Yas And ITs. Viii. Tir Yast
*
"The Zend Avesta, Part Ii (sbe23)\", James Darmesteter, tr. [1882],
p. 92
Viii. Tr Ya\"S"T.
Ti"s"trya is the leader of the stars against the planets, as stars and planets belong, respectively, to the worlds of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu (Vend. Introd. IV, 36; Bund. II, 5 seq.).
This Ya"s"t is a description of the production of the rain through the agency of the star Ti"s"trya. It has to struggle against the Dava of Drought, Apaosha, is first overcome and conquers at last. This seems to be a refacimento of the old storm myths, which have been in so far renewed as the role of the hero in the original myth has been transferred to a star. It is to be noticed, however, that Apaosha is not described as a planet.
Ti"s"trya is Sirius 1. It presides over the first month of summer (21 June-21 July). This Ya"s"t appears thus to have been written in a part of Iran where the dog-days must have fallen in July, and the rainy season began in the last days of July, unless the place of Ti"s"trya in the calendar has been changed at some later period.
This Ya"s"t is recited on the days of Ti"s"trya, Haurvat"t" (as the Genius of Waters), Farvardn (as the Fravashis are his allies in the struggle; 34), and Bd (the wind; 32).
The struggle between Ti"s"trya and Apaosha is described in the Bundahi"s" (VII), but it has there a cosmological character: it has not for its object the annual and regular return of the rains after the dog-days, but the production of the seas and lakes in the first ages of the world.
"0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Voh: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathu"s"tra, one who hates the Davas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Hvani], the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, and unto the powerful Satavasa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward 2,
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Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yath ah vairy: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I.
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathu"s"tra, saying: 'We worship the lordship and mastership [of Ti"s"trya], whereby he protects 1 the Moon, the dwelling, the food, when my glorious stars come along and impart their gifts 2 to men. I will sacrifice unto the star Ti"s"trya, that gives the fields their share [of waters].
2. 'We offer up libations unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, that gives happy dwelling and good dwelling; the white, shining, seen afar, and piercing; the health-bringing, loud-snorting 3, and high, piercing from afar with its shining, undefiled rays; and unto the waters of the wide sea, the Vanguhi of wide renown 4, and the species 5 of the Bull, made by Mazda, the awful kingly Glory, and the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zarathu"s"tra.
3. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto the star Ti"s"trya.
'Unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, we offer up the libations, 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 6.
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'Y"n"h htm: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
Ii.
4. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who is the seed of the waters, powerful, tall, and strong, whose light goes afar; powerful and highly 1 working, through whom the brightness and the seed of the waters come from the high Apm Nap"t" 2.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Iii.
5. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star; for whom long 3 flocks and herds and men, looking forward for him and deceived in their hope 4: "When shall we see him rise up, the bright and glorious star Ti"s"trya? When will the springs run with waves as thick as a horse's size and still thicker? Or will they never come?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Iv.
6. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star; who flies, towards the sea Vouru-Kasha 5, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly
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space 1, which Erekhsha 2, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount "H"v"anva"n"t" 3.
7. 'For Ahura Mazda gave him assistance; so did the waters and the plants; and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, opened a wide way unto him.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
V.
8. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, that afflicts the Pairikas, that vexes the Pairikas, who, in the shape of worm-stars 4, fly
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between the earth and the heavens, in the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep sea of salt 1 waters. He goes to its lake in the shape of a horse, in a holy shape; and down there he makes the waters boil over, and the winds flow above powerfully all around.
9. 'Then Satavasa 2 makes those waters flow down to the seven Karshvares of the earth 3, and when he has arrived down there, he stands, beautiful, spreading ease and joy on the fertile countries (thinking in himself): "How shall the countries of the Aryas grow fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Vi.
10. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who spake unto Ahura Mazda, saying: "Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
11. ' "If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I were invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, then I should have come to the faithful at the appointed time 4;
I should have come in the appointed time of my
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beautiful, immortal life 1, should it be one night, or two nights, or fifty, or a hundred nights."
12. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya;
'We sacrifice unto the rains of Ti"s"trya 2.
'We sacrifice unto the first star 3; we sacrifice unto the rains of the first star.
'I will sacrifice unto the stars Haptiri"n"ga 4, to oppose the Ytus and Pairikas.
'We sacrifice unto Vana"n"t" 5, the star made by Mazda; for 6 the well-shapen strength, for the Victory, made by Ahura, for the crushing Ascendant, for the destruction of what distresses us, for the destruction of what persecutes us.
'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, whose eye-sight is sound 7.
13. 'For ten nights, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, mingles his shape
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with light, moving in the shape of a man of fifteen years of age 1, bright, with clear eyes, tall, full of strength, strong, and clever.
14. 'He is active as the first man 2 was; he goes on with the strength of the first man; he has the virility 3 of the first man.
15 4. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of male children, a troop of male children, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
16. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a golden-horned bull 5.
17. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of oxen, a herd of oxen, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
18. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
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19. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of horses, a troop of horses, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
20. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison 1.
21. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Dava Apaosha, in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
22. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya and the Dava Apaosha. They fight together, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! for three days and three nights. And then the Dava Apaosha proves stronger than the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya, he overcomes him.
23. 'And Ti"s"trya flees from the sea Vouru-Kasha, as far as a Hthr's 2 length. He cries out in woe and distress, the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya: "Woe is me, O Ahura Mazda! I am in distress, O Waters and Plants! O Fate and thou, Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Men do not worship me with a
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sacrifice in which I am invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names 1.
24. ' "If men had worshipped me with a sacrifice in which I had been invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, I should have taken to me the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers 2."
25. 'Then I, Ahura Mazda, offer up to the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya a sacrifice in which he is invoked by his own name, and I bring him the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers.
26 3. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and golden caparison.
27. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Dava Apaosha in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
28. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya, and the Dava Apaosha; they fight together, O Zarathu"s"tra! till the time of noon. Then the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya proves stronger than the Dava Apaosha, he overcomes him.
29. 'Then he goes from the sea Vouru-Kasha as far as a Hthra's length: "Hail!" cries the
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bright and glorious Ti"s"trya. "Hail unto me, O Ahura Mazda! Hail unto you, O waters and plants! Hail, O Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Hail will it be unto you, O lands! The life 1 of the waters will flow down unrestrained to the big-seeded 2 cornfields, to the small-seeded 3 pasture-fields, and to the whole of the material world!"
30. 'Then the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya goes back down to the sea Vouru-Kasha, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison 4.
31. 'He makes the sea boil up and down; he makes the sea stream this and that way; he makes the sea flow this and that way: all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over.
32. 'And the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Satavasa rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha; and vapours rise up above Mount Us-hindu, that stands in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha 5.
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33. 'Then the vapours push forward, in the regular shape of clouds 1; they go following the wind, along the ways which Haoma traverses, the increaser of the world 2. Behind him travels the mighty wind, made by Mazda, and the rain, and the cloud, and the sleet, down to the several places, down to the fields, down to the seven Karshvares of the earth.
34. 'Apm Nap"t" 3, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! divides the waters amongst the countries in the material world, in company with the mighty wind, the Glory, made by the waters 4, and the Fravashis of the faithful 5.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Vii.
35. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who from the shining east, moves along his long winding course, along the path made by the gods, along the way appointed for him the
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watery way, at the will of Ahura Mazda, at the will of the Amesha-Spe"n"tas.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Viii.
36. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, whose rising is watched by men who live on the fruits of the year, by the chiefs of deep 1 understanding 2; by the wild beasts in the mountains, by the tame beasts that run in the plains; they watch him, as he comes up to the country for a bad year, or for a good year 3, (thinking in themselves): "How shall the Aryan countries be fertile?"
For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Ix.
37 4. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, swift-flying and swift-moving, who flies towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount "H"v"anva"n"t".
38. 'Ahura Mazda gave him assistance, and the Amesha-Spe"n"tas and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, pointed him the way: behind him went the
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tall Ashi"s" Vanguhi 1 and Pre"n"di 2 on her light chariot: always till, in his course, he reached Mount "H"v"anva"n"t" on the shining waters 3.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
X.
39. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who afflicts the Pairikas, who destroys the Pairikas, that Angra Mainyus flung to stop all the stars that have in them the seed of the waters 4.
40. 'Ti"s"trya afflicts them, he blows them away from the sea Vouru-Kasha; then the wind blows the clouds forward, bearing the waters of fertility, so that the friendly showers spread wide over, they spread helpingly and friendly over the seven Karshvares.
'For his brightness and glory, I will oar him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xi.
41. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long the standing waters, and the running spring-waters, the stream-waters, and the rain-waters:
42. ' "When will the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya rise up for us? When will the springs with a flow and overflow of waters, thick as a horse's shoulder, run to the beautiful places and fields, and to the
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pastures, even to the roots of the plants, that they may grow with a powerful growth?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xii.
43. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who washes away all things of fear 1, stunts the growth of all.... 2, and brings health to all these creations, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xiii.
44. 'I will sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, whom Ahura Mazda has established as a lord and overseer above all stars 3, in the same way as he has established Zarathu"s"tra above men; whom neither Angra Mainyu, nor the Ytus and the Pairikas, nor the men Ytus 4 can deliver unto death, nor can all the Davas together prevail for his death.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
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Xiv.
45. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, to whom Ahura Mazda has given a thousand senses 1, and who is the most beneficent amongst the stars that have in them the seed of the waters:
46. 'Who moves in light with the stars that have in them the seed of the waters: he, from the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep, and salt of waters, goes to all the lakes, and to all the beautiful caves, and to all the beautiful channels 2, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
47. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the waters flow down from the sea Vouru-Kasha, mother-like 3, friendly, and healing: he divides them amongst these countries, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied 4.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xv.
48. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long all the creatures of Spe"n"ta-Mainyu, those that live under the ground, and those that live above the ground; those that live in the waters, and those that live on dry land; those that fly, and those that run in the plains 5; and all those
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that live within this boundless and endless world of the holy Spirit.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...
Xvi.
49. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, the healthful, wise, happy, and powerful, who is the lord of a thousand boons, and grants many boons to that man who has pleased him, whether begging or not begging for them.
50. 'I, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! have created that star Ti"s"trya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda 1;
51. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Du"z"yirya 2, whom evil-speaking 3 people call Huyirya 4.
52. 'Had I not created that star Ti"s"trya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;
53. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Du"z"yirya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyirya;
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54. 'Then all day long, all night long, that Pairika Du"z"yirya would wage war against this material world of mine, wanting to extinguish its life 1, and she goes on, rushing upon and around it.
55. 'But the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya keeps that Pairika in bonds, with twofold bonds, with threefold bonds, that cannot be overcome, with bonds all over the body: it is as if there were a thousand men keeping one man in bonds, a thousand men of those who are the strongest in strength.
56. 'If the Aryan countries, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! would perform in honour of the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya the due sacrifice and invocation, just as that sacrifice and invocation ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness; never should a hostile horde enter these Aryan countries, nor any plague, nor leprosy, nor venomous plants 2, nor the chariot of a foe, nor the uplifted spear of a foe.'
57 3. Zarathu"s"tra asked: 'What is then, O Ahura Mazda! the sacrifice and invocation in honour of the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya, as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness?'
58. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him; let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white, or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same colour.
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59. 'Let not a murderer take of these offerings, nor a whore, nor a.... 1 who does not sing the Gths, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathu"s"tra.
60. 'If a murderer take of these offerings, or a whore, or a.... who does not sing the Gths, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathu"s"tra, then the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya takes back his healing virtues.
61. 'Plagues will ever pour upon the Aryan nations; hostile hordes will ever fall upon the Aryan nations; the Aryans will be smitten, by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by their thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.
62. 'Yath ah vairy: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, and of the powerful Satavasa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward.
'Ashem Voh: 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 2.'
Footnotes
92:1 (Plutarchus, de Iside et Osiride, 47; cf. infra, 48).
92:2 Srzah I, 13.
93:1 Doubtful.
93:2 The rain.
93:3 In his disguise as a horse; 18.
93:4 See Vend., pp. 3, 5, note 2.
93:5 Nma; see tudes Iraniennes, Ii, 124.
93:6 Cf. p. 47.
94:1 Powerfully.
94:2 Or, 'through whom the beauty of the waters comes from Bereza, and their seed from Apm Nap"t".' Bereza, the high, the tall, an epithet of Apm Nap"t", became one of his names (Ized Br"g"; cf. 34); for Apm Nap"t", see above, p. 6, note 1.
94:3 Paiti"s"mare"n"ti; cf. Yt. V, 123.
94:4 Or better, 'in their looking.'
94:5 See above, p. 54, note 6.
95:1 Mainivas"a"u" = mainyu-as"a"u" (meaning pun mn "g"vkh, svargasthnam, Yasna Lvii, 27 [lvi, 11, 3]).
95:2 Erekhsha khshviwi-ishu"s", in Pahlavi Ari"s" Shvtr (see tudes Iraniennes, Ii, 220), or 'Ari"s" of the swift arrow,' was the best archer in the Iranian army. When Mino"k"ihr and Afrsyab determined to make peace and to fix the boundary between Irn and Trn, 'it was stipulated that Ari"s" should ascend Mount Damvand, and from thence discharge an arrow towards the east; and that the place in which the arrow fell should form the boundary between the two kingdoms. Ari"s" thereupon ascended the mountain, and discharged towards the east an arrow, the flight of which continued from the dawn of day until noon, when it fell on the banks of the "G"ihn (the Oxus),' (Mirkhond, History of the Early Kings of Persia, trans. by David Shea, p. 175; cf. Noeldeke, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft, 1881, p. 445.)
95:3 Mount Khshaotha seems to be the same as Mount Damvand (see preceding note); Mount "H"v"anva"n"t" may be the same as Mount Bmn, from which the Balkh river springs, as according to Tabari (trans. by Noeldeke, l. l.), Ari"s"' arrow stopped at the Balkh river (an affluent of the Oxus). But it may be that the limits given refer to the course of Ti"s"trya; cf. 38, text and note.
95:4 Doubtful. Shooting stars are alluded to. Mr. Geiger remarks that there is a swarm of shooting stars falling every year just at the time when Ti"s"trya, in the European climate, is supposed to be most active, on the 10th of August.
96:1 See above, p. 66, note 3.
96:2 Satavasa is said to be the leader of the western stars (to be read southern stars, Bund. II, 7), and has in its protection the seas of the southern quarter (ibid. Xiii, 12); the Satavasa sea is the Persian gulf.
96:3 This seems to be an allusion to the tide in the Arabian sea (the sea Vouru-Kasha) and in the gulf of Oman, which, being a southern sea, is under the control of Satavasa (cf. preceding note and Vend. V, 18, note 1).
96:4 At the right time of the year when rain is expected.
97:1 Cf. 23-24 and Yt. X, 54-55, 74.
97:2 As Ti"s"trya is the producer of the rain: Ti"s"trynyas"k"a = Tistaratrakasya v"ri"sh"t"im; (Khorsh"d" Nyyi"s" 8, Sansk. tr.).
97:3 Ti"s"trya; cf. p. 105, note 3.
97:4 Haptiri"n"ga (Ursa Major) is the leader of the stars in the north (Bund. II, 7). It is 'entrusted with the gate and passage of hell, to keep back those of the nine, and ninety, and nine hundred, and nine thousand and nine myriad demons, and demonesses, and fairies (Pairikas) and sorcerers (Ytus) who are in opposition to the celestial sphere and constellations' (Minokhired Xlix, 15; tr. by Vest).
97:5 Vana"n"t" is the leader of the stars in the south (read west; Bund. II, 7). Cf. Yt. Xx.
97:6 To obtain.... This invocation is brought about by the very name of Vana"n"t", which means 'who smites, who overcomes.' The peculiar office of Vana"n"t" is to keep the passes and gates of Mount Albrz, around which the sun, the moon, and the stars revolve, and to prevent the Paris and Davas from cutting off and breaking the road of the sun (Minokhired Xlix, 12).
97:7 'I sacrifice to Ti"s"tar for (= to obtain) the soundness of the sight' (Khorsh"d" Nyyi"s" 8, Pahl. tr.).
98:1 The age of fifteen is the paradisiacal age in the Avesta (Yasna Ix, 5 [18]).
98:2 Gay maratan. But the translation is doubtful; possibly 'as a first-rate man is.'
98:3 Doubtful; cf. erezi, Yt. Xiv, 29.
98:4 Cf. Yt. V, 8.
98:5 Cf. Vend. Xix, 37 (123).
99:1 'Ti"s"tar was converted into three forms, the form of a man and the form of a horse and the form of a bull.... as the astrologers say that every constellation has three forms' (Bund. VII, 4; tr. West). Ti"s"trya promises his worshippers children ( 15), oxen ( 17), or horses ( 19), according as he appears in the form of a man ( 13), of a bull ( 16), or of a horse ( 18).
99:2 A mile (Bundahi"s" XXVI, 1; tr. West, note 1).
100:1 Cf. 10 and Yt. X, 54 seq., 74.
100:2 Cf. Vend. Introd. Iv, 27.
100:3 26-27 = 20-21.
101:1 Adhav; possibly 'the streams;' cf. Yt. V, 1, note 2. A month in the ancient Persian calendar, supposed to correspond to September-October, was called dukani, which might, on that hypothesis, mean '(the month) that makes streams spring up.'
101:2 Of which the representative is wheat (Bundahi"s" Xxiv, 19.).
101:3 Of which the representative is the summer vetch (ibid. 21).
101:4 Cf. 18.
101:5 'The Asindm mountain is that which, being of ruby, of the substance of the sky, is in the midst of the wide-formed ocean (the sea Vouru-Kasha),' (Bund. XII, 6; tr. West). Mount Asindm receives its waters through a golden channel from the height Hukairya (cf. Yt. V, 3); from there one portion flows forth to the ocean for the purification of the sea, and one portion drizzles in moisture upon the whole of this earth, and all the creations of p. 102 Aharmazd acquire health from it, and it dispels the dryness of the atmosphere' (ibid. Xiii, 5).
102:1 Doubtful.
102:2 Haoma opens the way for the waters from heaven, as being the foremost element in sacrifice (cf. 24). For the same reason the Bundahi"s" numbers Vohu-Man, 'Good Mind,' amongst the cooperators of Ti"s"trya.
102:3 See p. 6, note 1.
102:4 Or better, 'seated in the waters;' see Yt. XIX, 56 seq. and Yt. Xiii, 65.
102:5 The Fravashis are active in the world struggle; cf. Yt. Xiii, 43. 'Co-operators with T"s"tar were Vohman and the angel Hm, with the assistance of the angel Br"g" (the same as Apm Nap"t"; see p. 94, note 2) and the righteous guardian spirits in orderly arrangement' (Bundahi"s" VII, 3, tr. West).
103:1 Doubtful.
103:2 The chiefs of the state.
103:3 For good or bad harvest.
103:4 37 = 6.
104:1 See Yt. Xvii.
104:2 See above, p. 11, note 5.
104:3 Doubtful. Mount "H"v"anva"n"t", being situated in the sea Vouru-Kasha (as appears from Ti"s"trya travelling towards that sea, 38), seems to be the same with Mount Asindm ( 32).
104:4 Cf. above, 8.
105:1 Sim"a"u", meaning sahmgn, bhayamkara (Yasna Ix, 38 [93]).
105:2 ? Va"z"dri"s".
105:3 In the Bundahi"s" it is especially the leader of the eastern stars; but the Minokhired calls it the first star (xlix, 5; cf. above, 12).
105:4 See above, p. 38, note 3.
106:1 See Yt. X, 82, note.
106:2 Those of Ardvi Sara Anhita; cf. Yt. V, 4, 101.
106:3 Cf. Yt. V, 15.
106:4 Cf. 43.
106:5 See Yt. Xiii, 10, note; cf. Visprad I, 1, and Bundahi"s" XXIV, tr. West, note 1.
107:1 Cf. Yt. X, 1.
107:2 Bad year, that is to say, sterility, drought. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, also deprecates Du"z"yirya in one of his inscriptions: 'May Ahura Mazda keep this country from the hostile host, from sterility (du"s"iyra), from lying (disloyalty): may never the foreigner enter this country, nor the hostile host, nor sterility, nor lying' (Persepolis, H, 15).
107:3 People who object to rain and are fond of fine weather (?).
107:4 Good year.
108:1 Reading ava[-derenm]; cf. Vend. Xviii, 18 [45].
108:2 Kapasti is properly the colocynthis or bitter-apple:
'Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni
Occidet.' (Ecl. Iv, 24, 25.)
108:3 57-61 = Yt. Xiv, 49-53; cf. Yt. V, 89 seq.
109:1 ? Ashaov.
109:2 Cf. Yt. I, 33.
"The Zend Avesta, Part Ii (sbe23)\", James Darmesteter, tr. [1882],
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Viii. Tr Ya\"S"T.
Ti"s"trya is the leader of the stars against the planets, as stars and planets belong, respectively, to the worlds of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu (Vend. Introd. IV, 36; Bund. II, 5 seq.).
This Ya"s"t is a description of the production of the rain through the agency of the star Ti"s"trya. It has to struggle against the Dava of Drought, Apaosha, is first overcome and conquers at last. This seems to be a refacimento of the old storm myths, which have been in so far renewed as the role of the hero in the original myth has been transferred to a star. It is to be noticed, however, that Apaosha is not described as a planet.
Ti"s"trya is Sirius 1. It presides over the first month of summer (21 June-21 July). This Ya"s"t appears thus to have been written in a part of Iran where the dog-days must have fallen in July, and the rainy season began in the last days of July, unless the place of Ti"s"trya in the calendar has been changed at some later period.
This Ya"s"t is recited on the days of Ti"s"trya, Haurvat"t" (as the Genius of Waters), Farvardn (as the Fravashis are his allies in the struggle; 34), and Bd (the wind; 32).
The struggle between Ti"s"trya and Apaosha is described in the Bundahi"s" (VII), but it has there a cosmological character: it has not for its object the annual and regular return of the rains after the dog-days, but the production of the seas and lakes in the first ages of the world.
"0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Voh: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathu"s"tra, one who hates the Davas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Hvani], the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, and unto the powerful Satavasa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward 2,
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Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yath ah vairy: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
I.
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathu"s"tra, saying: 'We worship the lordship and mastership [of Ti"s"trya], whereby he protects 1 the Moon, the dwelling, the food, when my glorious stars come along and impart their gifts 2 to men. I will sacrifice unto the star Ti"s"trya, that gives the fields their share [of waters].
2. 'We offer up libations unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, that gives happy dwelling and good dwelling; the white, shining, seen afar, and piercing; the health-bringing, loud-snorting 3, and high, piercing from afar with its shining, undefiled rays; and unto the waters of the wide sea, the Vanguhi of wide renown 4, and the species 5 of the Bull, made by Mazda, the awful kingly Glory, and the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zarathu"s"tra.
3. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto the star Ti"s"trya.
'Unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, we offer up the libations, 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 6.
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'Y"n"h htm: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
Ii.
4. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who is the seed of the waters, powerful, tall, and strong, whose light goes afar; powerful and highly 1 working, through whom the brightness and the seed of the waters come from the high Apm Nap"t" 2.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Iii.
5. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star; for whom long 3 flocks and herds and men, looking forward for him and deceived in their hope 4: "When shall we see him rise up, the bright and glorious star Ti"s"trya? When will the springs run with waves as thick as a horse's size and still thicker? Or will they never come?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Iv.
6. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star; who flies, towards the sea Vouru-Kasha 5, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly
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space 1, which Erekhsha 2, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount "H"v"anva"n"t" 3.
7. 'For Ahura Mazda gave him assistance; so did the waters and the plants; and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, opened a wide way unto him.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
V.
8. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, that afflicts the Pairikas, that vexes the Pairikas, who, in the shape of worm-stars 4, fly
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between the earth and the heavens, in the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep sea of salt 1 waters. He goes to its lake in the shape of a horse, in a holy shape; and down there he makes the waters boil over, and the winds flow above powerfully all around.
9. 'Then Satavasa 2 makes those waters flow down to the seven Karshvares of the earth 3, and when he has arrived down there, he stands, beautiful, spreading ease and joy on the fertile countries (thinking in himself): "How shall the countries of the Aryas grow fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Vi.
10. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who spake unto Ahura Mazda, saying: "Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
11. ' "If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I were invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, then I should have come to the faithful at the appointed time 4;
I should have come in the appointed time of my
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beautiful, immortal life 1, should it be one night, or two nights, or fifty, or a hundred nights."
12. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya;
'We sacrifice unto the rains of Ti"s"trya 2.
'We sacrifice unto the first star 3; we sacrifice unto the rains of the first star.
'I will sacrifice unto the stars Haptiri"n"ga 4, to oppose the Ytus and Pairikas.
'We sacrifice unto Vana"n"t" 5, the star made by Mazda; for 6 the well-shapen strength, for the Victory, made by Ahura, for the crushing Ascendant, for the destruction of what distresses us, for the destruction of what persecutes us.
'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, whose eye-sight is sound 7.
13. 'For ten nights, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, mingles his shape
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with light, moving in the shape of a man of fifteen years of age 1, bright, with clear eyes, tall, full of strength, strong, and clever.
14. 'He is active as the first man 2 was; he goes on with the strength of the first man; he has the virility 3 of the first man.
15 4. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of male children, a troop of male children, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
16. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a golden-horned bull 5.
17. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of oxen, a herd of oxen, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
18. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
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19. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of horses, a troop of horses, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
20. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison 1.
21. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Dava Apaosha, in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
22. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya and the Dava Apaosha. They fight together, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! for three days and three nights. And then the Dava Apaosha proves stronger than the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya, he overcomes him.
23. 'And Ti"s"trya flees from the sea Vouru-Kasha, as far as a Hthr's 2 length. He cries out in woe and distress, the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya: "Woe is me, O Ahura Mazda! I am in distress, O Waters and Plants! O Fate and thou, Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Men do not worship me with a
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sacrifice in which I am invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names 1.
24. ' "If men had worshipped me with a sacrifice in which I had been invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, I should have taken to me the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers 2."
25. 'Then I, Ahura Mazda, offer up to the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya a sacrifice in which he is invoked by his own name, and I bring him the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers.
26 3. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and golden caparison.
27. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Dava Apaosha in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
28. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya, and the Dava Apaosha; they fight together, O Zarathu"s"tra! till the time of noon. Then the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya proves stronger than the Dava Apaosha, he overcomes him.
29. 'Then he goes from the sea Vouru-Kasha as far as a Hthra's length: "Hail!" cries the
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bright and glorious Ti"s"trya. "Hail unto me, O Ahura Mazda! Hail unto you, O waters and plants! Hail, O Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Hail will it be unto you, O lands! The life 1 of the waters will flow down unrestrained to the big-seeded 2 cornfields, to the small-seeded 3 pasture-fields, and to the whole of the material world!"
30. 'Then the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya goes back down to the sea Vouru-Kasha, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison 4.
31. 'He makes the sea boil up and down; he makes the sea stream this and that way; he makes the sea flow this and that way: all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over.
32. 'And the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the bright and glorious Satavasa rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha; and vapours rise up above Mount Us-hindu, that stands in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha 5.
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33. 'Then the vapours push forward, in the regular shape of clouds 1; they go following the wind, along the ways which Haoma traverses, the increaser of the world 2. Behind him travels the mighty wind, made by Mazda, and the rain, and the cloud, and the sleet, down to the several places, down to the fields, down to the seven Karshvares of the earth.
34. 'Apm Nap"t" 3, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! divides the waters amongst the countries in the material world, in company with the mighty wind, the Glory, made by the waters 4, and the Fravashis of the faithful 5.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Vii.
35. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who from the shining east, moves along his long winding course, along the path made by the gods, along the way appointed for him the
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watery way, at the will of Ahura Mazda, at the will of the Amesha-Spe"n"tas.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Viii.
36. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, whose rising is watched by men who live on the fruits of the year, by the chiefs of deep 1 understanding 2; by the wild beasts in the mountains, by the tame beasts that run in the plains; they watch him, as he comes up to the country for a bad year, or for a good year 3, (thinking in themselves): "How shall the Aryan countries be fertile?"
For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Ix.
37 4. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, swift-flying and swift-moving, who flies towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount "H"v"anva"n"t".
38. 'Ahura Mazda gave him assistance, and the Amesha-Spe"n"tas and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, pointed him the way: behind him went the
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tall Ashi"s" Vanguhi 1 and Pre"n"di 2 on her light chariot: always till, in his course, he reached Mount "H"v"anva"n"t" on the shining waters 3.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
X.
39. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who afflicts the Pairikas, who destroys the Pairikas, that Angra Mainyus flung to stop all the stars that have in them the seed of the waters 4.
40. 'Ti"s"trya afflicts them, he blows them away from the sea Vouru-Kasha; then the wind blows the clouds forward, bearing the waters of fertility, so that the friendly showers spread wide over, they spread helpingly and friendly over the seven Karshvares.
'For his brightness and glory, I will oar him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xi.
41. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long the standing waters, and the running spring-waters, the stream-waters, and the rain-waters:
42. ' "When will the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya rise up for us? When will the springs with a flow and overflow of waters, thick as a horse's shoulder, run to the beautiful places and fields, and to the
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pastures, even to the roots of the plants, that they may grow with a powerful growth?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xii.
43. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, who washes away all things of fear 1, stunts the growth of all.... 2, and brings health to all these creations, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xiii.
44. 'I will sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, whom Ahura Mazda has established as a lord and overseer above all stars 3, in the same way as he has established Zarathu"s"tra above men; whom neither Angra Mainyu, nor the Ytus and the Pairikas, nor the men Ytus 4 can deliver unto death, nor can all the Davas together prevail for his death.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
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Xiv.
45. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, to whom Ahura Mazda has given a thousand senses 1, and who is the most beneficent amongst the stars that have in them the seed of the waters:
46. 'Who moves in light with the stars that have in them the seed of the waters: he, from the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep, and salt of waters, goes to all the lakes, and to all the beautiful caves, and to all the beautiful channels 2, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
47. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! the waters flow down from the sea Vouru-Kasha, mother-like 3, friendly, and healing: he divides them amongst these countries, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied 4.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
Xv.
48. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long all the creatures of Spe"n"ta-Mainyu, those that live under the ground, and those that live above the ground; those that live in the waters, and those that live on dry land; those that fly, and those that run in the plains 5; and all those
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that live within this boundless and endless world of the holy Spirit.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard...
Xvi.
49. 'We sacrifice unto Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, the healthful, wise, happy, and powerful, who is the lord of a thousand boons, and grants many boons to that man who has pleased him, whether begging or not begging for them.
50. 'I, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! have created that star Ti"s"trya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda 1;
51. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Du"z"yirya 2, whom evil-speaking 3 people call Huyirya 4.
52. 'Had I not created that star Ti"s"trya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;
53. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Du"z"yirya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyirya;
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54. 'Then all day long, all night long, that Pairika Du"z"yirya would wage war against this material world of mine, wanting to extinguish its life 1, and she goes on, rushing upon and around it.
55. 'But the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya keeps that Pairika in bonds, with twofold bonds, with threefold bonds, that cannot be overcome, with bonds all over the body: it is as if there were a thousand men keeping one man in bonds, a thousand men of those who are the strongest in strength.
56. 'If the Aryan countries, O Spitama Zarathu"s"tra! would perform in honour of the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya the due sacrifice and invocation, just as that sacrifice and invocation ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness; never should a hostile horde enter these Aryan countries, nor any plague, nor leprosy, nor venomous plants 2, nor the chariot of a foe, nor the uplifted spear of a foe.'
57 3. Zarathu"s"tra asked: 'What is then, O Ahura Mazda! the sacrifice and invocation in honour of the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya, as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness?'
58. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him; let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white, or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same colour.
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59. 'Let not a murderer take of these offerings, nor a whore, nor a.... 1 who does not sing the Gths, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathu"s"tra.
60. 'If a murderer take of these offerings, or a whore, or a.... who does not sing the Gths, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathu"s"tra, then the bright and glorious Ti"s"trya takes back his healing virtues.
61. 'Plagues will ever pour upon the Aryan nations; hostile hordes will ever fall upon the Aryan nations; the Aryans will be smitten, by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by their thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.
62. 'Yath ah vairy: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of Ti"s"trya, the bright and glorious star, and of the powerful Satavasa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward.
'Ashem Voh: 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 2.'
Footnotes
92:1 (Plutarchus, de Iside et Osiride, 47; cf. infra, 48).
92:2 Srzah I, 13.
93:1 Doubtful.
93:2 The rain.
93:3 In his disguise as a horse; 18.
93:4 See Vend., pp. 3, 5, note 2.
93:5 Nma; see tudes Iraniennes, Ii, 124.
93:6 Cf. p. 47.
94:1 Powerfully.
94:2 Or, 'through whom the beauty of the waters comes from Bereza, and their seed from Apm Nap"t".' Bereza, the high, the tall, an epithet of Apm Nap"t", became one of his names (Ized Br"g"; cf. 34); for Apm Nap"t", see above, p. 6, note 1.
94:3 Paiti"s"mare"n"ti; cf. Yt. V, 123.
94:4 Or better, 'in their looking.'
94:5 See above, p. 54, note 6.
95:1 Mainivas"a"u" = mainyu-as"a"u" (meaning pun mn "g"vkh, svargasthnam, Yasna Lvii, 27 [lvi, 11, 3]).
95:2 Erekhsha khshviwi-ishu"s", in Pahlavi Ari"s" Shvtr (see tudes Iraniennes, Ii, 220), or 'Ari"s" of the swift arrow,' was the best archer in the Iranian army. When Mino"k"ihr and Afrsyab determined to make peace and to fix the boundary between Irn and Trn, 'it was stipulated that Ari"s" should ascend Mount Damvand, and from thence discharge an arrow towards the east; and that the place in which the arrow fell should form the boundary between the two kingdoms. Ari"s" thereupon ascended the mountain, and discharged towards the east an arrow, the flight of which continued from the dawn of day until noon, when it fell on the banks of the "G"ihn (the Oxus),' (Mirkhond, History of the Early Kings of Persia, trans. by David Shea, p. 175; cf. Noeldeke, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft, 1881, p. 445.)
95:3 Mount Khshaotha seems to be the same as Mount Damvand (see preceding note); Mount "H"v"anva"n"t" may be the same as Mount Bmn, from which the Balkh river springs, as according to Tabari (trans. by Noeldeke, l. l.), Ari"s"' arrow stopped at the Balkh river (an affluent of the Oxus). But it may be that the limits given refer to the course of Ti"s"trya; cf. 38, text and note.
95:4 Doubtful. Shooting stars are alluded to. Mr. Geiger remarks that there is a swarm of shooting stars falling every year just at the time when Ti"s"trya, in the European climate, is supposed to be most active, on the 10th of August.
96:1 See above, p. 66, note 3.
96:2 Satavasa is said to be the leader of the western stars (to be read southern stars, Bund. II, 7), and has in its protection the seas of the southern quarter (ibid. Xiii, 12); the Satavasa sea is the Persian gulf.
96:3 This seems to be an allusion to the tide in the Arabian sea (the sea Vouru-Kasha) and in the gulf of Oman, which, being a southern sea, is under the control of Satavasa (cf. preceding note and Vend. V, 18, note 1).
96:4 At the right time of the year when rain is expected.
97:1 Cf. 23-24 and Yt. X, 54-55, 74.
97:2 As Ti"s"trya is the producer of the rain: Ti"s"trynyas"k"a = Tistaratrakasya v"ri"sh"t"im; (Khorsh"d" Nyyi"s" 8, Sansk. tr.).
97:3 Ti"s"trya; cf. p. 105, note 3.
97:4 Haptiri"n"ga (Ursa Major) is the leader of the stars in the north (Bund. II, 7). It is 'entrusted with the gate and passage of hell, to keep back those of the nine, and ninety, and nine hundred, and nine thousand and nine myriad demons, and demonesses, and fairies (Pairikas) and sorcerers (Ytus) who are in opposition to the celestial sphere and constellations' (Minokhired Xlix, 15; tr. by Vest).
97:5 Vana"n"t" is the leader of the stars in the south (read west; Bund. II, 7). Cf. Yt. Xx.
97:6 To obtain.... This invocation is brought about by the very name of Vana"n"t", which means 'who smites, who overcomes.' The peculiar office of Vana"n"t" is to keep the passes and gates of Mount Albrz, around which the sun, the moon, and the stars revolve, and to prevent the Paris and Davas from cutting off and breaking the road of the sun (Minokhired Xlix, 12).
97:7 'I sacrifice to Ti"s"tar for (= to obtain) the soundness of the sight' (Khorsh"d" Nyyi"s" 8, Pahl. tr.).
98:1 The age of fifteen is the paradisiacal age in the Avesta (Yasna Ix, 5 [18]).
98:2 Gay maratan. But the translation is doubtful; possibly 'as a first-rate man is.'
98:3 Doubtful; cf. erezi, Yt. Xiv, 29.
98:4 Cf. Yt. V, 8.
98:5 Cf. Vend. Xix, 37 (123).
99:1 'Ti"s"tar was converted into three forms, the form of a man and the form of a horse and the form of a bull.... as the astrologers say that every constellation has three forms' (Bund. VII, 4; tr. West). Ti"s"trya promises his worshippers children ( 15), oxen ( 17), or horses ( 19), according as he appears in the form of a man ( 13), of a bull ( 16), or of a horse ( 18).
99:2 A mile (Bundahi"s" XXVI, 1; tr. West, note 1).
100:1 Cf. 10 and Yt. X, 54 seq., 74.
100:2 Cf. Vend. Introd. Iv, 27.
100:3 26-27 = 20-21.
101:1 Adhav; possibly 'the streams;' cf. Yt. V, 1, note 2. A month in the ancient Persian calendar, supposed to correspond to September-October, was called dukani, which might, on that hypothesis, mean '(the month) that makes streams spring up.'
101:2 Of which the representative is wheat (Bundahi"s" Xxiv, 19.).
101:3 Of which the representative is the summer vetch (ibid. 21).
101:4 Cf. 18.
101:5 'The Asindm mountain is that which, being of ruby, of the substance of the sky, is in the midst of the wide-formed ocean (the sea Vouru-Kasha),' (Bund. XII, 6; tr. West). Mount Asindm receives its waters through a golden channel from the height Hukairya (cf. Yt. V, 3); from there one portion flows forth to the ocean for the purification of the sea, and one portion drizzles in moisture upon the whole of this earth, and all the creations of p. 102 Aharmazd acquire health from it, and it dispels the dryness of the atmosphere' (ibid. Xiii, 5).
102:1 Doubtful.
102:2 Haoma opens the way for the waters from heaven, as being the foremost element in sacrifice (cf. 24). For the same reason the Bundahi"s" numbers Vohu-Man, 'Good Mind,' amongst the cooperators of Ti"s"trya.
102:3 See p. 6, note 1.
102:4 Or better, 'seated in the waters;' see Yt. XIX, 56 seq. and Yt. Xiii, 65.
102:5 The Fravashis are active in the world struggle; cf. Yt. Xiii, 43. 'Co-operators with T"s"tar were Vohman and the angel Hm, with the assistance of the angel Br"g" (the same as Apm Nap"t"; see p. 94, note 2) and the righteous guardian spirits in orderly arrangement' (Bundahi"s" VII, 3, tr. West).
103:1 Doubtful.
103:2 The chiefs of the state.
103:3 For good or bad harvest.
103:4 37 = 6.
104:1 See Yt. Xvii.
104:2 See above, p. 11, note 5.
104:3 Doubtful. Mount "H"v"anva"n"t", being situated in the sea Vouru-Kasha (as appears from Ti"s"trya travelling towards that sea, 38), seems to be the same with Mount Asindm ( 32).
104:4 Cf. above, 8.
105:1 Sim"a"u", meaning sahmgn, bhayamkara (Yasna Ix, 38 [93]).
105:2 ? Va"z"dri"s".
105:3 In the Bundahi"s" it is especially the leader of the eastern stars; but the Minokhired calls it the first star (xlix, 5; cf. above, 12).
105:4 See above, p. 38, note 3.
106:1 See Yt. X, 82, note.
106:2 Those of Ardvi Sara Anhita; cf. Yt. V, 4, 101.
106:3 Cf. Yt. V, 15.
106:4 Cf. 43.
106:5 See Yt. Xiii, 10, note; cf. Visprad I, 1, and Bundahi"s" XXIV, tr. West, note 1.
107:1 Cf. Yt. X, 1.
107:2 Bad year, that is to say, sterility, drought. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, also deprecates Du"z"yirya in one of his inscriptions: 'May Ahura Mazda keep this country from the hostile host, from sterility (du"s"iyra), from lying (disloyalty): may never the foreigner enter this country, nor the hostile host, nor sterility, nor lying' (Persepolis, H, 15).
107:3 People who object to rain and are fond of fine weather (?).
107:4 Good year.
108:1 Reading ava[-derenm]; cf. Vend. Xviii, 18 [45].
108:2 Kapasti is properly the colocynthis or bitter-apple:
'Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni
Occidet.' (Ecl. Iv, 24, 25.)
108:3 57-61 = Yt. Xiv, 49-53; cf. Yt. V, 89 seq.
109:1 ? Ashaov.
109:2 Cf. Yt. I, 33.
