The Zend Avesta, Part II (SBE23), James Darmesteter, tr. [1882], at sacred-texts.com
The Âbân Yast (or Yast of the Waters) is devoted to the great goddess of the waters, the celebrated Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, the Ἀναῖτις of the Greeks. Ardvi Sûra Anâhita ('the high, powerful, undefiled') is the heavenly spring from which all waters on the earth flow down; her fountains are on the top of the mythical mountain, the Hukairya, in the star region. Her descent from the heavens is described in §§ 85 seq.; it reminds one of the Indian legend of the celestial Gaṅgâ.
This Yast contains much valuable information about the historical legends of Iran, as it enumerates the several heroes who worshipped Ardvi Sûra and asked for her help. First of all is Ahura himself (§ 16); then came Haoshyangha (§21), Yima (§ 25), Azi Dahâka (§ 29), Thraêtaona (§ 33), Keresâspa (§ 37), Franghrasyan (§ 41), Kava Usa (§ 45), Husravah (§ 49), Tusa (§ 53). Vaêsaka's sons (§ 57), Vafra Navâza (§ 61), Gâmâspa (§ 68), Ashavazdah, the son of Pourudhâkhsti, and Ashavazdah and Thrita, the sons of Sâyuzdri (§ 72), Vistauru (§ 76), Yôista (§ 81); the Hvôvas and the Naotaras (§ 98), Zarathustra (§ 103), Kava Vîstâspa (§ 107), Zairivairi (§ 112), Aregat-aspa and Vandaremaini (§ 116).
This enumeration is interrupted by a description of the descent of Ardvi Sûra from the heavens (§§ 85-89), and of certain rules for her sacrifice given by herself to Zarathustra (§§ 90-97). This interruption may have been intentional, as it takes place just when
the course of the enumeration brings us to the times of Zarathustra and of the institution of the new religion.
The Yast is opened with a laudation of the benefits bestowed by Ardvi Sûra (§§ 1-16), and it closes with a description of her garments and apparel.
The first record of the worship of Ardvi Sûra is in a cuneiform inscription by Artaxerxes Mnemon (404-361), in which her name is corrupted into Anahata. Artaxerxes Mnemon appears to have been an eager promoter of her worship, as he is said 'to have first erected the statues of Venus-Anâhita (Ἀφροδίτης, Ἀναΐτιδος) in Babylon, Suza, and Ecbatana, and to have taught her worship to the Persians, the Bactrians, and the people of Damas and Sardes' (Clemens Alexandrinus, Protrept. 5, on the authority of Berosus; about 260 B.C.). My friend M. Halévy suggests to me that the detailed and circumstantial description of Anâhita's appearance and costume (in §§ 126-131) shows that the writer must have described her from a consecrated type of statuary.
The principal data of the Greek writers on Anâhita will be found in Windischmann's Essay (Die persische Anahita oder Anaïtis, 1856). One must be cautious in the use of the Greek sources, as the Greeks, with the eclectic turn of their mind, were inclined to confound under the name of Anâhita all the great female deities of Asia Minor, and her name became a common appellation for the Aphrodites as well as for the Artemides of the East.
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0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced! . . . .
Ashem Vohû: Holiness is the best of all good . . . .
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathustra, one who hates the Daêvas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Hâvani]. the holy and master of holiness . . .
Unto the good Waters, made by Mazda; unto the holy water-spring ARDVI ANÂHITA; unto all waters, made by Mazda; unto all plants, made by Mazda 1,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yathâ ahû vairyô: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness. . . .
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathustra, saying: 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, the wide-expanding 1 and health-giving, who hates the Daêvas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy of sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material world; the life-increasing 2 and holy, the herd-increasing and holy, the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy, the country-increasing and holy;
2. 'Who makes the seed of all males pure 3, who makes the womb of all females pure for bringing forth 4, who makes all females bring forth in safety, who puts milk into the breasts of all females in the right measure and the right duality;
3. 'The large river, known afar, that is as large as the whole of the waters that run along the earth; that runs powerfully from the height Hukairya 5 down to the sea Vouru-Kasha 6.
4. 'All the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are
boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over, when she runs down there, when she streams down there, she, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, who has a thousand cells and a thousand channels 1: the extent of each of those cells, of each of those channels is as much as a man can ride in forty days, riding on a good horse.
5. 'From this river of mine alone flow all the waters that spread all over the seven Karshvares; this river of mine alone goes on bringing waters, both in summer and in winter. This river of mine purifies the seed in males, the womb in females, the milk in females' breasts.
6. 'I, Ahura Mazda, brought it down with mighty vigour, for the increase of the house, of the borough, of the town, of the country, to keep them, to maintain them, to look over them, to keep and maintain them close.
7. 'Then Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, O Spitama Zarathustra! proceeded forth from the Maker Mazda. Beautiful were her white arms, thick as a horse's shoulder or still thicker; beautiful was her . . . . 2, and thus came she, strong, with thick arms, thinking thus in her heart:
8. ' "Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and well-strained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good will unto me? 3"
9. 'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her
a sacrifice worth being heard; I will offer up unto the holy Ardvi Sûra Anâhita a good sacrifice with an offering of libations;—thus mayest thou advise us when thou art appealed to! Mayest thou be most fully worshipped, O Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells, with the words, with the deeds, with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken words.
'Yênhê hâtãm 1: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda . . . .
10. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, the wide-expanding and health-giving, who hates the Daêvas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy of sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material world; the life-increasing and holy, the herd-increasing and holy, the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy, the country-increasing and holy 2;
11. 'Who drives forwards on her chariot, holding the reins of the chariot. She goes driving, on this chariot, longing for men 3 and thinking thus in her heart: "Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and well-strained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good will unto me?"
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice, worth being heard 4 . . . .
12. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita 1. . . .
13. 'Whom four horses carry, all white, of one and the same colour, of the same blood, tall, crushing down the hates of all haters, of the Daêvas and men, of the Yâtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, of the blind and of the deaf 2.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
14. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
15. 'Strong and bright, tall and beautiful of form, who sends down by day and by night a flow of motherly 3 waters as large as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and who runs powerfully 4.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . .
16. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
17. 'To her did the Maker Ahura Mazda offer up a sacrifice 5 in the Airyana Vaêgah, by the good river Dâitya 6; with the Haoma and meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells, with the words, with the deeds, with the libations, and with the rightly-spoken words 7.
18. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may bring the son of Pourushaspa, the holy Zarathustra, to think after my law, to speak after my law, to do after my law!"
19. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and begging that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
20. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
21. 'To her did Haoshyangha, the Paradhâta 1, offer up a sacrifice on the enclosure 2 of the Hara 3, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand lambs.
22. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daêvas and men, of the
[paragraph continues] Yâtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may smite down two thirds 1 of the Daêvas of Mâzana 2 and of the fiends of Varena 3."
23. Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . .
24. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
25. 'To her did Yima Khshaêta 4, the good shepherd, offer up a sacrifice from the height Hukairya 5, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
26. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daêvas and men, of the Yâtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may take from the Daêvas both
riches and welfare, both fatness and flocks, both weal and Glory 1."
27. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
28. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
29. 'To her did Azi Dahâka 2, the three-mouthed, offer up a sacrifice in the land of Bawri 3, with a
hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand lambs.
30. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this boon, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may make all the seven Karshvares of the earth empty of men."
31. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita did not grant him that boon, although he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating her that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
32. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
33. 'To her did Thraêtaona 1, the heir 2 of the valiant Âthwya clan, offer up a sacrifice in the four-cornered Varena 3, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
34. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may overcome Azi Dahâka, the three-mouthed, the three-headed, the six-eyed, who has a thousand senses 4, that most powerful, fiendish Drug,
that demon, baleful to the world, the strongest Drug that Angra Mainyu created against the material world, to destroy the world of the good principle 1; and that I may deliver his two wives, Savanghavâk and Erenavâk 2, who are the fairest of body amongst women, and the most wonderful creatures in the world 3."
35. Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . .
36. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
37. 'To her did Keresâspa 4, the manly-hearted, offer up a sacrifice behind the Vairi Pisanah 5, with a
hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
38. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may overcome the golden-heeled Gandarewa 1, though all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over; and that I may run up to the stronghold of the fiend on the wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar."
39. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . .
40. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
41. 'To her did the Turanian murderer, Frangrasyan 1, offer up a sacrifice in his cave under the earth 2, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
42. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may seize hold of that Glory 3, that is waving in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha 3 and
that belongs to the Aryan people, to those born and to those not yet born, and to the holy Zarathustra."
43. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita did not grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
44. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
45. 'To her did the great, most wise Kavi Usa 1 offer up a sacrifice from Mount Erezifya 2, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
46. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daêvas and men, of the Yâtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf."
47. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
48. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
49. 'To her did the gallant Husravah 3, he who
united the Aryan nations into one kingdom 1, offer up a sacrifice behind the Kaêkasta lake 2, the deep lake, of salt waters 3, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
50. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may become the sovereign lord of all countries, of Daêvas and men, of the Yâtus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may have the lead in front of all the teams 4 and that he may not pass through 5 the forest 6, he, the murderer 7, who now is fiercely 8 striving against me 9 on horseback 10."
51. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
52. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sara Anâhita . . . .
53. 'To her did the valiant warrior Tusa 11 offer
worship on the back of his horse 1, begging swiftness for his teams, health for his own body, and that he might, watch with full success 2 those who hated him, smite down his foes, and destroy at one stroke his adversaries, his enemies, and those who hated him 3.
54. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may overcome the gallant sons of Vaêsaka 4, by the castle Khshathrô-saoka, that stands high up on the lofty, holy Kangha 5; that I may smite of the Turanian people their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads."
55. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon 6, as he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
56. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
57. 'To her did the gallant sons of Vaêsaka offer up a sacrifice in the castle Khshathrô-saoka, that stands high up on the lofty, holy Kangha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
58. 'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that we may overcome the valiant warrior Tusa, and that we may smite of the Aryan people their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads 1."
59. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita did not grant them that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
60. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
61. 'The old 2 Vafra Navâza worshipped her, when the strong fiend-smiter, Thraêtaona, flung him up in the air in the shape of a bird, of a vulture 3.
62. 'He went on flying, for three days and three nights, towards his own house; but he could not, he could not turn down. At the end of the third night, when the beneficent dawn came dawning up, then he prayed unto Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, saying:
63. ' "Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! do thou quickly hasten helpfully and bring me assistance at once. I will offer thee a thousand libations, cleanly prepared and well strained, along with Haomas and meat, by the brink of the river Rangha, if I reach alive the earth made by Ahura and my own house."
64. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girded, pure, nobly born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle, wearing a golden . . . . 1, and radiant 2.
65. 'She seized him by the arm: quickly was it done, nor was it long till, speeding, he arrived at the earth made by Mazda and at his own house, safe, unhurt, unwounded, just as he was before.
[66. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, entreating that she would grant him that boon 3.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
67. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . .
68. 'To her did Gâmâspa 1 offer up a sacrifice, with a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, when he saw the army of the wicked, of the worshippers of the Daêvas, coming from afar in battle array.
69. 'He asked of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may be as constantly victorious as any one of all the Aryans 2."
70. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . .
71. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
72. 'To her did Ashavazdah, the son of
[paragraph continues] Pourudhâkhsti 1, and Ashavazdah and Thrita, the sons of Sâyuzdri 2, offer up a sacrifice, with a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, by Apãm Napât, the tall lord, the lord of the females, the bright and swift-horsed 3.
73. 'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that we may overcome the assemblers of the Turanian Dânus 4, Kara Asabana 5, and Vara Asabana, and the most mighty Dûraêkaêta, in the battles of this world 6.
74. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted them that boon, as they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant them that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
75. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
76. 'Vistauru, the son of Naotara 7, worshipped
her by the brink of the river Vîtanghuhaiti 1, with well-spoken words, speaking thus:
77. ' "This is true, this is truly spoken, that I have smitten as many of the worshippers of the Daêvas as the hairs I bear on my head. Do thou then, O Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! leave me a dry passage, to pass over the good Vîtanghuhaiti."
78. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girded, pure, nobly born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle, with all sorts of ornaments and radiant 2. A part of the waters she made stand still, a part of the waters she made flow forward, and she left him a dry passage to pass over the good Vîtanghuhaiti 3.
[79. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon 4.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
80. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .'
81. 'To her did Yôista, one of the Fryanas 5,
offer up a sacrifice with a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs on the Pedvaêpa 1 of the Rangha.
82. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may overcome the evil-doing Akhtya, the offspring of darkness, and that I may answer the ninety-nine hard riddles that he asks me maliciously, the evil-doing Akhtya, the offspring of darkness."
83. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
84. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
85. 'Whom Ahura Mazda the merciful ordered thus, saying: "Come, O Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, come from those stars 2 down to the earth made by Ahura,
that the great lords may worship thee, the masters of the countries, and their sons.
86. ' "The men of strength 1 will beg of thee swift horses and supremacy of Glory.
' "The Âthravans who read 2 and the pupils of the Âthravans will beg of thee knowledge and prosperity, the Victory made by Ahura, and the crushing Ascendant.
87. ' "The maids of barren womb 3, longing for a lord 3, will beg of thee a strong husband;
' "Women, on the point of bringing forth, will beg of thee a good delivery.
' "All this wilt thou grant unto them, as it lies in thy power, O Ardvi Sûra Anâhita!"
88. 'Then Ardvi Sûra Anâhita came forth, O Zarathustra! down from those stars to the earth made by Mazda; and Ardvi Sûra Anâhita spake thus:
89. "O pure, holy Zarathustra! Ahura Mazda has established thee as the master of the material world: Ahura Mazda has established me to keep the whole of the holy creation.
' "Through my brightness and glory flocks and herds and two-legged men go on, upon the earth: I, forsooth, keep all good things, made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle, just as a shepherd keeps his flock."
90. 'Zarathustra asked Ardvi Sûra Anâhita: "O Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship thee? With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship and forward thee? So that Mazda may make thee run down (to the earth), that
he may not make thee run up into the heavens, above the sun 1; and that the Serpent 2 may not injure thee with . . . . 3, with . . . . 4, with . . . . 5, and . . . . poisons 6."
91. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita answered: "O pure, holy Spitama! this is the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship me, this is the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship and forward me, from the time when the sun is rising to the time when the sun is setting.
' "Of this libation of mine thou shalt drink, thou who art an Âthravan, who hast asked and learnt the revealed law, who art wise, clever, and the Word incarnate.
92. ' "Of this libation of mine let no foe drink, no man fever-sick, no liar, no coward, no jealous one, no woman, no faithful one who does not sing the Gâthas, no leper to be confined 7.
93. ' "I do not accept those libations that are drunk in my honour by the blind, by the deaf, by the wicked, by the destroyers, by the niggards, by the . . . . 8, nor any of those stamped with those characters which have no strength for the holy Word 9.
' "Let no one drink of these my libations who is hump-backed or bulged forward; no fiend with decayed teeth 1."
94. 'Then Zarathustra asked Ardvi Sûra Anâhita "O Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! What becomes of those libations which the wicked worshippers of the Daêvas bring unto thee after the sun has set 2?"
95. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita answered: "O pure, holy Spitama Zarathustra! howling, clapping, hopping, and shouting 3, six hundred and a thousand Daêvas, who ought not to receive that sacrifice 4, receive those libations 5 that men bring unto me after [the sun has set] 6."
96. 'I will worship the height Hukairya, of the deep precipices 7, made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Sûra Anâhita leaps, from a hundred times the height of a man 8, while she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and she runs powerfully 9.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
97. Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sara Anâhita . . . .
98. 'Before whom the worshippers of Mazda
stand with baresma in their hands: the Hvôvas did worship her, the Naotaras did worship her 1; the Hvôvas asked for riches, the Naotaras asked for swift horses. Quickly was Hvôva blessed with riches and full prosperity; quickly became Vîstâspa, the Naotaride, the lord of the swiftest horses in these countries 2
99. ['Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted them that boon, as they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant them that boon 3.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
100. Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
101. 'Who has a thousand cells and a thousand channels: the extent of each of those cells, of each of those channels, is as much as a man can ride in forty days, riding on a good horse 4. In each channel there stands a palace, well-founded, shining with a hundred windows, with a thousand columns, well-built, with ten thousand balconies, and mighty.
102. 'In each of those palaces there lies a well-laid, well-scented bed, covered with pillows, and
[paragraph continues] Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, O Zarathustra! runs down there from a thousand times the height of a man, and she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and she runs powerfully 1.
103. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
104. 'Unto her did the holy Zarathustra offer up a sacrifice in the Airyana Vaêgah, by the good river Dâitya; 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 2.
105. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may bring the son of Aurvat-aspa 3, the valiant Kavi Vîstâspa, to think according to the law, to speak according to the law, to do according to the law 4."
106. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
107. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
108. 'Unto her did the tall 1 Kavi Vîstâspa 2 offer up a sacrifice behind Lake Frazdânava 3, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
109. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may overcome Tãthravant, of the bad law, and Peshana, the worshipper of the Daêvas, and the wicked Aregat-aspa 4, in the battles of this world!"
110. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
111. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
112. 'Unto her did Zairi-vairi 1, who fought on horseback, offer up a sacrifice behind the river Dâitya 2, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
113. 'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that I may overcome Peshô-Kangha the corpse-burier 3, Humâyaka 4 the worshipper of the Daêvas, and the wicked Aregat-aspa 5, in the battles of this world.
114. Ardvi Sûra Anâhita granted him that boon 6, as he was offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
115. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
116. 'Unto her did Aregat-aspa and Vandaremaini 7
offer up a sacrifice by the sea Vouru-Kasha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
117. 'They 1 begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! that we may conquer the valiant Kavi Vîstâspa and Zairivairi who fights on horseback, and that we may smite of the Aryan people their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads."
118. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita did not grant them 2 that favour, though they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she should grant them that favour.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
119. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
120. 'For whom Ahura Mazda has made four horses—the wind, the rain, the cloud, and the sleet—and thus ever 3 upon the earth it is raining, snowing, hailing, and sleeting; and whose armies are so many and numbered by nine-hundreds and thousands.
121. 'I will worship the height Hukairya, of the
deep precipices, made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Sûra Anâhita leaps, from a hundred times the height of a man, while she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and she runs powerfully 1.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
122. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
123. 'She stands, the good Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, wearing a golden mantle 2, waiting for a man who shall offer her libations and prayers, and thinking thus in her heart:
124. ' "Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and well-strained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good will unto me 3?"
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
325. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathustra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita . . . .
126. 'Ardvi Sûra Anâhita, who stands carried forth in the shape of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girded, pure, nobly born of
a glorious race 1, wearing along her . . . . 2 a mantle fully embroidered with gold;
127. 'Ever holding the baresma in her hand, according to the rules, she wears square golden earrings on her ears bored 3, and a golden necklace around her beautiful neck, she, the nobly born Ardvi Sûra Anâhita; and she girded her waist tightly, so that her breasts may be well-shaped, that they may be tightly pressed 4.
128. 'Upon her head Ardvi Sûra Anâhita bound a golden crown, with a hundred stars 5, with eight rays, a fine . . . . 6, a well-made crown, in the shape of a . . . . 7, with fillets streaming down.
129. 'She is clothed with garments of beaver 8, Ardvi Sûra Anâhita; with the skin of thirty beavers of those that bear four young ones, that are the finest kind of beavers; for the skin of the beaver that lives in water is the finest-coloured of all skins, and when worked at the right time it shines to the eye with full sheen of silver and gold.
130. 'Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! I beg of thee this favour: that I, fully blessed, may conquer large kingdoms, rich in horses 9, with high tributes, with snorting horses, sounding chariots, flashing swords, rich in aliments, with stores of food, with well-scented beds 10; that I may have
at my wish the fulness of the good things of life and whatever makes a kingdom thrive 1.
131. 'Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! I beg of thee two gallant companions, one two-legged and one four-legged 2: one two-legged, who is swift, quickly rushing, and clever in turning a chariot round in battle; and one four-legged, who can quickly turn towards either wing of the host with a wide front, towards the right wing or the left, towards the left wing or the right.
132. 'Through the strength of this sacrifice, of this invocation, O Ardvi Sûra Anâhita! come down from those stars 3, towards the earth made by Ahura, towards the sacrificing priest, towards the full boiling [milk 4]; come to help him who is offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that thou wouldst grant him thy favours; that all those gallant warriors may be strong, like king Vîstâspa.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice . . . .
133. 'Yathâ ahû vairyô: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness . . . .
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of the holy water-spring Anâhita.
'Ashem Vohû: 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!'
53:1 Sîrôzah I, 10.
54:1 'As she comes down to all places' (Phl. tr. ad Yasna LXV, 1 [LXVI, 2]).
54:2 Âdhu, translated gân; 'she makes life longer' (Aspendiârji). Perhaps âdhu will be better translated springs, rivers (reading gûy instead of gân; cf. Yt. VIII, 29).
54:3 'Pure and sound, without blood and filth' (Phl. tr.).
54:4 'So that it may conceive again' (Phl. tr.).
54:5 'Hûgar the lofty is that from which the water of Arêdvîvsûr leaps down the height of a thousand men' (Bundahis XII, 5, tr. West); cf. infra, §§ 96, 121, 126; Yt. XIII, 24. The Hukairya is mentioned again § 25 and Yt. IX, 8; Yt. X, 88; Yt. XV, 15; Yt. XVII, 28. It appears to be situated in the west (Bundahis XXIV, 17; II, 7; Minokhired XLIV, 12).
54:6 The earth-surrounding Ocean; cf. Vendîdâd V, 15 (49) seq., text and notes.
55:1 See the description § 101 seq.
55:2 Zaosa or zusa, an ἅπαξ λεγόμενον, seems to designate a part of the body; cf. § 126.
55:3 Cf. §§ 11, 124.
56:1 As above, p. 30; § 9 is repeated at the end of every chapter.
56:2 § 10 = § 2.
56:3 Viz. for their worshipping; cf. Yasna XXIII, 2 [5], paitismareñti = Phl. hûmîtînît, they hope, they expect. Cf. § 123.
56:4 As above, § 9.
57:1 As above, § 10.
57:3 Doubtful; cf. Yt. VIII, 47.
57:4 Cf. above, § 3.
57:5 Cf. Vend. Introd. IV, 9, 40. This is the heavenly prototype of the Mazdean sacrifice as it was later shown to men by Zarathustra; cf. § 101.
57:6 Cf. Yt. I, 4 and notes.
57:7 Cf. Yt. III, 18.
58:1 Haoshyangha was the first king of the Paradhâta (Pêshdâdyan) dynasty (cf. above, p. 7, note 2, and Bundahis XXXI, 1). It is related in Firdausi's Shâh Nâmah that he was the grandson of Gayomarth, the first man and king, and the son of Syâmak; that his father having been killed by the black Dîv, he encountered him at the head of an army of lions, tigers, birds, and Paris, and destroyed him; he then succeeded his grandfather, and reigned supreme over the seven Keshvars of the earth.
58:2 Doubtful: upabda = upabanda, as thribda (Yt. VIII, 55) = thribanda; it appears from Yt. XV, 7 that the place meant here is the Taêra which is said in the Bundahis (V, 7) to be surrounded by the Albôrz (the Hara).
58:3 The Hara berezaiti or Albôrz, in Mâzandarân, south of the Caspian Sea, was supposed to surround the earth; cf. Yt. X, 56.
59:1 A formula frequently used, not only in the Avesta, but also in the Shâh Nâmah.
59:2 The Daêvas in Mâzandarân. Mâzandarân was held a place of resort for demons and sorcerers, and was in the Iranian legend nearly the same as Ceylon is in the Râmâyana. The Damâvand mountain, to which Azi Dahâka was bound, is the southern boundary of Mâzandarân.
59:3 See Vend. Introd. IV, 23; cf. this Yast, § 33.
59:4 Yima Khshaêta (Gemshîd), as an earthly king, ruled over the world for a thousand years, while he made immortality reign in it (Yt. IX, 8; XV, 15; cf. Vendîdâd II, Introd.).
59:5 See above, § 3.
60:1 After his brother Takhma Urupa, who reigned before him, had been killed and devoured by Angra Mainyu (Yt. IV, 11, note).
60:2 When Yima began to sin and lost the Hvarenô (Glory), he was overthrown by Azi Dahâka (Zohâk), who seized the power and reigned in his place for a thousand years (cf. Yt. XIX, 33 seq.).
Azi Dahâka, literally 'the fiendish snake,' was first a mythical personage; he was the 'snake' of the storm-cloud, and a counterpart of the Vedic Ahi or Vritra. He appears still in that character in Yast XIX seq., where he is described struggling for the Hvarenô against Âtar (Fire), in the sea Vourukasha (Vendîdâd, Introd. IV, 38; cf. this Yast, § 90). His struggle with Yima Khshaêta bore at first the same mythological character, 'the shining Yima' being originally, like the Vedic Yama, a solar hero: when Yima was turned into an earthly king, Azi underwent the same fate. In the Shâh Nâmah he is described as a man with two snakes springing from his shoulders: they grew there through a kiss of Ahriman's. For the myths referring to Azi, see Ormazd et Ahriman, §§ 91-95.
60:3 Babylon (cf. Yt. XV, 19). The usurper Azi, being a non-Aryan, was identified with the hereditary foe, the Chaldæans: the name of Babylon united in it, at the same time, a dim historical record of the old Assyrian oppression, then shaken off and forgotten, and an actual expression of the national antipathy of the Iranians for their Semitic neighbours in Chaldæa. After the conquest of Persia by the Musulmans, Azi was turned at last into an Arab. The original seat of the Azi myths was on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea (Études Iraniennes, II, 210).
61:1 Thraêtaona (Ferîdûn), son of Âthwya, conquered Azi and bound him to Mount Damâvand, where he is to stay till the end of the world, when he shall be let loose and then killed by Keresâspa (Vendîdâd, Introd. IV, 12, 18; Bauman Yast III, 55 seq.; Bund. XXIX, 8 seq.).
61:2 Vîsô-puthra = Pahlavi barbîtâ (see Études Iraniennes, II, 139).
61:3 Cf. Vend. I, 18 and Introd. IV, 12. Modern tradition supposes Varena to have been the region of Ghilan (very likely on account of its proximity to Mâzandarân and Mount Damavand).
61:4 See Yt. X, 82, note.
62:1 Cf. Yt. XIX, 37.
62:2 The two daughters of Yima, who had been ravished by Azi: they are called in the Shâh Nâmah Shahrinâz and Arnavâz (see Études Iraniennes, II, 213, Savanghavâk et Erenavâk). Thraêtaona delivered them, and then married them; he had a son, Airyu, from Arnavâz, and two sons from Shahrinâz, Tura and Sairima; Airyu, Tura, and Sairima became the kings of Irân, Tûrân, and Rûm.
62:3 Cf. Yt. IX, 14; XV, 24; XVII, 34.
62:4 Keresâspa (Garshâsp), one of the greatest heroes in the Avestean romance, although Firdausi has all but passed him over in silence. See his feats, Yt. XIX, 38 seq.; cf. Yt. V, 2 7 seq.; Yasna IX, 10 (29); Vend. I, 10 (36).
62:5 The Pisîn valley, south of Cabool. It was in the land of Cabool that the Keresâspa legend had its rise, or at least it was localised there. It is in the plain near the Pisîn valley that Keresâspa lies asleep, till the end of the world comes (see Yt. XIII, 61, note).
63:1 A Parsi poem, of a very late date, gives further details about Gandarewa. It was a monster who lived 'in the sea, on the mountain, and in the valley;' he was called Pâshnah zarah, because the sea did not go above his heel (a misinterpretation of his Avestean epithet zairi pâshna, golden-heeled, the Zend zairi being mistaken for the Persian zarah
, sea); his head would rise to the sun and rub the sky; he could swallow up twelve men at once. Keresâspa fought him for nine days and nine nights together; he drew him at last from the bottom of the sea and smashed his head with his club: when he fell on the ground, many countries were spoiled by his fall (Spiegel, Die traditionnelle Literatur der Parsen, P. 339, and West, Pahlavi Texts, II, pp. 369 seq.).
In the Vedic mythology the Gandharva is the keeper of Soma, and is described now as a god, now as a fiend, according as he is a heavenly Soma-priest or a jealous possessor who grudges it to man. What was the original form of the myth in Mazdeism is not clear. In the Shâh Nâmah he appears as the minister of Azi Dahâka. Cf. Yt. XV, 27 seq., and Ormazd et Ahriman, pp. 99, note 5; 215, note 1.
64:1 Frangrasyan (Afrâsyâb) was king of Tûrân for two hundred years. The perpetual struggle between Irân and Tûrân, which lasts to this day, was represented in the legend by the deadly and endless wars between Afrâsyâb and the Iranian kings from Minokihr down to Kai Khosrav (Kavi Husravah). The chief cause of the feud was the murder of Syâvakhsh (Syâvarshâna) by Afrâsyâb; Syâvakhsh, son of Kai Kaus (Kava Usa), having been exiled by his father, at the instigation of his mother-in-law, took refuge with Afrâsyâb, who received him with honour, and gave him his daughter in marriage: but the fortune of Syâvakhsh raised the jealousy of Afrâsyâb's brother, Karsîvaz (Keresavazda), who by means of calumnious accusations extorted from Afrâsyâb an order for putting him to death (see Yt. XIX, 77). Syâvakhsh was revenged by his son, Kai Khosrav, the grandson of Afrâsyâb (Yt. IX, 22).
64:2 Hankanê: Firdausi speaks of a cave on the top of a mountain, near Barda (on the frontier of Adarbaigân), where Afrâsyâb, when defeated, took refuge, and was discovered by Kai Khosrav; that cave was called 'the cave of Afrâsyâb' (hang i Afrâsiâb; Shâh Nâmah, IV, 196). In an older form of the legend, that cave was a palace built under-ground, with walls of iron and a hundred columns: its height was a thousand times a man's size (Aogemaidê, § 61; cf. Bund. XII, 20: see etudes Iraniennes, II, 225, Le Hang d’Afrâsyâb).
64:3 Yt. XIX, 56 seq.
65:1 Kavi Usa (Kai Kaus), the son of Kavi Kavâta (Kai Kobâd) and the father of Syâvakhsh (see p. 64, note 1), was the second king of the Kayanian dynasty.
65:2 Mount Erezifya has been supposed to be the same as the Sariphi Montes in Ptolemaeus, which stretch between Margiana and Ariana (Burnouf, Commentaire sur le Yasna, p. 436).
65:3 Kai Khosrav; cf. p. 64, notes 1 and 2.
66:1 Doubtful.
66:2 A lake in Adarbaigân, with salt water: fish cannot live in it (Bundahis XXII, 2). It is the same as Lake Urumiah. Its name is miswritten in Firdausi (Khangast for Kêgast,
for
).
66:3 Doubtful; see Études Iraniennes, II, uruyâpa, p. 179.
66:4 In pursuing his adversary.
66:5 Doubtful (cf. Yt. XV, 32).
66:6 The White Forest (ibid.).
66:7 Aurvasâra (ibid.).
66:8 Doubtful.
66:9 Trying to flee and escape.
66:10 Possibly, 'vieing in horses' (for the swiftness of the race): cf. Yt. XIX, 77.
66:11 Tusa, in the Shâh Nâmah Tus; one of the most celebrated Pahlavans of Kai Khosrav; he was the son of king Naotara. (Nôdar).
67:1 He offers not a full sacrifice, being on horseback.
67:2 Not to be taken by surprise.
67:3 Cf. Yt. X, II, 94, 114.
67:4 Vaêsaka was the head of the Vîsah family, whose foremost member was Pîrân Vîsah, the clever and upright minister of Afrâsyâb, the Turanian Nestor; but his counsels were despised for the common ruin, and himself perished with all his sons in the war against Irân.
67:5 Kangha was a town founded by Syâvarshâna, during his exile, in a part of the land of Khvârizm, which is described as an earthly paradise. This city was built on the top of a high mountain (Antare-Kangha, Yt. XIX, 4). The Khshathrô-saoka castle is called in the Shâh Nâmah Kang dez, 'the fortress of Kangha;' and, possibly, Khshathrô-saoka is a mere epithet of dvarem, 'the castle of kingly welfare.'
67:6 According to the Shâh Nâmah, Kang dez was stormed by Kai Khosrav himself.
68:1 Cf. §§ 53-54.
68:2 Doubtful (pourvô); perhaps 'the man of the primitive faith' (the paoiryô-tkaêsha; cf. Yt. XIII, 0, note): the sacrifice he offers is quite a Zoroastrian one (cf. §§ 17, 104, and note 2 to the latter).
68:3 An allusion is made here to a myth, belonging to the Thraêtaona cyclus, of which no other trace is found in the Avesta (except in Yt. XXIII, 4). It referred most likely to the time when p. 69 Thraêtaona, on his march to Bawri, the capital of Azi (cf. § 29), arrived at the Tigris (the Rangha); an angel then came and taught him magic to enable him to baffle the sortileges of Azi (Shah Nâmah). We have in this passage an instance of his talents as a wizard, and one which helps us to understand why Thraêtaona is considered as the inventor of magic, and his name is invoked in spells and incantations (Hamzah Ispahanensis, p. 101; Anquetil, II, pp. 135 seq.). Cf. Yt. XIV, 40 and note.
69:1 Urvîkhsna, a word of doubtful meaning.
69:2 Cf. Yt. V, 78, 126.
69:3 This clause is no doubt spurious here.
70:1 Gâmâspa, the prime minister of Vîstâspa (Kai Gûstâsp), appears here in the character of a warrior, though generally he is described as a sage and a prophet (Yasna XLIX [XLVIII], 9; LI [L], 8; Zardûst Nâmah; yet cf. Yt. XXIII, 2). The Shâh Nâmah has an episode which recalls this one, although very different in its spirit, and more in accordance with the general character of Gâmâspa. At the moment when the two armies meet together, Gûstâsp asks Gâmâsp to reveal to him the issue of the encounter: Gâmâsp obeys reluctantly, as the issue is to be fatal to the Iranians. Gâmâsp belonged to the Hvôva family.
70:2 Or, 'as all the rest of the Aryans together.'
71:1 Cf. Yt. XIII, 112. Ashavazdah, the son of Pourudhâkhsti, is one of the immortals who will come forth to help Saoshyant in the final struggle (Bundahis XXIX, 6; Yt. XIX, 95).
71:2 Cf. Yt. XIII, 113.
71:4 A Turanian tribe, Yt. XIII, 37-38.
71:5 Asabana is very likely an epithet; possibly, 'who kills with a stone' (asan-ban); the sling was, as it seems, the favourite weapon of the Dânus (Yt. XIII, 38).
71:6 This section is the only fragment left of the legend of Ashavazdah, which must have been an important one, since Ashavazdah is one of the immortals (Yt. XIX, 95).
71:7 Cf. Yt. XIII, 102. Vistauru, being the son of Naotara, is the brother of Tusa, which identifies him with the Gustahm (
) in the Shâh Nâmah: Nôdar had two sons, Tus and Gustahm.
72:1 A river not mentioned elsewhere.
72:2 Cf. §§ 64, 226.
72:3 Firdausi has no mention of this episode.
72:4 Spurious.
72:5 This legend is fully told in the Pahlavi tale of Gôsti Fryân (edited and translated by West): a sorcerer, named Akht, comes with an immense army to the city of the enigma-expounders, threatening to make it a beaten track for elephants, if his enigmas are not solved. A Mazdayasnian, named Gôsti Fryân, guesses the p. 73 thirty-three riddles proposed by Akht; then, in his turn, he proposes him three riddles which the sorcerer is unable to guess, and, in the end, he destroys him by the strength of a Nîrang. Cf. Yt. XIII, 220. This tale, which belongs to the same widespread cycle as the myth of Oedipus and the Germanic legend of the Wartburg battle, is found in the Zarathustra legend too (Vendîdâd XIX, 4).
73:1 Perhaps an affluent of the Rangha (cf. Yt. XIII, 29, 29; XV, 27).
73:2 Between the earth and the region of infinite light there are three intermediate regions, the star region, the moon region, and the sun region. The star region is the nearest to the earth, and the sun region is the remotest from it. Ardvi Sûra has her seat in the star region (Yasna LXV [LXIV], 1; Phl. tr.); cf. Yt. V, 132.
74:1 The warriors.
74:2 To teach.
74:3 Doubtful.
75:1 When the beds of the rivers are dry, the cause is that Ardvi Sûra sends up her waters to the higher heavens (to the sun region) instead of sending them down to the earth (cf. p. 73, note 2).
75:2 The serpent, Azi, is here Azi in his original naturalistic character, the storm-fiend (cf. Vend. Introd. IV, 38 and this Yast, § 29, note). The uncleanness and unhealthiness of the rivers are ascribed to his poison.
75:3 Arethna, an ἅπαξ λεγόμενον.
75:4 Vawzaka, idem.
75:5 Varenva, idem.
75:6 Varenva poisons.
75:7 Cf. Vend. II, 29.
75:8 ? Ranghau.
75:9 Which incapacitate one for religious works.
76:1 Cf. Vend. II, 29.
76:2 Cf. Vend. VII, 79 and note 2; cf. above, § 91.
76:3 For joy. The translations of those several words are not certain.
76:4 Doubtful.
76:5 Perhaps, those cups (yamau).
76:6 Filled up from § 94.
76:7 The text here has vîspô-vahmem, 'worthy of all prayer;' the reading vîspô-vaêmem from Yt. XII, 24 seems to be better.
76:8 Cf. §§ 102, 121.
76:9 Cf. §§ 4, 102, 121.
77:1 The Hvôva or Hvôgva family plays as great a part in the religious legend, as the Naotara family in the heroic one. Two of the Hvôvas, Frashaostra and Gâmâspa, were among the first disciples of Zarathustra and the prophet married Frashaostra's daughter, Hvôgvi (cf. Yt. XIII, 139). For the Naotaras, see above, §§ 53, 76. According to the Bundahis, Vîstâspa did not belong to the Naotara family (XXXI, 28): perhaps he was considered a Naotaride on account of his wife Hutaosa, who was one (Yt. XV, 35).
77:2 His very name means 'He who has many horses.'
77:3 Spurious.
77:4 Cf. § 4.
78:1 Cf. § 96.
78:2 Cf. § 17. It is to be noticed that only Ahura and Zarathustra (and perhaps Vafra Navâza; see p. 68, note 2) offer the pure Zoroastrian sacrifice.
78:3 Called Lôhrâsp in Parsi tradition.
78:4 Cf. § 18. The conversion of Vîstâspa by Zarathustra is the turning-point in the earthly history of Mazdeism, as the conversion of Zarathustra by Ahura himself is in its heavenly history. Cf. Yt. XXIV and IX, 26.
79:1 Berezaidhi, translated buland (Yasna LVII, 11 [LVI, 5, 2]).
79:2 See Yt. XIII, 99; V, 98, 105.
79:3 A lake in Seistan (Bundahis XXII, 5); from that lake will rise Hôshêdar Bâmî (Ukhshyat-ereta), the first of the three sons of Zarathustra, not yet born (Bahman Yast III, 13; cf. Yt. XIII, 98).
79:4 Of these three, Aregat-aspa alone is known to Firdausi; he is the celebrated Argâsp, who waged a deadly war against Gûstâsp to suppress the new religion: he stormed Balkh, slaughtered Lôhrâsp and Zartûst (Zarathustra), and was at last defeated and killed by Gûstâsp's son, Isfendyâr. He is the Afrâsyâb of the Zoroastrian period. In the Avesta he is not called a Turanian (Tura), but a Hvyaona; see Yt. IX, 30.
80:1 Zarîr in Firdausi, the brother of Vîstâspa; cf. Yt. V, 117; XIII, 101.
80:2 The Araxes (Vendîdâd I, 3).
80:3 Doubtful (cf. Vend. III, 36 seq.).
80:4 This is perhaps an epithet to Peshô-Kangha, 'the most malicious.'
80:6 If we may trust the Shâh Nâmah, she did not grant her favour to the last, as Zarîr was killed by one of the generals of Argâsp, Bîdirafsh.
80:7 A brother of Argâsp's: his name is slightly altered in Firdausi (Andarîmân miswritten for Vandarîmân,
for
.); see Études Iraniennes, p. 228).
81:1 The text has the singular here and in the rest of the sentence: the names of the two brothers form a sort of singular dvandva; cf. Franghrasyanem Keresavazdem (Yt. XIX, 77); Ashavazdanghô Thritahê (Yt. XIII, 113; and same Yast, 115), and in the present passage Vîstâspô Zairivairis (see Études Iraniennes, II, 229).
81:2 Both were killed by Isfendyâr (Shâh Nâmah).
81:3 Mîsti translated hamêsak, sadâ (Yt. VII, 4).
82:1 § 121 = §§ 96, 102.
82:2 Paitidâna, a mantle, a tunic (Vend. XIV, 9 [28]).
82:3 See §§ 8, 11.
83:1 Cf. §§. 64, 78.
83:2 Zaosa; cf. § 7, note 2.
83:3 Doubtful (sispemna, from
).
83:4 Doubtful.
83:5 Gems.
83:6 ? Anupôithwaitim.
83:7 ? Ratha; the usual meaning of ratha is 'a chariot;' perhaps the round shape of the chest of a chariot is meant.
83:8 Possibly otter, Vend. XIV.
83:9 Doubtful.
83:10 Cf. Yt. XVII, 7.
84:1 The translation of the last clause is doubtful.
84:2 A good horse and a good driver.
84:3 Cf. §§ 85, 88.
84:4 Aspendiârji ad Vend. XIX, 40 [133]