senses ^ and ten thousand eyes to see. With those eyes and those senses, he watches the man who injures Mithra, the man who Hes unto Mithra, Through those eyes and those senses, he is unde- ceivable, he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXII.
83. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; ' Whom the lord of the country invokes for help, with hands uplifted; 'Whom the lord of the town invokes for help, with hands uplifted; 84. ' Whom the lord of the borough invokes for help, with hands uplifted; ' Whom the master of the house invokes for help, with hands uplifted; 'Whom the...- in danger of death ^ invokes" for help, with hands uplifted; ' Whom the poor man, who follows the good law, when wronged and deprived of his rights, invokes for help, with hands uplifted.
85. ' The voice of his wailing reaches up to the sky, it goes over the earth all around, it goes over ^ Yaokhjti, the root of Persian ny6jidan, Pahlavi niyokh- jitan, to hear; one might be inclined to translate 'a thousand ears,' or ' a thousand hearings;' but the meaning of the word must have been rather more general, as Neriosengh translates it ^ Dva/^ina?
3 Pithe: mrz'tyu (Yasna LIII [LII], 6).
MIHIR YAST. 141 the seven Karshvares, whether he utters his prayer in a low tone of voice ^ or aloud.
86. ' The cow driven astray invokes him for help ^, longing for the stables: '"When will that bull, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, bring us back, and make us reach the stables? when will he turn us back to the right way from the den of the Dru^ where we were driven^?"
S"/. 'And to him with whom Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, has been satisfied, he comes with help; and of him with whom Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, has been offended, he crushes down the house, the borough, the town, the province, the country.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXIII.
88. ' We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; ' To whom the enlivening, healing, fair, lordly, golden-eyed Haoma offered up a sacrifice on the highest of the heights, on the Haraiti Bareza*, he ^ Most manuscripts have added here, from the preceding clauses, ' with hands uplifted!'
^ An allusion to a myth in which Mithra was described as an Indra delivering the cows carried away by a Vrz'tra: Firmicus Maternus called him abactorem boum (De Errore Profan. Relig. V); Commodianus compares him with Cacus: 'Vrtebatque boves alienos semper in antris Sicut et Cacus Vulcani filius ille.' (Apud Windischmann, Mithra, p. 64.)
142 YA5TS AND stROZAHS.
the undefiled to one undefiled, with undefiled baresma, undefiled Hbations, and undefiled words; 89. 'Whom^ the holy Ahura Mazda has estab- lished as a priest, quick in performing the sacrifice and loud in song. He performed the sacrifice with a loud voice, as a priest quick in sacrifice and loud in song, a priest to Ahura Mazda, a priest to the Amesha-Spe;^tas. His voice reached up to the sky, went over the earth all around, went over the seven Karshvares.
90. 'Who first lifted up Haomas, in a mortar inlaid with stars and made of a heavenly substance. Ahura Mazda longed for him, the Amesha-Spe;^tas longed for him, for the well-shapen body of him whom the swift-horsed sun awakes for prayer from afar ^.
91. 'Hail to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes! Thou art worthy of sacrifice and prayer: mayest thou have sacrifice and prayer in the houses of men! Hail to the man who shall offer thee a sacrifice, with the holy wood in his hand, the baresma in his hand, the holy meat in his hand, the holy mortar in his hand ^ with his hands well-washed, with the mortar well-washed, with the bundles of baresma tied up, the Haoma uplifted, and the Ahuna Vairya sung through.
92. ' The holy Ahura Mazda confessed that reli- gion and so did Vohu-Mano, so did Asha-Vahii-ta, so did Khshathra -Vairya, so did Spe;^ta-Armaiti, so ^ For the morning service in the Gah Ujahin.
=> Cf. Vend. Ill, i.
MIIIIR YA^T. 143 did Haurvata/ and Amereta/; and all the Amesha- Spe;2tas longed for and confessed his religion. The kind Mazda conferred upon him the mastership of the world; and [so did they'] who saw thee amongst all creatures the right lord and master of the world, the best cleanser of these creatures.
93. ' So mayest thou in both worlds, mayest thou keep us in both worlds, O Mithra, lord of wide pas- tures! both in this material world and in the world of the spirit, from the fiend of Death, from the fiend Aeshma -, from the fiendish hordes, that lift up the spear of havoc, and from the onsets of Aeshma, wherein the evil-doing Aeshma rushes along with Vidotu ^, made by the Daevas.
94. ' So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pas- tures! give swiftness to our teams, strength to our own bodies, and that we may watch with full suc- cess those who hate us, smite down our foes, and destroy at one stroke our adversaries, our enemies and those who hate us^.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXIV.
95. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; ' Who goes over the earth, all her breadth over, after the setting of the sun ^, touches both ends of "^ See Vend. Introd. IV, 22. ' See ibid.
^ It should seem as if Mithra was supposed to retrace his steps during the night. The Hindus supposed that the sun had a bright face and a dark one, and that during the night it returned from the west to the east with its dark face turned towards the earth.
144 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS this wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar, and surveys everything that is between the earth and the heavens, 96. ' Swinging in his hands a club with a hundred knots, a hundred edges, that rushes forwards and fells men down; a club cast out of red brass, of strong, golden brass; the strongest of all weapons, the most victorious of all weapons ^; 97. ' From whom Angra Malnyu, who is all death, flees away in fear; from whom Aeshma, the evil- doing Peshotanu 2, flees away in fear; from whom the long-handed Bushyasta^ flees away in fear; from whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in fear *.
98. ' Oh! may we never fall across the rush of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, when in anger ^l May Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, never smite us in his anger; he who stands up upon this earth as the strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all gods, the most energetic of all gods, the swiftest of all gods, the most fiend-smiting of all gods, he, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures ^ ' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXV.
99. ' We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; ' From whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in fear^.
3 MIHIR VAST. 145 * The lord of nations, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, drives forward at the right-hand side of this wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar.
100. ' At his right hand drives the good, holy Sraosha; at his left hand drives the tall and strong Rashnu; on all sides around him drive the waters, the plants, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
loi. 'In his might, he ever brings to them falcon- feathered arrows, and, when driving, he himself comes there, where are nations, enemy to Mithra, he, first and foremost, strikes blows with his club on the horse and his rider; he throws fear and fright upon the horse and his rider.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXVI.
102. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; * The warrior of the white horse, of the sharp spear, the long spear, the quick arrows; foreseeing and clever; 103. ' Whom Ahura Mazda has established to maintain and look over all this moving^ world, and who maintains and looks over all this moving world; who, never sleeping, wakefully guards the creation of Mazda; who, never sleeping, wakefully maintains the creation of Mazda.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...^ Fravoij; Parsi tradition translates large: fraz (tr. Phi.), buland (Asp., Yasna LVII, 15 [LVI, 7, 3]).
146 YAiTTS AND SIROZAHS XXVII.
104. ' We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; 'Whose long arms, strong with Mithra-strength, encompass what he seizes in the easternmost river ^ and what he beats with the westernmost river 2, what is by the Sanaka ^ of the Rangha and what is by the boundary of the earth *.
105. 'And thou, O Mithra! encompassing all this around, do thou reach it, all over, with thy arms.
* The man without glory \ led astray from the right way, grieves in his heart; the man without glory thinks thus in himself: " That careless Mithra does not see all the evil that is done, nor all the lies that are told."
106. ' But I think thus in my heart: ' " Should the evil thoughts of the earthly man be a hundred times worse, they would not rise so high as the good thoughts of the heavenly Mithra; ' " Should the evil words of the earthly man be a hundred times worse, they would not rise so high as the good words of the heavenly Mithra; 1 The Sind.
2 The Rangha or Tigris. The words ag^urvayeiti and nighne, 'he seizes, he beats,' are the words used of the priest laying the Haoma in the mortar and pounding it with the pestle (Yasna, X, 2 [4-5]). The Sind and the Rangha are thus com- pared with the two parts of the Havana, the land between is the Haoma, and Mithra's arms are the arms of the priest.
^ Sanake, an aira^ Xeyofifvov; opposed to the aodhas of the Rangha, Yt. XII, 19.
* The Arabian sea (?). Cf. Yt. XII, 21.
^ Who has not a ray of the celestial Hght: here, the man of little faith.
MIHIR YA^T. 147 * " Should the evil deeds of the earthly man be a hundred times worse, they would not rise so high as the good deeds of the heavenly Mithra; 107. '"Should the heavenly wisdom^ in the earthly man be a hundred times greater, it would not rise so high as the heavenly wisdom in the heavenly Mithra; "'And thus, should the ears of the earthly man hear a hundred times better, he would not hear so well as the heavenly Mithra, whose ear hears well, who has a thousand senses, and sees every man that tells a lie."
* Mithra stands up in his strength, he drives in the awfulness of royalty, and sends from his eyes beautiful looks that shine from afar, (saying): 108. '" Who will offer me a sacrifice? Who will lie unto me? Who thinks me a god worthy of a good sacrifice? Who thinks me worthy only of a bad sacrifice? To whom shall I, in my might, impart brightness and glory? To whom bodily health? To whom shall I, in my might, impart riches and full weal? Whom shall I bless by raising him a virtuous ^ offspring?
109. '"To whom shall I give in return, without his thinking of it, the awful sovereignty, beautifully arrayed, with many armies, and most perfect; the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who fells down heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmitten; who orders chastisement to be done and his order is done at once, which he has ordered in his aneer?"
' O Mithra! when thou art offended and not satisfied, he 3 soothes thy mind, and makes Mithra satisfied.
* He who offers thee a good sacrifice; cf. § 108.
148 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
1 10. *"To whom shall I, m my might, impart sickness and death? To whom shall I impart poverty and sterility^? Of whom shall I at one stroke cut off the offspring?
111. '"From whom shall I take away, without his thinking of It, the awful sovereignty, beautifully arrayed, with many armies, and most perfect; the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who fells down heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmltten; who orders chastisement to be done and his order is done at once, which he has ordered In his anger."
*0 Mithra! while thou art satisfied and not angry, he moves thy heart to anger 2, and makes MIthra unsatisfied.
« For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXVIII.
112. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; 'A warrior with a silver helm ^ a golden cuirass ^, who kills with the poniard, strong, valiant, lord of the borough. Bright are the ways of MIthra, by which he goes towards the country, when, wishing well, he turns Its plains and vales to pasture grounds, 113. 'And then cattle and males come to graze, as many as he wants.
'May Mithra and Ahura*, the high gods, come to us for help, when the poniard lifts up Its voice 1 Doubtful.
2 He who offers thee a bad sacrifice. ' Doubtful. * See Vend. Introd. IV, 8.
MIHIR VAST. 149 aloud ^, when the nostrils of the horses quiver, when the poniards...^ when the strings of the bows whistle and shoot sharp arrows; then the brood of those whose libations are hated fall smitten to the ground, with their hair torn off.
114. 'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pas- tures! give swiftness to our teams, strength to our own bodies, and that we may watch with full success those who hate us, smite down our foes, and destroy at one stroke our adversaries, our enemies, and those who hate us ^ ' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXIX.
115. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake.
* O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! thou master of the house, of the borough, of the town, of the country, thou ZarathuJtrotema*!
1 16. 'Mithra is twentyfold^ between two friends or two relations; ' Mithra is thirtyfold between two men of the same groups; * Mithra is fortyfold between two partners '^; ^ When it clashes with another. ^ Kahvan.
* The chief of the sacerdotal order, the so-called Maubedan- maused.
^ Or 'the contract is twentyfold...,' that is, twenty times more strictly binding than between any two strangers. This pas- sage is one of the most important of the Avesta, as a short account of the social constitution and morals of Zoroastrian Iran.
* Of the same gild (svapahkti, ap. Neriosengh).
150 YA,STS AND SIROZAHS.
' Mithra is fiftyfold between wife and husband i; 'Mithra is sixtyfold between two pupils (of the same master); 'Mithra is seventyfold between the pupil and his master; ' Mithra is eightyfold between the son-in-law and his father-in-law; ' Mithra is ninetyfold between two brothers; 117.' Mithra is a hundredfold between the father and the son; 'Mithra is a thousandfold between two nations 2; 'Mithra is ten thousandfold when connected with the Law of Mazda ^ and then he will be every day * of victorious strength ^.
118. 'May I come unto thee with a prayer that goes lowly or goes highly! As this sun rises up above the Hara Berezaiti and then fulfils its career, so may I, O Spitama! with a prayer that goes lowly or goes highly, rise up above the will of the fiend Angra MainyuM ' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXX.
119, 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake.
' Offer up a sacrifice unto Mithra, O Spitama! and order thy pupils to do the same.
1 Doubtful.
^ A fair recognition of the jus gentium.
3 The contract between the faithful and the Law, the cove- nant (?).
^ Reading [hjamahe ayan.
^ The last clause is doubtful; the text is corrupt.
^ Prayer follows Mithra in his career, rising and setting with him.
MIHIR YAST. 151 'Let the worshipper of Mazda sacrifice unto thee ^ with small cattle, with black cattle, with flying birds, gliding forward on wings.
120. 'To Mithra all the faithful worshippers of Mazda must give strength and energy with offered and proffered Haomas, which the Zaotar proffers unto him and gives in sacrifice 2. Let the faithful man drink of the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does, If he offers them unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra will be pleased with him and without anger.'
121. Zarathu^ra asked him: 'O Ahura Mazda! how shall the faithful man drink the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does and he offers them unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra will be pleased with him and without anger?'
122. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let them wash their bodies three days and three nights; let them undergo thirty strokes ^ for the sacrifice and prayer unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let them wash their bodies two days and two nights; let them undergo twenty strokes for the sacrifice and prayer unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let no ^ Mithra.
"^ The translation of this sentence is conjectural.
^ Thirty strokes with the Sraosh6-/^arana (upazana; see Vend. Introd. V, 19); it is an expiation (akayaya^zta) which purges them from their sins and makes them fit for offering a sacrifice to Mithra. One may find in this passage the origin of the painful trials through which the adepts of the Mithriac mysteries had to go before being admitted to initiation {ovk &v ovv els alrov bwriaaiTO Tts reXead^vm, «i ixf] 8id rivav ^ad^xav napeKdcov twv KoXdafcov Sfl^u e'auroi/ oaiov Ka\ anaO?], Suidas s. V., ap. Windischmann, iiber Mithra, 152 YA5TS AND SIROZAIIS man drink of these libations who does not know the staota yesnya^: Vispe ratavo 2.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard..,, XXXI.
123. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; ' To whom Ahura Mazda offered up a sacrifice in the shining Garo-nmana ^ 124. 'With his arms Hfted up towards Immor- tality*, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, drives forward from the shining Garo-nmana, in a beautiful chariot that drives on, ever-swift, adorned with all sorts of ornaments, and made of gold.
125. • Four stallions draw that chariot, all of the same white colour, living on heavenly food^ and undying. The hoofs of their fore-feet are shod with gold, the hoofs of their hind-feet are shod with silver; all are yoked to the same pole, and wear the yoke ^ and the cross-beams of the yoke ^, fastened with hooks" of Khshathra vairya'^ to a 126. 'At his right hand drives Rashnu-Razi^ta^ the most beneficent and most well-shapen.
^ The sutud ye^t; the last chapters of the Yasna, from LVIII [LVII] to end, according to Anquetil (Zend-Avesta I, 2, 232).
2 The first words of the Visperad.
^ Paradise.
* Towards the abode of the Immortals.
^ Fed with ambrosia {afx^poaiov elbap) like Poseidon's steeds (II. XIII, 35; cf Ovid, Metam. IV, 214).
■^ Metal. See Vend. Introd. IV, 33.
« Upairispata. ' See Yt. XII.
MIHIR VAST. 15; * At his left hand drives the most upright A'ista \ the holy one, bearing libations in her hands, clothed with white clothes, and white herself; and the cursing thought 2 of the Law of Mazda.
127. 'Close by him drives the strong cursing thought 2 of the wise man, opposing foes in the shape of a boar, a sharp-toothed he-boar, a sharp- jawed boar, that kills at one stroke, pursuing, wrathful, with a dripping face ^ strong and swift to run, and rushing all around *.
* Behind him drives Atar ^ all in a blaze, and the awful kingly Glory.
128. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand a thousand bows well-made, with a string of cowgut; they go through the heavenly space ^ they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
129. ' On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand a thousand vulture-feathered arrows, with a golden mouth \ with a horn shaft, with a brass tail, and well-made. They go through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
1 30. ' On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand a thousand spears well-made and sharp-piercing. They go through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
*On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of 1 See Yt. XVI. ^ See above, p. 12, note 13. ' Cf. Yt. X, 70.
* Or better, rushing before (pairi-vaza; cf. the translations of pairi-da-^z^yu, Yt. X, 144 and pairi-vara, Yt. I, 19). Cf. Yt.
^ The Genius of Fire. ' See p. 95, note i. ''A golden point.
154 YA^TS AND SIROZAHS.
wide pastures, stand a thousand steel-hammers, two- edged, well-made. They go through the heavenly- space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
131. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand a thousand swords, two- edged and well-made. They go through the hea- venly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand a thousand maces of iron, well- made. They go through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
132. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stands a beautiful well-falling club, with a hundred knots, a hundred edges, that rushes forward and fells men down; a club cast out of red brass, of strong, golden brass; the strongest of all weapons, the most victorious of all weapons \ It goes through the heavenly space 2, it falls through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
133. 'After he has smitten the Daevas, after he has smitten down the men who lied unto Mithra, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, drives forward through Arezahe and Savahe, through Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu, through Vourubare^ti and Vouru- ^are^ti, through this our Karshvare, the bright ZTz^aniratha ^.
134. 'Angra Mainyu, who is all death, flees away in fear; Aeshma, the evil-doing Peshotanu, flees ^ Cf. Yt. X, 96. 2 The text has, they go MIHIR VAST. 155 away in fear; the long-handed Bushyasta flees away in fear; all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in fear.
135. 'Oh! may we never fall across the rush of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, when in anger! May Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, never smite us in his anger; he who stands up upon this earth as the strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all gods, the most energetic of all gods, the swiftest of all gods, the most fiend-smiting of all gods, he, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures^ ' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXXII.
136. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; ' For whom white stallions, yoked to his chariot, draw it, on one golden wheel, with a full shining axle.
137. * If Mithra takes his libations to his own dwelling 2, " Happy that man, I think," — said Ahura Mazda, — "O holy ZarathuJtra! for whom a holy priest, as pious as any in the world ^, who is the Word incarnate, offers up a sacrifice unto Mithra with bundles of baresma and with the [proper] words.
' " Straight to that man, I think, will Mithra come, to visit his dwelling, 138. * " When Mithras boons will come to him, as he follows God's teaching, and thinks according to God's teaching.
' " Woe to that man, I think," — said Ahura Mazda, — * Doubtful. Possibly, * of a pious conscience.'
156 YAS'TS AND siROZAHS.
" O holy Zarathui-tra! for whom an unholy priest, not pious ^, who is not the Word incarnate, stands behind the baresma, however full may be the bundles of baresma he ties, however long may be the sacrifice he performs."
139. ' He does not delight Ahura Mazda, nor the other Amesha-Spe;ztas, nor Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, he who thus scorns Mazda, and the other Amesha-Spe;2tas, and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, and the Law, and Rashnu, and Ar^ta/*, who makes the world grow, who makes the world increase.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard XXXIII.
140. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake.
* I will offer up a sacrifice unto the good Mithra, O Spitama! unto the strong, heavenly god, who is foremost, highly merciful, and peerless; whose house is above ^, a stout and strong warrior; 141. 'Victorious and armed with a well-fashioned weapon, watchful in darkness and undeceivable. He is the stoutest of the stoutest, he is the strongest of the strongest, he is the most intelligent of the gods, he is victorious and endowed with Glory: he, of the ten thousand eyes, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...^ An unqualified priest; cf. Vend. IX, 47-57; XVIII, i seq. ^ Or, ' whose house is great.'
MIHIR YA.ST. 157 XXXIV.
142. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,...sleepless, and ever awake; 'Who, with his manifold knowledge, powerfully increases the creation of Spe;«ta Mainyu, and is a well-created and most great Yazata, self-shining like the moon, when he makes his own body shine; 143. 'Whose face is flashing with light like the face of the star Ti^trya^ whose chariot is embraced by that goddess who is foremost amongst those who have no deceit in them ^ O Spitama! who is fairer than any creature in the world, and full of light to shine. I will worship that chariot, wrought by the Maker, Ahura Mazda, inlaid with stars and made of a heavenly substance; (the chariot) of Mithra, who has ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...XXXV.
144. '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; ^ See Yt. VIII. ' Ashi Vanguhi (?); cf. § 68.
^ Who watches around countries: aiwida/iyyum is translated U^^ ^j^\j^^,j^ (Pers. tr. of Mihir Nyayij-).
158 YA^TS AND SIROZAHS.
'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 ^i ' We sacrifice unto the Mithra behind countries. 145. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra and Ahura, the two great, imperishable, holy gods^; and unto the stars, and the moon, and the sun, with the trees that yield up baresma^ We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of all countries.
' For his brightness and glory, I will oflfer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'Yatha ahft vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness...
' I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears, ten thousand eyes, a Yazata invoked by his own name; and that of Rama 'AshemVohu: 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!'
8 Cf. Vend. Introd. IV, 8. * Cf. Vend. p. 22, note a.
* Cf. Sirozah I, 16. ^ Who sacrifices to Mithra.
SROSH VAST HADHOKHT. 1 59 XI. SROSH YA^-T HADHOKHT.
There are two Yajts dedicated to Sraosha, the angel of divine wor- ship^: one is a part of the Yasna (LVII [LVI]), and this, the other, is called the Srosh Yzst Hadhokht. Whether it belonged to the so- called Hadhokht Nosk ^, one of the twenty-one Nosks of which the original Avesta was formed ', or whether it was recited in the Hadhokht sacrifice *, a particular liturgy, is a matter on which we have no sufficient information.
The two Yajts have a few developments in common (see §§ 8- 9, 10-13): the Hadhokht is more liturgical, the Yasna Yast is more descriptive, and has to a greater degree the poetical imagery of a Ya^t.
The Srosh Yajt Hadhokht is recited every day, during -any gah except the Rapitvin. A Pahlavi translation of this Yast is extant (East India Office, XII, 102; Paris, Supplement Persan, XXXIII, 259; edited in Etudes Iraniennes, II), and Anquetil mentions a Sanskrit translation.
o. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced I...Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good...I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zara- thuj-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 the holy, strong Sraosha, who is the incar- nate Word, a mighty-speared and lordly god, Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness...^ Cf. Vend. Introd. IV, 31. 2 j^id. Ill, 3.
' See an account of the Hadhokht Nosk in the Dinkart (West, Pahlavi Texts, I, 225, note); cf. Introd. to Yt. XXI.
l6o YASTS AND SIROZAHS.
I.
1. We sacrifice unto the holy, tall-formed, fiend- smiting Sraosha, who makes the world increase, the holy and master of holiness.
Good prayer, excellent prayer to the worlds \ O Zarathui-tra!
2. This it is that takes away the friendship of the fiend and fiends, of the he-fiend and of the she- fiend; it turns away in giddiness their eyes, minds, ears ^, hands, feet, mouths, and tongues ^; as good prayer, without deceit and without harm, is Manly Courage *, and turns away the Dru^ ^.
3. The holy Sraosha, the best protector of the poor, is fiend-smiting; he is the best smiter of the Dru^.
The faithful one who pronounces most words of blessing is the most victorious in victory; the Mathra Spe;/ta takes best the unseen Dru^ away. The Ahuna Vairya ^ is the best fiend-smiter among all spells; the word of truth is the fighter "^ that is the best of all fiend-smiters.
The Law of the worshippers of Mazda is the truest giver of all the good things, of all those that are the offspring of the good principle; and so is the Law of Zarathu^tra,