As by the laws of the primeval world, so will our spiritual chieftain act (that chief besought-for by the Kine , and named as Zarathustra by the Lord). Deeds most just he will do toward the wicked, as toward the righteous, and toward him whose deeds of fraud and righteous deeds combine (in equal measure).

Yea, (he will act with justice but with vengeance, for) he who does evil to the wicked by word, or with thought (and plan), and (who therein does not dally, but toils labouring as) with both the hands, or he (again) who admonishes one for his good , such as these are offering (a gift) to their religious faith in the love (and with the approving view) of Ahura Mazda ; (they are offering to conscience.)

(And so may it be), O Ahura! Let the man who is the best toward the righteous saint, whether lord's kinsman , or as village labourer, with the allied peer (of the master), having light, and endowed with energy for the cattle (a Ratu such as Ahura sought to satisfy their wail), let such an one be (for us) in the work-field of the Righteous Order, in the pastures of Thy Good Mind .

(And I beseech for Thine instruction), I who will abjure all disobedience (toward Thee, praying that others likewise may withhold it) from Thee; I who abjure the Evil Mind as well, the lordly kinsman's arrogance , and that lying sin which is (alas!) the next thing to the people (their most familiar fault), and the blaming ally's falsehood, and from the Kine the worst care of her meadows (the crime of stint in labour ),

I, who (abjuring these sins), call earnestly on Thine Obedience of all (assisting guardians) the greatest one for our help , gaining (thereby ) long life in the Realm of (Thy) Good Mind (incarnate in our tribes), and paths that are straight from their Righteous Order, wherein Ahura Mazda dwells ,

(Yea), I who, as this Thy faithful priest, invoke Thee through (my) Righteousness, (now) seek with longing from (Thy) Best Spirit, and with that (best) intention of mind, (to know) what he himself thought of the working of (our) fields . Therefore (because I abjure the Evil Mind, and all disobedience, arrogance, falsehood), O Mazda! would I beseech of Thee for a sight of Thee, and for consultation with Thee! (What is Thy will and mind?)

Come Ye, then, to my best (regulations. Come to my men, and my laws ), my very own, O Mazda! and let them see through the Righteous Order and (Thy) Good Mind (which Thou wilt bestow in Thy drawing near) how I am heard before the rich giver (in the assembly of Thy worshippers). Yea, (come Ye); and let the manifold offerings of worship be manifest among us . (Arouse Ye, and help our zeal !)

(Come Ye) and show me the worthy aims of our faith, so that I may approach and fulfil them with (Thy) Good Mind, the offering, O Mazda! of the One like You , or the words of praises offered with Righteousness. And give Ye as Your offering (of grace to me) the abiding gifts of Your Immortality and Welfare!

And let (one like those ), O Mazda! bear on to Thee the spirit of the two leaders who cause the holy ritual Truth to flourish; let him bear them to (Thy) brilliant home with preternatural insight, and with the Better Mind. Yea, let him bear that spirit on as a fellow-help in (furthering) the readiness of those (in their holy work) whose souls go hand in hand .

(And not for these alone do I pray, but for us as well.) All prosperous states in being which have been enjoyed in the past, which men are now enjoying, and which shall be known in the future, do Thou grant (me) these in Thy love . (Yea), cause (our) bodily and personal life to be blest with salvation through (Thy) Good Mind, (Thy) Sovereign Power, and (Thy) Sanctity .

And, O Thou who art the most beneficent Ahura Mazda! and thou who art Âramaiti (our piety), and also the Righteous Order who dost further on the settlements; and Thou, the Good Mind, and the Sovereign Power! hear ye me all, and have mercy for every deed which I do whatsoever !

And Thou, O Ahura! do Thou (Thyself) arise to me! Through Âramaiti give me power, O most bountiful Spirit Mazda! through (my) faithful appeals and offerings ; and for (my) Righteousness grant me mighty strength, and (Thy) thrift-law through (Thy) Good Mind .

(Arise to give me power), and then for grace in a wide perception (that I may view its depth and extent), do Thou reveal to me Thy nature (?), O Ahura! (the power of Thine attributes), and those of Thy (holy) kingdom, and by these, the blessed gifts of (Thy) Good Mind! And do Thou, O bountiful Piety show forth the religious truths through (Thy) Righteous Order.

Thus, as an offering, Zarathustra gives the life of his very body. And he offers, likewise, O Mazda! the priority of the Good Mind, (his eminence gained) by his holiness (with Thy folk); and he offers (above all his) Obedience (to Thee) in deed and in speech, and with these (Thine established) Sovereign Power ! 70:1 In this particular. As to ceremonies it had at a later period more than its share of absurdities; but as to honest work as against 'foraging on the enemy' there is a great difference between the Gâthas, and some other ancient hymns, for instance the Riks of the Veda. In fact these latter may be regarded as representing the opposite extreme. 72:1 See XXIX, 1. 72:2 See XXIX, 6, 8. 72:3 So the Pahl.; and so also Roth (Z.D.M.G., vol. xxxvii. 5, 223) taking mithahyâ as a nom. pl. (comp. vakahya). But I am strongly inclined to a former view of my own. Yêhyâ-mithahyâ look irresistibly like two genitives. I would render as an emphatic alternative 'what fraud he may lay hold of (hemyâsaitê with the gen.), reach (of the one), and what (seem) to him the righteous deeds (of the other).' But if Roth and the Pahlavi are right, we have here the origin of the later hamêstagã, the souls in the intermediate place between Heaven and Hell, whose sins and good works have been equal (West, Gloss. to M. î K.). The Persian manuscript of Haug 12 b. has: Kih ik (pro ham) û i ân ham rasîd êstêd ân i durûgh, kih ik (ham) û ân i ‘hâlis [kû, hamêstân]. 72:4 So the Pahlavi also indicates: Val valman î sapîr—kâshisn. Ner. uttamasya vâ âsvâdayanti dehinah. 72:5 Literally, 'they are offering a gift to their own choice' (var = varena; comp. yâvarenâ). 72:6 They are holding fast by the holy cause, and their vehemence in vengeance does not negative the fact that they are toiling in the love of Ahura. Pahlavi: Pavan zak î lak dôshisnŏ, Aûharmazd! 73:1 Literally, 'with, or as, the kinsman.' 73:2 'With the true ally.' 73:3 See XXIX, 2: 'Let that pasture-giver whom ye would appoint for us, teaching by example and precept vohû vâstryâ, let him be on our sacred pastures, and on our side.' 73:4 The Pahlavi may be rendered as follows: He who affords increase to the righteous on account of the relationship [that is, something is given to him?] does so also on account of the labourer's duty, or class [that is, the labourer is to be considered as his own] Through the loyalty; that is, the loyal class, that which adheres to Aûharmazd, he has a thorough understanding as to what is (true) energy toward the herds. Thus Vohûman (a good mind) is a workman with him to whom Righteousness also belongs. 73:5 Hübschm. Casuslehre, 'der ich von dir den Ungehorsam and schlechten Sinn durch Gebet abwenden will' (s. 180). 73:6 Observe that hvaêtu certainly designates an upper class. Why else arrogance? 73:7 Possibly this severity was the cause of the later high reputation of the Zarathustrians for veracity. 73:8 Literally, 'from the pasture of the Kine.' 73:9 The Pahlavi may be rendered: Him who will not listen to p. 74 Thee, O Aûharmazd! will I abjure, and Akôman also, for by him there is the despising of relations, and the deception of the labouring men who live close at hand [that is, of neighbours]. And he is ever bringing censure upon the clients. And he holds to the lowest measure of duty toward the Herd. 74:1 Avanghâ ne, or avanghânê, an infinitive (see Wilhelm, de Infin. p. 16). The Pahlavi has avŏ aîyyârîh. 74:2 Sraosha (= listening obedience) is the greatest for help, because by a Mãthra which appeals to him the way to Ahura is found out (XXVIII, 6) and the Demon defeated. If apânô is read, so strictly. The Pahlavi translator seems to have understood apâ ne; barâm ayâfînâi pavan dêr-zîvisnîh, zak î pavan khûdâyîh î Vohûman. Ner.: Avâpaya dîrghe gîvitatve. This may well restore for us the proper text. Reading apâ ne we should render 'obtain for us.' 74:3 Ahura Mazda dwells as in His abode amid the paths where His saints walk (see XLVI, 16). 74:4 So also indicated by bavîhûnêd. Kayâ properly refers to ye. 74:5 The Pahlavi translator seems to have seen an imperative in avâ, rendering it freely aîyyârînêdŏ. 74:6 Yâ may be an instr. sing. or an acc. pl. neut. 'I ask what he thought meet to be done;' yâ does not necessarily equal yen, in every instance. 74:7 I need hardly remind the reader that agriculture was the great question of orderly and religious life with the Zarathustrians. Without it there was of course no resource but wandering and plunder for them. 75:1 So I render from the context. Otherwise see tâ tôi izyâ in the previous verse. 75:2 I was formerly inclined to understand Ahura here, Indian usage permitting. (Indra and other Gods are maghavan.) But modern authority, aided by the ancient Pahlavi translator, brings me to a better mind. The Pahlavi has pavan fravôn magîh. It is better to refer the word to the disciple. The more prominent members of the congregation are meant. 75:3 Ner. renders the last line thus: And may these offerings be manifest in the midst of us, and accompanied with (sincerest) worship. 75:4 There are certain cases where allowance for an ancient scholar working under great disadvantages becomes a critical necessity. Here the Pahlavi translator was clearly the victim of a manuscript. The word 'âidûm' (sic) stood, as similar words so often stand, in his MS. as 'âi. dûm.' Deeply imbued with a superstitious regard for every letter, and with a public equally scrupulous, he saw no course before him but to translate each as best he could. He chose to render 'âi' by an infinitive, preserving the root, and could only think of a form of 'dâ' for dûm (so also moderns in another case). Many writers, seeing such a step, cast away his paper, regarding themselves as absolved by such a 'blunder' from mastering his translations. But a little honest labour will always bring one back to sounder exegesis. In the next following verse we have identically the same form in another word, which he renders awkwardly but correctly, using dâ again, but as a proper auxiliary. 76:1 To approach the offering of a praiser seems certainly an unnatural expression. I think that we are obliged to regard khshmâvatô as another way of saying Yourself rather than 'of Yours'; and if it equals 'Yourself' here, it may elsewhere; see XXXIV, 2, khshmâvatô vahmê, also XLIV, 1, neme khshmâvatô. All acknowledge mavaitê to mean 'to me.' Hübschmann, Casuslehre, s. 200: 'dass ich mit frommem sinne an eure Verehrung, Mazda, gehen kann.' 76:2 It is curious that draonô seems to be in apposition here. The word is used merely in the sense of offering in the later Avesta. It might possibly mean 'possessions' here. 76:3 See XXXII, 15. There helping princes are spoken of 'as borne by the two (Haurvatât and Ameretatât).' Here in immediate connection with the same two it is said: Let one bear the spirit of the two united chiefs. By the term 'spirit,' which sounds so suspiciously modern, we must nevertheless understand very nearly what the word would mean in a modern phrase. By these two leaders we may understand either Gâmâspa and Vîstâspa (XLIX, 9) or Gâmâspa and Frashaostra. (Compare yâvarenâ Frashaostra Gâmâspâ.) 76:4 'Let one bear them.' 76:5 Khvârîh mânînisnŏ. 76:6 The Pahlavi gives its evidence for an instrumental and for a less pronounced meaning than the one above. 76:7 Hamkardârîh. If the second kar is the root, the sense is figurative. 77:1 Bûndakŏ. 77:2 Pavan akvînŏ rûbânŏ. 77:3 So more probably. See the first person in verses 8 and 11. 77:4 So the Pahlavi also, hû-zîvisnîh. 77:5 So the Pahlavi also: Pavan hanâ î lak dôshisnŏ. 'In Thy will' is here very weak. 77:6 Nadûkîhik î avŏ tanû [am yehabûn]; Ner. subham tanau. 77:7 Neryosangh: Let them continue to live well, and be prosperous in all things [ ] those females (yâh most curiously) who are born thus [that is, come from elsewhere (and not from us)], and who are [gained over by myself]. Those, O Great Wise One! who shall exist [(or) come in the future], let them render these persons thine own through friendship to thee. Cause thou the Best Mind to increase within me, O Lord! [that is, make my mind ever the more piously zealous]. And in view of my righteousness grant me a benefit in my body, or person [ ]. 77:8 So the Pahlavi also: Am barâ âmûrzêd. 77:9 Observe that all the Ameshôspends, except the two mentioned in verse 8, are here bidden as persons to listen and be merciful. These recurring instances (recall the two hands of Asha &c.) necessitate the view that the idea of personality is never lost in that p. 78 of the abstract quality; and vice versâ; (the latter especially in the Gâthas where the names always retain much, if not all of their original force). As to âdâi; see vanghuyâ (sic) zavô-âdâ in the next verse. 78:1 We seem obliged to suppose that Ahura was poetically conceived of as sitting (like Vohûman in Vendîdâd XIX, 31 (Wg.)) upon an ornamented throne, or we may take the expression as pure metaphor equalling 'exert Thy power.' Âramaitî may be a voc. 78:2 See âdâi in verse tr. 78:3 Pavan zak î Vohûman sardârîh. The 'thrift-law' is the regulation established by the Ratu demanded in Y. XXIX for the redemption of the Kine. It expresses the entire polity and theology of the Zarathustrian people as summed up in the original Avesta. 78:4 Neryosangh: Up! O Lord! purify me [that is, make me pure, or free, from the influence of that tormentor, the Evil Mind]; and grant me perfect spirituality and zeal. For we are recipients of Gvahmana, O more mighty spirit [that is, let him be as a guest, arrived within my body]! And let sanctity have power over the murderer (?) [ ], and through the lordship of the Best Mind. 78:5 The Pahlavi has here pavan kâmak kâshisnŏ, on which see Darmesteter, Études Iraniennes, vol. ii, as per index. 78:6 Literally, 'Your.' 78:7 Ashi has this meaning in the later Avesta. It also means 'sacred regularity,' 'exactness' in religious duties. 78:8 So the Pahlavi also: As pavan Aharâyîh dînô frâz dakhshakînŏ; p. 79 Ner.: Punyena dinim prakihnaya. Possibly, 'give light to our consciences through Asha' would be better. 79:1 The tissues; the word seems contrasted with bones elsewhere. The Pahlavi has khayâ, and Ner. givam (sic). 79:2 The Pahlavi translation may be rendered as follows: Thus, as a gift of generosity, I who am Zartûst (so freely, and with no error from ignorance (!)) give the life of my own body, as the advance [as the chieftainship] to Vohûman and to Aûharmazd, and to Ashavahist, in actions [that is, I would do the deeds which Aharâyîh desires], and would give obedient attention to the word (literally the hearing of the word) to (i.e. of) Khshatraver. Next: Yasna XXXIV Sacred Texts | Zoroastrianism « Previous: The Zend Avesta, Part III (SBE31): The Gâthas: Yasn... Index Next: The Zend Avesta, Part III (SBE31): The Gâthas: Yasn... » Sacred Texts | Zoroastrianism