AvestaZoroastrianismAccepted ScriptureAvestanShareYashts Aban YashtDarmesteter and Mills / Sacred Books of the East - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableDarmesteter and Mills / Sacred Books of the EastLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Vendidad Fargard 1Vendidad Fargard 2Vendidad Fargard 3Vendidad Fargard 4Vendidad Fargard 5Vendidad Fargard 6Vendidad Fargard 7Vendidad Fargard 8Vendidad Fargard 9Vendidad Fargard 10Vendidad Fargard 11Vendidad Fargard 12Vendidad Fargard 13Vendidad Fargard 14Vendidad Fargard 15Vendidad Fargard 16Vendidad Fargard 17Vendidad Fargard 18Vendidad Fargard 19Vendidad Fargard 20Vendidad Fargard 21Vendidad Fargard 22Sirozah Sirozah 1Yashts KhorshedSirozah Sirozah 2Yashts Ormazd YashtYashts ArdibehioT 1 YashtYashts Khordad YashtYashts Aban YashtYashts Khorshed YashtYashts Mah YashtYashts Tlr YashtYashts G oS YashtYashts Mihir / Mithra YashtYashts Sraosha Yasht HadhoKhtYashts Rashn YashtYashts Bahram YashtYashts Ram YashtYashts Ashi YashtYashts Aytad YashtYashts Zamyad YashtYashts Van Ant YashtYashts Yasht FragmentYashts Vtetasp YashtNyayis Khorshed? NyayiyNyayis Mihir / Mithra NyayiyNyayis Aban NyayiyNyayis Atay NyayisYasna Yasna 28Yasna Yasna 34Yasna Yasna 30Yasna Yasna 31Yasna Yasna 32Yasna Yasna 33Yasna Yasna 43Yasna Yasna 44Yasna Yasna 11Yasna Yasna 45Yasna Yasna 46Yasna Yasna 47Yasna Yasna 48Yasna Yasna 49Yasna Yasna 50Yasna Yasna 51Yasna Yasna 60Yasna Yasna 53Yasna Yasna 1Yasna Yasna 2Yasna Yasna 3Yasna Yasna 4Yasna Yasna 5Yasna Yasna 6Yasna Yasna 7Yasna Yasna 8Yasna Yasna 9Yasna Yasna 10Yasna Yasna 12Yasna Yasna 13Yasna Yasna 22Yasna Yasna 14Yasna Yasna 15Yasna Yasna 16Yasna Yasna 17Yasna Yasna 19Yasna Yasna 18Yasna Yasna 20Yasna Yasna 21Yasna Yasna 29Yasna Yasna 23Yasna Yasna 24Yasna Yasna 25Yasna Yasna 26Yasna Yasna 27Yasna Yasna 35Yasna Yasna 36Yasna Yasna 37Yasna Yasna 38Yasna Yasna 39Yasna Yasna 40Yasna Yasna 41Yasna Yasna 42Yasna Yasna 52Yasna Yasna 54Yasna Yasna 55Yasna Yasna 56Yasna Yasna 57Yasna Yasna 58Yasna Yasna 59Yasna Yasna 61Yasna Yasna 62Yasna Yasna 65Yasna Yasna 66Yasna Yasna 68Yasna Yasna 70Yasna Yasna 71Yasna Yasna 72Visparad Visparad 1Visparad Visparad 2Visparad Visparad 11Visparad Visparad 3Visparad Visparad 4Visparad Visparad 5Visparad Visparad 7Visparad Visparad 8Visparad Visparad 9Visparad Visparad 10Visparad Visparad 12Visparad Visparad 13Visparad Visparad 14Visparad Visparad 15Visparad Visparad 16Visparad Visparad 18Visparad Visparad 19Visparad Visparad 20Visparad Visparad 21Visparad Visparad 23Afrinagan AfrinaganGahs Gah 1Gahs Gah 2Gahs Gah 3Gahs Gah 4Gahs Gah 5Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 1Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 2Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 3Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 4Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 5Miscellaneous Fragments Miscellaneous FragmentsMiscellaneous Fragments Fragment 9›Aban YashtYashts Aban YashtListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zaratlmrtra, saying: ‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita, the wide-expanding 1 and health-giving, who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy of sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material world; the life-increasing 2 and holy, the herd-increasing and holy, the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy, the countryincreasing and holy; 2‘ Who makes the seed of all males pure 3, who makes the womb of all females pure for bringing forth 4, who makes all females bring forth in safety, who puts milk into the breasts of all females in the right measure and the right quality; 3‘ The large river, known afar, that is as large as the whole of the waters that run along the earth; that runs powerfully from the height Hukairya 5 down to the sea Vouru-Kasha 6. 4‘ All the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over, when she runs down there, when she streams down there, she, Ardvi Sura Anihita, who has a thousand cells and a thousand channels 1: the extent of each of those cells, of each of those channels is as much as a man can ride in forty days, riding on a good horse. 5‘ From this river of mine alone flow all the waters that spread all over the seven Karshvares; this river of mine alone goes on bringing waters, both in summer and in winter. This river of mine purifies the seed in males, the womb in females, the milk in females’ breasts. 6‘I, Ahura Mazda, brought it down with mighty vigour, for the increase of the house, of the borough, of the town, of the country, to keep them, to main¬ tain them, to look over them, to keep and maintain them close. 7‘ Then Ardvi Shra Anahita, O Spitama Zarathmtra! proceeded forth from the Maker Mazda. Beautiful were her white arms, thick as a horse’s shoulder or still thicker; beautiful was her.... 2, and thus came she, strong, with thick arms, thinking thus in her heart: 8‘ “ Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and wellstrained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good will unto me? 3 ” 9‘For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth being heard; I will offer up unto the holy Ardvi Stir a Anahita a good sacrifice with an offering of libations;—thus mayest thou advise us when thou art appealed to! Mayest thou be most fully worshipped, O Ardvi Sfira Anahita! with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells, with the words, with the deeds, with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken words. ‘Ye^he hitam 1: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda.... 10‘Offer up a sacrifice, 0 Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita, the wide-expanding and health-giving, who hates the Daivas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy of sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the mate¬ rial world; the life-increasing and holy, the herd-increasing and holy, the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy, the country-increasing and holy 2; 11‘Who drives forwards on her chariot, holding the reins of the chariot. She goes, driving, on this chariot, longing for men 3 and thinking thus in her heart: “ Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and wellstrained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who. cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good will unto me? ” ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice, worth being heard 4.... AbAN YAST. 12‘Offer up a sacrifice,O Spitama Zarathu.ftra I unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita 1.... 13‘Whom four horses carry, all white, of one and the same colour, of the same blood, tall, crush¬ ing down the hates of all haters, of the Daevas and men, of the YAtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, of the blind and of the deaf 2. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 14‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathuj-tra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 15‘ Strong and bright, tall and beautiful of form, who sends down by day and by night a flow of motherly 3 waters as large as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and who runs powerfully 4. 16‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 17‘To her did the Maker Ahura Mazda offer up a sacrifice 5 in the Airyana Vae^ah, by the good river Daitya 6; with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells, with the words, with the deeds, with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken words 7. the Mazdean sacrifice as it was later shown to men by Zarathortra; cf. § 101. 18‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anahita! that I may bring the son of Pourushaspa, the holy Zarathmtra, to think after my law, to speak after my law, to do after my law!” 19‘Ardvi Sura Anihita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and begging that she would grant him that boon. ‘For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 20‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra 1 unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sftra Anahita.... 21‘To her did Haoshyangha, the Paradhata 1, offer up a sacrifice on the enclosure 2 of the Hara 3, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand lambs. 22‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anihita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the Aban vast. 59 YAtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may smite down two thirds 1 of the Daevas of MAzana 2 and of the fiends of Varena 3.” 23‘ Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. 24‘Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 25‘To her did Yima Khshabta 4, the good shep¬ herd, offer up a sacrifice from the height Hukairya 5 6, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 26‘ He begged of her a boon, saying: “ Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Ana¬ hita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the YAtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may take from the Daevas both the world for a thousand years, while he made immortality reign in it (Yt. IX, 8; XV, ig; cf. Vendidad II, Introd.). 6o VASTS AND sIr6zaHS. riches and welfare, both fatness and flocks, both weal and Glory 1.” 27‘ Ardvi Sfira Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 281 Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 29‘To her did hzi Dahaka 2, the three-mouthed, offer up a sacrifice in the land of Bawri 3, with a Azi Dahaka, literally ‘the fiendish snake,’ was first a mythical personage; he was the ‘ snake ’ of the storm-cloud, and a counter¬ part of the Vedic Ahi or Vrz'tra. He appears still in that character in Ya.rt XIX seq., where he is described struggling for the Hv areno against Atar (Fire), in the sea Vourukasha (Vendklad, Introd. IV, 38; cf. this Yart, § 90). His struggle with Yima Khshaeta bore at first the same mythological character, ‘ the shining Yima’ being originally, like the Vedic Yama, a solar hero: when Yima was turned into an earthly king, Azi underwent the same fate. In the Shah Ndmah he is described as a man with two snakes springing from his shoulders: they grew there through a kiss of Ahriman’s. For the myths referring to Azi, see Ormazd et Ahriman, §§ 91-95. hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand lambs. 30‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sftra Anahita! that I may make all the seven Karshvares of the earth empty of men.” 31‘Ardvi Sfira Anahita did not grant him that boon, although he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating her that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 32‘Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathartra! unto Ardvi Sftra Anahita.... 33‘To her did Thraetaona 1, the heir 2 of the valiant Athwya clan, offer up a sacrifice in the fourcornered Varena 3, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 34‘ He begged of her a boon, saying: “ Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Ana¬ hita! that I may overcome A21 Dahaka, the three¬ mouthed, the three-headed, the six-eyed, who has a thousand senses 4, that most powerful, fiendish Druf, that demon, baleful to the world, the strongest Dru^ that Angra Mainyu created against the mate¬ rial world, to destroy the world of the good prin¬ ciple 1; and that I may deliver his two wives, Savanghava/f’ and Erenava^ 2, who are the fairest of body amongst women, and the most wonderful creatures in the world 3.” 35‘ Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 36‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto Ardvi Sfira Anahita.... 37‘To her did Keresaspa 4 *, the manly-hearted, offer up a sacrifice behind the Vairi Pisanah 6, with a Avestean romance, although Firdausi has all but passed him over in silence. See his feats, Yt. XIX, 38 seq.; cf. Yt. V, 27 seq.; Yasna IX, 10 (29); Vend. I, 10 (36). hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 38‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sftra An&hita! that I may overcome the golden-heeled Gazzdarewa 1, though all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over; and that I may run up to the strong¬ hold of the fiend on the wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar.” 39‘Ardvi Sfira Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacri¬ ficing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... In the Vedic mythology the Gandharva is the keeper of Soma, and is described now as a god, now as a fiend, according as he is a heavenly Soma-priest or a jealous possessor who grudges it to man. What was the original form of the myth in Mazdeism is not clear. In the Shah Namah he appears as the minister of Azi Dahaka. Cf. Yt. XV, 27 seq., and Ormazd et Ahriman, pp. 99, note 5; 215, note 1. VASTS AND stROZAHS. 40‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathortra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 41‘To her did the Turanian murderer, Frangrasyan 1, offer up a sacrifice in his cave under the earth 2, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 42‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anihita! that I may seize hold of that Glory 3, that is waving in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha 3 and AbAn vast. that belongs to the Aryan people, to those born and to those not yet born, and to the holy Zarathustra.” 43‘Ardvi Sura Anihita did not grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 44‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 45‘To her did the great, most wise Kavi Usa 1 offer up a sacrifice from Mount Erezifya 2, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 46‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me, this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira AnAhita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf.” 47‘Ardvi Sfira Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 48‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathiutra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anah ta.... 49‘To her did the gallant Husravah 8, he who [23l * united the Aryan nations into one kingdom offer up a sacrifice behind the Aa6/£asta lake 2, the deep lake, of salt waters ®, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 50‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anahita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all coun¬ tries, of Da6vas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may have the lead in front of all the teams 3 4 and that he may not pass through 6 the forest 6, he, the murderer 7, who now is fiercely 8 striving against me 9 on horseback 10.” 51‘Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 521 Offer up a sacrifice, 0 Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita.... 53‘To her did the valiant warrior Tusa 11 offer (Bundahir XXII, 2). It is the same as Lake Urumiah. Its name is miswritten in Firdausi (Khan^ast for AT^ast, for cf. Yt. XIX, 77. Pahlavans of Kai Khosrav; he was the son of king Naotara (N6dar). worship on the back of his horse 1, begging swift¬ ness for his teams, health for his own body, and that he might watch with full success 2 those who hated him, smite down his foes, and destroy at one stroke his adversaries, his enemies, and those who hated him 3. 54‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura An&hita! that I may overcome the gallant sons of Va£saka 4, by the castle Khshathro-saoka, that stands high up on the lofty, holy Kangha 6; that I may smite of the Turanian people their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.” 55‘Ardvi Sfira Anihita granted him that boon 6, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 56‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sftra Anahita.... 57‘To her did the gallant sons ofVa£saka offer up a sacrifice in the castle Khshathro-saoka, that stands high up on the lofty, holy Kangha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 58‘They begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant us this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sitra Ana¬ hita! that we may overcome the valiant warrior Tusa, and that we may smite of the Aryan people their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads V’ 59‘Ardvi Sfira Anahita did not grant them that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 60‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama ZarathuJtra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita.... 61‘The old 2 Vafra Navaza worshipped her, when the strong fiend-smiter, Thraetaona, flung him up in the air in the shape of a bird, of a vulture 3. Aban vast. 62‘He went on flying, for three days and three nights, towards his own house; but he could not, he could not turn down. At the end of the third night, when the beneficent dawn came dawning up, then he prayed unto Ardvi Sfira Anahita, saying: 63‘ “Ardvi Sfira Anihita! do thou quickly hasten helpfully and bring me assistance at once. I will offer thee a thousand libations, cleanly prepared and well strained, along with Haomas and meat, by the brink of the river Rangha, if I reach alive the earth made by Ahura and my own house.” 64‘Ardvi Sfira Anahita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tailformed, high-girded, pure, nobly born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle, wearing a golden.... b and radiant 2. 65‘She seized him by the arm: quickly was it done, nor was it long till, speeding, he arrived at the earth made by Mazda and at his own house, safe, unhurt, unwounded, just as he was before. [66. ‘Ardvi Sura Anihita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, entreating that she would grant him that boon 3.] ‘For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... Thraetaona, on his march to Bawri, the capital of Azi (cf. § 29), arrived at the Tigris (the Rangha); an angel then came and taught him magic to enable him to baffle the sortileges of Azi (Shah Namah). We have in this passage an instance of his talents as a wizard, and one which helps us to understand why Thraetaona is considered as the inventor of magic, and his name is invoked in spells and incantations (Hamzah Ispahanensis, p. 101; Anquetil, II, pp. 135 seq.). Cf. Yt. XIV, 40 and note. 67‘ Offer up a sacrifice, 0 Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 68‘To her did C&mispa 1 offer up a sacrifice, with a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, when he saw the army of the wicked, of the worshippers of the Daevas, coming from afar in battle array. 69‘ He asked of her a boon, saying: “ Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anahita! that I may be as constantly victorious as any one of all the Aryans 2.” 70‘ Ardvi Sfira Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacri¬ ficing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 72‘To her did Ashavazdah, the son of Pourudhakhsti ’, and Ashavazdah and Thrita, the sons of Siyusdri 1 2, offer up a sacrifice, with a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, by Apam Napa/, the tall lord, the lord of the females, the bright and swift-horsed 3. 73‘They begged of her a boon, saying: “ Grant us this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anihita! that we may overcome the assemblers of the Turanian Danus 4 *, Kara Asabana B, and Vara Asabana, and the most mighty Dftraekaeta, in the battles of this world 6. 74‘ Ardvi Sfira Andhita granted them that boon, as they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant them that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 75‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita.... 76‘ Vistauru, the son of Naotara 7, worshipped a stone ’ (asan-ban); the sling was, as it seems, the favourite weapon of the Danus (Yt XIII, 38). brother of Tusa, which identifies him with the Gustahm ( ^ ~ T ) in the Shah Nam ah: N6dar had two sons, Tus and Gustahm. YASTS AND SIRdzAHS. her by the brink of the river Vitanghuhaiti 1, with well-spoken words, speaking thus: 77‘“This is true, this is truly spoken, that I have smitten as many of the worshippers of the Dadvas as the hairs I bear on my head. Do thou then, O Ardvi Sfira Anahita! leave me a dry pas¬ sage, to pass over the good Vitanghuhaiti.” 78‘Ardvi Sfira Anihita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tailformed, high-girded, pure, nobly born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle, with all sorts of ornaments and radiant 2. A part of the waters she made stand still, a part of the waters she made flow forward, and she left him a dry passage to pass over the good Vitanghuhaiti 3. [79. ‘Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacri¬ ficing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon 4.] ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 80‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 81‘To her did YdLsta, one of the Fryanas 5, a Cf. §§ 64, 126. offer up a sacrifice with a hundred horses, a thou¬ sand oxen, ten thousand lambs on the PMva^pa 1 of the Rangha. 82‘ He begged of her a boon, saying: “ Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anahita! that I may overcome the evil-doing Akhtya, the offspring of darkness, and that I may answer the ninety-nine hard riddles that he asks me maliciously, the evil-doing Akhtya, the offspring of darkness. ” 83‘Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacri¬ ficing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 84‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 85‘ Whom Ahura Mazda the merciful ordered thus, saying: “ Come, O Ardvi Sfira Anihita, come from those stars 2 down to the earth made by Ahura, thirty-three riddles proposed by Akht; then, in his turn, he proposes him three riddles which the sorcerer is unable to guess, and, in the end, he destroys him by the strength of a Nlrang. Cf. Yt. XIII, 120. This tale, which belongs to the same wide¬ spread cycle as the myth of Oedipus and the Germanic legend of the Wartburg battle, is found in the Zarathustra legend too (Vendldfid XIX, 4). that the great lords may worship thee, the masters of the countries, and their sons. ‘ “ The Athravans who read 2 and the pupils of the Athravans will beg of thee knowledge and pros¬ perity, the Victory made by Ahura, and the crushing Ascendant. 87“‘The maids of barren womb 3, longing for a lord 3, will beg of thee a strong husband; ‘ “Women, on the point of bringing forth, will beg of thee a good delivery. ‘ “All this wilt thou grant unto them, as it lies in thy power, O Ardvi Sira Anihita l” 88‘ Then Ardvi Sftra Anahita came forth, O Zarathustra! down from those stars to the earth made by Mazda; and Ardvi Sura Anihita spake thus: 89‘ “ O pure, holy Zarathu5tra! Ahura Mazda has established thee as the master of the material world: Ahura Mazda has established me to keep the whole of the holy creation. ‘ “ Through my brightness and glory flocks and herds and two-legged men go on, upon the earth: I, forsooth, keep all good things, made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle, just as a shepherd keeps his flock.” 90‘ Zarathu-ytra asked Ardvi Sira Anihita: “ O Ardvi Sira Anihita! With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship thee? With what manner of sacri¬ fice shall I worship and forward thee? So that Mazda may make thee run down (to the earth), that he may not make thee run up into the heavens, above the sun 1; and that the Serpent 2 may not injure thee with.... 3, with.... 4 *, with.... 6, and.... poisons 6.” 91‘Ardvi Sura Anahita answered: “O pure, holy Spitama! this is the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship me, this is the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship and forward me, from the time when the sun is rising to the time when the sun is setting. ‘ “ Of this libation of mine thou shalt drink, thou who art an Athravan, who hast asked and learnt the revealed law, who art wise, clever, and the Word incarnate. 921 “ Of this libation of mine let no foe drink, no man fever-sick, no liar, no coward, no jealous one, no woman, no faithful one who does not sing the Gdthas, no leper to be confined 7. 93‘“I do not accept those libations that are drunk in my honour by the blind, by the deaf, by the wicked, by the destroyers, by the niggards, by the.... 8, nor any of those stamped with those characters which have no strength for the holy Word 9. a The serpent, Azi, is here Azi in his original naturalistic character, the storm-fiend (cf. Vend. Introd. IV, 38 and this Yart, §29, note). The uncleanness and unhealthiness of the rivers are ascribed to his poison. ‘ “ Let no one drink of these my libations who is hump-backed or bulged forward; no fiend with decayed teeth 1.” 94‘Then Zarathustra asked Ardvi Shra Anihita: “ O Ardvi Sftra Anahita! What becomes of those libations which the wicked worshippers of the Da6vas bring unto thee after the sun has set 2?” 95‘Ardvi Sura Anahita answered: “O pure, holy Spitama Zarathustra! howling, clapping, hop¬ ping, and shouting 3, six hundred and a thousand Daevas, who ought not to receive that sacrifice 4, receive those libations 5 that men bring unto me after [the sun has set] 6.” 96‘ I will worship the height Hukairya, of the deep precipices 7, made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Shra Andhita leaps, from a hundred times the height of a man 8, while she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and she runs powerfully 9. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 97* Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 98‘ Before whom the worshippers of Mazda stand with baresma in their hands: the Hvovas did worship her, the Naotaras did worship her 1; the H vovas asked for riches, the Naotaras asked for swift horses. Quickly was Hvdva blessed with riches and full prosperity; quickly became Vistaspa, the Naotaride, the lord of the swiftest horses in these countries 2. 99[‘Ardvi Sura Anahita granted them that boon, as they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacri¬ ficing, and entreating that she would grant them that boon 3.] ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 100‘Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathastra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anfihita.... xoi. ‘Who has a thousand cells and a thousand channels: the extent of each of those cells, of each of those channels, is as much as a man can ride in forty days, riding on a good horse 4. In each channel there stands a palace, well-founded, shining with a hundred windows, with a thousand columns, well-built, with ten thousand balconies, and mighty. 102‘ In each of those palaces there lies a welllaid, well-scented bed, covered with pillows, and;8 YASTS AND SIRdZAHS. Ardvi Sura Anahita, O Zarathmvtra! runs down there from a thousand times the height of a man, and she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and she runs powerfully 1. 103‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 104‘ Unto her did the holy Zarathustra offer up a sacrifice in the Airyana Vae/ah, by the good river Daitya; with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells, with the speech, with the deeds, with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken words 2. 105‘ He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Ana¬ hita! that I may bring the son of Aurvai'-aspa 3, the valiant Kavi Vutaspa, to think according to the law, to speak according to the law, to do according to the law 4.” 106‘Ardvi Shra Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 107‘Offer up a sacrifice, 0 Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 108‘ Unto her did the tall 1 Kavi Vlsfftspa 2 offer up a sacrifice behind Lake Frazdinava 3, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 109‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Ana¬ hita! that I may overcome Tathrava»Z, of the bad law, and Peshana, the worshipper of the Daevas, and the wicked Are^aZ-aspa 4, in the battles of this world!” 1x0. ‘Ardvi Sfira Anihita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... hi. ‘ Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 112‘Unto her did Zairi-vairi 1, who fought on horseback, offer up a sacrifice behind the river Daitya 2, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 113‘He begged of her a boon, saying: “ Grant me this, Ogood, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anihita! that I may overcome Peshb-ATangha the corpse-burier 3, Humiyaka 4 the worshipper of the Daevas, and the wicked Are^ariaspa 6, in the battles of this world. 114‘Ardvi Sura Anihita granted him that boon 6, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacri¬ ficing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 115‘Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathu-rtra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita.... 116‘ Unto her did Are^ariaspa and Va/zdaremaini 7 (Andarimfin miswritten for Vandanmin, for; see fitudes Iraniennes, p. 228). offer up a sacrifice by the sea Vouru-Kasha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs. 117‘ They 1 begged of her a boon, saying: “ Grant us this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anahita! that we may conquer the valiant Kavi VLstaspa and Zairivairi who fights on horseback, and that we may smite of the Aryan people their fifties and their hun¬ dreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.” 118‘Ardvi Sfira Anihita did not grant them 2 that favour, though they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she should grant them that favour. ‘For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 119‘Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita.... 120‘For whom Ahura Mazda has made four horses—the wind, the rain, the cloud, and the sleet— and thus ever 3 upon the earth it is raining, snowing, hailing, and sleeting; and whose armies are so many and numbered by nine-hundreds and thousands. 121‘I will worship the height Hukairya, of the C 2 3l G VASTS AND s1r6zAHS. deep precipices, made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Sura Anahita leaps, from a hundred times the height of a man, while she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and she runs powerfullyb ‘For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 122‘Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra 1 unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 123‘She stands, the good Ardvi Sura Anahita, wearing a golden mantle 1 2, waiting for a man who shall offer her libations and prayers, and thinking thus in her heart: 124Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and wellstrained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good will unto me 3?” ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 125‘Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sfira Anahita.... 126‘Ardvi Shra Anahita, who stands carried forth in the shape of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tail-formed, high-girded, pure, nobly born of 'ta glorious race 1, wearing along her.... 2 a mantle fully embroidered with gold; 127‘ Ever holding the baresma in her hand, ac¬ cording to the rules, she wears square golden ear¬ rings on her ears bored 3, and a golden necklace around her beautiful neck, she, the nobly born Ardvi Sfira Anihita; and she girded her waist tightly, so that her breasts may be well-shaped, that they may be tightly pressed 4. 128‘ Upon her head Ardvi Sura An&hita bound a golden crown, with a hundred stars 5, with eight rays, a fine.... 6, a well-made crown, in the shape of a.... 7, with fillets streaming down. 129‘She is clothed with garments of beaver 8, Ardvi Sura Anahita; with the skin of thirty beavers of those that bear four young ones, that are the finest kind of beavers; for the skin of the beaver that lives in water is the finest-coloured of all skins, and when worked at the right time it shines to the eye with full sheen of silver and gold. 130‘ Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira Anahita! I beg of thee this favour: that I, fully blessed, may conquer large kingdoms, rich in horses 9, with high tributes, with snorting horses, sounding chariots, flashing swords, rich in aliments, with stores of food, with well-scented beds 10; that I may have s Doubtful (sispemna, from sif, at my wish the fulness of the good things of life and whatever makes a kingdom thrive 1. 131‘ Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sfira An&hita! I beg of thee two gallant companions, one two-legged and one four-legged 2: one two-legged, who is swift, quickly rushing, and clever in turning a chariot round in battle; and one four-legged, who can quickly turn towards either wing of the host with a wide front, towards the right wing or the left, towards the left wing or the right. 132‘ Through the strength of this sacrifice, of this invocation, O Ardvi Sfira Anahita! come down from those stars 3, towards the earth made by Ahura, towards the sacrificing priest, towards the full boiling [milk 4 ]; come to help him who is offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that thou wouldst grant him thy favours; that all those gallant warriors may be strong, like king Vlrt&spa. ‘ For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice.... 133‘Yathfi ahft vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness.... ‘ I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of the holy water-spring An&hita. ‘ Ashem Vohfi: 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 1’ ‹Previous chapterYashts Khordad YashtNext chapterYashts Khorshed Yasht›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public-domain 1880/1883/1887 English translation