^ For §§ 6-7, cf. Mah Nyayij, lo-ii. 2 The prayer is addressed to Waters. ^ Zfz^athro-nahim: asanih lahmak. * Paourvatatem: kebad farzand. ^ Stahyanam: kebad stayitar.
« See Yt. XVI. ' See Vend. Introd. IV, 30.
8 See p. II, note 5. ® Parewdi.
" Plenty will reign in thy house, if thou wilt be liberal to the priest.
vbrAsp YA-sT. 331 offer and give bad food to a priest: for a priest must be to thee like the brightest ^ offspring of thy own blood.'
10. Zarathiutra spake unto him: ' O young king Vi^^taspa!
' He who supports the Law of the worshippers of Mazda, as a brother or as a friend, he who treats her friendly in any way, looks to keep off want of food from her ^Z 11. The holy Zarathuj^tra preached that law to Frashao^tra ^ and 6'amaspa: ' May ye practise holiness and thrive, O young Frashao^tra (and 6"amaspa)!'
12. Thus said Ahura Mazda unto the holy Zara- thu5tra, and thus again did Zarathui^tra say unto the young king Vi^taspa: ' Have no bad priests or unfriendly priests; for bad priests or unfriendly priests will bring about much harm, and, though thou wish to sacrifice, it will be to the Amesha- Spe/ztas as if no sacrifice had been offered *.
' Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good...in.
1 3. ' When I teach thee, that thou mayest do the same to thy son ^, O Vii-taspa! receive thou well that teaching; that will make thee rich in children and rich in milk; rich in seed, in fat, in milk ^ ^ W. has, hanaire vaem aiwi vaina/ (vaem = Sansk.vayas?).
' See Yt. XIII, 103. Frashaojtra and Gamaspa were brothers.
* Cf. Vend. XVIII, 1-13. Perhaps, ' Be not bad to the priests! Be not unfriendly to the priest I For he who is bad to the priest, he who is unfriendly to the priest...'
» Doubtful. « Cf. Vend. XXI, 6-7.
332 YAi'TS AND SIROZAHS.
14. 'Thus do we announce unto thee, Ahura Mazda, and Sraosha, and Ashi, and the Law of the worshippers of Mazda, with the whole of all her hymns, with the whole of all her deeds, with the whole of her performances; the Law of Mazda, who obtains her wishes, who makes the world grow, who listens to the songs and rejoices the faithful man at his wish; who protects the faithful man, who maintains the faithful man; 15. 'From whom come the knowledge of holi- ness and the increase in holiness of the world of the holy Principle, and without whom ^ no faithful man ^ can know holiness.
' To thee ^ come every Havanan, every Atare- vakhsha, every Frabaretar, every Abere/, every Asnatar, every Rathwi^kar, every Sraosha-varez ^; 1 6. ' Every priest, every warrior, every husbandman; every master of a house, every lord of a borough, every lord of a town, every lord of a province; 1 7. ' Every youth of good thoughts, good words, good deeds, and good religion; every youth who speaks the right words; every one who performs the next-of-kin marriage ^; every itinerant priest; every mistress of a house; every wandering priest, obedient to the Law.
18. 'To thee come all the performers ^ (of holi- ness), all the masters of holiness, who, to the 1 Doubtful.
2 Saoshya;/tem, W. has srashyawtem. ^ To the Law.
* The seven priests engaged in the sacrifice (Vendidad, p. 64, note i).
^ The /zz'agtvodatha (Vend. Introd. p. xlv, note 7; see West, Pahlavi Texts, II, 389 seq.).
6 Thatu^: kar kartar (Pahl.).
VWTASP YAS'T. 32)3 number of three and thirty \ stand next to Havani, beine masters of holiness.
1 9. ' May they be fully protected ^ in thee, O young king Vii-taspa! While thou smitest thy ad- versaries, thy foes, those who hate thee, a hundred times a hundred for a hundred ^ a thousand times a thousand for a thousand, ten thousand times ten thousand for ten thousand, myriads of myriads for a myriad.
20. ' Proclaim thou that word, as we did proclaim it unto thee!
' O Maker of the good world! Ahura Mazda, I worship thee with a sacrifice, I worship and for- ward thee with a sacrifice, I worship this creation of Ahura Mazda.'
21'^. The young king Vi^taspa asked Zarathu^tra: ' With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship, with what manner of sacrifice shall I worship and forward this creation of Ahura Mazda?'
22. Zarathunra answered: 'We will make it known unto thee, O young king Vij-taspa!
' Go towards that tree that is beautiful, high- growing, and mighty amongst the high-growing trees, and say thou these words: "Hail to thee! O good, holy tree, made by Mazda! Ash em Vohu!"
23. ' Let the faithful man cut off twigs of baresma, either one, or two, or three: let him bind them and ' He kills a hundred times a hundred of them, while they kill a hundred of his people.
* For this clause and the following two, cf. Vend. XIX, 17 seq., text and notes.
334 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
tie them up according to the rites, being bound and unbound according to the rites.
' The smallest twig of Haoma, pounded according to the rules, the smallest twig prepared for sacrifice, gives royalty to the man (who does it).'
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good...IV.
' Invoke Ahura Mazda, who is full of Glory, Ahura Mazda, and the sovereign Heaven, the boundless Time, and Vayu who works highly.
25. ' Invoke the powerful Wind, made by Mazda, and Fate.
' Repeat thou those words, that the god invoked may give thee the boon wished for; that thou, strong, and belonging to the creation of the good Spirit, mayest smite and take away the Dru^ and watch with full success those who hate thee; smite down thy foes, and destroy at one stroke thy adver- saries, thy enemies, and those who hate thee ^.
26. ' Proclaim thou those prayers: they will cleanse thy body from deeds of lust^ O young king Virtaspa!
' I will worship thee, O Fire, son of Ahura Mazda, who art a valiant warrior. He falls upon the fiend Ku/^da ^ who is drunken without drinking, upon the men of the Dru^, the slothful ones ^ the wicked Daeva-worshippers, who live in sin.
1 Cf. Vend. XIX, 13. ' Cf. Yt. V, 53.
' Paourvo vasta jaota: read jkyaothna (cf. § 40), as in Vend. XVI, 14 (paourv6-vasna j-kynothna).
* Cf. Vend. XI, 9 and Bundahi^r XXVIII, 42.
•^ Cf. Vend. XIX, 41; better: 'on the Dru^askan' (the sons of the Dru^^? see Bund. XXXI, 6).
VI^TASP YAST. 335 27. 'He^ trembles at the way^ made by Time and open both to the wicked and to the righteous.
' They ^ tremble at the perfume of his soul ^ as a sheep does on which a wolf is falling.
28. ' Reciting the whole collection of the Staota Yesnya^ prayers brings one up all the way to the blessed Garo-nmana, the palace beautifully made. That indeed is the way.
29, ' That man does not follow the way of the Law, O Zarathui^tra ^! who commits the Baodh6-(vari"ta) crime "^ with a damsel and an old woman ^,' said Zarathu^tra to the young king Vi^taspa.
* Let him^ praise the Law, O Spitama Zarathu^tra! and long for it and embrace the whole of the Law, as an excellent horse turns back from the wrong way and goes along the right one, smiting the many Drupes ^'\ 30. ' Go forward with praises, go forward the way of the good Mazdean law and of all those who walk in her ways, men and women.
^ The dead man.
2 The A"inva/-bridge (Vend. XIX, 29).
* The fiends (Vend. XIX, 33). * The soul of the righteous. ^ See page 152, note i.
® The Pahlavi has, 'the way of Zarathujtra' (la Zartuh^tig ras yakhsunit).
■^ Wilful murder (Vend. p. 84, note i).
* To procure miscarriage (see Vend. XV, 12-14). ° The sinner.
^" 'As a horseman on the back of a good horse, when he has gone the wrong way, perceiving that he has lost his way, turns back his horse from that direction and makes him go the right way; so thou, turn back thy horse to the right way; that is to say, turn him to the way of the Law of Mazda; that is to say, receive the Law' (Pahl. Comm.).
336 YA^TS AND siROZAHS.
'He who wishes to seize the heavenly reward ^ will seize it by giving gifts to him who holds up (the Law) to us^ in this world here below ^...31. 'Let him* give (the Law) to him who is unfriendly to her, that he may become friendly.
'Wash thy hands with water, not with gomez^, and let thy son, who will be born of thy wife ^, do the same.
' Thus thy thought will be powerful to smite him ^ who is not so ^; thy speech will be powerful to smite him, who is not so; thy deed will be powerful to smite him.
32. ' " Hear me! Forgive me ^! " — We, the Ame- sha-Spe;2tas, will come and show thee, O Zara- thu^tra! the way to that world ^^, to long glory in the spiritual world, to long happiness of the soul in Paradise; 33. ' To bliss and Paradise, to the Garo-nmana of Ahura Mazda, beautifully made and fully adorned, ^ Bliss, eternal life.
^ Y6 no...nidar6 anghe: lanman dm bara dashtar (Pahl).
' Naedh/^a vanghe paiti ujta vangho buya/; saoshyas dis verethraga. I cannot make anything of these words, nor reconcile them with the Pahlavi translation: ' It is not fair when he wishes weal for his own person; that is to say, when, being satisfied himself, he does not satisfy other people and wishes comfort for himself. (Make the Law of Mazda current, till the time when) the victorious Soshyosh will make it current.' The last three Zend words appear to be abridged from a longer passage.
* The faithful man.
^ This is an allusion to the Bareshnum purification (Vend. VIII, 39). The unclean man washes himself with gom^z first and with water last.
* Doubtful. "^ The sinner. * Friendly to the Law.
® He recites the prayer Sraota me, mere^data me (Yasna XXXIII, 11). '" The world above.
vii^TASP YAST. 337 when his soul goes out of his body through the will of fate, when I, Ahura Mazda, when I, Ahura Mazda, gently show him his way as he asks for it. 'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good...V.
34. ' They ^ will impart to thee full brightness and Glory.
'They will give him^ quick ^ and swift horses, and good sons.
* He wishes to go to the Law, the young king Vi^taspa.'
Zarathujtra said: ' Let him who is unfriendly to her become a follower of the Law of Mazda, such as we proclaim it.
35. ' Proclaim thou ever (unto the poor): " Ever mayest thou wait here for the refuse that is brought unto thee, brought by those who have profusion of wealth M" Thus the Dru^ will not fall upon thee and throw thee away; thou wilt wield kingly power there ^.
36. ' The Law of Mazda will not deliver thee unto pain^ Thou art entreated (for charity) by the whole of the living world, and she "^ is ever standing at thy door in the person of thy brethren in the faith: beggars are ever standing at the door of the stranger, amongst those who beg for bread.
^ If he practises charity he will be a king even in Garothman.
* Aspahe, from a-spa (no comfort, anasanih tangih, Pahl. Comm.).
''The Law.
338 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
' Ever will that bread be burning coal upon thy head \ ' The good, holy Rata 2, made by Mazda, goes and nurses thy bright offspring ^.'
37. Zarathu5tra addressed Virtaspa, saying: 'O young king Vij-taspa! The Law of Mazda, O my son! will give thy offspring the victorious strength that destroys the fiends.
' Let no thought of Angra Mainyu ever infect thee, so that thou shouldst indulge in evil lusts, make derision and idolatry, and shut (to the poor) the door of thy house *.
38 ^ ' Atar thus blesses the man who brings in- cense to him, being pleased with him and not angry, and fed as he required: " May herds of oxen grow for thee, and increase of sons! May fate and its decrees bringf thee the boons thou wishest for! Therefore do thou invoke and praise (me) excel- lently in this glorious world! That I may have unceasing food, full of the glory of Mazda ^ and with which I am well pleased."
39. ' O Mazda! take for thyself the words of our praise: of these words I speak and speak again, the strength and victorious vigour, the power of health and healing, the fulness, increase, and growth.
' Bring it together with the words of hymns up to the Garo-nmana of Ahura Mazda. He will '^ first ^ Hvarishni dagh pun r6ii-mani lak yahv&nat (Pahl. Comm.). ^ Charity.
^ If thou art charitable, thy children will thrive. ' See Yt. XXII, 13. « Cf. Vend. XVIII, 27.
'' He who will pronounce all prayers and hymns: the full formula is found in the Aban Nyayij, § 8.
VWTASP YA5'T. 339 enter there. Therefore do thou pronounce these prayers.
' Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good...VI.
40. ' Converse ye with the Amesha-Spe;^tas,' said Zarathu^tra unto the young king Vi^tispa, * and with the devout Sraosha, and Nairyo-sangha, the tall-formed, and Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, and the well-desired kingly Glory.
41. ' Men with lustful deeds address the body ^; but thou, all the night long, address the heavenly Wis- dom 2; but thou, all night long, call for the Wisdom that will keep thee awake.
' Three times a day raise thyself up and go to take care of the beneficent cattle.
42. * Of these men may the lordship ^ belong to the wisest of all beings, O Zarathu^'tra! May their lord belong to the wisest, O Zarathui"tra! Let him show them the way of holiness, let him show them at once the way thereto, which the Law of the worshippers of Mazda enters victoriously. Thus the soul of man, in the joy of perfect holiness, walks over the bridge, known afar, the powerful A^inva/- bridge*, the well-kept, and kept by virtue.
43. 'How the worlds were arranged was said to thee first, O Zarathu^tra! Zarathu^'tra said it again to the young king Vii-taspa; therefore do thou ^ praise him *^ who keeps and maintains the moon and the sun.
* The supervision and care, * See § 27.
^ Thou Vutaspa. " Ahura Mazda.
340 YA.STS AND SIROZAHS.
' He who has little friendship for the Law, I have placed him down below to suffer.'
44. Thus said Angra Mainyu, he who has no Glory in him, who is full of death: ' This is an unbeliever, let us throw him down below; this is a liar, or a traitor to his relatives, and like a mad dog who wounds cattle and men; but the dog v^^ho in- flicts wounds pays for it as for wilful murder ^.
' The first time he shall smite a faithful man, the first time he shall wound a faithful man, he shall pay for it as for wilful murder.
'Ashem Voh^: Holiness is the best of all good...VII.
45. * Mayest thou receive ^ O holy young king Vii-taspa! (a house) with a hundred...^ ten thou- sand large windows, ten thousand small windows, all the year long ^, O holy Vi-ftaspa! never growing old, never dying, never decaying, never rotting, giving plenty of meat, plenty of food, plenty of clothes to the other worshippers of Mazda.
46. ' May all boons be bestowed upon thee, as I proclaim it unto thee! May the Amesha-Spe/ztas impart to thee their brightness and glory and plenty ^' May they give him quick and swift horses and good sons, strong, great in all things, powerful to sing the hymns.
' See Vend. XIII, 31.
2 In Paradise; see Vend. XVIII, 28, text and note. ^ Satayare: that stands a hundred years (?). The Vend. XVIII, 28 has 'with a hundred columns.' * Uninjured by the changes of temperature.
VI5TASP VAST. 341 47. 'He wields his power according to the wish of Ahura Mazda, the Good Spirit, and for the de- struction of the Evil Spirit, whichever of two men goes quicker to perform a sacrifice (to Ahura); but if he chooses to perform the sacrifice and prayer to us not in the right way, he does not wield the right power, he will not reign ^.
48. ' He will receive bad treatment in the next world, though he has been the sovereign of a country, with good horses to ride and good chariots to drive. Give royalty to that man, O Zarathui'tra! who gives royalty unto thee with good will ^.
49 ^ ' Thou shalt keep away the evil by this holy spell: " Of thee [O child!] I will cleanse the birth and growth; of thee [O woman!] I will make the body and the strength pure; I make thee a woman rich in children and rich in milk; a woman rich in seed, in milk, and in offspring. For thee I shall make springs run and flow towards the pastures that will give food to the child."
50. ' Do not deliver me ^ into the hands of the fiend ^; if the fiend take hold of me, then fever with loss of all joy will dry up the milk of the good Spe;2ta-Armaiti ^ The fiend is powerful to distress, and to dry up the milk of the woman who indulges in lust and of all females.
51. 'The perfume of fire, pleasant to the Maker, ^ In Paradise (Pahl. Comm.).
2 Doubtful. ' Cf. Vend. XXI, 6-7.
* The Law.
^ That is to say, let not impiety prevail.
« If impiety prevails, the earth will grow barren (cf. Vend. XVIII, 64).
342 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
Ahura Mazda, takes them ^ away from afar;...^; and all those that harm the creation of the Good Spirit are destroyed 3; 52. 'Whom Mithra, and Rashnu Razi^ta, and the Law of the worshippers of Mazda wish to be taken far away, longing for a man who is eager to perform and does perform the ceremonies he has been taught;...^ 'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good.. •.
VHP.
53. 'The words of the Vahii-toi^ti "^ Gatha are to be sung: " Happy is he, O holy ViMspa! happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the full accomplishment of his wishes."
' Where does his soul abide on that night '? ' 54. Ahura Mazda answered: ' O my son, Frashao- rtra! It takes its seat near the head, singing the U^tavaiti Gatha and proclaiming happiness: " Happy is he, happy the man whoever he be! " ' On the first night, his soul sits in Good Words ^; 1 The demons (see Vend. VIII, 80).
2 Noi/ ta/ paiti vohu mano katha sisraya aya-^a. The Pahlavi Commentary has: ' That is to say, good will happen to thee through the good will of Atar (fire).'
2 Te >^inashanya (W.; — read tae/^'a nashanya?); aigh harvaspin beshitaran min spinak minoi daman Ivit apetak avin yahvunit (Pahl. Comm.).
* Yatha ya/ te fravaoiami (fravao/^ama,W.) puthro bere- thya/ sairimananam (sairi mananam,W.) bakhedhrai (trans- lated as hakhedhrai: dostih, friendship).
^ This chapter is borrowed, though slightly altered, from Yt. XXII.
« Read u.rtavaiti (?cf. § 54 andYt. XXII, 2): the Vahi.yt6i.rti Gatha is the fifth and last Gatha.
'' On the night of his departmg.
^ Not in the Good- Word Paradise, to which he will go later K VI5TASP YAST. 343 on the second night, it sits in Good Deeds; on the third night, it goes along the ways (to Garo-nmina).
55. 'At the end of the third night, O my son, Frashaoi^tra! when the dawn appears, it seems to the soul of the faithful one as if it were brought amidst plants [and scents: it seems as if a wind were blow- ing from the region of the south, from the regions of the south] \ a sweet-scented wind, sweeter-scented than any other wind in the world, and it seems to his soul as if he were inhalino- that wind with the nose, and it asks, saying: " Whence does that wind blow, the sweetest-scented wind I ever inhaled with my nose r 56. ' And it seems to him as if his own conscience were advancing to him in that wind, in the shape of a maiden fair, bright, white-armed, strong, tall- formed, high-standing, thick-breasted, beautiful of body, noble, of a glorious seed, of the size of a maid in her fifteenth year, as fair as the fairest things in the world.
57. 'And the soul of the faithful one addressed her, asking: " What maid art thou, who art the fairest maid I have ever seen?"
58. ' And she, being his own conscience, answers him: " O thou youth, of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good religion! I am thy own conscience.
* " Everybody did love thee for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious strength, and freedom from sorrow, in which thou (§ 61). but in the thought and delightful remembrance of his good words (cf. Yt. XXII, 2).
1 Supplied from Yt. XXII, 7.
344 VA5'TS AND siROZAHS.
dost appear to me; [and so thou, O youth of good thoughts, good v/ords, and good deeds, of good rehgion! didst love me for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious strength, and freedom from sorrow, in which I appear to thee.
59. ' " When thou wouldst see a man ^] making derision and deeds of idolatry, or rejecting (the poor) and shutting (his door), then, thou wouldst sit, singing the Gathas, and worshipping the good waters, and Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, and rejoicing the faithful that would come from near or from afar.
60. ' " I was lovely, and thou madest me still lovelier; I was fair, and thou madest me still fairer; I was desirable, and thou madest me still more desirable; I was sitting in a forward place, and thou madest me sit in the foremost place, through this good thought, through this good speech, through this good deed of thine; and so henceforth men worship me for my having long sacrificed unto and conversed with Ahura Mazda."
61. * The first step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Thought Paradise; the second step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good- Word Paradise; the third step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Deed Paradise; the fourth step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Endless Light.
62. 'Then one of the faithful, who had departed before him, asked, saying: " How didst thou depart this life, thou holy man? How didst thou come, ' FromYt. XXII, 12-13.
vts'TASP YAST. 345 thou holy man! from the abodes full of cattle and full of the wishes and enjoyments of love? from the material world into the world of the spirit? from the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did thy felicity last? " ' 63. And Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just gone the dreary way, full of fear and distress, when the body and the soul part from one another.
64. ' [Let him eat] of the food brought to him, of the oil of Zaremaya: this is the food for the youth of good thoughts, of good words, of good deeds, of good religion, after he has departed this life; this is the food for the holy woman, rich in good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, well-principled, and obedient to her husband, after she has departed this life.'
65. Spitama Zarathui"tra said to the young king Vii-taspa: ' To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying V Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good...^ This clause, taken from Yt. XXII, 20, shows that the second part ofYt. XXII (§§ 19-36), describing the fate of the wicked, should be inserted here.
NYAYI5.
NYAYI5.
A Nyayi^ is properly a begging prayer, as opposed to Sitayij, a prayer of praise. It is a term particularly applied to five prayers addressed to the Sun, to Mithra, to the Moon, to Waters, and to Fire. Every layman over eight years old is bound to recite the Nyayij: he recites it standing and girded with his Kosti.
The Sun Nyayij is recited three times a day, at the rising of the sun (Gah Havan), at noon (Gah Rapitvin), and at three o'clock in the afternoon (Gah Uziren). The Mithra Nyayix is recited with the Sun Nyayij, as IMithra follows the sun in its course (see The Moon Nyayij is recited three times a month: first, at the time when it begins to be seen; second, when it is at the full; third, when it is on the wane.
The Waters Nyayii- and the Fire Nyayij are recited every day, when one finds oneself in the proximity of those elements. The Fire Nyayij is recited with the Penom on (see Vend. p. 168, 7).
The first four Nyayij must be recited especially on the days over which the Izads invoked preside; that is to say, on the Khorshe^/, Mihir, Mah, and Aban days (the eleventh, sixteenth, twelfth, and tenth days of the month) \ I. [Hail unto the Sun, the swift-horsed! May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced ^I] ^ Anquetil, Zend-Avesta II, pp. 6, 22, 565-566. '^ This clause is wanting in most n:\anuscripts.
A 3 50 NYAYIS.
Hail unto thee, O Ahura Mazda, in the threefold way^l [Hail unto thee] before all other creatures!
Hail unto you, O Amesha-Spe;^tas, who are all of you of one accord with the Sun!
May this prayer come unto Ahura Mazda! May it come unto the Amesha-Spe;^tas! May it come unto the Fravashis of the holy Ones! May it come unto the Sovereign Vayu of the long Period ^1 2. [Hail unto the Sun, the swift-horsed!]
May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! May Angra Mainyu be destroyed! by those who do truly what is the foremost wish (of God). I recite the ' Praise of Holiness-.'
3. I praise well-thought, well-spoken, and well-done thoughts, words, and deeds. I embrace all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds; I reject all evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds \ 4. I give sacrifice and prayer unto you, O Amesha- Spe7«tas! even with the fulness of my thoughts, of my words, of my deeds, and of my heart: I give unto you even my own life.
1 recite the 'Praise of Holiness^:' ' Ashem Vohii: Holiness is the best of all good. Well is it for it, well is it for that holiness which is perfection of holiness *! ' 5^ Hail to Ahura Mazda!
Hail to the Amesha-Spe;nas!
Hail to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures!
Hail to the Sun, the swift-horsed!
Hail to the two eyes of Ahura Mazda!
Hail to the Bull!
Hail to Gaya^!
^ In thought, speech, and deed (Pers. and Sansk. transl).
2 Vayu, as being the same with Fate (Vend. Introd. IV, 17), be- came identified with Time.
* Gaya Maretan, the first man.
Hail to the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zara- thui-tra!
Hail to the whole of the holy creation that was, is, or will be!
May I grow in health of body through Vohu-Mano, Khshathra, and Asha, and come to that luminous space, to that highest of all high things \ when the world, O Spey^ta Mainyu! has come to an end!
Ashem Vohil: Holiness is the best of all good...6. We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pas- tures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears.well-shapen, with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake ^.
7. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of all coun- tries, whom Ahura Mazda made the most glorious of all the gods in the world unseen ^.
So may Mithra and Ahura, the two great gods, come to us for help!
We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
8. We sacrifice unto Tii-trya, whose sight is sound *.
We sacrifice unto Ti^trya; we sacrifice unto the rains of Ti^trya^.
We sacrifice unto Ti^trya, bright and glorious.
We sacrifice unto the star Vana;^^f^ made by Mazda.
^ The sun: 'May my soul arrive at the sun-region 1' (Pahl. transl.) 2 Yt. X, 7. 3 In heaven. * See Yt. VIII, 12, note 7.
5 See Yt.VIII, 12, note 2. * See Yt. XX.
352 NYAYIS-.
We sacrifice unto Ti^trya, the bright and glorious star.
We sacrifice unto the sovereign sky.
We sacrifice unto the boundless Time.
We sacrifice unto the sovereign Time of the long Period.
We sacrifice unto the beneficent, well-doing Wind.
We sacrifice unto the most upright Arista \ made by Mazda and holy.
We sacrifice unto the good Law of the wor- shippers of Mazda.
We sacrifice unto the way of content^.
We sacrifice unto the golden instruments We sacrifice unto Mount Saoka/^ta, made by Mazda \ 9. We sacrifice unto all the holy gods of the world unseen.
We sacrifice unto all the holy gods of the mate- rial world.
We sacrifice unto our own soul.
We sacrifice unto our own Fravashi.
We sacrifice unto the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the holy Ones.
We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
10. I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathu5'tra...1 See Yt. XVI. ^ Qr, of pleasure.
^ ' On Mount Saoka«ta there is a golden tube coming from the root of the earth; the water that is on the surface of the earth goes up through the hole of that tube to the heavens, and being driven by the wind, spreads everywhere, and thus the dew is produced' (Sansk. transl.).
MIHIR NYAYIS-. 353 Unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun; Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glori- Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good...[We sacrifice] unto the Ahurian waters ^ the waters of Ahura, with excellent libations, with finest libations, with libations piously strained ^.
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.
II. MIHIR NYAYI^-.
I*. Hail unto thee, O Ahura IMazda, in the threefold way! [Hail unto thee] before all other creatures!
Hail unto you, O Amesha-Spewtas, who are all of you of one accord with the Sun!
INIay this prayer come unto Ahura IMazda! INIay it come unto the Amesha-Spewtas! May it come unto the Fravashis of the holy Ones! ]\Iay it come unto the sovereign Vayu of the long Period!
2. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!...3. I praise well-thought, well-spoken, and well-done thoughts, words, and deeds...4. I give sacrifice and prayer unto you, O Amesha-Spewtas!...5. Hail to Ahura Mazda I...May I grow in health of body through Vohu-Mano, Khshathra, and Asha, and come to that luminous space, to that highest of all high things, when the world, O Spewta Mainyu, has come to an end!
6^ We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assembHes, with a thousand ears, well-shapen, with ten thousand ^ The whole of the Kh6rshe<f Ya^t is inserted here. ^ Rivers considered as Ahura's wives (cf. Ormazd et Ahriman, 354 NYAYW.
eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake.
7. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of all countries, whom Ahura Mazda made the most glorious of all the heavenly gods.
So may Mithra and Ahura, the two great gods, come to us for help!
We sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift- horsed Sun.
8 ^. We sacrifice unto Tij-trya, whose sight is sound...9. We sacrifice unto all the holy gods of the world unseen...10 ^ I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathu-ftra...11^ We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears, well-shapen, with a thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake.
We sacrifice unto the Mithra around countries; We sacrifice unto the Mithra within countries; We sacrifice unto the Mithra in this country; We sacrifice unto the Mithra above countries; We sacrifice unto the Mithra under countries; We sacrifice unto the Mithra before countries;