Gathas (Avesta)

23. I would confess myself a Mazda-worshipper, of Zarathu.stra's order, a foe to the Daevas, devoted to the lore of the Lord, for Havani, the holy lord of the ritual order, for (his) sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise, for Savanghi, and for Vlsya, the holy lord of the ritual order, for (his) sacrifice, homage, propitiation and praise, and for the sacrifice, homage, propitiation and praise of the lords of the days in their duration, and of the days during daylight, for 1 Compare Rv. VII, 86, 3-6. 2 Practised, or induced neglect, or omitted portions of it. 3 ' I invite for Thee ' (?). 4 That the thought, word, and deed here were more than the mere semi-mechanical use of faculties in reciting the liturgy, is clear. At the same time all morality was supposed to be represented in the liturgy. The evil man would offend in thought, word, and deed, if he recited it carelessly, or with bad conscience, and as guilty of any known and unrepented sins. The moral and ceremonial laws went hand in hand.

those of the monthly festivals, and for those of the yearly ones, and for those of the seasons ! 1. I desire to approach1 the Zaothras 2 with my worship. I desire to approach the Baresman with my worship. I desire to approach the Zaothra conjointly with the Baresman in my worship, and the Baresman conjointly with the Zaothra. Yea, I desire to approach this Zaothra (here), and with this (present) Baresman, and I desire to approach this Baresman conjoined with this Zaothra with my praise 3; and I desire to approach this Baresman with praise provided with its Zaothra with its girdle, and spread with sanctity. 2. And in this Zaothra 3 and the Baresman I desire to approach Ahura Mazda with my praise, the holy 1 Referring yas to its more original sense. Or read, ' I desire the approach of the various objects of worship, which may be correct, as we understand the genius of each several object to be invoked. Aside from this, a desire 'to approach' seems quite necessary to fill out the sense here. Many of the objects referred to were already present, although some, like 'the mountains/ needed to be spiritually approached, or indeed invoked.

2 Zaothra seems to me hardly a vocative here. If declined as other nouns, it would seem to be exceptionally a masculine ; compare ahmya zaothre below. I should feel constrained to regard it here as a masc. plural accusative (comp. haoma). 3 If zaothre is not a loc. masc. it may be used with the loc. masc. pronoun irregularly. It would then equal Zaothraya. The letter KJ is often simply the Pahlavi <o a little lengthened and equivalent to ya (aya). hj does not merely stand for ya (aya), but it is sometimes the correct writing for those letters. (Useless repetitions are curtailed.) lord of the ritual order, and the Bountiful Immortals, (all) those who rule aright, and who dispose of all aright, these also I desire to approach and with my praise. 3. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the Asnya with my praise. I desire to approach the Havani with my praise, the holy lord of the ritual order, and Savanghi andVisya,the holy lords of the ritual order. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach Mithra with my praise, of the wide pastures, of the thousand ears, and of the myriad eyes, the Yazad ofthe spoken name, and Raman //^astra with him, the holy lord of the ritual order.

4. And in this Zaothra and with the Baresman I desire to approach Rapithwina with my praise, the holy lord of the ritual order ; and Frada/-fshu and Zazrtuma, the holy lords of the ritual order ; and in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach toward Righteousness the Best with my praise, and with him the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son. 5. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach Uzayeirina with my praise, and Frada/- vira and Da/foyuma l, the holy lords of the ritual order ; and with them that lofty lord, the kingly and brilliant Apam-napa/2, ofthe fleet horses, and likewise the water Mazda-made and holy, 6. And Aiwisruthrima, (and) Aibigaya, the holy lord(s) of the ritual order, and Frada^-vispam-hu^aiti, and Zarathu5trotema, the holy lord, and the good, heroic, and bountiful Fravashis of the saints, and the women who have many sons, and a peaceful and prosperous home-life that continues without reverse throughout the year, and Force well-shaped and 1 /iv = h before y. 2 Sometimes Napa/-apam. stately, and the Victorious-blow Ahura-given, and the Victorious Ascendency (which it secures), and (7) Ushahina, the holy lord of the ritual order, Bere^ya and Nmanya, the holy lords of the ritual order, and Sraosha, Obedience, the blessed and the stately, who smites with the blow of victory, furthering the settlements, the holy lord of the ritual order, and Rashnu, the most just, and Arcta^, who furthers the settlements, and causes them to increase.

8. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the Mahya, the monthly festivals with my praise, the new moon and the waning moon (the moon within), the holy lords of the ritual order, and the full moon which scatters night, (9) and the Yearly festivals, Maidhyo-zaremaya, the holy lord of the ritual order, and Maidhyo-shema, and Paiti.mahya, and Ayathrima, the promoter, who spends the strength of males, and Maidhyairya and Hamaspathmaedhaya, and the seasons, the holy lords of the ritual order. 10. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach all the lords of the ritual order with my praise, the three and thirty who come the nearest round about our Havanis, who are those lords (and seasons) of Righteousness the Best, which were inculcated by Mazda, and spoken forth by Zarathustra. 11. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach Ahura and Mithra with my praise, the lofty, eternal, and the holy two ; and I desire to approach the stars, moon, and sun with the Baresman plants, and with my praise, and with them Mithra the governor of all the provinces, and Ahura Mazda the radiant and glorious, and the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints, (12) and thee, the Fire,

Ahura Mazda's son, the holy lord of the ritual order, with all the fires ! And I desire to approach the good waters in this Zaothra with this Baresman with my praise, all best waters, Mazda-made and holy, and all the plants which are Mazda-made and holy. 1 3. And I desire to approach the bounteous Mathra in this Zaothra with this Baresman, and with my praise, the most glorious as it is, and with it the law instituted against the Daevas ; yea, I desire to approach the Zarathu^trian law with my praise, and (with it) its long descent, and the good Mazdayasnian Religion (as complete). 14. And I desire to approach Mount Ushi-darena in this Zaothra, with this Baresman with my praise, Mazda-made, and glorious with sanctity, the Yazad- (mount). And I desire to approach all the mountains with my praise, glorious with sanctity as they are, and with abundant glory, Mazda-made, and holy lords of the ritual order; and I desire to approach the mighty kingly Glory Mazda-made and unconsumed ; yea, (even) the mighty unconsumed Glory Mazdamade. And I desire to approach Ashi Vanguhi (the good blessedness) in my praise, the brilliant, lofty, powerful, and stately, saving by inherent power. Yea, I desire to approach the Glory Mazda-made with my praise ; and I desire to approach the Benefit conferred by Mazda.

15. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the Blessing, pious and good, and the pious and holy man who utters it, and the mighty and redoubted Curse of the wise, the Yazad. 16. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach these waters with my praise, and these lands and plants, and these places, districts,

and pastures, and these dwellings with their springs of water \ and this land-ruler, who is Ahura Mazda. 17. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach all the greatest lords with my praise, the day-lords, and the month-lords, those of the years, and of the seasons, and the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints. 18. And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach all the holy Yazads with my praise ; yea, even all the lords of the ritual order, Havani at his time, and Savanghi at his time, and all the greatest lords of the ritual at their proper times. The Yasna advances to the Naming of the Objects of Propitiation. 1. With a Baresman brought to its appointed place accompanied with the Zaothra at the time of Havani, I desire to approach the Myazda-offering with my praise, as it is consumed, and likewise Ameretatai2 (as the guardian of plants and wood) and Haurvatai (who guards the water), with the (fresh) meat 3, for the propitiation of Ahura Mazda, and of the Bountiful 1 See note on Y. I, 16. 2 Spiegel has observed with truth that Ameretata/ and Haurvata/ may represent severally all the fruits and the liquids offered.

3 The modern Parsis, Haug following, render ' butter ' ; but Spiegel is inclined to discredit this later tradition, holding that ' flesh ' was originally intended ; but on its becoming disused in India, milk was substituted, hence the error. Gaus hudh<zu, in its primary sense, meant of course ' the Kine of blessed endowment.' (Repetitions are again curtailed.) Immortals, and for the propitiation of Sraosha (who is Obedience) the blessed, who is endowed with sanctity, and who smites with the blow of victory, and causes the settlements to advance. 2. And I desire to approach Haoma and Parahaoma 1 with my praise for the propitiation of the Fravashi of Spitama Zarathustra, the saint. And I desire to approach the (sacred) wood with my praise, with the perfume, for the propitiation of thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son ! 3. And I desire to approach the Haomas with my praise for the propitiation of the good waters which Mazda created ; and I desire to approach the Haomawater, and the fresh milk 2 with my praise, and the plant Hadhanaepata, offered with sanctity for the propitiation of the waters which are Mazda-made. 4. And I desire to approach this Baresman with the Zaothra with my praise, with its binding3 and spread with sanctity for the propitiation of the Bountiful Immortals. And I desire with (?) my voice the thoughts well thought, and the words well spoken, and the deeds well done, and the recital of the Gathas as they are heard. And I desire to approach the well-said Mathras with my praise, and this (higher) lordship with this sanctity, and this exact regulation4 (of the Ratu), and .the reverential prayer for blessings (spoken at the fitting hour) ; and I desire to approach them for the contentment and propitiation

2 So better than ' fresh meat.' Fluids are the chief objects of attention here. 3 With its girdle. 1 Anghuyam— rathwam stand related as ahu and ratu; so also the Pahlavi ahuoih and ra^ih, and Ner. svamita/«/£a gurutaw/C'a. of the holy Yazads, heavenly and earthly, and for the contentment of each man's soul. 5. And I desire to approach the Asnya with my praise, the lords of the ritual order, and the Havani and Savanghi and Visya, the holy lords of the ritual order. And I desire to approach with the Ya^t a of Mithra of the wide pastures, of the thousand ears, of the myriad eyes, the Yazad of the spoken name, and with him Raman Zfoastra. 6. And I desire to approach Rapithwina with my praise, the holy lord of the ritual order, and Frada/-fshu and Za/ztuma, and Righteousness the Best, and Ahura Mazda's Fire. 7. And I desire to approach Uzayeirina, and Frada/-vira and Da/^yuma* with my praise, with that lofty Ahura Napaz'-apam, and the waters Mazdamade, 8. And Aiwisruthrima, and Aibigaya, and Frada/- vispam-hufaiti, and Zarathiutrotema with the Ya.st of the Fravashis of the saints 2, and of the women who have many sons, and the year long unchanged prosperity, and of Might, the well-shaped and stately, smiting victoriously, Ahura-made and of the Victorious Ascendency (which it secures).

9. And I desire to approach Ushahina, Bere^ya, and Nmanya with the Yast of Sraosha (Obedience) the sacred, the holy, who smites with the blow of victory, and makes the settlements advance, and with that of Rashnu, the most just, and Arcta/ 1 Ycrti seems used of an especial Ya^t here, and subsequently, as genitives intrude among datives, the form possibly taking the place of the words 'for the propitiation of; here Yast X may be referred to. who furthers the settlements, and causes them to increase. 10. And I desire to approach the monthly festivals, the lords of the ritual order, and the new moon and the waning moon, and the full moon which scatters night, ii. And the yearly festivals, Maidhyo-zaremaya, Maidhyo-shema, Paitishahya, and Ayathrima the breeder who spends the strength of males, and Maidhyairya, and Hamaspathmaedhaya, and the seasons, lords of the ritual order, (12) and all those lords who are the three and thirty, who approach the nearest at the time of Havani, who are the Lords of Asha called Vahishta (and whose services were) inculcated by Mazda, and pronounced by Zarathurtra, as the feasts of Righteousness, the Best. 13. And I desire to approach Ahura and Mithra, the lofty and imperishable two, the holy, and with the Yait of those stars which are the creatures of Spe^ta Mainyu, and with the Yast of the star Tiitrya, the radiant, the glorious, and with that of the moon which contains the seed of cattle, and with that of the resplendent sun, the eye of Ahura Mazda, and of Mithra, province-lord of the provinces, and with that of Ahura Mazda (as He rules this day) the radiant, the glorious, and with that of the Fravashis of the saints, (who rule this month),

14. And with thy Yast, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son! with all the fires, and to the good waters with the Vast of all the waters which are Mazda-made, and with that of all the plants which Mazda made. 1 5. And I desire to approach with the Yast of the Mathra Spe^ta, the holy, the effective, the law composed against the Daevas, the Zarathu-ftrian, and with that of the long descent of the Religion which Mazda gave. 1 6. And I desire to approach with the Yast of Mount Ushi-darena, Mazda-made, and of all, glorious with sanctity, and abundant in brilliance, and with that of the Kingly Glory, Mazda-made ; yea, with that of the unconsumed glory which Mazda made, and with that of Ashi Vanguhi, and Kisti Vanguhi, and with that of the good Ereth^, and the good Rasasta/, and the good Glory, and of the Benefit which Mazda gave. 1 7. And I desire to approach with the Ya.st of the good and pious Blessing of the pious man and of the saint, and with that of the awful and swift Curse of the wise, the Yazad-curse, (18) and to these places, regions, pastures, and abodes, with their water-springs, and with that of the waters, and the lands, and the plants, and with that of this earth and yon heaven, and with that of the holy wind and of the stars, moon, and sun, and with that of the stars without beoqnnincr self-determined and self-moved, and with that of all the holy creatures which are those of Spe/zta Mainyu, male and female, regulators of the ritual order, (19) and with that of the lofty lord who is Righteousness (himself, the essence of the ritual), and with that of the days in their duration, and of the days during daylight, and with that of the monthly festivals, and the yearly festivals, and with those of the several seasons which are lords of the ritual at the time of Havani.

20. And I desire to approach the meat-offering with a Yait, and Haurvata^ (who guards the water), and Ameretata^ (who guards the plants and wood), with the Vast of the sacred flesh for the propitiation of Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the mighty, whose body is the Mathra, of him of the daring spear, the lordly, the Yazad of the spoken name. 21. And I desire to approach both Haoma and the Haoma-juice with a Ya^t for the propitiation of the Fravashi of Zarathu^tra Spitama, the saint, the Yazad of the spoken name. And I desire to approach the wood-billets with a Ya.st, with the perfume for the propitiation of thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son ! the Yazad of the spoken name. 22. And I desire to approach with a Ya^t for the mighty Fravashis of the saints, the overwhelming, the Fravashis of those who held to the ancient lore, and of those of the next of kin. 23. And I desire to approach toward all the lords of the ritual order with a Ya5t, toward all the good Yazads, heavenly and earthly, who are (set) for worship and for praise because of Asha Vahrrta (of Righteousness the Best).

24. I will confess myself a Mazdayasnian, of Zarathu-stra's order, a foe to the Daevas, devoted to the lore of the Lord for Havani, the holy lord of the ritual order, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and for praise, and for Savanghi and Visya, the holy lord(s) of the ritual order, and for the sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise of the day-lords of the days in their duration, and of the days during daylight, and for the month-regulators, and the year-regulators, and for those of the (several) seasons, for their sacrifice, and homage, their propitiation, and their praise. (The Zaotar speaks *) : As the Ahu to be 1 So at least the rubric. One would think that the sentence was intended to be dictated to the Ratu to be repeated; that is, if the

(revered and) chosen, let the priest speak 1 forth to me. (The Ratu responds) : As the AhCi to be (revered and) chosen, let him who is the Zaotar speak l forth to me. (The Zaotar again) : So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth ! 1. These good thoughts, good words, and good deeds 2, these Haomas, meat-offerings, and Zaothras, this Baresman spread with sanctity, this flesh, and the two, Haurvata/ (who guards the water) and Ameretata/ (who guards the plants and wood), even the flesh, the Haoma and Haoma-juice, the woodbillets, and their perfume, this sacred lordship 3 and chieftainship 3, and the timely prayer with blessing, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and the well-said Mathras, these all we offer, and make known with celebrations (here). 2. Yea, these do we announce with celebrations, and we present them to Ahura Mazda, and to Sraosha rubric is correct. The sentence as uttered by the priest seems difficult. 1 Present, or infin. for imperative (?). % The fact that somewhat of a more technical sumatf, sukta, sukrz'ta adheres to these expressions in this place must not for a moment induce us to suppose that their deeper meaning was lost. All good thoughts, words, and deeds culminated in the ritual, as in an enlightened high ecclesiasticism. They were nourished by it, and not lost in it. (Expressions are here varied.)

3 The prominence and supremacy of each deity, or genius, while he is especially the object of worship in the ritual order, the expressions being taken from the Ahuna-vairya. (Obedience) the blessed, and to the Bountiful Immortals, and to the Fravashis of the saints, and to their souls, and to the Fire of Ahura Mazda, the lofty lord of the entire creation of the holy, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise. 3. Yea, further, we present (them to the Bountiful Immortals with an especial gift) these thoughts well thought, these words well spoken, these deeds well done, these Haomas, Myazdas, Zaothras, and this Baresman spread with sanctity, the flesh, and Haurvata^ (who guards the water), and Ameretata^ (who guards the plants and wood), even the flesh, Haoma and Parahaoma, the wood-billets, the perfume, and this their lordship and their sanctity, and this chieftainship, this prayer for blessing, the heard recital of the Gathas, and the well-said Mathras. 4. We offer with our celebrations, and we announce them (of a verity) to the Bountiful Immortals, those who exercise their rule aright, and who dispose (of all) aright, the ever-living, ever-helpful, the male divinities among their number who dwell with the Good Mind l, [and the female 2 ones as well].

5. And we announce them in our celebrations as more propitious for this house 3, and for the furtherance of this house, of its herds, and of its men, of those now born, and of those yet to be born, the holy, yea, for the furtherance of that house of which these (men) are thus. 6. And we present these offerings to the good 1 Vohu Manah, Asha, and Khshathra. - Aramaiti, Haurvata/, and Ameretata/. 3 It would seem that the Yasna must have been at the time celebrated in the houses of the worshippers. Hence perhaps some of the priests were pairi^athans. Fravashis of the saints who are mighty and overwhelming for the succour of the saints. 7. Yea, we present these hereby to the Creator Ahura Mazda, the radiant, the glorious, and the heavenly spirit, for the sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise of the Bountiful Immortals (all). 8. And we present these hereby to the Day-lords of the ritual order, to Havani, to Savanghi, and to Visya, the holy lords of the ritual order, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and for praise, and to Mithra of the wide pastures, and the thousand ears, and the myriad eyes, the Yazad of the spoken name,

9. And to Rapithwina, Frada/-fshu, and Za^tuma, the holy lords of the ritual order, and to Righteousness the Best, and to Ahura Mazda's Fire, 10. And to Uzayeirina, Frada/-vira, and DaAvyuma x, the holy lords of the ritual order, and to that lofty lord Napa/-apam, and to the water Mazda-made, 1 1. And to Aiwisruthrima, the life-furtherer 2, and to FradaZ-vispam-hii^yaiti and Zarathuitrotema, the holy lords of the ritual order, and to the Fravashis of the saints, and to the women who bring forth many sons, and to the Prosperous home-life which endures without reverse throughout the year, and to Force, well-shaped and stately, and to the Blow of victory which Mazda gives, and to the Victorious Ascendency which it secures, for their sacrifice, homage, their propitiation, and their praise, 12. And to Ushahina, with Bere^ya and Nmanya, and Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, smiting with the blow of victory and furthering the settlements, and to Rashnu, the most just, and to Arita/, furthering the settlements, and causing them to increase. 1 Dahyuma. 2 Aibigaya. 1 3. And these we announce and we present hereby to the Month-lords of the ritual order, to the new moon and the waning moon (the moon within), and to the full moon which scatters night, the holy lord of the ritual order, for (their) sacrifice, homage, their propitiation, and their praise.

14. And these we announce hereby and we present to the Yearly festivals, to Maidhy 6-zaremaya, Maidhyoshema, Patishahya, and to Ayathrima,to Maidhyairya, Hamaspathmaedhaya, and to the Seasons as holy lords of the ritual order, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and for praise. 15. And these we announce and we present hereby to all those lords who are the three and thirty lords of the ritual order, who approach the nearest around about our Havani, and which are the festivals of Righteousness the Best, inculcated by Mazda, and uttered forth by Zarathustra for their sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise. 16. And these we announce and we present to Ahura and to Mithra, the lofty, and imperishable, and holy two, to the stars, the creatures of Spewta Mainyu, and to the star Tiitrya, the radiant, the glorious, and to the Moon which contains the seed of cattle, and to the resplendent Sun, of the swift horses, Ahura Mazda's eye, and to Mithra, the lord of provinces, for their sacrifice, homage, their propitiation and their praise ; yea, these we present hereby to Ahura Mazda (as he rules this clay) and to the Fravashis of the saints (as they rule this month), for their sacrifice, homage, their propitiation and their praise.

17. And these we announce hereby to thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son ! with all the fires for thy sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise, and to the good waters for the sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and praise of all the waters Mazda-made, and to all the plants which Mazda made, 18. And to the Mathra Speiita, the holy, the effective, the law against the Daevas, the Zarathustrian statute, and to the long descent of the good Mazdayasnian religion. 19. And these we announce and we present hereby to Mount Ushi-darena, Mazda-made, brilliant with sanctity, and to all the mountains shining with their holiness, abundantly luminous, and Mazda-made, and to the Kingly glory, the unconsumed1 glory Mazdamade, and to the good Blessedness, and the good Religious-knowledge, and the good Rectitude, and to the good Rasasta/, and to the Glory and the Benefit which Mazda created. 20. And these we offer and present to the pious and good Blessing of the pious, and to the swift and dreadful Yazad, the Curse of wisdom. 21. And to these places, pastures, and dwellings with their springs of water, their rivers, to the lands and to the plants, to this earth and yon heaven, to the holy wind, to the stars, moon, and sun, to the stars without beginning, self-disposed, and to all the holy creatures of the Spe^ta Mainyu, male and female (the rulers as they are of the ritual order).

22. And these we announce and we present hereby to that lofty lord who is Asha, the ritual righteousness itself, to the Day-lords, and the Monthlords, the Year-lords, and the Seasons who are the lords of the ritual at the time of Havani, and for their sacrifice, homage, their propitiation and their praise. 23. Yea, these we announce and we present to Sraosha, the blessed and mighty, whose body is the Mathra, him of the daring spear, the lordly one, and to the holy Fravashi of Zarathuitra Spitama, the saint. And these we announce and we present to thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son ! for thy sacrifice, homage, thy propitiation, and thy praise. 24. And these we announce and we present to the Fravashis of the saints, the mighty and overwhelming, of the saints of the ancient lore, and of the next of kin. 25. And these we announce and we present hereby to all the good Yazads, earthly and heavenly, who are (meet) for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and for praise, because of Asha VahLsta (who is Righteousness the Best). We worship the Bountiful Immortals who rule aright, and who dispose of all aright. 26. And that one of beings (do we worship) whose superior (service) in the sacrifice Ahura Mazda knows, and from his righteousness (which he maintains, and those of all female beings do we worship) whose (higher service is thus likewise known ; yea, all) male and female beings do we worship (who are such)1 !

1 Elsewhere with slight verbal change.

YASNA VI1. The Sacrifice continues with fuller expression. 1. We worship the Creator Ahura Mazda with our sacrifice, and the Bountiful Immortals who rule aright, and who dispose of all aright. 2. And we worship the Asnya with our sacrifice, and Havani, Savanghi and Visya, the holy lords of the ritual order, and Mithra of the wide pastures, of the thousand ears, and myriad eyes, the Yazad of the spoken name, and we worship Raman Zfoastra. 3. And we worship Rapithwina with our sacrifice, and Frada/-fshu, and the Zawtuma, and Righteousness the Best, and the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, holy lords of the ritual order. 4. And we worship Uzayeirina, and Frada/-vira, and Da^yuma*, the holy lord of the ritual order, and that kingly Ahura, the radiant Napa/-apam, of the fleet horses, and the water holy, and Mazda-made. 5. And we worship Aiwisruthrima and Aibigaya in our sacrifice, the holy lord of the ritual order, and FradaZ-vispam-hufyaiti and the Zarathustrotema, the holy lord of the ritual order, and the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints, and the women who bring forth many sons, and the Prosperous home-life which endures without reverse throughout the year, and Force which is well-shaped and stately, and the Blow which brings the victory, which is Ahura-given, and the Victorious Ascendency (which it secures).

6. And we worship Ushahina with our sacrifice, and 1 This chapter differs from Y. II only in having yazamaide instead of the formula ahmya zaothre baresmanae£a— ayese yesil Expressions for the same Zend words are purposely varied. Beref ya, and Nmanya, and Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the stately who smites with victory, and makes the settlements advance, and Rashnu, the most just, and Arita/ who makes the settlements advance and causes them to increase, the holy lords of the ritual order. 7. And we worship the Mahya in our sacrifice, the new moon and the waning moon (the moon within) and the full moon which scatters night, the holy lord of the ritual order. 8. And we worship the Yearly festivals in our sacrifice, Maidhyo-zaremaya, Maidhyo-shema, Paiti.s"- hahya, and Ayathrima, the furtherer (or breeder), the spender of virile strength, and Maidhyairya, the holy lord of the ritual order, and Hamaspathmaedhaya, and the Seasons (in which they are). 9. And we worship with our sacrifice all the lords of the ritual order, who are the thirty and three who approach the nearest around about us at Havani, who are the lords of Righteousness the Best, and whose observances were inculcated by Ahura Mazda, and uttered forth by Zarathuitra.

10. And we worship Ahura and Mithra with our sacrifice, the lofty, and imperishable, and holy two, and the stars, moon, and sun, among the plants of the Baresman, and Mithra, the province-lord of all the provinces, even Ahura Mazda, the radiant, the glorious, and the good, valiant, and bountiful Fravashis of the saints. 11. And we worship thee, the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, together with all the fires, and the good waters, the best and Mazda-made, and holy, even all the waters which are Mazda-made and holy, and all the plants which Mazda made. 12. And we worship the Mathra Spe«ta with our sacrifice, the glorious and of a truth, the law revealed against the Daevas, the Zarathustrian law, and we worship with our sacrifice its long descent, and the good Mazdayasnian Religion. 1 3. And we worship Mount Ushi-darena, the Mazdamade, the glorious Yazad, shining with holiness, and all the mountains that shine with holiness, with abundant brilliance, Mazda-made, the holy lords of the ritual order. And we worship the mighty Kingly glory Mazda-made, the mighty glory, unconsumed and Mazda-made, and the good Sanctity, the brilliant, the lofty, the powerful and the stately, delivering (men) with its inherent power. Yea, we worship the Glory, and the Benefit which are Mazda-made.

14. And we worship the pious and good Blessing with our sacrifice, and the pious man, the saint, and that Yazad, the mighty Curse of wisdom. 15. And we worship these waters, lands, and plants, these places, districts, pastures, and abodes with their springs of water, and we worship this lord of the district with our sacrifice, who is Ahura Mazda (Himself). 16. And we worship all the greatest lords, the Day-lords in the day's duration, and the Day-lords during daylight, and the Month-lords, and the Yearlords. 17. And we worship Haurvata/ (who guards the water) and Ameretata^ (who guards the plants and the wood), and Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed and the stately, who smites with the blow of victory, and makes the settlements advance, the holy lord of the ritual order. 18. And we worship Haoma with our sacrifice and the Haoma-juice. And we worship the sacred Fravashi of Zarat.hu.stra Spitama the saint. And we worship the wood-billets, and the perfume and thee, the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, the holy lord of the ritual order. 19. And we worship the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints. 20. And we worship all the holy Yazads, and all the lords of the ritual order at the time of Havani, and Savanghi, and all the greatest lords at their (proper) time. (The YeNhe hatam follows.)

21. The Ratu. As an Ahii (revered and) to be chosen, the priest speaks forth to me. The Zaotar. So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth !

Presentation of Offerings by the Priest with the Object of Propitiation named. 1. With a complete and sacred offering1 I offer and I give this meat-offering, and (with it) Haurvata/ (who guards the water), and Ameretata^ (who guards the plants and the wood), and the flesh of the Kine of blessed gift, for the propitiation of Ahura Mazda, and of the Bountiful Immortals (all, and) for the propitiation of Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, endowed with sanctity, who smites with the blow of victory, and who causes the settlements to advance. 1 With Ashi ; possibly 'for a blessing,' as Ashi often has the sense of ' reward,' but scrupulous sanctity and completeness seem to be the sense here. (Expressions here are as usual varied.) 2. And I offer the Haoma and Haoma-juice with a complete and sacred offering for the propitiation of the Fravashi of Zarathuitra Spitama the saint, and I offer the wood-billets with the perfume for Thy propitiation, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son! 3. And I offer the Haomas with a complete and sacred offering for propitiation [to the good waters] for the good waters Mazda-made. And I offer this Haoma-water with scrupulous exactness and with sanctity, and this fresh milk, and the plant Hadhanaepata uplifted with a complete and sacred offering for the propitiation of the waters which are Mazdamade.

4. And I offer this Baresman with its Zaothra (and with its binding) for a girdle spread with complete sanctity and order for the propitiation of the Bountiful Immortals, and I offer with my voice the thoughts well-thought, the words well-spoken, and the deeds well-done, and the heard recital of the Gathas, the Mathras well-composed and well-delivered, and this Lordship, and this Sanctity, and this ritual mastership, and the timely Prayer for blessings, with a complete and sacred offering for the propitiation of the holy Yazads, heavenly and earthly, and for the contentment of the individual soul ! 5. And I offer to the Asnya with a complete and sacred offering, as lords of the ritual order, and to Havani, and to Savanghi and Visya, holy lords of the ritual order, and to Mithra of the wide pastures, of the thousand ears, and myriad eyes, the Yazad of the spoken name, and to Raman //z^astra. 6. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Rapithwina, the holy lord of the ritual order ; and I offer to Frada^-fshu and to the Za/2tuma, and to Asha Vahiita (who is Righteousness the Best) and to Ahura Mazda's Fire. 7. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Uzayeirina, Frada/-vira, and to the Da/^yuma*, the holy lord of the ritual order, and to that lofty Ahura Napa/-apam, and to the waters which Mazda created.

8. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Aiwisruthrima, the life-furtherer, and to Frada/- vispam-hu^yaiti, and to the Zarathustrotema, and to the Fravashis of the saints, and to the women who have many sons, and to the Prosperous home-life which endures (without reverse) throughout the year, and to Force, the well-shaped and stately, and to the Blow which smites with victory Ahura-given, and to the Victorious Ascendency (which it secures). 9. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Ushahina, the holy lord of the ritual order, and to Bere^ya, and Nmanya, and to Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, endowed with sanctity, who smites with the blow of victory, and makes the settlements advance, and to Rashnu the most just, and to Arcta/ who furthers the settlements and causes them to increase. 10. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Mahya, lords of the ritual order, to the new and the waning moon (the moon within), and to the full moon which scatters night, holy lords of the ritual order. 11. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Yearly festivals, the lords of the ritual order, to Maidhyo-zaremaya, and Maidhyo-shema, to PaitLmahya, and to Ayathrima the furtherer (the breeder), the spender of the strength of males, and

to Maidhyairya and Hamaspathmaedhaya, holy lords of the ritual order, and I offer with sanctity to the several seasons, the lords of the ritual order. 12. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to all those lords who are the thirty and three, who approach the nearest round about our Havani, and who are the lords of Asha (the ritual by-eminence), of Righteousness who is (the Best), whose observances are inculcated as precepts by Mazda, and uttered forth by Zarathuitra. 13. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Ahura and Mithra, the lofty and imperishable, and holy two, and to the stars which are the creatures of Spe/^ta Mainyu, and to the star Tistrya, the radiant, the glorious, and to the Moon which contains the seed of cattle in its beams, and to the resplendent Sun of the fleet horses, the eye of Ahura Mazda, and to Mithra, the lord of the provinces. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious, (who rules this day), and to the Fravashis of the saints (who name the month). 14. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son ! together with all the fires, and to the good waters, even to the waters which are Mazda-made, and to all the plants which Mazda made.

15. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Mathra SpeMa, the holy, the effective, revealed against the Daevas, the Zarathu-strian law, and to the long descent of the good Religion, of the Mazdayasnian faith. 16. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Mount Ushi-darena, the Mazda-made, brilliant with holiness, and to all the mountains shining with holiness, of abundant brightness, and which Mazda made, and to the Royal glory unconsumed and Mazda-made. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to Ashi Vanguhi, and to Kisti Vanguhi, and to Ereth^, and to Rasastai, and to the Glory (and the) Benefit which Mazda made. 1 7. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the good and pious Prayer for blessings of the pious man, and to that Yazad, the swift and dreadful Curse of the wise. 18. And I offer with a complete and sacred blessing to these places, districts, pastures, and abodes with their springs of water, and to the waters and the lands, and the plants, and to this earth and yon heaven, and to the holy wind, and to the stars, and the moon, even to the stars without beginning (to their course), the self-appointed, and to all the holy creatures of Spe/^ta Mainyu, be they male or female, regulators (as they are) of the ritual order.

19. And I offer with a complete and sacred blessing to that lofty lord who is Righteousness (the Best), and the Day-lords, the lords of the days during their duration, and to those of the days during daylight, and to the Month-lords, and the Year-lords, and to those of the seasons, the lords who are lords of the ritual, and at the time of Havani. 20. And I offer the Myazda meat-offering with a complete and sacred offering, and Haurvata/ (who guards the water), and Ameretata/ (who guards the wood), and the flesh of the Kine of blessed gift, for the propitiation of Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, whose body is the Mathra, him of the daring spear, the lordly, the Yazad of the spoken name. 21. And I offer the Haoma and the Haoma-juice for the propitiation of the Fravashi of Zarathu.stra Spitama the saint, the Yazad of the spoken name. And I offer the wood-billets with the perfume for Thy propitiation, the Fire's, Ahura Mazda's son, the Yazad of the spoken name. 22. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to the Fravashis of the saints, the mighty and overwhelming, to those of the saints of the ancient lore, and to those of the next of kin.

23. And I offer with a complete and sacred offering to all the lords of the ritual order, and to all the good Yazads heavenly and earthly who are (meet) for sacrifice and homage because of Asha who is VahLsta (of Righteousness who is the Best). 24. May that approach to us, and with a sacred blessing (O Lord !) whose benefits the offerers are seeking for. Thy praisers and Mathra-speakers, O Ahura Mazda ! may we be named ; we desire it, and such may we be. What reward, O Ahura Mazda ! adapted to myself Thou hast appointed unto souls, 25. Of this do Thou Thyself bestow upon us for this world and for that of mind ; (yea, do Thou bestow) so much of this as that we may attain to Thy ruling protection and to that of Righteousness for ever. 26. We sacrifice to the Ahuna-vairya, and to the veracious word correctly uttered, and to the good and pious prayer for blessings, and to the dreadful curse of the wise, the Yazad, and to Haurvata/ and Ameretata/, and to the flesh of the Kine of blessed gift, and to the Haoma and Haoma-juice, and to the wood-billets, and the perfume, for the praise of the pious and good prayer for blessings.

27. (To that one) of beings do we sacrifice whose superior (fidelity) in the sacrifice Ahura Mazda knows through his Righteousness (within him, yea, even to those female saints do we sacrifice) whose (superior sanctity is thus known. We sacrifice to all) both males and females whose (superiority is such). (The Ratu speaks.) As an Ahu (revered and) to be chosen, he who is the Zaotar speaks forth to me. (The Zaotar.) So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth !

Offering of the Meat-offering in particular. The Faithful Partake. I. A blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best. It is weal ; it is weal to this (man), When toward Righteousness Best there is right. I offer the Myazda (of the) meat-offering with a complete and sacred offering ; and I offer Haurvatata/ (who guards the water), and Ameretata/ (who guards the plants and the wood), and the flesh of the blessed Kine ; and I offer the Haoma and the Haoma-juice, the wood-billets and the perfume for the praise of Ahura Mazda, and of the Ahuna-vairya, the veracious word, and for that of the pious and beneficent Prayer for blessings, and for the redoubted Curse of the wise, and for the praise of the Haoma, and of the Mathra of the holy Zarathujtra ; and may it come to us with sacred fulness (to accept and to recompense our gift). 2. (The Ratu speaks.) Eat, O ye men, of this Myazda, the meat-offering, ye who have deserved it by your righteousness and correctness! 3. O ye Bountiful Immortals, and thou, the Mazdayasnian law, ye just men and just women, and ye Zaothras, whoever among these Mazdayasnians would call himself a Mazdayasnian desiring to live in the practice of the liberality of Righteousness [for by sorcery the settlements of Righteousness are ruined], do ye cause (such an one) to be (still further) taught, (ye), who are the waters, the plants, and the Zaothras !

4. And whoever of these Mazdayasnians, adults, when he invokes with earnestness, does not adhere to these words, and (so) speaks, he approaches to that (word) of the magician; (but, as against that magician's word) ' a blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best.' 5. May'st Thou, O Ahura Mazda ! reign at Thy will, and with a saving rule over Thine own creatures, and render Ye the holy (man) also a sovereign at his will over waters, and over plants, and over all the clean and sacred (creatures) which contain the seed of Righteousness. Strip ye the wicked of all power ! 6. Absolute in power may the holy be, bereft of all free choice the wicked ! Gone (may he be), met as foe, carried out from the creatures of Spe/zta Mainyu, hemmed in1 without power over any wish ! 7. I will incite, even I who am Zarathustra 2, the 1 Or ' shut out,' which would seem better adapted. 2 This piece is a reproduction, or close imitation, of some earlier frao-ment. It sounds like an exhortation delivered while the Faith heads of the houses, villages, Za/ztus, and provinces, to the careful following of this Religion which is that of Ahura, and according to Zarathmtra, in their thoughts, their words, and their deeds.

8. I pray for the freedom and glory of the entire existence of the holy (man) while I bless it, and I pray for the repression and shame * of the entire existence - of the wicked. 9. Propitiation to Haoma who brings righteousness (to us) for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and for praise. (The Zaotar ?) As the Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, the Zaotar speaks forth to me. (The Ratu.) As an Ahu to be (revered and) chosen, the Zaotar speaks forth to me- (The Zaotar.) So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth !

The Haoma-ya-rt has claims to antiquity (owing to its subject, but not to its dialect), next after the Sro.r-ya.rt. H(a)oma=Soma, as a deity, flourished not only before the Gathas, but before the J?iks of the Veda, in Aryan ages before Iranian and Indian became two peoples. The astonishing circumstance has been elsewhere noted that a hymn, which is a reproduction of an Aryan original, should, notwithstanding its earlier characteristics, be necessarily assigned to 1 The Pahlavi translator, as I think, had a text before him which read duz>foathrem ; I so correct. Against the keen and most interesting suggestion of duz + athrem, I am compelled to note afo'athre, showing a compositum a + /zwathra, which seems not probable if = a + hu + athra. Duzathra, not a/^athre, would have been written. Cp. Aveng=/ivar\ for root. 2 Possibly ' house.' a date much later than the Gathas in which H(a)oma worship is not mentioned. Probably on account of bitter animosities prevailing between their more southern neighbours and themselves, and the use of Soma by the Indians as a stimulant before battle, the Iranians of the Gathic period had become lukewarm in their own H(a)oma worship. But that it should have revived, as we see it in this Ya^t, after having nearly or quite disappeared, is most interesting and remarkable. Was it definitively and purposely repudiated by Zarathiutra, afterwards reviving as by a relapse ? I do not think that it is well to hold to such deliberate and conscious antagonisms, and to a definite policy and action based upon them. The Somaworship, like the sacramental acts of other religions which have become less practised after exaggerated attention, had simply fallen into neglect, increased by an aversion to practices outwardly similar to those of ' Daeva-worshippers.' The Ya^t is, of course, made up of fragments, which I have endeavoured to separate by lines. In the translation I have given a rhythmical rendering, necessarily somewhat free. It was difficult to import sufficient vivacity to the piece, while using a uselessly awkward literalness. The freedom, as elsewhere, often consists in adding words to point the sense, or round the rhythm. (Expressions for identical Zend words have been here, as elsewhere, purposely varied.)

i. At the hour of Havani1. H(a)oma came to Zarathustra, as he served the (sacred) Fire, and sanctified (its flame), while he sang aloud the Gathas. And Zarathuitra asked him : Who art thou, O man ! who art of all the incarnate world the most beautiful in Thine own body 2 of those whom I have seen, (thou) glorious [immortal] ? 2. Thereupon gave H(a)oma answer3, the holy one who driveth death afar : I am, O Zarathuitra 1 In the morning from six to ten. 2 Or, ' beautiful of life.' 3 ' Me,' omitted as interrupting rhythm, seems to be merely dramatic ; or did it indicate that there was an original Zarathujtrian Haoma Gatha from which this is an extension ? H(a)oma, the holy and driving death afar ; pray to me, O Spitama, prepare me for the taste. Praise toward me in (Thy) praises as the other [Saoshyauts] praise. 3. Thereupon spake Zarathu.5tra : Unto H(a)oma be the praise1. What man, O H(a)oma! first prepared thee for the corporeal world ? What blessedness was offered him ? what gain did he acquire ? 4. Thereupon did H(a)oma answer me, he the holy one, and driving death afar : Vivanghva^t 2 was the first of men who prepared me for the incarnate world. This blessedness was offered him ; this gain did he acquire, that to him was born a son who was Yima, called the brilliant, (he of the many flocks, the most glorious of those yet born, the sunlike-one of men 3), that he made from his authority both herds and people free from dying, both plants and waters free from drought, and men could eat imperishable food.

5. In the reign of Yima swift of motion was there neither cold nor heat, there was neither age nor death, nor envy 4 demon-made. Like fifteen-yearlings 5 walked the two forth, son and father, in their stature and their form, so long as Yima, son of Vivanghva;zt ruled, he of the many herds ! 6. Who was the second man, O H (a)oma ! who 1 Might not the entire sixteenth verse be placed here ? 2 The fifth from Gaya Maretan the Iranian Adam, but his counterpart, the Indian Vivasvat, appears not only as the father of Yama, but of Manu, and even of the gods, (as promoted mortals ?). 3 Compare svar-dmas pavamanas. 4 So the Pahlavi. 6 Males, like females, seem to have been considered as developed at fifteen years of age. prepared thee for the corporeal world ? What sanctity was offered him ? what gain did he acquire ? 7. Thereupon gave H(a)oma answer, he the holy one, and driving death afar : Athwya 1 was the second who prepared me for the corporeal world. This blessedness was given him, this gain did he acquire, that to him a son was born, Thraetaona 2 of the heroic tribe,

8. Who smote the dragon Dahaka3, three-jawed and triple-headed, six-eyed,with thousand powers, and of mighty strength, a lie-demon of4 the Daevas, evil for our settlements, and wicked, whom the evil spirit Angra Mainyu made as the most mighty Dru^(k) [against the corporeal world], and for the murder of (our) settlements, and to slay the (homes) of Asha ! 9. Who was the third man, O H(a)oma! who prepared thee for the corporeal world ? What blessedness was given him ? what gain did he acquire ? 10. Thereupon gave H(a)oma answer, the holy one, and driving death afar : Thrita 5, [the most helpful of the Samas 6], was the third man who prepared me for the corporeal world. This blessedness was given 1 Comp. Trita aptia. 2 Comp. the Indian Traitana connected with Trita. 3 Let it be remembered that Trita smote the Ahi before Indra, Indra seeming only to re-enact the more original victory which the Avesta notices. Concerning Azhi Dahaka, see Windischmann's Zendstudien, s. 136. 4 Free. 5 In the AVg-veda aptya seems only an epithet added to the name Trita*; and the two serpents of the Avesta are suspicious. Two names seem to have become two persons, or has the Avesta the more correct representation ?

6 Have we the Semites here? They certainly penetrated as conquerors far into Media, and it seems uncritical to deny their leaving traces. The gloss may be very old. * And to that of other gods. him, this gain did he acquire, that to him two sons were born, Urvakhshaya and Keresaspa, the one a judge confirming order, the other a youth of great ascendant, ringlet-headed l, bludgeon-bearing. ii. He who smote the horny dragon swallowing men, and swallowing horses, poisonous, and green of colour, over which, as thick as thumbs are, greenish poison flowed aside, on whose back once Keresaspa cooked his meat in iron caldron at the noonday meal ; and the deadly, scorched, upstarted 2, and springing off, dashed out the water as it boiled. Headlong fled affrighted manly-minded3 Keresaspa. 12. Who was the fourth man who prepared thee, 2 I abandon reluctantly the admirable comparison of hvis with the Indian svid (Geldner), also when explained as an inchoative (Barth.), but the resulting meaning is far from natural either here or in Vend. Ill, 32 (Sp. 105). That the dragon should begin to sweat (!) under the fire which was kindled upon his back, and which caused him to spring away, seems difficult. The process was not so deliberate. He was scorched, started, and then sprang. Also in Vend. Ill, 32 when the barley is produced the demons hardly ' sweat (with mental misery).' The idea is too advanced for the document. Burnouf's and Haug's ' hiss ' was much better in both places. But I prefer the hint of the Pahlavi lala vazlun</. In Vend. Ill, 32 (Sp. 105), khist-homand. Ner. taptajX'a sa nrisamsak X'ukshubhe [dvipado * babhuva]. Whether /;z;isa/<('a=hisa/>£a (?) has anything to do with hiz or khiz= Pahlavi akhizidano t, N. P. 'hizidan, is a question. I follow tradition without etymological help ; perhaps we might as well write the word like the better known form as a conjecture.

3 The Pahlavi translator makes the attempt to account for the epithet ' manly-minded' as applied to Keresaspa while yet he fled affrighted ; he says : H6man</ man/mini.rnih hana. yehevund, aigha^ libbemman pavan gas dirt; Ner.asya paurushamanasatvam * idara babhuva yad asau X'aitanyaw sthane dadhau, ' his manly-mindedness was this, that he kept his wits on the occasion.' See the same story treated somewhat differently in the Yajts by Darmesteter (p. 295, note 2). O H(a)oma ! for the corporeal world ? What blessedness was given him ? what gain did he acquire ? 13. Thereupon gave H(a)oma answer, he the holy, and driving death afar : Pourushaspa1 was the fourth man who prepared me for the corporeal world. This blessedness was given him, this gain did he acquire, that thou, O Zarathiutra! wast born to him, the just, in Pourushaspa's house, the D(a)eva's foe, the friend of Mazda's lore, (14) famed in Airyena Vae^ah ; and thou, O Zarathuitra ! didst recite the first the Ahunavairya 2, four times intoning it, and with verses kept apart [(Pazand) each time with louder and still louder voice]. 15. And thou didst cause, O Zarathastra ! all the demon-gods to vanish in the ground who aforetime flew about this earth in human shape (and power. This hast thou done), thou who hast been the strongest, and the staunchest, the most active, and the swiftest, and (in every deed) the most victorious in the two spirits' 3 world.

16. Thereupon spake Zarathiutra : Praise to H(a)oma. Good is H(a)oma, and the well-endowed, exact and righteous in its nature, and good inhe rently, and healing, beautiful of form, and good in deed, and most successful in its working4, goldenhued, with bending sprouts. As it is the best for drinking, so (through its sacred stimulus) is it the most nutritious 5 for the soul. 1 7. I make my claim on thee, O yellow one ! for 1 Son of Paitirasp or Spetarasp ; BundahLy XXXII, 1, 2, &c. 2 The Ahuna-vairya is in the Gathic dialect, and in the Ahunavaiti metre ; it may have been composed by Z. It named the Gatha. 3 Comp. Y. XXX, 6 ? 4 Free. 5 Comp. pathmmg gavoi. inspiration l. I make my claim on thee for strength ; I make my claim on thee for victory ; I make my claim on thee for health and healing (when healing is my need) ; I make my claim on thee for progress and increased prosperity, and vigour of the entire frame, and for understanding2, of each adorning kind, and for this, that I may have free course among our settlements, having power where I will, overwhelming angry malice, and a conqueror of lies.

18. Yea, I make my claim on thee that I may overwhelm the angry hate of haters, of the D(a)evas and of mortals, of the sorcerers and sirens 3, of the tyrants 4, and the Kavis, of the Karpans, murderous bipeds, of the sanctity-destroyers, the profane apostate bipeds, of the wolves four-footed monsters, of the invading host, wide-fronted, which with stratagems 5 advance. 19. This first blessing I beseech of thee, O H(a)oma, thou that drivest death afar ! I beseech of thee for (heaven), the best life of the saints, the radiant, all-glorious G. This second blessing I beseech of thee, O H (a)oma, thou that drivest death afar ! this body's health (before that blest life is attained). This third blessing I beseech of thee, O H(a)oma, thou that drivest death afar ! the long vitality of life. 1 Or, is madhem related to medha as well as mazda (fem.) ? 3 Hardly ■ witches ; ' outwardly attractive, but evil female beings. A Pahl. sastarano. 5 Pahl. pavan friftarih ; Ner. pratarawataya. 6 Vispo-/fo;athrem does not mean ' comfortable ' here. 1/va.n is the root; comp. Aveng=^snn. 20. This fourth blessing I beseech of thee, O H(a)oma, thou that drivest death afar! that I may stand forth on this earth with desires gained l, and powerful, receiving satisfaction, overwhelming the assaults of hate, and conquering the lie.

This fifth blessing, O H(a)oma, I beseech of thee, thou that drivest death afar! that I may stand victorious on earth, conquering in battles 2, overwhelming the assaults of hate, and conquering the 21. This sixth blessing I ask of thee, O H(a)oma, thou that drivest death afar ! that we may get good warning of the thief, good warning of the murderer, see first the bludgeon-bearer, get first sight of the wolf. May no one whichsoever get first the sight of us. In the strife with each may we be they who get the first alarm ! 22. H(a)oma grants to racers 3 who would run a course with span both speed and bottom (in their horses). H(a)oma grants to women come to bed with child a brilliant offspring and a righteous line. H(a)oma grants to those (how many!) who have long sat searching books, more knowledge and more wisdom. 23. H(a)oma grants to those long maidens, who sit at home unwed, good husbands, and that as soon as asked, he H(a)oma, the well-minded. 24. H(a)oma lowered Keresani 4, dethroned him from his throne, for he grew so fond of power, that 1 Pahl. min /z&astar. 2 Pahl. vanu/ar pavan kushano.

3 Arva«to = aurva«to; so the Pahl. arvand. 4 Comp. the Vedic Krisanu, archer and demi-god who guarded the Soma. Ner. seems to notice that the name recalls that of the Christians. he treacherously said: No priest behind 1 (and watching) shall walk the lands for me, as a counsellor to prosper them, he would rob everything of progress, he would crush the growth of all ! 25. Hail to thee, O H(a)oma, who hast power as thou wilt, and by thine inborn strength ! Hail to thee, thou art well-versed in many sayings, and true and holy words. Hail to thee for thou dost ask no wily questions, but questionest direct. 26. Forth hath Mazda borne to thee, the starbespangled girdle 2, the spirit-made, the ancient one, the Mazdayasnian Faith. So with this thou art begirt on the summits of the mountains, for the spreading of the precepts, and the headings 3 of the Mathra, (and to help the Mathra's teacher), 27. O H(a)oma, thou house-lord, and thou clanlord, thou tribe-lord, and chieftain of the land, and thou successful learned teacher, for aggressive strength I speak to thee, for that which smites with victory, and for my body's saving, and for manifold delight !

28. Bear off from us the torment and the malice of the hateful. Divert the angry foe's intent ! What man soever in this house is violent and wicked, what man soever in this village, or this tribe, or province, seize thou away the fleetness from 1 So the Pahlavi, before others, read apas ; comp. fras. 2 Haug's keen-sighted suggestion, pourvanim = paurva=the Pleiades + ni = leading the P., looks doubtful, and seems refuted by Ya^t XXIV, 29, where Darmesteter renders a word probably akin, as ' the many.' I would here render ' the former.' 5 The ' grasp,' the ' summary of them.' his feet ; throw thou a veil of darkness o'er his mind ; make thou his intellect (at once) a wreck ! 29. Let not the man who harms us, mind or body, have power to go forth on both his legs, or hold with both his hands, or see with both his eyes, not the land (beneath his feet), or the herd before his face. 30. At the aroused and fearful * Dragon, green, and belching forth his poison, for the righteous saint that perishes, yellow H(a)oma, hurl thy mace2 ! At the (murderous) bludgeon-bearer, committing deeds unheard of3, blood-thirsty, (drunk) with fury, yellow H(a)oma, hurl thy mace !

31. Against the wicked human tyrant, hurling weapons at the head, for the righteous saint that perishes, yellow H(a)oma, hurl thy mace ! Against the righteousness-disturber, the unholy life-destroyer, thoughts and words of our4 religion well-delivering, yet in actions never reaching, for the righteous saint that perishes, yellow H(a)oma, hurl thy mace ! 32. Against the body of the harlot, with her magic minds o'erthrowing with (intoxicating) pleasures5, to the lusts her person offering, whose0 mind as vapour wavers as it flies before the wind, for the righteous saint that perishes, yellow H(a)oma, hurl thy mace! 1 Pahl. sakhmakan ; Ner. bhayawkare. 2 Or, ' strike thy club.' 3 ' Deeds apart,' ' evil deeds.' 4 Free. 5 Or, 'holding.' 6 YeNhe must be an error ; otherwise ' offering the person to him whose mind as vapour wavers.'

1. Let the Demon-gods and Goddesses fly far away x from hence, and let the good Sraosha make here his home ! [And may the good Blessedness here likewise dwell], and may she here spread delight and peace within this house, Ahura's, which is sanctified by H(a)oma, bringing righteousness (to all). 2. At the first force of thy pressure, O intelligent ! I praise thee with my voice, while I grasp at first thy shoots. At thy next pressure, O intelligent ! I praise thee with my voice, when as with full force of a man I crush thee down. 3. I praise the cloud that waters thee, and the rains which make thee grow on the summits of the mountains ; and I praise thy lofty mountains where the H(a)oma branches spread 2. 4. This wide earth do I praise, expanded far (with paths), the productive, the full bearing, thy mother, holy plant ! Yea, I praise the lands where thou dost grow, sweet-scented, swiftly spreading, the good growth of the Lord. O H(a)oma, thou growest on the mountains, apart on many paths3, and there still may'st thou flourish. The springs of Righteousness most verily thou art, (and the fountains of the ritual find their source in thee) !

1 The Pahlavi as corrected by the MS. of Dastur Hoshang^i GamSspgi has bara akhar min latamman pac/end bara. sheda-; Ner. .ftz'te pa-rMt asmat prapatanti, rite deva^ rz'te devasahaya// devya/^, uttama^ -Sro.ro nivasati. 2 Or, ' where, O Haoma ! thou hast grown,' reading — wa with Barth. as 2nd sing. perf. pret. middle. 3 Or, ' on the pathways of the birds.' 5. Grow (then) because I pray to thee on all thy stems and branches, in all thy shoots (and tendrils) increase thou through my word ! 6. H(a)oma grows while he is praised, and the man who praises him is therewith more victorious. The lightest pressure of thee, H(a)oma, thy feeblest praise, the slightest tasting of thy juice, avails to the thousand-smiting of the D(a)evas. 7. Wasting doth vanish from that house, and with it foulness, whither in verity they bear thee, and where thy praise in truth is sung, the drink of H(a)oma, famed, health-bringing (as thou art). [(Pazand) to his village and abode they bear him.] 8. All other toxicants go hand in hand with Rapine of the bloody spear, but H (a)oma's stirring power goes hand in hand with friendship. [Light is the drunkenness of H(a)oma (Pazand).]

Who as a tender son caresses H(a)oma, forth to the bodies of such persons H(a)oma comes to heal. 9. Of all the healing virtues, H(a)oma, whereby thou art a healer, grant me some. Of all the victorious powers, whereby thou art a victor, grant me some. A faithful praiser will I be to thee, O H(a)oma, and a faithful praiser (is) a better (thing) than Righteousness the Best ; so hath the Lord, declaring (it), decreed. 10. Swift * and wise hath the well-skilled 2 Deity created thee ; swift and wise on high Haraiti did He, the well-skilled, plant thee. 11. And taught (by implanted instinct) on every 1 Having immediate effect, and giving wisdom. 2 Comp. Y. XLIV, 5. side, the bounteous 1 birds have carried thee to the Peaks-above-the-eagles 2, to the mount's extremest summit, to the gorges and abysses, to the heights of many pathways 3, to the snow-peaks ever whitened. 12. There, H(a)oma, on the ranges dost thou grow of many kinds. Now thou growest of milky whiteness, and now thou growest golden ; and forth thine healing liquors flow for the inspiring of the pious. So terrify away from me the (death's) aim of the curser. So terrify and crush his thought who stands as my maligner.

13. Praise be to thee, O H(a)oma, (for he makes the poor man's thoughts as great as any of the richest whomsoever.) Praise be to H(a)oma, (for he makes the poor man's thoughts as great as when mind reacheth culmination.) With manifold retainers dost thou, O H(a)oma, endow the man who drinks thee mixed with milk ; yea, more prosperous thou makest him, and more endowed with mind. 14. Do not vanish from me suddenly like milkdrops in the rain ; let thine exhilarations go forth ever vigorous and fresh ; and let them come to me with strong effect. Before thee, holy H(a)oma, thou bearer of the ritual truth, and around thee would I cast this body, a body which (as all) may see (is fit for gift and) grown 4. 15. I renounce with vehemence the murderous woman's 5 emptiness, the Caini's, hers, with intellect 1 Possibly ' the birds taught by the bounteous one ; ' the ' Godtaught birds.' 2 Elsewhere and here also possibly a proper name. 3 Or the ' pathways of the birds ; ' so Haug, following Spiegel and Justi. Gu^rati, as above. 4 Which is seen as mine well-grown. 6 Caini seems always used in an evil sense in the later Avesta.

dethroned 1. She vainly thinks to foil us, and would beguile both Fire-priest and H(a)oma ; but she herself, deceived therein, shall perish. And when she sits at home 2, and wrongly eats of H(a)oma's offering, priest's mother will that never make her, nor give her holy 3 sons ! 1 6. 4 To five do I belong, to five others do I not ; of the good thought am I, of the evil am I not ; of the good word am I, of the evil am I not; of the good deed am I, and of the evil, not. To Obedience am I given, and to deaf disobedience, not ; to the saint do I belong, and to the wicked, not ; and so from this on till the ending shall be the spirits' parting. (The two shall here divide.) 1 7. Thereupon spake Zarathurtra : Praise to H(a)oma, Mazda-made. Good is H(a)oma, Mazdamade. All the plants of H(a)oma praise I, on the heights of lofty mountains, in the gorges of the valleys, in the clefts (of sundered hill-sides) cut for the bundles bound by women. From the silver cup I pour Thee to the golden chalice over5. Let me not thy (sacred) liquor spill to earth, of precious cost.

18. These are thy Gathas6, holy H(a)oma, these 1 I would correct to a form of khratu. 2 Compare the avoiding the service mentioned by the Pahlavi translator on Y. LIII, 5. 3 Or, more safely, ' many sons.' * Haoma speaks. 5 Here the priest evidently manipulates the cups containing the Haoma-juice. 6 The application of this term here seems to point to a high antiquity for the Haoma Yai-t ; if not in the present piece, which is not so old as the Gathas, then in previous hymns to Haoma of which this Yast is an improvement, or extension. thy songs, and these thy teachings l, and these thy truthful ritual words, health2 -imparting, victorygiving, from harmful hatred healing giving. 19. These and thou art mine, and forth let thine exhilarations flow ; bright and sparkling let them hold on their (steadfast) way ; for light are thine exhilaration(s), and flying lightly come they here. Victory-giving smiteth H(a)oma, victory -giving is it worshipped ; with this Gathic word we praise it. 20. Praise to the Kine ; praise and victory (be) spoken to her! Food for the Kine, and pasture! ' For the Kine let thrift use toil ; yield thou us food3.'

2 1 . We worship the yellow lofty one ; we worship H(a)oma who causes progress, who makes the settlements advance; we worship H(a)oma who drives death afar ; yea, we worship all the H(a)oma plants. And we worship (their) blessedness, and the Fravashi of Zarathustra Spitama, the saint 4.

Prelude to the H(a)oma-offering5. 1. Three clean creatures (full of blessings) curse betimes while yet invoking, the cow, the horse, and then H(a)oma. The cow cries to her driver6 thus : 1 Ner. possibly figuratively ya/z kaj/frt asvadana^. 2 Ner. saundaryawz. s See Y. XLVIII, 5. 4 The YeNhS hatam follows. 5 This characteristic fragment is repeated and extended in the later literature of the Parsis. The curse of the cow, horse, and of Haoma (scilicet the priest) when they are stinted, was extended to all domestic animals. It has been difficult to avoid the full metrical rhythm of the original with its jingling cadence. A full freedom is also not avoided. * Not 'to the priest ; ' Ner. grzhitaram.

Childless be thou, shorn of offspring, evil-famed, and slander-followed, who foddered x fairly dost not use me, but fattenest me for wife or children, and for thy niggard selfish meal. 2. The horse cries to his rider thus : Be not spanner 2 of the racers ; stretch no coursers to fullspeed ; do not stride across the fleetest, thou, who dost not pray me swiftness in the meeting thick with numbers, in the circuit thronged with men. 3. H(a)oma speaks his drinker thus : Childless be thou, shorn of offspring, evil-famed, and slanderfollowed, who holdest me from full outpouring, as a robber, skulls in-crushing. No head-smiter3 am I ever, holy H(a)oma, far from death4. 4. Forth my father gave an offering, tongue and left eye chose Ahura, set apart for H(a)oma's meal. 5. Who this offering would deny me, eats himself, or prays it from me, this which Mazda gave to bless me, tongue with left eye (as my portion). 6. In his house is born no fire-priest, warrior ne'er in chariot standing, never more the thrifty tiller. In his home be born Dahakas, Murakas of evil practice, doing deeds of double nature. 7. Quick, cut off then H(a)oma's portion, gift of flesh for doughty H(a)oma! Heed lest H(a)oma

1 ' Who dost not give me cooked (food) ' seems improbable. If A^astam means fodder, why is it fern., especially here with a feminine correlative ? I think that ' having good food ' is the meaning of the word, as an adjective, and agreeing with gam understood. Possibly, ' who dost not bestow upon me as the one well-foddered.' 3 ' Light is the intoxication of Haoma ; ' (other toxicants smite the head). 4 ' Having death afar.' bind thee fettered, as he bound the fell Turanian Frangrasyan x (the murderous robber) fast in iron close-surrounded in the mid-third 2 of this earth ! 8. Thereupon spake Zarathustra3: Praise to H(a)oma made by Mazda, good is H(a)oma Mazda-made. 9. 4Who to us is one hereupon to thee (becomes) two, to be made to three, for the five5-making of the four, for the seven-making of the sixth, who are your nine in the decade (?), who serve you and with zeal 10. 7 To thee, O holy H(a)oma! bearer of the ritual sanctity, I offer this my person which is seen (by all to be) mature, (and fit for gift) ; to H(a)oma the effective do I offer it, and to the sacred exhilaration which he bestows ; and do thou grant to me (for this), O holy H(a)oma ! thou that drivest death afar, (Heaven) the best world of the saints, shining, all brilliant.

1 A Turanian king. 2 Observe the threefold division of the earth ; see it also in Vend. II. 3 A poetical reproduction. Z. had been long among the ancient dead. 4 The Raspi at present hands the Haoma-cup to the priest at this point ; the efficacy of the liquor is supposed to be multiplied. 5 Pe«daidyai is to be read as of course ; the letter a, not unlike « in a MS. when turned, was probably half inverted. 6 This seems rendered by the Pahlavi as an interlude between the Ratu and the Zaotar; comp. Y. XXVIII, n. Several broken sentences from other parts of the Avesta are here doubtfully recalled, perhaps as having especial sanctity. 7 The Raspi brings the Haoma-vessel to the Baresman at this point ; and touching its stand, the Mah-ru, lays a cloth on the right hand of the Zaotar, who, looking at the vessel, proceeds to recite as follows in verse 10.

11. (The Ashem Vohu, &c) 12-15. May'st Thou rule at Thy will, O Lord1 ! 16. I confess myself a Mazdayasnian of Zarathiutra's order 2. 1 7. 3 1 celebrate my praises for good' thoughts, good words, and good deeds for my thoughts, my speeches, and (my) actions. With chanting praises I present all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, and with rejection I repudiate all evil thoughts, and words, and deeds. 18. Here I give to you, O ye Bountiful Immortals! sacrifice and homage with the mind, with words, deeds, and my entire person ; yea, (I offer) to you the flesh of my very body (as your own). And I praise Righteousness. A blessing is Righteousness (called) the Best, &c. 1. I drive5 the Daevas hence; I confess as a Mazda-worshipper of the order of Zarathustra, estranged from the Daevas, devoted to the lore of 1 See Y. VIII, 5-8. 2 See Y. Ill, 24, 25. 3 This piece is in the Gathic dialect, and therefore an especially fitting prelude to the Confession of faith in Y. XII. 4 This piece in the Gathic dialect has claims to higher antiquity next after the Haptanghaiti. Its retrospective cast shows that it is later than the original period. Verse 7 savours of a later date with its reference to the plants and waters. That Zarathurtra, Kavi Vutaspa, Frashao^tra, and Gamaspa are named by no means proves that they were still living. Still, they are not mentioned with any fanciful or superstitious exaggeration ; they are not yet demi-gods.

5 As a partial explanation of naismi * from nas, compare the aorist ncrat. Possibly also from nad, ' I curse the demons.' the Lord, a praiser1 of the Bountiful Immortals; and to Ahura Mazda, the good and endowed with good possessions, I attribute all things good, to the holy One, the resplendent, to the glorious, whose are all things whatsoever which are good ; whose is the Kine, whose is Asha (the righteous order pervading all things pure), whose are the stars, in whose lights the glorious beings and objects are clothed 2. 2. And I choose Piety, the bounteous and the good, mine may she be 3. And therefore I loudly deprecate all robbery 4 and violence against the (sacred) Kine, and all drought 5 to the wasting of the Mazdayasnian villages. 3. Away from (?) their thoughts do I wish to lead (the thought of) wandering at will, (away the thought of) free nomadic pitching of the tent, for I wish to remove (?) all wandering from0 (their) Kine which abide in steadfastness upon this land; and bowing down in worship to Righteousness I dedicate my offerings with praise so far as that. Never may I stand as a source of wasting, never as a source of withering to the Mazdayasnian villages, not for the love ; of body or of life.

4. Away do I abjure the shelter and headship of the 2 A genuine citation from the Gathas (see Y. XXXI, 7). 3 A genuine allusion to the Gathas (Y. XXXII, 2). 4 This preserves the proper reading of tayu^a (so the Pahlavi) in Y. XXIX, 1. 5 Viyapa/ as beyond a doubt ; so viyapem in verse 3. G Fra has the same force as in fra perenaoiti (?), to fill forth, to empty. Otherwise, 'forth to their thoughts I offer in my prayer free ranging at their choice, and a lodging where they will, together with their cattle which dwell upon this land.' T Comp. nairi-/£inangho, khratu-^inangho, and shaeto-^inangho. Daevas, evil as they are ; aye, utterly bereft of good, and void of virtue, deceitful in their wickedness, of (all) beings those most like the Demon-of-the-Lie, the most loathsome of existing things, and the ones the most of all bereft of good. 5. Off, off, do I abjure the Daevas and all possessed by them, the sorcerers and all that hold to their devices, and every existing being of the sort ; their thoughts do I abjure, their words and actions, and their seed (that propagate their sin) ; away do I abjure their shelter and their headship, and the iniquitous of every kind who act as Rakhshas act!

Thus and so in very deed might Ahura Mazda have indicated * to Zarathiutra in every question which Zarathartra asked, and in all the consultations in the which they two conversed together. 6. Thus and so might Zarathu^tra have abjured the shelter and the headship of the Daevas in all the questions, and in all the consultations with which they two conversed together, Zarathu.rtra and the Lord. And so I myself, in whatsoever circumstances I may be placed, as a worshipper of Mazda, and of Zarathiutra's order, would so abjure the Daevas and their shelter, as he who 2 was the holy Zarathustra abjured them (once of old). 7. To that religious sanctity 3 to which the waters appertain, do I belong, to that sanctity to which the plants, to that sanctity to which the Kine of blessed gift4, to that religious sanctity to which Ahura Mazda, who made both Kine and holy men, belongs, 1 Reading adakhshayaeta; otherwise khshaya6ta, commanded. 2 The Pahlavi structure ' he who ' foreshadowed, as often. '" Not in the sense of recompense here. 4 Observe this original meaning; 'butter' is here impossible. to that sanctity do I. Of that creed which Zarathiurtra held, which Kavi Viitaspa, and those two, Frashaostra and c7amaspa ; yea, of that religious faith which every Saoshyawt who shall (yet come to) save (us), the holy ones who do the deeds of real significance, of that creed, and of that lore, am I.

8. A Mazda-worshipper I am, of Zarathustra's order ; (so) do I confess, as a praiser and confessor, and I therefore praise aloud the well-thought thought, the word well spoken, and the deed well done ; 9. Yea, I praise at once the Faith of Mazda, the Faith which has no faltering utterance \ the Faith that wields the felling halbert2, the Faith of kindred marriage, the holy (Creed), which is the most imposing, best, and most beautiful of all religions which exist, and of all that shall in future come to knowledge, Ahura's Faith, the Zarathustrian creed. Yea, to Ahura Mazda do I ascribe all good, and such shall be the worship of the Mazdayasnian belief!

1. I address (my invocation to) Ahura Mazda. And I invoke (among guardian beings) the chief3 of 1 Fraspavaokhedhram ; ' y ' miswritten for ' v.' Fra seems to be prohibitive -'speech without falling, or hesitation;' better as adj. 2 Comp. Y. XXXI, 18. 3 This Ratu is the description and representation of the Nmanopaiti as occupying the attention of the worshippers chiefly at the time of his mention in the course of the ritual. (I vary the expression 'chief with that of 'lord' here for the sake of change.) Once established as a Ratu in the ritual, he became a guardian genius Nmanya ; so of the others. (Y. XIII is in the Gathic dialect.) the house-lord, and the chief of the Vis-lord1, and the chief of the Zawtu-lord 2. And I invoke the chief of the province-lord 3. And the chief of women I invoke, the Mazdayasnian Faith, the blessed and good Pare^di 4, her who is the holy one of human-kind 5. And I invoke this (holy) earth which bears us. 2. And I invoke the friendly and most helpful person's0 lord, the Fire of Ahura Mazda, and also the most energetic lords of holy men, those who are most strenuous 7 in their care of cattle and the fields, and the chief of the thrifty tiller of the earth. And I invoke the steady settler 8 of sanctity, (and) the chief of the charioteer.

3. And I invoke the chief of the fire-priest by means of the most imposing sciences of the Mazdayasnian Faith. And I invoke the chief of the Atharvan, and his pupils I invoke ; yea, the lords of each of them. I invoke these lords, and I summon the Bountiful Immortals here, and the Prophets who shall serve us, the wisest as they are, the most scru- 1 Visya. 2 Zarctuma. 3 Dafo'yuma=Dahyuma. 4 The goddess of riches. B Lit. biped; see elsewhere where quadruped means merely beast. e Or, 'households.' 7 Ashethwozgatema (several manuscripts have ashe) finds its explanation from the Pahlavi of Dastur Hoshanggi Gamaspgi's MS. It may be read kabed rang- rasirntum instead of kabed yom raslmtum. The ancient error of yom arose from the fact that the copyist had before him a form which might be read either rog or rang, the characters being identical for either word. He could not reconcile himself to rang in the sense of effort, and so decided for r6g; but in order to guide his successors aright, he changed it for its synonym yom, which, as Spiegel well remarks, affords but little sense. But the word is rang, as I believe, and this is at once corroborated by Ner.'s bahuklcra. Read as + thwakh-ra + gatema= kabed + rang + rasuntum, the most progressing with painful energy.

8 Or, ' steadiest forces.' pulous in their exactness (as) they utter words (of doctrine and of service), the most devoted (to their duties likewise), and the most glorious in their thoughts (?) l. And I invoke the most imposing forces of the Mazdayasnian Faith, and the fire-priests I invoke, and the charioteers, the warriors, and the thrifty tillers of the soil. 4. And to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals! Ye who rule aright, and dispose (of all) aright, I offer the flesh of my very frame, and all the blessings of my life. Thus - the two spirits 3 thought, thus they spoke, and thus they did ; 5. And therefore as Thou, O Ahura Mazda ! didst think, speak, dispose, and do all things good (for us), so to Thee would we give, so would we assign to Thee our homage ; so would we worship Thee with our sacrifices. So would we bow before Thee with these gifts, and so direct our prayers to Thee with confessions of our debt. 6. By the kinship of the good kindred 4, by that of Righteousness the good (Thy righteous servant's nature) would we approach Thee, and by that of the good thrift-law, and of Piety the good.

7. And we would worship the Fravashi of the Kine of blessed gift5, and that of the holy Gaya Maretan, and we would worship the holy Fravashi 6 1 I should think that the reference was here to khratavo, Y. XL VI, 3. See Y. XXXII, 14, as alternatively rendered. 2 A portion of the text has here fallen out. 3 The recognition of a strong dualism here is imperative. Ahura alone is praised. 4 Or, ' of the good kinsman, the lord (?).' 5 Elsewhere meaning ' meat,' just as Ameretata/ and Haurvata/ mean wood and water. 6 Or, ' sanctity and the Fravashi.'

of Zarathustra Spitama, the saint. Yea, that one of beings do we worship whose better (service) in the sacrifice Ahura Mazda knows ; (even those women do we worship) whose1 (better service thus is known). Yea, both (holy) men and women (do we worship whom Ahura Mazda knows2). As the Ahu is excelling, so is our Ratu, one who rules from the Righteous Order, a creator of mental goodness, and of life's actions done for Mazda; and the Kingdom is to Ahura which to the poor (may offer) nurture 2. A blessing is the Right called the best, there is weal, there is weal to this (man), when toward Righteousness Best (he does) right 2. 8. We worship the Ahuna-vairya ; and we worship Asha Vahirta the best(?), the bountiful Immortal. And we sacrifice to the Ha fraoreti, even to the confession and laudation of the Mazdayasnian Faith ! 1. I will come to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals ! as a praiser and a priest, and an invoker and sacrificer, as a memorising reciter and a chanter, for Your sacrifice and homage, which are to be offered to You, the Bountiful Immortals, and for our dedication and sanctification ; (yea, for ours) who are the holy prophets (destined to benefit the saints).

2. And to You, O Ye Bountiful Immortals2 ! would I dedicate the flesh of my very body 3, and all the blessings of a prospered life 4. 3. In this Zaothra with this Baresman, I desire to 1 Feminine. 2 Elsewhere with verbal difference. 3 See Y. XXXIII, 14. " Verses 1, 2 are Gathic. approach the holy Yazads with my praise \ and all the holy lords of the ritual order at their times, Havani at his time, and Savanghi and Visya at their times. 4. I confess myself a Mazdayasnian, and of Zarathiutra's order 2. 5. The Zaotar speaks : As an Ahu (revered and) chosen, the Zaotar (?) speaks forth to me (?). The Ratu speaks : As an Ahii (revered and) to be chosen, the Zaotar speaks forth to me. The Zaotar : So let the Ratu from his Righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth !

1. With precept, praise, and with delight produced by grace 3, I call upon the Bountiful Immortals the good, and also therewith the beautiful by name 4 ; and I sacrifice to them with the blessing of the good ritual, with the earnest blessings of the good Mazdayasnian Faith. 2. Whose best eift from his Righteousness is mine in the offering Ahura this knoweth ; who have lived, and live ever, by their names these I worship, while I draw near with praises 5. The Good Kingdom is to be chosen, that lot which most of all bears on (our blessings 6). 3. Let Sraosha (Obedience) be here present for 1 See Y. II, 18. 2 See Y. Ill, 24, 25. 15 Root rap=rabh, a reception of grace, or being received by grace. 4 Naman may be meant for a locative ; ' with the beautiful things in their name (?).' 5 See Y. LI, 22. 8 See Y. LI, 1.

the sacrifice of Ahura Mazda, the most beneficent, the holy, who is so clear to us as at the first, so at the last ; yea, let him be present here \ 4. As the Ahu (revered and) to be chosen, the Atarevakhsha thus speaks forth to me. (Response) : So let the Ratu from his righteousness, holy and learned, speak forth ! The Sacrifice continues with increased fulness of expression. i. We worship Ahura Mazda, the holy lord of the ritual order, who disposes (all) aright, the greatest Yazad, who is also the most beneficent, and the one who causes the settlements to advance, the creator of good creatures ; yea, we worship Him with these offered Zaothras, and with truthfully and scrupulously delivered words ; and we worship every holy Yazad of the heaven (as well) ! 2. And we worship Zarathuitra Spitama in our sacrifice, the holy lord of the ritual order with these Zaothras and with faithfully delivered words ; and we worship every holy earthly Yazad as we worship him ; and we worship also the Fravashi of Zarathu.stra Spitama, the saint. And we worship the utterances of Zarathiutra and his religion, his faith and his lore.

3. And we worship the former religions of the world 2 devoted to Righteousness which were insti- 1 This fragment in the Gathic dialect might more properly be placed before the Srosh Ya.st 2 So the Pahlavi translator, probably reading angheu^ ; otherwise tuted at the creation, the holy religions of the Creator Ahura Mazda, the resplendent and glorious. And we worship Vohu Manah (the Good Mind), and Asha Vahiita (who is Righteousness the Best), and Khshathra-vairya, the Kingdom to be desired, and the good and bountiful Aramaiti (true piety in the believers), and Haurvata/ and Ameretata/ (our Weal and Immortality). 4. Yea, we worship the Creator Ahura Mazda and the Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, and the good waters which are Mazda-made and holy, and the resplendent sun of the swift horses, and the moon with the seed of cattle (in his beams J) ; and we worship the star Tiitrya, the lustrous and glorious ; and we worship the soul of the Kine of blessed endowment, (5) and its Creator Ahura Mazda ; and we worship Mithra of the wide pastures, and Sraosha (Obedience) the blessed, and Rashnu the most just, and the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints, and the Blow-ofvictory Ahura-given (as it is). And we worship Raman //z'astra, and the bounteous Wind of blessed gift, (6) and (its) Creator Ahura Mazda, and the good Mazdayasnian Religion, and the good Blessedness and Ar^ta/.

And we worship the heaven and the earth of blessed gift, and the bounteous Mathra, and the stars without beginning (to their course), self-disposing as they are. 7. And we worship the glorious works of Righteousness in which the souls of the dead find satisfaction and delight [(Pazand) which are the Fravashis 'of the conscience that loves the right.' In Ya^t XIII, 118 the word is a proper name through an error. 1 Possibly in allusion to the menses. The moon is masc. of the saints], and we worship (Heaven) the best world of the saints, shining, all glorious. 8. And we worship the two, the milk-offering and the libation, the two which cause the waters to flow forth1, and the plants to flourish, the two foes who meet the Dragon l demon-made ; and who are set to meet, to defeat, and to put to flight, that cheat2, the Pairika, and to contradict the insulting malice of the Ashemaogha (the persecuting heretic) and that of the unholy tyrant full of death 3. 9. And we worship all waters and all plants, and all good men and all good women. And we worship all these Yazads, heavenly and earthly4, who are beneficent and holy.

10. And we worship thee (our) dwelling-place who art the (earth, our) bounteous Aramaiti 5, and Thee, O Ahura Mazda, O holy Lord of this abode6 ! which is the home of healthy herds and healthy men, and of those who are both endowed with health and lover(s) of the ritual right. (Response of the individualworshipper(?).) Wherefore whichever of persons, or whatever of bodily influences, is most helpful and preserving in that abode (thus owned by Mazda) let this meet me in mine abode, and there may it abide for summer and for winter. (Or7 let that one meet me in all my house, 1 We cannot mistake a connection here with yo shim ^aghana — avasn^at sartave sapta sindhun. 2 Or is it possible that a plague of mice is meant, mus being here indeclinable ? 3 Ordering the execution of many of his subjects. 4 Gaethya^a with J 3, K n. 5 Later association of A. and the earth. 6 Originally recited in private houses. in whom are what of influences are the most mighty power for the body and the person's life ; yea, let that one meet me there, and there abide for summer and for winter (for my help) !)

To the Fires, Waters, Plants, &c. i-io1, 11. We worship thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son ! We worship the fire Berezi-savangha (of the lofty use 2), and the fire Vohu-fryana (the good and friendly3), and the fire Urvazista (the most beneficial and most helpful 4), and the fire Vazista (the most supporting5), and the fire Spaiista (the most bountiful c), and Nairya-sangha the Yazad of the royal lineage \ and that fire which is the house-lord of all houses and Mazda-made, even the son of Ahura Mazda, the holy lord of the ritual order, with all the fires. 12. And we worship the good and best waters Mazda-made, holy, all the waters Mazda-made and holy, and all the plants which Mazda made, and which are holy. 1 See chapter VI, which is nearly identical with XVII, 1-10. 2 This fire is that before Ahura Mazda and the kings. 3 This fire dwells in the bodies of men and beasts (animal heat). * This is in trees and plants. 5 This in the clouds (lightning). c This is the fire which is applied in the world (Bundahij, West, page 61). 7 That N. is here referred to as connected with the fire, seems certain ; this fire corresponds with that of Vahram in places of worship.

13. And we worship the Mathra-spe^ta (the bounteous word-of-reason), the Zarathuitrian law against the Daevas, and its long descent. 14. And we worship Mount Ushi-darena which is Mazda-made and shining with its holiness, and all the mountains shining with holiness, and of abundant glory, and which Mazda made — . 15. And we worship the good and pious prayer for blessings, (16) and these waters and (these lands), (17) and all the greatest chieftains, lords of the ritual order1; 18. And I praise, invoke, and glorify the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis of the saints, those of the house, the Vis, the Za/Jtuma, the Da/foyuma 2, and the Zarathuitrotema, and all the holy Yazads 3 ! 1. Grant me, Thou who art maker of the Kine, plants and waters, Immortality, Mazda! Grant, too, Weal, Spirit bounteous — . Zand or Commentary on the Ahuna-vairya (As the Ahu is excellent, so (is) the Ratu (one who rules) from the righteous Order, a creator of mental goodness and of life's actions done for Mazda ; and 1 1-17 occur also in MSS. as Y. LIX, 1-17. 2 Dahyuma. 3 The Yexhe hatam follows. 4 See Y. LI, 7, and Y. XLVII. 5 The obvious errors contained in this ancient comment cannot

the Kingdom (is) for Ahura which to the poor shall offer a nurturer.) I. Zarathustra asked of Ahura Mazda: O Ahura Mazda, Thou most bounteous Spirit! maker1 of the corporeal worlds, the holy One ! which was that word which Thou did'st declare to me, (2) which was before the sky, and before the water, before the earth, and before the cattle, before the plants, and before the fire, and before the holy man, and the Demon-gods (the Daevas), before the Khrafstramen 2, and before all the incarnate world ; even before all the good creatures made by Mazda, and which contain (and are) the seed of righteousness ? 3. Thereupon Ahura Mazda said : It was this piece 3, the Ahuna-vairya, O Spitama Zarathustra ! which I pronounced as thine (4) before the sky, and before the waters, before the land, and before the cattle and the plants, and before the fire, Ahura Mazda's son, before the holy man 4, and before the Daevas, and Khrafstra-men, and before the entire corporeal world, even before the good creatures made by Mazda, which contain (and are) the seed of righteousness. 5. It was these part(s) of the Ahuna-vairya, O Spi- destroy its great interest as a specimen of early exegesis. Where I hold it to be erroneous may be seen from my rendering of the Ahuna without further observations. The Ahuna-vairya is in the Gathic dialect, and the Ahunavaiti metre. This Zand is in the Zend (sic). Ahu gives better sense as a nom.

1 See daunghoi/ para below. 2 May not khrafstra be a degeneration from kehrp-astar ? While the term may be applied to wild beasts, one is strongly inclined to hold that foul insects are chiefly referred to. 3 This part of the Ahuna (?), meaning its several parts. * Tradition naturally specifies Gaya Maretan. tama Zarathustra! which especially belongs to me, and when each is intoned aloud without the (needless) repetition 1 of verses and of words, and without their omission, it is worth a hundred of their other stanzas, even although they are prominent in the ritual, and likewise equally as well recited without additions or omissions; nay, further, when it is intoned imperfectly but added to, and with omissions, it is even then in effect equivalent (not to a hundred indeed, but) to ten other (stanzas) that are prominent. 6. And whoever in this world of mine which is corporeal shall mentally recall, O Spitama* Zarathustra. ! a portion of the Ahuna-vairya, and having thus recalled it, shall undertone it, or beginning to recite it with the undertone, shall then utter it aloud, or chanting it with intoning voice, shall worship thus, then with even threefold (safety and with speed 2) I will bring his soul over the Bridge of Alnva/, I who am Ahura Mazda (I will help him to pass over it) to Heaven (the best life), and to Righteousness the Best, and to the lights of heaven 3.

7. And whoever, O Spitama Zarathiutra ! while undertoning the part(s) of the Ahuna-vairya (or this piece the Ahuna-vairya), takes ought therefrom, whether the half, or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth, I who am Ahura Mazda will draw his soul off 1 I do not think that mispronunciation is here intended; the Pahlavi has abara shutakih; aigha^ bara la khelmune^; Ner. na sete. I am strongly inclined to read anapashuta for anapishuta. 2 Three times seems to me to lack meaning, but it may have given rise to a foolish belief that the soul went three times before death to heaven. 3 Vahutaeibyo retaining this sense here. from the better world ; yea, so far off will I withdraw it as the earth is large and wide ; [and this 1 earth is as long as it is broad 2]. 8. And I pronounced this saying which contains its AhCi and its Ratu 3 before the creation of this heaven, before the making of the waters, and the plants, and the four-footed kine, before the birth of the holy biped man, before this sun with its body made for the acquisition of the creation of the Bountiful Immortals4.

9. 5And the more bountiful G of the two Spirits (Ahura) declared to me7 (Zarathmtra) the entire creation of the pure, that which exists at present, that which is in the course of emerging into existence 8, and that which shall be, with reference to the performance and realisation ' of the actions of a life devoted to Mazda9.' 10. And this word is the most emphatic of the words which have ever been pronounced, or which are 10 now spoken, or which shall be spoken in future; for (the eminence of) this utterance is a thing of such a nature, that if all the corporeal and living world 1 fm here equals iyam. 2 Pazand. 3 So, referring to the wording of the Ahuna. 4 Enabling us to receive the blessings which they bestow through the influence of the sun. ' The sun-shaped matter ' would give us a materialism. The Pahlavi has ' levino min zak khurkhshea'o brino (?) kerpo tanu i khurkhshe</ pavan bara ayapakih i ameshospendano yehabun<f.' 5 I hold that Ahura speaks no further here. 6 See Y. XLV, 1. 7 Of course fictitious, as Z. had long been among the dead. 8 Does bavai«ti/£a mean ' past ? '

9 Through the state of action ; jkyaothananam anghaif Mazdai. 10 Can mruye(-ve) be a third singular like ghne, ise ? should learn it, and learning should hold fast by it, they would be redeemed from their mortality! 11. And this our word I have proclaimed as a symbol to be learned *, and to be recited, as it were, to every one of the beings under the influence of and for the sake of Righteousness the Best. 12. And ' as ' (the worshipper has) here spoken it forth, when he has thus ' appointed ' the ' Lord and regulator V so (by thus reciting these authoritative words), he acknowledges Ahura Mazda (as prior to, and supreme) over, those creatures who have ' the mind' 3 as their first. ' As ' he acknowledges Him as the greatest of them all, 'so' he assigns the creatures to Him (as to their originator). 1 3. As he undertones the third sentence, he thereby announces that 'all the amenities of life appertain to the 'good' Mazda4, (and come) from Him. As he recites ' dazda manangho,' ' the creator of mind,' he acknowledges Him as superior and prior to mind ; and as he makes Him the one who indicates (the truth) to mind, (saying) ' manangho of mind,' which means that by this much he makes Him (its director), and then he makes Him ' the lord of actions 5.'

14. And when he acknowledges Him for the creatures thus, 'O Mazda6!' he acknowledges Him (as 1 Or, ' it has been declared to us, the learner, and the one in charge of the ritual.' 2 In the words yatha ahu vairyo, atha ratuj. 3 See dazda manangho, coming ' before ' jkyaothananam angheus, khshathrem, and vastarem. 4 Can the Ahuna have lost words, and is Mazdau hu^itu vangheus a citation? At all events, the Zandist errs in separating vanghau from manangho. He attributes mystical meaning to every word. 6 Comp. ahu-jkyaothananam. * Reading Mazda (?). their ruler) when he assigns the creatures to Him thus. He then assigns the Kingdom to Ahura1, saying : ' Thine, O Mazda! is the Kingdom.' And he assigns a nourisher and protector to the poor, saying: Yim drigubyo dada/ vastarem ; that is, as a friend to Spitama 2. This is the fifth sentence, (and it concludes) the entire recital and word, (even) the whole of this word of Ahura Mazda 3. 15. He who is the best (of all) Ahura Mazda, pronounced the Ahuna-vairya, and as He pronounced it as the best, so He caused it to have its effect4, (He, ever) the same, (as He is).

The evil one at once5 arose (to oppose Him), but He (Ahura) repelled that wicked one with His interdict, and with this repelling renunciation : Neither our minds are in harmony, nor our precepts, nor our comprehensions, nor our beliefs, nor our words, nor our actions, nor our consciences, nor our souls G ! 16. And this saying, uttered by Mazda, has three stages, or measures8, and belongs to four classes (of men as its supporters), and to five chiefs (in the political world, without whom its efficiency is 1 KhshathremX-a Ahurai a. 2 As having the interest of the poor at heart. 3 Supposing Ahura (?) to be meant by Ahu and Ratu ; see Mazdai Ahurai. The Zandist may have rendered : As Ahura is the (first) to be chosen, so He is our Ratu from His righteousness, the creator of Vohiiman (including all good creatures), &c. 8 Reading haithwa/; Pahlavi tiz ; possibly 'being present.' 6 See Y. XLV, 2. 7 This Zand differs, as to the application of Ahu and Ratu, from the former. 8 Afsman elsewhere applies to metre. marred), and it has a conclusion ending with a gift. (Question.) How are its measures (constituted) ? (Answer.) The good thought, the good word, and the good deed. 1 7. (Question.) With what classes of men ? (Answer.) The priest, the charioteer (as the chief of warriors), the systematic tiller1 of the ground, and the artisan2. These classes therefore accompany the religious man throughout his entire duty 3 with the correct thought, the truthful word, and the righteous action. These are the classes and states in life which give attention to the rulers 4, and fulfil the (laws) of religion ; (yea, they are the guides and companions of that religious man) through whose actions the settlements are furthered in righteousness.

18. (Question.) How are the chiefs (constituted)? (Answer.) They are the house-chief, the village-chief, and the tribe-chief, the chief of the province, and the Zarathartra 5 as the fifth. That is, so far as those provinces are concerned which are different from, and outside of the Zarathiutrian regency, or domain. [Ragha c which has four chiefs (only) is the Zarathurtrian (district) ]. (Question.) How are the chiefs of this one constituted ? (Answer.) They (are) the housechief, the village-chief, the tribe-chief, and the Zarathustra as the fourth. 19. (Question.) What is the thought well thought ? (Answer.) (It is that which the holy man thinks), the one who holds the holy thought to be before all other things 7. (Question.) 1 These are ' the poor/ but not mendicants. 2 A class not in the Gathas ; observe the rise of a caste system. 3 Or, ' experience.' 4 Or, ' the ritual.' 5 The title of a governor. 6 It did not need the fifth. It was a centre of rule. 7 Ashavan manas paoiryo. What is the word well spoken ? (Answer.) It is the Mathra Spewta1, the bounteous word of reason. (Question.) What is the deed well done ? (Answer.) It is that done with praises 2, and by the creatures who regard Righteousness as before all other things. 20. (Question.) Mazda made a proclamation, whom did He announce ? (Answer.) Some one who was holy, and yet both heavenly and mundane 3. (Question.) What was His character, He who made this sacred enunciation ? (Answer.) He who is the best (of all), the ruling one. (Question.) Of what character (did He proclaim him the coming one) ? (Answer.) As holy and the best, a ruler who exercises no wanton or despotic power 4.

21. We sacrifice to the (several) part(s) of the Ahuna-vairya. We sacrifice to the memorised recital of the Ahuna-vairya, and its regular chanting and its use in the full Yasna.

Zand, or Commentary, on the Ashem Vohu". 1. A blessing is Righteousness (called) the best; there is weal, there is weal to this man when the Right (helps) the Righteousness best, (when the pious man serves it in truth5). Ahura Mazda spake forth : Ashem vohu vahLrtem asti. To this Asha, the holy ritual sanctity, one attributes the 1 Probably the Gathas with their lost portions, also the Vendiclad. 2 Ritual strictness based upon practical piety. 4 The latter part of this Zand shows that the Ratu was recognised as a human ruler in it. 6 Elsewhere verbally different; 'when Asha is for A.V.' qualities of ' good ' and ' best,' as one attributes property to an owner ; thus this sentence vohu vahi^tem asti is substantiated (at once x). 2. Una asti usta ahmai ; by this attribution of blessedness (the praiser) assigns every person (or thing) of a sacred nature to every holy person, and as one usually (?) and regularly (?) 2 assigns every person or thing (?) 3 that is holy to every holy man. 3. Yya^ ashai vahLrtai 4 ; by these words the worshipper ascribes the entire Mathra (to Asha Vahlrta), and ascribes all to the Mathra, as one ascribes the kincrdom to Righteousness, and as one ascribes righteousness to the invoking saint ; yea, as one ascribes righteousness to us who are the prophets (who shall help and bless the people). The three maxims of the sentences (are thus fulfilled). And every word (in its detail), and the entire utterance in its proclamation, is the word of Ahura Mazda.

4. Mazda has made a proclamation. (Question.) Whom did He announce? (Answer.) That holy one who is both heavenly and earthly. (Question.) Of what character is He who has thus announced Him? (Answer.) He is the best, and the one who is exercising sovereign power. (Question.) Of what character is the man whom He announced ? (Answer.) 1 It is carried into effect ; possibly ' rendered fit for praising ' (?). 2 The Pahlavi indicates na staitya (?). 3 Ashavanem here and in Y. XIX, 19 might be a neuter from a transition, or addition. 5 This Catechetical addition is identical with that in Y. XIX. The wording alone is slightly altered in the translation to relieve the sameness. The holy and the best, the one who rules with no capricious tyranny. We sacrifice to the (several) part(s) of the Asha VahLrta (prayer). We sacrifice to the heard-recital of the Asha Vahiita, to its memorising, its chanting, and its sacrificial use : !

Catechetical Zand, or Commentary upon the YA A A _ ru O (The YeNhe. (To that one) of beings do we offer, whose superior (fidelity) in the sacrifice Ahura Mazda recognises by reason of the sanctity (within him ; yea, even to those female saints also do we sacrifice) whose (superior fidelity is thus likewise known ; thus) we sacrifice to (all, to both) the males and females (of the saints) !) 1 The YeNhe hatam follows. 2 The expressions in this prayer were suggested by Y. LI, 22 ; but the Zand does not consistently follow the thoughts in the Gatha. Tnn understood should be supplied as an object for yazamaide in connection with yeNhe, as well as taus/'a for y^ungham. In Y. LI, 22, it is, however, by no means certain that yazai applies to a tern yehya. Holding the twenty-first verse in mind, I am obliged to refer yehya to na spe«to. Here, however, men and women are worshipped, as it is improbable that the ' Immortals ' whose names are in the feminine are meant. The prayer is in the Gathic dialect, and ancient metre would hardly contain so artificial a formation. It can only be defended from the teng yazai Avais nammu of Y. LI, 22.

Or did the composer of the prayer correctly render Y. LI, 22, and boldly write his succinct words as being clear to his hearers from explanations which are now lost ? Such explanations (oral or written) as a matter of course existed from the first. No composer fails to discuss his productions. I. A word for the Yasna by Zarathu.stra, the saint. YeNhe, &c. Here the worshipper indicates and offers the Yasna (which is the sacrificial worship) of Mazda as by the command (or as the institution) of Ahura1. Hatam. Here the worshipper offers the sacrificial worship as if with the beings who are among those who are destined to live 2. 2. Y#ungham. Here he indicates and offers the sacrificial worship of those holy females who have Aramaiti at their head 3, as homage to the Immortals. These are the three sentences which comprehend all the Yasnian speech. (Question.) To whom is this Yasna addressed? (Answer.) To the Bountiful Immortals (in the course of the Yasna). 3. Thereupon spake Mazda : Salvation to this one, whosoever he may be ! May the absolute ruler Ahura grant it. (Question.) 4. Whom did He answer with this answer? (Answer.) He answered : The state of salvation ; and with this answer, ' the state of salvation,' he answered every saint who exists, every one who is coming into existence, and every one who shall exist in the future. (Question. Who answered thus ? Answer.) The best One. (Question. What did He answer ?) (Answer.) The best thing. (That is,) the best One, Mazda, answered the best and the holy (answer) for the better and the holy man. 5. We sacrifice to this piece, the YeNhe hatam, the prominent and holy Vast.

1 Referring yeNhe to Ahura (?). 2 Fit to live, clean. 3 The Ameshospends whose names are in the feminine ; so the Zandist erroneously.

1. With the Baresman brought hither together with the Zaothra, for the worship of the Creator Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious, and for that of the Bountiful Immortals, I desire to approach this Haoma with my praise, offered (as it is) with punctilious sanctity (or, for a blessing), and this fresh milk, and this plant Hadhanaepata. 2. And, as an act of worship to the beneficent. waters, I desire to approach these Zaothras with (my) praise offered (as they are) with punctilious sanctity, having the Haoma with them, and the flesh, with the Hadhanaepata. And I desire to approach the Haomawater with my praise for the beneficent waters ; and I desire to approach the stone mortar and the iron mortar with my praise. 3. And I desire to approach this plant for the Baresman with my praise, and the well-timed prayer for blessings, that which has approached (to accept our homage), and the memorised recital and the fulfilment of the p-ood Mazdayasnian Faith, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and] the well-timed and successful prayer for blessings, that of the holy lord of the ritual order. And I desire to approach these wood-billets and their perfume with my praise, — thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son ! Yea, I desire to approach all good things with my praise, those which Mazda made, and which have the seed of sanctity (within them), (4) for the propitiation of Ahura Mazda and of the Bountiful

Immortals, and of Sraosha the blessed, and of Ahura Mazda's Fire, the lofty ritual lord 1 ! 20. And I desire to approach this Haoma with (my) praise, that which is thus lifted up with sanctity, and this milk (fresh as it is, and as if) living and lifted up with sanctity, and this plant the Hadhanaepata lifted up with sanctity. 21. And I desire to approach these Zaothras with (my) praise for the beneficial waters, these Zaothras which have the H(a)oma with them and the milk with them, and the Hadhanaepata, and which are lifted up with sanctity. And I desire to approach the Haoma-water with (my) praise for the beneficial waters, and the two mortars, the stone one and the iron one, (22) and I desire to approach this branch for the Baresman with my praise, and the memorised recital and fulfilment of the Mazdayasnian law, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and the well-timed and persistent prayer for blessings (uttered) by the holy lord2 of the ritual order, and this wood and perfume, even thine, O Fire, Ahura Mazda's son, and all good objects Mazda-made (23) for the propitiation of Ahura Mazda, the resplendent, the glorious, and of the Bountiful Immortals, and of Mithra of the wide pastures, and of Raman Zfoastra3, (24) and of the resplendent sun, immortal, radiant, of the fleet horses, and of Vayu, (of predominant influence and) working on high, set over the other beings in the creation [(Pazand) ; that is for thee thus (O Vayu) when thine influence is that which apper-

1 5-1 9 =Y. Ill, 5-19; 20-23=1-4 from imem. 2 The priest? (Repetitions are, as everywhere, curtailed and varied.) 3 For closer rendering of details, see verses 2, 3, 4, which differ chiefly in the final dedication. tains to Spe/^ta Mainyu l], and for the propitiation of the most just knowledge Mazda-given, and of the holy and good Religion, the Mazdayasnian Faith ; (25) for the propitiation of the Mathra Spe;zta, (the bounteous) and holy, and the effective, instituted against the Daevas, the Zarathustrian law, and of the long descent of the good Mazdayasnian Faith - [the holding in mind and devotion to the Mathra Spe;/ta, and knowledge of the Mazdayasnian Religion] for the propitiation of the understanding which is innate and Mazda-made, and of that which is heard by the ear ; (26) and for thy propitiation, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son ! [(Pazand) ; (yea) thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son] with all the fires, and for the propitiation of Mount Ushi-darena, the Mazda-made, radiant with sanctity ; (27) and of all the holy Yazads, spiritual and earthly, and of the holy Fravashis, the redoubted and overwhelming, those of the ancient lore, and those of the next of kin and of the Yazad of the spoken name !

The Fravashis of the Saints; Prayers for their approach 3. 1. I desire to approach with my praise4 those Fravashis which have existed from of old, the Fravashis of the houses, and of the villages, of the communities, and of the provinces, which hold the 1 And not the evil Vayu, which appertains to Angra Mainyu. 2 Insert, ' and of the good Zarathtutrian devotion.' 3 This chapter is said to be reserved for funeral occasions. 4 Or, ' I pray for the approach.' See Y. XXVI. heaven in its place apart, and the water, land, and cattle, which hold the children in the wombs safely enclosed apart so that they do not miscarry. 2. And I desire to approach toward the Fravashi l of Ahura Mazda, and with my praise, and for those of the Bountiful Immortals, with all the holy Fravashis which are those of the heavenly Yazads. And I desire to approach the Fravashi of Gaya Maretan (the life-man) in my worship with my praise, and for that of Zarathiutra Spitama, and for those of Kavi Vfrtaspa, and of IsaZ-vastra2, the Zarathiutrian, with all the holy Fravashis of the other ancient counsellors as well. 3. And I desire in my worship to approach toward every holy Fravashi whosesoever it may be, and wheresoever dead upon this earth (its possessor may have lain), the pious woman, or the girl of tender years, the maiden diligent (among the cattle) in the field (who) may have dwelt (here ; yea, all) which are now worshipped from this house 3, which are attentive to, and which attain to (our) good Yasnas and (our) homage. 4. Yea, I desire to approach the Fravashis of the saints with my praise, redoubted (as they are) and overwhelming, the Fravashis of those who held to the ancient lore, and the Fravashis of the next-of-kin ; and I desire to approach toward the Fravashi of mine own 4 soul in my worship with my praise ; and I desire therewith to approach toward all the lords of the ritual, and with

1 Fravashi seems a dative ; comp. uti'. 2 Zarathujtra's eldest son by his wife Padokhshah ; he was the chief of priests according to tradition. 3 This Yasna was recited from house to house. 4 The 'own' soul; notice the seeming distinction between Fravashi and soul. praise ; and I desire to approach all the good Yazads with my praise, the heavenly and the earthly, who are meet for sacrifice and homage, because of Righteousness the Best !

i . (And having approached these Haomas with our worship), we present them to Ahura Mazda ; (yea, we present) these Haomas, Myazdas, Zaothras, and the Baresman spread with punctilious sanctity, and the flesh, and the milk, fresh as if living, and lifted up with punctilious sanctity, and this branch the Hadhanaepata likewise lifted up with sanctity. 2. (And having approached these Zaothras in our worship), we present them to the good waters having the Haoma with them, and the milk, and the Hadhanaepata, and lifted up with scrupulous sanctity ; and (with them) we present the Haoma- water to the good waters, and both the stone and the iron mortar. 3. And we present this plant of the Baresman, and the timely prayer for blessings, which has approached in the due course of the ritual, and the recollection and practice 1 of the good Mazdayasnian Religion, and the heard recital of the Gathas, and the timely prayer for blessings which has approached as the prayer of the holy lord of the ritual order ; and these wood-billets, and the perfume, (even) thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son ! and all good objects Mazdamade, which have the seed of righteousness, we offer and present. 4. And these we present hereby to Ahura Mazda, and to Sraosha (Obedience) the

1 Or the memorised recital and performance of its rites. blessed (and Righteous), and to the Bountiful Immortals ; and to the Fravashis of the saints, even to the souls of the saints, and to the Fire of Ahura Mazda, the lofty lord of entire holy creation, for sacrifice, homage, propitiation, and for praise. 5. And these we present hereby to the Fravashi of Zarathuitra Spitama, the saint, for sacrifice, propitiation, and for praise, and to that of the people 1 who love Righteousness, with all the holy Fravashis of the saints who are dead and who are living, and to those of men who are as yet unborn, and to those of the prophets who will serve us, and will labour to complete the progress and renovation of the world 2. 6. And we present these Haomas, Myazdas, Zaothras, and the Baresman spread with sanctity, and the flesh, and the milk (fresh as if) living, and lifted up with sanctity, and the Hadhanaepata branch. 7. And we present these Zaothras to the beneficial waters having the Haoma with them, and the flesh, and the Hadhanaepata lifted up with sanctity, and the Haoma-water, to the good waters, with the stone and iron mortars, (8) and this plant of the Baresman, (and) the timely Prayer and the recollection and practice of the good Mazdayasnian Faith 3, and these wood-billets, and the perfume, thine, the Fire's, O Ahura Mazda's son! and all objects which are Mazda-made, and which have, and are, the seed of Righteousness, these we offer and present.