Salvation to this man , salvation to him whosoever (he may be )! Let the absolutely ruling Great Creator grant (us, He) the living Lord, the two eternal powers. Yea, verily , I ask it of Thee (O Ahura) for the maintaining Righteousness. And may’st Thou also give it to me, (O inspiring) Piety! splendour (as it is), holy blessings, the Good Mind's life .

Yea, to this one may the man endowed with glory give that best of all things, the (spiritual) glory. And do Thou likewise (Thyself) reveal Thine own (gifts) through Thy most bountiful spirit, O Mazda! (And do Thou teach us) Thy wonderful thoughts of wisdom , those of Thy Good Mind, which Thou hast revealed (to us) by Thy Righteousness (within us) with the happy increase of (our joy ), and on a long life's every day .

And may that (holy man) approach toward that which is the better than the good , he who will show to us the straight paths of (spiritual) profit, (the blessings) of this corporeal life, and of that the mental , in those veritably real (eternal ) worlds, where dwells Ahura; (that holy man) an offerer of Thine , O Mazda! a faithful citizen , and bountiful of (mind).

Yea, I will regard Thee as mighty and likewise bountiful, O Ahura Mazda! when (I behold) those aids of grace (approach me), aids which Thou dost guard and nurture as (Thy) just awards to the wicked (to hold him far from us), as well as to the righteous (for our help), Thy Fire's flame therewith so strong through the Holy Order , and when to me the Good Mind's power comes +

(For) so I conceived of Thee as bountiful, O Great Giver, Mazda! when I beheld Thee as supreme in the generation of life, when, as rewarding deeds and words, Thou didst establish evil for the evil, and happy blessings for the good, by Thy (great) virtue (to be adjudged to each) in the creation's final change.

In which (last) changing Thou shalt come, and with Thy bounteous spirit, and Thy sovereign power, O Ahura Mazda! by deeds of whom the settlements are furthered through the Righteous Order. And saving regulations likewise unto these shall Âramaiti utter, (she, our Piety within us), yea, (laws) of Thine understanding which no man may deceive .

Yea, I conceived of Thee as bountiful, O Great Giver Mazda! when he (Thy messenger, Obedience) drew near me, and asked me thus: Who art thou? And whose is thine allegiance? And how to-day shall I show the signs that give the light on this (our) question, (signs) as to the lands (from whence thou camest) and in thyself?

Then to him I, Zarathustra, as my first answer, said: To the wicked (would that I could be) in very truth a strong tormentor and avenger, but to the righteous may I be a mighty help and joy , since to preparations for Thy Kingdom, and in desire (for its approach), I would devote myself so long as to Thee, O Mazda! I may praise, and weave my song.

Yea, I conceived of Thee as bountiful, O Ahura Mazda! when (Thine herald) with Thy Good Mind near approached me, and asked me thus: For what dost thou desire that thou may’st gain, and that thou may’st know it? Then for Thy Fire an offering of praise and holiness (I desired. And on that offering for myself) as long as I have the power, will I meditate , (and for its holy power among Thy people will I plan ).

And may’st Thou likewise grant me (Thy) Righteousness (within me), since I earnestly invoke that perfect readiness (of mind), joining in my prayer with Âramaiti (our Piety toward Thee. Yea, pray Thou Thyself within me through these holy powers). Ask Thou (Thyself) our questions, those which shall be asked by us of Thee; for a question asked by Thee (as its inspirer), is as the question of the mighty, whene’er Thy (?) ruler speaks his potent wish. II. Yea, I conceived of Thee as bountiful, O Ahura Mazda! when (Thy messenger) with Thy Good Mind near approached me, and with your words I first impressed (my soul). Woes then 'midst men Thy heart-devoted one declared (to be) my (portion); but that will I do which Thou did’st say was best.

And since Thou, coming thus, Thy legal Righteousness in fulness spakest, then declare not to me words as yet unheard (with faith or knowledge; command me not) to go forth (with these upon my task) before Thy Sraosha (Obedience) comes to me, to go on hand in hand with me with holy recompense and mighty splendour , whereby to give the contending throngs(?), as a blessing , (Your) spiritual gifts (of certainty and peace).

Thus I conceived of Thee as bounteous, O Ahura Mazda! when with Thy Good Mind (Sraosha, Obedience) approached me. (And I would therefore pray thus of Thee, that bounteous one.) In order that I may make known to men the true and sacred aims of their desires (in the rite or daily toil), grant Ye me long life for this, (that blessing ) which none with daring may extort from You, even this (gift) of that desired place which has been declared to be within Thy Realm.

Yea, as the man enlightened (in Thy law), and who has possessions, gives to his friend, (so give Ye) me, O Great Creator ! Thy rejoicing and abounding grace, when through Thy sovereign Power, and from (the motives of Thy cause of) Righteous Order, I stand forth to go out to , or to arouse, the chiefs of Thy (pure) proclamation, with all those (others) who recite Thy well-remembered Mãthra word.

Yea, I conceived of Thee as bounteous, O Ahura Mazda! when with the Good Mind's grace Thy Sraosha (Obedience) approached me, (and said): Let the quiet and long-enduring better mind with understanding teach (thee); let not a foremost man conciliate the wicked (as sycophant desiring aid), for with that (quiet mind of faith), Thy saints have brought full many a sinner unto Thee (as convert, and in penitence ).

Thus, O Ahura Mazda! this Zarathustra loves the Spirit , and every man most bounteous prays (beside him): Be Righteousness life-strong, and clothed with body. In that (holy) Realm which shines (with splendour) as the sun, let Piety be present; and may she through the indwelling of Thy Good Mind give us blessings in reward for deeds ! 95:1 Anaêshem manô, anaêshem vakô, anaêshem skyaothnem prove that the thought, word, and deed referred to were not limited to a ritual meaning. 98:1 Ahmâi as = to us, does not seem to be good grammar here, as it necessitates a forced separation between it and yahmâikahmâikît. Cp. ahmâi yahmâi-kahmâikît in Y. XLIV, 16. 98:2 I turn from the fine rendering of the Pahlavi with the greatest reluctance: Nadûk valman mûn zak î valman nadûkîh kadârzâî [aîgh kadârzâî ansutâ min nadûkîh î valman nadûkîh], happy is he whose benefit is for every one; [that is, for every man there is happiness from his benefit]; Ner. follows. 98:3 There is a question whether the particle gat (ghat?) may not have originated from gât. Barth. here follows the Pahlavi, reading gatôi (?) = pavan yâmtûnisnŏ. Lak may have been added, as often, to serve as an alternative rendering. 98:4 Or 'I will,' so Prof. Jolly (infinitive for imper.). 98:5 So also the Pahl. rayê-hômand, not as a rendering merely, but as a philological analagon. Otherwise 'riches.' 98:6 Gaêm recalls sraêsta gaya g(i)vainti. 98:7 As ahmâi would more naturally mean 'to this one' in the previous verse, it is desirable to render it in the same way here. 99:1 It is to the last degree improbable that hvâthrôyâ (hvâthravâ; 'y' miswritten for 'v') indicates a condition of ease and comfort here. The 'easy man' is the farthest possible from the thoughts of the composer. The 'best of all things' makes a word kindred to hveng (hvan) appropriate here. 99:2 Kîkî (?), if an imperative (?), may mean guard over; but the Pahlavi translator gives us the better view; he has lak pêdâkînŏ; Ner. tvam prakâsaya. Geldner's kîkîthwâ is important. 99:3 Thwâ = thy properties. 99:4 The Pahl. has merely padmânŏ. 99:5 This shade of meaning is expressed by the Pahlavi. 99:6 Ayâre, acc. pl. 99:7 This expression seems to equal the summum bonum; so also 'worse than the evil' is the ultimate of woe. 99:8 Cp. Y. XXVIII, 3. 99:9 Does haithyeng mean 'eternal,' with every passage in which it occurs considered? 99:10 Thwâvant may, however, like mavant, simply express the personal pronoun here. The position of aredrô, &c. is awkward if thwâvant = thy: 'Where dwells Ahura, Thyself, O Mazda! beneficent, wise, and bountiful.' But aredra is almost a special term for a zealous partisan. 99:11 The Pahl. has khûp-dânâkîh, indicating a meaning which would p. 100 better apply to Ahura than the one given, which cannot be applied to Him. 100:1 Subjunctive (see Prof. Jolly, V.S. p. 28). 100:2 'By Thy hand.' 100:3 The holy Fire of the altar. 100:4 Gimat may be regarded as an improper subjunctive here. 100:5 The Pahlavi: 'and that too which renders justice to the wicked and also to the righteous. And this Thy Fire is burning, since by it the strength of him who lives in Righteousness is (maintained) when that violence which approaches with a good intention comes to me.' 100:6 See Y. XXXI, 8, where the word is also rendered as = vornehmster. 100:7 Literally, 'When Thou didst render deeds provided with rewards.' We are forced to put the action in the past on account of zãthôi, but the influences originally set in motion were to have their issue in the end of the world. 100:8 I render hunarâ literally, and bring its Pahlavi translation to the same sense as necessarily. Otherwise hûmar would generally mean 'skill.' Ner. has tava guneshu. The Pahlavi would here be recognised by all reasonable scholars as striking in its closeness. 101:1 The word ratûs reminds one of the work of the Ratu for the afflicted kine. In the last changing, which shall complete the Frashakard, he, or his representatives, will appear as the last Saoshyant, introducing 'millennial' blessedness. 101:2 I render the Pahlavi here as in evidence: 'Through Thee, O (?) bountiful Spirit! the changing comes [(later (?) gloss) from wickedness to goodness]. And it comes likewise through Aûharmazd's supremacy within a good mind, through whose action the progress of Aharâyîh's settlements is furthered, those which the master is instructing with a perfect mind [ ], and in which this Thy wisdom shall in no wise be deceived thereby.' 101:3 As the kine thought little of her deliverer (see Y. XXIX, 9), so Sraosha, the obedient host, is here represented as inquiring as to the antecedents of the newly-appointed prophet. But he asks more properly concerning the settlements from which he comes than the lands. Gaêtha is not dahv(h)yu. An origin external to that of other chieftains is not at all necessarily indicated by the question. 101:4 The Pahlavi sees a denominative in isôyâ (isôvâ; y for v); it is denom. in the Altiranisches Verbum. It differs, however, as to root. I offer an alternative in its sense. An open tormentor; [that is, I openly torment the wicked] even as much as I desire, do I torment (them) [(later (?) gloss) Ganrâk mînavad]. 102:1 We must be cautious in accepting the statement that the Pahlavi translations attempt to be literal. Here is one which is free and far from erroneous: Aêtûnŏ avŏ aharûbŏ min valman î aôg-hômand aîtŏ; [aîghas, râmînam]. 102:2 The Pahlavi here shows only the correct root. 102:3 Mâ = smâ? 102:4 'So long as I can, will I be of this mind,' seems hardly expressed here. Observe the nearly parallel construction in verse 8. 102:5 The Pahlavi, Sanskrit, and Persian translations would here be regarded once more as extremely close even by opponents, if reasonable in their estimates. Manayâî seems to me hardly an infinitive, as it is comparatively seldom that an infinitive falls to the end of a sentence either in Gâthic or Vedic. I prefer the indication of the Pahlavi with Justi and Bartholomae (in the Altiranisches Verbum). 102:6 Read perhaps daidhîs (later shortened to suit the metre). 102:7 Or, 'ask us that we may be questioned by Thee.' 103:1 The Pahlavi translation bears evidence to a less subtle, and therefore more probable sense here, but at the same time to a rarer grammatical form. It renders dîdaiNhê as a third person, indicating an instance of a third person in ê, and not in the perfect. It also recognises a reduplicated form by its pavan nikêzisnŏ nikêzêdŏ. 103:2 The Pahlavi translator with a curious error, or still more curious freedom, has rûbâk-dahisnîh here and elsewhere. Possibly the Gâthic text before the last compiler differed from ours. 103:3 I still prefer Professor Bartholomae's earlier rendering, after the Pahlavi, as more in harmony with mraotâ and mraos. 103:4 Professor Jolly has the important rendering 'das will ich thun;' the infinitive in a future or imperative sense. 103:5 'Ye said.' 103:6 The Pahlavi unvaryingly kabed. 103:7 Here we probably have the missing subject in the other verses. 103:8 Reading mãzâ rayâ. (Rayâ cannot well mean 'riches' here.) The Pahlavi also indicates the division by its free or erroneous mas ratû (rad). Sraosha, an obedient will personified, guides the soul as in the later Parsism. Cp. the Ardâ Vîrâf. 104:1 Here we have the important reading rânôibyô as against the dual of K4, &c. (see Geldner). No mention of the fire occurs; and as the form does not agree with arani, we may well doubt that comparison in view of ãsayau in Y. XXXI, 2, and the unvarying and uniform patkardârânŏ of the Pahlavi. The rendering 'with the sticks' is, however, admirably adapted, and must be considered as an emphatic alternative. 104:2 The Pahlavi supports the reading vî for ve; it has barâ. Ashî might also mean merely 'holy,' as adjective. 104:3 In Y. XXVIII, 7, he asks for it that he may crush the malice of the foe. 104:4 Justi admirably suggested yânem understood. 104:5 The Pahlavi divides dârstaitê, and, as I hold, mistakes the root as was inevitable. The ancient scribe feared to restore the severed fragments, which appeared, as so often, in the MSS. before him. I would read darsaitê with Spiegel's c(?) (so Bartholomae, later, however, recurring to a division, with Geldner after the Pahlavi, for the sake of bringing out an infinitive). 104:6 Vairyau contracted from vairyayau by a corrupting improvement to regulate the metre. 104:7 So the Pahlavi indicates, Bartholomae following as against the rendering 'possessing.' 104:8 With regard to Mazdau and medhâ, I should perhaps long p. 105since have stated that I object to the comparison, not only because medhâ´ is a feminine, and, as Grassmann has supposed, possibly represented by the Zend madh, Greek math, but because 'wisdom' is an abstract (while su-medhâ´s, as a compound, does not apply so directly). I hold, however, that mazdâ, the fem. noun in Y. XL, 1 = medhâ´. It is also not impossible that this word may be represented (with differing shades of meaning) by both madh and mazdãm (fem.) in Zend. 105:1 Read, perhaps, frâkhstâ; or frâstâ, 'with Thine advancing kingdom I (am) to go forth to'; (frâ + as, participle.) 105:2 Prof. Jolly has the important rendering, 'Ich will mich erheben;' the infinitive in a a future or imperative sense. 105:3 Chieftainships. Compare (not with exactness, however) sárdhâmsi. 105:4 The idea of reciting from memory seems to be included in marentê. 105:5 The rendering pourûs (?) as=pl. of pûrús is attractive, but dregvatô hardly needs, and seldom has, a substantive. The wicked = wicked men; and, on the other hand, nâ constantly claims an accompanying word; (nâ ismanô; nâ vaêdemnô; hvô nâ-erethwô; nâ spentô, ye-nâ, ke vâ-nâ, &c.) Also it is improbable that the words nâ and pourûs, as = pûrávas, should come together; 'let not a man men evil ingratiate (?).' Compare for sense here purviâs in one or more of its applications. Possibly the meaning is, 'let not a man be foremost in conciliating the wicked.' The Pahlavi likewise has kabed (freely). Ner. has: Mâ narah* prakuram durgatinâm bhûyât* yathâ kathamkit satkartâ. An important rendering is that of Professor p. 106 Jolly, V.S. s. 47, 'möchte es wenige Verehrer des Lügners geben.' Cp. Y. XLVI, 1, where the composer speaks of the chefs as on their side, 'not contenting' him. 106:1 Or, with the Pahl.: Mûn aêtûnŏ lak harvisp-gûnŏ aharûbânŏ pavan anâk yakhsenund, for they consider all Thy saints as wicked. The rendering above is less natural as conveying the idea of a conversion (comp., however, yâ g(i)vantô vîspeng vaurayâ), but it renders the grammatical forms more simply. It is bad policy to force a text to express what we happen to believe to be a more natural idea. Using the hint of the Pahlavi here in an understanding manner, we might then render 'for they hold all sinners as holy.' 106:2 I had long since compared verentê with vrinîte (-devâ´nâm ávas); and am now sustained by Bartholomae's view. 106:3 Possibly the Spenista mainyu of Ahura. (See also Y. XLIV, 2.) 106:4 The Pahlavi, on the contrary, bears evidence to the meaning 'comes,' which I cannot accept as 'tradition' in view of the following precatives. 106:5 Ner.: 'The kingdom becomes established (in a manner completely manifest) in sun-publicity through mental perfection [ ]; and upon the workers of righteousness the Good Mind bestows it.' Next: Yasna XLIV 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