This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; when praise is to be offered, how (shall I complete) the praise of the One like You , O Mazda? Let the One like Thee declare it earnestly to the friend who is such as I, thus through Thy Righteousness (within us) to offer friendly help to us, so that the One like Thee may draw near us through Thy Good Mind (within the soul).

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright, how, in pleasing Him, may we serve the supreme one of (Heaven) the better world ; yea, how to serve that chief who may grant us those (blessings of His grace, and) who will seek for (grateful requitals at our hands); for He, bountiful (as He is) through the Righteous Order, (will hold off) ruin from (us) all, guardian (as He is) for both the worlds, O Spirit Mazda! and a friend.

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright: Who by generation was the first father of the Righteous Order (within the world)? Who gave the (recurring) sun and stars their (undeviating) way? Who established that whereby the moon waxes, and whereby she wanes , save Thee ? These things, O Great Creator! would I know , and others likewise still.

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright, who from beneath hath sustained the earth and the clouds above that they do not fall? Who made the waters and the plants? Who to the wind has yoked on the storm-clouds, the swift and fleetest two ? Who, O Great Creator! is the inspirer of the good thoughts (within our souls)?

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; who, as a skilful artisan, hath made the lights and the darkness ? Who, as thus skilful, hath made sleep and the zest (of waking hours)? Who (spread) the Auroras, the noontides and midnight, monitors to discerning (man), duty's true (guides) ?

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright these things which I shall speak forth, if they are truly thus. Doth the Piety (which we cherish) in reality increase the sacred orderliness within our actions? To these Thy true saints hath she given the Realm through the Good Mind. For whom hast Thou made the Mother-kine, the producer of joy ?

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; who fashioned Âramaiti (our piety) the beloved, together with Thy Sovereign Power? Who, through his guiding wisdom , hath made the son revering the father? (Who made him beloved ?) With (questions such as) these, so abundant , O Mazda! I press Thee, O bountiful Spirit, (Thou) maker of all!

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright, that I may ponder these which are Thy revelations, O Mazda! and the words which were asked (of Thee) by Thy Good Mind (within us), and that whereby we may attain , through Thine Order, to this life's perfection. Yea, how may my soul with joyfulness increase in goodness? Let it thus be .

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright, how to myself shall I hallow the Faith of Thy people, which the beneficent kingdom's lord hath taught me, even the admonitions which He called Thine equal, hath taught me through His lofty (and most righteous Sovereignty and) Power, as He dwells in like abode with Thine Order and Thy Good Mind?

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright that holy Faith which is of all things best, and which, going on hand in hand with Thy people, shall further my lands in Asha, Thine order, and, through the words of Âramaiti (our piety), shall render actions just. The prayers of mine understanding will seek for Thee, O Ahura!

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; how to these your (worshippers) may (that Piety once again and evermore) approach, to them to whom O Lord, Thy Faith is uttered? Yea, I beseech of Thee to tell me this, I who am known to Thee as Thy foremost of (servants); all other (Gods, with their polluted worshippers), I look upon with (my) spirit's hate .

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; who is the righteous one in that regard in which I ask Thee my question? And who is evil? For which is the wicked? Or which is himself the (foremost) wicked one? And the vile man who stands against me (in this gain of) Thy blessing, wherefore is he not held and believed to be the sinner that he is?

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright, how shall I banish this Demon-of-the-Lie from us hence to those beneath who are filled with rebellion? The friends of Righteousness (as it lives in Thy saints) gain no light (from their teachings), nor have they loved the questions which Thy Good Mind (asks in the soul )!

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; how shall I deliver that Demon-of-the-Lie into the two hands of Thine Order (as he lives in our hosts) to cast her down to death through Thy Mãthras of doctrine, and to send mighty destruction among her evil believers, to keep those deceitful and harsh oppressors from reaching their (fell) aims ?

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright. If through Thy Righteousness (within our souls) Thou hast the power over this for my protection, when the two hosts shall meet in hate (as they strive) for those vows which Thou dost desire to maintain, how, O Mazda! and to which of both wilt Thou give the day ?

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright, who smites with victory in the protection (of all) who exist, and for the sake of, and by means of Thy doctrine? Yea, clearly reveal a lord having power (to save us) for both lives. Then let (our) Obedience with Thy Good Mind draw near to that (leader), O Mazda! yea, to him to whomsoever Thou (shalt) wish that he should come.

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; how, O Mazda! shall I proceed to that (great) conference with You, to that consummation of Your own, when my spoken wish shall be (effected) unto me, (the desire) to be in the chieftainship (and supported) by (the hope of) Weal and Immortality (those saving powers of Thy grace), and by that (holy) Mãthra (Thy word of thought) which fully guides our way through Righteousness (within).

(And, having gained Thine audience and Thine Order's sacred chieftainship), then I ask of Thee, O Ahura! and tell me aright, how shall I acquire that Thy Righteous Order's prize, ten (costly) mares male-mated, and with them the camel (those signs of honour and blessing for Thy chief. I ask Thee for these gifts for sacrifice). For it was told me for the sake of our Welfare (in our salvation), and of our Immortality, in what manner Thou shalt give to these (Thy conquering hosts) both of these Thy (gifts of grace).

This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright; (in the case of the recreant, of him) who does not give this (honoured) gift to him who hath earned it; yea, who does not give it to this (veracious tiller of the earth, to him who in no respect shows favour to the Demon-of-the-Lie, even to the) correct speaker (of Thy sacrificial word), what shall be his sentence at the first (now at this time, and because of this false dealing? I ask it), knowing well his doom at last

(And how as to our deluded foes?) Have Daêva-(worshippers) e’er reigned as worthy kings? (This verily I ask of Thee, the Daêva-worshippers) who fight for these (who act amiss? Have they well reigned) by whom the Karpan and the Usig(k) gave the (sacred) Kine to Rapine , whence, too, the Kavian in persistent strength has flourished? (And these have also never given us tribal wealth nor blessings), nor for the Kine have they brought waters to the fields for the sake of the Righteous Order (in our hosts), to further on their growth (and welfare)! 111:1 Some who seldom cite the Pahlavi follow it here; nîyâyisno zak mûn aêtûno nîyâyisno î Lekûm [dînô]. Otherwise one might p. 112 read nemê with B.V.S. (variation) in Y. LVIII, 3, and render, 'how shall I bow myself in your worship?' 112:1 The Pahl. hamkardâr is likewise followed. The alteration to hâkôrenâ is very interesting, but, I think, hardly necessary. 112:2 Observe the great difficulty in referring Khshmâvatô to a human subject. Here we have 'the homage of the One like You (of Yours(?)' some would say); in Y. XXXIII, 8 we have Yasnem Mazdâ (Ahurâ) Khshmâvatô; in Y. XXXIV, 2 Khshmâvatô vahmê; in Y. XLIX, 6 Tãm daênãm yâ Khshmâvatô Ahurâ. Khshmâvatô is sometimes merely a way of saying 'of Thyself,' as mavaitê = to me. 112:3 Observe also the emphasis on his 'drawing near'; otherwise 'let Your one declare it to my friend' (?). 112:4 See Roth, Y. XXXI, 8. See, however, also de Harlez's suggestion, perhaps after the hint of the Pahlavi: 'qu’elle a été l’origine?' Here we have another instance where an entire verse seems to allude to Ahura in the third person with an address to Him thrown in, or at the close. In connection with angheus vahistahyâ Ahura must be the pourvya, as in Y. XXXI, 8, where Roth renders vornehmster. The guardian is also Ahura (see Y. XXXI, 13). 112:5 I cannot fully accept the hint of the Pahlavi here as others do who seldom heed it. I do not think that 'sin' is so much indicated as 'destruction.' 112:6 Mainyû is suspiciously expressive as a vocative; perhaps 'by spiritual power' would be safer. 113:1 'As a generator (?).' 113:2 Bartholomae follows the Pahlavi here as rendered by Ner. putting hveng and starem (-ãm) in the genitive, which is in itself far better than to regard dât as governing two accusatives. One would, however, rather expect hveng starãm adhvânem dât. 113:3 All follow the Pahlavi here, which renders with allowable freedom. Nerefsaitî (= Pahl. nerefsêd; Ner. nimîlati; Persian kâhad) might possibly be explained as a nasalised form of an Aryan correspondent to arbha, as nas = as. 113:4 Possibly from thine influence (?). 113:5 The infinitive vîduyê (= vîdvê) lies here in an unusual place, at the end of the sentence. It is because the word has no stress upon it. The emphasis rests on the objects which he desires to know about; the entire connection deals with 'knowing'; it has no prominence. 113:6 This rendering is not supported by the Pahlavi, which seems to report a rendering from some text with an a privative, and a form of dar. The 'unsupported' object might mean the 'air-space.' See the suggestion of Bartholomae 'the earth and the air-space,' comparing the later Sanskrit. 113:7 Or 'for velocity,' adverbially. Velocity, however, in the abstract as the object yoked-on, is rather too finely drawn. I should prefer p. 114 the fleet ones, the lightnings. My rendering follows the indication of another, as a dual, but not as to full exegesis. One naturally supposes the yoking together of the winds and dark clouds to be meant. 114:1 Recall svàr yád ásmann adhipâ´ u ándho.—Rv. VII, 88, 2. 114:2 Ner.: 'Who gave us the lights with his keen discrimination? And who the darkness? Who, in his keen discrimination, gave (us our) sleep and waking; [that is, our diligence and activity?] Who is he who gave us the time of husaina, and the time of rapithvana [ ], and the method and calculation of him who discerns by means of the just rule [ ]?' 114:3 So also the Pahlavi indicates by 'stavar.' 114:4 So I prefer; but the indication of the Pahlavi deserves an alternative 'giver of bounty'; skar = kar. 'Geus azyau' was later a common expression for a mature animal, but possibly vulgarised from its older special use here. 114:5 Root nî (?). 114:6 I thus add as the Pahlavi translator indicates such an element in uzemem. 115:1 Frakhshnî = in abundance (Pahl. kabed; Ner. prakuram; Persian MS. bisyar). The thought refers back to anyâkâ vîduyê [-vê]. 115:2 Haug sagaciously renders as if mendâidyâi were a miswriting for pendâidyâi, which is in itself very possible, as an 'm' looks much like an inverted in MSS. So the Pahlavi records the irregularity also, from which Haug derived his idea. But Haug explains the word as an allusion to the five prayer-hours of the day. I doubt very greatly whether the five prayer-hours existed at the date of the composition of this passage. Such regulations grew up much later. The Pahlavi translator indicates elsewhere an accusative (meng = mãm) with an infinitive 'that I should give forth,' which is in itself far from impossible. He was aware (!) that meng could also equal man; see Y. LIII, 5. 115:3 Vaêdyâi is infinitively used for vôizdyâi. 115:4 I do think that it is necessary on the whole to postulate two similar words here (although Geldner's suggestion is most keen and interesting). Urvâkhsanguha and urvâkhsukhti do not favour a comparison with vrag here. The Pahlavi is indifferent: Kîgûn denman î li rûbânŏ zak î sapîr hû-ravâkh-manîh? So Ner. uttamânandah. Barth. beglückend. 115:5 Kâ-tâ = kéna-téna. 115:6 Or, 'let those things happen to me;' gam means 'come' more frequently than 'go,' here. Lit. 'let it thus advance.' 115:7 Kîgûn denman î li dînô yôs-dâsar î avêgak yôs-dâsaryôm? Ner.: Katham idam aham yat* dînim pavitratarâm pavitrayâmi; [kila, dînim katham pravartamânâm karomi]? As Zarathustra is p. 116 represented as sanctifying the Fire (in Y. IX, 1), so here he would doubly sanctify the Faith itself. He would 'hallow its name' and meaning. 116:1 Pavanas-hamdemûnîh-ketrûnêd [pavan hamkhadûkîh]. 116:2 I cannot regard the caesura in this verse as possessing ordinary importance, the mahvyau (mahyau) kistôis is especially dependent on the following words. The Pahlavi translator hints at an important solution, which is, that a pause should be made before usen; 'the wish of mine understanding wishes, and I wish (am wishing); Khûrsand hômanam = I am content.' If we can accept a break (a possibility far too little recognised), the usen as representing a nom. sing. would refer back to the meaning in mahvyau (mahyau). But reading îstîs (as irregular for îstayô on account of the metre) we might regard usen as a third pl. Or shall we take it as a quasi-third singular, usen being usãm (en = the nasal vowel; comp. ûkãm as a third sing. imper. after Barth)? Let 'the wish (îstis) of my enlightened understanding wish for Thee.' 116:3 Compare 'aêshãm tôi, Ahura! ehmâ pourutemâis dastê.' p. 117 Auserkoren is a fine but a bold rendering. Election is, however, included in all divine prescience. 117:1 I have no doubt whatever, but that mainyeus and dvaêshanghâ belong together. 117:2 The Pahlavi translation is as follows: 'That which I ask of Thee, tell me aright, O Aûharmazd! when shall the perfect mind come to those persons [that is, when does the mind of my disciples become perfect]? When shall it come to those who declare this Thy Religion, O Aûharmazd? Grant to me before these the proclamation of the truth. Against every other spirit which is malevolent I keep my guard.' 117:3 Yâis adverbially, or possibly, 'with whom I question.' 117:4 Kyanghat is, I think, simply the equivalent for kî (?) anghat = quî fit, how does it happen that? 'Stands' free for 'comes.' 117:5 The Pahlavi on the contrary takes perenaunghô in the sense of combating, pavan anyôkhshîdâ´rîh patkârênd = '(who) are opposing you through disobedience.' It is far from certain that he does not indicate some improvement in text, or rendering. 117:6 Or, 'the counsels of holy men.' 118:1 Ashâi with Geldner. 118:2 The Pahlavi anticipates us in the correct general sense here. It has nas,hônisnŏ. The Persian MS. renders the Pahlavi, hamâvandî nîst dehand î darwand. 118:3 Anâshê seems regarded as an infinitive by the Pahlavi translator, anayâtûnisno. 'For the destruction of those deceivers' is an obvious alternative to the rendering above (â nashê?). 118:4 Geldner and Roth render mat = Sanskrit mad; otherwise 'with complete protection.' Or is mat ablative for genitive: If thou rulest over me to afford me protection? The Pahlavi affords no indication. 118:5 The Pahlavi translator erred widely in his attempt to render the word anaokanghâ. As it is certain that his MSS. differed from ours often, they probably did so here. The verse alludes beyond a question to some expected battle in a religious war, and perhaps in a religious civil war. It is the most positive allusion to the 'strife of the two parties' (V. XXXI, 2) which has come down to us. It was a struggle concerning the religious vows, or doctrines; avâis urvâtâis yâ tû Mazdâ dîdereghzô. 118:6 The Pahlavi renders vananãm by 'good thing,' explaining 'the sovereign power.' 119:1 Verethrem-gâ thwâ, following the Pahlavi with Westergaard, Geldner, and Bartholomae. 119:2 Compare Y. XXIX, 2 and Y. XXVIII, 3; or it may mean 'promise to establish' (Barth.). Kizdî, however, hardly seems to need an infinitive with it; it may mean 'appoint.' Compare dámsu (patnî) for a better sense than 'house-lord,' also for deng patôis. 119:3 This casts additional light on the 'one that should come' in Y. XLIII, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15. 119:4 This recalls ahmâi yahmâi ustâ kahmâikît. 119:5 The comparison with gar has long circulated among Zendists. Many adopt it. It agrees admirably with the Pahlavi as to sense: Aîmat, Aûharmazd! damânŏ kardârîh î Lekûm, when is Your appointment of the time? 119:6 The Pahlavi va mûnik zak i li gôbisno hômand khvâstar. 119:7 Va sardâr yehevûnisnîh madam Haurvadad va Amerôdâd; Ner. Svâmino bhavishyanti upari Avirdâde Amirdâde; comp. also Y. XLIX, 8 fraêstaunghô aunghâmâ. Professor Jolly compares bûzdyâi with φύεσθαι (Inf. s. 194). The long since circulated comparison with bhug seems to me hardly so probable. It may, however, deserve an alternative: 'to enjoy Weal and Immortality'; but accusatives p. 120 do not fall so naturally to the end of the sentence in Gâthic or Vedic, without preceding related or qualifying words. 120:1 Those suspected of no partisanship for the Pahlavi translation follow it here as against Haug, who translated the words ustremkâ by et amplius! It means a camel; so the Pahlavi translator rendered many centuries ago before Europeans even knew what the Indian úshtra meant, which simple analogy Neryosangh first drew. Horses were material for sacrifice among the Persians according to Herodotus. The reasons for the prayer are not fully expressed. 120:2 So better than as a first person aorist subjunctive, if taêibyô is to be read. The Pahlavi, however, read taibyô, which is not lightly to be passed over. 120:3 The rendering 'take' has long circulated. I do not, however, prefer it here. 120:4 Weal and Immortality, but hî might refer to the two objects, 'the mares' and the 'camel.' 120:5 The ideal Zarathustrian; comp. Y. XXXI, 15; XLIX, 9. 121:1 So also the Pahlavi followed by all. Kadâr valman pavan zak vinâsisnŏ aîtŏ fratûm; [aîgas pavan-vinâskârîh pâdafrâs fratûm maman]? Âkâs hômanam zak mûn valman aîtŏ afdûm [mamanas darvandîh]? Ner. (with regard to him) who does not give the reward which has come for the one fitted for, or deserving of, it [to Garathustra's equal], (the reward) which the truthful man; [that is, the good man] is giving to him, what is the first thing which happens through this sin of his? [that is, what is his first chastisement in consequence of this fault?] (For) I am aware of what his punishment shall be in the end [ ]. 121:2 The Pahlavi translator either had a text with some form of pâ, or was otherwise misled. He renders mûn netrûnd, but gives the word the adverse sense of 'hindering' in the gloss. Ner., however, has pratiskhalanti which points to peshyêintî, and also tends to show that other MSS. of the Pahlavi (and among them the one used by Ner.) read differently from our three, K5, D. J., and the Persian transliteration. Kãm = Ved. kám with dat. 121:3 See Y. XXIX, 1. 121:4 Professor Wilhelm 'vigour' (De Infin. p. 14). Next: Yasna XLV 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