Avesta: Khorda Avesta

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 [Havani], the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and unto the powerful Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.

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

I.

1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'We worship the lordship and mastership [of Tishtrya], whereby he protects the Moon, the dwelling, the food, when my glorious stars come along and impart their gifts to men. I will sacrifice unto the star Tishtrya, that gives the fields their share [of waters].

2. 'We offer up libations unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, that gives happy dwelling and good dwelling; the white, shining, seen afar, and piercing; the health-bringing, loud-snorting, and high, piercing from afar with its shining, undefiled rays; and unto the waters of the wide sea, the Vanguhi of wide renown, and the species of the Bull, made by Mazda, the awful kingly Glory, and the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zarathushtra.

3. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto the star Tishtrya.
'Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, 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.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....

II.

4. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who is the seed of the waters, powerful, tall, and strong, whose light goes afar; powerful and highly working, through whom the brightness and the seed of the waters come from the high Apam Napat.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

5. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star; for whom long flocks and herds and men, looking forward for him and deceived in their hope: "When shall we see him rise up, the bright and glorious star Tishtrya? When will the springs run with waves as thick as a horse's size and still thicker? Or will they never come?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

6. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star; who flies, towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space¹, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant.

7. 'For Ahura Mazda gave him assistance; so did the waters and the plants; and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, opened a wide way unto him.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

8. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, that afflicts the Pairikas, that vexes the Pairikas, who, in the shape of worm-stars, fly between the earth and the heavens, in the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep sea of salt waters. He goes to its lake in the shape of a horse, in a holy shape; and down there he makes the waters boil over, and the winds flow above powerfully all around.

9. 'Then Satavaesa makes those waters flow down to the seven Karshvares of the earth, and when he has arrived down there, he stands, beautiful, spreading ease and joy on the fertile countries (thinking in himself): "How shall the countries of the Aryas grow fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

10. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who spoke unto Ahura Mazda, saying: "Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!

11. '"If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I were invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, then I should have come to the faithful at the appointed time; I should have come in the appointed time of my beautiful, immortal life, should it be one night, or two nights, or fifty, or a hundred nights."

12. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya;
'We sacrifice unto the rains of Tishtrya.
'We sacrifice unto the first star; we sacrifice unto the rains of the first star.
'I will sacrifice unto the stars Haptoiringa, to oppose the Yatus and Pairikas.
'We sacrifice unto Vanant, the star made by Mazda; for the well-shapen strength, for the Victory, made by Ahura, for the crushing Ascendant, for the destruction of what distresses us, for the destruction of what persecutes us.
'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, whose eye-sight is sound.

13. 'For ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a man of fifteen years of age, bright, with clear eyes, tall, full of strength, strong, and clever.

14. 'He is active as the first man was; he goes on with the strength of the first man; he has the virility of the first man.

15. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of male children, a troop of male children, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."

16. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a golden-horned bull.

17. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of oxen, a herd of oxen, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."

18. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.

19. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of horses, a troop of horses, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."

20. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.

21. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha, in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.

22. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya and the Daeva Apaosha. They fight together, O Spitama Zarathushtra! for three days and three nights. And then the Daeva Apaosha proves stronger than the bright and glorious Tishtrya, he overcomes him.

23. 'And Tishtrya flees from the sea Vouru-Kasha, as far as a Hathra's length. He cries out in woe and distress, the bright and glorious Tishtrya: "Woe is me, O Ahura Mazda! I am in distress, O Waters and Plants! O Fate and thou, Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Men do not worship me with a sacrifice in which I am invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names.

24. '"If men had worshipped me with a sacrifice in which I had been invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, I should have taken to me the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers."

25. 'Then I, Ahura Mazda, offer up to the bright and glorious Tishtrya a sacrifice in which he is invoked by his own name, and I bring him the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers.

26. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and golden caparison.

27. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.

28. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya, and the Daeva Apaosha; they fight together, O Zarathushtra! till the time of noon. Then the bright and glorious Tishtrya proves stronger than the Daeva Apaosha, he overcomes him.

29. 'Then he goes from the sea Vouru-Kasha as far as a Hathra's length: "Hail!" cries the bright and glorious Tishtrya. "Hail unto me, O Ahura Mazda! Hail unto you, O waters and plants! Hail, O Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Hail will it be unto you, O lands! The life of the waters will flow down unrestrained to the big-seeded corn fields, to the small-seeded pasture-fields, and to the whole of the material world!"

30. Then the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes back down to the sea Vouru-Kasha, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.

31. 'He makes the sea boil up and down; he makes the sea stream this and that way; he makes the sea flow this and that way: all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over.

32. 'And the bright and glorious Tishtrya rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Satavaesa rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha; and vapours rise up above Mount Us-hindu, that stands in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha.

33. 'Then the vapours push forward, in the regular shape of clouds; they go following the wind, along the ways which Haoma traverses, the increaser of the world. Behind him travels the mighty wind, made by Mazda, and the rain, and the cloud, and the sleet, down to the several places, down to the fields, down to the seven Karshvares of the earth.

34. 'Apam Napat, O Spitama Zarathushtra! divides the waters amongst the countries in the material world, in company with the mighty wind, the Glory, made by the waters, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

35. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who from the shining east, moves along his long winding course, along the path made by the gods, along the way appointed for him the watery way, at the will of Ahura Mazda, at the will of the Amesha-Spentas.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

36. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, whose rising is watched by men who live on the fruits of the year, by the chiefs of deep understanding; by the wild beasts in the mountains, by the tame beasts that run in the plains; they watch him, as he comes up to the country for a bad year, or for a good year, (thinking in themselves): "How shall the Aryan countries be fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

37. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, swift-flying and swift-moving, who flies towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant.

38. 'Ahura Mazda gave him assistance, and the Amesha-Spentas and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, pointed him the way: behind him went the tall Ashish Vanguhi and Parendi on her light chariot: always till, in his course, he reached Mount Hvanvant on the shining waters.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

39. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who afflicts the Pairikas, who destroys the Pairikas, that Angra Mainyus flung to stop all the stars that have in them the seed of the waters.

40. 'Tishtrya afflicts them, he blows them away from the sea Vouru-Kasha; then the wind blows the clouds forward, bearing the waters of fertility, so that the friendly showers spread wide over, they spread helpingly and friendly over the seven Karshvares.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

XI.

41. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long the standing waters, and the running spring-waters, the stream-waters, and the rain-waters:

42. '"When will the bright and glorious Tishtrya rise up for us? When will the springs with a flow and overflow of waters, thick as a horse's shoulder, run to the beautiful places and fields, and to the pastures, even to the roots of the plants, that they may grow with a powerful growth?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

XII.

43. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who washes away all things of fear, who stunts the growth of all ...., and brings health to all these creations, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

XIII.

44. 'I will sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, whom Ahura Mazda has established as a lord and overseer above all stars, in the same way as he has established Zarathushtra above men; whom neither Angra Mainyu, nor the Yatus and the Pairikas, nor the men Yatus can deliver unto death, nor can all the Daevas together prevail for his death.

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

XIV.

45. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, to whom Ahura Mazda has given a thousand senses, and who is the most beneficent amongst the stars that have in them the seed of the waters:

46. 'Who moves in light with the stars that have in them the seed of the waters: he, from the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep, and salt of waters, goes to all the lakes, and to all the beautiful caves, and to all the beautiful channels, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.

47. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the waters flow down from the sea Vouru-Kasha, mother-like, friendly, and healing: he divides them amongst these countries, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated rejoiced, and satisfied. 'For his brigbtness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

XV.

48. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long all the creatures of Spenta-Mainyu, those that live under the ground, and those that live above the ground; those that live in the waters, and those that live on dry land; those that fly, and those that run in the plains; and all those that live within this boundless and endless world of the holy Spirit.

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....

XVI.

49. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, the healthful, wise, happy, and powerful, who is the lord of a thousand boons, and grants many boons to that man who has pleased him, whether begging or not begging for them.

50. 'I, O Spitama Zarathushtra! have created that star Tishtrya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;

51. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyairya.

52. 'Had I not created that star Tishtrya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;

53. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyairya;

54. 'Then all day long, all night long, that Pairika Duzyairya would wage war against this material world of mine, wanting to extinguish its life, and she goes on, rushing upon and around it.

55. 'But the bright and glorious Tishtrya keeps that Pairika in bonds, with twofold bonds, with threefold bonds, that cannot be overcome, with bonds all over the body: it is as if there were a thousand men keeping one man in bonds, a thousand men of those who are the strongest in strength.

56. 'If the Aryan countries, O Spitama Zarathushtra! would perform in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya the due sacrifice and invocation, just as that sacrifice and invocation ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness; never should a hostile horde enter these Aryan countries, nor any plague, nor leprosy, nor venomous plants, nor the chariot of a foe, nor the uplifted spear of a foe.'

57. Zarathushtra asked: 'What is then, O Ahura Mazda! the sacrifice and invocation in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya, as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness?'

58. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him; let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white, or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same colour.

59. 'Let not a murderer take of these offerings, nor a whore, nor a .... who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra.

60. 'If a murderer take of these offerings, or a whore, or a .... who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra, then the bright and glorious Tishtrya takes back his healing virtues.

61. 'Plagues will ever pour upon the Aryan nations; hostile hordes will ever fall upon the Aryan nations; the Aryans will be smitten, by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by thetr thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.

62. '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 Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and of the powerful Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward.

'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.'