' From whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in fear^.
Cf. § 132. '^ See Vend. Introd. V, 19.
See ibid. IV, 24. * Cf. § 69.
5 Cf. Yt. X, 69. ' §§ 97-98 = §§ 134-135-
' Cf. § 97.
Mihir Vast. 145
* The lord of nations, Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, drives forward at the right-hand side of
this wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar.
100. ' At his right hand drives the good, holy
Sraosha ; at his left hand drives the tall and strong
Rashnu ; on all sides around him drive the waters,
the plants, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
loi. 'In his might, he ever brings to them falcon-
feathered arrows, and, when driving, he himself
comes there, where are nations, enemy to Mithra,
he, first and foremost, strikes blows with his club
on the horse and his rider; he throws fear and
fright upon the horse and his rider.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard ....
102. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless, and ever awake ;
* The warrior of the white horse, of the sharp
spear, the long spear, the quick arrows ; foreseeing
and clever ;
103. ' Whom Ahura Mazda has established to
maintain and look over all this moving^ world, and
who maintains and looks over all this moving world;
who, never sleeping, wakefully guards the creation
of Mazda ; who, never sleeping, wakefully maintains
the creation of Mazda.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard ....
^ Fravoij; Parsi tradition translates large: fraz (tr. Phi.), buland (Asp., Yasna LVII, 15 [LVI, 7, 3]).
146 YAiTTS AND SIROZAHS
104. ' We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless, and ever awake ;
'Whose long arms, strong with Mithra-strength,
encompass what he seizes in the easternmost river ^
and what he beats with the westernmost river 2,
what is by the Sanaka ^ of the Rangha and what is
by the boundary of the earth *.
105. 'And thou, O Mithra! encompassing all this around, do thou reach it, all over, with thy arms.
* The man without glory \ led astray from the
right way, grieves in his heart; the man without
glory thinks thus in himself: " That careless Mithra
does not see all the evil that is done, nor all the lies
that are told."
106. ' But I think thus in my heart :
' " Should the evil thoughts of the earthly man be
a hundred times worse, they would not rise so high
as the good thoughts of the heavenly Mithra ;
' " Should the evil words of the earthly man be a
hundred times worse, they would not rise so high as
the good words of the heavenly Mithra;
1 The Sind.
2 The Rangha or Tigris. The words ag^urvayeiti and nighne, 'he seizes, he beats,' are the words used of the priest laying the Haoma in the mortar and pounding it with the pestle (Yasna, X, 2 [4-5]). The Sind and the Rangha are thus com- pared with the two parts of the Havana, the land between is the Haoma, and Mithra's arms are the arms of the priest.
^ Sanake, an aira^ Xeyofifvov; opposed to the aodhas of the Rangha, Yt. XII, 19.
* The Arabian sea (?). Cf. Yt. XII, 21.
^ Who has not a ray of the celestial Hght : here, the man of little faith.
Mihir Ya^T. 147
* " Should the evil deeds of the earthly man be a
hundred times worse, they would not rise so high as
the good deeds of the heavenly Mithra ;
107. '"Should the heavenly wisdom^ in the earthly
man be a hundred times greater, it would not rise
so high as the heavenly wisdom in the heavenly
Mithra;
"'And thus, should the ears of the earthly man
hear a hundred times better, he would not hear so
well as the heavenly Mithra, whose ear hears well,
who has a thousand senses, and sees every man that
tells a lie."
* Mithra stands up in his strength, he drives in
the awfulness of royalty, and sends from his eyes
beautiful looks that shine from afar, (saying) :
108. '" Who will offer me a sacrifice ? Who will
lie unto me ? Who thinks me a god worthy of a
good sacrifice ? Who thinks me worthy only of a
bad sacrifice ? To whom shall I, in my might,
impart brightness and glory ? To whom bodily
health ? To whom shall I, in my might, impart
riches and full weal ? Whom shall I bless by raising
him a virtuous ^ offspring ?
109. '"To whom shall I give in return, without
his thinking of it, the awful sovereignty, beautifully
arrayed, with many armies, and most perfect ; the
sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who fells down
heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmitten ; who orders
chastisement to be done and his order is done at
once, which he has ordered in his aneer ?"
' O Mithra ! when thou art offended and not satisfied, he 3 soothes thy mind, and makes Mithra satisfied.
* See above, p. 4, n. 5. 2 Asna : Sansk. sujila (p. 34, n. 4).
* He who offers thee a good sacrifice; cf. § 108.
148 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
1 10. *"To whom shall I, m my might, impart
sickness and death ? To whom shall I impart
poverty and sterility^? Of whom shall I at one
stroke cut off the offspring ?
111. '"From whom shall I take away, without
his thinking of It, the awful sovereignty, beautifully
arrayed, with many armies, and most perfect; the
sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who fells down
heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmltten ; who orders
chastisement to be done and his order is done at
once, which he has ordered In his anger."
*0 Mithra! while thou art satisfied and not angry,
he moves thy heart to anger 2, and makes MIthra
unsatisfied.
« For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard ....
112. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless, and ever awake ;
'A warrior with a silver helm ^ a golden cuirass ^,
who kills with the poniard, strong, valiant, lord of
the borough. Bright are the ways of MIthra, by
which he goes towards the country, when, wishing
well, he turns Its plains and vales to pasture
grounds,
113. 'And then cattle and males come to graze, as many as he wants.
'May Mithra and Ahura*, the high gods, come to us for help, when the poniard lifts up Its voice
2 He who offers thee a bad sacrifice. ' Doubtful. * See Vend. Introd. IV, 8.
Mihir Vast. 149
aloud ^, when the nostrils of the horses quiver, when
the poniards . . . . ^ when the strings of the bows
whistle and shoot sharp arrows ; then the brood of
those whose libations are hated fall smitten to the
ground, with their hair torn off.
114. 'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pas-
tures ! give swiftness to our teams, strength to our
own bodies, and that we may watch with full success
those who hate us, smite down our foes, and destroy
at one stroke our adversaries, our enemies, and
those who hate us ^
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard ....
115. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless, and ever awake.
* O Mithra, lord of wide pastures ! thou master
of the house, of the borough, of the town, of the
country, thou ZarathuJtrotema*!
1 16. 'Mithra is twentyfold^ between two friends or two relations;
' Mithra is thirtyfold between two men of the same groups;
* Mithra is fortyfold between two partners '^;
^ When it clashes with another. ^ Kahvan.
« SeeYt. V, 53; X, 11, 94.
* The chief of the sacerdotal order, the so-called Maubedan- maused.
^ Or 'the contract is twentyfold ....,' that is, twenty times more strictly binding than between any two strangers. This pas- sage is one of the most important of the Avesta, as a short account of the social constitution and morals of Zoroastrian Iran.
* Of the same gild (svapahkti, ap. Neriosengh).
'' Hadha-gaetha, co-proprietors of a ga6tha (a rural estate).
150 YA,STS AND SIROZAHS.
' Mithra is fiftyfold between wife and husband i;
'Mithra is sixtyfold between two pupils (of the same master) ;
'Mithra is seventyfold between the pupil and his master ;
' Mithra is eightyfold between the son-in-law and his father-in-law ;
' Mithra is ninetyfold between two brothers ;
117.' Mithra is a hundredfold between the father and the son ;
'Mithra is a thousandfold between two nations 2;
'Mithra is ten thousandfold when connected with
the Law of Mazda ^ and then he will be every day *
of victorious strength ^.
118. 'May I come unto thee with a prayer that
goes lowly or goes highly! As this sun rises up
above the Hara Berezaiti and then fulfils its career,
so may I, O Spitama! with a prayer that goes lowly
or goes highly, rise up above the will of the fiend
Angra MainyuM
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard ....
119, 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless, and ever awake.
' Offer up a sacrifice unto Mithra, O Spitama ! and order thy pupils to do the same.
^ A fair recognition of the jus gentium.
3 The contract between the faithful and the Law, the cove- nant (?).
^ Reading [hjamahe ayan.
^ The last clause is doubtful ; the text is corrupt.
^ Prayer follows Mithra in his career, rising and setting with him.
Mihir Yast. 151
'Let the worshipper of Mazda sacrifice unto thee ^
with small cattle, with black cattle, with flying birds,
gliding forward on wings.
120. 'To Mithra all the faithful worshippers of
Mazda must give strength and energy with offered
and proffered Haomas, which the Zaotar proffers
unto him and gives in sacrifice 2. Let the faithful
man drink of the libations cleanly prepared, which
if he does, If he offers them unto Mithra, the lord of
wide pastures, Mithra will be pleased with him and
without anger.'
121. Zarathu^ra asked him: 'O Ahura Mazda!
how shall the faithful man drink the libations cleanly
prepared, which if he does and he offers them
unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra will
be pleased with him and without anger?'
122. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let them wash
their bodies three days and three nights ; let them
undergo thirty strokes ^ for the sacrifice and prayer
unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let them
wash their bodies two days and two nights ; let them
undergo twenty strokes for the sacrifice and prayer
unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let no
^ Mithra.
"^ The translation of this sentence is conjectural.
^ Thirty strokes with the Sraosh6-/^arana (upazana; see Vend. Introd. V, 19); it is an expiation (akayaya^zta) which purges them from their sins and makes them fit for offering a sacrifice to Mithra. One may find in this passage the origin of the painful trials through which the adepts of the Mithriac mysteries had to go before being admitted to initiation {ovk &v ovv els alrov bwri-
aaiTO Tts reXead^vm, «i ixf] 8id rivav ^ad^xav napeKdcov twv KoXdafcov Sfl^u
e'auroi/ oaiov Ka\ anaO?], Suidas s. V., ap. Windischmann, iiber Mithra, 68 seq.).
'l_ A.
152 Ya5ts and Sirozaiis
man drink of these libations who does not know the staota yesnya^ : Vispe ratavo 2.
' For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard . . , ,
XXXI.
123. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless, and ever awake ;
' To whom Ahura Mazda offered up a sacrifice in the shining Garo-nmana ^
124. 'With his arms Hfted up towards Immor-
tality*, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, drives
forward from the shining Garo-nmana, in a beautiful
chariot that drives on, ever-swift, adorned with all
sorts of ornaments, and made of gold.
125. • Four stallions draw that chariot, all of the
same white colour, living on heavenly food^ and
undying. The hoofs of their fore-feet are shod with
gold, the hoofs of their hind-feet are shod with
silver; all are yoked to the same pole, and wear
the yoke ^ and the cross-beams of the yoke ^,
fastened with hooks" of Khshathra vairya'^ to a
beautiful . . . . ^
126. 'At his right hand drives Rashnu-Razi^ta^ the most beneficent and most well-shapen.
^ The sutud ye^t; the last chapters of the Yasna, from LVIII [LVII] to end, according to Anquetil (Zend-Avesta I, 2, 232).