The Zend Avesta, Part III

Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 31

translated by L.H. Mills

[1887]

This is part III of the Sacred Books of the East Zend Avesta, translated by L.H. Mills, who took up the task after James Darmesteter, the translator of the first two parts. It includes liturgical material, some of which is almost completely unchanged from the earliest period of Zoroastrianism, and still in use today. Of great interest are some of the oldest formulations of dualism, which later became a core concept of other middle eastern religions, including Judaism, and later Christianity. Moreover, the texts in this part of the Avesta are not so far removed from Vedic-era Hinduism, and as such represent a link between the later great Eastern and Western religions.

The Gâthas

The Yasna

Visparad

Âfrînagân

The Gâhs

Miscellaneous Fragments