^ ? Agairimaitij. ' ^ Cf. Yt. V, 1 30.
^ ? Awkupasmanau.
Ashi Vast. 273
Happy the man whom thou dost attend ! Do thou
attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things
and strong !
11. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi
Vanguhi ! have daughters that sit .... ^- thin is
their waist, beautiful is their body, long are their
fingers ; they are as fair of shape as those who look
on can wish. Happy the man whom thou dost
attend ! Do thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts
of desirable things and strong !
12. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi
Vanguhi ! have horses swift and loud-neighing ;
they drive the chariot lightly, they take it to the
battle ^, they bear a gallant praiser (of the gods),
who has many horses, a solid chariot, a sharp spear,
a long spear, and swift arrows, who hits his aim,
pursuing after his enemies, and smiting his foes.
Happy the man whom thou dost attend ! Do thou
attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable things
and strong !
13. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi
Vanguhi ! have large-humped, burden-bearing camels,
flying from the ground or fighting with holy fieri-
ness ^. Happy the man whom thou dost attend !
Do thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts of desirable
things and strong !
14. The men whom thou dost attend, O Ashi
Vanguhi ! have hoards of silver and gold brought
together from far distant regions ; and garments of
splendid make. Happy the man whom thou dost
attend ! Do thou attend me, thou rich in all sorts
of desirable thins^s and strong- !
^ PAgamo-paidhija. ^ Doubtful. ^ Cf. Yt. XIV, 11. [23] T
2 74 YA5TS AND SIROZAHS.
15. Do not turn thy look from me! turn thy
mercy towards me, O great Ashi ! thou art well-
made and of a noble seed^- thou art sovereign at
thy wish ; thou art Glory in a bodily form.
16. Thy father is Ahura Mazda, the greatest of
all gods, the best of all gods ; thy mother is Armaiti
Spe;^ta ; thy brothers are Sraosha ^ a god of Asha,
and Rashnu ^ tall and strong, and Mithra *, the lord
of wide pastures, who has ten thousand spies and
a thousand ears ; thy sister is the Law of the wor-
shippers of Mazda.
1 7. Praised of the gods, unoffended by the right-
eous ^, the great Ashi Vanguhi stood up on her
chariot, thus speaking : ' Who art thou who dost
invoke me, whose voice is to my ear the sweetest
of all that invoked me most ?'
18. And he'' said aloud: 'I am Spitama Zara-
thui^tra, who, first of mortals, recited the praise of
the excellent Asha'^ and offered up sacrifice unto
Ahura Mazda and the Amesha-Spe;2tas ; in whose
birth and growth the waters and the plants rejoiced ;
in whose birth and growth the waters and the plants
grew ; in whose birth and growth all the creatures
of the good creation cried out, Hail^ !
19. 'In whose birth and growth Angra Mainyu
rushed away from this wide, round earth, whose
ends lie afar, and he, the evil-doing Angra Mainyu,
who is all death, said : " All the gods together
1 Born from the gods ; cf. Yt. XXII, 9.
2 See Yt. XI. ^ See Yt. XII. * See Yt. X.
^ Or, ' doing no harm to the righteous.'
" Zarathujtra. '' The Ahuna Vairya.
« Cf. Yt. XIII, 93.
As Hi Vast. 275
have not been able to smite me down in spite
of myself, and Zarathu^tra alone can reach me in
spite of myself
20. '"He smites me with the Ahuna Vairya, as
strong a weapon as a stone big as a house ^; he
burns me with Asha-Vahii'ta, as if it were melting
brass ^. He makes it better for me that I should
leave this earth, he, Spitama Zarathujrtra, the only
one who can daunt me." '
21. And the grreat Ashi Vanofuhi exclaimed:
' Come nearer unto me, thou pure, holy Spitama !
lean against my chariot !'
Spitama Zarathui"tra came nearer unto her, he leant against her chariot.
22. And she caressed him with the left arm and
the right, with the right arm and the left, thus
speaking : ' Thou art beautiful, O Zarathui^tra ! thou
art well-shapen, O Spitama ! strong are thy legs and
long are thy arms : Glory is given to thy body and
long cheerfulness ^ to thy soul, as sure as I proclaim
it unto thee.'
HI.
23*. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high, tall- formed, well worthy of sacrifice, with a loud-sounding chariot, strong, welfare-giving, healing, with fulness of intellect and powerful.
24 '^. To her did Haoshyangha, the Paradhata,
offer up a sacrifice, upon the enclosure of the Hara,
the beautiful height, made by Mazda.
25. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant
' Cf. Vend. XIX, 4 (13). ^ Cf. Yt. III.
^ Bliss after death. * As § i.
^ For §§ 24-26, cf. Yt. IX, 3-6.
276 Ya-Sts and Sirozahs
me this, O great Ashi Vanguhi ! that I may over-
come all the Daevas of Mazana ; that I may never
fear and bow through terror before the Daevas, but
that all the Daevas may fear and bow in spite of
themselves before me, that they may fear and flee
down to darkness.'
26. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his
side : Haoshyangha, the Paradhata, obtained that
boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
27. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and powerful.
28 \ To her did Yima Khshaeta, the good
shepherd, offer up a sacrifice from the height
Hukairya.
29. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me
this, O great Ashi Vanguhi ! that I may bring fatness
and flocks down to the world created by Mazda ; that
I may bring immortality down to the world created
by Mazda ;
30. ' That I may take away both hunger and
thirst, from the world created by Mazda ; that I
may take away both old age and death, from the
world created by Mazda; that I may take away both
hot wind and cold wind, from the world created by
Mazda, for a thousand years.'
31. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his
side : Yima Khshaeta, the good shepherd, obtained
that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
1 For §§ 28-31, cf.Yt. IX, 8-1 1.
Ashi Vast. 277
32. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and powerful.
33 ^ To her did Thraetaona, the heir of the
vahant Athwya clan, offer up a sacrifice in the four-
cornered Varena.
34. He begged of her a boon, saying : 'Grant me
this, O great Ashi Vanguhi ! that I may overcome
A^i Dahaka, the three-mouthed, the three-headed,
the six-eyed, who has a thousand senses, that most
powerful, fiendish Dru^, that demon, baleful to the
world, the strongest Dru^ that Angra Mainyu created
against the material world, to destroy the world of
the good principle ; and that I may deliver his two
wives, Savanghava/l' and Erenava/^, who are the
fairest of body amongst women, and the most won-
derful creatures in the world.'
35. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came^ to his
side. Thraetaona, the heir of the valiant Athwya
clan, obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
36. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and powerful.
37 2. To her did Haoma offer up a sacrifice,
Haoma, the enlivening, the healing, the beautiful,
the lordly, with golden eyes, upon the highest
heioht of the Haraiti Bareza.
' Cf. Yt.V, 34; IX, 14; XV, 24. 2 For §§ 37-39, cf.Yt. IX, 17-19.
278 YA^TS AND siROZAHS.
38. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me
this, O great Ashi Vanguhi ! that I may bind the
Turanian murderer, Franghrasyan, that I may drag
him bound, that I may bring him bound unto king
Husravah, that king Husravah may kill him, behind
the A'ae/^asta lake, the deep lake of salt waters, to
avenge the murder of his father Syavarshana, a
man, and of Aghraeratha, a semi-man.'
39. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his
side. Haoma, the enlivening, the healing, the
beautiful, the lordly, with golden eyes, obtained
that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
40. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and powerful.
41^. To her did the gallant Husravah, he who
united the Aryan nations into one kingdom, offer up
a sacrifice, behind the AT'aeiasta lake, the deep lake
of salt waters.
42. He begged of her a boon, saying: 'Grant me
this, O great Ashi Vanguhi ! that I may kill the
Turanian murderer, Franghrasyan, behind the isfae-
/^asta lake, the deep lake of salt waters, to avenge
the murder of my father Syavarshana, a man, and of
Aofhraeratha, a semi-man.'
43. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his
side. The gallant Husravah, he who united the Aryan
nations into one kingdom, obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth being heard ....
For §§ 41-43, cf.Yt. IX, 21-23.
Ashi Vast. 279
44. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and powerful.
45 \ To her did the holy Zarathu^ra offer up a
sacrifice in the Airyana Vae^ah, by the good river
Daitya, with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma,
with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells,
with the speech, with the deeds, with the libations,
and with the rightly-spoken words.
46. He begged of her a boon, saying : 'Grant me
this, O great Ashi Vanguhi ! that I may bring the
good and noble Hutaosa to think according to the
law, to speak according to the law, to do according
to the law, that she may spread my law and make
it known, that she may bestow beautiful praises
upon my deeds.'
47. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side : the holy Zarathu^tra obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth being heard ....
48. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and powerful.
49. To her did the tall Kavi Vi^taspa offer up a sacrifice behind the waters of the river Diitya.
50. He begged of her a boon, saying : ' Grant me
this, O great Ashi Vanguhi! that I may put to flight
A^ta-aurva;zA the son of Vispo-thaurvo-asti, the
all-afflicting, of the brazen helmet, of the brazen
armour, of the thick neck, behind whom seven
For §§45-47. cf.Yt. IX, 25-27.
280 YA5TS AND siROZAHS.
hundred camels . . . . ; that I may put to flight the
^z^yaona murderer, Are^a/-aspa ; that I may put to
flight Dar^inika, the worshipper of the Daevas ;
51. 'And that I may smite Tathrava;^/^ of the bad
law; that I may smite Spin^auru^ka, the worshipper
of the Daevas ; and that I may bring unto the good
law the nations of the Varedhakas and of the
iVz^yaonas ; and that 1 may smite of the //z/yaona
nations their fifties and their hundreds, their hun-
dreds and their thousands, their thousands and their
tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their
myriads of myriads.'
52. The great Ashi Vanguhi ran and came to his side : the tall Kavi Vi^taspa obtained that boon.
For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice worth being heard ....
53. We sacrifice to Ashi Vanguhi, who is shining, high .... and powerful.
54. And the great Ashi Vanguhi said : ' None of
those libations will be accepted by me, which are
sent to me either by a man whose seed is dried out\
or by the courtezan who produces untimely issues 2,
or by young boys, or by girls who have known no
man^
* When the Turanians and the swift-horsed Nao- taras *, clapping their hands, ran after me,
1 See Vend. Ill, 20 [63], note.
^ By procuring abortion.
' She refuses the offerings of all barren beings.
* Cf. Yt. V, 98. The following clauses allude to some myth of Ashi Vanguhi connected with the conflict between the Turanians and the Naotaras (either Tusa and Vistauru ; cf. p. 71, note 7, or more likely Vijtaspa himself, to whom the preceding chapter
ASHI YASr. 281
55. * I hid myself under the foot of a bull walking
under his burden ; then young boys, and girls who
had known no man, discovered me, even while the
Turanians and the swift-horsed Naotaras, clapping
their hands, were running after me.
56. 'Even I hid myself under the throat of a ram
of hundredfold energy : then again young boys, and
girls who had known no man, discovered me, even
while the Turanians and the swift-horsed Naotaras,
clapping their hands, were running after me.'
57. The first wailing of the great Ashi Vanguhi
is her wailing about the courtezan who destroys her
fruit : ' Stand thou not near her, sit thou not on her
bed!'— 'What shall I do? Shall I go back to the
heavens ? Shall I sink into the earth ?'
58. The second wailing of the great Ashi Vanguhi
is her wailing about the courtezan who brings forth
a child conceived of a stranger and presents it to
her husband : ' What shall I do ? Shall I go back
to the heavens .-* Shall I sink into the earth ?'
59. This is the third wailing of the great Ashi
Vanguhi : ' This is the worst deed that men and
tyrants do, namely, when they deprive maids, that
have been barren for a long time, of marrying and
bringing forth children. What shall I do ? Shall
I go back to the heavens ? Shall I sink into the
earth ?'