II. Let the Yatus be crushed, O Zarathujtra - ! both Daevas and men ^
Who is he in whose house, O Spltama Zara-
thu^tra ! every Dru^^ is destroyed, every Dru^
perishes, when he pronounces these words * :
13. It is he who takes the seven Amesha-Spe/^tas,
^ Sirozah II, 7. '^ Or : Let Zarathujtra crush the Yatus.
^ The Yatus are either demons or men : the man-Yatu is the sorcerer, the wizard. Cf. Yt. VIII, 44.
■* Doubtful. '^ lam unable to make anything of this section.
Haptan Ya5t. 39
the all-ruling, the all-beneficent, as a shield^ against
his enemies.
We worship the Law of the worshippers of Mazda;
we worship the waters coming in the shape of a horsed
made by Mazda.
14-15. He has renounced trespasses and faults,
O Zarathu^tra ! he has renounced all trespasses and
faults \ O Zarathu<rtra ! when he throws down ^ the
destroyer of Vohu-Mano and his words ^ with a
hundred times hundredfold, with a many times
manifold preaching and smiting, and he takes away
the Law of Mazda, that was carried away as a pri-
soner ^ from the hands of the [ungodly], who are
destroyed by his strength,
Ashem Vohti: Holiness is the best of all good ....
16. Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness , . . .
I bless the sacrifice and the prayer, the strength and vigour
Of Ahura Mazda, bright and glorious, and of the Amesha-Spe;ztas ;
Of Vohu-Mano; of Peace, whose breath is friendly '^ . . . .
1 Doubtful. ' See Yt. VIII, 5, 42 ; cf. § 20.
^ Atare-vitaremaibya vimrao/ ; cf. ataraish . . . . vi sarem
mruye (Yasna XII, 4 [XIII, 16]): atareman seems to be a sin by commission, vitareman a sin by omission.
* Doubtful (fraspavare^: fraspa is generally translated rami- tuntan).
^ Doubtful,
« Cf. Yt. XIII, 100; XIX, 86; fravaxnam is the reverse of
uzvazha/ (1. 1.).
' The rest as above, § i.
40 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
Of Asha-Vahi^ta, the fairest ; of the much-desired Airyaman ^ . . . .
Of Khshathra-Vairya, of the metals^ ....
Of the good Spe;^ta-Armaiti and of the good Rata ^ . . . .
Of HaurvataA the master ^ ....
Of Amereta/, the master ^ . . . .
(At the Gah Havan) : Of Mithra=^
(At the Gah Rapithwin) : Of Asha-Vahi^ta^ ....
(At the Gah Uziren) : Of the high lord Apam Napa/^ ....
(At the Gah Aiwisruthrem) : Of the Fravashis of the faithful ^ . . . .
(At the Gah U^ahin) : Of the holy, devout, fiend-
smiting Sraosha, who makes the world grow ; of
Rashnu-Razi-?ta and of Ar^ta/, who makes the world
erow, who makes the world increase.
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
Give unto that man ® brightness and glory, give him health of body, give him sturdiness of body, give him victorious strength of body, give him full welfare of wealth, give him a virtuous offspring, give him long, long life, give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones.
^ The rest as above, § 2. ^ The rest as above, § 3.
3 The rest as above, § 4. * The rest as above, § 5.
^ Who shall oJfer a sacrifice to the Amshaspands.
Ardibeuwt Yast. 41
III. ARDIBEHI6^Ti YA^-T.
This Y3.st is for a great part devoted to the praise of the Air- yaman prayer, which is described as driving away all the diseases and plagues that have been brought upon the world by Angra Mainyu; and when the writer passes from the glorification of Airyaman to that of Asha-Vahijta, which is put into the mouth of Angra JNIainyu himself (§§ 13 seq.), he makes him speak of Asha- Vahij-ta just in the same way, and ascribe him just the same powers, as he himself has done with regard to Airyaman. This is owing to the fact of Airyaman being invoked in company with Asha- Vahijta in the second formula of the Sirozah^,
The powers ascribed to Asha-Vahi^ta have their origin in the twofold nature of that Amesha-Spewta, who being, in his abstract character, the impersonation of the highest element in Mazdeism, Divine Order and Holiness^ and in his concrete character, the genius who presides over the mightiest of physical elements, Fire^ is one of the most powerful and dreaded opponents of Angra Mainyu ■''. On the other hand, Airyaman is the genius to whom Ahura Mazda applied to heal the nine, and ninety, and nine hundred and nine thousand diseases created by Angra Mainyu **.
This Yast is recited every day at the Gahs Havan, Rapithwin, and Aiwisruthrem (Anquetil).
o. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! ....
Ashem Vohia : Holiness is the best of all good ....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zara- thujtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura ;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani], the holy and master of holiness ''....
^ Ard-i-behi.yt is the Parsi form for Asha vahijta, ard being derived from arta, the Persian form corresponding to the Zend asha.
^ See Sirozah I, 3, and below die introductory formula,
^ See Vend. Introd. IV, 30, * Ibid. 33.
* See Yt. XVII, 18. ' Fargard XXII and Introd.
' As above, Yt. I, o.
42 YASTS AND SIROZAHS.
Unto Asha-Vahi^ta, the fairest; unto the much-
desired Airyaman, made by Mazda, and unto the
good Saoka, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and
holyi;
Be propitiation, witli sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glori- fication.
Yath^ ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord Is the law of holi-
ness'^
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathui"tra,
saying: 'That thou mayest increase Asha-Vahi^ta,
O Spitama Zarathu5"tra ! with hymns of praise, with
performance of the office, with invocations, holy
words, sacrifice, blessings, and adoration — once to
abide in the shining luminous space, in the beautiful
abodes ^ — for the sacrifice and invocation of us, the
Amesha-Spe;/tas^' ....
2. Zarathui^tra said : ' Say unto me the right
words, such as they are, O Ahura Mazda ! that I
may increase Asha-Vahi.s'ta, with hymns of praise,
^ Sirozah I, 3.
^ Several manuscripts add here the full invocation of the greater Sirozah :
'We sacrifice unto Asha-Vahista, the fairest, the Amesha- Spe;;ta ; We sacrifice unto the much-desired Airyaman ; We sacrifice unto the instrument, made by Mazda ; We sacrifice unto the good Saoka, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and holy.' ' The Garo-nmanem or Paradise; see Yasna XVI, 7 [XVII, 42], Phi. tr.
* The principal clause appears to be wanting, unless Zarathujtra is supposed to interrupt Ahura. One might also understand the sentence in an optative sense : * Mayest thou increase . . . .'
Ardibeiii^T Vast. 4
with performance of the office, with invocations, holy
words, sacrifice, blessings, and adoration, — once to
abide in the shining luminous space, in the beautiful
abodes, — for the sacrifice and invocation of you, the
Amesha-Spe;^tas.
3\ '. . . . I proclaim Asha-Vahi^ta : if I pro-
claim Asha-Vahii'ta, then easy Is the way to the
abode of the other Amesha-Spe;^tas ^, which Ahura
Mazda keeps with Good Thoughts, which Ahura
Mazda keeps with Good Words, which Ahura Mazda
keeps with Good Deeds ^;
4. '(Easy is the way to the Garo-nmana of Ahura
Mazda) : the Garo-nmana is for the holy souls, and
no one of the wicked can enter the Garo-nmana and
its bright, wide, holy ways ; (no one of them can go)
to Ahura Mazda.
5. 'The Alryaman prayer* smites down the
strength of all the creatures of Angra Mainyu, of the
Yatus and Pairikas^ It is the greatest of spells,
the best of spells, the very best of all spells ; the
^ Here again it seems as if a paragraph had been lost : ' Ahura Mazda answered : Proclaim thou Asha-Vahijta ; if thou proclaimest Asha-Vahi^ta . . . . — Then Zarathujtra replied : I proclaim Asha- Vahijta . . . .'
^ The Garothman.
' An allusion to the three Paradises of Humat, Hfikht, Hvar^t through which the souls of the blessed pass to Garothman (Yt. XXII, 15),
* The prayer known as Airyama-ishyo; see Vendidad XXI, 11-12.
^ See Vend. Introd. IV, 20-21,
44 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
fairest of spells, the very fairest of all spells ; the
fearful one amongst spells, the most fearful of all
spells ; the firm one amongst spells, the firmest of
all spells ; the victorious one amongst spells, the
most victorious of all spells ; the healing one
amongst spells, the best-healing of all spells.
6. 'One may heal with Holiness, one may heal
with the Law, one may heal with the knife, one may
heal with herbs, one may heal with the Holy Word:
amongrst all remedies this one is the healino- one
that heals with the Holy Word ; this one it is that
will best drive away sickness from the body of the
faithful : for this one is the best-healing of all
remedies ^
7. ' Sickness fled away [before it]. Death fled
away ; the Daeva fled away, the Daeva's counter-
work - fled away ; the unholy Ashemaogha '' fled
away, the oppressor of men fled away.
8. ' The brood of the Snake fled away ; the brood
of the Wolf fled away ; the brood of the Two-legged*
fled away. Pride fled away ; Scorn fled away ; Hot
Fever fled away ; Slander fled away ; Discord fled
away ; the Evil Eye fled away.
9. ' The most lying words of falsehood fled away; the 6"ahi ^, addicted to the Yatu, fled away ; the
^ Cf. Vendidad VII, 44 (118). That Airyaman made use of
the Holy Word (of spells) to cure diseases appears from Vend.
XXII, 6 seq.
^ Paityara: every work of Ahura was opposed and spoiled by a counter-work of Angra Mainyu, Cf. Bundahi^ I, 23 seq.; Ill, 13 seq. ; Vend. I; see Ormazd et Ahriman, §§ 195 seq.
^ See Yt. I, 10 and note 4.
* The Ahrimanian creatures belonging to mankind, the Mair- yas and Ashemaoghas (Yt. I, 10).
* The courtezan; cf. Vend. XXI, 17 (35), and Introd. IV, 25.
Ardibehwt Vast. 4$
6"ahi, who makes one pine\ fled away; the wind that
blows from the North ^ fled away ; the wind that
blows from the North vanished away.
10. ' He it is who smites me that brood of the
Snake, and who might smite those Daevas by thou-
sands of thousands, by ten thousands of ten thou-
sands ; he smites sickness, he smites death, he smites
the Daevas, he smites the Daeva's counter-work,
he smites the unholy Ashemaogha, he smites the
oppressor of men.
11. 'He smites the brood of the Snake; he smites
the brood of the Wolf; he smites the brood of the
Two-legged. He smites Pride; he smites Scorn; he
smites Hot Fever; he smites Slander; he smites
Discord ; he smites the Evil Eye.
12. ' He smites the most lying words of falsehood;
he smites the Cahi, addicted to the Yatu ; he smites
the 6'ahi, who makes one pine. He smites the
wind that blows from the North ; the wind that
blows from the North vanished away.
13. ' He it is who smites me that brood of the
Two-legged, and who might smite those Daevas, by
thousands of thousands, by ten thousands of ten
thousands. Angra Mainyu, who is all death, the
worst-lying of all Daevas, rushed from before him :
14. 'He exclaimed, did Angra Mainyu : " Woe is
me! Here is the god Asha-Vahi-rta, who will smite
the sickliest of all sicknesses, who will afflict the
sickliest of all sicknesses ;
^ The Zend is Kahvaredhaini, a synonym of which, Kah-
varedha, Yasna LXI, 2 [LX, 7], is translated impairer of
Glory, which means very likely: he who makes one 'dwindle,
peak, and pine' (cf. Vend. XVIII, 62-64).
2 From the country of hell; cf. Vend. VII, 2; XIX, i; Yt. XXII, 25.
46 YAi'TS AND sIrOZAHS,
' " He will smite the deadliest of all deaths, he will afflict the deadliest of all deaths ;
'"He will smite the most fiendish of all fiends, he will afflict the most fiendish of all fiends ;
* " He will smite the most counter-working of all
counter-works, he will afflict the most counter-
working of all counter-works ;
' " He will smite the unholy Ashemaogha, he will afflict the unholy Ashemaogha ;
' " He will smite the most oppressive of the
oppressors of men, he will afflict the most oppres-
sive of the oppressors of men.
15. '"He will smite the snakiest of the Snake's
brood, he will afflict the snakiest of the Snake's
brood ;
' " He will smite the most wolfish of the Wolfs
brood, he will afflict the most wolfish of the Wolfs
brood ;
*"He will smite the worst of the two-legged
brood, he will afflict the worst of the two-legged
brood ;