(6) (And in partial answer to his question, and to solve his doubt, I now declare the truth): He who gives to this (good citizen) that which is better than the good ; yea, He who bestows on him in accordance with his religious choice is (our) Ahura Mazda (and not a false god of the Daêvas ). And this will He bestow through His divine Authority (established in preparation here), while on the withholder of the sacrifice, who offers nothing to His (cause), He will send worse than the evil (and that not here alone, but) in the last turning of the creation in its course!

(2) 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.)

(5) Therefore they call even now a man who does not give alms here, who has no faith, and offers no sacrifices, an Âsura, for this is the doctrine (upanishad) of the Asuras. They deck out the body of the dead with perfumes, flowers, and fine raiment by way of ornament, and think they will thus conquer that world .

(4) (But this Thy bounteous spirit doth not alone bestow rewards and blessings on the good.) The wicked (foemen of the Faith) are harmed, and from (the motives which move) that bounteous spirit (of Thine own), O Mazda ! but not thus the saints. (And yet the ruler's pride would ever slight the righteous.) The feeble man alone stands free to give in kindly obligation to Thy saint, but having wealth and ruling power, the evil (man) is (at the service) of the wicked, and for much .

(13) Yea, he who will propitiate Zarathustra Spitâma with gifts midst men, this man is fitted for the proclamation, and to him Ahura Mazda will give the (prospered) life. And he will likewise cause the settlements to thrive in mental goodness. We think him, therefore, Your good companion to (further and maintain) Your Righteousness (and meet for Your approach).

(15) But this is the reward which Zarathustra declared before (to his friends who counsel with Asha), and are fitted for the cause ; Ahura Mazda will come the first into His Song Home, Garôdman, and then these gifts will be given you by the Good Mind (within you), and with blessings for the cause of the Righteous Order (in His hosts).

(1) Prayer and fasting and pilgrimage and holy war Giving alms and offerings and quitting avarice So, a table spread for guests serves as a plain sign, Saying, "O guest, I am your sincere well-wisher." So, offerings and presents and oblations Bear witness, saying, "I am well pleased with you." Each of these men lavishes his wealth or pains, What means it but to say, "I have a virtue within me, Yea, a virtue of piety or liberality, Whereof my oblations and fasting bear witness"?

(21) (Yea, this Kavi Vîstâspa) the man of Âramaiti is bounteous, and with understanding in his words and his actions. (And as a reward) may Ahura give him that Righteousness which is blest, (but) with the Religion (alone), and that Sovereign Power which is established through the Good Mind (in His folk). And this same blessing would I pray from His grace .

(9) Aye, they who desert Thy bountiful Piety, O Mazda! that one desired of Thee , O Thou omniscient! and who thus abandon her by reason of the evil-doer, and in their ignorance of (Thy) Good Mind, from such as these (Âramaiti) with her holiness utterly departs as the red Khrafstras (who destroy and pollute all life, flee) from us (Thy faithful servants).

(6) Aye, these things wilt Thou give (to him), O Thou Ahura Mazda! and through Thy bounteous spirit, (and) by Thy Fire as in a good bestowal to the two striving (throngs) through the prosperous increase of our Piety, and of the Righteous ritual and moral Truth; for that (Piety of ours instructing) doth teach the many coming ones who seek her (face)! 147:1 Or, 'to us;' but in that case it would be the Kine who 'took counsel' as mentioned in the third verse. This is, however, far from impossible, as she is mentioned as uttering her wail, and being answered by her maker in Y. XXIX, 1, 2. So understanding, 'to us' becomes an admirable rendering for verse 1; but in verse 3, it is strained, as the Kine for whom (Y. XXIX, 9) Zarathustra was appointed, could not so readily be declared to be the one which was given to 'us,' she representing 'us' in that place to a great extent. There is a certain plausibility about the rendering 'to us,' but I think ahmâi refers to ashaonê understood (see verses 4 and 5). The Pahlavi, moreover, is against a first person. 147:2 Dãn (Geldn.) seems to be a 3rd plural aorist subjunctive; the p. 148 plural being owing to the fact that Ahura gives with the other Ameshôspends. Dã, might also be the relic of the proper word which represents the participle; comp. dãs (sic). 148:1 The idea of the summum bonum seems to have early developed itself, and from this constant use of this word in the neut. singular and plural, and also with anghu. 148:2 Notice once more the pronounced personification of both Vohu Manah and Âramaiti; see Y. XXX, 8, and Y. XLIV, 14, &c. The Pahlavi translation notices the dual form pavan kolâ II yadman. 148:3 The Pahlavi seems to lead those who regard ôyâ as = a form of ava; it has zak î. 148:4 This is the ahmâi of the first verse, (but always possibly = 'to us,' if the verses are not to be brought into any kind of connection.) Otherwise it obviously refers to ashâunê* in 4 and 5; so the Pahlavi throughout. See ahmâi and hôi in LI, 6. 149:1 Many would say that we have here an instance in which the identity of Âramaiti with the earth is recognised in the Gâthas. I would say, on the contrary, that here we have an instance in which a poetical conception gave rise to a later error or fantastical association. Piety, with frugal virtue, induced a thorough husbandry; and secured the hushiti, peaceful home-life. She gave meadow to the Kine; at the next step she poetically represents the meadows, and then the earth. If vâstrâi, it would be for 'nurture.' 149:2 Or 'she,' as she once bewailed in a colloquy. Otherwise the person who was appointed to care for her interests is meant. Compare Y. XXXIII, 6, where the righteous Zaotar speaks as desiring counsels (hemparstôis) in the interest of the pastures, and the laws of the sacred agriculture. Cp. also the later reproduction of the idea in an extended form in the Vendîdâd. The zaotar of Y. XXXIII, 6, may have been the ashavan of verses 4 and 5. 149:3 Voc. with K5 (Barth.). 149:4 The Pahlavi gives us, as usual, our first surmise as to the meaning of 'kâthê;' I follow Geldner with regard to it as against Haug. The expressions here are not literal. 149:5 Isvâkît connects only indirectly with kaseuskît, as kâthê intervenes. I regard paraos akô dregvâitê as presenting the true antithesis to kaseuskît nâ ashâunê. The isvâ may have kît merely from the influence of jingle, being at the head of the line like kaseus; isvâ means p. 150 of itself 'possessing means.' Paraos may depend on kâthê understood, as kaseus depends on it expressed. Moreover, his in all the instances in which it is used ends the sense, and here is separated by the caesura from paraos, which, however, is of no great importance. The discourse is of the wicked; the holy are incidentally mentioned, and here their ill-treatment is signalised. Akô cannot well mean 'hostile' here; see also akât in the following verse. Isvâkît, if understood with nâ, alters nothing. 'A man was desirous of (little for the service of the saint, but even when he himself was rich, in the desire) of much was the evil for the evil.' Or, taking kaseuskît as governed by isvâkît understood with kâthê as before understood in the last line: 'Only a man (men) (possessed) of little was at the service of the righteous, while an evil man (men) possessed of much (was at the service) of the wicked.' The other translation is: 'Even a man of little means stands to the willing service of the saint, but a man even of large means is hostile (?) to the wicked.' This is very glib and so attractive, but I cannot accept it in view of the context. Gâthic expression is often unfortunately far from glib; but cramped, awkward, and apt to contain more thought than could be conveniently expressed within the counted number of syllables. The glib rendering needs other language than that in the MSS. See the following verse, which directly contrasts the treatment of the good and evil by Ahura Himself. 150:1 See ahmâi in verse 1, and ashaunê in verse 4. Ahura treats the saint in a manner the reverse from that practised by the nâ kaseus* and akô, not giving sparingly to the good, nor much to the wicked. 150:2 The Pahlavi gives us our first surmise here, as usual, by gavîd min hanâ î lak dôshisnîh. 151:1 Or, 'by the two aráni;' but compare the ãsayau in Y. XXXI, 2 just preceding ranôibyâ; so here the ashavan and dregvant are mentioned in a preceding verse. The Pahlavi is unvarying with patkardârânŏ. I will not positively decide as to this point; generally, however, the preferred rendering is in the text, while on very many questions there is nearly an even balance of probabilities. 151:2 Or, 'chooses to herself;' but a causative sense may be expressed by an intensive form; the Pahlavi also here bears evidence in the same sense to a causative by hêmnunêd, itself, however, meaning only the object caused; namely, the belief. Next: Yasna XLVIII 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

(1) As to those (three gifts of blessings), Immortality, the Righteous Order, and the (established) Kingdom of Welfare, which Thou, O Mazda! hast given through (holy) deeds, words, and the sacrifice unto these (Thy servants here in my sight ), gifts (shall) be offered by us in return to Thee, O Ahura! and with the foremost of them all.

(9) Aye, let the zealous and thrifty husbandman, so formed for giving help and blessings , give heed and listen when I call, (O Mazda!) Let not the truthful (tiller, he who hears and speaks Thy word ), be he who takes that sheltering chieftainship together with the wicked. Let the believing natures (only) join in that best recompense. And thus in the course of the holy Order are in the fact so joined those two, Gâmâspa and the 'hero' .

(8) (Yea, grant me these two inseparable gifts, for having them in store) I will speak for Thee, O Mazda! because to the man of understanding one should declare for Thee that which is woe to the wicked, but salvation to him who has maintained the holy Order (in Thy folk and in his soul). For he is (repaid in his deed, and) rejoiced by the Mãthra who declares it to the wise.

(10) Whoever, man or woman, shall give to me those (gifts) of life which Thou hast known as best, O Mazda! and as a holy blessing through (Thy) Righteous Order, a throne (established) with (Thy) Good Mind, (with these I shall go forth; yea, those) whom I shall (accompany and so) incite , to the homage of such as You (on earth), forth to the Judge's Bridge (itself) with all of them shall I lead on (at last).

(19) 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

(11) And he who does any duty for the sake of recompense, is he not held fast in the custom of the world, either as one who has done well, hastening to receive a reward, or as an evil-doer avoiding retribution? We must, as far as we can, imitate the Lord.I And he will do so, who complies with the will of God, receiving freely, giving freely, and receiving as a worthy reward the citizenship itself. "The hire of an harlot shall not come into the sanctuary," it is said: accordingly it was forbidden to bring to the altar the price of a dog.

(1) If through his action in the offering of gifts in accordance with the Righteous Order, (Thy saint ) shall smite the Demon-of-the-Lie (the inspiring spirit of our foes), when that in very truth shall come , which has been (and is still yet) proclaimed as a deceit , (when it shall come) in the Immortal life, regarding (as it does both) men (to bless), and Daêvas (to afflict them), then shall (Thy faithful worshipper) increase thereby the celebration of Thy praise, O Lord! and with it blessings (for Thy folk).

(18) (For) whosoever (offers) sanctity to me, to him shall be the best gifts whatsoever. Yea, of my (spirit's) wealth will I bestow on him through Thy Good Mind (which I give), but oppressions will I send on him who as oppressor will deliver us to anguish, O Mazda! desiring, as I do, to satisfy Your choice by righteous (vengeance). This is the decision of mine understanding and my will.

(11) Your praiser then (by eminence) would I be named, and (more), would be it, so long as by (Thine inspiring) Righteousness I am thus able and may have the power. And may the maker of the world give help through (His implanted) Good Mind (in my fellow-servants). And may that (all) be done (to further us) which through His veritable grace is most promotive (for the cause)! 170:1 This verse is placed here as obviously more closely related to chapter L than to chapter XLIX. Lost verses may, however, have intervened between it and Y. L, 1. 170:2 Another rendering, regarding kat as a purely interrogative participle, would be, 'Are they (tôi) helpful to the invoking Zarathustra?' But kat tôi is a familiar form; see Y. XXXIV, 12, where it must mean quid tibi. 171:1 I should be far from denying that azdâ may equal addhâ´, but a strengthening adverb seems to me of no particular force here. I formerly rested at the simple explanation az + dâ = dhâ = desire-exciting, much desired one. But the Pahlavi translator affords an explanation which may surpass that of his successors. He sees the meaning: 'When I shall call upon You,' (that is, freely, 'being invoked,') 'cause Thou (sic) me to understand fully.' This is the remnant of some predecessor's work who rendered 'tell ye me;' az = ah, otherwise lost in Zend. The plural follows the singular too often to excite much doubt; azdâ = tell ye; so zdî is from az, as syôdûm is from as (recall the well-known Indian analogies). See also the explanation of the Pahlavi at Y. XXXI, 17. If a plural cannot be admitted, then consider a form extended by d. 171:2 The Pahlavi translates freely, bavîhûnam. 171:3 The Kine must represent the people as well as their live-stock. The raids concerned the owners more than their cattle. In answer to the cry of the Kine, Zarathustra was sent to the people. 171:4 I can hardly agree to the rendering 'among people who see the sun' without a needless reconstruction of the text. The Pahlavi likewise has pavan khvârîh; for general meaning, compare Khshathrôi hveng daresôi, not as equivalent however. 171:5 Âskârak stî. 172:1 The Pahlavi translation, as usual, not literally exact, still furnishes the correct clue, Zak î nazdistô (1) gêhânŏ min valman î darvand bakhshêd [aîgas zak dên dârisn barâ yansegûnyên]. 172:2 Frô tâis vîspâis Kinvatô frâ, peretûm. 172:3 Âkau (compare the Indian âkê); 'who approach, and are therefore evident (âshkârak) to God, and seeing Him.' Comp. âkau in Y. LI, 13, which has been thought a loc. 172:4 See nau. 172:5 To vrag. 173:1 See the previous verse, where the wisher stands on the path, seeking to reach Garôdman. It seems therefore probable that hvâthrê refers to demânê garô. 173:2 Compare Y. LIII, 2, daunghô erezûs pathô. 173:3 As remarked, this entire piece recalls Y. XXVIII. Here the monarch is represented as speaking precisely as spokesmen are introduced in any other composition. We have no reason to suppose the piece to be the composition of some leading person other than Zarathustra, because of the words 'let Zarathustra speak forth my regulations.' (See page 169.) 173:4 Îshô staunghat â paithî. 173:5 Consider a suffix ishti. 173:6 Here the Pahlavi translator gives us both text and translation, aurvatô = arvand. 173:7 Or, 'yoke Thou, may’st Thou gain.' 173:8 The Kinvat Bridge, either literally or figuratively. Compare 'the bridge of the earth' (Y. LI, 12). The crises of effort, or temptation, are meant, as the Kinvat Bridge was the last crisis before salvation or perdition. The souls of the good and of the evil were met by their own consciences on the Bridge, and encouraged or reviled. 'When the soul of the pious passes over that Bridge, the width of p. 174 that Bridge becomes about one league' (West, Mainyô-î Khard,* p. 134). Possibly the extension of the Bridge for the pious arose from the plural use here. 174:1 Compare Y. XXVIII, 3. 174:2 See Y. XXVIII, 9. 174:3 See Y. XXVIII, 2. 174:4 See Y. XLVI, 9. 174:5 The Pahlavi translator accepts a ser se of acquisition here as well as of desire: Aêtûnŏ zak î valman î avŏ hû-dânâk pavan khvahîsnŏ grîftâr hômanânî [mozd]. I accede to its indication, holding that gardh certainly has such an element in its meaning. 175:1 I can here only follow the words as they are written; the meaning is clear enough although rather advanced. Reconstructions on a large scale are seldom of value. 175:2 Judging from the context, we may render argat thus. 175:3 The Pahlavi translator here renders as if he read ushâ. In Y. XLVI, 3 he translates ukhshânô. Professor Wilhelm, preferring as above, still recalls the Homeric usage favouring 'increaser.' The Pahlavi has vakhshînîdâr in Y. XLVI, 3. Here hôsh zak î arûs dên bâm I. Ner. alone understood arûs. 175:4 'Your.' 175:5 An imperative has long been recognised in varstãm; or read: 'Let him cause that which is the most furthering of deeds to grow influential through veritable grace.' So perhaps better. Next: Yasna LI 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

(17) And that sacrifice which is not performed according to the scriptural rules, and in which no food is distributed, no hymns are chanted, and no fees paid, and which is devoid of faith, is said to be of the nature of tamas.