the
waters, and to the great flights of the birds, and to the approaches of the
Fire-priests, as they
approach us from afar, and seek to gain the provinces, and spread the ritual
lore. And we
sacrifice to the Bountiful Immortals all!
Ushtavaiti Gatha
================
[Translation by Bartholomae, from I.J.S. Taraporewala, The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra.]
YASNA 43.
---------
1. To each several man, to whom Mazda Ahura ruling at his will grant after the
(petitioner's)
will, I will after his will that he attain permanence and power, lay hold of
Right - grant this, O
Piety, - the destined gift of wealth, the life of the Good Thought,
2. and it shall be for him the best of all things. After his longing for bliss
may one be given bliss,
through the provident most holy spirit, O Mazda, even the blessings of Good
Thought which
thou wilt give through Right all the days with joy of enduring life.
3. May he attain to that which is better than the good, who would teach us the
straight paths of
blessedness in this life here of the body and in that of thought - true paths
that lead to the
world where Ahura Mazda dwells - a faithful man, well-knowing and holy like
thee, O Mazda.
4. Then shall I recognize thee as strong and holy, O Mazda, when by the hand
in which thou
thyself dost hold the destinies that thou wilt assign to the Liar and the Righteous,
by the glow
of thy Fire whose power is Right, the might of Good Thought shall come to me.
5. As the holy one I recognize thee, Mazda Ahura, when I saw thee in the beginning
at the birth
of Life, when thou madest actions and words to have their meed - evil for the
evil, a good
destiny for the good - through thy wisdom when creation shall reach its goal.
6. At which goal thou wilt come with thy holy Spirit, O Mazda, with Dominion,
at the same
with Good Thought, by whose action the settlements will prosper through Right.
Their
judgments shall Piety proclaim, even those of thy wisdom which none can deceive.
7. As the holy one I recognized thee, Mazda Ahura, when Good Thought came to
me and asked
me: "Who art thou? to whom dost thou belong? By what signs wilt thou appoint
the days for
questioning about thy possessions and thyself?"
8. Then I said to him: "To the first (question), Zarathushtra am I, a true
foe to the Liar, to the
utmost of my power, but a powerful support would I be to the Righteous, that
I may attain
the future things of the infinite Dominion, according as I praise and sing thee,
O Mazda.
9. As the holy one I recognize thee, Mazda Ahura, when Good Thought came to
me. To his
question, "For which wilt thou decide" (I made reply). "At the
gift of adoration to thy Fire, I
will bethink me of Right so long as I have power.
10. Then show me Right, upon whom I call.
(Mazda:) "Associating him with Piety, I have come hither. Ask us now what
things are here
for thee to ask. For thy asking is as that of a mighty one, since he that is
able should make
thee as a mighty one possessed of thy desire."
11. As the holy one I recognized thee, Mazda Ahura, when Good Thought came to
me, when first
by your words I was instructed. Shall it bring me sorrow among men, my devotion,
in doing
that which ye tell me is the best.
12. And when thou saidest to me, 'To Right shalt thou go for teaching', then
thou didst not
command what I did not obey: 'Speed thee, ere my Obedience come, followed by
treasure-
laden Destiny, who shall render to men severally the destiny of the two-fold
award.'
13. As the holy one I recognized thee, Mazda Ahura, when Good Thought came to
me to learn
the state of my desire. Grant it me, that which none may compel you to allow,
(the wish) for
long continuance of blessed existence that they say is in thy Dominion.
14. If thy provident side, such as an understanding man who has the power would
give to his
friends, comes to me by the Dominion through Right, then I will bestir myself
to set myself
in opposition against the foes of thy Law, together with all those who are mindful
of thy
words.
15. As the holy one I recognized thee, Mazda Ahura, when Good Thought came to
me, when the
best Tushna-Matay taught me to declare: "Let not men seek again and again
to please the
Liars, for they make all the righteous enemies."
16. And Zarathushtra himself, O Ahura, chooses each one of thy holiest Spirit,
O Mazda. May
Right be embodied full of life and strength! May Piety abide in the Dominion
bright as the
sun! May Good Thought give destiny to men according to their works!
YASNA 44.
---------
1. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - as to prayer, how it should be to
one of you. O Mazda
Ahura, might one like thee teach to a friend such as I am, and through friendly
Right give us
support, that Good Thought may come to us.
2. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether at the beginning of the Best
Existence the
recompenses shall bring blessedness to him that meets with them. Surely he,
O Right, the
holy one, who watches in his spirit the transgression of all, if himself the
benefactor of all
that lives, O Mazda.
3. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. Who is by generation the Father of
Right, at the first?
Who determined the path of sun and stars? Who is it by whom the moon waxes and
wanes
again? This, O Mazda, and yet more, I am fain to know.
4. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. Who upholds the earth beneath and
the firmament
from falling? Who the waters and the plants? Who yoked swiftness to winds and
clouds? Who
is, O Mazda, creator of Good Thought?
5. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. What artist made light and darkness?
What artist made
sleep and waking? Who made morning, noon, and night, that call the understanding
man to
his duty?
6. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether what I proclaim is verily
the truth. Will Right
with its actions give aid (at the last)? will Piety? Will Good Thought announce
from the
Dominion? For whom hast thou made the pregnant cow that brings good luck?
7. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. Who created together with Dominion
the precious
Piety? Who made by wisdom the son obedient to his father? I strive to recognize
by these
things thee, O Mazda, creator of all things through the holy spirit.
8. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. I could keep in mind thy design, O
Mazda, and
understand aright the maxims of life which I ask of Good Thought and Right.
How will my
soul partake of the good that gives increase?
9. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether for the Self that I would
bring to perfection,
that of the man of insight, the Lord of Dominion would make promises of the
sure
Dominion, one of thy likenesses, O Mazda, who dwells in one abode with (Right)
and Good
Thought.
10. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. The Religion which is best for (all)
that are, which in
union with Right should prosper all that is mine, will they duly observe it,
the religion of my
creed, with words and action of Piety, in desire for thy (future) good things,
O Mazda?
11. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether Piety will extend to those
to whom thy
Religion shall be proclaimed? I was ordained at the first for this by thee;
all others I look
upon with hatred of spirit.
12. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. Who among those with whom I would
speak is a
righteous man, and who a liar? On which side is the enemy? (On this), or is
he the enemy, the
Liar who opposes thy blessings? How shall it be with him? Is he not to be thought
of as an
enemy?
13. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether we shall drive the Lie away
from us to those
who being full of disobedience will not strive after fellowship with Right,
nor trouble
themselves with counsel of Good Thought.
14. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether I would put the Lie into
the hands of Right,
to cast her down by the words of thy lore, to work a mighty destruction among
the Liars, to
bring torments upon them and enmities, O Mazda.
15. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - if thou hast power over this to
ward off from me
through Right, when the two opposing hosts meet in battle according to those
decrees which
thou wilt firmly establish. Whether is it of the twain that thou wilt give victory.
16. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. Who is victorious to protect by thy
doctrine (all) that
are? By vision assure me how to set up the judge that heals the world. Then
let him have
Obedience coming with Good Thought unto every man whom thou desirest, O Mazda.
17. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether through you I shall attain
my goal, O Mazda,
even attachment unto you, and that my voice may be effectual, that Welfare and
Immortality may be ready to unite according to that promise with him who joins
himself
with Right.
18. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura - whether I shall indeed, O Right,
earn the reward, even
ten mares with a stallion and a camel, which was promised to me, O Mazda, as
well as through
thee, the future gift of Welfare and Immortality.
19. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, Ahura. He that will not give the reward
to him that earns it,
even to the man who fulfilling his word gives him (what he undertook) - what
penalty shall
come to him for the same at the present? I know that which shall come to him
at the last.
20. Have the Daevas ever exercised good dominion? And I ask of those who see
how for the
Daevas' sake the Karapan and the Usij give cattle to violence, and how the Kavi
made them
continually to mourn, instead of taking care that they make the pastures prosper
through
Right.
YASNA 45.
---------
1. I will speak forth: hear now and hearken now, ye from near and ye from far
that desire
(instruction). Now observe this in your mind, all of you, for he is revealed.
Never shall the
false Teacher destroy the Second Life, the Liar, in perversion by his tongue
into evil belief.
2. I will speak of the Spirits twain at the first beginning of the world, of
whom the holier spoke
thus to the enemy: "Neither thought, nor teachings, nor wills, nor beliefs,
nor words, nor
deeds, nor selfs, nor souls of us twain agree".
3. I will speak of that which Mazda Ahura, the all-knowing, revealed to me first
in this (earthly)
life. Those of you that put not in practice this word as I think and utter it,
to them shall be
woe at the end of life.
4. I will speak of what is best for the life. Through Asha I have come to know,
O Mazda, who
created it (the life), the father of active Good Thought: but his daughter is
the good-working
Armaiti. The all-observant Ahura is not to be deceived.
5. I will speak of that which (he), the Holiest declared to me as the word that
is best for mortals
to obey; while he said: "they who for my sake render him obedience, shall
all attain unto
Welfare and Immortality by the actions of the Good Spirit" - (he) Mazda
Ahura.
6. I will speak of him who is the greatest of all, praising him, O Right, who
is bounteous to all
that live. By the holy spirit let Mazda Ahura hearken, in whose Adoration I
have been
instructed by Good Thought. By his wisdom let him teach me what is best,
7. Even he whose two awards, whereof he ordains, men shall attain, who so are
living or have
been or shall be. In immortality shall the soul of the righteous be joyful,
in perpetuity shall be
the torment of Liars. All this doth Mazda Ahura appoint by his Dominion.
8. Him thou shouldst seek to win for us by hymns of adoration (in thy mind):
"Now indeed have
I seen it with mine eye, (the Kingdom) of the good spirit and of (good) action
and word, since
I have learnt to know Mazda Ahura through Right". Let us offer him homage
in the House of
Song.
9. Him thou shouldst seek to propitiate for us together with Good Thought, who
at his will
maketh us weal or woe. May Mazda Ahura by his Dominion bring us to work, for
prospering
our beasts and our men, so that we may through Right have familiarity with Good
Thought.
10. Him thou shouldst seek to exalt with prayers of piety, him that is called
Mazda Ahura for
ever, for that he hath promised through his own Right and Good Thought that
Welfare and
Immortality shall be for us in his Dominion strength and perpetuity in his house.
11. Whoso therefore in the future lightly esteemeth the Daeva and those mortals
that lightly
esteem him - even all others save that one who highly esteemeth him, - unto
his shall the
holy Daena of the future deliverer, as lord of the house, be friend, brother
or father, O Mazda
Ahura.
YASNA 46.
---------
1. To what land shall I go to flee, whither to flee? From nobles and from my
peers they sever
me, nor are the people pleased with me [......], nor the Liar rulers of the
land. How am I to
please thee, Mazda Ahura?
2. I know wherefore, O Mazda, I have been unable (to achieve) anything. Only
a few herds are
mine (and therefore it is so) and because I have got but few people. I cry unto
thee, see thou
to it, O Ahura, granting me support a friend gives to friend. Teach me through
the Right
what the acquisition of Good Thought is.
3. When, Mazda, shall the sunrisings come forth for the worlds winning of Right,
through the
powerful teachings of the wisdom of the future Deliverers? Who are they to whose
help Good
Thought shall come? I have faith that thou wilt thyself fulfill this for me,
O Ahura.
4. The Liar stays the supporter of Right from prospering the cattle in district
and province,
infamous that he is, repellent in his actions. Whoso, Mazda, robs him of dominion
or of life,
he shall go before and prepare the ways of the good belief.
5. If an understanding man should be able to hold one who comes over from his
vow and his ties
of faith, himself having brought him thereto, and living according to the ordinance,
a
righteous man (converting) a Liar - then shall he, when he is sure of him, tell
it to the nobles,
that they may protect him from injury, O Mazda Ahura.
6. But whoso when thus approached should refuse his aid, he shall go to the
abodes of the
company of the Liar. For he is himself a Liar, who is very good to a Liar, he
is a righteous
man to whom a righteous man is dear, since thou hast created men's Selves in
the beginning,
O Ahura.
7. Whom, O Mazda, can one appoint as protector for one like me, when the Liar
sets himself
to injure me, other than Thy Fire and Thy Thought, through actions of which
twain the
Right will come to maturity, O Ahura? In this lore do thou instruct my very
self.
8. Whoso is minded to injure my possessions, from his actions may no harm come
to me! Back
upon himself may they come with hostility, against his own person, all the hostile
(acts), to
keep him far from the Good Life, Mazda, not from the ill!
9. Who is it, the faithful man he, who first taught that we honor thee as mightiest
to help, as
the holy righteous Lord over action? What thy Right made known, what the Ox-Creator
made known to Right, they would fain hear through thy Good Mind.
10. Whoso, man or woman, doeth what thou, Mazda Ahura, knowest as best in life,
as destiny for
what is Right (give him) the Dominion through Good Thought. And those whom I
impel to
your adoration, with all these will I cross the Bridge of the Separator.
11. By their dominion the Karapans and the Kavis accustomed mankind to evil
actions, so as to
destroy Life. Their own soul and their own self shall torment them when they
come where
the Bridge of the Separator is, to all time dwellers in the House of the Lie.
12. When among the laudable descendants and posterity of the Turanian Fryana
the Right
ariseth, through activity of Piety that blesseth substance; then shall Good
Thought admit
them, and Mazda Ahura give them protection at the Fulfillment.
13. Whoso among mortals has pleased Spitama Zarathushtra by his willingness,
a man deserving
of good fame, to him shall Mazda Ahura give Life, to him shall Good Thought
increase
substance, him we account to be a familiar friend with your Right.
14. O Zarathushtra, what righteous man is thy friend for the great covenant?
Who wills to have
good fame? It is the Kava Vishtaspa at the consummation. Those whom thou wilt
unite in
one house with thee, these will I call with words of Good Thought.
15. Ye Haechataspa Spitamas, I will declare unto ye so that ye can discern the
wise and the
unwise. ... Through these actions ye shall acquire Right according to the primeval
laws of
Ahura.
16. Frashaoshtra Hvogva, go thou thither with those faithful whom we both desire
to be in
blessedness, where with Right is united Piety, where the Dominion is in possession
of Good
Thought, where Mazda Ahura dwells to give it increase.
17. When, O Jamaspa Hvogva, when I recount your wrongs not your successes, (and)
with your
obedience the prayers of your loyalty, (before him) who shall separate the wise
and the
unwise through his prudent counselor the Right, even he, Mazda Ahura.
18. He that holds unto me, to him I promise what is best in my possession through
the Good
Thought, but enmities to him that shall set himself to devise enmity to us,
O Mazda and the
Right, desiring to satisfy your will. That is the decision of my understanding
and thought.
19. He who accomplisheth for me, even Zarathushtra, in accordance with Right
that which best
agrees with my will, to him as earning the reward of the Other Life shall be
that of two
pregnant cows, with all things whereon his mind is set. These things will thou
bring to pass
for me who best knowest how, O Mazda.
Spentamainyush Gatha
====================
[Translation by Bartholomae, from I.J.S. Taraporewala, The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra.]
YASNA 47.
---------
1. For his holy Spirit and for Best Thought, deed, and word, in accordance with
Right Mazda
Ahura with Dominion and Piety shall give us Welfare and Immortality.
2. The best (work) of this most holy Spirit he fulfills with the tongue through
words of Good
Thought, with work of his hands through the action of Piety, by virtue of this
knowledge: he,
even Mazda, is the Father of Right.
3. Thou art the holy Father of this Spirit, which has created for us the luck-bringing
cattle, and
for its pasture to give it peace (has created) Piety, when he had taken counsel,
O Mazda, with
Good Thought.
4. From this Spirit have Liars fallen away, O Mazda, but not the Righteous.
Whether one is lord
of little or of much, he is to show love to the righteous, but be ill unto the
Liar.
5. And all the best things which by this Holy Spirit thou hast promised to the
righteous, O
Mazda Ahura, shall the Liar partake of them without thy will, who by his actions
is on the
side of Ill Thought?
6. Through this holy Spirit, Mazda Ahura, and through the Fire thou wilt give
the division of
good to the two parties, with support of Piety and Right. This verily will convert
many who
are ready to hear.
YASNA 48.
---------
1. When at the Recompensings the Right shall smite the Liar, so that what was
long since made
known shall be assigned to eternity to Daevas and men, then will it exalt with
thy blessings,
Ahura, him who prays to thee.
2. Tell me, for thou art he that knows, O Ahura: - shall the Righteous smite
the Liar before the
retributions come which thou hast conceived? That were indeed a message to bless
the world.
3. For him that knows, that is the best of teachings which the beneficent Ahura
teaches through
the Right, he the holy one, even thyself, O Mazda, that knows the secret lore
through the
wisdom of Good Thought.
4. Whoso, O Mazda, makes his thought (now) better, (now) worse, and likewise
his Self by
action and by word, and follows his own inclinations, wishes, and choices, he
shall in thy
purpose be in a separate place at last.
5. Let good rulers rule us, not evil rulers with the actions of the Good Lore,
O Piety! Perfect
thou for man, O thou most good, the future birth, and for the cow skilled husbandry.
Let her
grow fat for our nourishing.
6. She (Armaiti) will give us peaceful dwelling, she will give lasting life
and strength, she the
beloved of Good Thought. For it (the cattle) Mazda Ahura made the plants to
grow at the
birth of the First Life, through Right.
7. Violence must be put down! against cruelty make a stand, ye who would make
sure of the
reward of Good Thought through Right, to whose company the holy man belongs.
His
dwelling place shall be in thy House, O Ahura.
8. Is the possession of thy good Dominion, Mazda, is that of thy Destiny assured
to me Ahura?
Will thy manifestation, O thou Right, be welcome to the pious, even the weighing
of actions
by the Good Spirit?
9. When shall I know whether ye have power, O Mazda and Right, over everyone
whose
destructiveness is a menace to me? Let the revelation of Good Thought be confirmed
unto
me; the future deliverer should know how his own destiny shall be.
10. When, O Mazda, will the nobles understand the message? When will thou smite
the filthiness
of this intoxicant, through which the Karapans evilly deceive, and the wicked
lords of the
lands with purpose fell?
11. When, O Mazda, shall Piety come with Right, with Dominion the happy dwelling
rich with
pasture? Who are they that will make peace with the bloodthirsty Liars? To whom
will the
Lore of Good Thought come?
12. These shall be the deliverers of the provinces, who exert themselves, O
Good Thought in
their action, O Asha, to fulfill their duty, face to face with thy command,
O Mazda. For these
are the appointed smiters of Violence.
YASNA 49.
---------
1. Ever has Bendva been for me the greatest obstacle, I who desire to give satisfaction
to those
who are neglected, O Right, O Mazda. With good Ada come to me, support me firmly.
Prepare for him (his) ruin, O Good Thought.
2. The perverter of this Bendva has long time impeded me, the Liar who has fallen
away from
Right. He cares not that holy Piety should be his, nor takes the counsel with
Good Thought,
O Mazda.
3. And in this belief (of ours), O Mazda, Right is laid down, for blessing,
in the heresy the Lie,
for ruin. Therefore I strive for the fellowship of Good Thought, I forbid all
intercourse with
the Liar.
4. They who make the increase of violence and cruelty with their tongues, the
foes of cattle-
nurture among its friends; whose ill deeds prevail, not their good deeds: these
(shall be) in the
house of the Daevas, (the place for) the Self of the Liar.
5. But he, O Mazda, - happiness and satiety be his who links his own Self with
Good Thought,
being through Right an intimate of Piety. And with all these (may I be) in Thy
Dominion,
Ahura.
6. I beseech you twain, O Mazda and the Right, to say what are the plans of
your will, that we
may discern how we might teach the Religion of such as you, O Ahura.
7. And this let Good Thought hear, O Mazda, let the Right hear, do thou also
listen, O Ahura,
which men of the brotherhood, what noble is it according to the Law who brings
to the
community fame.
8. On Frashaoshtra do thou bestow the most gladsome fellowship with the Right
- this I ask
thee, O Mazda Ahura - and on myself the hold on what is good in thy Dominion.
To all
eternity we would be thy messengers.
9. Let the helper hear the ordinance, he that is created to bring deliverance.
The man of right
words is no regarder of fellowship with the Liar, if they that are partakers
of Right are to
make their Selves partake in the best reward at the Judgment, O Jamaspa.
10. And this, O Mazda, will I put in thy care within thy House - the Good Thought
and the souls
of the Righteous, their worship, their Piety and zeal, that thou mayst guard
it, O thou mighty
Dominion, with abiding power.
11. But these that are of an evil dominion, of evil deeds, evil words, evil
Self, and evil thought,
Liars, the Souls go to meet them with evil food; in the House of the Lie they
shall be meet
inhabitants.
12. What help hast thou, O Right, for Zarathushtra that calls upon me? What
hast thou, Good
Thought? -- for me who with praises seeks your favor, O Mazda Ahura, longing
for that
which is best in your possession.
YASNA 50.
---------
1. (Zarathushtra:) Can my soul count on any one for help? Who is there found
for my herd,
who for myself a protector, indeed, at my call other than the Right and thyself.
O Mazda
Ahura, and the Best Thought?
2. How, O Mazda, should one desire the luck-bringing cattle, one who would fain
it would come
to him with the pasture?
(Mazda:) They that live uprightly according to the Right among the many that
look upon
the sun, those whom they stand in judgment, I will settle in the dwellings of
the wise.
3. (Zarathushtra:) So this (reward) shall come to him through the Right, O Mazda,
(this reward)
which by the Dominion and Good Thought he promised, whomsoever by the power
of his
Destiny prospers the neighboring possession that now the Liar holds.
4. I will worship you with praise, O Mazda Ahura, joined with Right and Best
Thought and
Dominion, that they, desired of pious men, may stand as Judges on the path of
the obedient
unto the House of Song.
5. Assured by you, O Mazda Ahura and Right, are the pointings of the hand -
since you are well-
disposed to your prophet - which shall bring us to bliss, together with visible
manifest help.
6. The prophet Zarathushtra, O Mazda, who lifts up his voice in worship, as
friend of Asha -
may the Creator of Wisdom teach me his ordinances through Good Thought, that
my tongue
may have a pathway.
7. For you I will harness the swiftest steeds, stout and strong, by the promptings
of your praise,
that ye may come hither, O Mazda, Right, and Good thought.
8. Ever with verses that are recognized as those of pious zeal I will come before
you with
outstretched hands, O Mazda, before you, O thou Right, with worship of the faithful
man,
before you with all the capacity of Good Thought.
9. With those prayers I would come and praise you, O Mazda and thou Right, with
actions of
Good Thought. If I be master of my own destiny as I will, then will I take thought
for the
portion of the wise in the same.
10. Those actions that I shall achieve and those done aforetime, and those,
O Good Thought,
that are precious in thy sight, the rays of the sun, the shimmering uprisings
of the days, all is
for your praise, O thou Right and Mazda Ahura.
11. Your praiser, Mazda, will I declare myself and be, so long, O Right, as
I have strength and
power. May the Creator of the world accomplish through Good Thought its fulfillment
of all
that most perfectly answers to his will.
Vohukhshathra Gatha
===================
YASNA 51.
---------
[Translation by Bartholomae, from I.J.S. Taraporewala, The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra.]
1. The good, the precious Dominion, as a most surpassing portion, shall Right
achieve for him
that with zeal accomplishes what is best through his actions, O Mazda. This
will I now work
out for us.
2. Before all, O Mazda Ahura, assure me the Dominion of your possession, O Right,
and what is
thine, O Piety. Your (Dominion) of blessing give through Good Thought to him
that prays.
3. Let your ears attend to those who in their deeds and utterances hold to your
words, Ahura and
Right, to those of Good Thought, for whom thou, Mazda, art the first teacher.
4. Where is the recompense for wrong to be found, where pardon for the same?
Where shall
they attain the Right? Where is the holy Piety, where Best Thought? Thy Dominions,
where
are they, O Mazda?
5. All this (I) ask, whether the husbandman shall find cattle in accordance
with Right, he that is
perfect in action, a man of understanding, when he prays to him, who hath promised
unto the
Wise the true Judge, in that he is Lord of the two destinies...
6. Even he, Ahura Mazda, who through his Dominion appoints what is better than
good to him
that is attached to his will, but what is worse than evil to him that obeys
him not, at the last
end of life.
7. Give me, O thou that didst create the Ox and Waters and Plants, Welfare and
Immortality,
by the Highest Spirit, O Mazda, strength and continuance through Good Thought
at the
(Judge's) sentence.
8. Of these two things will I speak, O Mazda, - for one may speak to the wise,
- the ill that is
threatened to the Liar, and the happiness of him who clings to the Right. For
he, the
Prophet, is glad of every one who says this to the wise.
9. What recompense thou wilt give to the two parties by thy red Fire, by the
molten metal, give
us a sign of it in our souls - even the bringing of ruin to the Liar, of blessing
to the Righteous.
10. Whoso, other than this one, seeks to kill me, Mazda, he is a son of the
Lie's creation, ill-
willed thus towards all that live. I call the Right to come to me with good
destiny.
11. What man is friend to Spitama Zarathushtra, O Mazda? Who will let himself
be counseled by
Right? With whom is holy Piety? Or who as an upright man is intent on the brotherhood
of
Good Thought?
12. The Kavi's wanton did not please Zarathushtra Spitama at the Winter Gate,
in that he stayed
him from taking refuge with him, and when there came to him also (Zarathushtra's)
two
steeds shivering with cold.
13. Thus the Self of the Liar destroys for himself the assurance of the right
Way; whose soul
shall tremble at the Revelation on the Bridge of the Separator, having turned
aside with deeds
and tongue from the Path of Right.
14. The Karapans will not obey the statutes and ordinances concerning husbandry.
For the pain
they inflict upon the cattle, fulfill upon them through their actions and judgments
that
judgment which at the last shall bring them to the House of the Lie.
15. When Zarathushtra hath promised to the men of his brotherhood, (which) in
the House of
Song Ahura Mazda hath first attained, for all this I have looked through your
blessings, Good
Thought, and those of Right.
16. Kavi Vishtaspa hath the creed which the holy Mazda Ahura with Right hath
devised, together
with the dominion of the Brotherhood, and the path of Good Thought. So be it
accomplished
after our desire.
17. The fair form of one that is dear hath Frashaoshtra Hvogva promised unto
me: may
sovereign Mazda Ahura grant that she attain possession of the Right for her
good Self.
18. This creed Jamaspa Hvogva chooses through Right, lordly in substance. This
Dominion they
(choose) who have part in Good Thought. This grant me, Ahura, that they may
find in thee,
Mazda, their protection.
19. The man himself, O Maidyoi-Maungha Spitama, hath set this before him after
conceiving it
in his own self. He that would see life indeed, to him will he make known what
in actions by
Mazda's ordinance is better during (this) existence.
20. Your blessings shall ye give us, all that are one in will, with whom Right,
Good Thought,
Piety, and Mazda (are one) according to promise, giving your aid when worshipped
with
reverence.
21. By Piety the man becomes Holy. Such person advances Right through his thinking,
his words,
his action, his Self. By Good Thought Mazda Ahura will give the Dominion. For
this good
Destiny I long.
22. He, I ween, that Mazda Ahura knoweth among all that have been and are, as
one to whom in
accordance with Right the best portion falls for his prayer, these will I reverence
by their own
names and go before them with honor.
YASNA 52 - A PRAYER FOR SANCTITY AND ITS BENEFITS.
--------------------------------------------------
[Translated by L. H. Mills (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition,
1898.)]
1. I pray with benedictions for a benefit, and for the good, even for the entire
creation of the
holy (and the clean); I beseech for them for the (generation which is) now alive,
for that
which is just coming into life, and for that which shall be hereafter. And (I
pray for that)
sanctity which leads to prosperity, and which has long afforded shelter, which
goes on hand in
hand with it, which joins it in its walk, and of itself becoming its close companion
as it
delivers forth its precepts, (2) bearing every form of healing virtue which
comes to us in
waters, appertains to cattle, or is found in plants, and overwhelming, all the
harmful malice
of the Daevas, (and their servants) who might harm this dwelling and its lord,
(3) bringing
good gifts, and better blessings, given very early, and later (gifts), leading
to successes, and for
a long time giving shelter. And so the greatest, and the best, and most beautiful
benefits of
sanctity fall likewise to our lot (4) for the sacrifice, homage, propitiation,
and the praise of
the Bountiful Immortals, for the bringing prosperity to this abode, and for
the prosperity of
the entire creation of the holy, and the clean, (and as for this, so) for the
opposition of the
entire evil creation. (And I pray for this) as I praise through Righteousness,
I who am
beneficent, those who are (likewise of a better mind).
5-8. (See Y8.5-8.)
Vahishtoishti Gatha
===================
[Translation by Bartholomae, from I.J.S. Taraporewala, The Divine Songs of Zarathushtra.]
YASNA 53.
---------
1. (Zarathushtra) - The best possession known is of Zarathushtra Spitama, which
is that Mazda
Ahura will give him through Right the glories of blessed life unto all time,
and likewise to
them that practice and learn the words and actions of his Good Religion.
2. Then let them seek the pleasure of Mazda with thoughts, words, and actions,
unto him praise
gladly, and seek his worship, even Kava Vishtaspa, and Zarathushtra's son, the
Spitamid, with
Frashaoshtra, making straight the paths for the Religion of the future Deliverer
which Ahura
ordained.
3. Him, O Pouruchista, thou scion of Haechataspa and Spitama, youngest of Zarathushtra's
daughters, hath (Zarathushtra) appointed as one to enjoin on them the fellowship
with Good
Thought, Right, and Mazda. So take counsel with thine own understanding, with
good insight
practice the holiest works of Piety.
4. (Jamaspa): Earnestly will I lead her to the Faith, that she may serve her
father and her
husband, the farmers and the nobles, as a righteous woman (serving) the righteous.
The
glorious heritage of Good Thought ... shall Mazda Ahura give to her for all
time.
5. (Zarathushtra): Teachings address I to maidens marrying, and to you (bridegrooms)
giving
counsel. Lay them to heart and learn to get them within your Selves in earnest
attention to
the Life of Good Thought. Let each of you strive to excel the other in the Right,
for it will
be a prize for that one.
6. So is it in fact, ye men and women! Whatever happiness ye look for in the
follower of the
(...) that will be snatched away from his person. To them the Liars, crying
'woe', shall be ill-
food, paradise shall be lost to them that despite righteousness. In such wise
ye destroy for
yourselves the Spiritual Life.
7. And to you shall accrue the reward of the Brotherhood - in so far as the
most faithful zeal is
in your flesh and blood - there where the spirit of the Liar, cringing and cowering,
shall fall
down into destruction. If you separate yourselves from the Brotherhood, then
will 'woe!' be
your word at the end of things.
8. So they whose deeds are evil, let them be deceived, and let them all howl,
abandoned to ruin.
Through good rulers let him bring death and bloodshed upon them and peace from
these
(their assaults) unto the happy villagers. Grief let him bring on those, he
that is the greatest,
with the lord of death; and soon let it be.
9. To men of evil creed belongs the place of corruption. They that set themselves
to contemn
the worthy, despising righteousness, forfeiting their own body. - Where is the
Righteous Lord
who shall rob them of life and freedom? Thine Mazda is the Dominion, whereby
thou canst
give to the right-living poor man the better portion.
YASNA 54 - The Airyema-Ishyo.
-----------------------------
[Translated by L. H. Mills (From Sacred Books of the East,
American Edition, 1898.)]
1. Let the Airyaman, the desired friend and peersman, draw near for grace to
the men and to the
women who are taught of Zarathushtra, for the joyful grace of the Good Mind,
whereby the
conscience may attain its wished-for recompense. I pray for the sacred reward
of the ritual
order which is (likewise so much) to be desired; and may Ahura Mazda grant it,
(or cause it to
increase).
--------------------
2. We sacrifice to the Airyema-ishyo, the powerful, the victoriously smiting,
the opponent of
assaulting malice, the greatest of the sentences of the holy ritual order. And
we sacrifice to
the bounteous Gathas that rule supreme in the ritual, the holy (and august).
And we sacrifice
to the Praises of the Yasna which were the productions of the world of old.
YASNA 55 - THE WORSHIP OF THE GATHAS AS CONCLUDED, THAT OF THE STAOTA YESNYA
AS BEGINNING.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. We present hereby and we make known, as our offering to the bountiful Gathas
which rule (as
the leading chants) within (the appointed times and seasons of) the Ritual,
all our landed
riches, and our persons, together with our very bones and tissues, our forms
and forces, our
consciousness, our soul, and Fravashi.
2. That which Gathas (may) be to us, which are our guardians and defenders,
and our spiritual
food, yea, which (may) be to our souls both food and clothing, such are these
Gathas to us,
guardians, and defenders, and (spiritual) food, even such they are, both food
and clothing to
the soul.
And (may) they be to us (for this our offering) abundant givers of rewards,
and just and
righteous ones, for the world beyond the present, after the parting of our consciousness
and
body. 3. And may these (Praises of the Offering) come forth, and appear for
us with power
and victorious assault, with health and healing, with progress, and with growth,
with
preparation and protection, with beneficence and sanctity, and abounding with
gifts toward
him who can understand; yea, let them appear (with free liberality to the enlightened),
let
them appear as Mazda, the most beneficent, has produced them, He the one who
is victorious
when He smites, and who helps the settlements advance, for the protection, and
the guarding
of the religious order of the settlements which are now being furthered, and
of those which
shall bring salvation to us, and for the protection of the entire creation of
the holy (and the
clean).
--------------------
4. And may'st thou, (O Asha! who abidest within the Gathas), give to every holy
man who
comes with this prayer for a blessing, and endeavoring to help himself, according
to his good
thoughts, and words, and deeds.
5. We are therefore worshipping both the (divine) Righteousness and the Good
Mind, and the
bountiful Gathas, that rule as the leading chants within (the times and the
seasons of) the
holy ritual order.
--------------------
6. And we worship the Praises of the Yasna which were the production of the
ancient world,
those which are (now) recollected and put in use, those which are now learned
and taught,
those which are being held (in mind, and so) repeated, those remembered and
recited, and
those worshipped, and thus the ones which further the world through grace in
its advance.
And we worship the part(s) of the Praises of the Yasna, and their recitation
as it is heard,
even their memorized recital, and their chanting, and their offering (as complete).
YASNA 56 - INTRODUCTION TO THE SROSH YASHT.
-------------------------------------------
1. Let Sraosha (the listening Obedience) be present here for the worship of
Ahura Mazda, the
most beneficent, and holy, of him) who is desired by us as at the first, so
at the last; and so
again may attentive Obedience be present here for the worship of Ahura Mazda,
the most
beneficent and the holy who (is so) desired by us.
2. (Yea), let Sraosha (the attentive Obedience) be present here for the worship
of the good
waters, and for the Fravashis of the saints which are so desired by us, [and
for (their) souls], as
at the first, so at the last.
And thus again may Sraosha (the listening Obedience) be present here for the
worship of the
good, waters, and for the Fravashis of the saints, which are so desired by us,
[(and) for (their)
souls].
3. Let Sraosha (the listening Obedience) be present here for the worship of
the good waters; yea,
let the good Obedience be here for the worship of the good and bountiful Immortals
who rule
aright, and dispose (of all) aright, the good, and for the worship of the good
Sanctity, or
Blessedness, who is closely knit with the Righteous Order, to perfect us, and
to incite us. May
Sraosha (Obedience) be here present for the worship of the good waters, he the
good and the
holy, as at the first, so at the last.
4. And so again may Sraosha, (Obedience) the good, be present here for the worship
of the good
waters, and of the good and bountiful Immortals, and of Blessedness the good
who is closely
knit with the Righteous Order to perfect and to incite us. Yea, we worship Sraosha
the blessed
and the stately, who smites with victory, and who furthers the settlements in
their advance,
the holy lord of the ritual order.
YASNA 57 -- THE SROSH YASHT.
----------------------------
1. A blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best, &c.
Propitiation be to Sraosha, Obedience the blessed, the mighty, the incarnate
word of reason,
whose body is the Mathra, him of the daring spear, devoted to the Lord, for
(his) sacrificial
worship, homage, propitiation, and praise.
[[1]]
2. We worship Sraosha, (Obedience, the blessed, the stately, him who smites
with the blow of
victory, and who furthers the settlements, the holy, (ruling) as the ritual
lord. Him do we
worship, who in the creation of Mazda the first adored Ahura, with the Baresman
spread, who
worshipped the Bountiful Immortals (first), who worshipped both the protector
and the
Creator, who are (both) creating all things in the creation.
3. For his splendor and his glory, for his might, and the blow which smites
with victory, I will
worship him with the Yasna of the Yazads, with a Yasna loud intoned, him Obedience
the
blessed, with the consecrated waters, and the good Blessedness, the lofty, and
Nairya-sangha,
the stately; and may he draw near to us to aid us, he who smites with victory,
Obedience the
blessed!
4. We worship Sraosha, Obedience the blessed, and that lofty Lord who is Ahura
Mazda Himself,
Him who has attained the most to this our ritual, Him who has approached the
nearest to us
in our celebrations. And we worship all the words of Zarathushtra, and all the
deeds well done
(for him), both those that have been done (in times gone by), and those which
are yet to be
done (for him in times to come).
[[2]]
5. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the stately, him who smites
with the blow of
victory, who prospers the settlements, the holy ritual lord, (6) who first spread
forth the
Baresman, and the three bundles, and the five bundles, and the seven bundles,
and the nine, till
it was heaped for us knee-high, and to the middle of the thighs, for the Bountiful
Immortals,
for their worship, and their homage, and their propitiation, and their praise.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might, and the blow which smites with
victory, I will
worship him with the Yasna of the Yazads, with a Yasna loud intoned, him Obedience
the
blessed, with the consecrated waters.
[[3]]
7. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, the stately, who smites with
the blow of
victory, who furthers the settlements, the holy ritual chief.
8. Who first chanted the Gathas, the five Gathas of Zarathushtra, the Spitama,
the holy (with
the fashion) of their metres, and after the well-constructed order of their
words, together
with the Zand which they contain, and the questions which they utter, and the
answers which
they give, for the Bountiful Immortals, for their sacrifice and homage, their
propitiation, and
their praise.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[4]]
9. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the stately, who smites with
the blow of
victory, and who furthers the settlements, the holy ritual chief, (10) who for
the poor among
(our) men and women built a mighty house, who after sunset, and with his leveled
battle-ax,
smites Aeshema bloody wounds, and having struck the head, casts him lightly
(?) (to the
earth), as the stronger (smites) the weaker.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[5]]
11. We worship Sraosha, Obedience the blessed and the stately, him who smites
with the blow of
victory, who furthers the settlements, the holy ritual chief, as the energetic,
and the swift,
the strong, the daring (and redoubted) hero, (12) who comes back from all his
battles (and
comes from them) a conqueror, who amid the Bountiful ImmortaIs sits as companion
at their
meeting.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[6]]
13. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, who is the strongest and most
persistent of the
youths, the most energetic, and the swiftest, who of all the youths strikes
most with terror I
from afar (?). [Be ye desirous, O ye Mazdayasnians! of the Yasna of Obedience
the blessed.]
14. Far from this house, this village, and this tribe, and from this country,
the evil and destructive
terrors (shall) depart. In the dwelling of that man in whose abode Obedience
the blessed, who
smites victoriously, is satisfied and welcomed, there is that holy man who thus
contents him
(most) forward in the thinking better thoughts, in the speaking truthful ritual)
words, and in
the doing holy deeds.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[7]]
15. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the stately, who is the conqueror
of the
Kayadha, and the Kaidhya, who was the smiter of the Lie-demon of the Daevas,
the one
veritably powerful, the destroyer of the world, who is the guardian and watchman
over all the
migrations (?) of the tribes.
16. Who sleeplessly and vigilant guards the creatures of Ahura, who sleeplessly
and with vigilance
saves them, who with halberd raised on high guards all the corporeal world after
setting of the
sun, (17) who has never slept in quiet since the two Spirits made the worlds,
[the bounteous
and the evil one] who guards the homes of Asha, who battles all (?) the days
long and the
nights with all the Daevas [(Pazand) the Mazanian], (18) nor terror-stricken
does he turn in
affright before (their power); but before him all the Daevas turn in affright
against their will,
and rush to darkness in their fear.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[8]]
19. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, whom Haoma worshipped on the
highest height
of high Haraiti, he Haoma, the reviver, and the healer, the beautiful, the kingly,
of the golden
eye, (20) of the gracious words, of the warning and the guarding words, who
intones our
hymns on every side, who possesses understanding and of every brilliant form,
which abounds
in many an explanation and revelation of the word, who has the first place in
the Mathra.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[9]]
21. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, whose house stands with its
thousand pillars, as
victorious, on the highest height of high Haraiti, self-lighted from within,
star-studded from
without, (22) to whom the Ahuna-vairya has come, the ax of victory, and the
Haptanghaiti,
and the Fshusho-mathra which smites with victory, and all the Yasna sections.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[10]]
23. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, by whose might and victorious
power, and wise
conduct, and (full) knowledge, the Bountiful Immortals descend upon this earth
of seven
quarters.
24. Who as teacher of the law will stride forth upon this earth with its dwellers
in the body, and
ruling as he will.
And in this Religion, Ahura Mazda has been confessed with faith, and the Good
Mind likewise
with Him, and Righteousness the Best, and Khshathra-vairya, and Piety the Bounteous,
and
the Universal Weal and Immortality; and the question to the Lord is asked, and
Mazda's lore
(is written).
25. O Sraosha (Obedience), thou blessed one, and stately! protect us for the
lives; yea, for both,
(for that) of this world which is corporeal, and for the world of mind, against
unhappy death,
and the remorseless Wrath of rapine, against the hosts with ill-intent, who
lift their bloody
spears against us; yea, against their assaults whom the Wrath-demon will set
on, and Vidhatu,
demon-made. 26. Therefore may'st thou, O Sraosha, the blessed and the stately!
grant
swiftness to our teams, soundness to our bodies, and abundant observation of
our foes, and
their smiting (as we mark them), and their sudden death.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[11]]
27. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, whom four racers draw in harness,
white and
shining, beautiful, and powerful, quick to learn, and fleet, obeying before
speech, heeding
orders from the mind, with their hoofs of horn gold-covered, (28) fleeter than
(our) horses,
swifter than the winds, more rapid than the rain(-drops as they fall); yea,
fleeter than the
clouds, or well-winged birds, or the we shot arrow as it flies, (29) which overtake
these swift
ones all, as they fly after them pursuing, but which are never overtaken when
they flee,
which plunge away from both the weapons (hurled on this side and on that) and
draw Sraosha
with them, the good Sraosha and the blessed; which from both the weapons (those
on this side
and on that) bear the good Obedience the blessed, plunging forward in their
zeal, when he
takes his course from India on the East, and when he lights down in the West.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[12]]
30. We worship Obedience the blessed and the stately, who though lofty and so
high, yea, even to
the girdle, yet stoops to Mazda's creatures, (31) who thrice within the day,
and three times of
a night, will drive on to that Karshvar Hvaniratha, called the luminous, as
he holds in both
the hands and poizes his knife-like battle-ax, which flies as of itself, and
to cleave the Daevas'
skulls, (32) to hew down Angra Mainyu, the wicked, and to hew down Rapine of
the bloody
spear, to hew down the Daevas of Mazendran, and every Demon-god.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might....
[[13]]
33. We worship Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the stately, him who smites
with victory,
both here and not here, and on this entire earth. And we worship all the (gifts)
of Sraosha
(Obedience) the blessed, the mighty, and the strong, whose body is the Mathra.
Yea, we worship (all the martial gifts) of Sraosha (Obedience) the mighty, both
armed with
shielding armor, and a warrior strong of hand, skull-cleaver of the Daevas,
conquering the
endowments of the conqueror, the holy conqueror of the conqueror, and (his)
victorious
powers, and he Ascendancy which it bestows, and we worship this Ascendancy of
Sraosha's
(the same which conquers theirs); and that of Arshti do we praise as well. 34.
And every
house by Sraosha guarded do we worship, wherein the blessed friendly Sraosha
is befriended
and made welcome, where the holy man is far advanced (?) in holy thoughts, and
righteous
words and deeds.
For his splendor and his glory, for his might, which smites with victory, I
will worship him
with the Yasna of the Yazads, with a Yasna loud-intoned, him Obedience the blessed,
with the
consecrated waters, and the good Blessedness, the lofty, and Nairya-sangha,
the stately, and
may he come to us to aid us, he who smites with victory, Obedience the blessed!
YASNA 58 -- THE FSHUSHO MATHRA.
-------------------------------
1. (Introduction.) (To the increase of our homage and praise of God) we offer
this service
which, as our defense, may shield us, which is worship with its beneficent results;
and
Blessedness is with it of a verity, and Piety as well. [ (Pazand) and of this
worship the results
here mentioned are the well-thought thought, the word well spoken, and the deed
well done];
and let this our worship shelter us from the Daeva and from the evil-minded
man. 2. And to
this worship do we confide our settlements and persons for protection and care,
for guarding,
and for oversight; (3) and in this worship will we abide, O Ahura Mazda! and
with joy.
In this worship do we exercise our choices; and to it will we approach, and
to it will we
belong; yea, to revering worship will we confide our settlements and persons
for protection,
and for care, for guarding, and for oversight, to such worship as is the praise
of such as You.
MATHRA.
4. The owner of herds is the righteous (one), and he is victorious when he strikes,
and thus he is
the best; [(Pazand) we therefore offer (this) service (for herd-owners)] for
the herd-owner is
the father of the Kine by the help of him who follows the ritual order: and
he is the father of
the holy man as well, and of the sanctified creation. He is in verity the bestower
of blessings,
and to him, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! we render, (and his do we make) Your greatness,
Your
goodness, and Your (spiritual) beauty, and let this man, the cattle-owner, approach
to guard
over us; and may he be our watchman together with the Righteous Order, and with
store for
our nourishment and full generous liberality, together with sharing of the goods,
with
gentleness, and with Ahura Mazda's sacred Fire!
5. O Ye Bountiful Immortals! as Ye have made us, so do Ye save us, holy men,
and saintly
women (as we are, and steadfast in the faith)l. Save us, O Ye Bountiful Immortals!
Ye who
rule aright, and who dispose (of all) aright, for none other do I know, save
You; then with
Your Righteousness do Ye save us.
6. And we offer hereby our thoughts, and words, and actions, our herds, and
men, to the
Bountiful Spirit. And may the creative stars of Ahura Mazda, the Creator, shine
down on us,
and round about us with full herds and healthy settlements, with healthy herds
and healthy
men, and with all in vigor, and endowed with the blessing of the Lord. 7. Praise
to Thee, O
Fire of Ahura Mazda I may'st thou come to (us in) the greatest one of the engrossing
interests for the help of the great (effort), for the joy-producing grace of
the great (interest
of our cause); grant us both Weal and Deathlessness!
8. We sacrifice to the entire collection of the Praises of the Yasna, with the
careful structure of
their language which has reached the most its object. And we offer (our homage)
in our
celebrations to Thy body, O Ahura Mazda! the most beautiful of forms, these
stars, and to
that one, the highest of the high [(Pazand) such as the sun was called]. Yea,
we worship the
Praises of the Yasna which were the production of the world of old.
YASNA 59 - MUTUAL BLESSINGS.
----------------------------
1-17. (See Y17.1-17.)
18-27. (See Y26.1-1O.)
28. We worship Verethraghna, the Ahura-made, the victorious blow; and we worship
the
Saoshyant, who smites with victory; and we sacrifice to this Baresman with its
Zaothra and
its girdle (which is its band) and which is spread with sanctity. And we sacrifice
to (our) own
soul(s), and to (our) own Fravashi(s).
29. (See Y17.19.)
30. (The Ratu speaks): O thou good (servant of the Lord)! may that be thine
which is better than
the good; may'st thou acquire that which is (thine) own in the Zaothra; may'st
thou attain to
that reward which the Zaotar has been obtaining, who is far advanced in his
good thoughts,
and words, and deeds.
31. (The Zaotar speaks): May that happen to you (likewise) which is better than
the good, and
may that not happen which is worse than the evil, and may that likewise not
be my lot. 32.
As (our) Ahu (is) excellent, so (is our) Ratu (one who rules) from his Righteousness,
a creator
of mental goodness, and of life's actions done for Mazda, and the Kingdom (is)
to Ahura
which to the poor will offer a nurturer. A blessing is Asha called the Best,
&c. We sacrifice to
the Ahuna-vairya; we sacrifice to Asha Vahishta the most beautiful, the Bountiful
Immortal.
And we sacrifice to the Fshusho-mathra, the by-spoken. And we sacrifice to the
entire
collection of the Praises of the Yasna; (yea), to the Yasna Praises which were
instituted in
the world of yore.
YASNA 60 - PRAYERS FOR THE DWELLING OF THE SACRIFICER.
------------------------------------------------------
1. Thus that better than the good may he approach, who shows to us straight
paths of profit
appertaining to this bodily life and to the mental likewise, in the eternal
(?) realms where
dwells Ahura; yea, may he approach it, who is Thy worthy servant, and good citizen,
O Great
giver Lord!
2. May these blessings approach this house, which are the wise perceptions of
the saints, the
sacred blessings bestowed through the ritual, their guileless characteristics,
together with their
recognition of what is due; and may the Righteous Order appear for this village,
and the
Divine Sovereign Power, together with the benefit and glorious welfare (which
ensues),
3. And with these the long enduring prominence of this Religion of Ahura's,
the Zarathushtrian
Faith. And may the Kine be now with greatest speed within (the farm-yard of)
this house,
most speedily may the rewarded sanctity and the strength of the holy man be
here, most
speedily as well Ahura's lore. 4. And may the good and heroic and bountiful
Fravashis of the
saints come here, and may they go hand in hand with us with the healing virtues
of (their)
blessed gifts as wide-spread as the earth, as far-spread as the rivers, as high-reaching
as the
sun, for the furtherance of the better men, for the hindrance of the hostile,
and for the
abundant growth of riches and of glory.
5. May Sraosha (Obedience) conquer disobedience within this house, and may peace
triumph
over discord here, and generous giving over avarice, reverence over contempt,
speech with
truthful words over lying utterance. May the Righteous Order gain the victory
over the
Demon of the Lie.
6. As in this (house) the Bountiful Immortals seek for good Yasnas and good
praises from the
blessed Sraosha (who governs here), and as they seek for (one) good sacrifice
and act of
homage (more especially their own) which is a good offering (to them) for (our)
salvation,
and a good offering in praise, together with a long continued offering of the
entire self, (7)
let not then (their) brilliant glory ever desert this house, nor the bright
abundance, nor an
illustrious offspring legitimately born, nor that long continued companionship
which is the
furtherance of that good blessedness which teaches concerning glory.
8-10. (= Y8.5-7).
11. In order that our minds may be delighted, and our souls the best, let our
bodies be glorified as
well, and let them; O Mazda! go likewise openly (unto Heaven) as the best world
of the saints
as devoted to Ahura, (12) and accompanied by Asha Vahishta (who is Righteousness
the
Best), and the most beautiful! And may we see Thee, and may we, approaching,
come around
about Thee, and attain to entire companionship with Thee! And we sacrifice to
the Righteous
Order, the best, the most beautiful, the bounteous Immortal!
YASNA 61.
---------
1. Let us peal forth the Ahuna-vairya in our liturgy between the heaven and
earth, and let us
send forth the Asha Vahishta in our prayer the same, and the Yenhe hatam. And
let us send
forth in our liturgies between the heaven and earth the pious and good prayer
of the pious
man for blessings, (2) for the encounter with, and for the displacement of Angra
Mainyu with
his creatures which are likewise evil as he is, for he is filled with death
(for those whom he has
made). Aye, let us send that petition forth for the encounter with, and for
the dislodgment of
the Kahvaredhas and o@ the individual Kahvaredha the male, and the female (to
the last
individual of each), (3) and for the encounter with, and the dislodgment of
the Kayadhas, and
of the individual Kayadhians, male and female, and of the thieves and robbers,
of the Zandas,
and the sorcerers, of the covenant breakers, and of those who tamper with the
covenants. 4.
Yea, we send it forth for the encounter with, and for the overthrow of the murderers
of the
saints, and of those who hate and torment us for our Faith, and of those who
persecute the
ritual, and the tyrant full of death. Yea, let us peal them forth for the encounter
with and the
overthrow of the wicked, O Zarathushtra Spitama! whoever they may be, whose
thoughts,
and words, and works are not congenial to the holy ritual laws.
5. And how shall we drive the Demon of the Lie from hence from us? Aye, how
shall we, the
prophets who are yet to serve and save (thy people), drive the Druj from hence,
so that we,
having power over her as being utterly without power, may drive her hence with
blow from
the seven Karshvars, for the encounter with, and for the dislodgment of the
entire evil world?
YASNA 62 - TO THE FIRE.
----------------------
1. I offer my sacrifice and homage to thee, the Fire, as a good offering, and
an offering with our
hail of salvation, even as an offering of praise with benedictions, to thee,
the Fire, O Ahura
Mazda's son! Meet for sacrifice art thou, and worthy of (our) homage. And as
meet for
sacrifice, and thus worthy of our homage, may'st thou be in the houses of men
(who worship
Mazda). Salvation be to this man who worships thee in verity and truth, with
wood in hand,
and Baresman ready, with flesh in hand, and holding too the mortar. 2. And may'st
thou be
(ever) fed with wood as the prescription orders. Yea, may'st thou have thy perfume
justly,
and thy sacred butter without fail, and thine andirons regularly placed. Be
of full-age as to thy
nourishment, of the canon's age as to the measure of thy food, O Fire, Ahura-Mazda's
son! 3.
Be now aflame within this house; be ever without fail in flame; be all ashine
within this house;
be on thy growth within this house; for long time be thou thus to the furtherance
of the
heroic (renovation), to the completion of (all) progress, yea, even till the
good heroic
(millennial) time when that renovation shall have become complete. 4. Give me,
O Fire,
Ahura Mazda's son! a speedy glory, speedy nourishment, and speedy booty, and
abundant
glory, abundant nourishment, abundant booty, an expanded mind, and nimbleness
of tongue
for soul and understanding, even an understanding continually growing in its
largeness, and
that never wanders, and long enduring virile power, (5) an offspring sure of
foot, that never
sleeps on watch [not for a third part of the day, or night], and that rises
quick from bed, and
likewise a wakeful offspring, helpful to nurture, or reclaim, legitimate, keeping
order in men's
meetings, (yea,) drawing men to assemblies through their influence and word,
grown to power,
skillful, redeeming others from oppression, served by many followers, which
may advance my
line (in prosperity and fame), and (my) Vis, and my Zantu, and (my) province,
(yea, an
offspring) which may deliver orders to the Province as (firm and righteous rulers).
6. And
may'st thou grant me, O Fire, Ahura Mazda's Son! that whereby instructors may
be (given)
me, now and for evermore, (giving light to me of Heaven) the best life of the
saints, brilliant,
all glorious. And may I have experience of the good reward, and the good renown,
and of the
long forecasting preparation of the soul. 7. The Fire of Ahura Mazda addresses
this
admonition to all for whom he cooks the night and morning (meal). From all these,
O
Spitama! he wishes to secure good care, and healthful care (as guarding for
salvation), the care
of a true praiser. 8. At both the hands of all who come by me, I, the Fire,
keenly look: What
brings the mate to his mate (thus I say to him), the one who walks at large,
to him who sits at
home? [We worship the bounteous Fire, the swift-driving charioteer.]
9. And if this man who passes brings him wood brought (with good measure that
is) with sacred
care, or if he brings the Baresman spread with sanctity, or the Hadhanaepata
plant, then
afterwards Ahura Mazda's Fire will bless him, contented, not offended, and in
(its) satisfaction
(saying thus). 10. May a herd of kine be with thee, and a multitude of men,
may an active
mind go with thee, and an active soul as well. As a blest soul may'st thou live
through thy life,
the nights which thou shall live. This is the blessing of the Fire for him who
brings it wood
(well) dried, sought out for flaming, purified with the earnest blessing of
the sacred ritual
truth. 11. We strive after the flowing on of the good waters, and their ebb
as well, and the
sounding of their waves, desiring their propitiation; I desire to approach them
with my praise.
12. (= Y3.24-25).
YASNA 63.
---------
(See Y15.2; Y66.2; Y38.3.)
YASNA 64.
---------
(See Y46.3; Y50.6-11.)
YASNA 65 - TO ARDVI SURA ANAHITA, AND THE WATERS.
-------------------------------------------------
1. I will praise the water Ardvi Sura Anahita, the efficacious against the Daevas,
devoted to
Ahura's lore, and to be worshipped with sacrifice within the corporeal world,
furthering all
living things (?) and holy, helping on the increase and improvement of our herds
and
settlements, holy, and increasing our wealth, holy, and helping on the progress
of the
Province, holy (as she is)? 2. (Ardvi Sura Anahita) who purifies the seed of
all male beings,
who sanctifies the wombs of all women to the birth, who makes all women fortunate
in labor,
who brings all women a regular and timely flow of milk, (3) (Ardvi Sura Anahita)
with a
volume sounding from afar, which is alone equal in its bulk to all the waters
which flow forth
upon earth, which flows down with mighty volume from high Hukairya to the sea
Vouru-
kasha. 4. And all the gulfs in Vouru-kasha are stirred (when it falls down),
all the middle doth
well up when Ardvi Sura Anahita rushes in, when she plunges foaming into them,
she, whose
are a thousand tributaries, and a thousand outlets, and each as it flows in,
or rushes out, is a
forty days' ride in length to a rider mounted well.
5. And the (chief) outlet to this one water (Ardvi Sura Anahita) goes apart,
dividing to all the
seven Karshvars. And this outlet to my river, Ardvi Sura Anahita, bears off
its water always
in summer and in winter. This my river purifies the seed of men, and wombs of
women, and
women's milk.
6. Let the saints' Fravashis now draw near, those of the saints who live, or
have lived, of those
born, or yet to be born; yea, let them come near which have borne these waters
up stream
from the nearest ones (that lie below as the outlet pours away) 7. Let not our
waters be for
the man of ill intent, of evil speech, or deeds, or conscience; let them not
be for the offender
of a friend, not for an insulter of a Magian, nor for one who harms the workmen,
nor for one
who hates his kindred. And let not our good waters (which are not only good,
but) best, and
Mazda-made, help on the man who strives to mar our settlements which are not
to be
corrupted, nor him who would mar our bodies, (our) uncorrupted (selves), (8)
nor the thief, or
bludgeon-bearing ruffian who would slaughter the disciples, nor a sorcerer,
nor a burrier of
dead bodies, nor the jealous, nor the niggard, nor the godless heretic who slays
disciples, nor
the evil tyrant among men. Against these may our waters come as torments. As
destructive
may these come (?), may they come to him who has done those first (foul evils),
as to him
who does the last.
9. O waters! rest still within your places while the invoking priest shall offer.
Shall not the invoker make offering to these good waters, and with the inculcated
words?
(And how shall this be done?) Shall he not be tongue-fettered, if he offers
else than with the
ritual? Shall (not) the words be so delivered as the Aethrapaiti teaches? Where
shall the
blessings be (inserted)? Where the supplications with confessions? Where the
gifts of those
that offer? 10. (It shall be only thus) as Ahura Mazda showed before to Zarathushtra,
and as
Zarathushtra taught the corporeal worlds (the men on earth)! Thou shalt pray
the first
petition to the waters, O Zarathushtra, and after that thou shalt offer the
Zaothras to the
waters, sanctified, and sought out with pious care; and thou shalt pronounce
these words (as
follows, thus): (11) O ye waters, I beseech of you this favor; and grant ye
me this great one in
whose bestowal ye flow down to me for the bettering (of my state), with a never-failing
truth.
O ye waters, I beseech of you for wealth of many kinds (which gives) power (to
its holder),
and for an offspring self-dependent whom multitudes will bless, and for whose
wasting, or
defeat, or death, or vengeful punishment, or overtaking, no one prays.
12. And this do I beseech of you, O waters, this, O ye lands, and this, ye plants!
This wealth and
offspring I beseech of You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals, who rule aright, who dispose
(of all)
aright, O Ye good beings, male and female, givers of good things; and this I
beseech of you, O
ye beneficent, mighty, and overwhelming Fravashis of the saints, and this (of
thee), O Mithra
of the wide pastures, and this of thee, O blest and stately Sraosha; and of
thee, O Rashnu the
most just, and of thee, O Fire, Ahura Mazda's son; and of thee, O lofty lord,
the royal Apam-
napat, of the fleet horses; aye, of You all, ye Yazads, bestowers of the better
gifts and holy.
13. And this do ye therefore grant me, O ye holy waters, and ye lands!
14. And grant me likewise what is still greater than this all, and still better
than this all, and more
beautiful, and more exceeding precious (and that is, Immortality and Welfare),
O Ye Yazads,
holy and ruling mightily, and powerful at once, and grant it speedily according
to this Gathic
(?) word: (Yea), by veritable grace let that be done (?) for us which is most
promotive of our
weal. 15. And according to this further word again: Grant me, Thou who art maker
of the
Kine, the plants, and the waters, Immortality and likewise Weal, O Ahura Mazda,
Thou most
bounteous Spirit. And grant me these two eternal gifts through Thy Good Mind
in the
doctrine.
16-18. (See Y15.2; Y56.3-4.)
YASNA 66 - TO THE AHURIAN ONE.
------------------------------
1. I am now offering this Zaothra here with sanctity, together with the Haoma
and the flesh,
and the Hadhanaepata lifted up with sacred regularity as to thee, O Ahurian
One, for the
propitiation of Ahura Mazda, of the Bountiful Immortals, of Sraosha (Obedience)
the blessed,
and of the Fire of Ahura Mazda, the ritual's lofty lord.
2. (=Y7,5-19.)
3. (=Y22, Y28.24-27.)
YASNA 67.
---------
1-4. (See Y23.1-4, replacing 'I desire to approach with sanctity' by 'I offer
with sanctity;' see also
Y7.24.)
5-7. (See Y38.3-5.)
YASNA 68 - TO THE AHURIAN ONE, AND THE WATERS.
----------------------------------------------
1. We offer this to thee, O Ahurian (daughter) of Ahura! as a help (?) for life.
If we have
offended thee, let this Zaothra then attain to thee (for satisfaction), for
it is thine with its
Haoma, and its milk, and its Hadhanaepata. 2. And may'st thou approach to me
for milk and
for libation, a Zaothra! as health, for healing, and for progress, for growth
and in preparation
for ceremonial merit, for good renown, for equanimity and for that victory which
makes the
settlements advance.
3. Yea, we worship thee with sacrifice, O thou Ahurian (daughter) of Ahura with
the Zaothras of
the good thought; and we worship, O Ahura, one with the Zaothras of the good
word and deed
(4) for the enlightenment of the thoughts, and words, and actions, for preparation
for the
soul, for the settlement's advance, and to prepare the saints endowed with ritual
merit.
5. And grant me, O thou Ahurian One! Heaven, and to have an offspring manly
and legitimate,
who may promote my house, my village, my tribe and province, and the authority
thereof.
6. We sacrifice to thee, O thou Ahurian one! And we sacrifice to the sea Vouru-kasha,
and to all
waters upon earth, whether standing, or running, or waters of the well, or spring-waters
which
perennially flow, or the drippings of the rains, or the irrigations of canals.
7. With this hymn
from the (spirit of) the Yasna do we worship thee, and with the homage which
it offers as it
is the most legitimate Yasna, and homage of them (all) because of Righteousness
the Best.
We sacrifice to the good waters, and to the best, which Mazda created. 8. And
we sacrifice to
the two, to the milk and to the libation, which make the waters flow, and the
plants sprout
forth, opposing therein the Dragon Daeva-made, for the arrest of that cheat
the Pairika, and
to contradict the insulting malice of the Ashemaogha (the disturber and destroyer
of our
Faith), and of the unholy tyrant full of death, and of the human Daeva (worshipper)
of
hateful malice (and intent).
9. And may'st thou hear our sacrificial chants O thou Ahurian (daughter) of
Ahura! Yea, be
propitiated by our Yasna, O Ahurian one! and so may'st thou be present at our
Yasna; may'st
thou come to us to help, as we chant our full-offered Yasht with the full offering
of Zaothras.
10. If any man shall sacrifice to you, O ye good waters, the Ahurian ones of
Ahura! with the best
and most fitting Zaothras offered piously, (11) to that man ye give both splendor
and glory,
with health and vigor of the body and prominence of form; yea, to him ye give
possessions
which entail abundant glory, and a legitimate scion, and a long enduring life,
and (Heaven at
the last), the best life of the saints, shining, all glorious. 12. And to me
also do ye now give it,
to me who am offering this Yasna as a priest.
(Response.) And to us Mazdayasnians who are likewise offering sacrifice, do
ye grant (both
the desire and knowledge of the path that is correct), to us colleagues, and
disciples,
Aethrapaitis and Aethryas, men and women as well as children, and maidens of
the field, (13)
who think good only, for the overwhelming of oppression and of malice in the
raids of the
invader, and in face of foes who hate. Grant to us both the desire of, and the
knowledge of
that straightest path, the straightest because of Righteousness, and of (Heaven)
the best life
of the Saints, shining, all glorious. As the Ahu is excellent, so is the Ratu
(one who rules)
from the Righteous Order, a creator of mental goodness and of life's actions
done for Mazda.
And the kingdom (is) for Ahura, which to the poor may offer nurture.
14. (The Zaotar speaks): I beseech with my benediction for a safe abode, for
a joyful and a long
abode for the dwellers in this village from whence these Zaothras (which I offer
come). And I
pray in my benediction for a safe abode, and a quiet and a joyful one, and a
long abiding to
every Mazdayasnian village, and for a succor even with my wants, for a succor
with
salutations of salvation, and for one with praises, O Fire! and for thee, O
Ahurian one of
Ahura! do I ask the fullest Yasht.
15. And I pray for (?) Raman Hvastra for this Province, and for healthfulness
and healing. And I
pray for it with my blessing for you pious men, for all. And I pray for him
who is saintly with
(true) goodness, whosoever he may be, between heaven and the earth, for a thousand
healing
remedies, and for ten thousand of the same.
16-19. (See Y8.5-8.)
20. Thus may it happen as I pray. 21. And by this may I gain (that) blessing,
the good
Blessedness (our sanctity rewarded). And we address, and we invoke religious
zeal and
capability, and the waters with our Yasna thus: O ye good waters! since (they
are) yours, do
ye, as you are asked, grant splendor and grant glory, ye who are well able so
to give; and do
ye, O ye waters! grant (once more) that helpful blessing which was gained from
you of old!
22. Praise (be) to Ahura Mazda, and to the Bountiful Immortals. Praise (be)
to Mithra of the
wide pastures. Praise to the fleet-horsed sun. Praise to (the star which so
we name, and with
this sun) Ahura Mazda's eyes. Praise to the Kine (the herds of blessed gift).
Praise to Gaya
(Maretan) and to the Fravashi of Zarathushtra (first of) saints; yea, praise
to the entire
creation of the holy (and the clean), to those now living, and to those just
passing into life,
and to those of days to come 23. And do Thou then Ahura, as in answer to these
our prayers
and songs of praise, cause us to prosper to salvation through Thy Good Mind,
the Sovereign
Power, and Thy Righteous Order (in Thy ritual and law)!
YASNA 69.
---------
(This chapter is composed of fragments: see Y15.2 and Y51.1 and 22.)
YASNA 70 - TO THE BOUNTIFUL IMMORTALS, AND THE INSTITUTIONS OF RELIGION.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I would worship these (the Bountiful Immortals) with my sacrifice, those
who rule aright, and
who dispose (of all) aright, and this one (especially) I would approach with
my praise, (Ahura
Mazda). He is thus hymned (in our praise-songs). Yea, we worship in our sacrifice
that deity
and lord, who is Ahura Mazda, the Creator, the gracious helper, the maker of
all good things;
and we worship in our sacrifice Zarathushtra Spitama, that chieftain (of the
rite).
2. And we would declare those institutions established for us, exact (and undeviating
as they are).
And I would declare forth those of Ahura Mazda, those of the Good Mind, and
of Asha
Vahishta (who is Righteousness the Best), and those of Khshatra-vairya (the
Realm to be
desired), and those of the Bountiful Aramaiti (the Piety within us), and those
of Weal and
Immortality, and those which appertain to the body of the Kine, and to the Kine's
soul, and
those which appertain to Ahura Mazda's Fire, (3) and those of Sraosha (Obedience)
the
blessed, and of Rashnu the most just, and those of Mithra of the wide pastures,
and of (the
good and) holy Wind, and of the good Mazdayasnian Religion, and of the good
and pious
Prayer for blessings, and those of the good and pious Prayer which frees one
from belying,
and the good and pious Prayer for blessing against unbelieving words. 4. (And
these we would
declare) in order that we may attain unto that speech which is uttered with
(true) religious
zeal, or that we may be as prophets of the provinces, that we may succor him
who lifts his
voice (for Mazda), that we may be as prophets who smite with victory, the befriended
of
Ahura Mazda, and persons the most useful to Him, holy men (indeed) who think
good
thoughts, and speak good words, and do good deeds. 5. That he may approach us
with the
Good Mind, and that (our souls) may advance in good, let it thus come; yea,
'how may my
soul advance in good? let it thus advance.'
--------------------
6. We praise the flood and ebb of the good waters, and their roar, and that
high Ahura, the royal
Apam-napat, the glittering one, of the fleet horses; and this for the sacrifice,
and homage,
and propitiation, and praise of the entire holy creation; and may Sraosha (Obedience)
be here
(to aid us).
7. (Yea), we sacrifice to Sraosha, Obedience the blessed.
YASNA 71 - THE YASNA CONCLUDING.
--------------------------------
1. Frashaoshtra, the holy, asked the saintly Zarathushtra: Answer me, O thou
most eminent
Zarathushtra, what is (in very truth) the memorized recital of the rites?
What is the completed delivery of the Gathas?
2. Upon this Zarathushtra said: (It is as follows.) We worship Ahura Mazda with
our sacrifice
(as) the holy lord of the ritual order; and we sacrifice to Zarathushtra likewise
as to a holy
lord of the ritual order; and we sacrifice also to the Fravashi of Zarathushtra,
the saint. And
we sacrifice to the Bountiful Immortals, (the guardians) of the saints. 3. And
we sacrifice to
(all) the good heroic and bounteous Fravashis of the saints, of the bodily (world
on earth),
and of the mental (those in Heaven). And we worship that one of ritual lords
who attains the
most his ends; and we sacrifice to that one of the Yazads, lords of the ritual
order, who is the
most strenuous, who gains the most, who reaches most to what he seeks, even
that well-timed
Prayer which is the prayer of that holy ritual lord, and which has approached
the nearest (to
us for our help).
4. We sacrifice to Ahura Mazda, the holy lord of the ritual order, and we worship
His entire
body, and we worship the Bountiful Immortals all; and we worship all the ritual
lords. And we
sacrifice to the entire Mazdayasnian Faith. And we worship all the sacred metres.
5. And we worship the entire bounteous Mathra, even the entire system of the
Faith set up
against the Daevas; and we worship its complete and long descent. And we sacrifice
to all the
holy Yazads, heavenly and earthly; and we worship all the good, heroic, and
bountiful
Fravashis of the saints.
6. And we worship all the holy creatures which Mazda created, and which possess
the holy
institutions, which were established holy in their nature, which possess the
holy lore, and the
holy sacrifice, which are holy, and for the holy, and to be worshipped by the
holy. And we
worship all the five Gathas, the holy ones, and the entire Yasna [its flow and
its ebb, and the
sounding (of its chants)]. 7. And we sacrifice to all the Praises of the Yasna,
and to all the
words which Mazda spake, which are the most fatal to evil thoughts, and words,
and deeds; (8)
and which designate the evil thought, and word, and deed, and which then cut
down and fell
every evil thought, and word, and deed. [(Pazand.) One would think of it as
when the fire
cuts, sucks out, and consumes the dry wood which has been sanctified and carefully
selected
(for its flame).] And we sacrifice to the strength, the victory, the glory,
and the speed of all
these words (as they go forth for their work). 9. And we sacrifice to all the
springs of water,
and to the water-streams as well, and to growing plants, and forest-trees, and
to the entire
land and heaven, and to all the stars, and to the moon and sun, even to all
the lights without
beginning (to their course). And we sacrifice to all cattle, and to the aquatic
beasts, and to the
beasts that live on land, and to all that strike the wing, and to the beasts
that roam the plains,
and to those of cloven hoof. 1O. And to all Thy good and holy female (creatures)
in the
creation do we sacrifice, (O Thou who art) Ahura Mazda the skillful maker! on
account of
which Thou hast made many things and good things (in Thy world). And we sacrifice
to those
male creatures in the creation which are Thine and which are meet for sacrifice
because of
Asha Vahishta (of Righteousness the Best). And we sacrifice to all the mountains
brilliant
with holiness, and to all the lakes which Mazda created, and to all fires].
And we sacrifice to
all the truthful and correctly spoken words, (11) even those which have both
rewards and
Piety within them. Yea, we worship (you) for protection and shielding, for guarding
and
watching; and may ye be to me for preparation.
I call upon the Gathas here, the bountiful holy ones, ruling in the ritual order;
yea, we
sacrifice to you, (O ye Gathas!) for protection and shielding, for guarding
and watching. Mine
may ye be as a preparation. For me, for (mine) own soul I call on (you), and
we would
worship (you) for protection and for shielding, for guarding and for watching.
12. And we
sacrifice to Weal, the complete welfare, holy and ruling in its course in the
ritual order; and
we sacrifice to Deathlessness (the immortal being of the good), holy, and ruling
in the ritual
order. And we sacrifice to the question of the Lord; and to His lore, the holy
chiefs, and to
the heroic Haptanghaiti, the holy lord of the ritual order. 13. (Frasha.) Let
the holy
Zarathushtra himself seek out a friend and a protector. And I say to thee (O
Zarathushtra!)
to make to thee a friend holy beyond the holy, and truer than the true, for
that is the better
thing; for he is evil who is the best to the evil, and he is holy to whom the
holy is a friend,
(14) for these are the best of words, those which Ahura Mazda spoke to Zarathushtra.
And do thou, O Zarathushtra! pronounce these words at the last ending of (thy)
life. 15. For
if, O Zarathushtra! thou shalt pronounce these words at the last ending of (thy)
life I, Ahura
Mazda, will keep your soul away from Hell. Yea, so far away shall I hold it
as is the breadth
and extension of the earth [(Pazand) and the earth is as wide as it is long].
16. As thou dost desire, O holy (one)! so shalt thou be, holy shalt thou-cause
(thy) soul to pass
over the Chinvat Bridge; holy shalt thou come into Heaven. Thou shalt intone
the Gatha
Ushtavaiti, reciting the salvation hail.
17. We sacrifice to the active man, and to the man of good intent, for the hindrance
of darkness,
of wasting of the strength and life, and of distraction. And we sacrifice to
health and healing,
to progress and to growth, for the hindrance of impurity, and of the diseases
of the skin.
18. And we sacrifice to the (Yasna's) ending words, to those which end the Gathas.
And we
sacrifice to the bounteous Hymns themselves which rule in the ritual course,
the holy ones.
And we sacrifice to the Praise-songs of the Yasna which were the products of
the world of
yore; yea, we sacrifice to all the Staota-Yesnya hymns. And we sacrifice to
(our) own soul
and to (our) Fravashi.
19-21. (See Y6.14-16.)
22. I praise, invoke, and I weave my song to the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis
of the saints,
to those of the house, and of the village, the district and the province, and
to those of the
Zarathushtrotemas. 23. And we sacrifice to the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, the
holy ritual chief.
And we sacrifice to this Baresman haying the Zaothra with it, and its girdle
with it, and spread
with sanctity, the holy ritual chief. And we sacrifice to Apam-napat, and to
Nairya-sangha,
and to that Yazad, the wise man's swift Curse.
And we sacrifice to the souls of the dead, [which are the Fravashis of the saints]
24. And we
sacrifice to that lofty Lord who is Ahura Mazda Himself.
25. And we pray (again) for the Kine (once more) with these gifts and (ceremonial)
actions
which are the best.
26-28. (See Y8.5-7.)
29-31. (See Y60.11-13.)
YASNA 72.
---------
(See Y61.)
AVESTA: VISPERAD (Extensions to the liturgy)
============================================
[Translated by L. H. Mills (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition,
1898.)]
VISPERAD 1.
-----------
1. I announce, and (will) complete (my Yasna) to the lords of the spiritual
creatures, and to the
lords of the earthly creatures, to the lords of those which live under the waters,
and to the
lords of those which live upon land, to the lords of those which strike the
wing, and to the
lords of those which roam (wild) upon the plains, to the lords of those of (home-beasts)
of
the cloven hoof, holy lords of the ritual order.
2. I announce, and I (will) complete (my Yasna) to the Yearly festivals, the
lords of the ritual
order, to Maidyozarem, the milk-giver, the holy lord of the ritual order, and
to
Maidyoshahem, the pasture-giver, and to Paitishahem, the corn-giver, and to
Ayathrem, the
furtherer or breeder, the spender of the seed of males, and to Maidyarem the
cold, the holy
lord of the ritual order, and to Hamaspathmaidyem, the especial time for ritual
deeds, holy
lords of the ritual order.
3. I announce, and I (will) complete (my Yasna) to the settlements of the future
one, when the
future shall produce them as it were anew, and I celebrate and will complete
(my Yasna) to
the Praises of the Yasna collected, completed, and much-offered, and to the
Myazdas of the
saints of the ritual, male and female.
4. And I announce, and will complete (my Yasna) to the Seasons, the lords of
the ritual order,
and to the heard recital of the Ahuna-vairya, and to Righteousness the Best,
to him who has
(?) our praise, and to the Yenhe hatam, the frequent chant of sacrifice, the
holy, and ruling in
the ritual order.
5. And I announce and complete (my Yasna) to the Gatha Ahunavaiti, the holy,
ruling in the
ritual order, and to those women who bring forth many sons of many talents,
Mazda-given,
and holy lords of the ritual order, and to that (chant) which has its Ahu and
its Ratu (before it
in the Yasna).
And I celebrate, and will complete (my sacrifice) to the Yasna Haptanghaiti,
holy, and ruling
in the ritual order, [and to the water Ardvi Anahita].
6. And I announce, and I (will) complete (my Yasna) to the Gatha Ushtavaiti,
the holy, ruling
in the ritual order, and to the mountains which shine with holiness, the abundantly
brilliant
and Mazda-made, the holy lords of the ritual order.
And I announce, and (will) complete (my Yasna) to the Gatha Spenta-mainyu, the
holy,
ruling in the ritual order; and I celebrate and will complete (my Yasna) to
Verethraghna (the
blow of victory) Ahura-given, the holy lord of the ritual order.
7. And I announce, and (will) complete (my Yasna) to the Gatha Vohu-khshathra,
holy, ruling
in the ritual order, and to Mithra of the wide pastures, and to Raman Hvastra,
the holy lords
of the ritual order. And I celebrate and will complete my Yasna to the Gatha
Vahishtoishti,
the holy, ruling in the ritual order. And I celebrate and will complete my Yasna
to the good
and pious Prayer for blessings, the benediction of the pious, and to that Yazad,
the redoubted
and swift Curse of the wise, the holy lord of the ritual order.
8. And I announce, and (will) complete (my Yasna) to the Airyema-ishyo, the
holy lord of the
ritual order, and to the Fshusho-mathra, and to that lofty lord Hadhaokhdha,
the holy lord of
the ritual order.
9. And I announce, and (will) complete (my Yasna) to the questions asked of
Ahura, and to the
lore of Ahura, to the Ahurian Dahvyuma (Dahyuma), and to the Ahurian Zarathushtrotema,
holy lords of the ritual order, and to the farm-house with its pastures which
give pasture to
the Kine of blessed gift, and to the holy cattle-breeding man.
VISPERAD 2.
-----------
1. In this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the lords of (the
ritual) which are
spiritual with my praise; and I desire to approach the earthly lords (as well).
And I desire to
approach the lords of the water with my praise, and the lords of the land; and
I desire to
approach with my praise those chiefs which strike the wing, and those which
wander wild at
large, and those of the cloven hoof, who are chiefs of the ritual (in their
turn).
2. In this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the holy Yearly festivals
with my
praise, the lords of the ritual order, Maidyozarem, the milk-giver, and Maidyoshahem,
the
pasture-giver, and Paitishahem, the corn-giver, and Ayathrem the breeder, the
spender of the
seed of males, Maidyarem, the cold, Hamaspathmaidyem, the especial time for
ritual duties,
the holy lords of the ritual order.
3. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the future one
of the settlements
with my praise, the holy lord of the ritual order, when the future one shall
produce (them as
it were anew).
And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach all these chieftains
of the ritual
with my praise whom Ahura Mazda mentioned to Zarathushtra for sacrifice and
homage
because of Asha Vahishta (of Righteousness the Best).
4. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach Thee, the lord,
with my praise,
Thou who art Ahura Mazda, the spiritual lord and regulator of the spiritual
creatures [the lord
and regulator of the spiritual creation].
And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach thee, Zarathushtra
Spitama, with
my praise, the terrestrial (lord and regulator) of the terrestrial creation,
[the lord and
regulator of the terrestrial creation].
5. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the man who recites
the ritual
rites with my praise, who is maintaining thus the thought well thought, and
the word well
spoken, and the deed well done, and Piety the bountiful, even him who maintains
the Mathra
of the Saoshyant, by whose actions the settlements are advanced in the righteous
order.
6. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the (yearly)
Seasons with my
praise, the holy lords of the ritual order, and the Ahuna-vairya as it is recited,
and Asha
Vahishta when he is lauded, and the Yenhe hatam, the frequent chant of sacrifice.
7. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the Gatha Ahunavaiti
with my
praise. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to worship those women
with my
praise who are well portioned, and of good parentage, and who are stately in
their growth;
yea, I desire to approach that chant in my praise which has the Ahu and the
Ratu, [for He is
verily the one who has the Ahu and the Ratu, that is, Ahura Mazda].
And I desire to approach the heroic Yasna Haptanghaiti in my praise, the holy,
and ruling in
the ritual order; and Ardvi Sura Anahita, the holy, and ruling in the ritual
order.
8. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the Gatha Ushtavaiti
with my
praise, the holy, and ruling in the ritual order; and I desire to approach those
mountains with
my praise which shine with holiness, abundantly glorious, Mazda-made, the holy
lords of the
ritual order, and the Gatha Spenta-mainyu, and Verethraghna, the blow of victory,
Mazda-
given, the holy lord of the ritual order, and the Victorious Ascendancy (which
it bestows).
9. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the Gatha Vohu-khshathra
with
my praise, the holy, and ruling in the ritual order, and Mithra of the wide
pastures, and
Raman Hvastra, and the Gatha Vahishtoishti, and the pious and good prayer for
blessings, and
the pious and holy man, and that Yazad, the redoubted and swift curse of the
wise.
10. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the Airyema-ishyo
with my
praise, and the Fshusho-mathra, and that lofty lord, the Hadhaokhdha, holy lord(s)
of the
ritual order.
11. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the question
asked of Ahura, and
the lore of the Lord (which he reveals in answer) and the farm-house of the
man possessed of
pastures, and the pasture produced for the Kine of blessed gift, and the holy
cattle-breeding
man.
VISPERAD 3 - BEGINNING OF THE HAOMA OFFERING; ROLL-CALL OF THE PRIEST.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. (The Zaotar speaks.) (I call for) the Havanan, and would have him here.
(The Ratu answers.) I will come (and fulfill his duties).
(The Zaotar speaks.) I would have the Atarevakhsha here.
(The Ratu answers.) I will come (and fulfill the services which fall to his
charge).
(The Zaotar.) I would have the Frabaretar.
(The Ratu.) I will come (and fulfill the services which fall to his charge).
(The Zaotar.) I would have the Aberet present.
(The Ratu.) I will come (for him).
(The Zaotar.) I would have the Asnatar.
(The Ratu.) I will come (and do the duties which he serves).
(The Zaotar.) I would have the Raethwishkar to be here.
(The Ratu.) I will come (for him).
(The Zaotar.) I would have the Sraoshavareza present, the wisest one, the most
correct and
veracious in his speech
(The Ratu.) I will come. 2. (The Zaotar.) I would have the Fire-priest to be
here, and the
warrior, and the thrifty tiller of the earth, and the house-lord, and the lords
of the Vis and the
Zantu.
3. And I summon the youth of holy thoughts, words and works, and of good conscience;
(yea),
the youth of good speech, given (in marriage) to his kin. And I summon the province-ranger,
and the itinerant of many arts, and the house-mistress.
4. And I summon the woman advanced in her holy thoughts, and words, and deeds,
and well
subordinated, whose ruler is her lord, the holy one, who is (as) the bounteous
Armaiti; (yea), I
summon even Thy wives, O Ahura ! And I summon likewise the holy man advanced
in his
good thoughts, and words, and deeds, who is learned in pious lore, and innocent
of the
Kayadha, and by whose deeds the settlements are furthered in the righteous order.
5. Yea, we summon you, whoever you may be, if only chiefs of the Mazdayasnians;
and we
summon the Bounteous Immortals, and the pious Saoshyants (the prophets for our
help), the
most correct and truthful in their speech, the most zealous, the most glorious
in their
thoughts, the greatest ones, and the powerful; and we summon the Fire-priests,
and the
warriors, and the diligent husbandman of the Mazdayasnian faith.
6. (The Zaotar.) As an Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, the Atarevakhsha (announcing)
speaks
forth to me.
(The Ratu [?].) So let the Ratu from his righteousness, holy and learned, speak
forth.
(The Ratu.) As an Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, the Zaotar (announcing) speaks
forth to
me.
(The Zaotar.) So let the Ratu from (his) righteousness, holy and learned, speak
forth.
(The Ratu.) Thou art the announcer for us, O Fire-priest! [(Pazand.) It is the
Zaotar (who is
meant).]
(The Zaotar.) I will come as this Zaotar, and recite the Staota Yesnya with
memorized
intoning, chanting, and praise.
VISPERAD 4.
-----------
1. (Yea,) we sacrifice to the thoughts of the mind, and to the good wisdom,
and to the good and
blessed sanctity, and to the good religious knowledge, and to good health (of
soul and body).
[At their (several) seasons, and with the presence of seasonable circumstances,
they are
hymned.] 2. Confession is to be made for the Kine; we, Zarathushtrian Mazdayasnians,
celebrate at the sacrificial time for the Myazda-offering, at the time for the
Ratufriti, the
prayer for blessings, for the sacrificial worship, homage, propitiation, and
praise of the entire
creation of the holy (and the clean).
VISPERAD 5.
-----------
1. I come to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! as a praiser priest, and invoker,
as a memoriser,
reciting (Your ritual), and as a chanter for Your sacrifice and homage, Your
propitiation, and
Your praise; (yea, for Yours) the Bountiful Immortals, and for our preparation,
(O ye holy
Saoshyants!) and for your well-timed prayer for blessings, and your sanctification,
and for our
victorious smiting of our foes, beneficial (as it is) for our souls, for ours,
the Saoshyants,
(with you), and holy. 2. And I make my offering to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals,
who rule
aright, and who dispose (of all) aright! (Yea), I offer You the flesh of my
very body, and all
the blessings of my life as well.
3. And I confess my belief in Thee, O Ahura Mazda! and as a Mazdayasnian of
the order of
Zarathushtra, and in accordance with this Faith.
VISPERAD 6.
-----------
1. In accordance with the precept, with praise, and with the joyful reception
of grace, with
Zaothras intelligently offered, with sacrificial words correctly spoken, I call
the good Amesha
Spenta by their names of beauty; yea, I worship the Bountiful Immortals by their
beautiful
names, with the blessing of the ritual Order, with the longing blessing of Righteousness
the
good.
VISPERAD 7.
-----------
1. We worship the (sacrificial) words correctly uttered, and Sraosha (Obedience)
the blessed, and
the good Ashi, (the blest order of our rites), and Nairya-sangha. And we worship
the
victorious Peace as the unprostrated and unmoved. And we sacrifice to the Fravashis
of the
saints, and to the Chinwad Bridge, and to the Garo Nmana of Ahura, even Heaven,
the best
world of the saints, the shining and all glorious!
2. And we sacrifice to that better path that leads to that Best World (as well).
And we worship
Arshtat (Justice) the good, which helps the settlements to advance and flourish,
benefiting
them thereby, that Arshtat which is the Mazdayasnian Faith; and (with her) we
worship
Rashnu the most just, and Mithra of the wide pastures. And we worship Parendi
the wealthy,
wealthy with a wealth of thoughts, with a throng of words, and with a breadth
of actions, [for
she makes our persons agile (for good thoughts and words and actions)] 3. And
we worship
that virile defensive Heroism which possesses men who think beforehand, and
heroic men,
which is fleeter a than the fleet, stronger than the strong, which comes to
him who is
endowed by God, which, when especially made theirs by men, produces one who
is a freer of
the body. And we worship Sleep, the Mazda-made, the gladdener of the herd and
men. 4. And
we worship those things in the creation of the holy which are the ancient institutions,
those
formed before the sky, the water, the land, the plants, and the Kine of blessed
gift. And we
worship the sea Vouru-kasha, and the stormy wind which is made by Mazda, and
the shining
heaven, of old created, the first-made earthly object of (all) the earthly world.
5. And we worship thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son! the holy lord of the
ritual order, and
this Baresman, having the Zaothra with it, and the girdle with it, spread out
with sanctity, the
holy ritual chief, and we worship Apam-napat (the son of waters)
VISPERAD 8.
-----------
1. With this word be Thou approached, with the proper word be Thou present here,
Thou who
art Ahura Mazda, the holy, together with the good Yazads who are the Bountiful
Immortals,
who rule aright, and dispose (of all) aright, together with fifty, and a hundred,
and a thousand,
and ten thousand, and millions, and yet more.
2. And to Him who rules the best let the Kingdom be!
VISPERAD 9.
-----------
1. (I desire to offer my homage and my praise) to the offered Haomas and Zaothras,
and to
those also which shall yet be offered, which smite victoriously, and are foes
of hatred, and
following in company (as they do) with the healing virtues of sanctity, following
also in
company with those of Chishti (religious knowledge), and with the remedies of
Mazda, and
with those of Zarathushtra and the Zarathushtrotema, (2) and to the offered
Haomas and
Zaothras which accompany those remedies which belong to the holy disciple well
versed in
good devices, and accompanying those of the itinerant also versed in good devices,
and
accompanying those likewise of the good Mazdayasnian Faith, and those of the
pious and
beneficent Prayer for blessings, and of the pious and good veracity, and of
the pious word
against unbelief, (3) for information and explanation, for preparation (?) and
devotion, for
the libation and complete offering, for the complete recital of the liturgy
memorized as well;
and to those Haomas which are pungent, bounteous, holy, and offered with sanctity
(and for a
blessing), to those which are yet to be offered with sanctity, and which are
now being
celebrated, and which are likewise in the future to be celebrated, to those
which are being
pressed with sanctity, and to those which are yet to be pressed, (to these I
desire to approach,
and to express my homage and my praise). 4. And I desire to express my homage
and my
praise to the strength of the strong, and to the victorious blow of the mighty,
to the powerful
Rectitude and Blessedness, to Chisti and the Priority for the powerful Ascendancy,
and to
these powerful Yazads which are the Bountiful Immortals, who rule aright, and
dispose of all
aright, ever-living, ever-helpful, who, male and female, dwell together with
the Good Mind,
(to these I desire in my homage and my praises to approach); (5) (yea, I desire
to approach
for homage and praises toward) our Universal Weal and Immortality, to the body
of the
Kine, and to the Kine's Soul. (And I desire to approach) the Fire of the spoken
name, and
toward that farm-house which is sanctified and which has fields and comfort,
and mercy (for
the poor); (6) as a praiser with praise for the sacrifice, homage, which is
this praise of Ahura
Mazda, of the Bountiful Immortals, and of the holy and lofty Lord, for the sacrifice,
and
homage of the Lord that most attains his ends, and which is this praise of that
blessedness
which has approached us, and of that well-timed prayer for blessings offered
in the ritual, (7)
which is likewise the praise of the Mathra Spenta (the bounteous word of reason),
and of the
Mazdayasnian Religion, and the Praises of the Yasnas, which is also that of
all the lords of
the ritual, and of all the well-timed prayers for blessings, for the sacrifice,
homage,
propitiation, and glorification of the entire creation of the holy (and the
clean).
VISPERAD 10.
------------
1. I desire to approach the Arezahis with my praise, and the Savahis, and Fradadhafshu,
and
Vidadhafshu, and Vouru-bareshti, and Vouru-jareshti, and this Karshvar which
is Hvaniratha.
2. And I desire to approach the stone mortar with my praise, and the iron mortar,
and the
cup that holds the Zaothra, and the hair (which stays the spilling 3), and Thy
Baresman
spread with sanctity. And I desire to approach the Ahuna-vairya with my praise,
and the
ritual prayers beside Ahuna, and the standing offices of the Mazdayasnian Faith.
VISPERAD 11.
------------
1. To Ahura Mazda would we present our offered Haomas and that which is lifted
up, as the
most beneficial to Verethraghna (the blow of victory) which furthers the settlements;
and
that which is offered to the good and holy king, and that which is offered to
the holy ruler
which rules according to, or in the ritual, and we make known our Haomas to
the Bountiful
Immortals, and to the good waters; and we present our Haomas each to (our) own
soul; and
we announce our Haomas in our celebration to the entire creation of the holy
(and the
clean).
2. Yea, we present these Haomas and Haoma implements, and these spread mats,
and these
Myazdas, these stones, the first in the creation, the stone mortar brought here
with the
yellow Haoma in it, and the iron mortar brought here with the yellow Haoma in
it, this
Haoma-water, and this Baresman spread with sanctity, (3) these bodies, and (their)
forces,
these striving Zaothras (that seek to find Thy grace), this holy Haoma, and
the flesh, and the
holy man, and the saint's innate thoughts, even the Saoshyants' innate thoughts.
And we present this fresh milk as an offering, now lifted up with sanctity,
and this
Hadhanaepata plant, lifted up with sanctity; (4) and we offer, and present these
Zaothras with
our celebration, having the Haoma with them, and the milk, and the Hadhanaepata,
to the
good waters and offered up with piety. And we present the Haoma-water in our
celebrations
to the good waters, and both the stone and the iron mortar, (5) and this branch
for the
Baresman, and the prayer for blessings uttered at the fitting moment which has
approached
(for our help in its order with the prayers), and the recollection and practice
of the good
Mazdayasnian law, and the heard recital of the Gathas, the well-timed prayer
for blessings as
it comes uttered by the saint (and for our help), and ruling (while it is spoken)
as a ritual lord,
and these wood-billets, and the perfume even Thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's
son! and all
good objects (which are ours), and Mazda-made, and which have the seed of sanctity
(or are
that seed).
6. Yea, these we make known and we announce in this our celebration to Ahura
Mazda (as our
gift), and to Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, and to Ashi (who is the recompense),and
to
Rashnu the most just, and to Mithra of the wide pastures, and to the Bountiful
Immortals, and
the Fravashis of the saints, and to their souls, and to the Fire of Ahura Mazda,
the lord, and
to the lofty lord (the Apam-napat?), and to the Myazda, the lord, and to the
well-timed
prayer for blessings as it rules in the order of our prayers, for the sacrifice,
homage,
propitiation, and adoration of the entire creation of the holy (and the clean).
7. Yea, these we make known in this our celebration hereby for the Fravashi
of Zarathushtra
Spitama, the saint, for its sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise, and
to the (Fravashi) of
Anghuyu (?) who hath loved righteousness, together with all the holy Fravashis
of the saints,
of those now dead, and of those of the living, and of those of men unborn, of
the prophets
that shall serve us, bringing on the renovation of the completed world.
8-11. (See verses 2-5.)
12. Yea, we would make these known hereby in our celebrations to the Bountiful
Immortals, who
rule aright, and who dispose (of all) aright, the ever-living, ever-helpful,
who are good (?),
and bestowers of the good, who dwell with the Good Mind: [(Pazand) for they
who are the
Bountiful Immortals abide with the Good Mind, they who rule aright, and dispose
(of all)
aright, for thence they are regulated, and thence they arose, (namely,) from
the Good Mind].
13. And we make known these our celebrations as the more promotive for this
house, for the
furtherance of this house, and as benefits for this house, because of the increase
of this
household, as overcoming the restrictions which impede this household, and as
overcoming
the harmful malice which may mar this house, to bless its herds, and its retainers,
born, and
yet to be born, for the saints of the house as it was aforetime, of it as it
stands here now, and
to which we likewise now belong as the Saoshyants of the provinces, (14) [which
(is that we
are Saoshyants) for the saints who do good deeds, and of the female saints who
do good deeds,
and of the saints who do the deeds conspicuously good, and of the females likewise
thus, of
the saints who do good deeds upon good deeds, and of the females thus the same].
15. And we make these known in our celebrations to the good Fravashis of the
saints which are
formidable and overwhelming in their aid. 16. And we make these known in our
celebrations
hereby to Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, and to the good Blessedness, and
to Nairya-sangha,
and to the victorious Peace, and to Ahura Mazda's Fire, and to the lofty lord,
for sacrifice,
homage, propitiation, and for praise, to the entire creation of the holy and
the clean.
17-18. (=Vr10.1-2.)
19. Yea, we make that known which is lifted up in offering, and which is the
Avesta as the holy
Ahura Mazda directed that it should be said, and as Zarathushtra, the holy,
directed, and as I,
the priest, who am acquainted with their sacrifice and homage, am now letting
it be known. I
who understand the lawful and legitimate Avesta, and the ritual prescripts (20)
for Your
sacrifice, homage, and propitiation, O Ye who are the Bountiful Immortals, and
for our
preparation (?), and for the success of our well-uttered prayer for blessings,
for victory,
sanctification, and the well-being of our souls, (of ours), for (we are) the
holy Saoshyants.
21. Yea, we make these known in our celebrations here, and we offer them to
Him who is Ahura
Mazda, of all the greatest, the master and the Lord.
VISPERAD 12.
------------
1. For the offered Haomas which have been offered in libation to that lofty
Lord Ahura Mazda
and to the holy Zarathushtra Spitama (produce) abundance in cattle and in men;
and this
abundance is (as) the good Sraosha, who accompanies (us) with the great splendor
of sanctity,
and may he be here with energetic effort (to aid us in our worship).
2. We offer the wise offerings of the Ahuna-vairya intoned with sanctity and
yet to be intoned,
possessing their many teachings of religious wisdom (as they to), and those
of the two
mortars which pour the Haomas out, and which are pushed forward with precision,
and are
now in the course of being thus advanced once more. 3. (And so we teach as well
the many
teachings of the religious wisdom) contained in the words correctly spoken,
in the
Zarathushtrian utterances, and in the ceremonies correctly practiced, and the
Baresmans
spread exactly, and the Haomas pressed correctly, and the praise, Yasnas, and
the doctrines
of the Mazdayasnian Religion with their recitations, and their movements. 4.
For thus they
may become to us more full of devices and of wisdom, and so we offer these wise
ritual deeds
in the creation, so we impart them with their many points of meaning while we
(ourselves)
still ponder them as those which Ahura Mazda, the holy One, delivered, which
have (as if)
their nourishment from Vohu Manah and their growth from the Righteous Order,
which are
the greatest of all beings, the best, and the most beautiful; for thus shall
these be to us the
more full of wisest meaning, and more full of incitation and may we be among
those (who
are) of Spenta Mainyu's world in that we are imparting (to the chosen) these
precepts of the
wisest meaning and these incitations which are contained therein. 5. And full
of wisest
meaning be ye two to us, O (thou) stone mortar, and (thou) the iron one, as
ye are now
turned, and as ye are now being advanced, ye two mortars of the house, [and
of the village, of
the tribe, and of the province, and ye who are in this house (itself), this
village, tribe, and
province]; yea, in those which are ours, Mazdayasnians, who are steadfast in
our worship,
who appear with our wood-billets and our perfumes, and with our supplicated
blessings
[(Pazand) for so may they be to us, the more full of wisest teaching].
VISPERAD 13.
------------
1. According to the ritual we worship Ahura Mazda; according to the ritual we
worship the
Bountiful Immortals; and we sacrifice to the sacrificial word correctly spoken,
and to every
Mathra (as to a sacred word of reason). And we sacrifice to Zarathushtra, him
who is
especially the possessor of the Mathra; and we sacrifice to the 'blessings for
the saints'; and
we worship the 'hail' addressed to the Bountiful Immortals.
2. Also we worship the three principal (chapters) uttered (in the Yasna) without
addition or
omission; and we worship the three principal ones without addition or omission;
we worship
the three commencing ones entire without addition or omission. And we worship
the entirety
of the three principal ones without addition or omission; and their Has, their
metrical lines,
their words, and their word structure [and their recital, memorizing, chanting,
and their
steadfast offering].
VISPERAD 14.
------------
1. (We worship Ahura Mazda, the holy Lord of the ritual order; and we sacrifice
to the Gatha
Ahunavaiti) with its measures, and word-structure, and its Zand, with its questions
and
counter-questions, with its words and its metric feet. And we sacrifice to these
as well-recited,
and now in the course of being recited, as well-worshipped, and now in the course
of being
used in worship. 2. (Yea, we sacrifice to it) in its own 'wisdom;, in its own
'clearness', in its
own 'loving intention', in its sovereignty, and its own ritual order, and its
'acquired boon',
which is also that given by Ahura Mazda for the promotion of piety, for that
thought which
originates from the 'heart-devoted self'.
3. Also we worship the Ahuna-vairya, the holy lord of the ritual order, the
holy lord with its
Ahu and its Ratu [(Pazand); for He is the one with the title Ahu and Ratu, who
is Ahura
Mazda]. 4. And we sacrifice to the constituent parts of the Gatha Ahunavaiti,
to its chapters,
and its metrical lines, its words, and word-structure, [and to its heard-recital,
and memorized
recital, its continuous and its steadfast offering].
VISPERAD 15.
------------
1. Hold your feet in readiness, and your two hands, and your understandings,
O ye
Zarathushtrian Mazdayasnians! for the well-doing of lawful deeds in accordance
with the
sacred Order, and for the avoidance of the unlawful and evil deeds which are
contrary to the
ritual. Let the good deeds for the furtherance of husbandry be done here. Render
ye the needy
rich. 2. Let Sraosha (Obedience) be present here for the worship of Ahura Mazda,
the most
helpful, and the holy, who is so desired by us in the pronunciation, and for
the service, and
the pondering of the Yasna Haptanghaiti, for the heart's devotion to it, for
its memorization,
and its victorious and holy recital (or for the victorious saint), without addition
or omission,
(3) which has been intoned, and which shall yet be uttered as great, powerful,
smiting with
victory, separate from harmful malice, for the pronunciation of victorious words
for Ahura
Mazda's Fire.
4-5. (=Vr9.6-7.)
VISPERAD 16.
------------
1. And we worship the Fire here, Ahura Mazda's son, and the Yazads having the
seed of fire in
them, and the Rashnus having the seed of fire in them; and we worship the Fravashis
of the
saints. And we worship Sraosha who smites with victory, and the holy man, and
the entire
creation of the holy (and the clean). 2. And we worship the Blessedness and
the Fravashi of
Zarathushtra Spitama, the saint. And we worship the saints and their blessed
Fravashis (as of
one). And we worship all their Fravashis (as considered each apart), and those
of the saints
within the Province, and those of the saints without the Province, yea, we worship
the
Fravashis of holy men and holy women (wherever they may be, those devoted to
the Order
of the Faith). And we sacrifice to those whose (service) for us in the Yasna
Ahura Mazda, the
holy, has known as the better, and of these Zarathushtra is the living chief
and master. And
we sacrifice to the fields and the waters, the lands and the plants, and to
the constituent parts
of the Yasna Haptanghaiti, its chapters, its metered lines, its words, and word
structure.
VISPERAD 17.
------------
1. And we strive after the good thoughts, words, and deeds inculcated in the
Yasna Haptanghaiti.
A blessing is the Right (called) the Best, (there is) weal; (there is) weal
for this (man) when
toward Righteousness Best (there is) right.
VISPERAD 18.
------------
1. We worship Ahura Mazda with the ushta. And we worship the Amesha Spenta with
the ushta,
and the holy man, the saint. And we worship the prior world of the holy (and
of the clean)
with an ushta, and the state of weal and salvation for the holy man (the saint).
2. And we worship that life-long state of blessedness (for the holy) which is
the evil man's
calamity; yea, we worship his eternal salvation, and with the salvation prayer.
And we
sacrifice to every saint who exists, who is now coming into existence, and who
shall exist in
future.
VISPERAD 19.
------------
1. We worship Ahura Mazda the bountiful; and we worship the Bountiful Immortals
(saying the
Spenta). And we sacrifice to the bountiful saint, and to the bountiful anticipative
understanding Also we sacrifice to the good and bountiful Armaiti (the ready
mind). And we
worship her together with the bountiful creatures in the creation of the pure.
And we sacrifice
to the holy creatures who have intelligence as their first, (to those foremost
in their mind).
And we worship the omniscient understanding, and Him who is Ahura Mazda (Himself).
2.
And we sacrifice to the shining sun, which is the highest of the high; yea,
we worship the sun
together with the Bountiful Immortals, and the Mathras with their good ceremonies.
Also we
sacrifice to the glorious achievements, and to this glory (which we have gained).
And we
sacrifice to the herds which have the Fire and its blessings. Also we worship
the holy benefit
which is so widely diffused, and that wisdom which is the bounteous Armaiti,
whose are the
laws of the Righteous Order, and of those holy creatures who have Righteousness
as their
first.
VISPERAD 20.
------------
1. (Homage to the Gatha Vohu-khshathra! We sacrifice to the Vohu-khshathra),
(the good
kingdom) even the Khshathra-vairya, the kingdom to be desired; and we sacrifice
to the iron-
founding, and to the (sacrificial) words correctly spoken which smite (the foe)
with victory,
and which hold the Daevas subject.
And we worship that reward and that health, that healing and that progress,
that growth and
that victorious smiting (2) which are between the Vohu-khshathra and the Vahishtoishti,
(and
which are acquired by us) by the memorized recital of the good thoughts, good
words, and
good deeds, for the withstanding of evil thoughts, and words, and deeds; yea,
for the undoing
of all treacherous thoughts (directed) against me, and of all false words, and
unfair deeds. 3.
[And we sacrifice to the later Yasna, the heroic Haptanghaiti, (and which as
it recurs
becomes) the holy ritual chief.]
VISPERAD 21.
------------
1. We strive earnestly, and we take up our Yasna and our homage to the good
waters, and to the
fertile fruit-trees (which bear as of themselves), and to the Fravashis of the
saints; yea, we
take up our Yasna, and our homage earnestly to those beings which are (so) good,
the waters,
and the trees, and the Fravashis of the saints, (2) and to the Kine, and to
Gaya (Maretan),
and to the Mathra Spenta (the bounteous word-of-reason), the holy, which works
(within and
for us with effect), to these we take up our Yasnas and our homage with earnest
zeal, and to
Thee, O Ahura Mazda I and to thee, O Zarathushtra, we do the same; and to thee,
O lofty
lord (the Apam-napat), and to the Bountiful Immortals. 3. And we sacrifice to
the listening
(that hears our prayers) and to that mercy, and to the hearing of (our spoken)
homage, and
to that mercy which is (shown in response to our offered) praise. And we sacrifice
to the
fraraiti vidushe, which is contained in the piece hvadaenaish ashaonis; and
we sacrifice to 'the
good praise which is without hypocrisy, and which has no malice (as its end)';
and we sacrifice
to the later Yasna and to its offering; and we sacrifice to the chapters of
the later Yasna, and
to its metrical lines, its words, and word-structure.
VISPERAD 22.
------------
1. With this chant (fully) chanted, and which is for the Bountiful Immortals
and the holy
Saoshyants (who are the prophets who shall serve us), and by means of these
(ceremonial)
actions, which are (of all) the best, we desire to utter our supplications for
the Kine. It is that
chant which the saint has recognized as good and fruitful of blessed gifts,
and which the sinner
does not know. May we never reach that (ill-luck that the sinner) may outstrip
us (in our
chanting), not in the matter of a plan (thought out), or of words (delivered),
or ceremonies
(done), nor yet in any offering whatever when he (?) approaches (us for harm).
VISPERAD 23.
------------
1. We worship Ahura Mazda as the best (worship to be offered in our gifts).
We worship the
Amesha Spenta (once more, and as) the best. We worship Asha Vahishta (who is
Righteousness the Best). And we sacrifice to those (prayers) which are evident
as the best;
that is, the Praises of the Yasnas.
Also we sacrifice to that best wish, which is that of Asha Vahishta, and we
worship Heaven,
which is the best world of the saints, bright and all glorious; and we sacrifice
likewise to that
best approach which leads to it. 2. And we sacrifice to that reward, health,
healing,
furtherance, and increase, and to that victory which is within the two, the
Ahuna-vairya and
the Airyema-ishyo, through the memorized recital of the good thoughts, words,
and deeds
(which they enjoin).
AVESTA: FRAGMENTS:
==================
Contents:
- Aogemadaeca
- Afrin-i Zartosht
- Bd30V16z
- DkB131
- Frahang-i Oim
- Fragm. Darmesteter
- Fragm. Gray
- Fragm. Westergaard
- Hadhokht Nask
- Nirangistan
- Pursishniha
- Vicharkart-i Denik
- Vaetha Nask
- Vishtasp Yasht
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
AOGEMADAECA
-----------
[Translated by James Darmesteter, Sacred Books of the East, American Edition,
1898, Vol. III, pg 372 ff.
'The Aogemadaeca,' says Dastur Jamaspji,' is a treatise that inculcates a sort
of serene resignation to death.' It
is a sermon on death, originally written in Pahlavi, but preserved to us in
a Parsi transcription; in which
original Avesta texts are developed or paraphrased. These Avesta quotations
amount to twenty-nine, of
which twenty-four are new. A good edition of the Parsi text, with a Sanskrit
translation, based upon a
manuscript of A. D. 1497, has been published by Prof. Geiger (Erlangen, 1879).
Dastur Jamaspji possesses
two Pahlavi retranscriptions of an independent Parsi manuscript, which contain
useful corrections and
additions. We have thought it necessary to give here a complete translation
of the treatise, as the Avesta
quotations by themselves do not present either a continuous or a complete text.
Unlike the Avesta in the
Nirangistan, they are not the principal, but only the secondary text.]
1. Aogemaideca usmahica visamadaeca [Y41.5] ('We come, rejoice, and submit').
(Parsi translation:) I come, I accept, I resign;
2. (Parsi gloss:) I come into this world, I accept evil, I resign myself to
death;
3. Shato-manau vahishto-urvano ('With the mind in joy and the soul in bliss'):
(Gloss:) In joy is he who realises the wish of his soul.
4. May the accursed Gana Mainyo be smitten, destroyed, and broken, he who has
no knowledge,
who has evil knowledge, who is full of death,
5. Who destroys the body of the immortal soul!
6. May the immortal soul have its share in Paradise!
7. And may the pleasure and comfort that will dissipate the pain of the immortal
soul come to
us!
8. At the fourth dawn, may the holy, strong Sraosha, and Rashn Rast, and the
good Vae, and
Ashtad the victorious, and Mihr of the rolling country-side, and the Fravashis
of the
righteous, and the other virtuous spirits come to meet the soul of the blessed
one,
9. And make the immortal soul pass over the Chinvad bridge easily, happily,
and fearlessly!
10. And may Vahman, the Amshaspand, intercede for the soul of the blessed one,
11. And introduce it to Ohrmazd and the Amshaspands!
12. Usehihstad Vohu-Mano; haca gatvo zaranyo-kereto ('Up rises Vohu-Mano from
his golden
throne').
13. He will take the blessed one by the hand,
14. And make him rejoice as much as does the man who rejoices most when on the
pinnacle of
nobility and glory.
15. And the Fravashis of the righteous will bring to the soul of the blessed
those blessed aliments
that are made at the time of Maidyo-zarm:
16. Hvarethanam he beretam zaremayehe raoghnahe ('Let them bring unto him the
butter of
Maidhyoi-zaremaya!').
Aliments of waters, wine, sugar, and honey!
17. Yatha va erezato paiti, yatha va zaranyo paiti, yatha va kacid gaonanam
('Of silver, or gold,
or any other kind').
The Amshaspand Vahman will give to the soul of the blessed one clothes embroidered
with
gold and a golden throne;
18. And the demon Ahriman will be powerless to inflict any harm or damage on
the soul of the
blessed one.
19. Pasca parairistim daeva drvanto duzhdaungho baodhem avatha frateresenti,
yatha maeshi
vehrkavaiti vehrkad haca frateresaiti ('The wicked evil- doing Daevas tremble
at his perfume
after death, as doth a sheep on which a wolf is pouncing').
As the sheep, on which the wolf is pouncing, tremble at the odour of the wolf,
so these Drujes
tremble at the perfume of the blessed one.
20. For whosoever has been born and whosoever shall be born must act in such
a way that, when
the moment comes to leave this world, he may have Paradise as his portion and
Garothman
as his reward.
21. There is a passage in which Ohrmazd said to Zarathushtra: 'I created, O
Spitama
Zarathushtra! good renown and salvation of the soul;'
22. (That is to say, good renown in this world and salvation of the soul in
the next).
And in case of doubt we must consider as being saved,
23. Him who, for all we have seen and known, has been a believer in body and
soul, and has
rejoiced Ohrmazd and afflicted Ahriman,
24. And whoever has had this for his main object, or has been the source of
this benefit, that
from him should flow prosperity and joy, and from him should flow no harm and
no pain.
And there is a passage in which the soul says to the body:
25. Aad mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti manya manangha humatem.
O thou, my perishable body, think good thoughts with thy mind!
26. Aad mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti hizva mruidhi hukhtem.
O thou, my perishable body, speak good words with thy tongue!
27. Aad mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti zastaeibya vareza hvarestem shyaothanem.
O thou, my perishable body, do good deeds with thy hands!
28. Ma mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti angrai vaire fraspayois yim khrvantem aithivantem,
yim
daevim afraderesavantem frakerentad angro mainyus pouru-mahrko bunem angheus
temanghahe yad ereghato daozanghahe.
O thou, my perishable body, do not throw me down into the Var of Angra Mainyu,
terrible,
dreadful, (frightful), dark, undiscernible (for the darkness there is so dense
that it can be
grasped with the hand), which Gana Mainyu fabricated at the bottom of the dark
world of
endless hell.
29. There is a passage in which Ohrmazd says to Zarathushtra:
30. I created, O Spitama Zarathustra! the stars, the moon, the sun, and the
red burning fire, the
dogs, the birds, and the five kinds of animals; but, better and greater than
all, I created the
righteous man who has truly received from me the Praise of Asha in the good
Religion.
31. But without any reason men adhere to that evil guide, Passion, created by
the demons; so that
they do not think of Fate,
32. And by the bent of their nature they forget death.
33. They do not keep in mind the working of Time and the transientness of the
body,
34. They ever go wandering about on the way of desire,
35. They are tossed in doubt by evil Passion,
36. They clothe themselves with spite, in the course of strife, for the sake
of vanishing goods;
37. They are intoxicated with pride in their youth,
38. And shall be full of regrets at the end of their time.
39. For if one say: 'On this earth of the seven Karshvares there is somebody
going to die,'
everybody ought to think: 'Perhaps it is I,'
40. Had he sense enough to know that every creature that has been created and
has had existence
shall die, and that the unseen, deceiving Astivihad comes for every one.
41. Hamaschid paro avangho isente mashya-kaungho ('All men wish for supplies').
(Now) when a man sets out on a journey, he takes provisions with him;
42. If it be for one day's march, he takes provisions for two days;
43. If it be for two days' march, he takes provisions for three;
44. If it be for ten days' march, he takes provisions for fifteen;
45. And he thinks that he will come back in health to his well-beloved friends,
parents, and
brethren.
46. How then is it that men take no provisions for that unavoidable journey,
47. On which one must go once for all, for all eternity?
48. Chim aoshanghau aoshanguhaiti astem isaiti tanva, kim uruna, kim frazainti,
chim va
gaethahvo mahrkathem?
How is it that a mortal can wish for another mortal the annihilation of his
body (that his
body should be no more), or of his soul (that his soul should be damned), or
death for his
children or for his cattle (that his cattle should perish), if he has sense
enough to know that
he himself is mortal?
49. Anamarezhdiko zi asti havai marezhdikai.
For he is pitiless to himself (he does not pity himself) and none of the others
shall pity him.
50. Blind are all those who, on this earth, do not follow the religion, do not
benefit the living,
and do not commemorate the dead.
51. Oiuim tad va .... ayare ajasaiti, Spitama Zarathushtra! aeva va khshapa
('For there comes a
day, O Spitama Zarathustra! or a night').
There comes a day, O Spitama Zarathustra! or a night, when the master leaves
the cattle, or
the cattle leave the master, or the soul leaves that body full of desires;
52. But his virtue, which is of all existences the greatest, the best, the finest,
never parts from a
man.
53. Ayare amithnaiti juye tanush frayaere ayan bavaiti hubadhro hupaitiznato,
adha apare ayan
duzhathrem ('Every day the living man ought to think that in the forenoon he
is happy and
in credit; in the afternoon disgrace may come').
Every day every living body ought to think (for that may happen any day): in
the forenoon I
am happy, rich, in credit (that is to say, well treated by the king);
54. And every day other people eagerly wish him evil; that he should be torn
away from his
palace, that he should have his head cut off and his wealth seized upon. Every
day the living
body is thrown for food to the birds that fly in the empty sky.
55. This is the way of things on this earth.
56. Deusgdatayau fraeshta drvanto duzdaungho ('It is ignorance that ruins most
people, those
ill-informed').
It is ignorance that ruins most people, those ill-informed; both amongst those
who have died,
and those who shall die.
57. Aad mraod Ahuro Mazdau frakeresto Asto-vidhotush zirijau (read zivijau?)
apairiayo ('Ahura
Mazda said: Astovidhotush has been created a destroyer of the living and one
whom none
escape ).
Ohrmazd said: Astivihad has been created for the destruction of mortals (when
the mortals
see him, they tremble so much that they are unable to struggle with the Druj)
and no one
escapes him (as said before).
58. Yahmad hacha naechish bungayad aoshanguhatam mashyanam ('From whom not one
of
mortal men can escape').
From whom not one of mortal men can escape; no one has escaped to this day,
and no one
will escape hereafter.
59. Noid aethrapatayo, noid danhupatayo, noid sasevishtau, noid asevishtau ('Neither
aethrapaitis, nor chiefs of countries, neither well-doers, nor evil-doers').
Neither the herbed (the Mobedan Mobed), nor the chief of the country (the King
of kings),
neither well-doers, nor evil-doers.
60. Noid usyastacho, noid niya ('Neither those who run up, nor those who go
down').
Neither those who run up (those who fly in the empty sky), like Kahos; with
all his strength
and kingly glory, he could not escape from Astivihad.
61. Nor those who go down deep (who hide themselves under the earth), like Afrasyab
the Turk,
who made himself an iron palace under the earth, a thousand times the height
of a man, with
a hundred columns;
62. In that palace he made the stars, the moon, and the sun go round, making
the light of day.
63. In that palace he did everything at his pleasure,
64. And he lived the happiest life.
65. With all his strength and witchcraft, he could not escape from Astivihad.
66. Naedha frakanem anhau zemo yad pathanayau skarenayau duraeparayau.
Nor he who dug this wide, round earth, with extremities that lie afar, like
Dahak,
67. Who went from the East to the West, searching for immortality and did not
find it.
68. With all his strength and power, he could not escape from Astivihad.
69. Anye angheush frasho-charethrau ('Except the producers of the world of resurrection').
Thus until the author of the resurrection, Saoshyos: until Saoshyos comes, no
one shall
escape from Astivihad.
70. To every one comes the unseen, deceiving Astivihad,
71. Who accepts neither compliments, nor bribe,
72. Who is no respecter of persons,
73. And ruthlessly makes men perish.
74. And this glorious One must go the way he never went,
75. See what he never saw,
76. And discuss with him whom no one can deceive or mislead.
77. Pairithwo bavaiti pantau yim danush paiti fra bunad tachintish; hau did
aevo apairithwo, yo
vayaosh anamarezhdikahe: --
The way may be traversed which is barred by a river springing from the deep;
but one way
cannot be traversed, namely, the way of the pitiless Vayu.
78. Pairithwo bavaiti pantau yim azhish paiti gaustavau, aspanghadho, viranghadho,
viraja,
anamarezhdika; hau did aevo apairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe:
The way may be traversed which is barred by a serpent as big as an ox, horse-devouring,
man-
devouring, man-killing, and pitiless; but one way cannot be traversed, namely,
the way of the
pitiless Vayu.
79. Pairithwo bavaiti pantau yim aresho paiti akhshaeno anamarezhdiko; hau did
aevo
apairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe:
The way may be traversed which is barred by a brown bear, [with a white forehead,
man-
killing, and] pitiless; but one way cannot be traversed, namely, the way of
the pitiless Vayu.
80. Pairithwo bavaiti pantau yim mashyo gadho paiti aevojano anamarezhdiko;
hau did aevo
apairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe: -- The way may be traversed which is
defended by
a highwayman who kills at one stroke, (who stops the way and lets no one pass
alive); but
one way cannot be traversed, namely, the way of the pitiless Vayu.
81. Pairithwo bavaiti pantau yo haenayau chakhra-vaityau vyazdayau; hau did
aevo
apairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe:
The way may be traversed which is held by a horde armed with discs, and uplifted
spears (that
is, carrying spears to pierce men); but one way cannot be traversed, namely,
the way of the
pitiless Vayu.
81 bis. Aad mraod Ahuro Mazdau: dushkhratum apairi gaetham athravayad gatham.
[This incomplete quotation is found only in the Pahlavi transcription, with
a corrupt
paraphrase as follows: 'Ohrmazd said, "The man without intelligence (that
is, with a bad
intelligence) ... who has not sung the Gathas (that is, who has not performed
the sacrifice; cf
Nirang. 41) has no good renoun on this earth nor bliss in heaven (cf. 21, 22)..."']
82. Yatha drvau gaom isti, uta drvau aspem isti, uta drvau maeshinem yavanghem
isti:
The wicked acquire cattle, the wicked acquire horses, the wicked acquire sheep
and corn; but
the wicked tyrant does not acquire a store of good deeds.
83. Seek ye for a store of good deeds, O Zarathushtra, men and women! for a
store of good deeds
is full of salvation, O Zarathustra!
84. Pasnush gavo, pasnush aspa, pasnush erezhatem zaranim, pasnush naro chiryo
takhmo:
(For) the ox turns to dust, the horse turns to dust, silver and gold turn to
dust, the valiant
strong man turns to dust; [the bodies of all men mingle with the dust. What
do not mingle
with the dust are the Ashem-vohu which a man recites in this world and his almsgiving
to the
holy and righteous].
85. For if there were or could be any escape from death, the first of the world,
Gayomard, king of
the Mountain, [would have escaped],
86. Who for three thousand years kept the world free from death and old age,
from hunger,
thirst, and evil;
87. Yet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle
with death.
88. Or there was Hoshang, the Peshdadian,
89. Who destroyed two-thirds of all the evil creatures of Ahriman;
90. Yet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle
with death.
91. Or there was Tahmuraf, the well-armed, the son of Vivanghat,
92. Who made the Demon of demons, Gana Mainyo, his steed, and extorted from
him the seven
kinds of writing;
93. Yet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle
with death.
94. Or there was Jim, the Shed, the good shepherd, the son of Vivanghat; (he
was Shed, that is to
say, shining; he was a good shepherd, that is to say, he kept in good condition
troops of men
and herds of animals);
95. Who, for 616 years, 6 months and 13 days, kept this world free from death
and old age, and
kept away greed and need from the creation of Ohrmazd;
96. Yet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle
with death.
97. Or there was Dahak, he of the evil religion, who kept the world under his
tyranny during a
thousand years, less one day,
98. And introduced into the world many ways of witchcraft and evil-doing;
99. Yet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle
with death.
100. Or there was Fredun, the Athwyan,
101. Who smote and bound Azi Dahak, that great evil-doer; he put in chains the
Devs of
Mazandaran, and introduced into the world a number of talismans;
102. Yet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle
with death.
103. I am grateful to the Lord Ohrmazd.
104. I think thus in a grateful spirit: the beast of burden does not throw off
its burden: fate has
come, it cannot be thrown away.
105. May the blessed one have Paradise as his portion!
106. As to the righteous man who has come to this banquet, who has shared this
banquet, may he
for each step get nearer to the bright Paradise, the all-happy Garothman, by
twelve hundred
steps!
107. When he is approaching it, may his merits increase!
108. When he is leaving it, may his sin be uprooted!
109. May righteousness and goodness prevail!
110. May his soul enter the Garothman!
111. I am one of the righteous.
Atha jamyad: May it happen according to this wish of mine!
Humatanam. All the good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, done or to be
done, here or
elsewhere, we seize upon and we transmit them, that we may be in the number
of the
righteous.
Afrin Paighambar Zartusht
-------------------------
[Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition,
1898.)]
1. 'I am a pious man, who speaks words of blessing.'
'Thou appearest unto me full of Glory.'
And Zarathushtra spake unto king Vishtaspa, saying: 'I bless thee, O man! O
lord of the
country! with the living of a good life, of an exalted life, of long life. May
thy men live long!
May thy women live long! May sons be born unto thee of thy own body!
2. 'Mayest thou have a son like Jamaspa, and may he bless thee as (Jamaspa blessed]
Vishtaspa
(the lord) of the country!
'Mayest thou be most beneficent, like ...
'Mayest thou be fiend-smiting, like Thraetaona!
'Mayest thou be strong, like Jamaspa!
'Mayest thou be well-armed, like Takhma-Urupa!
3. 'Mayest thou be glorious, like Yima Khshaeta, the good shepherd!
'Mayest thou be instructed with a thousand senses, like Azhi Dahaka, of the
evil law!
'Mayest thou be awful and most strong, like Keresaspa!
'Mayest thou be a wise chief of assemblies, like Urvakhshaya!
'Mayest thou be beautiful of body and without fault, like Syavarshana!
4. 'Mayest thou be rich in cattle, like an Athwyanide!
'Mayest thou be rich in horses, like Pourushaspa!
'Mayest thou be holy, like Zarathushtra Spitama!
'Mayest thou be able to reach the Rangha, whose shores lie afar, as Vafra Navaza
was!
'Mayest thou be beloved by the gods and reverenced by men.
5. May ten sons be born of you! In three of them mayest thou be an Athravan!
In three of
them mayest thou be a warrior! In three of them mayest thou be a tiller of the
ground! And
may one be like thyself, O Vishtaspa!
6. 'Mayest thou be swift-horsed, like the Sun!
'Mayest thou be resplendent, like the moon!
'Mayest thou be hot-burning, like fire!
'Mayest thou have piercing rays, like Mithra!
'Mayest thou be tall-formed and victorious, like the devout Sraosha!
7. 'Mayest thou follow a law of truth, like Rashnu!
'Mayest thou be a conqueror of thy foes, like Verethraghna, made by Ahura!
Mayest thou have fulness of welfare, like Rama Hvastra!
'Mayest thou be freed from sickness and death, like king Husravah!
8. 'Then the blessing goes for the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the
holy Ones.
'May it happen unto thee according to my blessing!
"Let us embrace and propagate the good thoughts, good words, and good deeds
that have been
done and that will be done here and elsewhere, that we may be in the number
of the good.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
'[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, .... give him the bright, all-happy,
blissful abode
of the holy Ones.'
Bd30V16z:
---------
(Not available)
Avesta Fragment from Denkard, book 3, chapter 118 (DkB131)
----------------------------------------------------------
ntit zn dn }b pasu vnra xshathrb ahmbt ashbunt mazishtya dn shbttish mcnaybt
dasishtem
uzybthramayb.
Translation (Sanjana, vol 3, pg 154:)
Surely, a ruler of beasts and men assures to himself extremely little greatness
by his wisdom
until he secures great happiness for them by means of his rule.
Frahang-i Oim:
--------------
(Not available)
Fragm. Darmesteter:
-------------------
(Not available)
Fragm. Gray:
------------
(Not available)
Fragm. Westergaard:
-------------------
(Not available)
Hadhokht Nask
-------------
[Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition,
1898.)]
1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker
of the
material world, thou Holy One!
'What is the only word in which is contained the glorification of all good things,
of all the
things that are the offspring of the good principle?'
2. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the praise of Holiness (Asha: the Ashem Vohu),
O Spitama
Zarathushtra!
3. 'He who recites the praise of Holiness, in the fullness of faith and with
a devoted heart,
praises me, Ahura Mazda; he praises the waters, he praises the earth, he praises
the cattle, he
praises the plants, he praises all good things made by Mazda, all the things
that are the
offspring of the good principle.
4. 'For the reciting of that word of truth, O Zarathushtra! the pronouncing
of that formula, the
Ahuna Vairya, increases strength and victory in one's soul and piety.
5. 'For that only recital of the praise of Holiness is worth a hundred khshnaothras
of the beings
of Holiness, when delivered while going to sleep, a thousand when delivered
after eating, ten
thousand when delivered during cohabitation, or any number when delivered in
departing this
life.'
6. 'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth ten others
in greatness,
goodness, and fairness?'
7. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers
when eating
the gifts of Haurvatat and Ameretat, at the same time professing good thoughts,
good words,
and good deeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'
8. 'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth a hundred
others in greatness,
goodness, and fairness?'
9. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers
while
drinking of the Haoma strained for the sacrifice, at the same time professing
good thoughts,
good words, and good deeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil
deeds.'
10. 'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth a thousand
others in greatness,
goodness, and fairness?'
11. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers
when
starting up from his bed or going to sleep again, at the same time professing
good thoughts,
good words, and good deeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil
deeds.'
12. 'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth ten thousand
others in
greatness, goodness, and fairness?'
13. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers
when waking
up and rising from sleep, at the same time professing good thoughts, good words,
and good
deeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'
14. 'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth this Karshvare
of ours,
Hvaniratha, with its cattle and its chariots, without its men, in greatness,
goodness, and
fairness?'
15. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers
in the last
moments of his life, at the same time professing good thoughts, good words,
and good deeds,
and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'
16. 'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth all that
is between the earth
and the heavens, and this earth, and that luminous space, and all the good things
made by
Mazda at are the offspring of the good principle in greatness, goodness, and
fairness?'
17. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers
to renounce
evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'
[[2]]
1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker
of the
material world, thou Holy One!
'When one of the faithful departs this life, where does his soul abide on that
night?'
Ahura Mazda answered:
2. 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ushtavaiti Gatha and proclaiming
happiness:
"Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the
full
accomplishment of his wishes!" On that night his soul tastes as much of
pleasure as the whole
of the living world can taste.'
3. -'On the second night where does his soul abide?'
4. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ushtavaiti
Gatha and
proclaiming happiness: "Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom
Ahura Mazda
gives the full accomplishment of his wishes!" On that night his soul tastes
as much of
pleasure as the whole of the living world can taste.'
5. -'On the third night where does his soul abide?'
6. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ushtavaiti
Gatha and
proclaiming happiness: "Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom
Ahura Mazda
gives the full accomplishment of his wishes!" On that night his soul tastes
as much of
pleasure as the whole of the living world can taste.'
7. At the end of the third night, when the dawn appears, it seems to the soul
of the faithful, one
as if it were brought amidst plants and scents; it seems as if a wind were blowing
from the
region of the south, from the regions of the south, a sweet-scented wind, sweeter-scented
than any other wind in the world.
8. And it seems to the soul of the faithful one as if he were inhaling that
wind with the nostrils,
and he thinks: 'Whence does that wind blow, the sweetest-scented wind I ever
inhaled with my
nostrils?'
9. And it seems to him as if his own conscience were advancing to him in that
wind, in the
shape of a maiden fair, bright, white-armed, strong, tall-formed, high-standing,
thick-
breasted, beautiful of body, noble, of a glorious seed, of the size of a maid
in her fifteenth
year, as fair as the fairest things in the world.
10. And the soul of the faithful one addressed her, asking: 'What maid art thou,
who art the
fairest maid I have ever seen?'
11. And she, being his own conscience, answers him: 'O thou youth of good thoughts,
good words,
and good deeds, of good religion, I am thy own conscience!
'Everybody did love thee for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness,
victorious
strength and freedom from sorrow, in which thou dost appear to me;
12. 'And so thou, O youth of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good
religion! didst
love me for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious
strength, and
freedom from sorrow, in which I appear to thee.
13. 'When thou wouldst see a man making derision and deeds of idolatry, or rejecting
(the poor)
and shutting his door, then thou wouldst sit singing the Gathas and worshipping
the good
waters and Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, and rejoicing the faithful that would
come from
near or from afar.
14. 'I was lovely and thou madest me still lovelier; I was fair and thou madest
me still fairer; I was
desirable and thou madest me still more desirable; I was sitting in a forward
place and thou
madest me sit in the foremost place, through this good thought, through this
good speech,
through this good deed of thine; and so henceforth men worship me for my having
long
sacrificed unto and conversed with Ahura Mazda.
15. 'The first step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the
Good-Thought
Paradise;
'The second step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Word
Paradise;
'The third step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Deed
Paradise;
'The fourth step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Endless
Lights.'
16. Then one of the faithful, who had departed before him, asked him, saying:
'How didst thou
depart this life, thou holy man? How didst thou come, thou holy man! from the
abodes full of
cattle and full of the wishes and enjoyments of love? From the material world
into the world
of the spirit? From the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did
thy felicity
last?'
17. And Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just
gone the dreary
way, full of fear and distress, where the body and the soul part from one another.
18. '[Let him eat] of the food brought to him, of the oil of Zaremaya: this
is the food for the
youth of good thoughts, of good words, of good deeds, of good religion, after
he has departed
this life; this is the food for the holy woman, rich in good thoughts, good
words, and good
deeds, well-principled and obedient to her husband, after she has departed this
life.'
[[3]]
19. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: ' O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit,
Maker of the
material world, thou Holy One!
'When one of the wicked perishes, where does his soul abide on that night?'
20. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima
Gatha (Y46), O
holy Zarathushtra!
'"To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?"
'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living
world can taste.'
21. -'On the second night, where does his soul abide?'
22. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima
Gatha, O holy
Zarathushtra! "To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall
I go with praying?"
'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living
world can taste.'
23. -'On the third night, where does his soul abide?'
24. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima
Gatha, O holy
Zarathushtra! "To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall
I go with praying?"
'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living
world can taste.'
25. At the end of the third night, O holy Zarathushtra! when the dawn appears,
it seems to the
soul of the faithful one as if it were brought amidst snow and stench, and as
if a wind were
blowing from the region of the north, from the regions of the north, a foul-scented
wind, the
foulest-scented of al] the winds in the world.
26-32. And it seems to the soul of the wicked man as if he were inhaling that
wind with the nostrils,
and he thinks: 'Whence does that wind blow, the foulest-scented wind that I
ever inhaled with
my nostrils?'
33. The first step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Thought
Hell;
The second step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Word
Hell;
The third step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Deed
Hell;
The fourth step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Endless
Darkness.
34. Then one of the wicked who departed before him addressed him, saying: 'How
didst thou
perish, O wicked man? How didst thou come, O fiend! from the abodes full of
cattle and full
of the wishes and enjoyments of love? From the material world into the world
of the Spirit?
From the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did thy suffering
last?'
35. Angra Mainyu, the lying one, said 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who
has just gone the
dreary way, full of fear and distress, where the body and the soul part from
one another.
36. 'Let him eat of the food brought unto him, of poison and poisonous stench:
this is the food,
after he has perished, for the youth of evil thoughts, evil words, evil deeds,
evil religion after
he has perished; this is the food for the fiendish woman, rich in evil thoughts,
evil words, and
evil deeds, evil religion, ill-principled, and disobedient to her husband.
37. 'We worship the Fravashi of the holy man, whose name is Asmo-hvanvant; then
I will
worship the Fravashis of the other holy Ones who were strong of faith.
38. 'We worship the memory of Ahura Mazda, to keep the Holy Word.
'We worship the understanding of Ahura Mazda, to study the Holy Word.
'We worship the tongue of Ahura Mazda, to speak forth the Holy Word.
'We worship the mountain that gives understanding, that preserves understanding;
[we
worship it] by day and by night, with offerings of libations well-accepted.
39. 'O Maker! how do the souls of the dead, the Fravashis of the holy Ones,
manifest
themselves?'
40. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They manifest themselves from goodness of spirit
and excellence of
mind.'
41. Then towards the dawning of the dawn, that bird Parodarsh, that bird Kareto-dasu
hears the
voice of the Fire.
42. Here the fiendish Bushyasta, the long-handed, rushes from the region of
the north, from the
regions of the north, speaking thus, lying thus: 'Sleep on, O men! Sleep on,
O sinners! Sleep
on and live in sin.'
Nirangistan:
------------
(Not available)
Pursishniha:
------------
(Not available)
Vicharkart-i Denik:
-------------------
(Not available)
Vaetha Nask:
------------
(Not available)
Vishtasp Yasht
--------------
[Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition,
1898.)]
[[1]]
1. 'I am a pious man, who speaks words of blessing,' thus said Zarathushtra
to the young king
Vishtaspa. - 'She appears to me full of Glory, O Zarathushtra!' - 'O young king
Vishtaspa! [I
bless thee] with the living of a good life, of an exalted life, of a long life.
May thy men live
long! May thy women live long! May sons be born unto thee of thy own body!
2. 'Mayest thou thyself be holy, like Zarathushtra.
'Mayest thou be rich in cattle, like an Athwyanide!
'Mayest thou be rich in horses, like Pourushaspa!
'Mayest thou have a good share of bliss, like king Husravah!
'Mayest thou have strength to reach the Rangha, whose way lies afar, as Vafra
Navaza did.
3. 'May ten sons be born of thy own body! three as Athravans, three as warriors,
three as tillers
of the ground! May one of them be like Jamaspa, that he may bless thee with
great and ever
greater happiness!
4. 'Mayest thou be freed from sickness and death, like Pesho-tanu.
'Mayest thou have piercing rays, like Mithra!
'Mayest thou be warm, like the moon!
'Mayest thou be resplendent, like fire!
'Mayest thou be long-lived, as long-lived as an old man can be!
5. 'And when thou hast fulfilled a duration of a thousand years, [mayest thou
obtain] the bright,
all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones!
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
[[2]]
6. 'Give him strength and victory! Give him welfare in cattle and bread!' thus
said Zarathushtra
to the young king Vishtaspa! 'Give him a great number of male children, praisers
[of God] and
chiefs in assemblies, who smite and are not smitten, who smite at one stroke
their enemies,
who smite at one stroke their foes, ever in joy and ready to help.
7. 'Ye gods of full Glory, ye gods of full healing, let your greatness become
manifest!'
8. Zarathushtra addressed him, saying: 'O young king Vishtaspa! May their greatness
become
manifest as it is called for!
'Ye Waters, impart and give your Glory to the man who offers you a sacrifice!
'This is the boon we beg (for thee) of Ashi Vanguhi, of Rata, with eyes of love.'
9. Parendi, of the light chariot, follows: 'Mayest thou become manifest unto
him, the young
king Vishtaspa!
'May plenty dwell in this house, standing upon high columns and rich in food!
Thou wilt
never offer and give bad food to a priest: for a priest must be to thee like
the brightest
offspring of thy own blood.'
10. Zarathushtra spake unto him: 'O young king Vishtaspa!
'He who supports the Law of the worshippers of Mazda, as a brother or as a friend,
he who
treats her friendly in any way, looks to keep off want of food from her.'
11. The holy Zarathushtra preached that law to Frashaostra and Jamaspa: 'May
ye practise
holiness and thrive, O young Frashaostra (and Jamaspa)!'
12. Thus said Ahura Mazda unto the holy Zarathushtra, and thus again did Zarathushtra
say unto
the young king Vishtaspa: 'Have no bad priests or unfriendly priests; for bad
priests or
unfriendly priests will bring about much harm, and, though thou wish to sacrifice,
it will be to
the Amesha-Spentas as if no sacrifice had been offered.
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
[[3]]
13. 'When I teach thee, that thou mayest do the same to thy son, O Vishtaspa!
receive thou well
that teaching; that will make thee rich in children and rich in milk; rich in
seed, in fat, in
milk'.
14. 'Thus do we announce unto thee, Ahura Mazda, and Sraosha, and Ashi, and
the Law of the
worshippers of Mazda, with the whole of all her hymns, with the whole of all
her deeds, with
the whole of her performances; the Law of Mazda, who obtains her wishes, who
makes the
world grow, who listens to the songs and rejoices the faithful man at his wish;
who protects
the faithful man, who maintains the faithful man;
15. From whom come the knowledge of holiness and the increase in holiness of
the world of the
holy Principle, and without whom no faithful man can know holiness.
'To thee come every Havanan, every Atarevakhsha, every Frabaretar, every Aberet,
every
Asnatar, every Rathwishkar, every Sraosha-varez (priestly offices);
16. 'Every priest, every warrior, every husbandman; every master of a house,
every lord of a
borough, every lord of a town, every lord of a province;
17. 'Every youth of good thoughts, good words, good deeds, and good religion;
every youth who
speaks the right words; every one who performs the next-of-kin marriage; every
itinerant
priest; every mistress of a house; every wandering priest, obedient to the Law.
18. 'To thee come all the performers (of holiness), all the masters of holiness,
who, to the
number of three and thirty, stand next to Havani, being masters of holiness.
19. 'May they be fully protected in thee, O young king Vishtaspa! While thou
smitest thy
adversaries, thy foes, those who hate thee, a hundred times a hundred for a
hundred, a
thousand-times a thousand for a thousand, ten thousand times ten thousand for
ten thousand,
myriads of myriads for a myriad.
20. 'Proclaim thou that word, as we did proclaim it unto thee!
'O Maker of the good world! Ahura Mazda, I worship thee with a sacrifice, I
worship and
forward thee with a sacrifice, I worship this creation of Ahura Mazda.'
21. The young king Vishtaspa asked Zarathushtra: 'With what manner of sacrifice
shall I worship,
with what manner of sacrifice shall I worship and forward this creation of Ahura
Mazda?'
22. Zarathushtra answered: 'We will make it known unto thee, O young king Vishtaspa!
'Go towards that tree that is beautiful, high-growing, and mighty amongst the
high-growing
trees, and say thou these words: "Hail to thee! O good, holy tree, made
by Mazda! Ashem
Vohu!"
23. 'Let the faithful man cut off twigs of baresma, either one, or two, or three:
let him bind them
and tie them up according to the rites, being bound and unbound according to
the rites.
'The smallest twig of Haoma, pounded according to the rules, the smallest twig
prepared for
sacrifice, gives royalty to the man (who does it).'
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
[[4]]
24. Zarathushtra said: 'O young king Vishtaspa! Invoke Ahura Mazda, who is full
of Glory, Ahura
Mazda, and the sovereign Heaven, the boundless Time, and Vayu who works highly.
25. 'Invoke the powerful Wind, made by Mazda, and Fate.
'Repeat thou those words, that the god invoked may give thee the boon wished
for; that thou,
strong, and belonging to the creation of the good Spirit, mayest smite and take
away the Druj
and watch with full success those who hate thee; smite down thy foes, and destroy
at one
stroke thy adversaries, thy enemies, and those who hate thee.
26. 'Proclaim thou those prayers: they will cleanse thy body from deeds of lust,
O young king
Vishtaspa!
'I will worship thee, O Fire, son of Ahura Mazda, who art a valiant warrior.
He falls upon the
fiend Kunda, who is drunken without drinking, upon the men of the Druj, the
slothful ones,
the wicked Daeva-worshippers, who live in sin.
27. 'He trembles at the way made by Time and open both to the wicked and to
the righteous.
'They tremble at the perfume of his soul, as a sheep does on which a wolf is
falling.
28. 'Reciting the whole collection of the Staota Yesnya prayers brings one up
all the way to the
blessed Garo-nmana, the palace beautifully made. That indeed is the way.
29. 'That man does not follow the way of the Law, O Zarathushtra! who commits
the Baodho-
(varshta) crime with a damsel and an old woman,' said Zarathushtra to the young
king
Vishtaspa.
'Let him praise the Law, O Spitama Zarathushtra! and long for it and embrace
the whole of
the Law, as an excellent horse turns back from the wrong way and goes along
the right one,
smiting the many Drujes.
30. 'Go forward with praises, go forward the way of the good Mazdean law and
of all those who
walk in her ways, men and women.
He who wishes to seize the heavenly reward, will seize it by giving gifts to
him who holds up
(the Law) to us in this world here below ....
31. 'Let him give (the Law) to him who is unfriendly to her, that he may become
friendly.
'Wash thy hands with water, not with gomez, and let thy son, who will be born
of thy wife, do
the same.
'Thus thy thought will be powerful to smite him, who is not so; thy speech will
be powerful to
smite him, who is not so; thy deed will be powerful to smite him.
32. '"Hear me! Forgive me!" - We, the Amesha-Spentas, will come and
show thee, O
Zarathushtra! the way to that world to long glory in the spiritual world, to
long happiness of
the soul in Paradise;
33. 'To bliss and Paradise, to the Garo-nmana of Ahura Mazda, beautifully made
and fully
adorned, when his soul goes out of his body through the will of fate, when I,
Ahura Mazda,
when I, Ahura Mazda, gently show him his way as he asks for it
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
[[5]]
34. 'They will impart to thee full brightness and Glory.
'They will give him quick and swift horses, and good sons.
'He wishes to go to the Law, the young king Vishtaspa,'
Zarathushtra said, 'Let him who is unfriendly to her become a follower of the
Law of Mazda,
such as we proclaim it.
35. 'Proclaim thou ever (unto the poor).' Ever mayest thou wait here for the
refuse that is
brought unto thee, brought by those who have profusion of wealth!" Thus
the Druj will not
fall upon thee and throw thee away; thou wilt wield kingly power there.
36. 'The Law of Mazda will not deliver thee unto pain. Thou art entreated (for
charity) by the
whole of the living world, and she is ever standing at thy door in the person
of thy brethren
in the faith beggars are ever standing at the door of the stranger, amongst
those who beg for
bread.
'Ever will that bread be burning coal upon thy head.
'The good, holy Rata, made by Mazda, goes and nurses thy bright offspring.'
37. Zarathushtra addressed Vishtaspa, saying: 'O young king Vishtaspa! The Law
of Mazda, O my
son! will give thy offspring the victorious strength that destroys the fiends.
'Let no thought of Angra Mainyu ever infect thee, so that thou shouldst indulge
in evil lusts,
make derision and idolatry, and shut (to the poor) the door of thy house.
38. 'Atar thus blesses the man who brings incense to him, being pleased with
him and not angry,
and fed as he required: "May herds of oxen grow for thee, and increase
of sons! May fate and
its decrees bring thee the boons thou wishest for! Therefore do thou invoke
and praise (me)
excellently in this glorious world! That I may have unceasing food, full of
the glory of Mazda
and with which I am well pleased."
39. 'O Mazda! take for thyself the words of our praise: of these words I speak
and speak again,
the strength and victorious vigour, the power of health and healing, the fulness,
increase, and
growth.
'Bring it together with the words of hymns up to the Garo-nmana of Ahura Mazda.
He will
first enter there. Therefore do thou pronounce these prayers.
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
[[6]]
40. 'Converse ye with the Amesha-Spentas,' said Zarathushtra unto the young
king Vishtaspa,
'and with the devout Sraosha, and Nairyo-sangha, the tall-formed, and Atar,
the son of Ahura
Mazda, and the well-desired kingly Glory.
41. 'Men with lustful deeds address the body; but thou, all the night long,
address the heavenly
Wisdom; but thou, all night long, call for the Wisdom that will keep thee awake.
'Three times a day raise thyself up and go to take care of the beneficent cattle.
42. 'Of these men may the lordship belong to the wisest of all beings, O Zarathushtra!
May their
lord belong to the wisest, O Zarathushtra! Let him show them the way of holiness,
let him
show them at once the way thereto, which the Law of the worshippers of Mazda
enters
victoriously. Thus the soul of man, in the joy of perfect holiness, walks over
the bridge,
known afar, the powerful Chinvat-bridge, the well-kept, and kept by virtue.
43. 'How the worlds were arranged was said to thee first, O Zarathushtra! Zarathushtra
said it
again to the young king Vishtaspa; therefore do thou praise him who keeps and
maintains the
moon and the sun.
He who has little friendship for the Law, I have placed him down below to suffer.'
44. Thus said Angra Mainyu, he who has no Glory in him, who is full of death:
'This is an
unbeliever, let us throw him down below; this is a liar, or a traitor to his
relatives, and like a
mad dog who wounds cattle and men; but the dog who inflicts wounds pays for
it as for wilful
murder.
The first time he shall smite a faithful man, the first time he shall wound
a faithful man, he
shall pay for it as for wilful murder.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
[[7]]
45. 'Mayest thou receive, O holy young king Vishtaspa! (a house) with a hundred
...., ten
thousand large windows, ten thousand small windows, all the year long, O holy
Vishtaspa!
never growing old, never dying, never decaying, never rotting, giving plenty
of meat, plenty
of food, plenty of clothes to the other worshippers of Mazda.
46. 'May all boons be bestowed upon thee, as I proclaim it unto thee! May the
Amesha-Spentas
impart to thee their brightness and glory and plenty! May they give him quick
and swift
horses and good sons, strong, great in all things, powerful to sing the hymns.
47. 'He wields his power according to the wish of Ahura Mazda, the Good Spirit,
and for the
destruction of the Evil Spirit, whichever of two men goes quicker to perform
a sacrifice (to
Ahura); but if he chooses to perform the sacrifice and prayer to us not in the
right way, he
does not wield the right power, he will not reign.
48. 'He will receive bad treatment in the next world, though he has been the
sovereign of a
country, with good horses to ride and good chariots to drive. Give royalty to
that man, O
Zarathushtra! who gives royalty unto thee with good will.
49. 'Thou shalt keep away the evil by this holy spell: "Of thee [O child!]
I will cleanse the birth
and growth; of thee [O woman!] I will make the body and the strength pure; I
make thee a
woman rich in children and rich in milk; a woman rich in seed, in milk, and
in offspring. For
thee I shall make springs run and flow towards the pastures that will give food
to the child."
50. 'Do not deliver me into the hands of the fiend; if the fiend take hold of
me, then fever with
loss of all joy will dry up the milk of the good Spenta-Armaiti. The fiend is
powerful to
distress, and to dry up the milk of the woman who indulges in lust and of all
females.
51. 'The perfume of fire, pleasant to the Maker, Ahura Mazda, takes them away
from afar; ...;
and all those that harm the creation of the Good Spirit are destroyed;
52. 'Whom Mithra, and Rashnu Razishta, and the Law of the worshippers of Mazda
wish to be
taken far away, longing for a man who is eager to perform and does perform the
ceremonies
he has been taught; ...
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good .... (8)
53. 'The words of the Vahishtoishti Gatha are to be sung: "Happy is he,
O holy Vishtaspa, happy
the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the full accomplishment of
his wishes."
'Where does his soul abide on that night?'
54. Ahura Mazda answered: ' O my son, Frashaostra! It takes its seat near the
head, singing the
Ushtavaiti Gatha and proclaiming happiness: "Happy is he, happy the man
whoever he be!"
'On the first night, his soul sits in Good Words; on the second night, it sits
in Good Deeds; on
the third night, it goes along the ways (to Garo-nmana).
55. 'At the end of the third night, O my son, Frashaostra! when the dawn appears,
it seems to the
soul of the faithful one as if it were brought amidst plants [and scents: it
seems as if a wind
were blowing from the region of the south, from the regions of the south], a
sweet-scented
wind, sweeter-scented than any other wind in the world, and it seems to his
soul as if he were
inhaling that wind with the nose, and it asks, saying: "Whence does that
wind blow, the
sweetest-scented wind I ever inhaled with my nose?"
56. 'And it seems to him as if his own conscience were advancing to him in that
wind, in the
shape of a maiden fair, bright, white-armed, strong, tall-formed, high-standing,
thick-
breasted, beautiful of body, noble, of a glorious seed, of the size of a maid
in her fifteenth
year, as fair as the fairest things in the world.
57. 'And the soul of the faithful one addressed her, asking: "What maid
art thou, who art the
fairest maid I have ever seen?"
58. 'And she, being his own conscience, answers him: "O thou youth, of
good thoughts, good
words, and good deeds, of good religion! I am thy own conscience.
"Everybody did love thee for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness,
victorious
strength, and freedom from sorrow, in which thou dost appear to me; [and so
thou, O youth
of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good religion! didst love me
for that
greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious strength, and freedom
from
sorrow, in which I appear to thee.
59. '"When thou wouldst see a man] making derision and deeds of idolatry,
or rejecting (the poor)
and shutting (his door), then, thou wouldst sit, singing the Gathas, and worshipping
the good
waters, and Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, and rejoicing the faithful that would
come from
near or from afar.
60. '"I was lovely, and thou madest me still lovelier; I was fair, and
thou madest me still fairer; I
was desirable, and thou madest me still more desirable; I was sitting in a forward
place, and
thou madest me sit in the foremost place, through this good thought, through
this good
speech, through this good deed of thine; and so henceforth men worship me for
my having
long sacrificed unto and conversed with Ahura Mazda."
61. 'The first step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the
Good-Thought
Paradise; the second step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him
in the Good-
Word Paradise; the third step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed
him in the Good-
Deed Paradise; the fourth step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed
him in the
Endless Light.
62. 'Then one of the faithful, who had departed before him, asked, saying: "How
didst thou depart
this life, thou holy man? How didst thou come, thou holy man! from the abodes
full of cattle
and full of the wishes and enjoyments of love? from the material world into
the world of the
spirit? from the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did thy felicity
last?"'
63. And Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just
gone the dreary
way, full of fear and distress, when the body and the soul part from one another.
64. '[Let him eat] of the food brought to him, of the oil of Zaremaya: this
is the food for the
youth of good thoughts, of good words, of good deeds, of good religion, after
he has departed
this life; this is the food for the holy woman, rich in good thoughts, good
words, and good
deeds, well-principled, and obedient to her husband, after she has departed
this life.'
65. Spitama Zarathushtra said to the young king Vishtaspa: "To what land
shall I turn, O Ahura
Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?'
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....