Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 23 — The Zend-Avesta, Part II / Yasts & Nyayis (Darmesteter, page scans)

Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.

1eh, strone, tall-formed, and merciful ; we sacrifice unto the Glory made by Mazda ; we sacrifice unto the Weal made by Mazda. We sacrifice unto Pare;^di, of the li^ht chariot; we sacrifice unto the Glory of the Aryas, made by Mazda ; we sacrifice SIROZAH II. 19 unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ; we sacrifice unto that awful Glory, that cannot be forcibly seized, made by Mazda ; we sacrifice unto the Glory of Zarathu^tra, made by Mazda. 26. A^tad. We sacrifice unto Ar^ta^, who makes the world grow ; we sacrifice unto Mount Ushi-darena, made by Mazda, a God of holy happiness. 27. Asman. We sacrifice unto the shining H eavens ; we sacri- fice unto the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy ones. 28, Zemyad. We sacrifice unto the Earth, a beneficent God; we sacrifice unto these places, unto these fields ; we sacrifice unto Mount Ushi-darena, made by Mazda, a God of holy happiness ; we sacrifice unto all the mountains, that are seats of holy happiness, of full happiness, made by Mazda, the holy and masters of holiness ; we sacrifice unto the awful kingly Glory, made by Mazda ; we sacrifice unto the awful Glory that cannot be forcibly seized, made by Mazda. 29. Mahraspand. We sacrifice unto the Mathra Spe;^ta, of high glory; we sacrifice unto the Law opposed to the Daevas ; we sacrifice unto the Law of Zarathurtra ; we sacrifice unto the long-traditional teaching ; we sacri- fice unto the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda ; we sacrifice unto the Devotion to the Mathra Spe/^ta ; we sacrifice unto the understanding that keeps the Law of the worshippers of Mazda ; we sacrifice unto c 2 20 YA6'TS AND SIROZAIIS. the knowledge of the Mathra Spe;^ta ; we sacrifice unto the heavenly Wisdom, made by Mazda; we sacrifice unto the Wisdom acquired through the ear and made by Mazda. 30. Aneran. We sacrifice unto the eternal and sovereign lumi- nous space ; we sacrifice unto the bright Garo- nmana ; we sacrifice unto the sovereign place of eternal Weal ; we sacrifice unto the i'TinvaZ-bridge, made by Mazda ; we sacrifice unto Apam Napa/, the swift-horsed, the high and shining lord, who has many wives ; and we sacrifice unto the water, made by Mazda and holy ; we sacrifice unto the golden and tall Haoma ; we sacrifice unto the enlivening Haoma, who makes the world grow ; we sacrifice unto Haoma, who keeps death far away ; we sacri- fice unto the pious and good Blessing ; we sacrifice unto the awful, powerful, cursing thought of the wise, a God ; we sacrifice unto all the holy Gods of the heavenly world ; we sacrifice unto all the holy

2unto Haoma, who keeps death far away ; we sacri- fice unto the pious and good Blessing ; we sacrifice unto the awful, powerful, cursing thought of the wise, a God ; we sacrifice unto all the holy Gods of the heavenly world ; we sacrifice unto all the holy Gods of the material world. I praise, I invoke, I meditate upon, and we sacri- fice unto the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the holy ones ^ ' Cf. Yasna XXVI, i. ORMAZD YA5T. 21 L ORMAZD YA^-T. The Ormazd Yajt, properly so called, ends with § 23. The rest of the Ya^ct, from § 24 to the end, is wanting in several manu- scripts, and is supposed by the Parsis to be a fragment of the Bahman Ya^t. The Ormazd Yaxt is exclusively devoted to an enumeration of the names of Ahura and to a laudation of their virtues and efficacy: the recitation of these names is the best defence against all dangers. §§ 1-6. The names of Ahura Mazda are the most powerful part of the Holy Word. §§ 7-8. The twenty names of Ahura Mazda are enumerated. §§ 9-11. Efficacy of these names, §§ 12-15. Another list of names. §§ 16-19. Efficacy of Ahura's names. §§ 20-23. Sundry formulas of invocation. As may be seen from this summary, the subject has been treated twice over, first in §§ i-ii, and then in §§ 12-19; y^*^ i*^ ^^^^ ^^^ appear that this Ynst was formed out of two independent treatises, and it is more likely that the vague and indefinite enumeration in §§ 12-15, which interrupts so clumsily the train of ideas, is due either to an interpolation or simply to the literary deficiency of the writer himself. The Ormazd Yajt is recited every day at the Havan Gah, after the morning prayer (Anquetil, Zend-Avesta, II, 143): it is well also to recite it when going to sleep and when changing one's residence (§ 17). Speculations on the mystical powers of God's names have always been common among Orientals. The number of these names went on increasing: Dastur Noshirvan wrote on the 10 1 names of God; Dastur Marzban on his 125 names. With the Musulmans, Allah had looi names. On the names of God among the Jews, see Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, XXXV, pp. 162, 532. We have three native translations of this Yasi ; one in Pahlavi (East India Office, XII, 39, and St. Petersburg, XCIX, 39 ; edited by Carl Salemann), one in Persian {East India Office, XXII, 43), and one in Sanskrit (Paris, fonds Burnouf, V, 66) ; the last two edited in our Etudes Iraniennes, II, 255). 2 2 YAS'TS AND SIROZAHS.

3Office, XII, 39, and St. Petersburg, XCIX, 39 ; edited by Carl Salemann), one in Persian {East India Office, XXII, 43), and one in Sanskrit (Paris, fonds Burnouf, V, 66) ; the last two edited in our Etudes Iraniennes, II, 255). 2 2 YAS'TS AND SIROZAHS. The second part of the Ya.st, the so-called Bahman Ya^-t frag- ment, is In a state of the utmost corruption. It is difficult to trace any connection in the ideas, yet §§ 28, 29, 30 seem to point rather clearly to the final struggle between Ormazd and Ahriman and to the annihilation of the Daevas, and, thereby, some connection is established between this fragment and the Pahlavi Bahman Ya-yt^ which deals with the same subject. If that correspondence be real, § 26 might refer to the beginning of the Pahlavi Bahman Ya.st, in which Zarathui-tra is shown by Ahura the times to come and the end of the world. Of this fragment we have only a bad Pahlavi translation in the St. Petersburg manuscript mentioned above. 0 -. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced ! May Angra Mainyu be destroyed ! by those who do truly what is the foremost wish (of God^). 1 praise well-thought, well-spoken, and well-done thoughts, words, and deeds. I embrace all good thoughts, good words, and good deeds ; I reject all evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds. I give sacrifice and prayer unto you, O Amesha-Spewtas ! even with the fulness of my thoughts, of my words, of my deeds, and of my heart : I give unto you even my own life •*. I recite the 'Praise of Holiness'^:' 'Ashem Vohu : Holiness is the best of all good. Well is it for it, well is it for that holiness which is perfection of holiness !' 1 confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zara- thujtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura"; ^ Translated by West (Pahlavi Texts, I). 2 The formulas of this section serve as an introduction to all Yaj-ts. ^ The last clause of this sentence is imitated from Yasna XLVI [XLV], 19 : 'he who does truly in holiness what was the foremost wish of Zarathu.rtra ' (that is, what he ordered most earnestly; Palil. Comm.). * ' If I must give up my life for the sake of my soul, I give it up ' (Pahl. Comm.). The two sentences, ' I praise ...,'' I give unto you . . . ,' are taken from Yasna XI, 17, 18 [XII]. ^ The Ashem Vohu, one of the holiest and most frequently recited prayers. ^ The Fravarane or profession of faith of the Zoroastrian (Yasna I, 23 [65-68]). ORMAZD VAST.

The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.