' " He will smite Pride, he will afflict Pride ;

' " He will smite Scorn, he will afflict Scorn ;

' " He will smite the hottest of hot fevers, he will afflict the hottest of hot fevers ;

' " He will smite the most slanderous of slanders, he will afflict the most slanderous of slanders ;

* " He will smite the most discordant of discords, he will afflict the most discordant of discords ;

' " He will smite the worst of the Evil Eye, he will afflict the worst of the Evil Eye.

16. '"He will smite the most lying words of
falsehood, he will afflict the most lying words of
falsehood ;

ARDIBElil^T VA^T. 47

' " He will smite the Gahl, addicted to the Yatu, he will afflict the Gsh'i, addicted to the Yatu ;

' " He will smite the Cahi, who makes one pine, he will afflict the 6^ahi, who makes one pine ;

' " He will smite the wind that blows from the
North, he will afflict the wind that blows from the
North."

17^ 'The Dru^will perish away, the Drii^ will
perish ; the Dru^ will rush, the Dru^ will vanish.
Thou perishest away to the regions of the North,
never more to give unto death the living world of
the holy spirit ^

18. 'For his brightness and glory I will offer unlo him a sacrifice worth being heard ^ namely, unto Asha-Vahijta, the fairest, the Amesha-Spewta. Unto Asha -Vahi^ta, the fairest, the Amesha- Spe«ta, we offer up the libations, the Haoma and meat*, the baresma ^ the wisdom of the tongue ^ the holy spells ^ the speech, the deeds \ the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.

'Ye/ihe hatum : All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda knows the goodness * . . . .

19. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

^ One set of manuscripts insert : ' He will smite the wind that blows against the North, he will afflict the wind that blows against the North ; the wind that blows against the North [will perish].' This is most Ukely an interpolation, as the wind that blows against the North (if this is the right meaning of aparo apakhtara, as opposed to pourvo apakhtara) blows against Angra Mainyu.

2 Cf. Vendidad VIII, 21.

' That is to say, worth being accepted: cf. Yt. X, 32 ; the Parsis translate, ' a sacrifice heard [from the lips of the Dasturs]' {iS.^ &-> J\jy^i J^^ j\ ^ji; East India Office, XXV, 42).

* The Haoma and Myazda. ^ See Vend. Ill, i, note 2.

« Hizvo danghah: huzvan danakih (Phi. tr.) means 'the right formulas.'

' ' The A vesta ' (Phi. tr.).

* The several operations of the sacrifice. ^ As above, Yt. I, 22.

48 YA^TS AND SIROZAHS.

' I bless the sacrifice and prayer and the strength
and vigour of Asha-Vahi-fta, the fairest; of the much-
desired Airyaman, made by Mazda ; and of the good
Saoka, with eyes of love, made by Mazda and
holy \

'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good^ ....

' [Give] unto that man ^ brightness and glory, give him health of body ; . . . . give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones.'

IV. KHORDAD YA^'T.

Only the first two sections of this Ya.st refer to its nominal object, Haurvata/, the Genius of Health and Waters (Vend. Introd. IV, 7, 33). The rest of the Yaj-t refers to the performance of the Bareshnum ceremony as being the test of the true Zoroaslrian. As the Bareshnum purification was performed by Airyaman to drive away the myriads of diseases created by Angra Mainyu *, its laudation is not quite unaptly inserted in a Ya.yt devoted to the Genius of Health.

The Khordad Yast can be recited at any time. It is better to recite it during the Gah U^ahin, on the day Khordad (Anquetil).

The text is corrupt.

o. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced ! . . . .

Ashem Vohu : Holiness is the best of all good ....

I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zara- thui'tra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura ;

For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani], the holy and master of holiness ^ . . . .

Unto Haurvata/, the master ; unto the prosperity

1 Cf Sirozah I, 2. ^ As above, p. 22.

' "Who shall offer a sacrifice to Asha-Vahii'ta ; cf. Yt. I, 33 and notes.

* Vend. XXII, 20 [54].

^ As above, p. 22 and notes.

Kpiordad Vast. 49

of the seasons and unto the years, the masters of hoHness \

Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glori- fication.

Yatlia ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

We sacrifice unto Haurvati/, the Amesha-Spe;2ta;
we sacrifice unto the prosperity of the seasons ; we
sacrifice unto the years, the holy and masters of
hoHness ^.

1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathu^tra,
saying : ' I created for the faithful the help, the
enjoyments, the comforts, and the pleasures of
Haurvata/. We unite them with him who would
come up to thee as one of the Amesha-Spe;2tas,
as he would come to any of the Amesha-Spe?^-
tas, Vohu-Mano, Asha-Vahi^ta, Khshathra-Vairya,

Spe;^ta-Armaiti, Haurvata^', and Amereta/.

2, ' He who against the thousands of thousands
of those Daevas, against their ten thousands of ten
thousands, against their numberless myriads would
invoke the name of Haurvata/, as one of the
Amesha-Spe??tas, he would smite the Nasu, he would
smite Hai-i ^, he would smite Bai-i ^, he would smite
Saeni^, he would smite Bu^i^

3 *. ' I proclaim the faithful man as the first [of men] ; if I proclaim the faithful man as the first

' Sir6zah I, 6. ' Strozah II, 6.

^ Names of Daevas. According to the Parsi translator of the Dinkart (vol. ii, p. 65), Ha^i is 'he who makes sceptical;' Ba^-i is 'he who gives rise to the barking disease;' Saeni is ' he who causes harm ;' Bfl^i is ' he who preys upon.'

* The translation of this paragraph is quite conjectural.

50 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.

[of men]', then Rashnu Razii-ta^, then every heavenly
Yazata of male nature in company with the Amesha-
Spe;/tas will free the faithful man ^

4. * From the Nasu, from Ha^i, from Gai'i^, from
Saeni, from Bu^i; from the hordes with the wide front,
from the hordes with the many spears uplifted, from
the evil man who oppresses, from the wilful sinner ^,
from the oppressor of men, from the Yatu, from the
Pairika, from the straying way.

5. 'How does the way of the faithful turn and part from the way of the wicked ^ ? '

Ahura Mazda answered : 'It is when a man pro-
nouncing my spell, either reading '^ or reciting it by
heart, draws the furrows ^ and hides ^ there himself,
[saying] :

6. "'I will smite thee, O Dru^! whomsoever thou
art, whomsoever thou art amongst the Drupes that
come in an open way, whomsoever thou art amongst
the Drupes that come by hidden ways, whomsoever
thou art amongst the Drupes that defile by contact ;
whatsoever Dru^ thou art, I smite thee away from
the Aryan countries ; whatsoever Dru^ thou art, I
bind thee ; I smite thee down, O Dru^ ! I throw
thee down below, O Dru^^!"

^ If I am one of the faithful. 2 The Genius of Truth, Yt. XII. ^ Will free me as one of the faithful.

* Sic; cf. § 2.

^ Starai; cf. Etudes Iraniennes, II, 135. ^ How is the wicked known from the faithful one ? ' Marao: Phi. o^morit, Sansk. adhyeti; safarilnit, posha- yati (pustakayati ? Yasna XIX, 6 [9]).

* The furrows for the Bareshnum purification (Vend. IX). ® Doubtful: gaozaiti; read yaozdaiti (? he cleanses).

KHORDAD YA,ST. 5 i

7. ' He draws [then] three furrows ' : I proclaini
him one of the faithful; he draws six furrows^: I
proclaim him one of the faithful ; he draws nine
furrows ^ : I proclaim him one of the faithful.

8. ' The names of those (Amesha-Spe//tas) smite
the men turned to Nasus ^ by the Drupes ; the seed
and kin of the deaf^* are smitten, the scornful^ are
dead, as the Zaotar Zarathurtra blows them away to
woe^ however fierce, at his will and wish, as many
as he wishes.

9. ' From the time w^hen the sun is down he
smites them with bruising blows; from the time
when the sun is no longer up, he deals deadly blows
on the Nasu with his club struck down, for the
propitiation and glorification of the heavenly gods.

10. ' O Zarathu^tra ! let not that spell be shown
to any one, except by the father to his son, or by
the brother to his brother from the same womb,
or by the Athravan to his pupil ^ in black hair,
devoted to the good law, who, devoted to the good
law, holy^ and brave, stills all the Drupes \

1 1. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto Haurvata/, the Amesha-Spewta. Unto Haurvata/, the Amesha-Spe??ta, we offer up the libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the

^ To perform the Bareshnum; of Vend. XXII, 20 [54].

^ Reading nasum kereta; of. nasu-kereta (Vend. VII, 26 [67]).

^ See above, p. 26, note 2.

* Sao/^a; of. Yt. XXII, 13.

^ Dusava/: both the reading and the meaning are doubtful, Mr. West suggests, 'sends to hell' (reading dusanghva/ or duzangha/).

" Doubtful. ' Reading ashava instead of aso ava.

« Cf. Yt. XIV, 46.

52 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.

holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly- spoken words.

12. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....

'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour ofHaurvata/, the master ; of the prosperity of the seasons and of the years, the masters of holiness.

'Ashem Vohu : Holiness is the best of all good ....

' [Give] unto that man ^ brightness and glory, .... give him the bright, all happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones.'

V. ABAN VAST.

The Aban Ya^t (or Yast of the Waters) is devoted to the great goddess of the waters, the celebrated Ardvi Sura Anahita, the 'AvaiTii of the Greeks. Ardvi Sura Anahita (' the high, powerful, undefiled ') is the heavenly spring from which all waters on the earth flow down ; her fountains are on the top of the mythical mountain, the Hukairya, in the star region. Her descent from the heavens is described in §§ 85 seq. ; it reminds one of the Indian legend of the celestial Ganga.

This Yaxt contains much valuable information about the his- torical legends of Iran, as it enumerates the several heroes who worshipped Ardvi Sijra and asked for her help. First of all is Ahura himself (§ 16) ; then came Haoshyangha (§ 21), Yima (§ 25), A0i Dahaka (§ 29), Thraetaona (§ 33), Keresaspa (§ 37), Fran- ghrasyan (§ 41), Kava Usa (§45), Husravah (§ 49), Tusa (§53), Vaesaka's sons (§ 57), Vafra Navaza (§ 61), G^amaspa (§ 68), Ashavazdah, the son of Pourudhakhjti, and Ashavazdah and Thrita, the sons of Sayuzdri (§ 72), Vistauru (§ 76), Yoijta (§81); the Hvovas and the Naotaras (§ 98), Zarathujtra (§103), Kava Vij- taspa (§ 107), Zairivairi (§ 112), Are^a/-aspa and Vandaremaini (§116).

This enumeration is interrupted by a description of the descent of Ardvi Sura from the heavens (§§ 85-89), and of certain rules for her sacrifice given by herself to Zarathu^rtra (§§90-97). This in- terruption may have been intentional, as it takes place just when

^ Who shall have sacrificed to Haurvata/.

Aban Ya5t. 53

ihe course of the enumeration brings us to the times of Zarathujtra and of the institution of the new religion.

The Yajt is opened with a laudation of the benefits bestowed by Ardvi Sura (§§ 1-16), and it closes with a description of her gar- ments and apparel.

The first record of the worship of Ardvi Sura is in a cuneiform inscription by Artaxerxes Mnemon (404-361), in which her name is corrupted into Anahata. Artaxerxes Mnemon appears to have been an eager promoter of her worship, as he is said 'to have first erected the statues of Venus-Anahita ('A(^/)o8it7J9, 'Ai/atViSos) in Babylon, Suza, and Ecbatana, and to have taught her worship to the Persians, the Bactrians, and the people of Damas and Sardes ' (Clemens Alexandrinus, Protrept. 5, on the authority of Berosus ; about 260 B.C.). My friend M. Halevy suggests to me that the detailed and circumstantial description of Anahita's appearance and costume (in §§ 1 26-1 31) shows that the writer must have described her from a consecrated type of statuary.