153. We worship this earth ; We worship those heavens ;

We worship those good things that stand between
(the earth and the heavens) and that are worthy of
sacrifice and prayer and are to be worshipped by
the faithful man.

154. We worship the souls of the wild beasts and of the tame \

We worship the souls of the holy men and
women, born at any time, whose consciences struggle,
or will struggle, or have struggled, for the good.

' Daitika, Persian j^ ; Neriosengh has 'that go by herds,' pahkti^arin. Aidyu; the Pahlavi translation has ayyar, 'that are of help' (domesticated?) ; Neriosengh has misread it as suvar and translated a9vacarin. The expression daitika aidyu answers to the Persian ^bj i^, meaning all sorts of animals (see ^fitudes Iraniennes, II, 150).

2^0 YA^TS AND siROZAHS.

155. We worship the spirit, conscience, percep-
tion, soul, and Fravashi of the holy men and holy
women who struggle, will struggle, or have strug-
gled, and teach the Law, and who have struggled
for holiness.

Y^nhe hatam: All those beings to whom Ahura Mazda ....
Yatha ahii vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of
holiness ....

156. The Fravashls of the faithful, awful and
overpowering, awful and victorious ; the Fravashls
of the men of the primitive law ; the Fravashls of
the next-of-kin ; may these Fravashls come satisfied
into this house ; may they walk satisfied through this

house !

157. May they, being satisfied, bless this house
with the presence of the kind AshI Vanguhl ! May
they leave this house satisfied! May they carry
back from here hymns and worship to the Maker,
Ahura Mazda, and the Amesha-Spe;nas ! May they
not leave this house of us, the worshippers of Mazda,
complaining !

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

I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength

and vigour of the awful, overpowering Fravashls of the

faithful ; of the Fravashls of the men of the primitive

law ; of the Fravashls of the next-of-kin.

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.

^ Who shall worship the Fravashis.

Bah Ram Ya^T. 23 I

XIV. BAHRAM YA^'T.

Regarding Bahram (Verethraghna), the Genius of Victory, see Vend. Introd. V, 8.

This Yast can be divided into four parts: —

I (§§ 1-28). An enumeration of the ten incarnations in which Verethraghna appeared to Zarathui'tra (as a wind, § 2 ; as a bull, § 7 ; as a horse, § 9 ; as a camel, §11; as a boar, §15; as a youth, § 17 ; as a raven, § 19 ; as a ram, § 23 ; as a buck, § 25 ; and as a man, § 27).

II (§§ 30-33). The powers given by Verethraghna to his wor- shipper, Zarathujtra.

III (§§ 34-46). The magical powers, ascribed to the raven's feather, of striking terror into an army and dispersing it (the raven being the seventh incarnation of Verethraghna).

IV (§§ 47-64). The glorification of Verethraghna.

o. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced ! . . . .

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

I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zara- thujtra, 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 Verethraghna, made by Mazda, and unto the crushing Ascendant^ ;

Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorifi- cation.

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

I. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.

Zarathu.ytra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One !

^ Sirozah I, 20.

232 YA^-TS AND SIROZAHS.

'Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods?'
Ahura Mazda answered : 'It is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathui"tra!'

2. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
first, running in the shape of a strong, beautiful
wind, made by Mazda ; he bore the good Glory,
made by Mazda, the Glory made by Mazda, that is
both health and strength.

3. Then he, who is the strongest \ said unto him^:
' I am the strongest in strength ; I am the most vic-
torious in victory ; I am the most glorious in Glory ;
I am the most favouring in favour ; I am the best
giver of welfare ; I am the best- healing in health-
giving.

4. ' And I shall destroy the malice of all the
malicious, the malice of Daevas and men, of the
Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind,
and the deaf.

5. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto
him a sacrifice worth being heard ; namely, unto
Verethraghna, made by Ahura. We worship Vere-
thraghna, made by Ahura, with an offering of liba-
tions, according to the primitive ordinances of
Ahura ; with 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.

'Ye«he hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda ....

6. 'We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.'

^ Verethraghna. ^ Zarathujtra.

Bahram Ya5t. 233

Zarathu5tra asked Ahiira Mazda : * Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One !

' Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?'
Ahura Mazda answered : ' It is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathu^tra !'

7. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
the second time, running in the shape of a beautiful
bull, with yellow ears and golden horns ; upon whose
horns floated the well-shapen Strength, and Victory,
beautiful of form, made by Ahura : thus did he
come, bearing the good Glory, made by Mazda,
the Glory made by Mazda, that is both health and
strength.

Then he, who is the strongest, said unto him : ' I am the strongest in strength . . . . ^

'And I shall destroy the malice of all malicious 2'

For his brightness and glory, I will ofifer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard . . . . ^

8. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.

ZarathuJtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One!

' Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?'
Ahura Mazda answered : 'It is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathu^tra!'

9. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
the third time, running in the shape of a white, beau-
tiful horse, with yellow ears and a golden caparison ;
upon whose forehead floated the well-shapen Strength,

^ As above, § 3. ^ As above, § 4. ^ As above, § 5.

2 34 YAS'TS AND SIROZAHS.

and Victory, beautiful of form, made by Ahura: thus
did he come, bearing the good Glory, made by
Mazda, that is both health and strength.

Then he, who is the strongest, said unto him : ' I am the strongest in strength ....

'And I shall destroy the malice of all malicious '

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

10. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.

Zarathu^tra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One !

' Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?'
Ahura Mazda answered : 'It is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathunra!'

11. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
the fourth time, running in the shape of a burden-
bearing ^ camel, sharp-toothed '\ swift . . . . •\
stamping forwards, long-haired, and living in the
abodes of men ^;

1 2. Who of all males in rut shows greatest strength
and greatest fire, when he goes to his females. Of
all females those are best kept whom a burden-
bearing camel keeps, who has thick forelegs and
large humps, . . . .^ quick-eyed, long-headed, bright,
tall, and strong ;

1 3. Whose piercing look goes afar . . . . ^ even in the dark of the night ; who throws white foam

1 Doubtful (vadharoi^ ^ Doubtful (dadasoij).

^ ? Urvato; cf. § 19. * Tame, domesticated.

^ ? Smarjno. ^ ? Haitahe.

Bahram Ya5t. 235

alone his mouth : well-kneed, well-footed, standing with the countenance of an all-powerful master :

Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good
Glory made by Mazda, the Glory made by
Mazda ....

14. We sacrifice uhto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.

Zarathu^tra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One!

' Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?'
Ahura Mazda answered : 'It Is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spltama Zarathu^tra !'

15. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
the fifth time, running In the shape of a boar, oppos-
ing the foes, a sharp-toothed he-boar, a sharp-jawed
boar, that kills at one stroke, pursuing, wrathful,
with a dripping face\ strong, and swift to run, and
rushlnof all around ^.

Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good
Glory made by Mazda, the Glory made by
Mazda ....

16. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by

Ahura.

Zarathui-tra asked Ahura Mazda : ' Ahura Mazda.

most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,

thou Holy One !

' Who Is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?' Ahura Mazda answered : ' It Is Verethraghna,

made by Ahura, O Spltama Zarathu^tra !'

1 Cf. Yt. X, 70. " Or better, rushing before. Cf. Yt. X, 1 27.

236 YASTS AND SiROZAHS.

17. Verethraghna,' made by Ahura, came to him
the sixth time, running in the shape of a beautiful
youth of fifteen, shining, clear-eyed, thin-heeled.

Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good
Glory made by Mazda, the Glory made by
Mazda ....

Vil-

18. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.

Zarathui-tra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One !

' Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathu^tra ! '

19. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
the seventh time, running in the shape of a raven
that . . . . ^ below and . . . . ^ above, and that is
the swiftest of all birds, the lightest of the fiying
creatures.

20. He alone of living things, — he or none, —
overtakes the flight of an arrow, however well it has
been shot. He flies up joyfully at the first break of
dawn, wishing the night to be no more, wishing the
dawn, that has not yet come, to come ^

21. He grazes the hidden ways^ of the mountains,
he grazes the tops of the mountains, he grazes the
depths of the vales, he grazes the summits ^ of the
trees, listeningr to the voices of the birds.

^ ? Urvato, pishato.

^ The raven was sacred to Apollo. The priests of the sun in Persia are said to have been named ravens (Porphyrins). Cf. Georgica I, 45.

=* Reading vi^atavo. "Doubtful.

Bahram Ya5t. 237

Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good
Glory made by Mazda \ the Glory made by
Mazda ....

22. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.

Zarathui'tra asked Ahura Mazda : ' Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One !

' Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?'
Ahura Mazda answered : ' It is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathu^tra !'

23. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
the eighth time, running in the shape of a wild,
beautiful ram, with horns bent rounds

Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good
Glory made by Mazda ^ the Glory made by
Mazda ....

24. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.

Zarathui-tra asked Ahura Mazda : 'Ahura Mazda,
most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One!

* Who is the best-armed of the heavenly gods ?'
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is Verethraghna,
made by Ahura, O Spitama Zarathui^tra !'

^ The royal Glory is described flying in the shape of a raven, Yt. XIX, 35.

2 Doubtful.

^ While Ardashir, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, was flying from Ardavan, a beautiful wild ram ran after him and overtook him, and Ardavan understood from this that the kingly Glory had left him and had passed over to his rival (Shah Namah, Ardashir; Kar Namaki Artachshir, tr. Noeldeke, p. 45}.

2^8 YASTS AND SIROZAHS.

•vD'

25. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him
the ninth time, running in the shape of a beautiful,
fighting buck, with sharp horns.

Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good
Glory made by Mazda, the Glory made by
Mazda ....