' FromYt. XXII, 12-13.
vts'TASP YAST. 345
thou holy man ! from the abodes full of cattle and
full of the wishes and enjoyments of love ? from
the material world into the world of the spirit ?
from the decaying world into the undecaying one ?
How long did thy felicity last ? " '
63. And Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ask him not
what thou askest him, who has just gone the dreary
way, full of fear and distress, when the body and the
soul part from one another.
64. ' [Let him eat] of the food brought to him, of
the oil of Zaremaya : this is the food for the youth
of good thoughts, of good words, of good deeds, of
good religion, after he has departed this life ; this is
the food for the holy woman, rich in good thoughts,
good words, and good deeds, well-principled, and
obedient to her husband, after she has departed
this life.'
65. Spitama Zarathui"tra said to the young king
Vii-taspa : ' To what land shall I turn, O Ahura
Mazda ? To whom shall I go with praying V
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
^ This clause, taken from Yt. XXII, 20, shows that the second part ofYt. XXII (§§ 19-36), describing the fate of the wicked, should be inserted here.
NYAYI5.
NYAYI5.
A Nyayi^ is properly a begging prayer, as opposed to Sitayij, a prayer of praise. It is a term particularly applied to five prayers addressed to the Sun, to Mithra, to the Moon, to Waters, and to Fire. Every layman over eight years old is bound to recite the Nyayij : he recites it standing and girded with his Kosti.
The Sun Nyayij is recited three times a day, at the rising of the sun (Gah Havan), at noon (Gah Rapitvin), and at three o'clock in the afternoon (Gah Uziren). The Mithra Nyayix is recited with the Sun Nyayij, as IMithra follows the sun in its course (see Yt. X, 13).
The Moon Nyayij is recited three times a month : first, at the time when it begins to be seen ; second, when it is at the full ; third, when it is on the wane.
The Waters Nyayii- and the Fire Nyayij are recited every day, when one finds oneself in the proximity of those elements. The Fire Nyayij is recited with the Penom on (see Vend. p. 168, 7).
The first four Nyayij must be recited especially on the days over which the Izads invoked preside ; that is to say, on the Khorshe^/, Mihir, Mah, and Aban days (the eleventh, sixteenth, twelfth, and tenth days of the month) \
I. KHORSHfeZ^ NYAYI^.
I. [Hail unto the Sun, the swift-horsed! May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced ^I]
^ Anquetil, Zend-Avesta II, pp. 6, 22, 565-566. '^ This clause is wanting in most n:\anuscripts.
3 50 NYAYIS.
Hail unto thee, O Ahura Mazda, in the threefold way^l [Hail unto thee] before all other creatures!
Hail unto you, O Amesha-Spe;^tas, who are all of you of one accord with the Sun !
May this prayer come unto Ahura Mazda ! May
it come unto the Amesha-Spe;^tas ! May it come
unto the Fravashis of the holy Ones ! May it come
unto the Sovereign Vayu of the long Period ^1
2. [Hail unto the Sun, the swift-horsed !]
May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! May Angra Mainyu be destroyed! by those who do truly what is the foremost wish (of God). I recite the ' Praise of Holiness-.'
3. I 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 \
4. I give sacrifice and prayer unto you, O Amesha-
Spe7«tas ! 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.
1 recite the 'Praise of Holiness^ :'
' Ashem Vohii : Holiness is the best of all good. Well is it for it, well is it for that holiness which is perfection of holiness * ! '
5^ Hail to Ahura Mazda!
Hail to the Amesha-Spe;nas !
Hail to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures !
Hail to the Sun, the swift-horsed !
Hail to the two eyes of Ahura Mazda !
Hail to the Bull !
Hail to Gaya^ !
^ In thought, speech, and deed (Pers. and Sansk. transl).
2 Vayu, as being the same with Fate (Vend. Introd. IV, 17), be- came identified with Time.
3 The Ashem Vohu. * See p. 22. « § 5=Yasna LXVIII (22-23 [LXVII, 58-67]).
* Gaya Maretan, the first man.
Khorshed Nyayi5. 35^
Hail to the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zara- thui-tra !
Hail to the whole of the holy creation that was, is, or will be !
May I grow in health of body through Vohu-Mano,
Khshathra, and Asha, and come to that luminous
space, to that highest of all high things \ when the
world, O Spey^ta Mainyu ! has come to an end!
Ashem Vohil : Holiness is the best of all good ....
6. We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pas-
tures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies,
with a thousand ears.well-shapen, with ten thousand
eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless,
and ever awake ^.
7. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of all coun-
tries, whom Ahura Mazda made the most glorious
of all the gods in the world unseen ^.
So may Mithra and Ahura, the two great gods, come to us for help !
We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
8. We sacrifice unto Tii-trya, whose sight is sound *.
We sacrifice unto Ti^trya ; we sacrifice unto the
rains of Ti^trya^.
We sacrifice unto Ti^trya, bright and glorious.
We sacrifice unto the star Vana;^^f^ made by Mazda.
^ The sun: 'May my soul arrive at the sun-region 1' (Pahl. transl.) 2 Yt. X, 7. 3 In heaven. * See Yt. VIII, 12, note 7.
5 See Yt.VIII, 12, note 2. * See Yt. XX.
352 NYAYIS-.
We sacrifice unto Ti^trya, the bright and glorious star.
We sacrifice unto the sovereign sky.
We sacrifice unto the boundless Time.
We sacrifice unto the sovereign Time of the long Period.
We sacrifice unto the beneficent, well-doing Wind.
We sacrifice unto the most upright Arista \ made by Mazda and holy.
We sacrifice unto the good Law of the wor- shippers of Mazda.
We sacrifice unto the way of content^.
We sacrifice unto the golden instruments
We sacrifice unto Mount Saoka/^ta, made by
Mazda \
9. We sacrifice unto all the holy gods of the world unseen.
We sacrifice unto all the holy gods of the mate- rial world.
We sacrifice unto our own soul.
We sacrifice unto our own Fravashi.
We sacrifice unto the good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the holy Ones.
We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
10. I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathu5'tra ....
1 See Yt. XVI. ^ Qr, of pleasure.
^ ' On Mount Saoka«ta there is a golden tube coming from the root of the earth ; the water that is on the surface of the earth goes up through the hole of that tube to the heavens, and being driven by the wind, spreads everywhere, and thus the dew is produced' (Sansk. transl.).
Mihir Nyayis-. 353
Unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun ;
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glori- fication . . . . ^
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....
[We sacrifice] unto the Ahurian waters ^ the waters of Ahura, with excellent libations, with finest libations, with libations piously strained ^.
Ashem Vohu : Holiness is the best of all good ....
[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, give him health of body, .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones.
II. MIHIR NYAYI^-.
I*. Hail unto thee, O Ahura IMazda, in the threefold way! [Hail unto thee] before all other creatures !
Hail unto you, O Amesha-Spewtas, who are all of you of one accord with the Sun !
INIay this prayer come unto Ahura IMazda ! INIay it come unto the Amesha-Spewtas ! May it come unto the Fravashis of the holy Ones ! ]\Iay it come unto the sovereign Vayu of the long Period !
2. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced ! . . . .
3. I praise well-thought, well-spoken, and well-done thoughts, words, and deeds ....
4. I give sacrifice and prayer unto you, O Amesha-Spewtas ! . . . .
5. Hail to Ahura Mazda I . . . .
May I grow in health of body through Vohu-Mano, Khshathra, and Asha, and come to that luminous space, to that highest of all high things, when the world, O Spewta Mainyu, has come to an end!
6^ We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assembHes,
with a thousand ears, well-shapen, with ten thousand
^ The whole of the Kh6rshe<f Ya^t is inserted here.
^ Rivers considered as Ahura's wives (cf. Ormazd et Ahriman,
§ 32)-
-' From Yasna LXVIII, 10 (LXVII, 30); cf. p. 34. * §§ i-5 = Kh6rshet^ Nyayij, §§ 1-5. ' §§ 6-7 = Kh6rshe(^ Nyayi^, §§ 6-7. [23] A a
354 NYAYW.
eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake.
7. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of all
countries, whom Ahura Mazda made the most
glorious of all the heavenly gods.
So may Mithra and Ahura, the two great gods, come to us for help !
We sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift- horsed Sun.
8 ^. We sacrifice unto Tij-trya, whose sight is sound .... 9. We sacrifice unto all the holy gods of the world unseen .... 10 ^ I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathu-ftra ....
11^ We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies,
with a thousand ears, well-shapen, with a thousand
eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and
ever awake.
We sacrifice unto the Mithra around countries ;
We sacrifice unto the Mithra within countries ;
We sacrifice unto the Mithra in this country ;
We sacrifice unto the Mithra above countries ;
We sacrifice unto the Mithra under countries ;
We sacrifice unto the Mithra before countries ;
We sacrifice unto the Mithra behind countries.
12. We sacrifice unto Mithra and Ahura, the two
great, imperishable, holy gods ; and unto the stars,
and the moon, and the sun, with the trees that
yield baresma. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord
of all countries.
1 3''. For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacri- fice worth being heard ....
1 §§ 8-9 = Kh6rsha^ Nyayij, §§ 8-9. ^ Yt. X, o.
Mah Nyayi.S. 355
We offer up libations unto Mithra ....
14. May he come to us for help! May he come to us for ease ! . . . .
15. I will offer up libations unto him, the strong Yazata, the powerful Mithra ....
Yenhe hatfim: AUthose beings of whom Ahura IMazda ....
16 \ 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 Mithra ....
Ashem Vohfi: 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.
III. MAH NYAYI^-.
I ^. Hail to Ahura Mazda I Hail to the Amesha-Spewtas ! Hail to the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull 1 Hail to thee when we look at thee ! Hail to thee when thou lookest at us !
2^ Unto the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull; unto the only-created Bull and unto the Bull of many species ;
Be propitiation ....
3. Hail to Ahura Mazda ! . . . .
4. How does the moon wax? How does the moon wane? ....
5. We sacrifice unto the Moon that keeps in it the seed of the Bull
6. And when the light of the moon waxes warmer ....
7. I will sacrifice unto the Moon ....
8. For its brightness and glory ....
9. Yatha ahil vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....
lo*. Give us strength and victory! Give us wel-
fare in cattle and in bread! Give us a great number
of male children, praisers [of God] and chiefs in
assemblies, who smite and are not smitten, who
smite at one stroke their enemies, who smite at one
stroke their foes, ever in joy and ready to help.
' Yt. X, 146. - § I =Mah Yast, § i . » §§ 2-9 = Mah Yast. * §§io-ii; cf.Yt. XXiV, 6-8.