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AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA (Book of Common Prayer) part 2
Translation by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the
East, American Edition, 1898.)
Yashts (Hymns to Ahura Mazda, the Archangels, and the Angels)
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1. Ohrmazd Yasht (Hymn to Ahura Mazda)
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(Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the
East, American Edition, 1898.)
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! May Angra Mainyu be destroyed
by those who do truly what is the foremost wish (of God).
I praise well-thought, well-spoken, and well-done thoughts, words,
and deeds. I embrace all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds;
I reject all evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.
I give sacrifice and prayer unto you, O Amesha-Spentas! even with
the fullness of my thoughts, of my words, of my deeds, and of
my heart: I give unto you even my own life.
I recite the 'Praise of Holiness:'
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good. Well is it for
it, well is it for that holiness which is perfection of holiness!'
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Savanghi
and Visya], the holy and masters of holiness;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto the
Masters of the days, of the periods of the day, of the months,
of the seasons, and of the years;
Unto AHURA MAZDA, bright and glorious, be propitiation, with sacrifice,
prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness:
the riches of Vohu-Mano shall he given to him who works in this
world for Mazda, and wields according to the will of Ahura the
power he gave him to relieve the poor.
1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
'What of the Holy Word is the strongest? What is the most victorious?
What is the most glorious? What is the most effective?
2. 'What is the most fiend-smiting? What is the best-healing?
What destroyeth best the malice of Daevas and Men? What maketh
the material world best come to the fulfillment of its wishes?
What freeth the material world best from the anxieties of the
heart?'
3. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Our Name, O Spitama Zarathushtra! who
are the Amesha-Spentas, that is the strongest part of the Holy
Word; that is the most victorious; that is the most glorious;
that is the most effective;
4. 'That is the most fiend-smiting; that is the best-healing;
that destroyeth best the malice of Daevas and Men: that maketh
the material world best come to the fulfillment of its wishes;
that freeth the material World best from the anxieties of the
heart.'
5. Then Zarathushtra said: 'Reveal unto me that name of thine,
O Ahura Mazda! that is the greatest, the best, the fairest, the
most effective, the most fiend-smiting, the best-healing, that
destroyeth best the malice of Daevas and Men;
6. 'That I may afflict all Daevas and Men; that I may afflict
all Yatus and Pairikas; that neither Daevas nor Men may be able
to afflict me; neither Yatus nor Pairikas.'
7. Ahura Mazda replied unto him: 'My name is the One of whom
questions are asked, O holy Zarathushtra!
'My second name is the Herd-giver
'My third name is the Strong One
'My fourth name is Perfect Holiness.
'My fifth name is All good things created by Mazda, the offspring
of the holy principle.
'My sixth name is Understanding;
'My seventh name is the One with understanding.
'My eighth name is Knowledge;
'My ninth name is the One with Knowledge.
8. 'My tenth name is Weal;
'My eleventh name is He who produces weal.
'My twelfth name is AHURA (the Lord).
'My thirteenth name is the most Beneficent.
'My fourteenth name is He in whom there is no harm.
'My fifteenth name is the unconquerable One.
'My sixteenth name is He who makes the true account.
'My seventeenth name is the All-seeing One.
'My eighteenth name is the healing One.
'My nineteenth name is the Creator.
'My twentieth name is MAZDA (the All-knowing One).
9. Worship me, O Zarathushtra, by day and by night, with offerings
of libations well accepted I will come unto thee for help and
joy, I, Ahura Mazda; the good, holy Sraosha will come unto thee
for help and joy; the waters, the plants, and the Fravashis of
the holy ones will come unto thee for help and joy.
10. 'If thou wantest, O Zarathushtra, to destroy the malice of
Daevas and Men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors,
of the blind and of the deaf, of the two-legged ruffians, of the
two-legged Ashemaoghas, of the four-legged wolves;
11. 'And of the hordes with the wide front, with the many spears,
with the straight spears, with the spears uplifted, bearing the
spear of havock; then, recite thou these my names every day and
every night.
12. 'I am the Keeper; I am the Creator and the Maintainer; I am
the Discerner; I am the most beneficent Spirit.
'My name is the bestower of health; my name is the best bestower
of health.
'My name is the Athravan; my name is the most Athravan-like of
all Athravans.
'My name is Ahura (the Lord)
'My name is Mazdau (the all-knowing).
'My name is the Holy; my name is the most Holy.
'My name is the Glorious; my name is the most Glorious.
'My name is the Full-seeing; my name is the Fullest-seeing.
'My name is the Far-seeing; my name is the Farthest-seeing.
13. 'My name is the Protector; my name is the Well-wisher; my
name is the Creator; my name is the Keeper; my name is the Maintainer.
'My name is the Discerner; my name is the Best Discerner.
'My name is the Prosperity-producer; my name is the Word of Prosperity.
'My name is the King who rules at his will; my name is the King
who rules most at his will.
'My name is the liberal King; my name is the most liberal King.
14. 'My name is He who does not deceive; my name is He who is
not deceived.
'My name is the good Keeper; my name is He who destroys malice;
my name is He Who conquers at once; my name is He who conquers
everything; my name is He who has shaped everything.
'My name is All weal; my name is full weal; my name is the Master
of weal.
15. 'My name is He who can benefit at his wish; my name is He
who can best benefit at his wish.
'My name is the Beneficent One; my name is the Energetic One;
my name is the most Beneficent.
'My name is Holiness; my name is the Great One; my name is the
good Sovereign; my name is the Best of Sovereigns.
'My name is the Wise One; my name is the Wisest of the Wise; my
name is He who does good for a long time.
16. 'These are my names.
'And he who in this material world, O Spitama Zarathushtra! shall
recite and pronounce those names of mine either by day or by night;
17. 'He who shall pronounce them, when he rises up or when he
lays him down; when he lays him down or when he rises up; when
he binds on the sacred girdle or when he unbinds the sacred girdle;
when he goes out of his dwelling-place, or when he goes out of
his town, or when he goes out of his country and comes into another
country:
18. 'That man, neither in that day nor in that night, shall be
wounded by the weapons of the foe who rushes Aeshma-like and is
Druj-minded; not the knife, not the cross-bow, not the arrow,
not the sword, not the club, not the sling-stone shall reach and
wound him.
19. 'But those names shall come in to keep him from behind and
to keep him in front, from the Druj unseen, from the female Varenya
fiend, from the evil-doer bent on mischief, and from that fiend
who is all death, Angra Mainyu. It will be as if there were a
thousand men watching over one man.
20. '"Who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain
thy ordinances? Teach me clearly thy rules for this world and
for the next, that Sraosha may come with Vohu-Mano and help whomsoever
thou pleasest."
21. 'Hail to the Glory of the Kavis! Hail to the Airyanem Vaejah!
Hail to the Saoka, made by Mazda! Hail to the waters of the Daitya!
Hail to Ardvi, the undefiled well! Hail to the whole world of
the holy Spirit!
'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord...
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
22. 'We worship the Ahuna Vairya. We worship Asha-Vahishta, most
fair, undying, and beneficent. We worship Strength and Prosperity
and Might and Victory and Glory and Vigour. We worship Ahura Mazda,
bright and glorious.
'Yenghe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda knows the
goodness for a sacrifice [performed] in holiness, all those beings,
males and females, do we worship.
23. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and the prayer unto Ahura Mazda, bright
and glorious, and his strength and vigour.'
(Bahman Yasht.)
24. 'O Zarathushtra! keep thou for ever that man who is friendly
[to me] from the foe unfriendly [to me]! Do not give up that friend
unto the stroke (of the foe), unto vexations to be borne; wish
no harm unto that man who would offer me a sacrifice, be it ever
so great or ever so small, if it has reached unto us, the Amesha-Spentas.
25. 'Here is Vohu-Mano, my creature, O Zarathushtra! here is Asha-Vahishta,
my creature, O Zarathushtra! here is Khshathra-Vairya, my creature,
O Zarathushtra! here is Spenta-Armaiti, my creature, O Zarathushtra!
here are Haurvatat and Ameretat, who are the reward of the holy
ones, when freed from their bodies, my creatures, O Zarathushtra!
26. 'Thou knowest this, and how it is, O holy Zarathushtra! from
my understanding and from my knowledge; namely, how the world
first began, and how it will end.
'A thousand remedies, ten thousand remedies!
'A thousand remedies, ten thousand remedies!
'A thousand remedies, ten thousand remedies!
27. '[We worship] the well-shapen, tall-formed Strength; Verethraghna,
made by Ahura; the crushing Ascendant, and Spenta-Armaiti.
28. 'And with the help of Spenta-Armaiti, break ye asunder their
malice, turn their minds astray, bind their hands, make their
knees quake against one another, bind their tongues.
'When, O Mazda! shall the faithful smite the wicked? When shall
the faithful smite the Druj? When shall the faithful smite the
wicked?'
29. Then Zarathushtra said: 'I threw you back into the earth,
and by the eyes of Spenta-Armaiti the ruffian was made powerless.
30. 'We worship the powerful Gaokerena, made by Mazda; the powerful
Gaokerena, made by Mazda.
31. '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.
32. 'We worship that creation [of Ahura's], Spenta-Armaiti; and
the holy creations of that creature and of Asha [Vahishta], that
are foremost in holiness.
'Here I take as lord and master the greatest of all, Ahura Mazda;
to smite the fiend Angra Mainyu; to smite Aeshma of the wounding
spear; to smite the Mazainya fiends; to smite all the Daevas and
the Varenya fiends; to increase Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious;
to increase the Amesha-Spentas; to increase the star Tishtrya,
the bright and glorious; to increase the faithful men; to increase
all the holy creatures of the beneficent Spirit.
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
33. Bestow on him riches... (Recite SrB5.)
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....'
2. Haft Amahraspand Yasht
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0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!...
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of
Zarathushtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of
Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto
[Havani], the holy and master of holiness....
I.
1. To Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and to the
Amesha-Spentas;
To Vohu-Mano; to Peace, whose breath is friendly, and who is
more powerful to destroy than all other creatures; to the
heavenly Wisdom, made by Mazda, and to the Wisdom acquired
through the ear, made by Mazda;
2. To Asha-Vahishta, the fairest; to the much-desired Airyaman;
to the instrument made by Mazda: and to the good Saoka, with eyes
of love, made by Mazda and holy;
To Khshathra-Vairya; to the metals; to Mercy and Charity.
3. To the good Spenta-Armaiti, and to the good Rata, with eyes
of love, made by Mazda and holy;
To Haurvatat, the master; to the prosperity of the seasons
and to the years, the masters of holiness;
And to Ameretat, the master; to fatness and flocks; to the
plenty of corn; and to the powerful Gaokerena, made by Mazda.
4. (At the Gah Hawan): To Mithra, the lord of wide pastures and
to Rama Hvastra.
(At the Gah Rapithwin): To Asha-Vahishta and to Atar, the
son of Ahura Mazda.
(At the Gah, Uzerin): To Apam Napat, the tall lord, and to
water, made by Mazda.
5. (At the Gah Aiwisruthrem): To the Fravashis of the faithful
and to the females that bring forth flocks of males; to the
prosperity of the seasons; to the well-shapen and tall-formed
Strength; to Verethraghna, made by Ahura, and to the crushing
Ascendant.
(At the Gah Usahin): To the holy, devout, fiend-smiting
Sraosha, who makes the world grow; to Rashnu-Razishta and to
Arshtat, who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase;
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation and
glorification!
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of
holiness....
II.
6. We sacrifice unto Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious; we
sacrifice unto the Amesha-Spentas, the all-ruling, the
all-beneficent.
We sacrifice unto Vohu-Mano, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice
unto Peace, whose breath is friendly, and who is more powerful to
destroy than all other creatures; we sacrifice unto the heavenly
Wisdom, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the Wisdom acquired
through the ear, made by Mazda.
7. We sacrifice unto Asha-Vahishta, the fairest, the
Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice unto the much-desired Airyaman; we
sacrifice unto the instrument made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto
the good Saoka, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and holy.
We sacrifice unto Khshathra-Vairya; we sacrifice unto the
metals; we sacrifice unto Mercy and Charity.
8. We sacrifice unto the good Spenta-Armaiti; we sacrifice unto
the good Rata, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and holy.
We sacrifice unto Haurvatat, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice
unto the prosperity of the seasons; we sacrifice unto the years,
the holy and masters of holiness.
We sacrifice unto Ameretat, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice
unto fatness and flocks; we sacrifice unto the plenty of corn; we
sacrifice unto the powerful Gaokerena, made by Mazda.
9. (At the Gah Hawan): We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of
wide pastures; we sacrifice unto Rama Hvastra.
(At the Gah Rapithwin): We sacrifice unto Asha-Vahishta and
Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda.
(At the Gah Uzerin): We sacrifice unto Apam Napat, the
swift-horsed, the tall and shining lord, the lord of the females;
we sacrifice unto the holy waters, made by Mazda.
10. (At the Gah Aiwisruthrem): We sacrifice unto the good,
powerful, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful; we sacrifice unto
the females who bring forth flocks of males; we sacrifice unto
the prosperity of the seasons; we sacrifice unto the well-shapen,
tall-formed Strength; we sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by
Mazda; we sacrifice unto the crushing Ascendant.
(At the Gah Ushahin): We sacrifice unto the holy,
tall-formed, fiend-smiting Sraosha; who makes the world grow, the
holy an master of holiness; we sacrifice unto Rashnu-Razishta; we
sacrifice unto Arshtat, who makes the world grow, who makes the
world increase
III.
11. Let the Yatus be crushed, O Zarathushtra! both Daevas and
men.
Who is he in whose house, O Spitama Zarathushtra! every Druj
is destroyed, every Druj perishes, when he pronounces these
words:
12. ........?
13. It is he who takes the seven Amesha-Spentas, the all-ruling,
the all-beneficent, as a shield against his enemies.
We worship the Law of the worshippers of Mazda; we worship
the waters coming in the shape of a horse, made by Mazda.
14-15.
He has renounced trespasses and faults, O Zarathustra! he
has renounced all trespasses and faults, O Zarathustra! when he
throws down the destroyer of Vohu-Mano and his words, with a
hundred times hundredfold, with a many times manifold preaching
and smiting, and he takes away the Law of Mazda, that was carried
away as a prisoner, from the hands of the [ungodly], who are
destroyed by his strength.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
16. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of
holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and the prayer, the strength and
vigour
Of Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and of the
Amesha-Spentas;
Of Vohu-Mano; of Peace, whose breath is friendly....
Of Asha-Vahishta, the fairest; of the much-desired
Airyaman....
Of Khshathra-Vairya, of the metals....
Of the good Spenta-Armaiti and of the good Rata....
Of Haurvatat, the master....
Of Ameretat, the master....
(At the Gah Hawan): Of Mithra....
(At the Gah Rapithwin): Of Asha-Vahishta....
(At the Gah Uzerin): Of the high lord Apam Napat....
(At the Gah Aiwisruthrem): Of the Fravashis of the
faithful....
(At the Gah Ushahin): Of the holy, devout, fiend-smiting
Sraosha, who makes the world grow; of Rashnu-Razishta and of
Arshtat, who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
Give unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of
body, give him sturdiness of body, give him victorious strength
of body, give him full welfare of wealth, give him a virtuous
offspring,
give him long, long life, give him the bright, all-happy,
blissful abode of the holy Ones.
3. Ardwahisht Yasht
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0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! ....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of
Zarathushtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of
Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto
[Havani], the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Asha-Vahishta, the fairest; unto the much-desired
Airyaman, made by Mazda, and unto the good Saoka, with eyes of
love, made by Mazda and holy;
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and
glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of
holiness....
I.
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'That
thou mayest increase Asha-Vahishta, O Spitama Zarathushtra! with
hymns of praise, with performance of the office, with
invocations, holy words, sacrifice, blessings, and adoration -
once to abide in the shining luminous space, in the beautiful
abodes - for the sacrifice and invocation of us, the
Amesha-Spentas'....
2. Zarathushtra said: 'Say unto me the right words, such as
they are, O Ahura Mazda! that I may increase Asha-Vahishta, with
hymns of praise, with performance of the office, with
invocations, holy words, sacrifice, blessings, and adoration, -
once to abide in the shining luminous space, in the beautiful
abodes, - for the sacrifice and invocation of you, the
Amesha-Spentas.
3. '.... I proclaim Asha-Vahishta: if I proclaim Asha-Vahishta,
then easy is the way to the abode of the other Amesha-Spentas,
which Ahura Mazda keeps with Good Thoughts, which Ahura Mazda
keep with Good Words, which Ahura Mazda keeps with Good Deeds;
4. '(Easy is the way to the Garo-nmana of Ahura Mazda): the
Garo-nmana is for the holy souls, and no one of the wicked can
enter the Garo-nmana and its bright, wide, holy ways; (no one of
them can go) to Ahura Mazda.
II.
5. 'The Airyaman prayer smites down the strength of all the
creatures of Angra Mainyu, of the Yatus and Pairikas. It is the
greatest of spells, the best of spells, the very best of all
spells; the fairest of spells, the very fairest of all spells;
the fearful one amongst spells, the most fearful of all spells;
the firm one amongst spells, the firmest of all spells; the
victorious one amongst spells, the most victorious of all spells;
the healing one amongst spells, the best-healing of all spells.
6. 'One may heal with Holiness, one may heal with the Law, one
may heal with the knife, one may heal with herbs, one may heal
with the Holy Word: amongst all remedies this one is the healing
one that heals with the Holy Word; this one it is at will best
drive away sickness from the body of the faithful: for this one
is the best-healing of all remedies.
7. 'Sickness fled away [before it], Death fled away; the Daeva
fled away, the Daeva's counter-work fled away; the unholy
Ashemaogha fled away, the oppressor of men fled away.
8. 'The brood of the Snake fled away; the brood of the Wolf
fled away; the brood of the Two-legged fled away. Pride fled
away; Scorn fled away; Hot Fever fled away; Slander fled away;
Discord fled away; the Evil Eye fled away.
9. 'The most lying words of falsehood fled away; the Jahi,
addicted to the Yatu, fled away; the Jahi, who makes one pine,
fled away; the wind that blows from the North fled away; the
wind that blows from the North vanished away.
10. 'He it is who smites me that brood of the Snake, and who
might smite those Daevas by thousands of thousands, by ten
thousands of ten thousands; he smites sickness, he smites death,
he smites the Daevas, he smites the Daeva's counter-work, he
smites the unholy Ashemaogha, he smites the oppressor of men.
11. 'He smites the brood of the Snake; he smites the brood of
the Wolf; he smites the brood of the Two-legged. He smites
Pride; he smites Scorn; he smites Hot Fever; he smites Slander;
he smites Discord; he smites the Evil Eye.
12. 'He smites the most lying words of falsehood; he smites the
Jahi, addicted to the Yatu; he smites the Jahi, who makes one
pine. He smites the wind that blows from the North; the wind
that blows from the North vanished away.
13. 'He it is who smites me that brood of the Two-legged, and
who might smite those Daevas, by thousands of thousands, by ten
thousands of ten thousands. Angra Mainyu, who is all death, the
worst-lying of all Daevas, rushed from before him:
14. 'He exclaimed, did Angra Mainyu: "Woe is me! Here is the
god Asha-Vahishta, who will smite the sickliest of all
sicknesses, who will afflict the sickliest of all sicknesses;
'"He will smite the deadliest of all deaths, he will afflict
the deadliest of all deaths;
'"He will smite the most fiendish of all fiends, he will
afflict the most fiendish of all fiends;
'"He will smite the most counter-working of all
counter-works, he will afflict the most counter-working of all
counter-works;
'"He will smite the unholy Ashemaogha, he will afflict the
unholy Ashemaogha;
'"He will smite the most oppressive of the oppressors of
men, he will afflict most oppressive of the oppressors of men.
15. '"He will smite the snakiest of the Snake's brood, he will
afflict the snakiest of the Snake's brood;
'"He will smite the most wolfish of the Wolf's brood, he
will afflict the most wolfish of the Wolf's brood;
'"He will smite the worst of the two-legged brood, he will
afflict the worst of the two-legged brood;
'"He will smite Pride, he will afflict Pride;
'"He will smite Scorn, he will afflict Scorn;
'"He will smite the hottest of hot fevers, he will afflict
the hottest of hot fevers;
'"He will smite the most slanderous of slanders, he will
afflict the most slanderous of slanders;
'"He will smite the most discordant of discords, he will
afflict the most discordant of discords;
'"He will smite the worst of the Evil Eye, he will afflict
the worst of the Evil Eye.
16. '"He will smite the most lying words of falsehood, he will
afflict the most lying words of falsehood;
'"He will smite the Jahi, addicted to the Yatu, he will
afflict the Jahi, addicted to the Yatu;
'"He will smite the Jahi, who makes one pine, he will
afflict the Jahi, who makes one pine;
'"He will smite the wind that blows from the North, he will
afflict the wind that blows from the North."
17. 'The Druj will perish away, the Druj will perish; the Druj
will rush, the Druj will vanish. Thou perishest away to the
regions of the North, never more to give unto death the living
world of the holy spirit.
18. 'For his brightness and glory I will offer unto him a
sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto Asha-Vahishta, the
fairest - the Amesha-Spenta. Unto Asha-Vahishta, the fairest, the
Amesha-Spenta, we offer up the libations, the Haoma and meat,
the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy spells, the
speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda knows the
goodness....
19. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of
holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer and the strength and
vigour of Asha-Vahishta, the fairest; of the much-desired
Airyaman, made by Mazda; and of the good Saoka, with eyes of
love, made by Mazda and holy.
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
'[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, give him health
of body; .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of
the holy Ones.'
4. Awerdad Yasht
----------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! ....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of
Zarathushtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of
Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto
[Havani], the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Haurvatat, the master; unto the prosperity of the
seasons and unto the years, the masters of holiness,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and
glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of
holiness....
We sacrifice unto Haurvatat, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice
unto the prosperity of the seasons; we sacrifice unto the years,
the holy and masters of holiness.
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'I
created for the faithful the help, the enjoyments, the comforts,
and the pleasures of Haurvatat. We unite them with him who would
come up to thee as one of the Amesha-Spentas, as he would come to
any of the Amesha-Spentas, Vohu-Mano, Asha-Vahishta,
Khshathra-Vairya, Spenta-Armaiti, Haurvatat, and Ameretat.
2. 'He who against the thousands of thousands of those Daevas,
against their ten thousands of ten thousands, against their
numberless myriads would invoke the name of Haurvatat, as one of
the Amesha-Spentas, he would smite the Nasu, he would smite
Hashi, he would smite Bashi, he would smite Saeni, he would
smite Buji.
3. 'I proclaim the faithful man as the first [of men]; if I
proclaim the faithful man as the first [of men], then Rashnu
Razishta, then every heavenly Yazata of male nature in company
with the Amesha-Spentas will free the faithful man
4. 'From the Nasu, from Hashi, from Gashi, from Saeni, from
Buji; from the hordes with the wide front, from the hordes with
the many spears uplifted, from the evil man who oppresses, from
the willful sinner, from the oppressor of men, from the Yatu,
from the Pairika, from the straying way.
5. 'How does the way of the faithful turn and part from the way
of the wicked?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is when a man pronouncing my
spell, either reading or reciting it by heart, draws the furrows
and hides there himself, [saying]:
6. '"I will smite thee, O Druj! whomsoever thou art, whomsoever
thou art amongst the Drujes that come in an open way, whomsoever
thou art amongst the Drujes that come by hidden way, whomsoever
thou art amongst the Drujes that defile by contact; whatsoever
Druj thou art, I smite thee away from the Aryan countries;
whatsoever Druj thou art, I bind thee; I smite thee down, O Druj!
I throw thee down below, O Druj!"
7. 'He draws [then] three furrows: I proclaim him one of the
faithful; he draws six furrow: I proclaim him one of the
faithful; he draws nine furrows: I proclaim him one of the
faithful.
8. 'The names of those (Amesha-Spentas) smite the men turned to
Nasus by the Drujes: the seed and kin of the deaf are smitten,
the scornful are dead, as the Zaotar Zarathushtra blows them
away to woe, however fierce, at his will and wish, as many as he
wishes.
9. 'From the time when the sun is down he smites them with
bruising blows; from the time when the sun is no longer up, he
deals deadly blows on the Nasu with his club struck down, for the
propitiation and glorification of the heavenly gods.
10. 'O Zarathushtra! let not that spell be shown to any one,
except by the father to his son, or by the brother to his brother
from the same womb, or by the Athravan to his pupil in black
hair, devoted to the good law, who, devoted to the good law,
holy and brave, stills all the Drujes.
11. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a
sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto Haurvatat, the
Amesha-Spenta. Unto Haurvatat, the Amesha-Spenta, we offer up the
libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the
tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations,
and the rightly-spoken words.
12.
'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of
holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and
vigour of Haurvatat, the master; of the prosperity of the seasons
and of the years, the masters 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.'
5. Ardui Sur Bano Yasht (Hymn to the Waters)
--------------------------------------------
Translated by James Darmesteter. (From Sacred Books of the
East, American Edition, 1898.)
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto the good Waters, made by Mazda; unto the holy water-spring
ARDVI ANAHITA; unto all waters, made by Mazda; unto all plants,
made by Mazda,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I.
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'Offer
up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring of mine,
Ardvi Sura Anahita, the wide-expanding and health-giving, who
hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy of
sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material
world; the life-increasing and holy, the herd-increasing and holy,
the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy,
the country-increasing and holy;
2.
'Who makes the seed of all males pure, who makes the womb
of all females pure for bringing forth, who makes all females
bring forth in safety, who puts milk into the breasts of all females
in the right measure and the right quality;
3. 'The large river, known afar, that is as large as the whole
of the waters that run along the earth; that runs powerfully from
the height Hukairya down to the sea Vouru-Kasha.
4. 'All the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all
the middle of it is boiling over, when she runs down there, when
she streams down there, she, Ardvi Sura Anahita, who has a thousand
cells and a thousand channels: the extent of each of those cells,
of each of those channels is as much as a man can ride in forty
days, riding on a good horse.
5. 'From this river of mine alone flow all the waters that spread
all over the seven Karshvares; this river of mine alone goes on
bringing waters, both in summer and in winter. This river of mine
purifies the seed in males, the womb in females the milk in females'
breasts.
6. 'I, Ahura Mazda, brought it down with mighty vigor, for the
increase of the house, of the borough of the town, of the country,
to keep them, to maintain them, to look over them, to keep and
maintain them close.
7. 'Then Ardvi Sura Anahita, O Spitama Zarathushtra! proceeded
forth from the Maker Mazda. Beautiful were her white arms, thick
as a horse's shoulder or still thicker; beautiful was her ....,
and thus came she, strong, with thick arms, thinking thus in her
heart:
8. '"Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice,
with libations cleanly prepared and well-strained, together with
the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me,
and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good
will unto me?"
9. 'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice
worth being heard; I will offer up unto the holy Ardvi Sura Anahita
a good sacrifice with an offering of libations;- thus mayest thou
advise us when thou art appealed to! Mayest thou be most fully
worshipped, O Ardvi Sura Anahita! with the Haoma and meat, with
the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells,
with the words with the deeds, with the libations, and with the
rightly-spoken words.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
II.
10. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita, the wide-expanding and health-giving,
who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy
of sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material
world; the life-increasing and holy, the herd-increasing and holy,
the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy,
the country-increasing and holy;
11. 'Who drives forwards on her chariot, holding the reins of
the chariot. She goes, driving, on this chariot, longing for men
and thinking thus in her heart: "Who will praise me? Who
will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and
well-strained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall
I cleave, who cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows
gifts unto me, and is of good will unto me?"
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice, worth
being heard....
III.
12. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
13. 'Whom four horses carry, all white, of one and the same color,
of the same blood, tall, crushing down the hates of all haters,
of the Daevas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors,
of the blind and of the deaf.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
IV.
14. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
15. 'Strong and bright, tall and beautiful of form, who sends
down by day and by night a flow of motherly waters as large as
the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and who runs
powerfully.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
V.
16. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
17. 'To her did the Maker Ahura Mazda offer up a sacrifice to
the Airyana Vaejah, by the good river Daitya; with the Haoma and
meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the
holy spells, with the words, with the deeds, with the libations,
and with the rightly-spoken words.
18. He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may bring the son of
Pourushaspa, the holy Zarathushtra, to think after my law, to
speak after my law, to do after my law!"
19. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and begging that she would
grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
VI.
20. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
21. 'To her did Haoshyangha, the Paradhata, offer up a sacrifice
on the enclosure of the Hara, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, and ten thousand lambs.
22. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita, that I may become the sovereign
lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the Yatus and
Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that
I may smite down two thirds of the Daevas of Mazana and of the
fiends of Varena."
23. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
VII.
24. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
25. 'To her did Yima Khshaeta, the good shepherd, offer up a sacrifice
from the height Hukairya, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
26. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may become the sovereign
lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the Yatus and
Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that
I may take from the Daevas both riches and welfare, both fatness
and flocks, both weal and Glory."
27. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
VIII.
28. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
29. 'To her did Azi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, offer up a sacrifice
in the land of Bawri, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen,
and ten thousand lambs.
30. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this boon,
O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may make all
the seven Karshvares of the earth empty of men."
31. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant him that boon, although
he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
her that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
IX.
32. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto Ardvi
Sura Anahita....
33. 'To her did Thraetaona, the heir of the valiant Athwya clan,
offer up a sacrifice in the four-cornered Varena, with a hundred
male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
34. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome Azi Dahaka,
the three-mouthed, the three-headed, the six-eyed, who has a thousand
senses, that most powerful, fiendish Druj, that demon, baleful
to the world, the strongest Druj that Angra Mainyu created against
the material world, to destroy the world of the good principle;
and that I may deliver his two wives, Savanghavach and Erenavach,
who are the fairest of body amongst women, and the most wonderful
creatures in the world."
35. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
X.
36. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto Ardvi
Sura Anahita....
37. 'To her did Keresaspa, the manly-hearted, offer up a sacrifice
behind the Vairi Pisanah, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
38. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome the golden-heeled
Gandarewa, though all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling
over; and that I may run up to the stronghold of the fiend on
the wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar."
39. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XI.
40. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sara Anahita....
41. 'To her did the Turanian murderer, Frangrasyan, offer up a
sacrifice in his cave under the earth, with a hundred male horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
42. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may seize hold of that
Glory, that is waving in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha and
that belongs to the Aryan people, to those born and to those not
yet born, and to the holy Zarathushtra."
43. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
II.
44. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
45. 'To her did the great, most wise Kavi Usa offer up a sacrifice
from Mount Erezifya, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen,
ten thousand lambs.
46. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me, this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may become the
sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the
Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf."
47. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XIII.
48. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
49. 'To her did the gallant Husravah, he who united the Aryan
nations into one kingdom, offer up a sacrifice behind the Chaechasta
lake, the deep lake, of salt waters, with a hundred male horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
50. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may become the sovereign
lord of all countries, of Daevas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas,
of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may have
the lead in front of all the teams and that he may not pass through
the forest , he, the murderer, who now is fiercely striving against
me on horseback."
51. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XIV.
52. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
53. 'To her did the valiant warrior Tusa offer worship on the
back of his horse, begging swiftness for his teams, health for
his own body, and that he might watch with full success those
who hated him, smite down his foes, and destroy at one stroke
his adversaries, his enemies, and those who hated him.
54. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome the gallant
sons of Vaesaka, by the castle Khshathro-saoka, that stands high
up on the lofty, holy Kangha; that I may smite of the Turanian
people their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their
thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their
tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads."
55. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XV.
56. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
57. 'To her did the gallant sons of Vaesaka offer up a sacrifice
in the castle Khshathro-saoka, that stands high up on the lofty,
holy Kangha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten
thousand lambs.
58. 'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that we may overcome
the valiant warrior Tusa, and that we may smite of the Aryan people
their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands,
their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands
and their myriads of myriads."
59. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant them that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XVI.
60. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
61. 'The old Vafra Navaza worshipped her when the strong fiend-smiter,
Thraetaona, flung him up in the air in the shape of a bird, of
a vulture.
62. 'He went on flying, for three days and three nights, towards
his own house; but he could not, he could not turn down. At the
end of the third night, when the beneficent dawn came dawning
up, then he prayed unto Ardvi Sura Anahita, saying:
63. '"Ardvi Sura Anahita! do thou quickly hasten helpfully
and bring me assistance at once. I will offer thee a thousand
libations, cleanly prepared and well strained, along with Haomas
and meat, by the brink of the river Rangha, if I reach alive the
earth made by Ahura and my own house."
64. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid,
fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girdled, pure, nobly
born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle wearing
a golden...., and radiant.
65. 'She seized him by the arm: quickly was it done, nor was it
long till, speeding, he arrived at the earth made by Mazda and
at his own house, safe, unhurt, unwounded, just as he was before.
[66. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, entreating that she would
grant him that boon.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XVII.
67. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
68. 'To her did Jamaspa offer up a sacrifice, with a hundred horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, when he saw the army of the
wicked, of the worshippers of the Daevas, coming from afar in
battle array.
69. 'He asked of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may be as constantly
victorious as any one of all the Aryans."
70. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XVIII.
71. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
72. 'To her did Ashavazdah, the son of Pouru-dhakhshti, and Ashavazdah
and Thrita, the sons of Sayuzhdri, offer up a sacrifice, with
a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, by Apam
Napat, the tall lord, the lord of the females, the bright and
swift-horsed.
73. 'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that we may overcome
the assemblers of the Turanian Danus, Kara Asabana, and Vara Asabana,
and the most mighty Duraekaeta, in the battles of this world.
74. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted them that boon, as they were offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant them that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, l will offer her a sacrifice....
XIX.
75. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
76. 'Vistauru, the son of Naotara, worshipped her by the brink
of the river Vitanghuhaiti, with well-spoken words, speaking thus:
77. '"This is true, this is truly spoken, that I have smitten
as many of the worshippers of the Daevas as the hairs I bear on
my head. Do thou then, O Ardvi Sura Anahita! leave me a dry passage,
to pass over the good Vitanghuhaiti."
78. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid,
fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girded, pure, nobly
born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle, with all
sorts of ornaments and radiant. A part of the waters she made
stand still, a part of the waters she made flow forward, and she
left him a dry passage to pass over the good Vitanghuhaiti.
[79. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XX.
80. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
81. 'To her did Yoishta, one of the Fryanas, offer up a sacrifice
with a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs on
the Pedvaepa of the Rangha.
82. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome the evil-doing
Akhtya, the offspring of darkness, and that I may answer the ninety-nine
hard riddles that he asks me maliciously, the evil-doing Akhtya,
the offspring of darkness."
83. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXI.
84. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
85. 'Whom Ahura Mazda the merciful ordered thus, saying: "Come,
O Ardvi Sura Anahita, come from those stars down to the earth
made by Ahura, that the great lords may worship thee, the masters
of the countries, and their sons.
86. '"The men of strength will beg of thee swift horses and
supremacy of Glory.
'"The Athravans who read and the pupils of the Athravans
will beg of thee knowledge and prosperity, the Victory made by
Ahura, and the crushing Ascendant.
87. '"The maids of barren womb, longing for a lord, will
beg of thee a strong husband;
'"Women, on the point of bringing forth, will beg of thee
a good delivery.
'"All this wilt thou grant unto them, as it lies in thy power,
O Ardvi Sura Anahita!"
88. 'Then Ardvi Sura Anahita came forth, O Zarathushtra! down
from those stars to the earth made by Mazda; and Ardvi Sura Anahita
spake thus:
89. '"O pure, holy Zarathushtra! Ahura Mazda has established
thee as the master of the material world: Ahura Mazda has established
me to keep the whole of the holy creation.
'"Through my brightness and glory flocks and herds and two-legged
men go on, upon the earth: I, forsooth, keep all good things,
made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle, just as a
shepherd keeps his flock."
90. 'Zarathushtra asked Ardvi Sura Anahita: "O Ardvi Sura
Anahita! With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship thee? With
what manner of sacrifice shall I worship and forward thee? So
that Mazda may make thee run down (to the earth), that he may
not make thee run up into the heavens, above the sun; and that
the Serpent may not injure thee with...., with...., with....,
and.... poisons."
91. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita answered: "O pure, holy Spitama!
this is the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship me, this is
the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship and forward me, from
the time when the sun is rising to the time when the sun is setting.
'"Of this libation of mine thou shalt drink, thou who art
an Athravan, who hast asked and learnt the revealed law, who art
wise, clever, and the Word incarnate.
92. '"Of this libation of mine let no foe drink, no man fever-sick,
no liar, no coward, no jealous one, no woman, no faithful one
who does not sing the Gathas, no leper to be confined.
93. '"I do not accept those libations that are drunk in my
honor by the blind, by the deaf, by the wicked, by the destroyers,
by the niggards, by the...., nor any of those stamped with those
characters which have no strength for the holy Word.
'"Let no one drink of these my libations who is hump-backed
or bulged forward; no fiend with decayed teeth."
94. 'Then Zarathushtra asked Ardvi Sura Anahita: "O Ardvi
Sura Anahita! What becomes of those libations which the wicked
worshippers of the Daevas bring unto thee after the sun has set?"
95. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita answered: "O pure, holy Spitama Zarathushtra!
howling, clapping, hopping, and shouting, six hundred and a thousand
Daevas, who ought not to receive that sacrifice, receive those
libations that men bring unto me after [the sun has set]."
96. 'I will worship the height Hukairya, of the deep precipices,
made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Sura Anahita leaps, from
a hundred times the height of a man, while she is possessed of
as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth,
and she runs powerfully.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXII.
97. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
98. 'Before whom the worshippers of Mazda stand with baresma in
their hands: the Hvovas did worship her, the Naotaras did worship
her; the Hvovas asked for riches, the Naotaras asked for swift
horses. Quickly was Hvova blessed with riches an full prosperity;
quickly became Vishtaspa, the Naotaride, the lord of the swiftest
horses in these countries.
99. ['Ardvi Sura Anahita granted them that boon, as they were
offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
that she would grant them that boon.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXIII.
100. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
101. 'Who has a thousand cells and a thousand channels: the extent
of each of those cells, of each of those channels, is as much
as a man can ride in forty days, riding on a good horse. In each
channel there stands a palace, well-founded, shining with a hundred
windows, with a thousand columns, well-built, with ten thousand
balconies, and mighty.
102. 'In each of those palaces there lies a well-laid, well-scented
bed, covered with pillows, and Ardvi Sura Anahita, O Zarathushtra!
runs down there from a thousand times the height of a man, and
she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that
run along the earth, and she runs powerfully.
XXIV.
103. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
104. 'Unto her did the holy Zarathushtra offer up a sacrifice in
the Airyana Vaejah, by the good river Daitya; with the Haoma and
meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the
holy spells, with the speech, with the deeds, with the libations,
and with the rightly-spoken words.
105. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may bring the son of
Aurvat-aspa, the valiant Kavi Vistaspa, to think according to
the law, to speak according to the law, to do according to the
law."
106. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was
offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXV.
107. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
108. 'Unto her did the tall Kavi Vishtaspa offer up a sacrifice
behind Lake Frazdanava, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
109. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome Tathravant,
of the bad law, and Peshana, the worshipper of the Daevas and
the wicked Arejat-aspa, in the battles of this world!"
110. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXVI.
111. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
112. 'Unto her did Zairi-vairi, who fought on horseback, offer
up a sacrifice behind the river Daitya, with a hundred male horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
113. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome Pesho-Changha
the corpse-burier, Humayaka the worshipper of the Daevas, and
the wicked Arejat-aspa, in the battles of this world.
114. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was
offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXVII.
115. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
116. 'Unto her did Arejat-aspa and Vandaremaini offer up a sacrifice
by the sea Vouru-Kasha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
117. 'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that we may conquer
the valiant Kavi Vishtaspa and Zairivairi who fights on horseback,
and that we may smite of the Aryan people their fifties and their
hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands
and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their
myriads of myriads."
118. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant them that favor, though
they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and
entreating that she should grant them that favor.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXVIII.
119. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
120. 'For whom Ahura Mazda has made four horses -- the wind,
the rain, the cloud, and the sleet -- and thus ever a upon the
earth it is raining, snowing, hailing, and sleeting; and whose
armies are so many and numbered by nine-hundreds and thousands.
121. 'I will worship the height Hukairya, of the deep precipices,
made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Sura Anahita leaps, from
a hundred times the height of a man, while she is possessed of
as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth,
and she runs powerfully.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXIX.
122. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
123. 'She stands, the good Ardvi Sura Anahita, wearing a golden
mantle, waiting for a man who shall offer her libations and prayers,
and thinking thus in her heart:
124. "'Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice,
with libations cleanly prepared and well-strained, together with
the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me,
and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon, me, and is of good
will unto me?"
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
XXX.
125. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
126. 'Ardvi Sura Anahita, who stands carried forth in the shape
of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girded,
pure, nobly born of a glorious race, wearing along her.... a mantle
fully embroidered with gold;
127. 'Ever holding the baresma in her hand, according to the rules,
she wears square golden earrings on her ears bored, and a golden
necklace around her beautiful neck, she, the nobly born Ardvi
Sura Anahita; and she girded her waist tightly, so that her breasts
may be well-shaped, that they may be tightly pressed.
128. 'Upon her head Ardvi Sura Anahita bound a golden crown, with
a hundred stars, with eight rays, a fine ...., a well-made crown,
in the shape of a ...., with fillets streaming down.
129. 'She is clothed with garments of beaver, Ardvi Sura Anahita;
with the skin of thirty beavers of those that bear four young
ones, that are the finest kind of beavers; for the skin of the
beaver that lives in water is the finest-colored of all skins,
and when worked at the right time it shines to the eye with full
sheen of silver and gold.
130. 'Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! I beg of
thee this favor: that I, fully blessed, may conquer large kingdoms,
rich in horses, with high tributes, with snorting horses, sounding
chariots, flashing swords, rich in aliments, with stores of food,
with well-scented beds; that I may have at my wish the fullness
of the good things of life and whatever makes a kingdom thrive.
131. 'Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! I beg of
thee two gallant companions, one two-legged and one four-legged:
one two-legged, who is swift, quickly rushing, and clever in turning
a chariot round in battle; and one four-legged, who can quickly
turn towards either wing of the host with a wide front, towards
the right wing or the left, towards the left wing or the right.
132. 'Through the strength of this sacrifice, of this invocation,
O Ardvi Sura Anahita! come down from those stars, towards the
earth made by Ahura, towards the sacrificing priest, towards the
full boiling [milk]; come to help him who is offering up libations
giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that thou wouldst grant
him thy favors; that all those gallant warriors may be strong,
like king Vishtaspa.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
133. 'Yatha ahu vairya: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigor
of the holy water-spring Anahita.
'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!'
6. Khwarshed Yasht (Hymn to the Sun)
------------------------------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun;
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
1. We sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
When the light of the sun waxes warmer, when the brightness of
the sun waxes warmer, then up stand the heavenly Yazatas, by hundreds
and thousands: they gather together its Glory, they make its Glory
pass down, they pour its Glory upon the earth made by Ahura, for
the increase of the world of holiness, for the increase of the
creatures of holiness, for the increase of the undying, shining,
swift-horsed Sun.
2. And when the sun rises up, then the earth, made by Ahura,
becomes clean; the running waters become clean, the waters of
the wells become clean, the waters of the sea become clean, the
standing waters become clean; all the holy creatures, the creatures
of the Good Spirit, become clean.
3. Should not the sun rise up, then the Daevas would destroy
all the things that are in the seven Karshvares, nor would the
heavenly Yazatas find any way of withstanding or repelling them
in the material world.
4. He who offers up a sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed
Sun - to withstand darkness, to withstand the Daevas born of darkness,
to withstand the robbers and bandits, to withstand the Yatus and
Pairikas, to withstand death that creeps in unseen - offers it
up to Ahura Mazda, offers it up to the Amesha-Spentas, offers
it up to his own soul. He rejoices all the heavenly and worldly
Yazatas, who offers up a sacrifice unto the undying, shining,
swift-horsed Sun.
5. I will sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who
has a thousand ears, ten thousand eyes.
I will sacrifice unto the club of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
well struck down upon the skulls of the Daevas.
I will sacrifice unto that friendship, the best of all friendships,
that reigns between the moon and the sun.
6. For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed
Sun. Unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun we offer up the
libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the
tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations,
and the rightly-spoken words.
Yenghe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
7. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and the invocation, and the strength and
vigour of the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
Give unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of body,
.... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy
Ones.
7. Mah Yasht (Hymn to the Moon)
-------------------------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice,prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull; unto the
only-created Bull and unto the Bull of many species;
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
1. Hail to Ahura Mazda! Hail to the Amesha-Spentas! Hail to the
Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull! Hail to thee when
we look at thee! Hail to thee when thou lookest at us!
2. How does the moon wax? How does the moon wane?
For fifteen days does the moon wax; for fifteen days does the
moon wane. As long as her waxing, so long is the waning; as long
as her waning, so long is the waxing.
'Who is there but thee who makes the moon wax and wane?'
3. We sacrifice unto the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the
Bull, the holy and master of holiness.
Here I look at the moon, here I perceive the moon; here I look
at the light of the moon, here I perceive the light of the moon.
The Amesha-Spentas stand up holding its glory; the Amesha-Spentas
stand up, pouring its glory upon the earth, made by Mazda.
4. And when the light of the moon waxes warmer, golden-hued plants
grow on from the earth during the spring.
We sacrifice unto the new moons, the full moons, and the Vishaptathas.
We sacrifice unto the new moon, the holy and master of holiness;
We sacrifice unto the full moon, the holy and master of holiness;
We sacrifice unto the Vishaptatha, the holy and master of holiness.
5. I will sacrifice unto the Moon, that keeps in it the seed
of the Bull, the liberal, bright, glorious, water-giving, warmth-giving,
wisdom-giving, wealth-giving, riches-giving, thoughtfulness-giving,
weal-giving, freshness-giving, prosperity-giving, the liberal,
the healing.
6. For its brightness and glory, I will offer unto it a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto the Moon that keeps in it the
seed of the Bull.
Unto the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull, we offer
up the libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom
of the tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations,
and the rightly-spoken words.
Yenghe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
7. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of the Moon, that keeps in it the seed of the Bull, and of the
only-created Bull, and of the Bull of many species.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good.
Give unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of body,
.... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy
Ones.
8. Tishtar Yasht (Hymn to the Star Sirius)
------------------------------------------
(Tishtrya is the angel (Yazad) of the star Sirius. Tishtrya also
presides over the fourth month and the thirteenth day of each month.
Sirius also directs the rain.)
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and unto the powerful
Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'We worship
the lordship and mastership [of Tishtrya], whereby he protects
the Moon, the dwelling, the food, when my glorious stars come
along and impart their gifts to men. I will sacrifice unto the
star Tishtrya, that gives the fields their share [of waters].
2. 'We offer up libations unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious
star, that gives happy dwelling and good dwelling; the white,
shining, seen afar, and piercing; the health-bringing, loud-snorting,
and high, piercing from afar with its shining, undefiled rays;
and unto the waters of the wide sea, the Vanguhi of wide renown,
and the species of the Bull, made by Mazda, the awful kingly Glory,
and the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zarathushtra.
3. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto the star Tishtrya.
'Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, we offer up the
libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the
tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations,
and the rightly-spoken words.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
4. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
who is the seed of the waters, powerful, tall, and strong, whose
light goes afar; powerful and highly working, through whom the
brightness and the seed of the waters come from the high Apam
Napat.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[3]]
5. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star;
for whom long flocks and herds and men, looking forward for him
and deceived in their hope: "When shall we see him rise up,
the bright and glorious star Tishtrya? When will the springs run
with waves as thick as a horse's size and still thicker? Or will
they never come?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[4]]
6. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star;
who flies, towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow
darted through the heavenly space, which Erekhsha, the swift archer,
the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot
from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant.
7. 'For Ahura Mazda gave him assistance; so did the waters and
the plants; and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, opened a wide
way unto him.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[5]]
8. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
that afflicts the Pairikas, that vexes the Pairikas, who, in the
shape of worm-stars, fly between the earth and the heavens, in
the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep sea
of salt waters. He goes to its lake in the shape of a horse, in
a holy shape; and down there he makes the waters boil over, and
the winds flow above powerfully all around.
9. 'Then Satavaesa makes those waters flow down to the seven
Karshvares of the earth, and when he has arrived down there, he
stands, beautiful, spreading ease and joy on the fertile countries
(thinking in himself): "How shall the countries of the Aryas
grow fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[6]]
10. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
who spoke unto Ahura Mazda, saying: "Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
11. '"If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I
were invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas
with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names,
then I should have come to the faithful at the appointed time;
I should have come in the appointed time of my beautiful, immortal
life, should it be one night, or two nights, or fifty, or a hundred
nights."
12. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya;
'We sacrifice unto the rains of Tishtrya.
'We sacrifice unto the first star; we sacrifice unto the rains
of the first star.
'I will sacrifice unto the stars Haptoiringa, to oppose the Yatus
and Pairikas.
'We sacrifice unto Vanant, the star made by Mazda; for the well-shapen
strength, for the Victory, made by Ahura, for the crushing Ascendant,
for the destruction of what distresses us, for the destruction
of what persecutes us.
'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, whose eye-sight is sound.
13. 'For ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! Tishtrya, the bright
and glorious star, mingles his shape with light, moving in the
shape of a man of fifteen years of age, bright, with clear eyes,
tall, full of strength, strong, and clever.
14. 'He is active as the first man was; he goes on with the strength
of the first man; he has the virility of the first man.
15. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying:
"Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the
holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of male children, a troop
of male children, and the purification of his own soul? Now I
ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by
the law of excellent holiness."
16. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and
glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the
shape of a golden-horned bull.
17. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying:
"Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the
holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of oxen, a herd of oxen,
and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice
and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
18. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and
glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the
shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden
caparison.
19. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying:
"Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the
holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of horses, a troop of horses,
and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice
and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
20. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya
goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful
horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
21. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha, in the
shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black
back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
22. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
the bright and glorious Tishtrya and the Daeva Apaosha. They fight
together, O Spitama Zarathushtra! for three days and three nights.
And then the Daeva Apaosha proves stronger than the bright and
glorious Tishtrya, he overcomes him.
23. 'And Tishtrya flees from the sea Vouru-Kasha, as far as a
Hathra's length. He cries out in woe and distress, the bright
and glorious Tishtrya: "Woe is me, O Ahura Mazda! I am in
distress, O Waters and Plants! O Fate and thou, Law of the worshippers
of Mazda! Men do not worship me with a sacrifice in which I am
invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with
sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names.
24. '"If men had worshipped me with a sacrifice in which
I had been invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas
with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names,
I should have taken to me the strength of ten horses, the strength
of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten
mountains, the strength of ten rivers."
25. 'Then I, Ahura Mazda, offer up to the bright and glorious
Tishtrya a sacrifice in which he is invoked by his own name, and
I bring him the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels,
the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the
strength of ten rivers.
26. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya
goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful
horse, with golden ears and golden caparison.
27. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha in the
shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black
back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
28. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
the bright and glorious Tishtrya, and the Daeva Apaosha; they
fight together, O Zarathushtra! till the time of noon. Then the
bright and glorious Tishtrya proves stronger than the Daeva Apaosha,
he overcomes him.
29. 'Then he goes from the sea Vouru-Kasha as far as a Hathra's
length: "Hail!" cries the bright and glorious Tishtrya.
"Hail unto me, O Ahura Mazda! Hail unto you, O waters and
plants! Hail, O Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Hail will it
be unto you, O lands! The life of the waters will flow down unrestrained
to the big-seeded corn fields, to the small-seeded pasture-fields,
and to the whole of the material world!"
30. Then the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes back down to the
sea Vouru-Kasha, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with
golden ears and a golden caparison.
31. 'He makes the sea boil up and down; he makes the sea stream
this and that way; he makes the sea flow this and that way: all
the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle
of it is boiling over.
32. 'And the bright and glorious Tishtrya rises up from the sea
Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Satavaesa
rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha; and vapours rise up above Mount
Us-hindu, that stands in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha.
33. 'Then the vapours push forward, in the regular shape of clouds;
they go following the wind, along the ways which Haoma traverses,
the increaser of the world. Behind him travels the mighty wind,
made by Mazda, and the rain, and the cloud, and the sleet, down
to the several places, down to the fields, down to the seven Karshvares
of the earth.
34. 'Apam Napat, O Spitama Zarathushtra! divides the waters amongst
the countries in the material world, in company with the mighty
wind, the Glory, made by the waters, and the Fravashis of the
faithful.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[7]]
35. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
who from the shining east, moves along his long winding course,
along the path made by the gods, along the way appointed for him
the watery way, at the will of Ahura Mazda, at the will of the
Amesha-Spentas.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[8]]
36. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
whose rising is watched by men who live on the fruits of the year,
by the chiefs of deep understanding; by the wild beasts in the
mountains, by the tame beasts that run in the plains; they watch
him, as he comes up to the country for a bad year, or for a good
year, (thinking in themselves): "How shall the Aryan countries
be fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[9]]
37. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
swift-flying and swift-moving, who flies towards the sea Vouru-Kasha,
as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space, which
Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow
was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant.
38. 'Ahura Mazda gave him assistance, and the Amesha-Spentas and
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, pointed him the way: behind
him went the tall Ashish Vanguhi and Parendi on her light chariot:
always till, in his course, he reached Mount Hvanvant on the shining
waters.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
39. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
who afflicts the Pairikas, who destroys the Pairikas, that Angra
Mainyus flung to stop all the stars that have in them the seed
of the waters.
40. 'Tishtrya afflicts them, he blows them away from the sea Vouru-Kasha;
then the wind blows the clouds forward, bearing the waters of
fertility, so that the friendly showers spread wide over, they
spread helpingly and friendly over the seven Karshvares.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
41. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
for whom long the standing waters, and the running spring-waters,
the stream-waters, and the rain-waters:
42. '"When will the bright and glorious Tishtrya rise up
for us? When will the springs with a flow and overflow of waters,
thick as a horse's shoulder, run to the beautiful places and fields,
and to the pastures, even to the roots of the plants, that they
may grow with a powerful growth?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
43. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
who washes away all things of fear, who stunts the growth of all
...., and brings health to all these creations, being most beneficent,
when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated,
rejoiced, and satisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
44. 'I will sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
whom Ahura Mazda has established as a lord and overseer above
all stars, in the same way as he has established Zarathushtra
above men; whom neither Angra Mainyu, nor the Yatus and the Pairikas,
nor the men Yatus can deliver unto death, nor can all the Daevas
together prevail for his death.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
45. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
to whom Ahura Mazda has given a thousand senses, and who is the
most beneficent amongst the stars that have in them the seed of
the waters:
46. 'Who moves in light with the stars that have in them the seed
of the waters: he, from the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea,
the large-sized, deep, and salt of waters, goes to all the lakes,
and to all the beautiful caves, and to all the beautiful channels,
in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and
a golden caparison.
47. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the waters flow down from the
sea Vouru-Kasha, mother-like, friendly, and healing: he divides
them amongst these countries, being most beneficent, when he has
been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated rejoiced, and
satisfied. 'For his brigbtness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[10]]
48. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
for whom long all the creatures of Spenta-Mainyu, those that live
under the ground, and those that live above the ground; those
that live in the waters, and those that live on dry land; those
that fly, and those that run in the plains; and all those that
live within this boundless and endless world of the holy Spirit.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
49. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star,
the healthful, wise, happy, and powerful, who is the lord of a
thousand boons, and grants many boons to that man who has pleased
him, whether begging or not begging for them.
50. 'I, O Spitama Zarathushtra! have created that star Tishtrya
as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of progitiation,
as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;
51. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive
back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking
people call Huyairya.
52. 'Had I not created that star Tishtrya as worthy of sacrifice,
as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification
as myself, Ahura Mazda;
53. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive
back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking
people call Huyairya;
54. 'Then all day long, all night long, that Pairika Duzyairya
would wage war against this material world of mine, wanting to
extinguish its life, and she goes on, rushing upon and around
it.
55. 'But the bright and glorious Tishtrya keeps that Pairika in
bonds, with twofold bonds, with threefold bonds, that cannot be
overcome, with bonds all over the body: it is as if there were
a thousand men keeping one man in bonds, a thousand men of those
who are the strongest in strength.
56. 'If the Aryan countries, O Spitama Zarathushtra! would perform
in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya the due sacrifice
and invocation, just as that sacrifice and invocation ought to
be performed in the perfection of holiness; never should a hostile
horde enter these Aryan countries, nor any plague, nor leprosy,
nor venomous plants, nor the chariot of a foe, nor the uplifted
spear of a foe.'
57. Zarathushtra asked: 'What is then, O Ahura Mazda! the sacrifice
and invocation in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya,
as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness?'
58. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations
unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him;
let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white,
or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same
colour.
59. 'Let not a murderer take of these offerings, nor a whore,
nor a .... who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in
the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra.
60. 'If a murderer take of these offerings, or a whore, or a ....
who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and
withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra, then the
bright and glorious Tishtrya takes back his healing virtues.
61. 'Plagues will ever pour upon the Aryan nations; hostile hordes
will ever fall upon the Aryan nations; the Aryans will be smitten,
by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their
thousands, by thetr thousands and their tens of thousands, by
their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.
62. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and of the powerful
Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward.
'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.'
9. Drvasp Yasht
---------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! May Angra Mainyu be afflicted!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, satisfaction, and glorification unto Havani,
the holy and master of holiness.
Unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda and holy,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1. We sacrifice unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda and
holy, who heeps the flocks in health, the herds in health, the
grown-up (cattle) in health, the young ones in health; who watches
well from afar, with a wide-spread and long-continued welfare-giving
friendship;
2. Who yokes teams of horses, who makes her chariot turn and
its wheels sound, fat and glistening, strong, tall-formed, weal-possessing,
health-giving, powerful to stand and powerful to turn for assistance
to the faithful.
3. To her did Haoshyangha, the Paradhata, offer up a sacrifice
on the enclosure of the Hara, the beautiful height, made by Mazda,
with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand
lambs, and with an offering of libations:
4. 'Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Drvaspa! that
I may overcome all the Daevas of Mazana; that I may never fear
and bow through terror before the Daevas, but that all the Daevas
may fear and bow in spite of themselves before me, that they may
fear and flee down to darkness.'
5. The powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda, the holy Drvaspa, the
maintainer, granted him that boon, as he was offering libations,
giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant
him that boon.
6. For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice
worth being heard; I will offer her a sacrifice well performed,
namely, unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda and holy. We
offer up libations to the powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda and
holy; we offer her the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom
of the tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations,
and the rightly-spoken words.
Yenghe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
7. We offer up a sacrifice unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by
Mazda and holy, who keeps the flocks in health....
Who yokes teams of horses .... for assistance to the faithful.
8. To her did Yima Khshaeta, the good shepherd, offer up a sacrifice
from the height Hukairya, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs, and with an offering of libations:
9. 'Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Drvaspa! that
I may bring fatness and flocks down to the world created by Mazda;
that I may bring immortality down to the world created by Mazda;
10. 'That I may take away both hunger and thirst, from the world
created by Mazda; that I may take away both old age and death,
from the world created by Mazda; that I may take away both hot
wind and cold wind, from the world created by Mazda, for a thousand
years.'
11. The powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda, the holy Drvaspa, the
maintainer, granted him that boon, as he was offering lipbations,
giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant
him that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[3]]
12. We offer up a sacrifice unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by
Mazda and holy, who keeps the flocks in health....
Who yokes teams of horses .... for assistance to the faithful.
13. To her did Thraetaona, the heir of the valiant Athwya clan,
offer up a sacrifice in the four-cornered Varena, with a hundred
male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, and with an
offering of libations:
14. 'Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Drvaspa! that
I may overcome Azhi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, the three-headed,
the six-eyed, who has a thousand senses, that most powerful, fiendish
Druj, that demon, baleful to the world, the strongest Druj that
Angra Mainyu created against the material world, to destroy the
world of the good principle; and that I may deliver his two wives,
Savanghavack and Erenavach, who are the fairest of body amongst
women, and the most wonderful creatures in the world.'
15. The powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda, the holy Drvasya, the
maintainer, granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations,
giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant
him that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[4]]
16. We offer up a sacrifice unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by
Mazda and holy, who keeps flocks in health....
Who yokes teams of horses .... for assistance to the faithful.
17. To her did Haoma offer up a sacrifice, Haoma, the enlivening,
the healing, the beautiful, the lordly, with golden eyes, upon
the highest height of the Haraiti Bareza. He begged of her a boon
saying:
18. 'Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Drvaspa! that
I may bind the Turanian murderer Franghrasyan, that I may drag
him bound, that may bring him bound unto king Husravah, that king
Husravah may kill him, behind the Chaechasta lake, the deep lake
of salt waters, to avenge the murder of his father Syavarshana,
a man, and of Aghraeratha, a semi-man.'
19. The powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda, the holy Drvaspa, the
maintainer, granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations,
giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would give
him that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[5]]
20. We offer up a sacrifice unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by
Mazda and holy, who keeps the flocks in health....
Who yokes teams of horses .... for assistance to the faithful.
21. To her did the gallant Husravah, he who united the Arya nations
into one kingdom, offer up a sacrifice, behind the Chaechasta
lake, the deep lake of salt waters, with a hundred male horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, and an offering of libations:
22. 'Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Drvaspa! that
I may kill the Turanian murderer, Franghrasyan, behind the Chaechasta
lake, the deep lake of salt waters, to avenge the murder of my
father Syavarshana, a man, and of Aghraeratha, a semi-man.'
23. The powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda, the holy Drvaspa, the
maintainer, granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations,
giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant
him that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[6]]
24. We offer up a sacrifice unlo the powerful Drvaspa, made by
Mazda and holy, who keeps the flocks in health....
Who yokes teams of horses .... for assistance to the faithful,
25. To her did the holy Zarathushtra offer up a sacrifice in the
Airyana Vaejah, by the good river Daitya, with the Haoma and meat,
with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy
spells, with the speech, with the deeds, with the libations, and
with the rightly-spoken words. He begged of her a boon, saying:
26. 'O good, most beneficent Drvaspa! grant me this boon, that
I may bring the good and noble Hutaosa to think according to the
law, to speak according to the law, to do according to the law,
that she may spread my Mazdean law and make it known, and that
she may bestow beautiful praises upon my deeds.'
27. The strong Drvaspa, made by Mazda, the holy Drvaspa, the maintainer,
granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving
gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that
boon.
For her brightness and glory, I wiII offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[7]]
28. We offer up a sacrifice unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by
Mazda and holy, who keeps the flocks in health....
Who yokes teams of horses .... for assistance to the faithful.
29. To her did the tall Kavi Vistaspa offer up a sacrifice behind
the waters of the river Daitya, with a hundred male horses, a
thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, and with an offering of libations:
30. 'Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Drvaspa! that
I may put to flight Ashta-aurvant, the son of Vispa-thaurvo-asti,
the all-afflicting, of the brazen helmet, of the brazen armour,
of the thick neck, behind whom seven hundred camels ....; that
I may put to flight the Hvyaona murderer, Arejat-aspa; that I
may put to flight Darshinika, the worshipper of the Daevas;
31. And that I may smite Tathravant of the bad law; that I may
smite Spinjaurushka, the worshipper of the Daevas; and that I
may bring unto the good law the nations of the Varedhakas and
of the Hvyaonas; and that I may smite of the Huyaona nations their
fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands,
their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands
and their myriads of myriads.
32. The strong Drvaspa, made by Mazda, the holy Drvaspa, the maintainer,
granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving
gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that
boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard; I will offer her a sacrifice well performed, namely,
unto the powerful Drvaspa made by Mazda and holy. We offer up
libations to the powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda and holy; we
offer her the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue,
the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the
rightly-spoken words.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of the powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda and holy.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of
body,.... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the
holy Ones.
10. Mihr Yasht (Hymn to Mithra)
-------------------------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas, and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears,
ten thousand eyes, a Yazata invoked by his own name, and unto
Rama Hvastra,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'Verily,
when I created Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, O Spitama! I
created him as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer as myself
Ahura Mazda.
2. 'The ruffian who lies unto Mithra brings death unto the whole
country, injuring as much the faithful world as a hundred evil-doers
could do. Break not the contract, O Spitama! neither the one that
thou hadst entered into with one of the unfaithful, nor the one
that thou hadst entered into with one of the faithful who is one
of thy own faith. For Mithra stands for both the faithful and
the unfaithful.
3. 'Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, gives swiftness to the
horses of those who lie not unto Mithra.
'Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, gives the straightest way to those
who lie not unto Mithra.
'The good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful give a
virtuous offspring to those who lie not unto Mithra.
4. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'We offer up libations unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
who gives a happy dwelling and a good dwelling to the Aryan nations.
5. 'May he come to us for help! May he come to us for ease! May
he come to us for joy! May he come to us for mercy! May he come
to us for health! May he come to us for victory! May he come to
us for good conscience! May he come to us for bliss! he, the awful
and overpowering, worthy of sacrifice and prayer, not to be deceived
anywhere in the whole of the material world, Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures.
6. 'I will offer up libations unto him, the strong Yazata, the
powerful Mithra, most beneficent to the creatures: I will apply
unto him with charity and prayers: I will offer up a sacrifice
worth being heard unto him, Mithra, the lord ofwide pastures,
with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of
the tongue, with the holy spells, with the speech, with the deeds,
with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken words. 'Yenhe
hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
7. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who
is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears,
well-shapen, with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge,
strong, sleepless, and ever awake;
8. 'To whom the chiefs of nations offer up sacrifices, as they
go to the field, against havocking hosts, against enemies coming
in battle array, in the strife of conflicting nations.
9. 'On whichever side he has been worshipped first in the fulness
of faith of a devoted heart, to that side turns Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures, with the fiend-smiting wind, with the cursing
thought of the wise.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[3]]
10. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake.
11. 'Whom the horsemen worship on the back of their horses, begging
swiftness for their teams, health for their own bodies, and that
they may watch with full success those who hate them, smite down
their foes, and destroy at one stroke their adversaries, their
enemies, and those who hate themn,
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[4]]
12. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
13. 'Who first of the heavenly gods reaches over the Hara, before
the undying, swift-horsed sun; who, foremost in a golden array,
takes hold of the beautiful summits, and from thence looks over
the abode of the Aryans with a beneficent eye.
14. 'Where the valiant chiefs draw up their many troops in array;
where the high mountains, rich in pastures and waters, yield plenty
to the cattle; where the deep lakes, with salt waters, stand;
where wide-flowing rivers swell and hurry towards Ishkata and
Pouruta, Mouru and Haroyu, the Gava-Sughdha and Hvairizem;
15. 'On Arezahi and Savahi, on Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu, on
Vourubareshti and Vourujareshti, on this bright Karshvare of Hvaniratha,
the abode of cattle, the dwelling of cattle, the powerful Mithra
looks with a health-bringing eye;
16. 'He who moves along all the Karshvares, a Yazata unseen, and
brings glory; he who moves along all the Karshvares, a Yazata
unseen, and brings sovereignty; and increases strength for victory
to those who, with a pious intent, holily offer him libations.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[5]]
17. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Unto whom nobody must lie, neither the master of a house, nor
the lord of a borough, nor the lord of a town, nor the lord of
a province.
18. 'If the master of a house lies unto him, or the lord of a
borough, or the lord of a town, or the lord ofa province, then
comes Mithra, angry and offended, and he breaks asunder the house,
the borough, the town, the province; and the masters of the houses,
the lords of the boroughs, the lords of the towns, the lords of
the provinces, and the foremost men of the provinces.
19. 'On whatever side there is one who has lied unto Mithra, on
that side Mithra stands forth, angry and offended, and his wrath
is slow to relent.
20. 'Those who lie unto Mithra, however swift they may be running,
cannot overtake; riding, cannot ....; driving, cannot ..... The
spear that the foe of Mithra flings, darts backwards, for the
number of the evil spells that the foe of Mithra works out.
21. 'And even though the spear be flung well, even though it reach
the body, it makes no wound, for the number of the evil spells
that the foe of Mithra works out. The wind drives away the spear
that the foe of Mithra flings, for the number of the evil spells
that the foe of Mithra works out.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[6]]
22. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who takes out of distress the man who has not lied unto him,
who takes him out of death.
23. 'Take us out of distress, take us out of distresses, O Mithra!
as we have not lied unto thee. Thou bringest down terror upon
the bodies of the men who lie unto Mithra; thou takest away the
strength from their arms, being angry and all-powerful; thou takest
the swiftness from their feet, the eye-sight from their eyes,
the hearing from their ears.
24. 'Not the wound of the well-sharpened spear or of the flying
arrow reaches that man to whom Mithra comes for help with all
the strength of his soul, he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful,
all-seeing, undeceivable Mithra.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[7]]
25. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who is lordly, deep, strong, and weal-giving; a chief in assemblies,
pleased with prayers, high, holily clever, the incarnate Word,
a warrior with strong arms;
26. 'Who breaks the skulls of the Daevas, and is most cruel in
exacting pains; the punisher of the men who lie unto Mithra, the
withstander of the Pairikas; who, when not deceived, establisheth
nations in supreme strength; who, when not deceived, establisheth
nations in supreme victory;
27. 'Who confounds the ways of the nation that delights in havoc,
who turns away their Glory, takes away their strength for victory,
blows them away helpless, and delivers them unto ten thousand
strokes; he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-seeing,
undeceivable Mithra.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[8]]
28. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who upholds the columns of the lofty house and makes its pillars
solid; who gives herds of oxen and male children to that house
in which he has been satisfied; he breaks to pieces those in which
he has been offended,
29. 'Thou, O Mithra! art both bad and good to nations; thou, O
Mithra! art both bad and good to men; thou, O Mithra! keepest
in thy hands both peace and trouble for nations.
30. 'Thou makest houses large, beautiful with women, beautiful
with chariots, with well-laid foundations, and high above their
groundwork; thou makest that house lofty, beautiful with women,
beautiful with chariots, with well-laid foundations, and high
above its groundwork, of which the master, pious and holding libations
in his hand, offers thee a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked
by thy own name and with the proper words.
31. 'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name,
with the proper words will I offer thee libations, O powerful
Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name,
with the proper words will I offer thee libations, O most beneficent
Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name,
with the proper words will I offer thee libations, O thou undeceivable
Mithra!
32. 'Listen unto our sacrifice, O Mithra! Be thou pleased with
our sacrifice, O Mithra! Come and sit at our sacrifice! Accept
our libations! Accept them as they have been consecrated! Gather
them together with love and lay them in the Garo-nmana!
33. 'Grant us these boons which we beg of thee, O powerful god
I in accordance with the words of revelation, namely, riches,
strength, and victory, good conscience and bliss, good fame and
a good soul; wisdom and the knowledge that gives happiness, the
victorious strength given by Ahura, the crushing Ascendant of
Asha Vahishta, and conversation (with God) on the Holy Word.
34. 'Grant that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted
in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our foes; that we, in
a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit,
may smite all our enemies; that we, in a good spirit and high
spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all the malice
of Daevas and Men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors,
the blind, and the deaf.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[9]]
35. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Victory-making, army-governing, endowed with a thousand senses;
power-wielding, power-possessing, and all-knowing;
36. 'Who sets the battle a going, who stands against (armies)
in battle, who, standing against (armies) in battle, breaks asunder
the lines arrayed. The wings of the columns gone to battle shake,
and he throws terror upon the centre of the havocking host.
37. 'He can bring and does bring down upon them distress and fear;
he throws down the heads of those who lie to Mithra, he takes
off the heads of those who lie unto Mithra.
38. 'Sad is the abode, unpeopled with children, where abide men
who lie unto Mithra, and, verily, the fiendish killer of faithful
men. The grazing cow goes a sad straying way, driven along the
vales of the Mithradrujes: they stand on the road, letting tears
run over their chins.
39. 'Their falcon-feathered arrows, shot from the string of the
well-bent bow, fly towards the mark, and hit it not, as Mithra,
the lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes
and meets them.
'Their spears, well whetted and sharp, their long spears fly from
their hands towards the mark, and hit it not, as Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and
meets them.
40. 'Their swords, well thrust and striking at the heads of men,
hit not the mark, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry,
offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
'Their clubs, well falling and striking at the heads of men, hit
not the mark, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry, offended,
and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
41. 'Mithra strikes fear into them; Rashnu strikes a counter-fear
into them; the holy Sraosha blows them away from every side towards
the two Yazatas, the maintainers of the world. They make the ranks
of the army melt away, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry,
offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
42. 'They cry unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, saying:
"O Mithra, thou lord of wide pastures! here are our fiery
horses taking us away, as they flee from Mithra; here are our
sturdy arms cut to pieces by the sword, O Mithra!"
43. 'And then Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, throws them to
the ground, killing their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds
and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands,
their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads; as Mithra,
the lord of wide pastures, is angry and offended,
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
44. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Whose dwelling, wide as the earth, extends over the material
world, large, unconfined, and bright, a far-and-wide-extending
abode.
45. 'Whose eight friends sit as spies for Mithra, on all the heights,
at all the watching-places, observing the man who lies unto Mithra,
looking at those, remembering those who have lied unto Mithra,
but guarding the ways of those whose life is sought by men who
lie unto Mithra, and, verily, by the fiendish killers of faithful
men.
46. 'Helping and guarding, guarding behind and guarding in front,
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, proves an undeceivable spy
and watcher for the man to whom he comes to help with all the
strength of his soul, he of the ten thousand spies, the powerful,
all-knowing, undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[11]]
47. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'A god of high renown and old age, whom wide-hoofed horses carry
against havocking hosts, against enemies coming in battle array,
in the strife of conflicting nations.
48. 'And when Mithra drives along towards the havocking hosts,
towards the enemies coming in battle array, in the strife of the
conflicting nations, then he binds the hands of those who have
lied unto Mithra, he confounds their eye-sight, he takes the hearing
from their ears; they can no longer move their feet; they can
no longer withstand those people, those foes, when Mithra, the
lord of wide pastures, bears them ill-will.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[12]]
49. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
50. 'For whom the Maker, Ahura Mazda, has built up a dwelling
on the Hara Berezaiti, the bright mountain around which the many
(stars) revolve where come neither night nor darkness, no cold
wind and no hot wind, no deathful sickness, no uncleanness made
by the Daevas, and the clouds cannot reach up unto the Haraiti
Bareza;
51. 'A dwelling that all the Amesha-Spentas, in one accord with
the sun, made for him in the fulness of faith of a devoted heart,
and he survevs the whole of the material world from the Haraiti
Bareza.
52. 'And when there rushes a wicked worker of evil, swiftly, with
a swift step, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, goes and yokes
his horses to his chariot, along with the holy, powerful Sraosha
and Nairyo-sangha, who strikes a blow that smites the army, that
smites the strength of the malicious.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[13]]
53. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
54. 'Who, with hands lifted up, ever cries unto Ahura Mazda, saying:
"I am the kind keeper of all creatures, I am the kind maintainer
of all creatures; yet men worship me not with a sacrifice in which
I am invoked by my own name, as they worship the other gods with
sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names.
55. '"If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I
were invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas
with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names,
then I would come to the faithful at the appointed time; I would
come in the appointed time of my beautiful, immortal life."
56. 'But the pious man, holding libations in his hands, does worship
thee with a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own ame,
and with the proper words.
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name,
with the proper words will I offer thee libations, O powerful
Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name,
with the groper words will I offer thee libations, O most beneficent
Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name,
with the proper words will I offer thee libations, O thou undeceivable
Mithra!
57. 'Listen unto our sacrifice, 'O Mithra! Be thou pleased with
our sacrifice, O Mithra! Come and sit at our sacrifice! Accept
our libations! Accept them as they have been consecrated! Gather
them together with love and lay them in the Garo-nmana!
58. 'Grant us these boons which we beg of thee, O powerful god!
in accordance with the words of revelation, namely, riches, strength,
and victory, good conscience and bliss, good fame and a good soul;
wisdom and the knowledge that gives happiness, the victorious
strength given by Ahura, the crushing Ascendant of Asha-Vahishta,
and conversation (with God) on the Holy Word.
59. 'Grant that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted
in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our foes; that we, in
a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit,
may smite all our enemies; that we, in a good spirit and high
spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all the malice
of Daevas and Men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors,
the blind, and the deaf.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[14]]
60. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Whose renown is good, whose shape is good, whose glory is good;
who has boons to give at his will, who has pasture-fields to give
at his will; harmless to the tiller of the ground, ...., beneficent;
he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable
god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[15]]
61. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Firm-legged, a watcher fully awake; valiant, a chief in assemblies;
making the waters flow forward; listening to appeals; making the
waters run and the plants grow up; ruling over the Karshvares;
delivering; happy; undeceivable; endowed with many senses; a creature
of wisdom;
62. 'Who gives neither strength nor vigour to him who has lied
unto Mithra; who gives neither glory nor any boon to him who has
lied unto Mithra.
63. 'Thou takest away the strength from their arms, being angry
and all-powerful; thou takest the swiftness from their feet, the
eye-sight from their eyes, the hearing from their ears.
'Not the wound of the well-sharpened spear or of the flying arrow
reaches that man to whom Mithra comes for help with all the strength
of his soul he of the ten-thousand spies, the powerful all-knowing
undeceivable god. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer
him a sacrifice worth being heard....
[[16]]
64. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who takes possession of the beautiful, wide-expanding law, greatly
and powerfully and whose face looks over all the seven Karshvares
of the earth;
65. 'Who is swift amongst the swift, liberal amongst the liberal,
strong amongst the strong, a chief of assembly amongst the chiefs
of assemblies; increase-giving, fatness-giving, cattle-giving,
sovereignty-giving, son-giving, cheerfulness-giving, and bliss-giving.
66. 'With whom proceed Ashi Vanguhi, and Parendi on her light
chariot, the awful Manly Courage, the awful kingly Glory, the
awful sovereign Sky, the awful cursing thought of the wise, the
awful Fravashis of the faithful, and he who keeps united together
the many faithful worshippers of Mazda.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[17]]
67. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastares, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who drives along on his high-wheeled chariot, made of a heavenly
substance, from the Karshvare of Arezahi to the Karshvare of Hvaniratha,
the bright one; accompanied by the wheel of sovereignty, the Glory
made by Mazda, and the Victory made by Ahura;
68. 'Whose chariot is embraced by the great Ashi Vanguhi; to whom
the Law of Mazda opens a way, that he may go easily; whom four
heavenly steeds, white, shining, seen afar, beneficent, endowed
with knowledge, swiftly carry along the heavenly space, while
the cursing thought of the wise pushes it forward;
69. 'From whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee
away in fear. Oh! may we never fall across the rush of the angry
lord, who goes and rushes from a thousand sides against his foe,
he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable
god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[18]]
70. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Before whom Verethraghna, made by Ahura, runs opposing the foes
in the shape of a boar, a sharp-toothed he-boar, a sharp-jawed
boar, that kills at one stroke, pursuing, wrathful, with a dripping
face; strong, with iron feet, iron fore-paws, iron weapons, an
iron tail, and iron jaws;
71. 'Who, eagerly clinging to the fleeing foe, along with Manly
Courage, smites the foe in battle, and does not think he has smitten
him, nor does he consider it a blow till he has smitten away the
marrow and the column of life, the marrow and the spring of existence.
72. 'He cuts all the limbs to pieces, and mingles, together with
the earth, the bones, hair, brains, and blood of the men who have
lied unto Mithra.
'For his brightness and glory, we offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[19]]
73. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who, with hands lifted up, rejoicing, cries out, speaking thus:
74. '"O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent spirit! Maker of the
material world, thou Holy One!
'"If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I were
invoked by my own name, as they worship the other gods with sacrifices
in which they are invoked by their own names, then I should come
to the faithful at the appointed time; I should come in the appointed
time of my beautiful, immortal life."
75. 'May we keep our field; may we never be exiles from our field,
exiles from our house, exiles from our borough, exiles from our
town, exiles from our country.
76. 'Thou dashest in pieces the malice of the malicious, the malice
of the men of malice: dash thou in pieces the killers of faithful
men!
'Thou hast good horses, thou hast a good chariot: thou art bringing
help at every appeal, and art powerful.
77. 'I will pray unto thee for help, with many consecrations,
with good consecrations of libations; with many offerings, with
good offerings of libations, that we, abiding in thee, may long
inhabit a good abode, full of all the riches that can be wished
for.
78. 'Thou keepest those nations that tender a good worship to
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures; thou dashest in pieces those
that delight in havoc. Unto thee will I pray for help: may he
come to us for help, the awful, most powerful Mithra, the worshipful
and praiseworthy, the glorious lord of nations.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[20]]
79. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who made a dwelling for Rashnu, and to whom Rashnu gave all his
soul for long friendship;
80. 'Thou art a keeper and protector of the dwelling of those
who lie not: thou art the maintainer of those who lie not. With
thee hath Verethraghna, made by Ahura, contracted the best of
all friendships, and thus it is how so many men who have lied
unto Mithra, even privily, lie smitten down on the ground.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[21]]
81. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who made a dwelling for Rashnu, and to whom Rashnu gave all his
soul for long friendship;
82. 'To whom Ahura Mazda gave a thousand senses and ten thousand
eyes to see. With those eyes and those senses, he watches the
man who injures Mithra, the man who lies unto Mithra. Through
those eyes and those senses, he is, undeceivable, he, of the ten
thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[22]]
83. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Whom the lord of the country invokes for help, with hands uplifted;
'Whom the lord of the town invokes for help, with hands uplifted;
84. 'Whom the lord of the borough invokes for help, with hands
uplifted;
'Whom the master of the house invokes for help, with hands uplifted;
'Whom the .... in danger of death invokes for help, with hands
uplifted;
'Whom the poor man, who follows the good law, when wronged and
deprived of his rights, invokes for help, with hands uplifted.
85. 'The voice of his wailing reaches up to the sky, it goes over
the earth all around, it goes over the seven Karshuares, whether
he utters his prayer in a low tone of voice or aloud.
86. 'The cow driven astray invokes him for help, longing for the
stables:
'"When will that bull, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
bring us back, and make us reach the stables? when wilt he turn
us back to the right way from the den of the Druj where we were
driven?"
87. 'And to him with whom Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, has
been satisfied, he comes with help; and of him with whom Mithra,
the lord of wide pastures, has been offended, he crushes down
the house, the borough, tne town, the province, the country.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[23]]
88. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'To whom the enlivening, healing, fair, lordly golden-eyed Haoma
offered up a sacrifice on the highest of the heights, on the Haraiti
Bareza, he the undefiled to one undefiled, with undefiled baresma,
undefiled libations, and undefiled words;
89. 'Whom the holy Ahura Mazda has established as a priest, quick
in performing the sacrifice and loud in song. He performed the
sacrifice with a loud voice, as a priest quick in sacrifice and
loud in song, a priest to Ahura Mazda, a priest to the Amesha-Spentas.
His voice reached up to the sky; went over the earth all around,
went over the seven Karshvares.
90. 'Who first lifted up Haomas, in a mortar inlaid with stars
and made of a heavenly substance. Ahura Mazda longed for him,
the Amesha-Spentas longed for him, for the well-slapen body of
him whom the swift-horsed sun awakes for prayer from afar.
91. 'Hail to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand
ears and ten thousand eyes! Thou art worthy of sacrifice and prayer:
mayest thou have sacrifice and prayer in the houses of men! Hail
to the man who shall offer thee a sacrifice, with the holy wood
in his hand, the baresma in his hand, the holy meat in his hand,
the holy mortar in his hand, with his hands well-washed, with
the mortar well-washed, with the bundles of baresma tied up, the
Haoma uplifted, and the Ahuna Vairya sung through.
92. 'The holy Ahura Mazda confessed that religion and so did Vohu-Mano,
so did Asha-Vahishta, so did Khshathra-Vairya, so did Spenta-Armaiti,
so did Haurvatat and Ameretat; and all the Amesha-Spentas longed
for and confessed his religion. The kind Mazda conferred upon
him the mastership of the world; and [so did they] who saw thee
amongst all creatures the right lord and master of the world,
the best cleanser of these creatures.
93. 'So mayest thou in both worlds, mayest thou keep us in both
worlds, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! both in this material
world and in the world of the spirit, from the fiend of Death,
from the fiend Aeshma, from the fiendish hordes, that lift up
the spear of havoc, and from the onsets of Aeshma, wherein the
evil-doing Aeshma rushes along with Vidotu, made by the Daevas.
94. 'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! give swiftness
to our teams, strength to our own bodies, and that we may watch
with full success those who hate us, smite down our foes, and
destroy at one stroke our adversaries, our enemies and those who
hate us.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[24]]
95. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who goes over the earth, all her breadth over, after the setting
of the sun, touches both ends of this wide, round earth, whose
ends tie afar, and surveys everything that is between the earth
and the heavens,
96. 'Swinging in his hands a club with a hundred knots, a hundred
edges, that rushes forwards and fells men down; a club cast out
of red brass, of strong, golden brass; the strongest of all weapons,
the most victorious of all weapons;
97. 'From whom Angra Mainyu, who is all death, flees away in fear;
from whom Aeshma, the evil-doing Peshotanu, flees away in fear;
from whom the long-handed Bushyasta flees away in fear; from whom
all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in fear.
98. 'Oh! may we never fall across the rush of Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures, when in anger! May Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, never smite us in his anger; he who stands up upon this
earth as the strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all gods,
the most energetic of all god , th swiftest of all gods, the most
fiend-smiting of all gods, he, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[25]]
99. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'From whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away
in fear.
'The lord of nations, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, drives
forward at the right-hand side of this wide, round earth, whose
ends lie afar.
100. 'At his right hand drives the good, holy Sraosha; at his left
hand drives the tall and strong Rashnu; on all sides around him
drive the waters, the plants, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
101. 'In his might, he ever brings to them falcon-feathered arrows,
and, when diiving, he himself comes there, where are nations,
enemy to Mithra, he, first and foremost, strikes blows with his
club on the horse and his rider; he throws fear and fright upon
the horse and his rider.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[26]]
102. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'The warrior of the white horse, of the sharp spear, the tong
spear, the quick arrows; foreseeing and clever;
103. 'Whom Ahura Mazda has established to maintain and look over
all this moving world, and who maintains and looks over all this
moving world; who, never sleeping, wakefully guards the creation
of Mazda; who, never sleeping, wakefully maintains the creation
of Mazda;
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[27]]
104. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Whose long arms, strong with Mithra-strength, encompass what
he seizes in the easternmost river and what he beats with the
westernmost river, what is by the Sanaka of the Rangha and what
is by the boundary of the earth.
105. 'And thou, O Mithra! encompassing all this around, do thou
reach it, all over, with thy arms.
'The man without glory, led astray from the right way, grieves
in his heart; the man without glory thinks thus in himself: "That
careless Mithra does not see all the evil that is done, nor all
the lies that are told."
106. 'But I think thus in my heart:
'"Should the evil thoughts of the earthly man be a hundred
times worse, they would not rise so high as the good thoughts
of the heavenly Mithra;
'"Should the evil words of the earthly man be a hundred times
worse, they would not rise so high as the good words of the heavenly
Mithra;
'"Should the evil deeds of the earthly man be a hundred times
worse, they would not rise so high as the good deeds of the heavenly
Mithra;
107. '"Should the heavenly wisdom in the earthly man be a
hundred times greater, it would not rise so high as the heavenly
w'isdom in the heavenly Mithra;
''And thus, should the ears of the earthly man hear a hundred
time better, he would not hear so well as the heavenly Mithra,
whose ear hears well who has a thousand senses, and sees every
man that tells a lie."
'Mithra stands up in his strength, he drives in the awfulness
of royalty, and sends from his eyes beautiful looks that shine
from afar, (saying):
108. '"Who will offer me a sacrifice? Who will lie unto me? Who
thinks me a god worthy of a good sacrifice? Who thinks me worthy
only of a bad sacrifice? To whom shall I, in my might, impart
brightness and glory? To whom bodily health? To whom shall I,
in my might, impart riches and full weal? Whom shall I bless by
raising him a virtuous offspring?
109. '"To whom shall I give in return, without his thinking
of it, the awful sovereignty, beautifully. arrayed, with many
armies, and most perfect; the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant,
who fells down heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmitten; who orders
chastisement to be done and his order is done at once, which he
has ordered in his anger?"
'O Mithra! when thou art offended and not satisfied, he soothes
thy mind, and makes Mithra satisfied.
110. '"To whom shall I, in my might, impart sickness and death?
To whom shall I impart poverty and sterility? Of whom shall I
at one stroke cut off the offspring!
111. '"From whom shall I take away, without his thinking of
it, the awful sovereignty, beautifully arrayed, with many armies,
and most perfect; the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who
fells down heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmitten; who orders
chastisement to be done and his order is done at once, which he
has ordered in his anger."
'O Mithra! while thou art satisfied and not angry, he moves thy
heart to anger, and makes Mithra unsatisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[28]]
112. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'A warrior with a silver helm, a golden cuirass, who kills with
the poniard, strong, valiant, lord of the borough. Bright are
the ways of Mithra, by which he goes towards the country, when,
wishing well, he turns its plains and vales to pasture grounds,
113. 'And then cattle and males come to graze, as many as he wants.
'May Mithra and Ahura, the high gods, come to us for help, when
the poniard lifts up its voice aloud, when the nostrils of the
horses quiver, when the poniards ...., when the, strings of the
bows whistle and shoot sharp arrows; then the brood of those whose
libations are hated fall smitten to the ground, with their hair
torn off.
114. 'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! give swiftness
to our teams, strength to our own bodies, and that we may watch
with full success those who hate us, smite down our foes, and
destroy at one stroke our adversaries, our enemies, and those
who hate us.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[29]]
115. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake.
'O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! thou master of the house, of
the borough, of the town, of the country, thou Zarathushtrotema!
116. 'Mithra is twentyfold between two friends or two relations;
'Mithra is thirtyfold between two men of the same group;
'Mithra is fortyfold between two partners;
'Mithra is fiftyfold between wife and husband;
'Mithra is sixtyfold between two pupils (of the same master);
'Mithra is seventyfold between the pupil and his master;
'Mithra is eightyfold between the son-in-law and his father-in-law;
'Mithra is ninetyfold between two brothers;
117. 'Mithra is a hundredfold between the father and the son;
'Mithra is a thousandfold between two nations;
'Mithra is ten thousandfold when connected with the Law of Mazda,
and then he will be every day of victorious strength.
118. 'May I come unto thee with a prayer that goes lowly or goes
highly! As this sun rises up above the Hara Berezaiti and then
fulfils its career, so may I, O Spitama! with a prayer that goes
lowly or goes highly, rise up above the will of the fiend Angra
Mainyu!
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[30]]
119. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastwes, ....
sleepless, and ever awake,
'Offer up a sacrifice unto Mithra, O Spitama! and order thy pupils
to do the same.
'Let the worshipper of Mazda sacrifice unto thee with small cattle,
with black cattle, with flying birds, gliding forward on wings.
120. 'To Mithra all the faithful worshiypers of Mazda must give
strength and energy with offered and proffered Haomas, which the
Zaotar proffers unto him and gives in sacrifice. Let the faithful
man drink of the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does,
if he offers them unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra
will be pleased with him and without anger.'
121. Zarathushtra asked him: 'O Ahura Mazda! how shall the faithful
man drink the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does and
he offers them unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra
will be pleased vvith him and without anger?'
122. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let them wash their bodies three days
and three nights; let them undergo thirty strokes for the sacrifice
and prayer unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let them wash
their bodies two days and two nights; let them undergo twenty
strokes for the sacrifice and prayer unto Mithra, the lord of
wide pastures. Let no man drink of these libations who does not
know the staota yesnya: Vispe ratavo.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacriace worth
being heard....
[[31]]
123. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'To whom Ahura Mazda offered up a sacrifice in the shining Garo-nmana.
124. 'With his arms lifted up towards Immortality, Mithra, the
lord of wide pastures, drives forward from the shining Garo-nmana,
in a beautiful chariot that drives on, ever-swift, adorned with
all sorts of ornaments, and made of gold.
125. 'Four stallions draw that chariot, all of the same white colour,
living on heavenly food and undying. The hoofs of their fore-feet
are shod with gold, the hoofs of their hind-feet are shod with
silver; all are yoked to the same pole, and wear the yoke and
the cross-beams of the yoke, fastened with hooks of Khshathra
vairya to a beautiful....
126. 'At his right hand drives Rashnu-Razishta, the most beneficent
and most well-shapen.
'At his left hand drives the most upright Chista, the holy one,
bearing libations in her hands, clothed with white clothes, and
white herself; and the cursing thought of the Law of Mazda.
127. 'Close by him drives the strong cursing thought of the wise
man, opposing foes in the shape of a boar, a sharp-toothed he-boar,
a sharp- jawed boar, that kills at one stroke, pursuing, wrathful,
with a dripping face, strong and swift to run, and rushing all
around.
'Behind him drives Atar, all in a blaze, and the awful kingly
Glory.
128. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand bows well-made, with a string of cowgut; they
go through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly
space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
129. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand vulture-feathered arrows, with a golden mouth,
with a horn shaft, with a brass tail, and well-made. They go through
the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon
the skulls of the Daevas.
130. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand spears well-made and sharp-piercing. They go
through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space
upon the skulls of the Daevas.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand steel-hammers, two-edged, well-made. They go
through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space
upon the skulls of the Daevas.
131. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand swords, two-edged and well-made. They go through
the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon
the skulls of the Daevas.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand maces of iron, well-made. They go through the
heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the
skulls of the Daevas.
132. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stands a beautiful well-falling club, with a hundred knots, a
hundred edges, that rushes forward and fells men down; a club
cast out of red brass, of strong, golden brass; the strongest
of all weapons, the most victorious of all weapons. It goes through
the heavenly space, it falls through the heavenly space upon the
skulls of the Daevas.
133. After he has smitten the Daevas, after he has smitten down
the men who lied unto Mithra, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
drives forward through Arezahe and Savahe, through Fradadhafshu
and Vidadhafshu, through Vourubareshti and Vouru-jareshti, through
this our Karshvare, the bright Hvaniratha.
134. 'Angra Mainyu, who is all death, flees away in fear; Aeshma,
the evil-doing Peshotanu, flees away in fear; the long-handed
Bushyasta flees away in fear; all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya
fiends flee away in fear.
135. 'Oh! may we never fall across the rush of Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures, when in anger! May Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, never smite us in his anger; he who stands up upon this
earth as the strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all gods,
the most energetic of all gods, the swiftest of all gods, the
most fiend-smiting of all gods, he, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[32]]
136. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'For whom white stallions, yoked to his chariot, draw it, on one
golden wheel, with a full shining axle.
137. 'If Mithra takes his libations to his own dwelling, "Happy
that man, I think," - said Ahura Mazda,- "O holy Zarathra!
for whom a holy priest, as pious as any in the world, who is the
Word incarnate, offers up a sacrifice unto Mithra with bundles
of baresma and with the [proper] words.
'"Straight to that man, I think, will Mithra come, to visit
his dwelling,
138. '"When Mithra's boons will come to him, as he follows
God's teaching, and thinks according to God's teaching.
'"Woe to that man, I think," - said Ahura Mazda, - "O
holy Zarathushtra! for whom an unholy priest, not pious, who is
not the Word incarnate, stands behind the baresma, however full
may be the bundles of baresma he ties, however long may be the
sacrifice he performs."
139. 'He does not delight Ahura Mazda, nor the other Amesha-Spentas,
nor Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, he who thus scorns Mazda,
and the other Amesha-Spentas, and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
and the Law, and Rashnu, and Arstat, who makes the world grow,
who makes the world increase.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[33]]
140. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake.
'I will offer up a sacrifice unto the good Mithra, O Spitama!
unto the strong, heavenly god, who is foremost, highly merciful,
and peerless; whose house is above, a stout and strong warrior;
141. 'Victorious and armed with a well-fashioned weapon, watchful
in darkness and undeceivable. He is the stoutest of the stoutest,
he is the strongest of the strongest, he is the most intelligent
of the gods, he is victorious and endowed with Glory: he, of the
ten thousand eyes, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing,
undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[34]]
142. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;
'Who, with his manifold knowledge, powerfully increases the creation
of Spenta Mainyu, and is a well-created and most great Yazata,
self-shining like the moon, when he makes his own body shine;
143. 'Whose face is flashing with light like the face of the star
Tistrya; whose chariot is embraced by that goddess who is foremost
amongst those who have no deceit in them, O Spitama! who is fairer
than any creature in the world, and full of light to shine. I
will worship that chariot, wrought by the Maker, Ahura Mazda,
inlaid with stars and made of a heavenly substance; (the chariot)
of Mithra, who has ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing,
undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[35]]
144. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who
is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears,
well-shapen, with a thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge,
strong, sleepless, and ever awake.
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra around countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra within countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra in this country;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra above countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra under countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra before countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra behind countries.
145. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra and Ahura, the two great, imperishable,
holy gods; and unto the stars, and the moon, and the sun, with
the trees that yield up baresma. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the
lord of all countries.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and p yer, and the strength and vigour
of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears,
ten thousand eyes, a Yazata invoked by his own name; and that
of Rama Hvastra.
'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!'
11. Srosh Yasht Hadokht
-----------------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto the holy, strong Sraosha, who is the incarnate Word, a mighty-speared
and lordly god,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1. We sacrifice unto the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting Sraosha,
who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness.
Good prayer, excellent prayer to the worlds, O Zarathushtra!
2. This it is that takes away the friendship of the fiend and
fiends, of the he-fiend and of the she-fiend; it turns away in
giddiness their eyes, minds, ears, hands, feet, mouths, and tongues;
as good prayer, without deceit and without harm, is Manly Courage,
and turns away the Druj.
3. The holy Sraosha, the best protector ofthe poor, is fiend-smiting;
he is the best smiter of the Druj.
The faithful one who pronounces most words of blessing is the
most victorious in victory; the Mathra Spenta takes best the unseen
Druj way. The Ahuna Vairya is the best fiend-smiter among all
spells; the word of truth is the fighter that is the best of all
fiend-smiters.
The Law of the worshippers of Mazda is the truest giver of all
the good things of all those that are the offspring of the good
principle; and so is the Law of Zarathushtra.
4. And he who should pronounce that word, O Zarathushtra! either
a man or a woman with a mind all intent on holiness, with words
all intent on holiness, with deeds all intent on holiness, when
he is in fear either of high waters or of the darkness of a rainy
night;
Or at the fords of a river, or at the branching-off of roads;
Or in the meeting together of the faithful, or the rushing together
of the worshippers of the Daevas;
5. Whether on the road or in the law he has to fear, not in that
day nor in that night shall the tormenting fiend, who wants to
torment him, prevail to throw upon him the look of his evil eye,
and the malice of the thief who carries off cattle shall not reach
him.
6. Pronounce then that word, O Zarathushtra! that word to be
spoken, when thou fall upon the idolaters and thieves and Daevas
rushing together. Then the malice of the wicked worshippers of
the Daevas, of the Yatus and their followers, of the Pairikas
and their followers, will be affrighted and rush away. Down are
the Daevas! Down are the Daeva-worshippers, and they take back
their mouths from biting.
7. And therefore we take around us the holy-natured Sraosha,
the holy, the fiend-smiter, as one does with shepherds' dogs;
therefore we sacrifice unto the holy-natured Sraosha, the holy,
the fiend-smiter, with good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
8. For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious
power, for his offering sacrifices unto the gods, I will offer
him a sacrifice worth being heard. I will offer up libations unto
the holy Sraosha, unto the great Ashi Vanguhi, and unto Nairyo-sangha,
the tall-formed.
So may the holy Sraosha, the fiend-smiter, come to us for help!
9. We worship the holy Sraosha; we worship the great master,
Ahura Mazda, who is supreme in holiness, who is the foremost to
do deeds of holiness.
We worship all the words of Zarathushtra, and all the good deeds,
those done and those to be done.
Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
10. We sacrifice unto the holy, tall-formed fiend-smiting Sraosha,
who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;
Who strikes the evil-doing man, who strikes the evil-doing woman;
who smites the fiendish Druj, and is most strong and world-destroying;
who maintains and looks over all this moving world;
11. Who, never sleeping, wakefully guards the creation of Mazda;
who, never sleeping, wakefully maintains the creation of Mazda;
who protects all the material world with his club uplifted, from
the hour when the sun is down;
12. Who never more did enjoy sleep from the time when the two
Spirits made the world, namely, the good Spirit and the evil One;
who every day, every night, fights with the Mazainya Daevas.
13. He bows not for fear and fright before the Daevas: before
him all the Daevas bow for fear and fright reluctantly, and rush
away to darkness.
For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious
power....
[[3]]
14. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
We sacrifice unto the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting Sraosha,
who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;
Who with peace and friendship watches the Druj and the most beneficent
Spirit: so that the Amesha-Spentas may go along the seven Karshvares
of the earth; who is the teacher of the Law: he himself was taught
it by Ahura Mazda, the holy One.
For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious
power....
[[4]]
15. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
We sacrifice unto the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting Sraosha,
who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;
Whom the holy Ahura Mazda has created to withstand Aeshma, the
fiend of the wounding spear; we sacrifice unto Peace, whose breath
is friendly, and unto the two withstanders of sin and guilt,
16. The friends of the holy Sraosha;
The friends of Rashnu Razista;
The friends of the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda;
The friends of Arstat, who makes the world grow, who makes the
world increase, who makes the world prosper;
The friends of Ashi Vanguhi;
The friends of the good Chisti;
The friends of the most right Chista;
17. The friends of all gods;
The friends of the Mathra Spenta;
The friends of the fiend-destrqying Law;
The friends of the long-traditional teaching;
The friends of the Amesha-Spentas;
The friends of ourselves, the Saoshyants, the two-footed part
of the holy creation;
The friends of all the beings of the holy world.
For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious
power....
[[5]]
18. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of tbe Lord is the law of holiness....
We sacrifice unto the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting Sraosha,
who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness;
The first [Sraosha], the next, the middle, and the highest; with
the first sacrifice, with the next, with the middle, and with
the highest. We sacrifice unto all [the moments] of the holy and
strong Sraosha, who is the incarnate Word;
19. The strong Sraosha, of the manly courage, the warrior of the
strong arms, who breaks the skulls of the Daevas; who smites with
heavy blows and is strong to smite; the holy Sraosha, who smites
with heavy blows; we sacrifice unto the crushing Ascendant of
both the holy Sraosha and Arshti.
20. We sacrifice for all the houses protected by Sraosha, where
the holy Sraosha is dear and friendly treated and satisfied, as
well as the faithful man, rich in good thoughts, rich in good
words, rich in good deeds.
21. We sacrifice unto the body of the holy Sraosha;
We sacrifice unto the body of Rashnu Razishta;
We sacrifice unto the body of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures;
We sacrifice unto the body of the holy wind;
We sacrifice unto the body of the good Law of the worshippers
of Mazda;
We sacrifice unto the body of Arshtat, who makes the world grow,
who makes the world increase, who makes the world prosper;
We sacrifice unto the body of Ashi Vanguhi;
We sacrifice unto the body of the good Chisti;
We sacrifice unto the body of the most right Chista;
We sacrifice unto the bodies of all the gods;
22. We sacrifice unto the body of the Mathra Spenta;
We sacrifice unto the body of the fiend-destroying Law;
We sacrifice unto the body of the long-traditional teaching;
We sacrifice unto the bodies of the Amesha-Spentas;
We sacrifice unto the bodies of ourselves, the Saoshyants, the
two-footed part of the holy creation;
We sacrifice unto the bodies of all the beings of the holy world.
For his brightness and glory, for his strength and victorious
power....
23. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, the strength and vigour of the
holy, strong Sraosha, who is the incarnate Word, a mighty-speared
and lordly god
[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, ... give him the bright,
all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones!
11a. Srosh Yasht
----------------
(See Yasna, chapter 57)
12. Rashn Yasht yt12sbe
---------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness.
Unto Rashnu Razishta; unto Arshtat, who makes the world grow,
who makes the world increase; unto the true-spoken speech, that
makes the world grow;
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1. The holy (Zarathushtra) asked him: 'O holy Ahura Mazda! I
ask thee; answer me with words of truth, thou who knowest the
truth. Thou art undeceivable, thou hast an undeceivable understanding;
thou art undeceivable, as thou knowest everything.
'What of the Holy Word is created true? what is created progress-making?
what is fit to discern? what is healthful? what is wise? what
is happy and more powerful to destroy than all other creatures?'
2. Ahura Mazda answered: 'I will declare that unto thee, O pure,
holy Spitama!
'The most glorious Holy Word (itself), this is what in the Holy
Word is created true, what is created progress making, what is
fit to discern, what is healthful, wise, and happy, what is more
powerful to destroy than all other creatures.'
3. Ahura Mazda said: 'Bind up a three-twigged baresma against
the way of the sun. [Address] unto me, Ahura Mazda, these words:
"We invoke, we bless [Ahura]; I invoke the friendship [of
Ahura] towards this var (ordeal) prepared, towards the fire and
the baresma, towards the full boiling [milk], towards the var
of oil and the sap of the plants."
4. 'Then I, Ahura Mazda, shall come for help unto thee, towards
this var prepared, towards the fire and the baresma, towards the
full boiling [milk], towards the var of oil and the sap of the
plants;
'Along with the fiend-smiting Wind, along with the cursing thought
of the wise, along with the kingly Glory, along with Saoka, made
by Mazda.
5. 'We invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong; I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared, towards the fire and the baresma, towards
the full boiling [milk], towards the var of oil and the sap of:
the plants.
6. 'Then Rashnu the tall, the strong, will come for help unto
thee, towards this var prepared, towards the fire and the baresma,
towards the full boiling [milk], towards the var of oil and the
sap of the plants:
'Along with the fiend-smiting Wind, along with the cursing thought
of the wise, along with the kingly Glory, along with Saoka, made
by Mazda.
7. 'O thou, holy Rashnu! O most true Rashnu! most beneficent
Rashnu! most knowing Rashnu! most discerning Rashnu I most fore-knowing
Rashnu! most far-seeing Rashnu I Rashnu, the best doer of justice!
Rashnu, the best smiter of thieves;
8. 'The uninjured, the best killer, smiter, destroyer of thieves
and bandits! in whatever part of the world thou art watching the
doings of men and making the account... (obscure).
[[2]]
9. 'Whether thou, O hoIy Rashnu! art in the Karshvare Arezahi,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared .... in whatever part of the world thou
art.
[[3]]
10. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the Karshvare Savahi,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu. I invoke his friendship towards this
var prepared ... in whatever part of the world thou art.
[[4]]
11. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the Karshvare Fradadhafshu,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared .... in whatever part of the world thou
art.
[[5]]
12. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the Karshvare Vidadhafshu,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared .... in whatever part of the world thou
art.
[[6]]
13. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the Karshvare Vouru-bareshti,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared .... in whatever part of the world thou
art.
[[7]]
14. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the Karshvare Vouru-jareshti,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared .... in whatever part of the world thou
art.
[[8]]
15. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in this Karshvare, the bright
Hvaniratha, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his
friendship towards this var prepared .... in whatever part of
the world thou art.
[[9]]
16. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the sea Vouru-Kasha,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared .... in whatever part of the world thou
art.
[[10]]
17. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art on the tree of the eagle,
that stands in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha, that is called
the tree of good remedies, the tree of powerful remedies, the
tree of all remedies, and on which rest the seeds of all plants;
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[11]]
18. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art on the Aodhas of the Rangha,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[12]]
19. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art on the Sanaka of the Rangha,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[13]]
20. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art at one of the angles of
this earth, we invoke we bless Rashnu. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[14]]
21. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art at the boundary of this
earth, we invoke, we bless Rashnu. I invoke his friendship towards
this var prepared....
[[15]]
22. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in any place of this earth,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu. I invoke his friendship towards this
var prepared....
[[16]]
23. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art on the Hara Berezaiti, the
bright mountain around which the many (stars) revolve, where come
neither night nor darkness, no cold wind and no hot wind, no deathful
sickness, no uncleanness made by the Daevas, and the clouds cannot
reach up unto the Haraiti Bareza; we invoke, we bless Rashnu.
I invoke his friendship towards this var prepared....
[[17]]
24. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art upon the highest Hukairya,
of the deep precipices, made of gold, where from this river of
mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita, leaps from a thousand times the height
of a man, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his
friendship towards this var prepared....
[[18]]
25. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art upon the Taera of the height
Haraiti, around which the stars, the moon, and the sun revolve,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[19]]
26. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the star Vanant, made
by Mazda, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his
friendship towards this var prepared....
[[20]]
27. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the bright and glorious
star Tishtrya, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke
his friendship towards the var prepared....
[[21]]
28. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the group of the Haptoiringa
stars, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[22]]
29. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in those stars that have
the seed of the waters in them, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the
strong. I invoke his friendship towards this var prepared....
[[23]]
30. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in those stars that have
the seed of the earth in them, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the
strong. I invoke his friendship towards this var prepared....
[[24]]
31. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in those stars that have
the seed of the plants in them, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the
strong. I invoke his friendship towards this var prepared....
[[25]]
32. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the stars that belong
to the Good Spirit, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I
invoke his friendship towards this var prepared....
[[26]]
33. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the moon which has the
seed of the Bull in it, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong.
I invoke his friendship towards this var prepared....
[[27]]
34. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the swift-horsed sun,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[28]]
35. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the sovereign endless
Light, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[29]]
36. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the bright, all-happy,
blissful abode of the holy Ones, we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the
strong. I invoke his friendship towards this var prepared....
[[30]]
37. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art in the shining Garo-demana,
we invoke, we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship
towards this var prepared....
[[31]]
38. 'Whether thou, O holy Rashnu! art, ... (obscure) we invoke,
we bless Rashnu, the strong. I invoke his friendship towards this
var prepared....
39. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
40. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of Rashnu Razishta; of Arshtat, who makes the world grow, who
makes the world increase; and of the true-spoken speech that makes
the world grow.
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
'[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of
body, .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the
holy Ones.'
13. Frawardin Yasht (Hymn to the Fravashis)
-------------------------------------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness.
Unto the awful, overpowering Fravashis of the faithful; unto the
Fravashis of the men of the primitive law; unto the Fravashis
of the next-of-kin,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'Do thou
proclaim, O pure Zarathushtra! the vigour and strength, the glory,
the help and the joy that are in the Fravashis of the faithful,
the awful and overpowering Fravashis; do thou tell how they come
to help me, how they bring assistance unto me, the awful Fravashis
of the faithful.
2. 'Through their brightness and glory, O Zarathushtra! I maintain
that sky, there above, shining and seen afar, and encompassing
this earth all around.
3. 'It looks like a palace, that stands built of a heavenly substance,
firmly established, with ends that lie afar, shining in its body
of ruby over the three-thirds (of the earth)"; it is like
a garment inlaid with stars, made of a heavenly substance, that
Mazda puts on, along with Mithra and Rashnu and Spenta-Armaiti,
and on no side can the eye perceive the end of it.
4. 'Through their brightness and glory, O Zarathushtra! I maintain
Ardvi Sura Anahita, the wide-expanding and health-giving, who
hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura who is worthy of
sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material
world, the life-increasing and holy, the flocks-increasing and
holy, the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth increasing and
holy, the country increasing and holy;
5. 'Who makes the seed of all males pure, who makes the womb
of all females pure for bringing forth, who makes all females
bring forth in safety, who puts milk in the breasts of all females
in the right measure and the right quality;
6. 'The large river, known afar, that is as large as the whole
of all the waters that run along the earth; that runs powerfully
from the height Hukairya down to the sea Vouru-kasha.
7. 'All the shores of the sea Vouru-kasha are boiling over, all
the middle of it is boiling over, when she runs down there, when
she streams down there, she, Ardvi Sura Anahita, who has a thousand
cells and a thousand channels; the extent of each of those cells,
of each of those channels, is as much as a man can ride in forty
days, riding on a good horse.
8. 'From this river of mine alone flow all the waters that spread
all over the seven Karshvares; this river of mine alone goes on
bringing waters, both in summer and in winter. This river of mine
purifies the seed in males, the womb in females, the milk in females'
breasts.
9. 'Through their brightness and glory, O Zarathushtra! I maintain
the wide earth made by Ahura, the large and broad earth, that
bears so much that is fine, that bears all the bodily world, the
live and the dead, and the high mountains, rich in pastures and
waters;
10. 'Upon which run the many streams and rivers; upon which the
many kinds of plants grow up from the ground, to nourish animals
and men, to nourish the Aryan nations, to nourish the five kinds
of animals, and to help the faithful.
11. 'Through their brightness and glory, O Zarathushtra! I maintain
in the womb the child that has been conceived, so that it does
not die from the assaults of Vidotu, and I develop in it the bones,
the hair, the ..., the entrails, the feet, and the sexual organs.
12. 'Had not the awful Fravashis of the faithful given help unto
me, those animals and men of mine, of which there are such excellent
kinds, would not subsist; strength would belong to the Druj, the
dominion would belong to the Druj, the material world would belong
to the Druj.
13. 'Between the earth and the sky the immaterial creatures would
be harassed by the Druj; between the earth and the sky the immaterial
creatures would be smitten by the Druj; and never afterwards would
Angra-Mainyu give way to the blows of Spenta-Mainyu.
14. 'Through their brightness and glory the waters run and flow
forward from the never-failing springs; through their brightness
and glory the plants grow up from the earth, by the never-failing
springs; through their brightness and glory the winds blow, driving
down the clouds towards the never-failing springs.
15. 'Through their brightness and glory the females conceive offspring;
through their brightness and glory they bring forth in safety;
it is through their brightness and glory when they become blessed
with children.
16. 'Through their brightness and glory a man is born who is a
chief in assemblies and meetings, who listens well to the (holy)
words, whom Wisdom holds dear, and who returns a victor from discussions
with Gaotema, the heretic.
'Through their brightness and glory the sun goes his way; through
their brightness and glory the moon goes her way; through their
brightness and glory the stars go their way.
17. 'In fearful battles they are the wisest for help, the Fravashis
of the faithful.
'The most powerful amongst the Fravashis of the faithful, O Spitama!
are those of the men of the primitive law or those of the Saoshyants
not yet born, who are to restore the world. Of the others, the
Fravashis of the living faithful are more powerful, O Zarathushtra!
than those of the dead, O Spitama!
18. 'And the man who in life shall treat the Fravashis of the
faithful well, will become a ruler of the country with full power,
and a chief most strong; so shall any man of you become, who shall
treat Mithra well, the lord of wide pastures, and Arshtat, who
makes the world grow, who makes the world increase.
19. 'Thus do I proclaim unto thee, O pure Spitama! the vigour
and strength, the glory, the help, and the joy that are in the
Fravashis of the faithful, the awful and overpowering Fravashis;
and how they come to help me, how they bring assistance unto me,
the awful Fravashis of the faithful.'
[[2]]
20. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'If in
this material world, O Spitama Zarathushtra! thou happenest to
come upon frightful roads, full of dangers and fears, O Zarathushtra!
and thou fearest for thyself, then do thou recite these words,
then proclaim these fiend-smiting words, O Zarathushtra!
21. '"I praise, I invoke, I meditate upon, and we sacrifice
unto the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful. We
worship the Fravashis of the masters of the houses, those of the
lords of the boroughs, those of the lords of the towns, those
of the lords of the countries, those of the Zarathustrotemas;
the Fravashis of those that are, the Fravashis of those that have
been, the Fravashis of those that will be; all the Fravashis of
all nations, and most friendly the Fravashis of the friendly nations;
22. '"Who maintain the sky, who maintain the waters, who
maintain the earth, who maintain the cattle, who maintain in the
womb the child that has been conceived, so that it does not die
from the assaults of Vidotu, and develop in it the bones, the
hair, the ...., the entrails, the feet, and the sexual organs;
23. '"Who are much-bringing, who move with awfulness, well-moving,
swiftly moving, quickly moving, who move when invoked; who are
to be invoked in the conquest of good, who are to be invoked in
fights against foes, who are to be invoked in battles;
24. '"Who give victory to their invoker, who give boons to
their lover, who give health to the sick man, who give good Glory
to the faithful man that brings libations and invokes them with
a sacrifice and words of propitiation,
25. '"Who turn to that side where are faithful men, most
devoted to holiness, and where is the greatest piety, where the
faithful man is rejoiced, and where the faithful man is not ill-treated."'
[[3]]
26. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who are the mightiest of drivers, the lightest of those driving
forwards, the slowest of the retiring, the safest of all bridges,
the least-erring of all weapons and arms, and who never turn their
backs.
27. At once, wherever they come, we worship them, the good ones,
the excellent ones, the good, the strong, the beneficent Fravashis
of the faithful. They are to be invoked when the bundles of baresma
are tied; they are to be invoked in fights against foes, in battles,
and there where gallant men strive to conquer foes.
28. Mazda invoked them for help, when he fixed the sky and the
waters and the earth and the plants; when Spenta-Mainyu fixed
the sky, when he fixed the waters, when the earth, when the cattle,
when the plants, when the child conceived in the womb, so that
it should not die from the assaults of Vidotu, and developed in
it the bones, the hair, the ...., the entrails, the feet, and
the sexual organs.
29. Spenta-Mainyu maintained the sky, and they sustained it from
below, they, the strong Fravashis, who sit in silence, gazing
with sharp looks; whose eyes and ears are powerful, who bring
long joy, high and high-girded; well-moving and moving afar, loud-snorting,
possessing riches and a high renown.
[[4]]
30. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful;
whose friendship is good, and who know how to benefit; whose friendship
lasts long; who like to stay in the abode where they are not harmed
by its dwellers; who are good, beautiful afar, health-giving,
of high renown, conquering in battle, and who never do harm first.
[[5]]
31. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful;
whose will is dreadful unto those who vex them; powerfully working
and most beneficent; who in battle break the dread arms of their
foes and haters.
[[6]]
32. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful;
liberal, valiant, and full of strength, not to be seized by thought,
welfare-giving, kind, and health-giving, following with Ashi's
remedies, as far as the earth extends, as the rivers stretch,
as the sun rises.
[[7]]
33. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who gallantly and bravely fight, causing havoc, wounding, breaking
to pieces all the malice of the malicious, Daevas and men, and
smiting powerfully in battle, at their wish and will.
34. You kindly deliver the Victory made by Ahura, and the crushing
Ascendant, most beneficently, to those countries where you, the
good ones, unharmed and rejoiced, unoppressed and unoffended,
have been held worthy of sacrifice and prayer, and proceed the
way of your wish.
[[8]]
35. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
of high renown, smiting in battle, most strong, shield-bearing
and harmless to those who are true, whom both the pursuing and
the fleeing invoke for help: the pursuer invokes them for a swift
race, and for a swift race does the fleer invoke them;
36. Who turn to that side where are faithful men, most devoted
to holiness, and where is the greatest piety, where the faithful
man is rejoiced, and where the faithful man is not ill-treated.
[[9]]
37. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who form many battalions, girded with weapons, lifting up spears,
and full of sheen; who in fearful battles come rushing along where
the gallant heroes go and assail the Danus.
38. There you destroy the victorious strength of the Turanian
Danus; there you destroy the malice of the Turanian Danus; through
you the chiefs are of high intellect and most successful; they,
the gallant heroes, the gallant Saoshyants, the gallant conquerors
of the offspring of the Danus chiefs of myriads, who wound with
stones.
[[10]]
39. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who rout the two wings of an army standing in battle array, who
make the centre swerve, and swiftly pursue onwards, to help the
faithful and to distress the doers of evil deeds.
[[11]]
40. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful;
awful, overpowering, and victorious, smiting in battle, sorely
wounding, blowing away (the foes), moving along to and fro, of
good renown, fair of body, godly of soul, and holy; who give victory
to their invoker, who give boons to their lover, who give health
to the sick man;
41. Who give good glory to him who worships them with a sacrifice,
as that man did worship them, the holy Zarathushtra, the chief
of the material world, the head of the two-footed race, in whatever
struggle he had to enter, in whatever distress he did fear;
42. Who, when well invoked, enjoy bliss in the heavens; who, when
well invoked, come forward from the heavens, who are the heads
of that sky above, possessing the well-shapen Strength, the Victory
made by Ahura, the crushing Ascendant, and Welfare, the wealth-bringing,
boon-bringing, holy, well fed, worthy of sacrifice and prayer
in the perfection of holiness.
43. They shed Satavaesa between the earth and the sky, him to
whom the waters belong, who listens to appeals and makes the waters
flow and the plants grow up, to nourish animals and men, to nourish
the Aryan nations, to nourish the five kinds of animals and to
help the faithful.
44. Satavaesa comes down and flows between the earth and the sky,
he to whom the waters belong, who listens to appeals and makes
the waters and the plants grow up, fair, radiant, and full of
light, to nourish animals and men, to nourish the Aryan nations,
to nourish the five kinds of animals, and to help the faithful.
[[12]]
45. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful;
with helms of brass, with weapons of brass, with armour of brass;
who struggle in the fights for victory in garments of light, arraying
the battles and bringing them forwards, to kill thousands of Daevas.
When the wind blows from behind them and brings their breath unto
men,
46. Then men know where blows the breath of victory: and they
pay pious homage unto the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of
the faithful, with their hearts prepared and their arms uplifted.
47. Whichever side they have been first worshipped in the fulness
of faith of a devoted heart, to that side turn the awful Fravashis
of the faithful, along with Mithra and Rashnu and the awful cursing
thought of the wise and the victorious wind.
48. And those nations are smitten at one stroke by their fifties
and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by
their thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of
thousands and their myriads of myriads, against which turn the
awful Fravashis of the faithful, along with Mithra and Rashnu,
and the awful cursing thought of the wise and the victorious wind.
[[13]]
49. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who come and go through the borough at the time of the Hamaspathmaidyem;
they go along there for ten nights, asking thus:
50. 'Who will praise us? Who will offer us a sacrifice? Who will
meditate upon us? Who will bless us? Who will receive us with
meat and clothes in his hand and with a prayer worthy of bliss?
Of which of us will the name be taken for invocation? Of which
of you will the soul be worshipped by you with a sacrifice? To
whom will this gift of ours be given, that he may have never-failing
food for ever and ever?'
51. And the man who offers them up a sacrifice, with meat and
clothes in his hand, with a prayer worthy of bliss, the awful
Fravashis of the faithful, satisfied, unharmed, and unoffended,
bless thus:
52. 'May there be in this house flocks of animals and men! May
there be a swift horse and a solid chariot! May there be a man
who knows how to praise God and rule in an assembly, who will
offer us sacrifices with meat and clothes in his hand, and with
a prayer worthy of bliss.'
[[14]]
53. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who show beautiful paths to the waters, made by Mazda, which had
stood before for a long time in the same place without flowing:
54. And now they flow along the path made by Mazda, along the
way made by the gods, the watery way appointed to them, at the
wish of Ahura Mazda, at the wish of the Amesha-Spentas.
[[15]]
55. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who show a beautiful growth to the fertile plants, which had stood
before for a long time in the same place without growing;
56. And now they grow up along the path made by Mazda, along the
way made by the gods, in the time appointed to them, at the wish
of Ahura Mazda, at the wish of the Amesha-Spentas.
[[16]]
57. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who showed their paths to the stars, the moon, the sun, and the
endless lights, that had stood before for a long time in the same
place, without moving forwards, through the oppression of the
Daevas and the assaults of the Daevas.
58. And now they move around in their far-revolving circle for
ever, till they come to the time of the good restoration of the
world.
[[17]]
59. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who watch over the bright sea Vouru-Kasha, to the number of ninety
thousand, and nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.
[[18]]
60. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who watch over the stars Haptoiringa, to the number of ninety
thousand, and nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.
[[19]]
61. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who watch over the body of Keresaspa, the son of Sama, the club-bearer
with plaited hair, to the number of ninety thousand, and nine
thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.
[[20]]
62. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who watch over the seed of the holy Zarathushtra, to the number
of ninety thousand, and nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-nine.
[[21]]
63. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who fight at the right hand of the reigning lord, if he rejoices
the faithful and if the awful Fravashis of the faithful are not
hurt by him, if they are rejoiced by him, unharmed and unoffended.
[[22]]
64. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who are greater, who are stronger, who are swifter, who are more
powerful, who are more victorious, who are more healing, who are
more effective than can be expressed by words; who run by tens
of thousands into the midst of the Myazdas.
65. And when the waters come up from the sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama
Zarathushtra! along with the Glory made by Mazda, then forwards
come the awful Fravashis of the faithful, many and many hundreds,
many and many thousands, many and many tens of thousands,
66. Seeking water for their own kindred, for their own borough,
for their own town, for their own country, and saying thus: 'May
our own country have a good store and full joy!'
67. They fight in the battles that are fought in their own place
and land, each according to the place and house where he dwelt
(of yore): they look like a gallant warrior who, girded up and
watchful, fights for the hoard he has treasured up.
68. And those of them who win bring waters to their own kindred,
to their own borough, to their own town, to their own country,
saying thus: 'May my country grow and increase!'
69. And when the all-powerful sovereign of a country has been
surprised by his foes and haters, he invokes them, the awful Fravashis
of the faithful.
70. And they come to his help, if they have not been hurt by him,
if they have been rejoiced by him, if they have not been harmed
nor offended, the awful Fravashis of the faithful: they come flying
unto him, it seems as if they were well-winged birds.
71. They come in as a weapon and as a shield, to keep him behind
and to keep him in front, from the Druj unseen, from the female
Varenya fiend, from the evil-doer bent on mischief, and from that
fiend who is all death, Angra Mainyu. It will be as if there were
a thousand men watching over one man;
72. So that neither the sword well-thrust, neither the club well-falling,
nor the arrow well-shot, nor the spear well-darted, nor the stones
flung from the arm shall destroy him.
73. They come on this side, they come on that side, never resting,
the good, powerful, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful, asking
for help thus: 'Who will praise us? Who will offer us a sacrifice?
Who will meditate upon us? Who will bless us? Who will receive
us with meat and clothes in his hand and with a prayer worthy
of bliss? Of which of us will the name be taken for invocation?
Of which of you will the soul be worshipped by you with a sacrifice?
To whom will that gift of ours be given, that he may have never-failing
food for ever and ever?'
74. We worship the perception; we worship the intellect; we worship
the conscience; we worship those of the Saoshyants;
We worship the souls; those of the tame animals; those of the
wild animals; those of the animals that live in the waters; those
of the animals that live under the ground; those of the flying
ones; those of the running ones; those of the grazing ones.
We worship their Fravashis.
75. We worship the Fravashis.
We worship them, the liberal;
We worship them, the valiant; we worship them, the most valiant;
We worship them, the beneficent; we worship them, the most beneficent;
We worship them, the powerful;
We worship them, the most strong;
We worship them, the light; we worship them, the most light;
We worship them, the effective; we worship them, the most effective.
76. They are the most effective amongst the creatures of the two
Spirits, they the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful,
who stood holding fast when the two Spirits created the world,
the Good Spirit and the Evil One.
77. When Angra Mainyu broke into the creation of the good holiness,
then came in across Vohu Mano and Atar.
78. They destroyed the malice of the fiend Angra Mainyu, so that
the waters did not stop flowing nor did the plants stop growing;
but at once the most beneficent waters of the creator and ruler,
Ahura Mazda, flowed forward and his plants went on growing.
79. We worship all the waters;
We worship all the plants;
We worship all the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful.
We worship the waters by their names;
We worship the plants by their names;
We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful
by their names.
80. Of all those ancient Fravashis, we worship the Fravashi of
Ahura Mazda; who is the greatest, the best, the fairest, the most
solid, the wisest, the finest of body and supreme in holiness;
81. Whose soul is the Mathra Spenta, who is white, shining, seen
afar; and we worship the beautiful forms, the active forms wherewith
he clothes the Amesha-Spentas; we worship the swift-horsed sun.
[[23]]
82. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the Amesha-Spentas,
the bright ones, whose looks perform what they wish, the tall,
quickly coming to do, strong, and lordly, who are undecaying and
holy;
83. Who are all seven of one thought, who are all seven of one
speech, who are all seven of one deed; whose thought is the same,
whose speech is the same, whose deed is the same, whose father
and commander is the same, namely, the Maker, Ahura Mazda;
84. Who see one another's soul thinking of good thoughts, thinking
of good words, thinking of good deeds, thinking of Garo-nmana,
and whose ways are shining as they go down towards the libations.
[[24]]
85. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis: that of
the most rejoicing fire, the beneficent and assembly-making; and
that of the holy, strong Sraosha, who is the incarnate Word, a
mighty-speared and lordly god; and that of Nairyo-sangha.
86. And that of Rashnu Razishta;
That of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures;
That of the Mathra-Spenta;
That of the sky;
That of the waters;
That of the earth;
That of the plants;
That of the Bull;
That of the living man;
That of the holy creation.
87. We worship the Fravashi of Gaya Maretan, who first listened
unto the thought and teaching of Ahura Mazda; of whom Ahura formed
the race of the Aryan nations, the seed of the Aryan nations.
We worship the piety and the Fravashi of the holy Zarathushtra;
88. Who first thought what is good, who first spoke what is good,
who first did what is good; who was the first Priest, the first
Warrior, the first Plougher of the ground; who first knew and
first taught; who first possessed and first took possession of
the Bull, of Holiness, of the Word, the obedience to the Word,
and dominion, and all the good things made by Mazda, that are
the offspring of the good Principle;
89. Who was the first Priest, the first Warrior, the first Plougher
of the ground; who first took the turning of the wheel from the
hands of the Daeva and of the cold-hearted man; who first in the
material world pronounced the praise of Asha, thus bringing the
Daevas to naught, and confessed himself a worshipper of Mazda,
a follower of Zarathushtra, one who hates the Daevas, and obeys
the laws of Ahura.
90. Who first in the material world said the word that destroys
the Daevas, the law of Ahura; who first in the material world
proclaimed the word that destroys the Daevas, the law of Ahura;
who first in the material world declared all the creation of the
Daevas unworthy of sacrifice and prayer; who was strong, giving
all the good things of life, the first bearer of the Law amongst
the nations;
91. In whom was heard the whole Mathra, the word of holiness;
who was the lord and master of the world, the praiser of the most
great, most good and most fair Asha; who had a revelation of the
Law, that most excellent of all beings;
92. For whom the Amesha-Spentas longed, in one accord with the
sun, in the fulness of faith of a devoted heart; they longed for
him, as the lord and master of the world, as the praiser of the
most great, most good, and most fair Asha, as having a revelation
of the Law, that most excellent of all beings;
93. In whose birth and growth the waters and the plants rejoiced;
in whose birth and growth the waters and the plants grew; in whose
birth and growth all the creatures of the good creations cried
out, Hail!
94. 'Hail to us! for he is born, the Athravan, Spitama Zarathushtra.
Zarathushtra will offer us sacrifices with libations and bundles
of baresma; and there will the good Law of the worshippers of
Mazda come and spread through all the seven Karshvares of the
earth.
95. 'There will Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, increase all
the excellences of our countries, and allay their troubles; there
will the powerful Apam-Napat increase all the excellences of our
countries, and allay their troubles.'
We worship the piety and Fravashi of Maidhyo-maungha, the son
of Arasti, who first listened unto the word and teaching of Zarathushtra.
[[25]]
96. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asmo-hvanvant;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asan-hvanvant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Gavayan.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Parshat-gaush. the son of
Frata;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohvasti, the son of Snaoya;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Isvat, the son of Varaza.
97. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Saena, the son of Ahum-stut,
who first appeared upon this earth with a hundred pupils.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Fradhidaya.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Usmanara, the son of Paeshata.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-raochah, the son of Franya;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asho-raochah, the son of Franya;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Varesmo-raochah, the son of
Franya.
98. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Isat-vastra, the son of
Zarathushtra;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Urvatat-nara, the son of Zarathushtra;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvare-chithra, the son of
Zarathushtra.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Daevo-tbis, the son of Takhma.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Thrimithwant, the son of Spitama.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Daungha, the son of Zairita.
99. We worship the Fravashi of the holy king Vistaspa; the gallant
one, who was the incarnate Word, the mighty-speared, and lordly
one; who, driving the Druj before him, sought wide room for the
holy religion; who, driving the Druj before him, made wide room
for the holy religion, who made himself the arm and support of
this law of Ahura, of this law of Zarathushtra.
100. Who took her, standing bound, from the hands of the Hunus,
and established her to sit in the middle [of the world], high
ruling, never falling back, holy, nourished with plenty of cattle
and pastures, blessed with plenty of cattle and pastures.
101. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Zairi-vairi;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Yukhta-vairi;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Sriraokhshan;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Keresaokhshan;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vanara;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Varaza;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Bujisravah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Berezyarshti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Tizyarshti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Perethu-arshti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vizhyarshti.
102. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Naptya;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vazhaspa;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Habaspa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vistauru, the son of Naotara.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frash-ham-vareta;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frasho-kareta.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-vanu;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-pata;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-data;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-chithra;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-hvarenah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-savah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-zantu;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-danghu.
103. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hushkyaothna;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Pishkyaothna;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy and gallant Spento-data.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Basta-vairi;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Kava-razem.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frashaoshtra, the son of Hvova;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Jamaspa, the son of Hvova;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Avaraoshtri.
104. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hushkyaothna, the son
of Frashaoshtra;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvadaena, the son of Frashaoshtra.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hanghaurvaungh, the son of
Jamaspa;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vareshna, the son of Hanghaurvaungh.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-nemah, the son of Avaraoshtri,
To withstand evil dreams, to withstand evil visions, to withstand
evil ....(?), to withstand the evil Pairikas.
105. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Mathravaka, the son of
Simaezhi, the Aethrapati, the Hamidhpati, who was able to smite
down most of the evil, unfaithful Ashemaoghas, that shout the
hymns, and acknowledge no lord and no master, the dreadful ones
whose Fravashis are to be broken; to withstand the evil done by
the faithful.
106. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asha-stu, the son of Maidhyo-maungha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Avarethrabah, the son of Rastare-vaghant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Bujra, the son of Dazgaraspa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Zbaurvant;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy and gallant Karesna, the son
of Zbaurvant; who was the incarnate Word, mighty-speared and lordly;
107. In whose house did walk the good, beautiful, shining Ashi
Vanguhi, in the shape of a maid fair of body, most strong, tall-formed,
high-up girded, pure, nobly born of a glorious seed; who, rushing
to the battle, knew how to make room for himself with his own
arms; who, rushing to the battle, knew how to fight the foe with
his own arms.
108. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Viraspa, the son of Karesna;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Azata, the son of Karesna:
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frayaodha, the son of Karesna.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy and good Arshya; Arshya, the
chief in assemblies, the most energetic of the worshippers of
Mazda.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Darayat-ratha;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frayat-ratha;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Skarayat-ratha.
109. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Arshvant;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vyarshvant;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Paityarshvant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Amru;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Chamru.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Dratha;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Paiti-dratha;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Paiti-vangha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frasha-vakhsha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Nemo-vanghu, the son of Vaedhayangha.
110. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Visadha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asha-vanghu, the son of Bivandangha;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Jaro-danghu, the son of Pairishtira;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Neremyazdana, the son of Athwyoza.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Berezishnu, the son of Ara;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Kasupatu, the son of Ara.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frya.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy ASTVAT-ERETA.
[[26]]
111. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Gaopi-vanghu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy and gallant Ham-baretar vanghvam.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Staotar-Vahishtahe-Ashyehe.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Pouru-dhakhshti, the son of
Khshtavaenya;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Khshoi-wraspa, the son of
Khshtavaenya.
112. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ayo-asti, the son of Pouru-dhakhshti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohv-asti, the son of Pount-dhakhshti;
We-worship the Fravashi of the holy Gaya-dhasti, the son of Pouru-dhakhshti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asha-vazdah, the son of Pouru-dhakhshti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Urudhu, the son of Pouru-dhakhshti.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Khshathro-chinah, the son
of Khshvoiwraspa.
113. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ashahura, the son of Jishti.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Fraya-zanta;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frenah, the son of Frayazanta;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Jaro-vanghu, the son of Frayazanta.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy Asha-vazdah and Thrita, the
sons of Sayuzhdri.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-raochah, the son of Varakasa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Arejan-ghant, the Turanian.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Usinemah.
114. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Yukhtaspa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asha-skyaothna, the son of
Gayadhasti.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-nemah, the son of Katu;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-vazdah, the son of Katu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asha-saredha, the son of Asha-sairyach;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asha-saredha, the son of Zairyach.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Chakhshni.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Syavaspi.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Pourushti, the son of Kavi.
115. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Varesmapa, the son of
Janara.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Nanarasti, the son of Paeshatah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Zarazdati, the son of Paeshatah.
We worship tke Fravashi of the holy Gaevani, the son of Vohu-nemah.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy Arezva and Sruta-spadha
We worship the Fravashis Of the holy Zrayah and Spento-khratu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Varshni, the son of Vagereza.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frachya, the son of Taurvati.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vahmae-data, the son of Mathravaka,
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ushtra, the son of Sadhanah.
116. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Danghu-sruta;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Danghu-fradhah.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Aspo-padho-makhshti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Payanghro-makhshti.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ushtazanta.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asha-savah,
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asho-urvatha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Haomo-hvarenah.
117. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frava.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Usnaka.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvanvant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Daeno-vazah.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Arejaona.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Aiwi-hvarenah.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Huyazata.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hare-dhaspa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Pazinah.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvakhshathra.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asho-paoirya,
We worship the Fravashi of the holy ASTVAT-ERETA.
[[27]]
118. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hugau.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Anghuyu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Gauri;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Yushta, the son of Gauri.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Mazdra-vanghu;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Srira-vanghu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ayuta.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Suro-yazata.
119. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Eredhwa
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Kavi.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ukhshan, the son of the great
Vidi-sravah, known afar.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vanghu-dhata, the son of Hvadhata;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Uzya, the son of Vanghu-dhata;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frya.
120. We worship the Fravashi of the holy one whose name is Ashem-yenhe-raochau;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy one whose name is Ashem-yenhe-vereza;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy one whose name is Ashem-yahmai-ushta.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Yoishta, of the Fryana house.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Usmanara, the son of Paeshatah
Paitisrira, to withstand the evil done by one's kindred.
121. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Spiti, the son of Uspasnu;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Erezraspa, the son of Uspasnu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Usadhan, the son of Mazdayasna.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Fradat-vanghu, the son of
Stivant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Raochas-chaeshman;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvare-chaeshman
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frasrutara;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Visrutara.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Baremna. We worship the Fravashi
of the holy Visruta.
122. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvaspa;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Chathwaraspa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Dawra-maeshi.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Fraora-ostra, the son of Kaosha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frinaspa, the son of Kaeva.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Fradat-nara, the son of Gravaratu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-ushtra, the son of Akhnangha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vivare-shvant, the son of
Ainyu.
123. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frarazi, the son of Tura.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Stipi, the son of Ravant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Parshanta, the son of Gandarewa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Avahya, the son of Spenta.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Aeta, the son of Mayu;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Yaetush-gau, the son of Vyatana.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Garshta, the son of Kavi.
124. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Pouru-bangha, the son
of Zaosha.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-data, the son of Kata.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Baungha, the son of Saungha.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy Hvareza and Ankasa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Aravaoshtra, the son of Erezvat-danghu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frachithra, the son of Berezvant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vohu-peresa, the son of Ainyu.
125. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Paro-dasma, the son of
Dashtaghni, a Miza man of the Miza land.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy Fratira and Baeshatastira.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy and pure Avare-gau, the son
of Aoighimatastira.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Gaomant, the son of Zavan,
a Raozhdya man of the Raozhdya land.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Thrit, the son of Aevo-saredha-fyaeshta,
a Tanya man of the Tanya land.
126. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Tiro-nakathwa, of the
Uspaeshta-Saena house.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Utayuti Vit-kavi, the son
of Zighri, of the Saena house;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Frohakafra, the son of Merezishmya,
of the Saena house.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Varesmo-raochah, the son of
Perethu-afzem.
127. We worship the Fravashis of the holy Asha-nemah and Vidat-gau,
of this country.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy Par-shat-gau and Dazgara-gau,
of the Apakhshira country.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hufra-vakhsh, of the Kahrkana
house.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Akayadha, of the Pidha house.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Jamaspa, the younger.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Maidhyo-maungha, the younger.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Urvatat-nara, the younger.
128. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Raochas-chaeshman;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvare-chaeshman;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Fradat-hvarenah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Varedat-hvarenah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vouru-nemah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vouru-savah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ukhshyat-ereta;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ukhshyat-nemah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy ASTVAT-ERETA;
[[28]]
129. Whose name will be the victorious SAOSHYANT and whose name
will be Astvat-ereta. He will be SAOSHYANT (the Beneficent One),
because he will benefit the whole bodily world; he will be ASTVAT-ERETA
(he who makes the bodily creatures rise up), because as a bodily
creature and as a living creature he will stand against the destruction
of the bodily creatures, to withstand the Druj of the two-footed
brood, to withstand the evil done by the faithful.
[[29]]
130. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Yima, the son of Vivanghant;
the valiant Yima, who had flocks at his wish; to stand against
the oppression caused by the Daevas, against the drought that
destroys pastures, and against death that creeps unseen.
131. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Thraetaona, of the Athwya
house; to stand against itch, hot fever, humours, cold fever,
and incontinency, to stand against the evil done by the Serpent.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Aoshnara, the son of Pouru-jira.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Uzava, the son of Tumaspa.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Aghraeratha, the demi-man.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Manushchithra, the son of
Airyu.
132. We worship the Fravashi of the holy king Kavata;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy king Aipivanghu;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy king Usadhan;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Arshan;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Pisanah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy king Byarshan;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy king Syavarshan;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy king Husravah;
133. For the well-shapened Strength, for the Victory made by Ahura,
for the crushing Ascendant for the righteousness of the law, for
the innocence of the law, for the unconquerable power of the law;
for the extermination of the enemies at one stroke;
134. And for the vigour of health, for the Glory made by Mazda,
for the health of the body, and for a good, virtuous offspring,
wise, chief in assemblies, bright, and clear-eyed, that frees
[their father] from the pangs [of hell], of good intellect; and
for that part in the blessed world that falls to wisdom and to
those who do not follow impiety;
135. For a dominion full of splendour, for a long, long life, and
for all boons and remedies; to withstand the Yatus and Pairikas,
the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf; to withstand the evil
done by oppressors.
136. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Keresaspa, the Sama, the
club-bearer with plaited hair; to withstand the dreadful arm and
the hordes with the wide battle array, with the many spears, with
the straight spears, with the spears uplifted, bearing the spears
of havoc; to withstand the dreadful brigand who works destruction,
the man-slayer who has no mercy; to withstand the evil done by
the brigand.
137. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Akhrura, the son of Husravah;
To withstand the wicked one that deceives his friend and the niggard
that causes the destruction of the world.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy and gallant Haoshyangha;
To withstand tke Mazainya Daevas and the Varenya fiends; to withstand
the evil done by the Daevas.
138. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Fradhakhshti, the son
of the jar,
To withstand Aeshma, the fiend of the wounding spear, and the
Daevas that grow through Aeshma; to withstand the evil done by
Aeshma.
[[30]]
139. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvovi.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Freni;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Thriti;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Pouruchista.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hutaosa;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Huma.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Zairichi.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Vispa-taurvashi.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ushtavaiti.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Tushnamaiti.
140. We worship the Fravashi of the holy Freni, the wife of Usenemah;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Freni, the wife of the son
of Frayazanta;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Freni, the wife of the son
of Khshoiwraspa;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Freni, the wife of Gayadhasti.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Asabani, the wife of Pourudhakhsti.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Ukhshyeinti, the wife of Staotar-Vahishtahe-Ashyehe.
141. We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Vadhut.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Jaghrudh.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Franghadh.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Urudhayant.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Paesanghanu.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Hvaredhi.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Huchithra.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy Kanuka.
We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Srutat-fedhri.
142. We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Vanghu-fedhri;
We worship the Fravashi of the holy maid Eredat-fedhri, who is
called Vispa-taurvairi. She is Vispa-taurvairi (the all-destroying)
because she will bring him forth, who will destroy the malice
of Daevas and men, to withstand the evil done by the Jahi.
143. We worship the Fravashis of the holy men in the Aryan countries;
We worship the Fravashis of the holy women in the Aryan countries.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy men in the Turanian countries;
We worship the Fravashis of the holy women in the Turanian countries.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy men in the Sairimyan countries;
We worship the Fravashis of the holy women in the Sairimyan countries.
144. We worship the Fravashis of the holy men in the Sairimyan
countries;
We worship the Fravashis of the holy women in the Saini countries.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy men in the Dahi countries;
We worship the Fravashis of the holy women in the Dahi countries.
We worship the Fravashis of the holy men in all countries;
We worship the Fravashis of the holy women in all countries.
145. We worship all the good, awful, beneficent Fravashis of the
faithful, from Gaya Mareta down to the victorious Saoshyant. May
the Fravashis of the faithful come quickly to us! May they come
to our help!
146. They protect us when in distress with manifest assistance,
with the assistance of Ahura Mazda and of the holy, powerful Sraosha,
and with the Mathra-Spenta, the all-knowing, who hates the Daevas
with a mighty hate, a friend of Ahura Mazda, whom Zarathushtra
worshipped so greatly in the material world.
147. May the good waters and the plants and the Fravashis of the
faithful abide down here! May you be rejoiced and well received
in this house! Here are the Athravans of the countries, thinking
of good holiness. Our hands are lifted up for asking help, and
for offering a sacrifice unto you, O most beneficent Fravashis!
148. We worship the Fravashis of all the holy men and holy women
whose souls are worthy of sacrifice, whose Fravashis are worthy
of invocation.
We worship the Fravashis of all the holy men and holy women, our
sacrificing to whom makes us good in the eyes of Akura Mazda:
of all of those we have heard that Zarathushtra is the first and
best, as a follower of Ahura and as a performer of the law.
149. We worship the spirit, conscience, perception, soul, and Fravashi
of men of the primitive law, of the first who listened to the
teaching (of Ahura), holy men and holy women, who struggled for
holiness; we worship the spirit, conscience, perception, soul,
and Fravashi of our next-of-kin, holy men and holy women, who
struggled for holiness.
150. We worship the men of the primitive law who will be in these
houses, boroughs, towns, and countries;
We worship the men of the primitive law who have been in these
houses, boroughs, towns, and countries;
We worship the men of the primitive law who are in these houses,
boroughs, towns, and countries.
151. We worship the men of the primitive law in all houses, boroughs,
towns, and countries, who obtained these houses, who obtained
these boroughs, who obtained these towns, who obtained these countries,
who obtained holiness, who obtained the Mathra, who obtained the
[blessedness of the] soul, who obtained all the perfections of
goodness.
152. We worship Zarathushtra, the lord and master of all the material
world, the man of the primitive law; the wisest of all-beings,
the best-ruling of all beings, the brightest of all beings, the
most glorious of all beings, the most worthy of sacrifice amongst
all beings, the most worthy of prayer amongst all beings, the
most worthy of propitiation amongst all beings, the most worthy
of glorification amongst all beings, whom we call well-desired
and worthy of sacrifice and prayer as much as any being can be,
in the perfection of his holiness.
153. We worship this earth; we worship those heavens;
We worship those good things that stand between (the earth and
the heavens) and that are worthy of sacrifice and prayer and are
to be worshipped by the faithful man.
154. We worship the souls of the wild beasts and of the tame.
We worship the souls of the holy men and women, born at any time,
whose consciences struggle, or will struggle, or have. struggled,
for the good.
155. We worship the spirit, conscience, perception, soul, and Fravashi
of the holy men and holy women who struggle, will struggle, or
have struggled, and teach the Law and who have struggled for holiness.
Yenhe hatam: All those beings to whom Ahura Mazda...
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
156. The Fravashis of the faithful, awful and overpowering, awful
and victorious; the Fravashis of the men of the primitive law;
the Fravashis of the next-of-kin; may these Fravashis come satisfied
into this house, may they walk satisfied through this house!
157. May they, being satisfied, bless this house with the presence
of the kind Ashi Vanguhi! May they leave this house satisfied!
May they carry back from here hymns and worship to the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, and the Amesha-Spentas! May they not leave this house
of us, the worshippers of Mazda, complaining!
158. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of the awful, overpowering Fravashis of the faithful; of the Fravashis
of the men of the primitive law; of the Fravashis of the next-of-kin.
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.
14. Warharan Yasht
------------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!.... Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the
best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto (Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Verethraghna, made by Mazda, and unto the crushing Ascendant;
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
1. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! 'Who is the
best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
2. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him first, running in
the shape of a strong, beautiful wind, made by Mazda; he bore
the good Glory, made by Mazda, the Glory made by Mazda, that is
both health and strength.
3. Then he, who is the strongest, said unto him: 'I am the strongest
in strength; I am the most victorious in victory; I am the most
glorious in glory; I am the most favouring in favour; I am the
best giver of welfare: I am the best-healing in health-giving.
4. 'And I shall destroy the malice of all the malicious, the
malice of Daevas and men, of the 'Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors,
the blind, and the deaf.
5. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard; namely, unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura. We
worship Verethraghna, made by Ahura, with an offering of libations,
according to the primitive ordinances of Ahura; with the Haoma
and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy spells,
the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
6. 'We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.'
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
7. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the second time,
running in the shape of a beautiful bull, with yellow ears and
golden horns; upon whose horns floated the well-shapen Strength,
and Victory, beautiful of form, made by Ahura: thus did he come,
bearing the good Glory, made by Mazda, the Glory made by Mazda,
that is both health and strength.
Then he, who is the strongest, said unto him: 'I am the strongest
in strength....,
'And I shall destroy the malice of all malicious....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[3]]
8. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
'Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
9. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the third time, running
in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with yellow ears and
a golden caparison; upon whose forehead floated the well-shapen
Strength, and Victory, beautiful of form, made by Ahura: thus
did he come, bearing the good Glory, made by Mazda, that is both
health and strength.
Then he, who is the strongest, said unto him: 'I am the strongest
in strength....
'And I shall destroy the malice of all malicious....'
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[4]]
10. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, 'Who is the best-armed of
the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
11. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the fourth time,
running in the shape of a burden-bearing camel, sharp-toothed,
swift ...., stamping forwards, long-haired, and living in the
abodes of men;
12. Who of all males in rut shows greatest strength and greatest
fire, when he goes to his females. Of all females those are best
kept whom a burden-bearing camel keeps, who has thick forelegs
and large humps, ...., quick-eyed, long-headed, bright, tall,
and strong;
13. Whose piercing look goes afar ...., even in the dark of the
night; who throws white foam along his mouth; well-kneed, well-footed,
standing with the countenance of an all-powerful master: Thus
did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda, the
Glory made by Mazda
[[5]]
14. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! 'Who is the
best-armed of the heavenly gods?' Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is
Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathushtra!'
15. 'Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the fifth time,
running in the shape of a boar, opposing the foes, a sharp-toothed
he-boar, a sharp-jawed boar, that kills at one stroke, pursuing,
wrathful, with a dripping face, strong, and swift to run, and
rushing all around.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,
the Glory made by Mazda.
[[6]]
16. We sacrifice unto Verethragna, made by ..... Zarathushtra
asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker
of the material world, thou Holy One!
'Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
17. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the sixth time, running
in the shape of a beautiful youth of fifteen, shining, clear-eyed,
thin-heeled.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,
the Glory made by Mazda....
[[7]]
18. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
'Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
19. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the seventh time,
running in the shape of a raven that ... below and ... above,
and that is the swiftest of all birds, the lightest of the flying
creatures.
20. He alone of living things, - he or none, - overtakes the flight
of an arrow, however well it has been shot. He flies up joyfully
at the first break of dawn, wishing the night to be no more, wishing
the dawn, that has not yet come, to come.
21. He grazes the hidden ways of the mountains, he grazes the
tops of the mountains, he grazes the depths of the vales, he grazes
the summits of the trees, listening to the voices of the birds.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,
the Glory made by Mazda.
[[8]]
22. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world. thou Holy One! Who is the
best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
23. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the eighth time,
running in the shape of a wild, beautiful ram, with horns bent
round.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,
the Glory made by Mazda....
[[9]]
24. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! 'Who is the
best-armed of the heavenly gods?' Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is
Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathushtra!'
25. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the ninth time, running
in the shape of a beautiful, fighting buck, with sharp horns.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,
the Glory made by Mazda....
[[10]]
26. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! 'Who is the
best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna, made by Ahura, O Spitama
Zarathushtra!'
27. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the tenth time, running
in the shape of a man, bright and beautiful, made by Mazda: he
held a sword with a golden blade, inlaid with all sorts of ornaments.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,
the Glory made by Mazda.
[[11]]
28. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura, who makes virility,
who makes death, who makes resurrection, who possesses peace,
who has a free way.
Unto him did the holy Zarathushtra offer up a sacrifice, [asking]
for victorious thinking, victorious speaking, victorious doing,
victorious addressing, and victorious answering.
29. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, gave him the fountains of manliness,
the strength of the arms, the health of the whole body, the sturdiness
of the whole body, and the eye-sight of the Kara fish, that lives
beneath the waters and can measure a rippling of the water, not
thicker than a hair, in the Rangha whose ends lie afar, whose
depth is a thousand times the height of a man.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[12]]
30. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura, who makes virility,
who makes death, who makes resurrection, who possesses peace,
who has a free way.
Unto him did the holy Zarathushtra offer up a sacrifice, [asking]
for victorious thinking, victorious speaking, victorious doing,
victorious addressing, and victorious answering.
31. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, gave him the fountains of manliness,
the strength of the arms, the health of the whole body, the sturdiness
of the whole body, and the eye-sight of the male horse, that,
in the dark of the night, in its first half and through the rain,
can perceive a horse's hair lying on the ground and knows whether
it is from the head or from the tail.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[13]]
32. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura, who makes virility,
who makes death, who makes resurrection, who possesses peace,
who has a free way.
Unto him did the holy Zarathushtra sacrifice, [asking] for victorious
thinking, victorious speaking, victorious doing, victorious addressing,
and victorious answering.
33. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, gave him the fountains of virility,
the strength of the arms, the health of the whole body, the sturdiness
of the whole body, and the eye-sight of the vulture with a golden
collar, that, from as far as nine districts, can perceive a piece
of flesh not thicker than the fist, giving just as much light
as a needle gives, as the point of a needle gives.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[14]]
34. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
'If I have a curse thrown upon me, a spell told upon me by the
many men who hate me, what is the remedy for it?'
35. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Take thou a feather of that bird with
... feathers, the Varenjana, O Spitama Zarathushtra! With that
feather thou shalt rub thy own body, with that feather thou shalt
curse back thy enemies.
36. 'If a man holds a bone of that strong bird, or a feather of
that strong bird, no one can smite or turn to flight that fortunate
man. The feather of that bird of birds brings him help; it brings
unto him the homage of men, it maintains in him his glory.
37. 'Then the sovereign, the lord of countries, will no longer
kill his hundreds, though he is a killer of men; the .... will
not kill at one stroke; he alone smites and goes forwards.
38. 'All tremble before him who holds the feather, they tremble
therefore before me; all my enemies tremble before me and fear
my strength and victorious force and the fierceness established
in my body.
39. 'He carries the chariot of the lords; he carries the chariots
of the lordly ones, the chariots of the sovereigns. He carried
the chariot of Kavi Usa; upon his wings runs the male horse, runs
the burden-bearing camel, runs the water of the river.
40. 'Him rode the gallant Thraetaona, who smote Azhi Dahaka, the
three-mouthed, the three-headed, the six-eyed, who had a thousand
senses; that most powerful, fiendish Druj, that demon, baleful
to the world, the strongest Druj that Angra Mainyu created against
the material world, to destroy the world of the good principle.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[15]]
41. 'We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
'Verethraghna confounds the glory of this house with its wealth
in cattle. He is like that great bird, the Saena; he is like the
big clouds, full of water, that beat the mountains.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[16]]
42. 'We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.'
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Maker of the material world thou Holy One! 'Where is it
that we must invoke the name of Verethraghna, made by Ahura? Where
is it that we must praise him? That we must humbly praise him?'
43. Ahura Mazda answered: 'When armies meet together in full array,
O Spitama Zarathushtra! (asking) which of the two is the party
that conquers and is not crushed, that smites and is not smitten;
44. 'Do thou throw four feathers in the way. Whichever of the
two will first worship the well-shapen Strength, and Verethraghna,
beautiful of form. made by Mazda, on his side will victory stand.
45. 'I will bless Strength and Victory, the two keepers, the two
good keepers, the two maintainers; the two who ..., the two who
... the two who ...; the two who forgive, the two who strike off,
the two who forget.
46. 'O Zarathushtra! let not that spell be shown to any one, except
by the father to his son, or by the brother to his brother from
the same womb, or by the Athravan to his pupil. These are words
that are awful and powerful, awful and assembly-ruling, awful
and victorious, awful and healing: these are words that save the
head that was lost and chant away the uplifted weapon.'
[[17]]
47. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura: who goes along
the armies arrayed, and goes here and there asking, along with
Mithra and Rashnu: 'Who is it who lies unto Mithra? Who is it
who thrusts [his oath] against Rashnu? To whom shall I, in my
might, impart illness and death?'
48. Ahura Mazda said: 'If men sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made
by Ahura, if the due sacrifice and prayer is offered unto him
just as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness,
never will a hostile horde enter the Aryan countries, nor any
plague, nor leprosy, nor venomous plants, nor the chariot of a
foe, nor the uplifted spear of a foe.
49. Zarathushtra asked: 'What is then, O Ahura Mazda! the sacrifice
and invocation in honour of Verethraghna, made by Ahura, as it
ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness?'
50. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations
unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him;
let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white,
or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same
colour.
51. 'Let not a murderer take of those offerings, nor a whore,
nor a ...., who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in
the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra.
52. 'If a murderer take of those offerings, or a whore, or a ....,
who does not sing the Gathas, then Verethraghna, made by Ahura,
takes back his healing virtues.
53. 'Plagues will ever pour upon the Aryan nations; hostile hordes
will ever fall upon the Aryan nations; the Aryans will be smitten
by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their
thousands, by their thousands and their tens of thousands, by
their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.'
54. There Verethraghna, made by Ahura, proclaimed thus: 'The Soul
of the Bull, the wise creature, does not receive from man due
sacrifice and prayer; for now the Daevas and the worshippers of
the Daevas make blood flow and spill it like water;
55. 'For now the ... Daevas and the worshippers of the Daevas
bring to the fire the plant that is called Haperesi, the wood
that is called Nemetka;
56. '(Therefore) when the (?Vyambura) Daevas and the worshippers
of the Daevas bow their backs, bend their waists, and arrange
all their limbs, they think they will smite and smite not, they
think they will kill and kill not; and then the (?Vyambura) Daevas
and the worshippers of the Daevas have their minds confounded
and their eyes made giddy.'
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[18]]
57. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
I offer up Haoma, who saves one's head; I offer up the victorious
Haoma; I offer him up, the good protector; I offer up Haoma, who
is a protector to my body, as a man who shall drink of him shall
win and prevail over his enemies in battle;
58. That I may smite this army, that I may smite down this army,
that I may cut in pieces this army that is coming behind me.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[19]]
59. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
The prince and his son and his sons who are chiefs of myriads
offer him up a bright ...(?) [saying]: 'He is strong, and Victorious
is his name; he is victorious, and Strong is his name;'
60. That I may be as constantly victorious as any one of all the
Aryans; that I may smite this army, that I may smite down this
army, that I may cut in pieces this army that is coming behind
me.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
61. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
In the ox is our strength, in the ox is our need; in the ox is
our speech, in the ox is our victory; in the ox is our food, in
the ox is our clothing; in the ox is tillage, that makes food
grow for us.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[21]]
62. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura;
Who breaks the columns asunder, who cuts the columns to pieces,
who wounds the columns, who makes the columns shake; who comes
and breaks the columns asunder, who comes and cuts the columns
to pieces, who comes and wounds the columns, who comes and makes
the columns shake, both of Daevas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas,
of the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[22]]
63. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
When Verethraghna, made by Ahura, binds the hands, confounds the
eye-sight, takes the hearing from the ears of the Mithradrujes
marching in columns, allied by cities, they can no longer move
their feet, they can no longer-withstand.
For his brightness and glory I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
64. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of Verethraghna, made by Mazda; and of the crushing Ascendant.
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.
15. Ram Yasht
-------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas, and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani]
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Rama Hvastra, unto Vayu who works highly and is more powerful
to afflict than all other creatures,
Be propitiation from me, for sacrifice, prayer, propitiation and
glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them.
I will sacrifice to Peace, whose breath is friendly, and to Weal,
both of them.
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke, for this
house, for the master of this house, and for the man here who
is offering libations and giving gifts. To this excellent God
do we sacrifice, that he may accept our meat and our prayers,
and grant us in return to crush our enemies at one stroke.
2. To him did the Maker, Ahura Mazda, offer up a sacrifice in
the Airyana Vaejah, on a golden throne, under golden beams and
a golden canopy, with bundles of baresma and offerings of full-boiling
[milk].
3. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu! who
dost work highly, that I may smite the creation of Angra Mainyu,
and that nobody may smite this creation of the Good Spirit!'
4. Vayu, who works highly, granted him that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
5. We sacrifice to the holy Vayu: we sacrifice to Vayu, who works
highly.
To this part of thee do we sacrifice, O Vayu! that belongs to
Spenta Mainyu.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto the awful Vayu, who works highly.
We offer up a sacrifice unto the awful Vayu, who works highly,
with the libations, with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma,
with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells, the words,
the deeds, the libations, and the well-spoken words.
Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
6. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
7. To him did Haoshyangha, the Paradhata, offer up a sacrifice
on the Taera of the Hara, bound with iron, on a goIden throne,
under golden beams and a golden canopy, with bundles of baresma
and offerings of full-boiling [milk].
8. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me, O Vayu! who dost
work highly, that I may smite two-thirds of the Daevas of Mazana
and of the fiends of Varena.'
9. Vayu, who works highly, granted him that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[3]]
10. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
11. To him did Takhma Urupa, the well-armed, offer up a sacrifice
on a golden throne, under golden beams and a golden canopy, with
bundles of baresma and offerings of full-boiling [milk].
12. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu! who
dost work highly, that I may conquer all Daevas and men, all the
Yatus and Pairikas, and that I may ride Angra Mainyu, turned into
the shape of a horse, all around the earth from one end to the
other, for thirty years.'
13. Vayu, who works highly, granted him that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
'We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[4]]
14. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them.....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
15. Unto him did the bright Yima, the good shepherd, sacrifice
from the height Hukairya, the all-shining and golden, on a golden
throne, under golden beams and a golden canopy, with bundles of
baresma and offerings of full-boiling [milk].
16. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu! who
dost work highly, that I may become the most glorious of the men
born to behold the sun: that I may make in my reign both animals
and men undying, waters and plants undrying, and the food for
eating creatures never-failing.'
In the reign of the valiant Yima there was neither cold wind nor
hot wind, neither old age nor death, nor envy made by the Daevas.
17. Vayu, who works highly, granted him that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[5]]
18. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
19. Unto him did the three-mouthed Azhi Dahaka offer up a sacrifice
in his accursed palace of Kvirinta, on a golden throne, under
golden beams and a golden canopy, with bundles of baresma and
offerings of full-boiling [milk].
20. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu! who
dost work highly, that I may make all the seven Karshvares of
the earth empty of men.'
21. In vain did he sacrifice, in vain did he beg, in vain did
he invoke, in vain did he give gifts, in vain did he bring libations;
Vayu did not grant him that boon.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[6]]
22. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
23. Unto him did Thraetaona, the heir of the valiant Athwya clan,
offer up a sacrifice in the four-cornered Varena, on a golden
throne, under golden beams and a golden canopy, with bundles of
baresma and offerings of full-boiling [milk].
24. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu! who
dost work highly, that I may overcome Azhi Dahaka, the three-mouthed,
the three-headed, the six-eyed, who has a thousand senses, that
most powerful, fiendish Druj, that demon baleful to the world,
the strongest Druj that Angra Mainyu created against the material
world, to destroy the world of the good principle; and that I
may deliver his two wives, Savanghavach and Erena-vach, who are
the fairest of body amongst women, and the most wonderful creatures
in the world.'
25. Vayu, who works highly, granted him that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[7]]
26. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
27. To him did the manly-hearted Keresaspa offer up a sacrifice
by the Gudha, a channel of the Rangha, made by Mazda, upon a golden
throne, under golden beams and a golden canopy, with bundles of
baresma and offerings of full-boiling [milk].
28. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu! who
dost work highly, that I may succeed in avenging my brother Urvakhshaya,
that I may smite Hitaspa and yoke him to my chariot.'
The Gandarewa, who lives beneath the waters, is the son of Ahura
in the deep, he is the only master of the deep.
29. Vayu, who works highly, granted him that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[8]]
30. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
31. To him did Aurvasara, the lord of the country, offer up a
sacrifice, towards the White Forest, by the White Forest, on the
border of the White Forest, on a golden throne, under golden beams
and a golden canopy, with bundles of baresma and offerings of
full-boiling [milk].
32. He begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu! who
dost work highly, that the gallant Husravah, he who unites the
Aryan nations into one kingdom, may not smite us; that I may flee
from king Husravah;....
'That king Husravah and all the Aryans in the forest may smite
him.'
33. Vayu, who works highly, granted him that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
Worth being heard....
[[9]]
34. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
35. To him did Hutaosa, she of the many brothers, of the Naotara
house, offer up a sacrifice, on a golden throne, under golden
beams and a golden canopy, with bundles of baresma and offerings
of boiling milk.
36. She begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O Vayu!
who dost work highly, that I may be dear and loved and well-received
in the house of King Vishtaspa.'
37. Vayu, who works highly, granted her that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
38. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
39. To him did the maids, whom no man had known, offer up a sacrifice
on a golden throne, under golden beams and a golden canopy, with
bundles of baresma and offerings of boiling milk.
40. They begged of him a boon, saying: 'Grant us this, O Vayu!
who dost work highly, that we may find a husband, young and beautifuI
of body, who will treat us well, all life long, and give us offspring;
a wise, learned, ready-tongued husband.'
41. Vayu, who works highly, granted them that boon, as the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, did pursue it.
We sacrifice to the holy Vayu....
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard....
42. I will sacrifice to the Waters and to Him who divides them....
To this Vayu do we sacrifice, this Vayu do we invoke....
We sacrifice to that Vayu that belongs to the Good Spirit, the
bright and glorious Vayu.
43. My name is Vayu, O holy Zarathushtra! My name is Vayu, because
I go through (vyemi) the two worlds, the one which the Good Spirit
has made and the one which the Evil Spirit has made.
My name is the Overtaker (apaeta), O holy Zarathushtra! My name
is the Overtaker, because I can overtake the creatures of both
worlds, the one that the Good Spirit has made and the one that
the Evil Spirit has made.
44. My name is the All-smiting, O holy Zarathushtra! My name is
the All-smiting, because I can smite the creatures of both worlds,
the one that the Good Spirit has made and the one that the Evil
Spirit has made.
My name is the Worker of Good, O holy Zarathushtra! My name is
the Worker of Good, because I work the good of the Maker, Ahura
Mazda and of the Amesha-Spentas.
45. My name is He that goes forwards.
My name is He that goes backwards.
My name is He that bends backwards.
My name is He that hurls away.
My name is He that hurls down.
My name is He that destroys.
My name is He that takes away.
My name is He that finds out.
My name is He that finds out the Glory (Hvareno).
46. My name is the Valiant; my name is the Most Valiant.
My name is the Strong; my name is the Strongest.
My name is the Firm; my name is the Firmest.
My name is the Stout; my name is the Stoutest.
My name is He that crosses over easily.
My name is He that goes along hurling away.
My name is He that crushes at one stroke.
My name is (?Ainiva).
My name is He that works against the Daevas.
My name is (?Keredharisha).
47. My name is He that prevails over malice; my name is He that
destroys malice.
My name is He that unites; my name is He that reunites; my name
is He that separates.
My name is the Burning; my name is the Quick of intelligence,
My name is Deliverance; my name is Welfare.
My name is the Burrow; my name is He who destroys the burrows;
my name is He who spits upon the burrows.
48. My name is Sharpness of spear; my name is He of the sharp
spear.
My name is Length of spear; my name is He of the long spear.
My name is Piercingness of spear; my name is He of the piercing
spear.
My name is the Glorious; my name is the Over-glorious.
49. Invoke these names of mine, O holy Zarathushtra! in the midst
of the havocking hordes, in the midst of the columns moving forwards,
in the strife of the conflicting nations.
50. Invoke these names of mine, O holy Zarathushtra! when the
all-powerful tyrant of a country falls upon thee, rushes upon
thee, deals wounds hpon thee, or hurls his chariot against thee,
to rob thee of thy wealth, to rob thee of thy health.
51. Invoke these names of mine, O holy Zarathushtra! when the
unholy Ashemaogha falls upon thee, rushes upon thee, deals wounds
upon thee, or hurls his chariot against thee, to rob thee of thy
strength, to rob thee of thy health, to rob thee of thy health.
52. Invoke these names of mine, O holy Zarathushtra! when a man
stands in bonds, when a man is being thrown into bonds, or when
a man is being dragged in bonds: thus the prisoners flee from
the hands of those who carry them, they flee away out of the prison.
53. 0 thou Vayu! who strikest fear upon all men and horses, who
in all creatures workest against the Daevas, both into the lowest
places and into those a thousand times deep dost thou enter with
equal power.
54. 'With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship thee? With
what manner of sacrifice shall I forward and worship thee? With
what manner of sacrifice will be achieved thy adoration, O great
Vayu! thou who art high-up g.rded, firm, swift-moving, high-footed,
wide-breasted, wide-thighed, with untrembling eyes, as powerful
in sovereignty as any absolute sovereign in the world?'
55. 'Take thou a baresma, O holy Zarathushtra! turn it upwards
or downwards, according as it is full day or dawning; upwards
during the day, downwards at the dawn.
56. 'If thou makest me worshipped with a sacrifice, then I shall
say unto thee with my own voice things of health, made by Mazda
and full of glory, so that Angra Mainyu may never do harm unto
thee, nor the Yatus, nor those addicted to the works of the Yatu,
whether Daevas or men.'
57. We sacrifice unto thee, O great Vayu! we sacrifice unto thee,
O strong Vayu!
We sacrifice unto Vayu, the greatest of the great; we sacrifice
unto Vayu, the strongest of the strong.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden helm.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden crown.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden necklace.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden chariot.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden wheel.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden weapons.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden garment.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden shoe.
We sacrifice unto Vayu, of the golden girdle.
We sacrifice unto the holy Vayu; we sacrifice unto Vayu, who works
highly.
To this part of thee do we sacrifice, O Vayu! that belongs to
the Good Spirit.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto the awful Vayu, who works highly....
58. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and invocation unto, and the strength and
vigour of Rama Hvastra, and Vayu, who works highly, more powerful
to amict than all the other creatures: this part of thee that
belongs to the Good Spirit.
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.
16. Den Yasht
-------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
To the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy, and to the good
Law of the worshippers of Mazda.
Be propitiation from me, for sacrifice, prayer, propitiation,
and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness.....
[[1]]
1. We sacrifice to the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy:
we sacrifice to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda, the
supplier of good stores, who runs quickly to the goal and frees
one best from dangers, who brings libations, who is holy, clever,
and renowned, speedy to work and quick of work; who goes quickly
and cleanses well; the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda;
2. To whom Zarathushtra did sacrifice, saying: 'Rise up from
thy seat, come forward from the Abode, thou most right Chista,
made by Mazda and holy. If thou art before me, stay for me; if
thou art behind me, overtake me.
3. 'Let everything be as friendly to us as anything can be: may
we go smoothly along the roads, find good pathways in the mountains,
run easily through the forests, and cross happily the rivers!'
4. For her brightness and glory, I will offer unto her a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto the most right Chista, made by
Mazda and holy. I will offer up a sacrifice unto the most right
Chista, made by Mazda and holy, with the libations, with the Haoma
and meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with
the holy spells, with the words and deeds, with the libations,
with the well spoken words.
Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
5. We sacrifice to the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy:
we sacrifice to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda.... (repeat
verse 1).
6. To whom Zarathushtra did sacrifice for righteousness of thought,
for righteousness of speech, for righteousness of deed, and for
this boon,
7. That the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy, would
give him the swiftness of the feet, the quick hearing of the ears,
the strength of the arms, the health of the whole body, the sturdiness
of the whole body, and the eye-sight of the Kara fish, that lives
beneath the waters, and can measure a rippling of the waters not
thicker than a hair, in the Rangha, whose ends lie afar and whose
depth is a thousand times the height of a man.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer unto her a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[3]]
8. We sacrifice to the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy:
we sacrifice to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda....
9. To whom Zarathushtra did sacrifice for righteousness of thought,
for righteousness of speech, for righteousness of deed, and for
this boon,
10. That the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy, would
give him the swiftness of the feet, the quick hearing of the ears,
the strength of the arms, the health of the whole body, the sturdiness
of the whole body, and the eye-sight of the male horse, that,
in the dark of the night, through the rain, the snow, the hail,
or the sleet, from as far as nine districts, can perceive a horse's
hair, mingled with the earth, and knows whether it is from the
head or from the tail.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer unto her a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[4]]
11. We sacrifice to the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy:
we sacrifice to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda....
12. To whom Zarathushtra did sacrifice for righteousness of thought,
for righteousness of speech, for righteousness of deed, and for
this boon,
13. That the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy, would
give him the swiftness of the feet, the quick hearing of the ears,
the strength of the arms, the health of the whole body, the sturdiness
of the whole body, and the eye-sight of the vulture with a golden
collar, that, from as far as nine districts, can perceive a piece
of flesh, not thicker than a fist, giving just as much light as
a needle gives, as the point of a needle gives.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer unto her a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[5]]
14. We sacrifice to the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy:
we sacrifice to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda....
15. To whom the holy Hvovi did sacrifice with full knowledge,
wishing that the holy Zarathushtra would give her his good narcotic,
that she might think according to the law, speak according to
the law, and do according to the law.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer unto her a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[6]]
16. We sacrifice to the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy:
we sacrifice to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda....
17. To whom the Athravans, sent afar, did sacrifice, wishing a
good memory to preach the law, and wishing strength for their
own body.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer unto her a sacrifice
worth being heard....
[[7]]
18. We sacrifice to the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy:
we sacrifice to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda....
19. To whom the king of the country, the lord of the country does
sacrifice, wishing peace for his country, wishing strength for
his own body.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer unto her a sacrifice
worth being heard....
20. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy, and of the good
Law of the worshippers of Mazda.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, .... give him long,
long life, give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the
holy Ones.
17. Ard Yasht
-------------
[[1]]
1. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high, tall-formed,
well worthy of sacrifice, with a loud-sounding chariot, strong,
welfare-giving, healing, with fulness of intellect, and powerful;
2. The daughter of Ahura Mazda, the sister of the Amesha-Spentas,
who endows all the Saoshyants with the enlivening intelligence;
she also brings heavenly wisdom at her wish, and comes to help
him who invokes her from near and him who invokes her from afar,
and worships her with offerings of libations.
3. For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice
worth being heard; I will offer up unto Ashi Vanguhi a good sacrifice
with an offering of libations. We sacrifice unto Ashi Vanguhi
with the libations, with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma,
with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells, with the
words, with the deeds, with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken
words.
Yenhe-hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
4. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high, tall-formed,
well worthy of sacrifice, with a loud-sounding chariot, strong,
welfare-giving, healing, with fulness of intellect, and powerful.
5. Homage unto Haoma, and unto the Mathra, and unto the holy
Zarathushtra!
Homage unto Haoma, because all other drinks are attended with
Aeshma, the fiend of the wounding spear: but the drinking of Haoma
is attended with Asha and with Ashi Vanguhi herself.
6. Ashi is fair; Ashi is radiant with joy; she is far-piercing
with her rays. Ashi gives good Glory unto those men whom thou
dost follow, O Ashi! Full of perfumes is the house in which the
good, powerful Ashi Vanguhi puts her ....(obscure) feet, for long
friendship.
7. Those men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi! are kings of kingdoms,
that are rich in horses, with large tributes, with snorting horses,
sounding chariots, flashing swords, rich in aliments and in stores
of food; well-scented where the beds are spread and full of all
the other riches that may be wished for. Happy the man whom thou
dost attend! do thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable
things and strong!
8. Those men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi Vanguhi! have houses
that stand well laid up, rich in cattle, foremost in Asha, and
long-supported. Happy the man whom thou dost attend! Do thou attend
me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things and strong!
9. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi Vanguhi! have beds that
stand well-spread, well-adorned, well-made, provided with cushions
and with feet inlaid with gold. Happy the man whom thou dost attend!
Do thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things
and strong!
10. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi Vanguhi! have their
ladies that sit on their beds, waiting for them: they lie on the
cushions, adorning themselves, ....(obscure), with square bored
ear-rings and a necklace of gold: 'When will our lord come? when
shall we enjoy in our bodies the joys of love?' Happy the man
whom thou dost attend! Do thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts
of desirable things and strong!
11. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi Vanguhi! have daughters
that sit ....(obscure); thin is their waist, beautiful is their
body, long are their fingers; they are as fair of shape as those
who look on can wish. Happy the man whom thou dost attend! Do
thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things and
strong!
12. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi Vanguhi! have horses
swift and loud-neighing; they drive the chariot lightly, they
take it to the battle, they bear a gallant praiser (of the gods),
who has many horses, a solid chariot, a sharp spear, a long spear,
and swift arrows, who hits his aim, pursuing after his enemies,
and smiting his foes. Happy the man whom thou dost attend! Do
thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things and
strong!
13. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi Vanguhi! have large-humped,
burden-bearing camels, flying from the ground or fighting with
holy fieriness. Happy the man whom thou dost attend! Do thou attend
me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things and strong!
14. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi Vanguhi! have hoards
of silver and gold brought together from far distant regions;
and garments of splendid make. Happy the man whom thou dost attend!
Do thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things
and strong!
15. Do not turn thy look from me! turn thy mercy towards me, O
great Ashi! thou art well-made and of a noble seed; thou art sovereign
at thy wish; thou art Glory in a bodily form.
16. Thy father is Ahura Mazda, the greatest of all gods, the best
of all gods; thy mother is Armaiti Spenta; thy brothers are Sraosha,
a god of Asha, and Rashnu, tall and strong, and Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures, who has ten thousand spies and a thousand ears;
thy sister is the Law of the worshippers of Mazda.
17. Praised of the gods, unoffended by the righteous, the great
Ashi Vanguhi stood up on her chariot, thus speaking: 'Who art
thou who dost invoke me, whose voice is to my ear the sweetest
of all that invoked me most?'
18. And he said aloud: 'I am Spitama Zarathushtra, who, first
of mortals, recited the praise of the excellent Asha and offered
up sacrifice unto Ahura Mazda and the Amesha-Spentas; in whose
birth and growth the waters and the plants rejoiced; in whose
birth and growth the waters and the plants grew; in whose birth
and growth all the creatures of the good creation cried out, Hail!
19. 'In whose birth and growth Angra Mainyu rushed away from this
wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar, and he, the evil-doing
Angra Mainyu, who is all death, said: "All the gods together
have not been able to smite me down in spite of myself, and Zarathushtra
alone can reach me in spite of myself.
20. '"He smites me with the Ahuna Vairya, as strong a weapon
as a stone big as a house; he burns me with Asha-Vahishta, as
if it were melting brass. He makes it better for me that I should
leave this earth, he, Spitama Zarathushtra, the only one who can
daunt me."'
21. And the great Ashi Vanguhi exclaimed: 'Come nearer unto me,
thou pure, holy Spitama! lean against my chariot!'
Spitama Zarathushtra came nearer unto her, he leant against her
chariot.
22. And she caressed him with the left arm and the right, with
the right arm and the left, thus speaking: 'Thou art beautiful,
O Zarathushtra! thou art well-shapen, O Spitama! strong are thy
legs and long are thy arms: Glory is given to thy body and long
cheerfulness to thy soul, as sure as I proclaim it unto thee.'
[[3]]
23. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high, tall-formed,
well worthy of sacrifice, with a loud-sounding chariot, strong,
welfare-giving, healing, with fulness of intellect and powerful.
24. To her did Haoshyangha, the Paradhata, offer up a sacrifice,
upon the enclosure of the Hara, the beautiful height, made by
Mazda.
25. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O great Ashi
Vanguhi! that I may overcome all the Daevas of Mazana; that I
may never fear and bow through terror before the Daevas, but that
all the Daevas may fear and bow in spite of themselves before
me, that they may fear and flee down to darkness.'
26. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side: Haoshyangha,
the Paradhata, obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
[[4]]
27. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and
powerful.
28. To her did Yima Khshaeta, the good shepherd, offer up a sacrifice
from the height Hukairya.
29. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O great Ashi
Vanguhi! that I may bring fatness and flocks down to the world
created by Mazda; that I may bring immortality down to the world
created by Mazda;
30. 'That I may take away both hunger and thirst, from the world
created by Mazda; that I may take away both old age and death,
from the world created by Mazda; that I may take away both hot
wind and cold wind, from the world created by Mazda, for a thousand
years.'
31. Then great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side: Yima Khshaeta,
the good shepherd, obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
[[5]]
32. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and
powerful.
33. To her did Thraetaona, the heir of the valiant Athwya clan,
offer up a sacrifice in the four-cornered Varena.
34. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O great Ashi
Vanguhi! that I may overcome Azhi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, the
three-headed, the six-eyed, who has a thousand senses, that most
powerful, fiendish Druj, that demon, baleful to the world, the
strongest Druj that Angra Mainyu created against the material
world, to destroy the world of the good principle; and that I
may deliver his two wives, Savanghavak and Erenavak, who are the
fairest of body amongst women, and the most wonderful creatures
in the world.'
35. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side. Thraetaona,
the heir of the valiant Athwya clan, obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
[[6]]
36. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and
powerful.
37. To her did Haoma offer up a sacrifice, Haoma, the enlivening,
the healing, the beautiful, the lordly, with golden eyes, upon
the highest height of the Haraiti Bareza.
38. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O great Ashi
Vanguhi! that I may bind the Turanian murderer, Franghrasyan,
that I may drag him bound, that I may bring him bound unto king
Husravah, that king Husravah may kill him, behind the Chaechasta
lake, the deep lake of salt waters, to avenge the murder of his
father Syavarshana, a man, and of Aghraeratha, a semi-man.'
39. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side. Haoma, the
enlivening, the healing, the beautiful, the lordly, with golden
eyes, obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
[[7]]
40. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and
powerful.
41. To her did the gallant Husravah, he who united the Aryan nations
into one kingdom, offer up a sacrifice, behind the Chaechasta
lake, the deep lake of salt waters.
42. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O great Ashi
Vanguhi! that I may kill the Turanian murderer, Franghrasyan,
behind the Chaechasta lake, the deep lake of salt waters, to avenge
the murder of my father Syavarshana, a man, and of Aghraeratha,
a semi-man.'
43. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side. The gallant
Husravah, he who united the Aryan nations into one kingdom, obtained
that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[8]]
44. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and
powerful.
45. To her did the holy Zarathushtra offer up a sacrifice in the
Airyana Vaejah, by the good river Daitya, with the Haoma and meat,
with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy
spells, with the speech, with the deeds, with the libations, and
with the rightly-spoken words.
46. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O great Ashi
Vanguhi! that I may bring the good and noble Hutaosa to think
according to the law, to speak according to the law, to do according
to the law, that she may spread my law and make it known, that
she may bestow beautiful praises upon my deeds.'
47. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side: the holy
Zarathushtra obtained that boon.
For her brightness, and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[9]]
48. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and
powerful.
49. To her did the tall Kavi Vishtaspa offer up a sacrifice behind
the waters of the river Daitya.
50. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me this, O great Ashi
Vanguhi! that I may put to flight Asta-aurvant, the son of Vispo-thaurvo-asti,
the all-afflicting, of the brazen helmet, of the brazen armour,
of the thick neck, behind whom seven hundred camels ....; that
I may put to flight the Hvyaona murderer, Arejat-aspa; that I
may put to flight Darshinika, the worshipper of the Daevas;
51. 'And that I may smite Tathravant of the bad law; that I may
smite Spinjaurushka, the worshipper of the Daevas; and that I
may bring unto the good law the nations of the Varedhakas and
of the Hvyaonas; and that I may smite of the Hvyaona nations their
fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands,
their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands
and their myriads of myriads.'
52. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side: the tall
Kavi Vishtaspa obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard ....
[[10]]
53. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and
powerful.
54. And the great Ashi Vanguhi said: 'None of those libations
will be accepted by me, which are sent to me either by a man whose
seed is dried out, or by the courtezan who produces untimely issues,
or by young boys, or by girls who have known no man.
'When the Turanians and the swift-horsed Naotaras, clapping their
hands, ran after me,
55. 'I hid myself under the foot of a bull walking under his burden;
then young boys, and girls who had known no man, discovered me,
even while the Turanians and the swift-horsed Naotaras, clapping
their hands, were running after me.
56. 'Even I hid myself under the throat of a ram of hundredfold
energy: then again young boys, and girls who had known no man,
discovered me, even while the Turanians and the swift-horsed Naotaras,
clapping their hands, were running after me.'
57. The first wailing of the great Ashi Vanguhi is her wailing
about the courtezan who destroys her fruit: 'Stand thou not near
her, sit thou not on her bed!' - 'What shall I do? Shall I go
back to the heavens? Shall I sink into the earth?'
58. The second wailing of the great Ashi Vanguhi is her wailing
about the courtezan who brings forth a child conceived of a stranger
and presents it to her husband: 'What shall I do? Shall I go back
to the heavens? Shall I sink into the earth?'
59. This is the third wailing of the great Ashi Vanguhi: 'This
is the worst deed that men and tyrants do, namely, when they deprive
maids, that have been barren for a long time, of marrying and
bringing forth children. What shall I do? Shall I go back to the
heavens? Shall I sink into the earth?'
60. Ahura Mazda answered: 'O fair and wise Ashi, go not back to
the heavens, sink not into the earth! Stay here and walk inside
the fine kingly palace.'
61. I shall worship thee with such a sacrifice, I shall worship
and forward thee with such a sacrifice as Vishtaspa offered unto
thee, behind the river Daitya. The Zaotar lifted up a loud voice,
with baresma before him. With that sort of sacrifice shall I worship
thee? With that sort of sacrifice shall I worship and forward
thee, O fair and wise Ashi?
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth
being heard....
62. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of Ashi Vanguhi; of the good Chisti; of the good Erethe; of the
good Rasastat; of the Glory and Weal, made by Mazda.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of
body, .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the
holy Ones.
18. Ashtad Yasht
----------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra.
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness ....
Unto the Glory of the Aryans, made by Mazda,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'I made
the Aryan Glory, rich in food, rich in flocks, rich in wealth,
rich in Glory; provided with full store of intelligence, with
full store of money, to withstand Need, and to withstand enemies.
2. 'It destroys Angra Mainyu, who is all death; it destroys Aeshma,
the fiend of the wounding spear; it destroys the yellow Bushyasta;
it destroys the contagion of Aekha; it destroys the fiend of death,
Apaosha; it destroys the non-Aryan nations.
3. 'And I made the great Ashi Vanguhi; she comes in, amid the
family; she comes in, inside the fine royal palace.
4. 'Let Ashi, with fulness of welfare, follow the man who gladdens
the faithful with his gifts! she comes in, inside his family;
she comes in, inside his fine royal palace.
'With all sorts of flocks, with all victory, with all intelligence,
with all Glory, the great Ashi Vanguhi puts one foot inside his
family; she comes in, inside his fine royal palace.
5. 'Horses multiply a thousandfold, flocks multiply a thousandfold;
and so does his virtuous offspring, (as) the bright, glorious
star Tishtrya moves on equally, and so does the strong wind made
by Mazda, and so does the Glory of the Aryas.
6. 'And they bring increase on the tops of all mountains, down
the depths of all vales; they bring increase to all the growing
plants, the fair, the golden-hued. And they bring (away) the contagion
of Aekha, they bring (away) the fiend of death, Apaosha.
7. 'Hail to the bright and glorious star Tishtrya Hail to the
strong wind, made by Mazda! Hail to the Glory of the Aryas!
'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
8. 'We worship the Ahuna Vairya.
'We worship Asha-Vahishta, the fairest Amesha-Spenta.
'We worship the rightly-spoken Words, fiend-smiting and healing.
'We worship the healing, well-spoken Words, the fiend-smiting.
'We worship the Mathra Spenta and the Law of Mazda, and (piety)
that delights in Haoma.
'We worship the Glory of the Aryas.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
9. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of the Glory of the Aryas, made by Mazda.
'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.'
19. Zam Yasht
-------------
(This Yasht, inscribed to the Genius of the Earth, is devoted to
a description of the mountains and the kingly Glory (kavaem Hvareno),
which are invoked, together with the Earth, in the corresponding
formula of he Sirozah (par. 28) there is no Yasht devoted to the
Earth itself.)
The mountains are simply enumerated (pars. 1-8). The rest of the
Yasht is devoted to the praise of the Hvareno, or, more precisely,
to that of those who possessed it, whose powers or feats are described.
The list begins with Ahura Mazda (par. 10), and closes with Saoshyant
(par. 89); that is to say, it begins with the beginning of the
world, and closes with its end. It includes the Amesha-Spentas
(par. 15), Haoshyangha (par. 26), Takhma Urupa (par. 28), Yima
(par. 31), Mithra (par. 35), Thraetaona (par. 36), Keresaspa (par.
38), the kings of the Kaianyan dynasty (pars. 66-72), Kavi Husravah
(par. 74), Zarathushtra (par. 79), Vishtaspa (par. 84). The unsuccessful
efforts of Franghrasyan to take possession of it are described
at length (pars. 56-64).
This Yasht would serve as a short history of the Iranian monarchy,
an abridged Shah Namah.)
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Mount Ushi-darena, made by Mazda, the seat of holy happiness;
unto the kingly Glory, made by Mazda; unto that Glory that cannot
be forcibly seized, made by Mazda,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1. The first mountain that rose up out of the earth, O Spitama
Zarathushtra! was the Haraiti Barez. That mountain stretches all
along the shores of the land washed by waters towards the east.
The second mountain was Mount Zeredho, outside Mount Manusha:
this mountain too stretches all along the shores of the land washed
by waters towards the east.
2. From there grew up Mount Ushi-dhau, Ushi-darena, Mount Erezifya,
and Mount Fraorepa. The sixth was Mount Erezura. The seventh was
Mount Bumya. The eighth was Mount Raoidhita. The ninth was Mount
Mazishishvau. The tenth was Mount Antare-danghu. The eleventh
was Mount Erezisha. The twelfth was Mount Vaiti-gaesa.
3. And Mount Adarana, Mount Bayana, Mount Ishkata Upairi-saena,
with the .... snows; the two Hamankuna mountains, the eight Vasna
mountains, the eight powerful Fravanku, the four Vidhvana summits;
4. Mount Aezakha, Mount Maenakha, Mount Vakhedrakae, Mount Asaya,
Mount Tudhaskae, Mount Isavae, Mount Draoshishvau, Mount Sairivau,
Mount Nanghushmau, Mount Kakahyu, Mount Antare-Kangha;
5. Mount Sichidava, Mount Ahuna, Mount Raemana, Mount Asha-stembana,
Mount Urunyo-vaidhkae, Mount Asnavant, Mount Ushaoma, Mount Ushta-hvarenah,
Mount Syamaka, Mount Vafrayau, Mount Vourusha;
6. Amongst which stand Mount Jatara, Mount Adhutavau, Mount Spitavarena,
Mount Spento-data, Mount Kadrva-aspa, Mount Kaoirisa, Mount Taera,
Mount Bara-srayana, Mount Barana, Mount Frapayau, Mount Udrya,
and Mount Raevant, and all those heights to which men have given
the name of mount,
7. To the number of two thousand mountains, and two hundred and
forty and four, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
8. For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto the awful kingly Glory. Unto the
awful kingly Glory we offer up the libations, the Haoma and meat,
the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy spells, the speech,
the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.
Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
[[2]]
9. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda; most
conquering, highly working, that possesses health. wisdom, and
happiness, and is more powerful to destroy than all other creatures;
10. That belongs to Ahura Mazda, as (through it) Ahura Mazda made
the creatures, many and good, many and fair, many and wonderful,
many and prosperous, many and bright;
11. So that they may restore the world, which will (thenceforth)
never grow old and never die, never decaying and never rotting,
ever living and ever increasing, and master of its wish, when
the dead will rise, when life and immortality will come, and the
world will be restored at its wish;
12. When the creation will grow deathless, - the prosperous creation
of the Good Spirit, - and the Druj shall perish, though she may
rush on every side to kill the holy beings; she and her hundredfold
brood shall perish, as it is the will of the Lord.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[3]]
14. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
15. That belongs to the Amesha-Spentas, the bright ones, whose
looks perform their wish, tall, quickly coming to do, strong,
lordly, who are undecaying and holy;
16. Who are all seven of one thought, who are all seven of one
speech, who are all seven of one deed; whose thought is the same,
whose speech is the same, whose deed is the same, whose father
and commander is the same, namely, the Maker, Ahura Mazda.
17. Who see one another's soul thinking of good thoughts, thinking
of good words, thinking of good deeds, thinking of Garo-nmana,
and whose ways are shining as they go down to the libations;
18. Who are the makers and governors, the shapers and overseers,
the keepers and preservers of these creations of Ahura Mazda.
19. It is they who shall restore the world, which will (thenceforth)
never grow old and never die, never decaying and never rotting,
ever living and ever increasing, and master of its wish, when
the dead will rise, when life and immortality will come, and the
world will be restored at its wish;
20. When the creation will grow deathless, - the prosperous creation
of the Good Spirit, - and the Druj shall perish, though she may
rush on every side to kill the holy beings; she and her hundredfold
brood shall perish, as it is the will of the Lord.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[4]]
21. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
22. That belongs to the gods in the heavens and to those in the
material world, and to the blessed ones, born or not yet born,
who are to perform the restoration of the world.
23. It is they who shall restore the world, which will (thenceforth)
never grow old and never die, never decaying and never rotting,
ever living and ever increasing, and master of its wish, when
the dead will rise, when life and immortality will come, and the
world will be restored at its wish;
24. When the creation will grow deathless, - the prosperous creation
of the Good Spirit, - and the Druj shall perish, though she may
rush on every side to kill the holy beings; she and her hundredfold
brood shall perish, as it is the will of the Lord.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[5]]
25. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
26. That clave unto Haoshyangha, the Paradhata, for a long time,
when he ruled over the seven Karshvares of the earth, over the
Daevas and men, over the Yatus and the Pairikas, over the oppressors,
the blind, and the deaf; he who smote two-thirds of the Daevas
of Mazana and of the Varenya fiends.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[6]]
27. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
28. That clave unto Takhma Urupa, the well-armed, while he ruled
over the seven Karshvares of the earth, over the paevas and men,
the Yatus and Pairikas, the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf;
29. When he conquered all Daevas and men, all the Yatus and Pairikas,
and rode Angra Mainyu, turned into the shape of a horse, all around
the earth from one end to the other, for thirty years.
For its brightness and glory, I win offer it a sacrifice ....
[[7]]
30. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
31. That clave unto the bright Yima, the good shepherd, for a
long time, while he ruled over the seven Karshvares of the earth,
over the Daevas and men, the Yatus and Pairikas, the oppressors,
the blind, and the deaf;
32. He who took from the Daevas both riches and welfare, both
fatness and flocks, both weal and Glory;
In whose reign both aliments were never failing for feeding creatures,
flocks and men were undying, waters and plants were undrying;
33. In whose reign there was neither cold wind nor hot wind, neither
old age nor death, nor envy made by the Daevas, in the times before
his lie, before he began to have delight in words of falsehood
and untruth.
34. But when he began to find delight in words of falsehood and
untruth, the Glory was seen to flee away from him in the shape
of a bird. When his Glory had disappeared, then the great Yima
Khshaeta, the good shepherd, trembled and was in sorrow before
his foes; he was confounded, and laid him down on the ground.
35. The first time when the Glory departed from the bright Yima,
the Glory went from Yima, the son of Vivanghant, in the shape
of a Varaghna bird.
Then Mithra seized that Glory, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
whose ear is quick to hear, who has a thousand senses. We sacrifice
unto Mithra, the lord of all countries, whom Ahura Mazda has created
the most glorious of all the gods in the heavens.
36. The second time when the Glory departed from the bright Yima,
the Glory went from Yima, the son of Vivanghant, in the shape
of a Varaghna bird.
Then Thraetaona seized that Glory, he, the heir of the valiant
Athwya clan, who was the most victorious of all victorious men
next to Zarathushtra;
37. Who smote Azhi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, the three-headed,
the six-eyed, who had a thousand senses, that most powerful, fiendish
Druj, that demon baleful to the world, the strongest Druj that
Angra Mainyu created against the material world, to destroy the
world of the good principle.
38. The third time when the Glory departed from the bright Yima,
that Glory went from Yima, the son of Vivanghant, in the shape
of a Varaghna bird.
Then the manly-hearted Keresaspa seized that Glory; he who was
the sturdiest of the men of strength, next to Zarathushtra, for
his manly courage.
39. For Manly Courage clave unto him. We worship Manly Courage,
firm of foot, unsleeping, quick to rise, and fully awake, that
clave unto Keresaspa;
40. Who killed the snake Srvara, the horse-devouring, men-devouring,
yellow, poisonous snake, over which yellow poison flowed a thumb's
breadth thick. Upon him Keresaspa was cooking his food in a brass
vessel: at the time of noon, the fiend felt the heat, and stood
upon his feet: he rushed from under the brass vessel and upset
the boiling water: the manly-hearted Keresaspa fell back affrighted;
41. Who killed the golden-heeled Gandarewa, that was rushing with
open jaws, eager to destroy the living world of the good principle;
Who killed the brood of Pathana, all the nine; and the brood of
Nivika, and the brood of Dashtayana;
Who killed the golden-crowned Hitaspa, and Vareshava, the son
of Dana and Pitaona, attended by many Pairikas;
42. Who killed Arezo-shamana, him of the manly courage, who was
strong, well-beloved, hail, energetically rushing, fully awake,
never falling back....;
43. Who killed Snavidhaka, him who killed with his nails, the
stone-handed: thus did he exclaim to all around: 'I am an infant
still, I am not yet of age: if I ever grow of age, I shall make
the earth a wheel, I shall make the heavens a chariot;
44. 'I shall bring down the Good Spirit from the shining Garo-nmana;
I shall make the Evil Spirit rush up from the dreary Hell. They
will carry my chariot, both the Good Spirit and the Evil One,
unless the manly-hearted Keresaspa kill me.'
The manly-hearted Keresaspa killed him, his life went away, his
spirit vanished.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[8]]
45. We sacrifice unto the awful Glory, that cannot be forcibly
seized, made by Mazda ....
46. For which the Good Spirit and the Evil One did struggle with
one another: for that Glory that cannot be forcibly seized they
flung each of them their darts most swift.
The Good Spirit flung a dart, and so did Vohu-Mano, and Asha-Vahishta
and Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda.
The Evil Spirit flung a dart, and so did Akem-Mano, and Aeshma
of the wounding spear and Azhi Dahaka and Spityura, he who sawed
Yima in twain.
47. Then forward came Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, thinking thus
in his heart: 'I want to seize that Glory that cannot be forcibly
seized.'
But Azhi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, he of the evil law, rushed
on his back, thinking of extinguishing it:
48. 'Here give it up to me; O Atar, son of Ahura Mazda: if thou
seizest that Glory that cannot be forcibly seized, I shall rush
upon thee, so that thou mayest never more blaze on the earth made
by Ahura and protect the world of the good principle.'
And Atar took back his hands, as the instinct of life prevailed,
so much had Azhi affrighted him.
49. Then Azhi, the three-mouthed, he of the evil law, rushed forward,
thinking thus in his heart: 'I want to seize that Glory that cannot
be forcibly seized.'
But Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, advanced behind him, speaking
in these words:
50. 'There give it up to me, thou three-mouthed Azhi Dahaka. If
thou seizest that Glory that cannot be forcibly seized, then I
will enter thy hinder part, I will blaze up in thy jaws, so that
thou mayest never more rush upon the earth made by Mazda and destroy
the world of the good principle.'
Then Azhi took back his hands, as the instinct of life prevailed,
so much had Atar affrighted him.
51. That Glory swells up and goes to the sea Vouru-Kasha. The
swift-horsed Son of the Waters seizes it at once: this is the
wish of the Son of the Waters, the swift-horsed: 'I want to seize
that Glory that cannot be forcibly seized, down to the bottom
of the sea Vouru-Kasha, in the bottom of the deep rivers.'
52. We sacrifice unto the Son of the Waters, the swift-horsed,
the tall and shining lord, the lord of females; the male god,
who helps one at his appeal; who made man, who shaped man, a god
who lives beneath waters, and whose ear is the quickest to hear
when he is worshipped.
53. 'And whosoever of you, O men,' - thus said Ahura Mazda, -
'O holy Zarathushtra! shall seize that Glory that cannot be forcibly
seized, he has the gifts of an Athravan; whosoever shall long
for the illumination of knowledge, he has the gifts of an Athravan;
whosoever shall long for fulness of knowledge, he has the gifts
of an Athravan;
54. 'And Riches will cleave unto him, giving him full welfare,
holding a shield before him, powerful, rich of cattle and garments;
and Victory will cleave unto him, day after day; and likewise
Strength, that smites more than a year. Attended by that Victory,
he will conquer the havocking hordes; attended by that Victory,
he will conquer all those who hate him.' For its brightness and
glory, I will offer it a sacrifice....
[[9]]
55. We sacrifice unto the awful Glory, that cannot be forcibly
seized, made by Mazda ....
56. Which the Turanian ruffian Frangrasyan tried to seize in the
sea Vouru-Kasha. He stripped himself naked, wishing to seize that
Glory that belongs to the Aryan nations, born and unborn, and
to the holy Zarathushtra. But the Glory escaped, the Glory fled
away, the Glory changed its seat, and an arm of the sea Vouru-Kasha
was produced, namely, that lake that is called Lake Husravah.
57. Then the most crafty Turanian Frangrasyan rushed out of the
sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra! thinking evil thoughts:
'.... I have not been able to conquer the Glory that belongs to
the Aryan nations, born and unborn, and to the holy Zarathushtra.
58. 'Then I will defile all corn and liquors, as to greatness,
goodness, and fairness.'
- 'Ahura Mazda will come against thee, ever eager to create new
creatures.'
Then the most crafty Turania Frangrasyan rushed down into the
sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
59. A second time he stripped himself naked, wishing to seize
that Glory that belongs to the Aryan nations, born and unborn,
and to the holy Zarathushtra. But the Glory escaped, the Glory
fled away, the Glory changed its seat, and an arm of the sea Vouru-Kasha
was produced, namely, that lake that is called Lake Vanghazdau.
60. Then the most crafty Turanian Frangrasyan rushed out of the
sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra! thinking evil thoughts:
'.... I have not been able to conquer the Glory that belongs to
the Aryan nations, born and unborn, and to the holy Zarathushtra.
61. 'Then I will defile all corn and liquors, as to greatness,
goodness, and fairness.'
- 'Ahura Mazda will come against thee, ever eager to create new
creatures.'
Then the most crafty Turanian Frangrasyan rushed down into the
sea Vouru-Kasha.
62. A third time he stripped himself naked, wishing to seize the
Glory that belongs to the Aryan nations, born and unborn, and
to the holy Zarathushtra. But the Glory escaped, the Glory fled
away, the Glory changed its seat, and an arm was produced in the
sea Vouru-Kasha, namely, the water that is called Awzh-danva.
63. Then the most crafty Turanian Frangrasyan rushed out of the
sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra! thinking evil thought:
'.... I have not been able to conquer the Glory that belongs to
the Aryan nations, born and unborn, and to the holy Zarathushtra!'
64. He was not able to seize the Glory that belongs to the Aryan
nations, born and unborn, and to the holy Zarathushtra.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[10]]
65. We sacrifice unto the awful Glory that cannot be forcibly
seized, made by Mazda ....
66. That cleaves unto him who grows up there, where lies Lake
Kasava, along with the Haetumant river; there where stands Mount
Ushidhau, surrounded by waters, that run from the mountain.
67. It runs unto him, it flows and swells unto him, bringing good
pastures and fine horses, bringing plenty, full of glory; with
beauty and weal; powerful and friendly, rich of pastures, prolific
and golden. It runs unto him, it flows and swells unto him, bright
and glorious, making the white .... grow, smiting away all plagues.
68. And there comes with him a horse's strength, there comes with
him a camel's strength, there comes with him a man's strength,
there comes with him the kingly Glory: and there is in him, O
holy Zarathushtra! so much of kingly Glory as might extinguish
at once all the non-Aryan nations.
69. And then (through it) living creatures may keep away hunger
and death, living creatures (may keep away) cold and heat. Such
is the kingly Glory, the keeper of the Aryan nations and of the
five kinds of animals, made to help the faithful and the Law of
the worshippers of Mazda.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[11]]
70. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
71. That clave unto Kavi Kavata, and unto Kavi Aipivohu, and unto
Kavi Usadha, and unto Kavi Arshan, and unto Kavi Pisina, and unto
Kavi Byarshan, and unto Kavi Syavarshan;
72. So that they were all of them brave, all of them strong, all
of them healthful, all of them wise, all of them happy in their
wishes, all of them powerful kings.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[12]]
73. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
74. That clave unto Kavi Husravah for the well-shapen Strength,
for the Victory made by Ahura, for the crushing Ascendant; for
the righteousness of the law, for the innocence of the law, for
the unconquerable power of the law; for the extermination of the
enemies at one stroke;
75. And for the vigour of health, for the Glory made by Mazda,
for the health of the body, and for a good, virtuous offspring,
wise, chief in assemblies, bright, and clear-eyed, that frees
[their father] from the pangs [of hell], of good intellect; and
for that part in the blessed world that falls to wisdom and to
those who do not follow impiety;
76. And for a dominion full of splendour, for a long, long life,
and for all boons and remedies; 77. So that king Husravah [had
the lead] all along the long race, and he could not pass through
the forest, he, the murderer, who was fiercely striving against
him on horseback; the lord Kavi Husravah prevailed over all; he
put in bonds Frangrasyan and Keresavazda, to avenge the murder
of his father Syavarshana, a man, and of Aghraeratha, a semi-man.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[13]]
78. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
79. That clave unto the holy Zarathushtra, so that he thought
according to the Law, spake according to the Law, and did according
to the Law; so that he was the holiest in holiness in all the
living world, the best-ruling in exercising rule, the brightest
in brightness, the most glorious in glory, the most victorious
in victory.
80. At his sight the Daevas rushed away; at his sight the (demoniac)
malices were extinguished; at his sight the Jainis drew hack their
ways from the mortals and, lamenting and wailing, laid violent
hands on the Daevas.
81. And that one prayer, the Ahuna Vairya, which the holy Zarathushtra
sang and repeated four times, with a song that waxed louder and
louder, drove back all the Daevas beneath the earth, and took
off from them sacrifice and prayer.
82. It was it, the Glory of Zarathushtra, that the Turanian ruffian
Frangrasyan tried to seize to rule over all the Karshvares; round
about the seven Karshvares did that ruffian Frangrasyan rush,
trying to seize the Glory of Zarathushtra. But that Glory escaped
to hidden inlets of the sea; and there those two made my will
roll on; they entered my will, as it was my wish, Ahura Mazda's,
and as it was the wish of the Law of Mazda.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[14]]
83. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
84. That clave unto king Vistaspa, so that he thought according
to the Law, spake according to the Law, and did according to the
Law; so that he professed that Law, destroying his foes and causing
the Daevas to retire.
85. Who, driving the Druj before him, sought wide room for the
holy religion; who, driving the Druj before him, made wide room
for the holy religion; who made himself the arm and support of
this law of Ahura, of this law of Zarathushtra;
86. Who took her, standing bound, from the hands of the Hunus,
and established her to sit in the middle [of the world], high
ruling, never falling back, holy, nourished with plenty of cattle
and pastures, blessed with plenty of cattle and pastures.
87. The valiant king Vishtaspa conquered all enemies, Tathravant
of the evil law, Peshana, the worshipper of the Daevas, and the
fiendish wicked Arejat-aspa and the other wicked Hvyaonas.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[15]]
88. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
89. That will cleave unto the victorious Saoshyant and his helpers,
when he shall restore the world, which will (thenceforth) never
grow old and never die, never decaying and never rotting, ever
living and ever increasing, and master of its wish, when the dead
will rise, when life and immortality will come, and the world
will be restored at its wish;
90. When the creation will grow deathless, - the prosperous creation
of the Good Spirit, - and the Druj shall perish, though she may
rush on every side to kill the holy beings; she and her hundredfold
brood shall perish, as it is the will of the Lord.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
[[16]]
91. We sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ....
92. When Astvat-ereta shall rise up from Lake Kasava, a friend
of Ahura Mazda, a son of Vispa-taurvairi, knowing the victorious
knowledge.
It was that Glory that Thraetaona bore with him when Azhi Dahaka
was killed;
93. That Frangrasyan, the Turanian, bore when Drvau was killed,
when the Bull was killed;
That king Husravah bore when Frangrasyan, the Turanian, was killed;
That king Vishtaspa bore, when he victoriously maintained Holiness
against the host of the fiends and took off the Druj from the
world of the good principle.
94. He, with the eye of intelligence, shall look down upon all
the creatures of the Paeshish, her of the evil seed: he shall
look upon the whole living world with the eye of plenty, and his
look shall deliver to immortality the whole of the living creatures.
95. And there shall his friends come forward, the friends of Astvat-ereta,
who are fiend-smiting, well-thinking, well-speaking, well-doing,
following the good law, and whose tongues have never uttered a
word of falsehood.
Before them shall Aeshma of the wounding spear, who has no Glory,
bow and flee; he shall smite the most wicked Druj, her of the
evil seed, born of darkness.
96. Akem-Mano smites, but Vohu-Mano shall smite him; the Word
of falsehood smites, but the Word of truth shall smite it. Haurvatat
and Ameretat shall smite both hunger and thirst: Haurvatat and
Ameretat shall smite the evil hunger and the evil thirst. The
evil-doing Angra Mainyu bows and flees, becoming powerless.
For its brightness and glory, I will offer it a sacrifice ....
97. Yatha ahu vairya: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness
....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of Mount Ushi-darena, made by Mazda, the seat of holy happiness;
of the kingly Glory, made by Mazda; of the Glory that cannot be
forcibly seized, made by Mazda.
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.
20. Hom Yasht
-------------
(See Yasna, chapters 9-11.)
21. Vanand Yasht
----------------
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto the star Vanant, made by Mazda,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
1. We sacrifice unto the star Vanant, made by Mazda, the holy
and master of holiness.
I will sacrifice unto Vanant, strong, invoked by his own name,
healing, in order to withstand the accursed and most foul Khrafstras
of the most abominable Angra Mainyu.
2. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour
of the star Vanant, made by Mazda.
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.
Sirozas (Dedications for the thirty days of the month)
------------------------------------------------------
Siroza 1
--------
1. Ohrmazd.
To Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and to the Amesha-Spentas.
2. Vohuman.
To Vohu-Mano; to Peace, whose breath is friendly, and who is more
powerful to destroy than all other creatures; to the heavenly
Wisdom, made by Mazda; and to the Wisdom acquired through the
ear, made by Mazda.
3. Ardwahisht.
To Asha-Vahishta, the fairest; to the much-desired Airyaman, made
by Mazda; to the instrument made by Mazda; and to the good Saoka,
with eyes of love, made by Mazda and holy.
4. Shahrewar.
To Khshathra-vairya; to the metals; to Mercy and Charity.
5. Spandarmad.
To the good Spenta-Armaiti, and to the good Rata, with eyes of
love, made by Mazda and holy.
6. Hordad.
To Haurvatat, the master; to the prosperity of the seasons and
to the years, the masters of holiness.
7. Amurdad.
To Ameretat, the master; to fatness and flocks; to the plenty
of corn; and to the powerful Gaokerena, made by Mazda.
(At the gah Hawan):
to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures and to Rama Hvastra.
(At the gah Rapithwin):
to Asha-Vahishta and to Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda.
(At the gah Uzerin):
to Apam Napat, the tall lord, and to the water made by Mazda.
(At the gah Aiwisruthrem):
to the Fravashis of the faithful, and to the females that
bring forth flocks of males; to the prosperity of the seasons;
to the well-shapen and tall-formed Strength, to Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, and to the crushing Ascendant.
(At the gah Ushahin):
to the holy, devout, fiend-smiting Sraosha, who makes the
world grow; to Rashnu Razishta, and to Arshtat, who makes the
world grow, who makes the world increase.
8. Dai-pa-Adar.
To the Maker Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and to the Amesha-Spentas.
9. Adar.
To Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; to the Glory and to the Weal,
made by Mazda; to the Glory of the Aryas, made by Mazda; to the
awful Glory of the Kavis, made by Mazda.
To Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; to king Husravah; to the lake
of Husravah; to Mount Asnavant, made by Mazda; to Lake Chaechasta,
made by Mazda; to the Glory of the Kavis, made by Mazda.
To Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; to Mount Raevant, made by Mazda;
to the Glory of the Kavis, made by Mazda.
To Atar, the beneficent, the warrior; the God who is a full source
of Glory, the God who is a full source of healing.
To Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, with all Atars; to the God Nairyo-Sangha,
who dwells in the navel of kings.
10. Aban.
To the good Waters, made by Mazda; to the holy water-spring Ardvi
Anahita; to all waters made by Mazda; to all plants made by Mazda.
11. Khwarshed.
To the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
12. Mah.
To the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull; to the only-created
bull; to the Bull of many species.
13. Tishtar.
To Tistrya, the bright and glorious star; to the powerful Satavaesa,
made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward; to the stars, made by
Mazda, that have in them the seed of the waters, the seed of the
earth, the seed of the plants; to the star Vanant, made by Mazda:
to those stars that are seven in number, the Haptoiringas, made
by Mazda, glorious and healing.
14. Goshorun.
To the body of the Cow, to the soul of the Cow, to the powerful
Drvaspa, made by Mazda and holy.
15. Dai-pa-Mihr.
To the Maker Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and to the Amesha-Spentas.
16. Mihr.
To Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears
and ten thousand eyes, a God invoked by his own name; to Rama
Hvastra.
17. Srosh.
To the holy, strong Sraosha, who is the incarnate Word, a mighty-speared
and lordly God.
18. Rashn.
To Rashnu Razishta; to Arstat, who makes the world grow, who makes
the world increase; to the true-spoken speech, that makes the
world grow.
19. Frawardin.
To the awful, overpowering Fravashis of the holy ones.
20. Warharan.
To the well-shapen, tall-formed Strength; to Verethraghna, made
by Ahura; to the crushing Ascendant.
21. Ram.
To Rama Hvastra; to Vayu, who works highly and is more powerful
to destroy than all other creatures: to that part of thee, O Vayu,
that belongs to Spenta-Mainyu; to the sovereign Sky, to the Boundless
Time, to the sovereign Time of the long Period.
22. Wad.
To the bounteous Wind, that blows below, above, before, and behind;
to the manly Courage.
23. Dai-pa-Den.
To the Maker, Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious; to the Amesha-Spentas.
24. Den.
To the most right Chista, made by Mazda and holy; to the good
Law of the worshippers of Mazda.
25. Ard.
To Ashi Vanguhi; to the good Chisti; to the good Erethe; to the
good Rasastat; to the Weal and Glory, made by Mazda; to Parendi,
of the light chariot; to the Glory of the Aryas made by Mazda;
to the kingly Glory made by Mazda; to that Glory that cannot be
forcibly seized, made by Mazda; to the Glory of Zarathustra, made
by Mazda.
26. Ashtad.
To Arstat, who makes the world grow; to Mount Ushi-darena, made
by Mazda, the seat of holy happiness.
27. Asman.
To the high, powerful Heavens; to the bright all-happy, blissful
abode of the holy ones.
28. Zam.
To the bounteous Earth; to these places, to these fields; to Mount
Ushi-darena, made by Mazda, the seat of holy happiness; to all
the mountains made by Mazda, that are seats of holy happiness,
of full happiness; to the kingly Glory made by Mazda; to that
Glory that cannot be forcibly seized, made by Mazda.
29. Mahraspand.
To the holy, righteousness-performing Mathra Spenta; to the Law
opposed to the Daevas, the Law of Zarathushtra; to the long-traditional
teaching; to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda; to the
Devotion to the Mathra Spenta; to the understanding that keeps
the Law of the worshippers of Mazda; to the knowledge of the Mathra
Spenta; to the heavenly Wisdom made by Mazda; to the Wisdom acquired
through the ear and made by Mazda.
30. Anagran.
To the eternal and sovereign luminous space; to the bright Garo-nmana;
to the sovereign place of eternal Weal; to the Chinvat-bridge,
made by Mazda; to the tall lord Apam Napat and to the water made
by Mazda; to Haoma, of holy birth; to the pious and good Blessing;
to the awful cursing thought of the wise; to all the holy Gods
of the heavenly world and of the material one; to the awful, overpowering
Fravashis of the faithful, to the Fravashis of the first men of
the law, to the Fravashis of the next-of-kin; to every God invoked
by his own name.
Siroza 2
--------
1. Ohrmazd.
We sacrifice unto the bright and glorious Ahura Mazda; we
sacrifice unto the Amesha-Spentas, the all-ruling, the
all-beneficent.
2. Vohuman.
We sacrifice unto Vohu-Mano, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice
unto Peace, whose breath is friendly, and who is more powerful to
destroy than all other creatures. We sacrifice unto the heavenly
Wisdom, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the Wisdom acquired
through the ear, made by Mazda.
3. Ardwahisht.
We sacrifice unto Asha-Vahista, the fairest, the
Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice unto the much-desired Airyaman; we
sacrifice unto the instrument made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto
the good Saoka, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and holy.
4. Shahrewar.
We sacrifice unto Khshathra-Vairya, the Amesha-Spenta; we
sacrifice unto the metals; we sacrifice unto Mercy and Charity.
5. Spandarmad.
We sacrifice unto the good Spenta Armaiti; we sacrifice unto
the good Rata, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and holy.
6. Hordad.
We sacrifice unto Haurvatat, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice
unto the prosperity of the seasons. We sacrifice unto the years,
the holy and masters of holiness.
7. Amurdad.
We sacrifice unto Ameretat, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice
unto fatness and flocks; we sacrifice unto the plenty of corn; we
sacrifice unto the powerful Gaokerena, made by Mazda.
(At the gah Hawan): We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of
wide pastures; we sacrifice unto Rama Hvastra.
(At the gah Rapithwin): We sacrifice unto Asha-Vahista and
unto Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda.
(At the gah Uzerin): We sacrifice unto Apam Napat, the
swift-horsed, the tall and shining lord, the lord of the females;
we sacrifice unto the water made by Mazda and holy.
(At the gah Aiwisruthrem): We sacrifice unto the good,
powerful, beneficent Fravashis of the holy ones; we sacrifice
unto the females that bring forth flocks of males; we sacrifice
unto the thrift of the seasons; we sacrifice unto the well-shapen
and tall-formed Strength; we sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by
Mazda; we sacrifice unto the crushing Ascendant.
(At the gah Ushahin): We sacrifice unto the holy,
tall-formed, fiend-smiting Sraosha, who makes the world grow, the
holy and master of holiness; we sacrifice unto Rashnu Razishta;
we sacrifice unto Arstat, who makes the world grow, who makes the
world increase.
8. Dai-pa-Adar.
We sacrifice unto the Maker Ahura Mazda, the bright and
glorious; we sacrifice unto the Amesha-Spentas, the all-ruling,
the all-beneficent.
9. Adar.
We sacrifice unto Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; we sacrifice
unto the Glory, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the Weal, made
by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the Glory of the Aryas, made by
Mazda; we sacrifice unto the awful Glory of the Kavis, made by
Mazda.
We sacrifice unto Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; we sacrifice
unto king Husravah; we sacrifice unto the lake of Husravah; we
sacrifice unto Mount Asnavant, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto
Lake Chaechasta, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the awful Glory
of the Kavis, made by Mazda.
We sacrifice unto Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; we sacrifice
unto Mount Raevant, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the awful
Glory of the Kavis, made by Mazda.
We sacrifice unto Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; we sacrifice
unto Atar, the beneficent, the warrior. We sacrifice unto that
God, who is a full source of glory. We sacrifice unto that God,
who is a full source of healing.
We sacrifice unto Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda; we sacrifice
unto all Fires; we sacrifice unto the God, Nairyo-Sangha, who
dwells in the navel of kings.
10. Aban.
We sacrifice unto the good Waters, made by Mazda and holy;
we sacrifice unto the holy water-spring Ardvi Anahita; we
sacrifice unto all waters, made by Mazda and Holy; we sacrifice
unto all plants, made by Mazda and holy.
11. Khwarshed.
We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed
Sun,
12. Mah.
We sacrifice unto the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the
Bull. We sacrifice unto the Soul and Fravashi of the
only-created Bull; we sacrifice unto the Soul and Fravashi of the
Bull of many species.
13. Tishtar.
We sacrifice unto Tistrya, the bright and glorious Star; we
sacrifice unto the powerful Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes
waters forward; we sacrifice unto all the Stars that have in them
the seed of the waters; we sacrifice unto all the Stars that have
in them the seed of the earth; we sacrifice unto all the Stars
that have in them the seeds of the plants; we sacrifice unto the
Star Vanant, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto those stars that
are seven in number, the Haptoiringas, made by Mazda, glorious
and healing; in order to oppose the Yatus and Pairikas.
14. Goshorun.
We sacrifice unto the soul of the bounteous Cow; we
sacrifice unto the powerful Drvaspa, made by Mazda and holy.
15. Dai-pa-Mihr.
We sacrifice unto the Maker Ahura Mazda, the bright and
glorious; we sacrifice unto the Amesha-Spentas, the all-ruling,
the all-beneficent.
16. Mihr.
We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has
a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes, a God invoked by his own
name; we sacrifice unto Rama Hvastra.
17. Srosh.
We sacrifice unto the holy, tall-formed, fiend-smiting,
world-increasing Sraosha, holy and master of holiness.
18. Rashn.
We sacrifice unto Rashnu Razishta; we sacrifice unto Arstat,
who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase; we
sacrifice unto the true-spoken speech that makes the world grow.
19. Frawardin.
We sacrifice unto the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of
the holy ones.
20. Warharan.
We sacrifice unto the well-shapen, tall-formed Strength; we
sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura; we sacrifice unto the
crushing Ascendant.
21. Ram.
We sacrifice unto Rama Hvastra; we sacrifice unto the holy
Vayu; we sacrifice unto Vayu, who works highly and is more
powerful to destroy than all other creatures. Unto that part of
thee do we sacrifice, O Vayu, that belongs to Spenta-Mainyu. We
sacrifice unto the sovereign Sky; we sacrifice unto the Boundless
Time; we sacrifice unto the sovereign Time of the long Period.
22. Wad.
We sacrifice unto the beneficent, bounteous Wind; we
sacrifice unto the wind that blows below; we sacrifice unto the
wind that blows above; we sacrifice unto the wind that blows
before; we sacrifice unto the wind that blows behind. We
sacrifice unto the manly Courage.
23. Dai-pa-Den.
We sacrifice unto the Maker Ahura Mazda, the bright and
glorious; we sacrifice unto the Amesha-Spentas.
24. Den.
We sacrifice unto the most right Chista, made by Mazda and
holy; we sacrifice unto the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda.
25. Ard.
We sacrifice unto Ashi Vanguhi, the bright high, strong,
tall-formed, and merciful; we Sacrifice unto the Glory made by
Mazda; we sacrifice unto the Weal made by Mazda. We sacrifice
unto Parendi, of the light chariot; we sacrifice unto the Glory
of the Aryas, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the awful kingly
Glory, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto that awful Glory, that
cannot be forcibly seized, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the
Glory of Zarathushtra, made by Mazda.
26. Ashtad.
We sacrifice unto Arshtat, who makes the world grow; we
sacrifice unto Mount Ushi-darena, made by Mazda, a God of holy
happiness.
27. Asman.
We sacrifice unto the shining Heavens; we sacrifice unto the
bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy ones.
28. Zam.
We sacrifice unto the Earth, a beneficent God; we sacrifice
unto these places, unto these fields; we sacrifice unto Mount
Ushi-darena, made by Mazda, a God of holy happiness; we sacrifice
unto all the mountains, that are seats of holy happiness, of full
happiness, made by Mazda, the holy and masters of holiness; we
sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda; we
sacrifice unto the awful Glory that cannot be forcibly seized,
made by Mazda.
29. Mahraspand.
We sacrifice unto the Mathra Spenta, of high glory; we
sacrifice unto the Law opposed to the Daevas; we sacrifice unto
the Law of Zarathushtra; we sacrifice unto the long-traditional
teaching; we sacrifice unto the good Law of the worshippers of
Mazda: we sacrifice unto the Devotion to the Mathra Spenta; we
sacrifice unto the understanding that keeps the Law of the
worshippers of Mazda; we sacrifice unto the knowledge of the
Mathra Spenta; we sacrifice unto the heavenly Wisdom, made by
Mazda; we sacrifice unto the Wisdom acquired through the ear and
made by Mazda.
30. Anagran.
We sacrifice unto the eternal and sovereign luminous space;
we sacrifice unto the bright Garonmana; we sacrifice unto the
sovereign place of eternal Weal; we sacrifice unto the
Chinvat-bridge, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto Apam Napat, the
swift-horsed, the high and shining lord, who has many wives; and
we sacrifice unto the water, made by Mazda and holy; we sacrifice
unto the golden and tall Haoma; we sacrifice unto the enlivening
Haoma, who makes the world grow; we sacrifice unto Haoma, who
keeps death far away; we sacrifice unto the pious and good
Blessing; we sacrifice unto the awful, powerful, cursing thought
of the wise, a God; we sacrifice unto all the holy Gods of the
heavenly world; we sacrifice unto all the holy Gods of the
material world.
I praise, I invoke, I meditate upon, and we sacrifice unto
the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the holy ones.
Afrinagans (prayers of blessing)
--------------------------------
(Translated by L. Mills (From Sacred Books of the East,
American Edition, 1898.)
Afrinagan-i Dahman
------------------
1. Yatha Ahu Vairyo...(2).
Ashem Vohu...(3).
I profess myself a Mazda-worshipper, a follower of Zarathushtra,
opposing the Daevas, accepting the Ahuric doctrine.
(Here recite the appropriate Gah dedication.)
With propitiation of the Dahman Afrin of the good ones and the
strong wise one with higher intellect, for worship, adoration,
propitiation, and praise.
'Yatha Ahu Vairyo', the zaotar should say to me
'Yatha Ahu Vairyo', he who is the zaotar should say to me
'Atha ratush ashatchit hacha', the Asha-sanctified knowing one
should say.
(Karda:)
2. May these blessings of the Asha-sanctified come into this
house, namely, rewards, compensation, and hospitality; and may
there now come to this community Asha, possessions, prosperity,
good fortune, and easeful life, and the long enduring prominence
of this Religion, which is Ahuric, Zarathushtrian.
3. Now in this house may the cattle not be tainted, nor the Asha,
nor the strength of Asha-sanctified men, nor the Ahuric doctrine.
4. May the good, prosperity-giving, holy, Asha-sanctified, fravashis
come here, accompanied by the healing virtues of Ashi, to the
width of the Earth, the length of the rivers, and the height of
the sun, to give the possession of good things, for the overthrow
of misfortunes, and the advancement of riches and fortunes.
5. May Hearkening (Sraosha) overcome disobedience within this
house, and may peace overcome discord, generosity overcome greed,
reverence overcome rebellion, and honesty overcome falsehood.
May Asha conquer the fiend,
6. so that, in it the Amesha Spentas may receive, through Sraosha,
companion of Ashi, good acts of worship and prayers of praise;
good in reverence and adoration, the abiding offering, the joyous
offering, and the devotional offering, until the time of the final
harvest.
7. Let the comfort-giving good fortune never forsake this house,
nor the comfort-giving riches, nor comfort-giving noble offspring,
with long lasting company of what bestows paradise and good rewards.
Ashem Vohu...(3)!
(Asirvad:)
8. To Ahura Mazda, rich, possessing good things. Blessings on
the rulers of the land, for greater strength, greater victory,
greater rule, greater sovereignty, compassion, long rule, enduring
physical vitality, and health.
9. (Blessings) to Ama, well-built, fair of form, to Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, and to the triumphing Uparatat, completely repelling
malice, completely conquering the hostile malicious adversary
with a blow.
10. Blessings so that he may be winner of the battle, victorious
over every malicious adversary, over every evil adversary, faulty
in thoughts, words and deeds.
11. (Blessings) that he may be victorious through timely thoughts,
words, and deeds; to suppress all the evil-minded, and all Daeva-worshippers,
so as to attain to good reward, and to good renown, and to long
happiness of my soul.
12. Blessings for long life, for the desired life, for the service
of Asha-sanctified people, and for the disservice of ill done
deeds - the best existence of the Asha-sanctified, the luminous,
offering all blissful. Thus may it come as I wish.
We praise good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, performed
here and elsewhere, now and in the past. Thus we glorify and invoke
all that is good (2).
I yearn for good mind. May Peshotan son on Gushtasp come to my
aid, may he accept my prayers, may he shine for me. Thus may the
holy attain long life and may their desires be fulfilled.
May this Afrinagan and Khshnuman reach the Yazad Dahman.
May the knowledge, promulgation, and glory of the good Mazdayasnian
religion spread throughout the seven regions of the world, through
speech, righteous persuasion, the good kingly authority and justice.
So be it.
Yatha Ahu Vairyo....
Ashem Vohu...!
13. Yatha Ahu Vairyo...(2).
I desire worship and adoration and strength and force for the
Dahman Afrin of the good ones and the valiant wise one with higher
intellect.
Ashem Vohu....
May we all be one in Asha.
Thus may it come as I wish.
We praise good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, performed
here and elsewhere, now and in the past. Thus we glorify and invoke
all that is good.
Afrinagan-i Gatha
-----------------
1. As the Ahu is (revered and) to be chosen, so (is) the Ratu
(one who rules) from the Righteous Order, a creator of mental
goodness, and of life's actions done for Ahura, and the Kingdom
(is) to Mazda, which to the poor may offer a nurturer.
I confess myself a Mazda-worshipper - for the praise of Ahura
Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious, and of the Bountiful Immortals,
for the bountiful and holy Gathas which rule in the ritual order.
(Propitiation and praise be) to the Gatha Ahunavaiti, and to the
Gatha Ushtavaiti, to the Gatha Spenta-mainyu, and to the Gatha
Vohu-khshathra, and to the Gatha Vahishtoishti. 2. Propitiation
to the Fravashis of the saints, the mighty, overwhelming, even
to those of the saints of yore, who held the primeval faith (the
Gathic faith), and to those of the next of kin.
3. We sacrifice to Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious;
and we sacrifice to the Amesha Spenta who rule aright, and who
dispose (of all aright). And we sacrifice to the bounteous and
holy Gathas, which rule (as the first) in the ritual order.
We sacrifice to the Gatha Ahunavaiti, the holy, as it rules in
the ritual order; and we sacrifice to the Gatha Ushtavaiti, the
holy, as it rules in the ritual order; and we sacrifice to the
Gatha Spenta-mainyu, the holy, as it rules in the ritual order;
and we sacrifice to the Gatha Vohu-khshathra, the holy, as it
rules in the ritual order; and we sacrifice to the Gatha Vahishtoishti,
the holy, as it rules in the ritual order.
4. (=Yt13.49-52.)
Afrinagan-i Gahambar
--------------------
[This prayer is part of the ceremony of blessing (Afrinagan)
addressed to the community during the great seasonal festivals
(Gahambars).]
1. I confess myself a Mazda-worshipper, and of Zarathustra's
order, a foe of the Daevas, devoted to the lore of the Lord, for
the holy Havani, the regulator of the ritual order (and its lord
in its turn), for its sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise;
(and I confess myself) for Savanghi and for Visya, the holy lords
of the ritual order for their sacrifice, homage, propitiation,
and praise, and for that of the Asnya, the day-lords of the days
during daylight, and of the days in their length, for the Mahya,
month-lords, and the Yairya, year-lords, and for those of the
especial seasons, and for the worship, homage, propitiation, and
praise of that lofty lord who is the Ritual Righteousness (itself);
yea, for the worship, homage, propitiation, and praise of the
lords of the days, months, years, and seasons - for those lords
of the ritual order who are of all the greatest, who are the regulators
of the ritual at the time of Havani.
2. To Maidhyo-zaremya, the lord [or to Maidhyo-shema, the lord,
or to Paitishahya, the lord, or to Ayathrima, Maidhyairya, or
Hamaspathmaedhaya], be propitiation, homage, and praise.
3. O ye Mazdayasnians who are here present offer ye this ritual
service, and present ye the Myazda which is that of the Maidhyo-zaremaya,
taking a piece of sound flesh from a choice beast, with a full
flow of milk.
4. If ye are able to do this, (well); if ye are unable to do
it, ye may take then (a portion) of some liquor of equal value,
it matters not which it is, and have it consumed as it is proper;
and so be ye discreet from your obedience, most correctly faithful
in your speech, most saintly from your sanctity, best ordered
in your exercise of power, least straitened by oppressions, heart-easy
with rejoicings, most merciful of givers, most helpful to the
poor, fulfilling most the ritual, the blest and longed-for Asha,
(coy ?) riches woman-minded (?) bringing (as reward). If ye can
do this and with vigour, (well); (5) if not, bring wood to the
Ratu's house. It matters not what kind, so it be well cut, and
very dry, and in loads of fitting size. If that is possible, (well);
if not, let a man bring wood to the Ratu's dwelling, and heap
it up as high as the ear, or to reach the fore-shoulder, or with
the fore-arm measure, (or at least as high as the end of the hanging
hand). If that is possible, (well); (6) but if it has not been
possible, then let the worshipper (with the mind's offering) ascribe
the power to him who rules the best, Ahura, (saying): Wherefore
for this cause verily we offer and ascribe the Sovereign Power
to Ahura Mazda, who rules the best, and to Righteousness (the
ritual and moral Order), and we complete our sacrifice to them.
Thus is the Myazda offered with the well-timed prayer for blessings.
7. In case that a man does not give of the first Myazda which
is that of the Maidhyo-zaremaya, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the Ratu
that has the right to that Myazda, and who has this person under
his guidance, expels that (false) disciple who has not his Myazda
with him, as a man that does not worship, from the midst of the
Mazda-worshippers. 8. In the case that a man does not give of
the second Myazda, O Spitama Zarathushtra! which is that of the
Maidhyo-shema, then let the Ratu to whom the Myazda should come,
and who has the person under his guidance, expel that disciple,
since he comes without his Myazda, as he would a man who refuses
to recite his vows, from among the number of the Mazda-worshippers.
9. In the case that a man does not give of the third Myazda, O
Spitama Zarathushtra! which is that of Paitishahya, then let the
Ratu who ought to receive that Myazda, and who has had the person
under his guidance, expel that disciple which brings no Myazda,
as a detected reprobate, from among the number of the Mazdayasnians.
10. In case that a man does not offer of the fourth Myazda, O
Spitama Zarathushtra! which is that of the Ayathrima let the Ratu
who ought to receive that Myazda, and who has the person under
his guidance, expel that disciple, since he brings no Myazda,
as a refuse beast from among the number of the Mazdayasnians.
11. In the case that a man does not give of the fifth Myazda,
which is that of the Maidhyairya, then let the Ratu to whom that
Myazda belongs as a perquisite, and who has that person under
his guidance, expel him, since he brings no Myazda, as an alien,
from among the number of the Mazdayasnians. 12. In case that a
man does not give of the sixth Myazda, which is that of the Hamaspathmaedhaya,
O Spitama Zarathushtra! let the Ratu to whom that Myazda belongs
as a perquisite, and who has this person under his discipline
to learn him the lore of Ahura, expel him, (as ignorant) since
he brings no Myazda, from among the number of the Mazdayasnians.
13. And let him decry him afterwards without hesitation, and drive
him out; and let that Ratu lay upon him afterwards the expiating
deeds without reserve; and in accordance with these rules, let
the disciple treat the Ratu. (Let him beware of failure to bring
his Myazda, or if he fails let the disciple bear, as is befitting,
what is due.) A blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best, it
is weal, it is weal for this (man) when toward Righteousness Best
there is right.
14. I bless with my prayer the royal Province-chiefs (who are
faithful worshippers) of Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious,
(beseeching) for superior strength for them, and for more important
victory, and more influential rule, and desiring for them further
authoritative power, and helpful support, and long duration to
their reign, and the prolonged vitality of their frames, and health.
15. And I pray in my benediction for strength well-shaped and
stately of growth, and which smites victoriously, Ahura-made,
and crushing, and for an ascendency abundantly subduing all who
are filled with furious hate, assaulting the evil-minded enemies,
and destroying, as if at once, the deadly, godless foes.
16. And I pray in my blessing that he (the province-governor)
may conquer in victorious battles every malicious foe, and each
malignant, profane in thoughts, and words, and actions, (17) that
he may indeed be constantly victorious in his own religious thoughts,
and words, and deeds, and unvarying in the smiting of every foe,
and of every Daeva-worshipper, and that he may, as he proceeds,
be well rewarded, and of good repute, possessing a far-foreseeing
preparation of the soul. 18. And I pray with blessings thus: Live
thou long and blessed be thou, 'hail' to thee; live for the aid
of holy men, and for the crushing of the evil; and I pray for
Heaven (for thee) the best world of the saints, shining, all glorious.
And thus may it happen as I pray -. And I bless in my prayer the
sacrifice, and homage, and the strength, and swiftness of the
day-lords during daylight, and of the lords of the days in their
length, of the month-lords, and the year-lords, and of the lords
of the seasons (in their course), and for the worship, homage,
propitiation, and praise of the lofty lord who is the Righteous
Ritual itself, and of those lords of the ritual who are of all
the greatest, and who are the lords of the ritual at the time
of Havani, for Maidhyo-zaremaya the lord, [(or) for Maidhyo-shema
the lord, (or) for Paitishahya the lord, or for Ayathrima, Maidhyairya,
or Hamaspathmaedhaya].
Afrinagan-i Rapithwin
---------------------
1. I confess myself a Mazda-worshipper, of Zarathushtra's order,
a foe to the Daevas, devoted to the lore of the Lord, for Rapithwina,
the holy lord of the ritual order, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation,
and praise, and for Fradat-fshu and Zantuma, the holy lord(s)
of the ritual order. 2. And to Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the
glorious, and to the Bountiful Immortals, be propitiation, and
to Asha Vahishta (who is Righteousness the Best), and to the Fire,
Ahura Mazda's son, and to all the holy Yazads, heavenly and earthly,
and to the Fravashis of the saints, the mighty and overwhelming-.
3. For thus did Ahura Mazda speak to Spitama Zarathushtra the
word which was spoken for the ritual time of the Rapithwina, (saying):
Ask us, O holy Zarathushtra, what are Thy questions to be asked
of us, for Thy question is as that mighty one when Thy ruler speaks
his mighty wish. 4. Then Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: O Ahura
Mazda, most bountiful creator of the material worlds and holy!
what does that man acquire, what does he merit, what reward
shall there be for that man (5) who shall recite the Rapithwina
office with the Rapithwina prayer for blessing, and who shall
sacrifice with the Rapithwina office with hands (well) washed,
and with (well) washed mortars, with the Baresman spread, and
with Haoma high uplifted, and with fire brightly flaming,with
Ahuna-vairya loud intoned, with Haoma-moistened tongue, and with
a body Mathra-bound?
6. And Ahura Mazda answered him: As the wind from the southern
quarter, O Spitama! causes the entire material world to advance
and to increase, and as it will bless it, rejoice it, and cause
it to progress, such a like reward does such a man receive, (7)
who recites the Rapithwina-ratu with the Rapithwina blessing,
and sacrifices with it with (well) washed hands, and mortars,
with Baresman spread, and Haoma lifted, with fire brightly flaming,
and with Ahuna-vairya loud intoned, and with Haoma-moistened tongue,
and a body Mathra-bound! 8. Thus hath Ahura Mazda declared to
Spitama Zarathushtra the word which (should be) spoken at the
Rapithwina time.
9-10. (See A1.14-19.)