The Zend Avesta, Part III (SBE31), L.H. Mills, tr. [1886], at sacred-texts.com
In treating this most valuable section, we can as usual presuppose that the several verses were not originally composed in the order in which they now appear. Verses 1-3 seem like a cry 'from the depths.' In verse 4 animosity appears; and an appeal to the energy of some of his warlike adherents seems to prove that, with verses 5 and 6, the composer addressed it to an assembly; 7-10 are questions and appeals to Ahura, but, as a matter of course, they are none the less really intended to impress the hearers, as well as to animate the mind of the reciter. Verses 11 and 12 were again intended to be delivered to adherents.
Verse 13 is addressed to them in terms. Verse 14 would be regarded by some as little suited to the connection, and the rest seem spoken to an assembly of chiefs. However different they may be as to the particular time or circumstances of their origin, they are in general so homogeneous even as to pitch of intensity, that, with a little exercise of the mind, we can as usual see the reasons why they were put together, or were consecutively composed; and in poetic diction sudden changes neither displease nor surprise us. 1. Beyond a doubt the leading prophet is the figure in the first and second verses; and those verses are so free from imagery that we hold them as describing beyond any reasonable
question, together with many other passages in the Gâthas, the afflictions and discouragements of Zarathustra himself. He knows not whither to turn, although he speaks as a public person and in command of forces which are scanty indeed (verse 2), but yet still able to take the field (Y. XLIV, 15, 16); and his movements also concern large districts ('lands'). He is not driven from his house, but from his country. It is superfluous to say that religion, although blended with a natural ambition, is his leading motive. How he shall satisfy Ahura is the one problem which he aims to solve; but his case at this particular juncture shows every discouragement.
2. Not supposing that his yâ = yéna is merely lost in the meaning 'that,' we see that in relieving his burdened mind he exclaims, not that he knows that he is poor in means and troops, but that he knows why it is thus. It is the dregvant's work, whom we may also well understand as the drugvant, the accursed enemy, who holds back (verse 4) the bearers of the Holy Order from all success in their efforts to gain a righteous livelihood from the favoured cattle culture (Y. XXIX, 2), and who, as he with grief long since foresaw, should he attain to power, would deliver up home, village, district, and province to ruin and death (Y. XXXI, 18). He therefore cries to Ahura in common with the Kine herself (Y. XXIX, 9), and his behold' is only a changed expression for her exclamations (Y. XXIX, x).
As a friend, he would have the good Mazda to regard him as seeking an especial form of grace; and he would beseech Him to fill up his need (Y. XXVIII, 11) in his extremity, teaching him, not the value of flocks and followers alone, but of that îsti which lay deeper than the material wealth which he yet lamented, even the blessings of the Holy Order in every home. 3. And therefore he continues: Teach me and tell me of those great thoughts, the khratavô, the salvation-schemes of the Saviours, elsewhere also spoken of as the khratu of life (Y. XXXII, 9); for these saving helpers would, through a severe conflict and after many a reverse, at last bring on 'Completed Progress.'
4. But he must arouse himself from the relief and indulgence of his grief, he therefore springs to action, and with a cry which we hear elsewhere (Y. LIII, 9), and which was in all probability often uttered in hymns now lost to us, he urges the reward for the chief, who at the head of his retainers, shall expel the world-destroyer, the dussasti (Y. XLV, 1), from power and from life. And what is that reward? It seems to be merely the recognition and confirmation of merit among the faithful. The man who shall
expel, or destroy, the heretical tyrant shall be eminent in the recognition of his services in the support of the people and their sacred agricultural civilisation.
That was to be reward enough, and even that prestige (pourvatâtem) was to be given back to God in offering for still further service (Y. XXXIII, 14).
5. And every righteous official is urged to repeat the proclamation as a warning to every polluted Daêva-worshipper whom he can discover, or to whom his voice can reach, as well as to those secret adherents who would seem to need encouragement. The charged official is to assail the destructive opponent (Y. XXXII, 6-8), only after careful discrimination. He is to approach the evil chief, the hostile hvaêtu (of the blood), as distinct from the inferior noble, or the peasant clansman, and he is to tell him fully of the price set on his head. 6. 'And the superintendent who has the power, and does not thus carry out these instructions, shall himself be delivered over to the bonds of that Lie-demon whom the evil "kinsman" serves. For there is no compromise in the dualistic moral creed. The man who favours the evil is as the evil, and the friend of the good is as the good himself; so had the Lord ordained.'
7. Then, as so often elsewhere, he turns his thoughts to the outward emblem as the sign of inward grace, the sacramental Fire without which the masses would have had no help to fix the eye, or draw prostrations, and he asks with the question of profound devotion: Whom have they (Thy Saoshyants, verse 3) set me, as strengthener in these storms, save Thee and Thy symbolic flames? Yet even here he names the Good Mind with them, and the Order.
8. 'But,' he continues, 'may he who would destroy my settlement find every influence and power combined to form his ruin; may all things keep him back from prosperity, and may nothing keep him back from harm.'
9. He calls, then, for a leading helper who may help him magnify Ahura, not merely in religious celebrations, but in that universal advance of the sacred 'cause,' which follows Ahura's 'conciliation' (verse 1).
10. As if to hinder the discouragement of those who hear his own unburdenings of grief, he declares that he will never leave the faithful few who follow him; he will go with them to the 'dread assize' itself, as if to help them pass the last of tests.
11. But the 'wicked,' open or concealed, should not share these hopes; their conscience, ever the remorseless executioner, shall curse them, as they try to pass the Judgment Bridge; and hurled
from that narrow path (it becomes narrow to the faithless), they shall fall to 'eternal' Hell.
12. Their destruction is not, however, yet decided; there is not only hope for the tribesmen of Ahura, but for the pagan, and not for the 'alien' only, but for the Turanian enemy, whose very name had been a synonym for suffering. If these even shall repent, they may be blest; and some had already turned. The converted tribe Fryâna offered many pious proselytes. These would help on the righteous order together with the holy people, and God would dwell with them as well.
13. Rhetorically referring to himself as in the third person, or else representing some second speaker who names his name, he can still offer his reward to any prince who will yet come up with his retainers to his cause, not kept back by the many refusals which he had met (verse 1), nor discouraged by the scant numbers of his bands; and that reward is one which might yet be efficacious to induce self-sacrificing succour, for in addition to what had been said (see verse 4) he could declare spiritual life from Ahura to be the portion of every faithful follower, and with it future temporal wealth. And he should declare this true recruit the good mate' in the service, the first helper (verse 9) of the tribes.
54. Here we have what seems a question conceived as uttered by some one in the throng, or else simply rhetorically thrown in: 'Who is that friend, that powerful coadjutor who is thus offered this reward, and for such a service?' Zarathustra names the king. But he diverts the minds of hearers from a pernicious trust in individuals.
He would appeal, so he implies, not to one man only, although that one be Vîstâspa, the heroic, but to all whom Ahura would recognise in His assembly, through the inspired suffrage of the mass.
15. And first he addresses the group made up chiefly of his family, the Spitâmas; they were, as he implied, enlightened in the sacred lore, and among the foremost therefore of the Ar(e)dra. 16. He then calls on Frashaostra, with the Hvôgvas, exhorting all to continue in their righteous course, in harmony with those whom they wish for as Saviours for the land, assuring them that they will reach at last that sacred scene where the 'Immortals' dwell with God. 17. 'That scene,' he further adds, 'where the faithful sing their praises in perfection, using the true metres' (as sacred as the Vedic). And he declares that Ahura, who discerns the truth infallibly, will heed and answer; for the praises sung there will be those of obedient men who offer to the cause. 18. He once
more holds out his spiritual rewards as the best gifts of the inspired revelation, threatening as usual commensurate visitation upon the oppressing clans, while both promises and threats are in harmony with Ahura's will, for that alone has been his guide in every statement. 19. After all complaints, and threats, and stern injunctions, he closes with the once more repeated word 'reward,' and that for every man who shall aid in 'his great affair' (Y. XXX, 2), and he appeals to God Himself, asserting His inspiration for all that he has said.
Translation.
1. To what land to turn 1; aye, whither turning shall I go? On the part of 2 a kinsman (prince), or allied peer, none, to conciliate, give 3 (offerings) to me (to help my cause), nor yet the throngs of labour, (not) even such as these 4, nor yet (still less) the evil
tyrants of the province. How then shall I (establish well the Faith, and thus) conciliate Thy (grace), O Lord?
2. This know I, Mazda! wherefore I am thus unable to attain my wish 1, and why my flocks are so reduced in number, and why my following is likewise scant. Therefore I cry to Thee; behold it, Lord! desiring helpful grace for me, as friend bestows on friend. (Therefore to meet my spirit's need, and this as well) declare and teach 2 to me the Good Mind's wealth.
3. When come, Great Giver! they who are the day's enlighteners 3, to hold the Righteous Order of the world upright, and forward pressing? When are
the schemes of the saviour Saoshyants with (their) lofty revelations (to appear)? To whom for help does he (their chief) approach, who has Thy Good Mind (as his fellow-worker 1)? Thee, for mine exhorter and commander, Living Lord! I choose.
4. (But e’er these helpers come to me, all rests as yet in gloom.) The evil man is holding back 2 those who are the bearers of the Righteous Order from progress 3 with the Kine, (from progress with the sacred cause) within the region, or the province 4, he, the evil governor, endowed with evil might 5, consuming 6 life with evil deeds. Wherefore, whoever hurls him from his power, O Mazda! or from life, stores for the Kine in sacred wisdom shall he make 7.
5. (Yea), he who, as ruler, treats no coming applicant with injury 1, as a good citizen (or nobly wise) in sacred vow and duty, and living righteously in every covenant, who, as an uncorrupted judge, discerns the wicked (that leader who, rejecting me, would keep back those who propagate the Faith), let him, (this righteous judge,) declare (the vengeance) to that (hostile 2) lord, (my) kinsman. Yea, let him crush him when he sallies forth 3 (to approach us for our harm)!
6. (And he who leaves him in his guilty error has my curse.) Yea, he who has the power 4, and will not thus (with stern reproof 5) approach him, shall go to
the abode of the Lie, (and) the enchainer 1. For he is evil who is the best one to the evil, and he is holy who is friendly to the righteous, as Thou didst fix the moral laws 2, O Lord!
7. Whom, then, as guard, O Mazda! hast Thou 3 set me 4 then when that wicked one still held 5 me for his hate? Whom (had I) then but Thee, Thy Fire and Mind, Ahura! by deeds performed in which Thy Righteous rule is saved and nurtured? Therefore that spiritual power 6 (vouchsafing me) for the (holy) Faith (its truths) declare.
8. And as to him who (now by evil power) delivers up my settlements to harm, let not his burning (wrath) in deeds attain 7 me. But bearing back 8 the (evil will and evil influence of such), let these things come (back) to him in anger. Let that to his body come which holds from 9 welfare; but let no (help)
at all (approach him, which may) keep him back from misery. (And let this happen as I speak) from (vengeful) hate, O Lord!
9. But who is the freely helping one who will teach me foremost 1 how we may adore Thee, Thou the well to be invoked 2 as in Thy deeds, the holy 3, bountiful Ahura? What (words) the Kine's creator 4 spake for Thee by aid of, and to aid, the Righteous ritual Order, these words of Thine, (Thy people coming) with Thy Good Mind, are seeking 5 now (to gain and learn from) me 6, O Mazda Lord!
10. Whoever, man or woman, shall give to me those (gifts) of life which Thou hast known 1 as best, O Mazda! and as a holy blessing through (Thy) Righteous Order, a throne (established) with (Thy) Good Mind, (with these I shall go forth; yea, those) whom I shall (accompany and so) incite 2, to the homage of such as You 3 (on earth), forth to the Judge's Bridge (itself) with all of them shall I lead on 4 (at last).
11. (And they and I have every need for help, for now) the Karpan and the Kavi will join in governments 5 to slay the life of man with evil deeds, they whom their own souls and their own conscience will becry 6. And when they approach there where the Judge's Bridge (extends, unlike the believing ones of God, who go so firmly forth with me as guide and helper, these shall miss their path and fall 7), and
in the Lie's abode for ever shall their habitation 1 be.
12. (But for the penitent there is yet hope; for all our former foes shall not thus fall, as from the Kinvat Bridge to woe, for) when from among the tribes and kith of the Turanian, even among the more powerful ones of the Fryâna, those shall arise 2 who further on the settlements of Piety with energy and zeal, with these shall Ahura dwell together through His Good Mind (in them), and to them for joyful grace deliver His commands 3.
13. Yea, he who will propitiate Zarathustra Spitâma 4 with gifts midst men, this man is fitted for the proclamation, and to him Ahura Mazda will give the (prospered) life. And he will likewise cause the settlements to thrive in mental goodness. We think 5 him, therefore, Your good companion to (further and maintain) Your Righteousness (and meet for Your approach).
(A voice from among the Chiefs.)
14. (But where is such an one?) Whom hast thou Zarathustra 1! thus a holy friend for the great (effort of the) cause? Who is it who thus desires to speak it forth? (Zarathustra answers. Aye, such an one have.) It is our Kavi Vîstâspa 2, the heroic; (and not he alone, but all) whom thou shalt (as in Thy prophet) meet 3 in the assembly, O Ahura Mazda! these likewise will I call (to my attempt), and with Thy Good Mind's words.
15. O ye Haêkat-aspas, Spitâmas! to you will I now address my words, since ye discern the things unlawful, and the lawful, for these your actions to establish 4 (firmly on its base) for you the Righteous Order through those which are the Lord's primeval laws.
16. (And to the Hvôgvas would I likewise speak.) Thou Frashaostra Hvôgva (whom I see) 5; go thou
[paragraph continues] (forth) with the generous helpers 1, with those whom we are praying for as for salvation to the land. Go thou where Piety joins hand in hand with the Righteous Order, where are the wished-for Realms of Good Mind, where Mazda in His most honoured 2 home abides,
17. Where in your measured verse 3 I will declare aloud (the praises), not in unmeasured lines, Gâmâspa Hvôgva! but songs of homage (will I weave) with ever gained Obedience in offering. (And unto Mazda) will I chant them, yea, to Him who will discern aright what things are lawful (or) unlawful 4 (which I thus do, or utter), and with His wonder-working thoughts 5 of Righteousness (attend).
18. (For) whosoever (offers) sanctity 6 to me, to him shall be the best gifts whatsoever. Yea, of my
[paragraph continues] (spirit's) wealth will I bestow on him through Thy Good Mind (which I give), but oppressions will I send on him who as oppressor will deliver us to anguish, O Mazda! desiring, as I do, to satisfy Your choice by righteous (vengeance). This is the decision of mine understanding and my will.
19. (Yea, this I earnestly announce.) He who from Righteousness (in mind and life) shall verily perform for me, for Zarathustra, that which is thus most helpful (for my cause) according to my earnest wish (and through my words of urgent zeal) on him shall they bestow reward(s) beyond this earth, with all the mental 1 blessings gained through the sacred mother-kine 2. And these things (all) did’st Thou (Thyself) command to me, O Mazda, Thou most wise 3!
134:1 The Pahlavi translator sees the usual meaning in nemôi and nemô. He also accepts kãm zãm adverbially after the constant Greek usage. 'In what land shall I establish my religion (as it is here rejected); whither with my praises (of the true God) shall I go?' The rendering is so much richer that I turn from it with great reluctance.
134:2 It is to be regretted that able scholars should so hastily change the Gâthic text here without first trying to render it as it is. This is all the more necessary, as each independent writer disputes emendations. Pairî I think ought to stand. The hvaêtu, airyaman, and verezenem are also elsewhere alluded to, as appertaining to the hostile party sometimes, and therefore not among those from among whom (parâ?) the prophet would be expelled.
134:3 Dadaitî as a third plural has long been suggested with the eagerness of discovery. Its subjects would then be khshnâus, and that implied in yâ verezenâ. But the construction is difficult thus, and it may be greatly doubted whether we had not better alter our discovery back into the singular with the Pahlavi. I am greatly confirmed in my view of the grammatical form of khshnâus by Bartholomae's decision for a nominal form. Otherwise it would be a third singular, with loss of the final dental.
134:4 Hekâ seems to be an irregular form (see Y. LVIII, 4). I can p. 135 only make an exclamatory isque = talisque of it. The Pahlavi renders freely as if some form of hi = to bind were before him (recall hôis?), or perhaps he read hakâ, rendering as = these all together, hamsâyakik; Ner. ye svasrenayo.
135:1 So the Kine complained of him in Y. XXIX, 9 as anaêsha; so also the Pahlavi, explaining akhvâstar [aîgham denman atûbânîkîh maman râî khavîtûnam]. He proceeds li amat kam ramak va amatik kam-gabrâ hômanam, explaining anaêshô as not being an îshâ-khshathra. Mâ = smâ notwithstanding position (?).
135:2 'Nim wahr' has long since circulated as a rendering for âkhsô; and with îstîm in the sense of 'prayer,' it has afforded the admirable sense 'observe, take heed of the desire of the pious.' But we have a positive proof of the meaning 'teach,' 'declare' for khsa; see Y. LXV, 9 (Wg.). So also in Y. XXVIII, 5. That Ahura possessed an îsti is clear from Y. XXXIV, 5. And if the sage could ask, 'What is your îsti (wealth)? what is your kingdom (power over possessions)?' it is certainly not strained to suppose that he could say here; 'tell me concerning your wealth,' especially as he bewails his poverty. Îsti is in antithesis to the idea expressed in kamnafshvâ and kamnânâ. So also the Pahlavi as translated by the Persian ‘hezânah.
135:3 Ukshâno would seem to be an ancient error for ushâno, as the Pahlavi translator renders as if reading ushâ in Y. L, 10, and p. 136 not ukhshâ. Otherwise 'increasers of the days' is a fine expression, but suspicious in view of the Pahlavi rendering in Y. L, 10. Ner.'s *vikâsayitryo (sic) is striking, but I cannot claim for it all that it seems to offer, as Ner. elsewhere renders forms of vakhsh by those of kas. The Persian follows the Pahlavi.
136:1 Comp. Y. XLIV, 1.
136:2 Pa in the sense of 'keeping back from welfare' as well as in that of 'protection,' a sense first taught us by the Pahlavi writers, is now at last generally acknowledged. It now, like many other suggestions of the Pahlavi, actually casts light in the rendering of the analogous Vedic word.
136:3 So the mass of MSS. with the Pahl. min fravâmisnŏ; Persian az raftan. The expression might refer to the 'going of the kine,' as representing the people in her 'path.'
136:4 Comp. Y. XXXI, 18.
136:5 Pahl. zak î pavan dûs-stahamak; Ner. dushto balâtkârî. The elements seem to be duz + hazô + bâo(= vâo).
136:6 Ush in Iranian seems to have the sense of destruction combined with it sometimes; hence aoshah, aoshisnŏ.
136:7 Kar can well mean 'attain to.' Pathmeng as = paths (so I formerly rendered) gives a far feebler sense than that indicated by the first Zendist, the Pahlavi writer. The 'wisdom' of preparing stores for the kine, even if we suppose an animal only to be meant; p. 137 is obvious. The Iranian winter was something very different from that in India. But the kine is not alluded to without a certain figurative meaning: she represents the people, and as such she cried aloud; and Zarathustra received the commission to relieve her sufferings as such. That the word hukistôis stands in the genitive should not disturb us. The 'care for the kine' was a matter of national importance, and 'wisdom' could not better be exercised than in this direction.
137:1 Or we may render 'he who as ruler does not bestow favours upon him who approaches with injury.' The hint of the Pahlavi favours this.
137:2 Hvaêtavê is here, as in Y. XXXIII, 4; Y. XXXII, 1, and the first verse of this chapter, the hostile chieftain called 'kinsman' in an aristocratic sense by Zarathustra and his group.
137:3 I compare uzûithyauska which is used of the breaking forth of water. The Pahlavi translator seems to have had some such idea 'mûn lâlâ hengîdŏ,' but with him the entire line, which divides all writers, favours the sense 'in saving him from his impiety.' Khrûnyât is a verbal form (with Bartholomae).
137:4 The Pahlavi translator sees the root is = to wish in ismanô, 'who does not willingly approach him;' or 'who does not approach desiring (and seeking?) him.'
137:5 I am gratified to see that another takes nearly this view of this line. He has 'verfolgt.'
138:1 Haêthahyâ, as a masculine, is awkward, as would be baêthahyâ, so the Pahl. (of the terrifier). A loc. of haithya may be correct, taking dâmãn also as a loc. Otherwise 'to the creatures of the Lie, and the enchainer (or terrifier).'
138:2 Or, 'as Thou didst make the souls at first.'
138:3 So with K6, K9 (Barth.).
138:4 Some render 'me' here, who seem elsewhere loath to translate thwâvant as = like thee, thee. Khshmâvatô, thwâvãs, and mavaitê, in Y. XLIV, 1, may be rendered, 'of you,' 'thou,' and 'to me.'
138:5 So the Pahlavi indicates. I have, however, elsewhere, as against tradition, rendered as if the root were dar(e)s; 'has set his eye on me for vengeance.'
138:6 One might be tempted to read tat môi dãs tvem; 'that granting me, do Thou speak forth for the faith.'
138:7 The Pahlavi translator indicates the root sâ by his rêsh; so read as alternative, 'let him not wound us.'
138:8 The meaning 'but contrariwise' has been ventured on. The indication of the Pahlavi is 'in opposing;' pavan padîrak yâmtûnisnŏ.
138:9 The Pahlavi here misses the point, and taking pâyât in its usual p. 139 sense, falls into confusion. The ancient scholars, like some of their successors, could not always believe that pâ could mean 'to hold back from good' as well as from evil. They recognised it sometimes, giving us our instruction on the subject, but not here.
139:1 Did the composer appeal to some powerful coadjutor here, or does he rhetorically express his perplexity?
139:2 Zevîstîm must equal forms of hû; but from the constant evidence of the Pahlavi to the meaning 'endearing,' one is much inclined to suggest a reading as if from zush.
139:3 Ashavanem is applied to Ahura, and cannot so well mean 'righteous' here. 'Holy' is the more proper term in this connection, while spentem is necessarily excluded from that meaning by its occurrence with ashavanem in immediate connection.
139:4 Notice that the word tashâ occurs here with no mention of wounding in the connection (see note 6 on page 6).
139:5 I am here recalled to the Pahlavi by some who rarely name it. I had rendered, 'these words are inciting me (in duty) through Thy Good Mind;' so ish often in the Veda. The Pahlavi translator, like his successors, scandalised at the difficult forms, also anticipated his successors (as elsewhere often) in getting free from the difficulty. He did what is exactly equivalent to what is now practised by scholars (sometimes too often). He rendered the text as if changed from what he could not understand to what he could understand, adhering to the right roots however, which I now follow. He knew that ishenti mâ did not mean, 'I am seeking,' but he could not credit the words before him.
139:6 We have now a suggestion which must often have presented itself to those who read the Rig-veda constantly, and that is (so p. 140 Bartholomae) that mâ may equal smâ here and often elsewhere. It is well possible, as the 's' often disappears.
140:1 Notice once more the expression, 'Thou hast known;' so in Y. XXVIII, II, the composer confides the very direction of his petitions to the discrimination of the Deity. We gain from this the true sense of peresâ nau yâ tôi ehmâ parstâ; Ahura's question and prayer are mighty when repeated by us, because He has known what is best, and what are the true dâtheng for which we should ask.
140:2 This sense corresponds admirably with the connection; Ner. utthâpayâmi.
140:3 Such as you = you as in the plural of majesty, or as referring to Ahura and His Bountiful Immortals (so often).
140:4 'Go forth.'
140:5 Or, 'with kings;' but the Pahlavi has, avŏ khûdâyîh ayûgênd mûn Kîk va Karapŏ.
140:6 So the Pahlavi indicates. Otherwise 'will harden,' or, if khraodat is read, 'will rage (against).'
140:7 Inserted to shed light on the last line; so the later Parsism.
141:1 I am again brought back to the Pahlavi, having formerly rendered 'bodies,' which I would now put in the second place.
141:2 The Pahlavi, although as usual free or erroneous as to forms, gives us the valuable hint of hengî-aît for uzgen (sic = gayen).
141:3 Here we have the clear evidence of the conversion of a border tribe. The Zarathustrians had saved some Turanian clan from plunder or annihilation, and so secured their friendship. These became known as the 'friendly people.' That true Zarathustrian piety may have arisen among them is of course possible.
141:4 It need hardly be said that this reference to Z. in the third person, does not prove that the composer was not Z. himself. One might even say that his authorship was even not less probable on this account.
141:5 Let it be noted that the Pahlavi translator gives us our first critical knowledge as to the true writing and meaning of mehmaidî; or will scholars object that he renders in the singular? Valman pavan zak î Lekûm Aharâyîh hamîshak minâm khûp hamkhâk; Ner. dhyâyâmi suddha-sakhâyam.
142:1 Shall we regard this verse as misplaced because the subject is in the second person? It is probable (as of very many verses) that it was often recited by the composer, or others, in a different connection, and perhaps originally so; but it was a happy thought for the effect to introduce it here. Let it be supposed that this and the previous verse were arranged to be spoken by another voice during the public recital. We see that the interest is much increased by the intruding strophe.
142:2 This passage may be regarded as recording the call of Vîstâspa to the holy work. Zu = hû need not always express the invocation of the gods.
142:3 Others, 'unite.'
142:4 Or, 'ye take to you the righteous character to yourselves,' as the infinitive is difficult; but in that case Khshmaibyâ becomes awkward. The translation of dâ as 'take' has long been familiar.
142:5 Obviously composed for an occasion when the several parties would be present.
143:1 Ar(e)dra seems to be especially applied, and might be left unrendered.
143:2 I see no impossibility whatever in such a rendering, literally in 'his choice-abode;' so also the Pahlavi indicates: tamman aîgh Aûharmazd pavan kâmak dên demânŏ ketrûnêd. The question is of 'going' and 'dwelling,' and the meaning 'abode' is quite in point. As to var, see îstâ khshathrâ; and compare mazdâvarâ. Aside from this, vardmãm = in blessing.
143:3 The Pahlavi again, with its followers, gives us our first hint at the general meaning here. What else can his padmân and apadmânîk mean, but the regularity, that is, the rhythm and cadence of the words?
143:4 Dâthemkâ adâthemkâ would be 'the truth and the heresy' in general.
143:5 If mantû is taken as an instrumental, (can it be an act. imper.?) vistâ might occupy the place of a preterit, but it looks far more like a participle, and might be regarded as forming a compositum with vahmeng. Supply the dat. (?) pers. pron. understood before ye.
143:6 The alteration to yaus, considered as an aorist, has long circulated, but seems now, like so many of the bolder conceptions, to be given up. Yaos is the sister word of the Vedic yós, and p. 144 shows us that some shade of sanctity may inhere in that word. The Pahlavi renders more indefinitely by 'yân' = a helpful blessing.
144:1 The Pahlavi translator, however, saw menâ, rendering avŏ li. His text may well have justified him.
144:2 Bearing; or is it 'fit to drive?'
144:3 The Pahlavi here reports another text.
(SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. Askît, in verse 18, may equal 'verily indeed.' Vahistâ, &c.= 'the best things of my wealth will I assign to him through the Good Mind.' The meaning 'wealth' seems much called for here, and if here, then in verse 2. Vasnâ in verse 19 may mean 'through grace.')