Sacred Texts Zoroastrianism Index Previous Next
Buy this Book at Amazon.com
The Zend Avesta, Part II (SBE23), James Darmesteter, tr. [1882], at sacred-texts.com
To Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious 2, and to the Amesha-Speñtas 3.
To Vohu-Manô 1; to Peace 2, whose breath is friendly 3, and who is more powerful to destroy than all other creatures 4; to the heavenly Wisdom 5, made by Mazda; and to the Wisdom acquired through the ear 5, made by Mazda.
To Asha-Vahista, the fairest 6; to the much-desired Airyaman, made by Mazda 7; to the instrument made by Mazda 8; and to the good Saoka 9, with eyes of love 10, made by Mazda and holy.
To Khshathra-vairya; to the metals 1; to Mercy and Charity.
To the good Spenta-Ârmaiti 2, and to the good Râta 3, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and holy.
To Haurvatât 4, the master; to the prosperity of the seasons and to the years, the masters of holiness.
To Ameretât 5, the master; to fatness and flocks; to the plenty of corn; and to the powerful Gaokerena 6, made by Mazda.
(At the gâh 7 Hâvan): to Mithra 8, the lord of wide pastures and to Râma Hvâstra 9.
(At the gâh Rapithwin): to Asha-Vahista and to Âtar 10, the son of Ahura Mazda 11
(At the gâh Uzîren): to Apãm Napât 1, the tall lord, and to the water made by Mazda 2.
(At the gâh Aiwisrûthrem): to the Fravashis 3 of the faithful, and to the females that bring forth flocks of males 4; to the prosperity of the seasons; to the well-shapen and tall-formed Strength, to Verethraghna 5, made by Ahura, and to the crushing Ascendant 6.
(At the gâh Ushahin): to the holy, devout, fiend-smiting Sraosha 7, who makes the world grow; to Rashnu Razista 8, and to Arstât 9, who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase 10.
To the Maker Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and to the Amesha-Spentas.
To Âtar, the son of Ahura Mazda; to the Glory and to the Weal, made by Mazda; to the Glory of the Aryas 1, made by Mazda; to the awful Glory of the Kavis 2, made by Mazda.
To Âtar, the son of Ahura Mazda; to king Husravah 3; to the lake of Husravah 4; to Mount Âsnavant 5, made by Mazda; to Lake Kaêkasta 6, made by Mazda; to the Glory of the Kavis, made by Mazda 7.
To Âtar, the son of Ahura Mazda; to Mount Raêvant 1, made by Mazda; to the Glory of the Kavis, made by Mazda 2.
To Âtar, the beneficent, the warrior; the God who is a full source of Glory, the God who is a full source of healing.
To Âtar, the son of Ahura Mazda, with all Âtars 3; to the God Nairyô-Sangha 4, who dwells in the navel of kings 5.
To the good Waters, made by Mazda; to the holy water-spring Ardvi Anâhita 6; to all waters made by Mazda; to all plants made by Mazda.
To the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun 7.
To the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull 8; to the only-created Bull 9; to the Bull of many species 10.
To Tistrya 1, the bright and glorious star; to the powerful Satavaêsa 2, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward; to the stars, made by Mazda, that have in them the seed of the waters, the seed of the earth, the seed of the plants 3; to the star Vanant 4, made by Mazda; to those stars that are seven in number, the Haptôiringas 6, made by Mazda, glorious and healing.
To the body of the Cow, to the soul of the Cow, to the powerful Drvâspa 5, made by Mazda and holy.
To the Maker Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and to the Amesha-Spentas.
To Mithra 6, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes, a God invoked by his own name; to Râma Hvâstra 7.
To the holy, strong Sraosha 8, who is the incarnate Word, a mighty-speared and lordly God.
To Rashnu Razista 9; to Arstât 10, who makes the
world grow, who makes the world increase; to the true-spoken speech, that makes the world grow.
To the awful, overpowering Fravashis of the holy ones 1.
To the well-shapen, tall-formed Strength; to Verethraghna 2, made by Ahura; to the crushing Ascendant.
To Râma Hvâstra 3; to Vayu 3, who works highly 4 and is more powerful to destroy than all other creatures: to that part of thee, O Vayu, that belongs to Spenta-Mainyu 5; to the sovereign Sky, to the Boundless Time 6, to the sovereign Time of the long Period s.
To the bounteous Wind, that blows below, above, before, and behind; to the manly Courage.
To the Maker, Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious; to the Amesha-Spentas.
To the most right Kista 7, made by Mazda and holy; to the good Law 7 of the worshippers of Mazda.
To Ashi Vanguhi 1; to the good Kisti 2; to the good Erethe 3; to the good Rasãstât 4; to the Weal and Glory, made by Mazda; to Pârendi 5, of the light chariot; to the Glory of the Aryas made by Mazda; to the kingly Glory made. by Mazda; to that Glory that cannot be forcibly seized 6, made by Mazda; to the Glory of Zarathustra, made by Mazda.
To Arstât 7, who makes the world grow; to Mount Ushi-darena 8, made by Mazda, the seat of holy happiness.
To the high, powerful Heavens; to the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy ones.
To the bounteous Earth; to these places, to these fields; to Mount Ushi-darena 8, made by Mazda, the seat of holy happiness; to all the mountains made by Mazda, that are seats of holy happiness, of full happiness; to the kingly Glory made by Mazda;
to that Glory that cannot be forcibly seized 1, made by Mazda.
To the holy, righteousness-performing Mãthra Spenta 2; to the Law opposed to the Daêvas, the Law of Zarathustra; to the long-traditional teaching 3; to the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda; to the Devotion to the Mãthra Spenta; to the understanding that keeps 4 the Law of the worshippers of Mazda; to the knowledge of the Mãthra Spenta; to the heavenly Wisdom made by Mazda; to the Wisdom acquired through the ear 5 and made by Mazda.
To the eternal 6 and sovereign luminous space 7; to the bright Garô-nmâna 8; to the sovereign place of eternal Weal 9; to the Kinvat-bridge 10, made by Mazda; to the tall lord Apãm Napât 11 and to the water made by Mazda; to Haoma 12, of holy birth; to the pious and good Blessing; to the awful cursing thought of the wise 13; to all the holy Gods of the
heavenly world and of the material one; to the awful, overpowering Fravashis of the faithful, to the Fravashis of the first men of the law, to the Fravashis of the next-of-kin 1; to every God invoked by his own name 2.
3:1 J. Halévy, Revue des Études Juives, 1881, October, p. 188.
3:2 See Yt. I, 1-23.
3:3 See Yt. II.
4:1 See Yt. I, 24-33.
4:2 Âkhsti does not so much mean Peace as the power that secures peace; see note 4.
4:3 Hãm-vainti, from hãm-vâ (Yt. X, 141); possibly from van, to strike: 'Peace that smites.'
4:4 Taradhâtem anyâis dâmãn, interpreted: tarvînîtârtûm min zakî ân dâmân pun anâshtîh akár kartan (Phl. Comm.), 'more destroying than other creatures, to make Non-peace (Anâkhsti) powerless.'
4:5 Âsnya khratu, the inborn intellect, intuition, contrasted with gaoshô-srûta khratu, the knowledge acquired by hearing and learning. There is between the two nearly the same relation as between the parâvidyâ and aparâvidyâ in Brahmanism, the former reaching Brahma in se (parabrahma), the latter sabdabrahma, the word-Brahma (Brahma as taught and revealed). The Mobeds of later times interpreted their name Magûs,
, as meaning, 'men without ears,'
, 'pour insinuer que leur Docteur avait puisé toute sa science dans le ciel et qu’il ne l’avait pas apprise par l’ouïe comme les autres hommes' (Chardin, III, 130; ed. Amsterdam).
4:6 See Yt. III.
4:7 See Vend. XXII.
4:8 The 'golden instrument' mentioned in Nyâyis I, 8.
4:9 A personification of the Ormazdean weal; cf. Vend. XXII, 3 [8], and Yt. XIII, 42.
4:10 Vouru-dôithra, kâmak dôisr; she is 'the genius of the good p. 5 eye, mînôî hukasmîh' (Vend. XIX, 36 [523]), the reverse of the evil eye (Yasna LXVII, 62 [LXVIII, 22]; cf. Études Iraniennes, II, 182).
5:1 Vend. Introd. IV, 33; Ormazd et Ahriman, §§ 202-206.
5:2 Ibid.
5:3 Vend. Introd. IV, 30.
5:4 See Yt. IV.
5:5 See Vend. Introd. IV, 34.
5:6 The white Hôm, or plant of immortality; see Vend. Introd. IV, 28.
5:7 See Gâhs.
5:8 See Yt. X.
5:9 See Yt. XV. Cf. Yasna I, 3 (7-9), where Mithra and Râma are invoked in company with the genius of the Hâvani period of the day.
5:10 The Genius of Fire.
5:11 Cf. Yasna I, 4 (10-12), where Asha-Vahista and Âtar are invoked in company with the genius of the Rapithwin period of the day.
6:1 Literally 'the Son of the Waters;' he was originally the Fire of lightning, as born in the clouds (like the Vedic Apâm napât); he still appears in that character, Yt. VIII, 34; he is for that reason 'the lord of the females' because the waters were considered as females (cf. Yasna XXXVIII, 1 [2]). But, as napât means also 'navel' (the same words having often the two meanings of navel' and offspring;' cf. nâbhi in the Vedas and the Zend nâfyô, 'offspring,' from nâfa 'navel'), Apãm Napât was interpreted as 'the spring of the waters, the navel of the waters,' which was supposed to be at the source of the Arvand (the Tigris; Neriosengh ad Yasna I, 5 [15]); cf. Yt. V, 72.
6:2 Cf. Yasna I, 5 [13-15].
6:3 See Yt. XIII.
6:4 Perhaps better: 'to the flocks of Fravashis of the faithful, men and women.'
6:5 The Genius of Victory; see Yt. XIV.
6:6 Cf. Yasna I, 6 [16-19].
6:7 See Yt. XI and Vend. Introd. IV, 31; Farg. XVIII, 14 seq.
6:8 The Genius of Truth; see Yt. XII.
6:9 Truth; see Yt. XVIII.
6:10 Cf. Yasna I, 7 [20-23].
6:11 The day before Âdar (Dai is the Persian (
, 'yesterday,' which is the same word as the Sanskrit hyas, Latin heri). The eighth, fifteenth, and twenty-third days of the month are under the p. 7 rule of Ahura and the Amesha-Spentas, like the first day; they have therefore no name of their own and are named from the day that follows. The month was divided into four weeks, the first two numbering seven days, the last two numbering eight.
7:1 Or better the Glories of the Aryas' (Eramdesasrînâm): the Glory or Hvarenô (Vend. Introd. IV, II, p. lxiii, note 1) is threefold, according as it illuminates the priest, the warrior, or the husbandman. Yast XIX is devoted to the praise of the Hvarenô.
7:2 Or 'the awful kingly glory:' Kavi means a king, but it is particularly used of the kings belonging to the second and most celebrated of the two mythical dynasties of Iran. The Kavis succeeded the Paradhâta or Pêshdâdians, and Darius Codomanes was supposed to be the last of them. For an enumeration of the principal Kavis, see Yt. XIII, 132 seq. The Hvarenô alluded to in this clause is the Hvarenô of the priest; 'it is the fire known as Âdaraprâ [Âdar Frobâ]; or better Âdar Farnbag: see Études Iraniennes, II, 84; its object is the science of the priests; by its help priests become learned and clever' (Sanskrit transl. to the Âtash Nyâyish).
7:3 See Yt. V, 41, note.
7:4 See Yt. XIX, 56.
7:5 A mountain in Adarbaigân (Bundahis XII, 26), where king Husravah settled the fire Gushasp.
7:6 See Yt. V, 49.
7:7 The glory of the warriors, the fire known as Âdar Gushasp or Gushnasp; with its help king Husravah destroyed the idol-temples near Lake Kêkast, and he settled it on Mount Âsnavant (Bund. XVII, 7).
8:1 A mountain in Khorâsân on which the Burzîn fire is settled (Bund. XII, 18).
8:2 'The fire known as Âdaraburagâmihira [Âdar Burzîn Mihir]; its object is the science of husbandry.' King Gustâsp established it on Mount Raêvant (Bund. XVII, 8).
8:3 All sorts of fires. See another classification, Yasna XVII, II [63-67] and Bundahis XVII, 1.
8:4 See Vend. XXII, 7.
8:5 The fire Nairyô-sangha, as the messenger of Ahura, burns hereditarily in the bosom of his earthly representative, the king.
8:6 See Yt. V.
8:7 See Yt. VI.
8:8 See Yt. VII and Vend. XXI, I, text and note.
8:9 Aêvô-dâta gâus; see Vend. l. l. and Bundahis IV.
8:10 Pouru-saredha gâus: the couple born of the seed of the p. 9 only-created Bull, and from which arose two hundred and eighty species (Bund. XI, 3).
9:1 See Yt. VIII.
9:2 See Yt. VIII, 9.
9:3 See Yt. XII, 29-31.
9:4 See Yt. VIII, 12.
9:5 See Yt. IX.
9:6 See Yt. X.
9:7 See Yt. XV.
9:8 See Yt. XI.
9:9 See Yt. XII.
9:10 See Yt. XVIII.
10:1 See Yt. XIII.
10:2 See Yt. XIV.
10:3 See Yt. XV.
10:4 Powerfully.
10:5 See Yt. XV, 1.
10:6 See Vend. Introd. IV, 39 and lxxxii, 1.
10:7 See Yt. XVI.
11:1 See Yt. XVII.
11:2 Religious knowledge, wisdom (fargânak; nirvânagnânam).
11:3 Thought (kittam).
11:4 Thoughtfulness (kittasthiti).
11:5 The keeper of treasures; cf. Vend. Introd. IV, 30.
11:6 Ahvaretem hvarenô: 'the hvarenô of the priests: that it cannot be forcibly seized means that one must take possession of it through virtue and righteous exertion' (Neriosengh and Pahl. Comm. to Yasna I and IV, 14 [42]).
11:7 See Yt. XVIII.
11:8 See Yt. I, 31, text and note.
11:9 See Yt. XIX.
12:2 The Holy Word.
12:3 Daregha upayana: the Genius of Teaching (sixâm adrisyarûpinîm; Yasna I, 12 [401).
12:4 In memory.
12:5 See above, § 2.
12:6 Or boundless (anaghra; the Parsi anêrân).
12:7 Or Infinite Light; see Vend. Introd. p. lxxxii and Bund. I. 2.
12:8 The abode of Ahura Mazda; see Vend. XIX, 32.
12:9 See Vend. XIX, 36, note 1.
12:10 See Vend. XIX, 29, note 3.
12:11 See Sîrôzah II, 7, note.
12:12 See Vend. Introd. IV, 28.
12:13 'The blessing (âfriti) is twofold: one by thought, one by words; the blessing by words is the more powerful; the curse p. 13 (upamana) in thought is the more powerful' (Neriosengh ad Yasna I, 15 [44]). Upamana is the same as the Vedic manyu.
13:1 See Yt. XIII, 0.
13:2 In contradistinction to general invocations.