AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA (Book of Common Prayer)

This digital edition copyright © 1995 by Joseph H. Peterson.

YASHTS (Hymns)

4. Hordad Yasht

(Avestan)1 (English)2 NOTES:

1. Based on edition of Karl F. Geldner, Avesta, the Sacred Books of the Parsis, Stuttgart, 1896. Gld gives name as 'Awerdad Yasht'.

2. Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.)

0. (pa nãm i ýazdã, hôrmezd i hvadâe i awazûnî gurz hvarahe awazâyât, awerdât ameshâspeñd bê rasât,
ezh hamâ gunâh ... pa patit hôm!)
xshnaothra ahurahe mazdå, tarôidîti angrahe mainyêush, haithyâvarshtãm hyat vasnâ ferashôtemem. staomî ashem,
ashem vohû...(3).
fravarâne mazdayasnô zarathushtrish vîdaêvô ahura-tkaêshô,

(Here recite the appropriate Gah dedication.)

haurvatâtô rathwô ýâiryayå hushitôish saredhaêibyô ashahe ratubyô
xshnaothra ýasnâica vahmâica xshnaothrâica frasastayaêca,
ýathâ ahû vairyô zaotâ frâ-mê mrûtê,
athâ ratush ashâtcît haca frâ ashava vîdhvå mraotû!

0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! ....

Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....

I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;

For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Hawan], the holy and master of holiness ....

Unto Haurvatat, the master; unto the prosperity of the seasons and unto the years, the masters of holiness,

Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.

Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....

We sacrifice unto Haurvatat, the Amesha-Spenta; we sacrifice unto the prosperity of the seasons; we sacrifice unto the years, the holy and masters of holiness.

1. mraot ahurô mazdå spitamâi zarathushtrâi, azem dadhãm haurvatâtô narãm ashaonãm avåsca rafnåsca baoshnåsca hvîtåsca avôi fraca ýaoxmaide ýô-tê jasâiti ameshanãm speñtanãm ýatha jasâiti ameshanãm speñtanãm vohû manô ashem vahishtem xshathrem vairîm speñtãm ârmaitîm haurvatåsca ameretatåsca.

1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'I created for the faithful the help, the enjoyments, the comforts, and the pleasures of Haurvatat. We unite them with him who would come up to thee as one of the Amesha-Spentas, as he would come to any of the Amesha-Spentas, Vohu-Mano, Asha-Vahishta, Khshathra-Vairya, Spenta-Armaiti, Haurvatat, and Ameretat.

2. ýô aêshãm daêvanãm hazangrâi hazangrô paitish baêvarâi baêvanô ahãxshtâi ahãxshtayô paitish nâmêni ameshanãm speñtanãm haurvatâtô zbayôit nasûm janat hashi janat khashi1 janat saêne janat bûji janat.

2. 'He who against the thousands of thousands of those Daevas, against their ten thousands of ten thousands, against their numberless myriads would invoke the name of Haurvatat, as one of the Amesha-Spentas, he would smite the Nasu, he would smite Hashi, he would smite Bashi, he would smite Saeni, he would smite Buji.2

1. Ml2; bashi Pt1, P13, K19, O3; bishi F1, E1; bishe M25; bish K16, M4; dashi Jm4, M6 (corrected sec. m. to bishi).

2. Names of Daevas. According to the Parsi translator of the Denkard (vol. ii, p. 65), Hashi is 'he who makes sceptical;' Bashi is 'he who gives rise to the barking disease;' Saeni is 'he who causses harm;' Buji is 'he who preys upon.'

3. âat paoirîm framraomi narem ashavanem imat rashnvô razishta imat ameshaêibyô speñtaêibyô ýô asti mainyavanãm ýazatanãm rayô-nâmanå tå bûjat narem ashavanem haca nasûm haca hashi haca khashi haca saêne haca bûji haca haênayå perethu- ainikayå haca drafshayå perethu-uzgereptayå haca mashyâi drvaityâi sâstayâi haca ustrâi vairyâi haca narô sâstayâi haca ýâtâi haca pairikâi haca urusta.

3. 'I proclaim the faithful man as the first [of men]; if I proclaim the faithful man as the first [of men], then Rashnu Razishta, then every heavenly Yazata of male nature in company with the Amesha-Spentas will free the faithful man

<4.> 'From the Nasu, from Hashi, from Gashi, from Saeni, from Buji; from the hordes with the wide front, from the hordes with the many spears uplifted, from the evil man who oppresses, from the willful sinner, from the oppressor of men, from the Yatu, from the Pairika, from the straying way.

4. kutha para ashaonãm patha urvashaiti kutha drvatãm, âat mraot ahurô mazdå, ýezi-mê mãthrem framrava marå-vâ dreñjayå-vâ frâ-vâ mrava karshâim kârayeiti haom tanûm guzaêta,

[4.] <5.> 'How does the way of the faithful turn and part from the way of the wicked?'

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is when a man pronouncing my spell, either reading or reciting it by heart, draws the furrows and hides himself therein,3 [saying]:

3. Dar: hides there himself. Wolff: "könnte er seine Person (darin)" (hides his own person (therein)).

5. kãmcit thwãmca drujemca
haithyô-ayanãm heñtîm kãmcit vâ aipyaênãm heñtîm kãmcit vâ raêthwanãm
kãmcit thwãmca drujemca
airyâbyô pâdhaêibyô janâni
thwãmca drujemca bañdâmi
thwãmca drujemca nikhne
thwãmca drujemca nizhbarem adhairi-naêmemca.

[5.] <6.> '"I will smite thee, O Druj! whomsoever thou art, whomsoever thou art amongst the Drujes that come in an open way, whomsoever thou art amongst the Drujes that come by hidden way, whomsoever thou art amongst the Drujes that defile by contact; whatsoever Druj thou art, I smite thee away from the Aryan countries; whatsoever Druj thou art, I bind thee; I smite thee down, O Druj! I throw thee down below, O Druj!"

6. thri-karshem frakârayeiti frâ-mraomi narem ashavanem, xshvash-karshem frakârayeiti xshvash frâ-mraomi narem ashavanem, nava-karshem frakârayeiti nava frâ-mraomi narem ashavanem.

[6.] <7.> 'He draws [then] three furrows: I proclaim him one of the faithful; he draws six furrow: I proclaim him one of the faithful; he draws nine furrows: I proclaim him one of the faithful.

7. nâmêni aêshãm drujinãm
nasûm-kereta paiti janaiti
jata karapanô cithrîm
jâmâca meretô saoca
ýê zaota zarathushtrô
erekhatat haca daozhavât
hvãm anu ushtîm zaoshemca
ýatha kathaca-hê zaoshô.

[7.] <8.> 'The names of those (Amesha-Spentas) smite the men turned to Nasus by the Drujes:4 the seed and kin of the karapans5 are smitten, the scornful are dead, as the Zaotar Zarathushtra blows them away to woe, however fierce, at his will and wish, as many as he wishes.

4. Panaino 2008: "the names of these Lies, those who cut up corpses."

5. Dar: deaf.

8. pasca hû frâshmô-dâitîm
apâxedhra-naêmem janaiti
pasca hvô nôit uzuxshyamnô
nasûm sterethwata snaithisha vîxrûmañtem maire nâshaite
mainyavanãm ýazatanãm
xshnaothrâica frasastayaêca.

[8.] <9.> 'From the time when the sun is down he smites them with bruising blows; from the time when the sun is no longer up, he deals deadly blows on the Nasu with his club struck down, for the propitiation and glorification of the heavenly gods.

9. zarathushtra aêtem mãthrem
mâ fradaxshayô anyât
pithre vâ puthrâi brâthre vâ hadhô- zâtâi
âthravanâi vâ thrâyaone
haosraogaonô hudaênô
ýô hudaênô ashava aurvô
vîspa kareshô râdhayeiti!

[9.] <10.> 'O Zarathushtra! let not that spell [Manthra] be shown to any one, except by the father to his son, or by the brother to his brother from the same womb, or by the Athravan to his pupil from one of the three religious orders,6 devoted to the good law, who, devoted to the good law, holy and brave, stills all the Drujes.

6. i.e. Mobed, Dastur, and Herbed. This translation follows Kanga's, Avesta Dictionary. Darmesteter: "pupil in black hair" but footnotes the translation as doubtful. Wolff does not translate the problem word, thrâyaone. According to Gershevitch, 1967, pp. 209-10: "a triple course of studies during three years." The Avestan Hymn to Mithra (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications) (Volume 0)

10. ahe raya hvarenanghaca
tem ýazâi surunvata ýasna haurvatâtem ameshem speñtem zaothrâbyô, haurvatâtem ameshem speñtem ýazamaide

haomayô gava baresmana, hizvô danghangha mãthraca, vacaca shyaothnaca zaothrâbyasca, arshuxdhaêibyasca vâkhzhibyô.
ýenghê hâtãm âat ýesnê paitî vanghô mazdå ahurô vaêthâ ashât hacâ ýånghãmcâ tãscâ tåscâ ýazamaide.

(Recite silently:) (hôrmezd i hvadâe i awazûnî mardum mardum sardagã hamâ sardagã ham bâ ýasht i vahã vaem vahe dîn i mâzdayasnã âgâhî âstvãnî nêkî rasãnât êduñ bât.)

[10.] <11.> 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto Haurvatat, the Amesha-Spenta. Unto Haurvatat, the Amesha-Spenta, we offer up the libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.

(Recite aloud:)

11. ýathâ ahû vairyô...(2).
ýasnemca vahmemca aojasca zavareca âfrînâmi haurvatâtô rathwô ýâiryayå hushitôish saredhaêibyô ashahe ratubyô.
ashem vohû....

atha jamyât ýatha âfrînâmi.
ashem vohû...!!

ahmâi raêshca ... hazangrem ... (kerba mazhd) ... ashem vohû...!!

[11.] <12.> 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....

'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of Haurvatat, the master; of the prosperity of the seasons and of the years, the masters of holiness.

'Ashem Vohu: 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.'