10. MIHR YASHT.
0
May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra,
one who hates the Daevas, and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears, ten
thousand eyes, a Yazata invoked by his own name, and unto Rama
Hvastra,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and
glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
[[1]]
1
Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'Verily, when I
created Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, O Spitama! I created him as
worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer as myself Ahura Mazda.
2
'The ruffian who lies unto Mithra brings death unto the whole country,
injuring as much the faithful world as a hundred evil-doers could do.
Break not the contract, O Spitama! neither the one that thou hadst
entered into with one of the unfaithful, nor the one that thou hadst
entered into with one of the faithful who is one of thy own faith. For
Mithra stands for both the faithful and the unfaithful.
3
'Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, gives swiftness to the horses of
those who lie not unto Mithra.
'Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, gives the straightest way to those who
lie not unto Mithra.
'The good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the faithful give a
virtuous offspring to those who lie not unto Mithra.
4
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth
being heard, namely, unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'We offer up libations unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who
gives a happy dwelling and a good dwelling to the Aryan nations.
5
'May he come to us for help! May he come to us for ease! May he come
to us for joy! May he come to us for mercy! May he come to us for
health! May he come to us for victory! May he come to us for good
conscience! May he come to us for bliss! he, the awful and
overpowering, worthy of sacrifice and prayer, not to be deceived
anywhere in the whole of the material world, Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures.
6
'I will offer up libations unto him, the strong Yazata, the powerful
Mithra, most beneficent to the creatures: I will apply unto him with
charity and prayers: I will offer up a sacrifice worth being heard
unto him, Mithra, the lord ofwide pastures, 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. 'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura
Mazda....
[[2]]
7
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who is
truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears,
well-shapen, with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge,
strong, sleepless, and ever awake;
8
'To whom the chiefs of nations offer up sacrifices, as they go to the
field, against havocking hosts, against enemies coming in battle
array, in the strife of conflicting nations.
9
'On whichever side he has been worshipped first in the fulness of
faith of a devoted heart, to that side turns Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, with the fiend-smiting wind, with the cursing thought of the
wise.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[3]]
10
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake.
11
'Whom the horsemen worship on the back of their horses, begging
swiftness for their teams, health for their own bodies, and that they
may watch with full success those who hate them, smite down their
foes, and destroy at one stroke their adversaries, their enemies, and
those who hate themn,
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[4]]
12
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
13
'Who first of the heavenly gods reaches over the Hara, before the
undying, swift-horsed sun; who, foremost in a golden array, takes hold
of the beautiful summits, and from thence looks over the abode of the
Aryans with a beneficent eye.
14
'Where the valiant chiefs draw up their many troops in array; where
the high mountains, rich in pastures and waters, yield plenty to the
cattle; where the deep lakes, with salt waters, stand; where
wide-flowing rivers swell and hurry towards Ishkata and Pouruta, Mouru
and Haroyu, the Gava-Sughdha and Hvairizem;
15
'On Arezahi and Savahi, on Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu, on
Vourubareshti and Vourujareshti, on this bright Karshvare of
Hvaniratha, the abode of cattle, the dwelling of cattle, the powerful
Mithra looks with a health-bringing eye;
16
'He who moves along all the Karshvares, a Yazata unseen, and brings
glory; he who moves along all the Karshvares, a Yazata unseen, and
brings sovereignty; and increases strength for victory to those who,
with a pious intent, holily offer him libations. 'For his brightness
and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
[[5]]
17
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Unto whom nobody must lie, neither the master of a house, nor the
lord of a borough, nor the lord of a town, nor the lord of a province.
18
'If the master of a house lies unto him, or the lord of a borough, or
the lord of a town, or the lord ofa province, then comes Mithra, angry
and offended, and he breaks asunder the house, the borough, the town,
the province; and the masters of the houses, the lords of the
boroughs, the lords of the towns, the lords of the provinces, and the
foremost men of the provinces.
19
'On whatever side there is one who has lied unto Mithra, on that side
Mithra stands forth, angry and offended, and his wrath is slow to
relent.
20
'Those who lie unto Mithra, however swift they may be running, cannot
overtake; riding, cannot ....; driving, cannot ..... The spear that
the foe of Mithra flings, darts backwards, for the number of the evil
spells that the foe of Mithra works out.
21
'And even though the spear be flung well, even though it reach the
body, it makes no wound, for the number of the evil spells that the
foe of Mithra works out. The wind drives away the spear that the foe
of Mithra flings, for the number of the evil spells that the foe of
Mithra works out.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[6]]
22
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who takes out of distress the man who has not lied unto him, who
takes him out of death.
23
'Take us out of distress, take us out of distresses, O Mithra! as we
have not lied unto thee. Thou bringest down terror upon the bodies of
the men who lie unto Mithra; thou takest away the strength from their
arms, being angry and all-powerful; thou takest the swiftness from
their feet, the eye-sight from their eyes, the hearing from their
ears.
24
'Not the wound of the well-sharpened spear or of the flying arrow
reaches that man to whom Mithra comes for help with all the strength
of his soul, he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-seeing,
undeceivable Mithra.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[7]]
25
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who is lordly, deep, strong, and weal-giving; a chief in assemblies,
pleased with prayers, high, holily clever, the incarnate Word, a
warrior with strong arms;
26
'Who breaks the skulls of the Daevas, and is most cruel in exacting
pains; the punisher of the men who lie unto Mithra, the withstander of
the Pairikas; who, when not deceived, establisheth nations in supreme
strength; who, when not deceived, establisheth nations in supreme
victory;
27
'Who confounds the ways of the nation that delights in havoc, who
turns away their Glory, takes away their strength for victory, blows
them away helpless, and delivers them unto ten thousand strokes; he,
of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-seeing, undeceivable
Mithra.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[8]]
28
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who upholds the columns of the lofty house and makes its pillars
solid; who gives herds of oxen and male children to that house in
which he has been satisfied; he breaks to pieces those in which he has
been offended,
29
'Thou, O Mithra! art both bad and good to nations; thou, O Mithra! art
both bad and good to men; thou, O Mithra! keepest in thy hands both
peace and trouble for nations.
30
'Thou makest houses large, beautiful with women, beautiful with
chariots, with well-laid foundations, and high above their groundwork;
thou makest that house lofty, beautiful with women, beautiful with
chariots, with well-laid foundations, and high above its groundwork,
of which the master, pious and holding libations in his hand, offers
thee a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name and with
the proper words.
31
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name, with the
proper words will I offer thee libations, O powerful Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name, with the
proper words will I offer thee libations, O most beneficent Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name, with the
proper words will I offer thee libations, O thou undeceivable Mithra!
32
'Listen unto our sacrifice, O Mithra! Be thou pleased with our
sacrifice, O Mithra! Come and sit at our sacrifice! Accept our
libations! Accept them as they have been consecrated! Gather them
together with love and lay them in the Garo-nmana!
33
'Grant us these boons which we beg of thee, O powerful god I in
accordance with the words of revelation, namely, riches, strength, and
victory, good conscience and bliss, good fame and a good soul; wisdom
and the knowledge that gives happiness, the victorious strength given
by Ahura, the crushing Ascendant of Asha Vahishta, and conversation
(with God) on the Holy Word.
34
'Grant that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and a
good spirit, may smite all our foes; that we, in a good spirit and
high spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our
enemies; that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and
a good spirit, may smite all the malice of Daevas and Men, of the
Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[9]]
35
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Victory-making, army-governing, endowed with a thousand senses;
power-wielding, power-possessing, and all-knowing;
36
'Who sets the battle a going, who stands against (armies) in battle,
who, standing against (armies) in battle, breaks asunder the lines
arrayed. The wings of the columns gone to battle shake, and he throws
terror upon the centre of the havocking host.
37
'He can bring and does bring down upon them distress and fear; he
throws down the heads of those who lie to Mithra, he takes off the
heads of those who lie unto Mithra.
38
'Sad is the abode, unpeopled with children, where abide men who lie
unto Mithra, and, verily, the fiendish killer of faithful men. The
grazing cow goes a sad straying way, driven along the vales of the
Mithradrujes: they stand on the road, letting tears run over their
chins.
39
'Their falcon-feathered arrows, shot from the string of the well-bent
bow, fly towards the mark, and hit it not, as Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
'Their spears, well whetted and sharp, their long spears fly from
their hands towards the mark, and hit it not, as Mithra, the lord of
wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
40
'Their swords, well thrust and striking at the heads of men, hit not
the mark, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and
unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
'Their clubs, well falling and striking at the heads of men, hit not
the mark, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and
unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
41
'Mithra strikes fear into them; Rashnu strikes a counter-fear into
them; the holy Sraosha blows them away from every side towards the two
Yazatas, the maintainers of the world. They make the ranks of the army
melt away, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry, offended, and
unsatisfied, comes and meets them.
42
'They cry unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, saying: "O Mithra,
thou lord of wide pastures! here are our fiery horses taking us away,
as they flee from Mithra; here are our sturdy arms cut to pieces by
the sword, O Mithra!"
43
'And then Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, throws them to the
ground, killing 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; as Mithra, the lord of
wide pastures, is angry and offended,
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[10]]
44
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Whose dwelling, wide as the earth, extends over the material world,
large, unconfined, and bright, a far-and-wide-extending abode.
45
'Whose eight friends sit as spies for Mithra, on all the heights, at
all the watching-places, observing the man who lies unto Mithra,
looking at those, remembering those who have lied unto Mithra, but
guarding the ways of those whose life is sought by men who lie unto
Mithra, and, verily, by the fiendish killers of faithful men.
46
'Helping and guarding, guarding behind and guarding in front, Mithra,
the lord of wide pastures, proves an undeceivable spy and watcher for
the man to whom he comes to help with all the strength of his soul, he
of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable
god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[11]]
47
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'A god of high renown and old age, whom wide-hoofed horses carry
against havocking hosts, against enemies coming in battle array, in
the strife of conflicting nations.
48
'And when Mithra drives along towards the havocking hosts, towards the
enemies coming in battle array, in the strife of the conflicting
nations, then he binds the hands of those who have lied unto Mithra,
he confounds their eye-sight, he takes the hearing from their ears;
they can no longer move their feet; they can no longer withstand those
people, those foes, when Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, bears them
ill-will.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[12]]
49
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
50
'For whom the Maker, Ahura Mazda, has built up a dwelling on the Hara
Berezaiti, the bright mountain around which the many (stars) revolve
where come neither night nor darkness, no cold wind and no hot wind,
no deathful sickness, no uncleanness made by the Daevas, and the
clouds cannot reach up unto the Haraiti Bareza;
51
'A dwelling that all the Amesha-Spentas, in one accord with the sun,
made for him in the fulness of faith of a devoted heart, and he
survevs the whole of the material world from the Haraiti Bareza.
52
'And when there rushes a wicked worker of evil, swiftly, with a swift
step, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, goes and yokes his horses to
his chariot, along with the holy, powerful Sraosha and Nairyo-sangha,
who strikes a blow that smites the army, that smites the strength of
the malicious.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[13]]
53
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
54
'Who, with hands lifted up, ever cries unto Ahura Mazda, saying: "I am
the kind keeper of all creatures, I am the kind maintainer of all
creatures; yet men worship me not with a sacrifice in which I am
invoked by my own name, as they worship the other gods with sacrifices
in which they are invoked by their own names.
55
'"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 would come to the
faithful at the appointed time; I would come in the appointed time of
my beautiful, immortal life."
56
'But the pious man, holding libations in his hands, does worship thee
with a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own ame, and with
the proper words.
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name, with the
proper words will I offer thee libations, O powerful Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name, with the
groper words will I offer thee libations, O most beneficent Mithra!
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own name, with the
proper words will I offer thee libations, O thou undeceivable Mithra!
57
'Listen unto our sacrifice, 'O Mithra! Be thou pleased with our
sacrifice, O Mithra! Come and sit at our sacrifice! Accept our
libations! Accept them as they have been consecrated! Gather them
together with love and lay them in the Garo-nmana!
58
'Grant us these boons which we beg of thee, O powerful god! in
accordance with the words of revelation, namely, riches, strength, and
victory, good conscience and bliss, good fame and a good soul; wisdom
and the knowledge that gives happiness, the victorious strength given
by Ahura, the crushing Ascendant of Asha-Vahishta, and conversation
(with God) on the Holy Word.
59
'Grant that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and a
good spirit, may smite all our foes; that we, in a good spirit and
high spirit, exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our
enemies; that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in joy and
a good spirit, may smite all the malice of Daevas and Men, of the
Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[14]]
60
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Whose renown is good, whose shape is good, whose glory is good; who
has boons to give at his will, who has pasture-fields to give at his
will; harmless to the tiller of the ground, ...., beneficent; he, of
the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[15]]
61
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Firm-legged, a watcher fully awake; valiant, a chief in assemblies;
making the waters flow forward; listening to appeals; making the
waters run and the plants grow up; ruling over the Karshvares;
delivering; happy; undeceivable; endowed with many senses; a creature
of wisdom;
62
'Who gives neither strength nor vigour to him who has lied unto
Mithra; who gives neither glory nor any boon to him who has lied unto
Mithra.
63
'Thou takest away the strength from their arms, being angry and
all-powerful; thou takest the swiftness from their feet, the eye-sight
from their eyes, the hearing from their ears.
'Not the wound of the well-sharpened spear or of the flying arrow
reaches that man to whom Mithra comes for help with all the strength
of his soul he of the ten-thousand spies, the powerful all-knowing
undeceivable god. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a
sacrifice worth being heard....
[[16]]
64
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who takes possession of the beautiful, wide-expanding law, greatly
and powerfully and whose face looks over all the seven Karshvares of
the earth;
65
'Who is swift amongst the swift, liberal amongst the liberal, strong
amongst the strong, a chief of assembly amongst the chiefs of
assemblies; increase-giving, fatness-giving, cattle-giving,
sovereignty-giving, son-giving, cheerfulness-giving, and bliss-giving.
66
'With whom proceed Ashi Vanguhi, and Parendi on her light chariot, the
awful Manly Courage, the awful kingly Glory, the awful sovereign Sky,
the awful cursing thought of the wise, the awful Fravashis of the
faithful, and he who keeps united together the many faithful
worshippers of Mazda.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[17]]
67
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastares, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who drives along on his high-wheeled chariot, made of a heavenly
substance, from the Karshvare of Arezahi to the Karshvare of
Hvaniratha, the bright one; accompanied by the wheel of sovereignty,
the Glory made by Mazda, and the Victory made by Ahura;
68
'Whose chariot is embraced by the great Ashi Vanguhi; to whom the Law
of Mazda opens a way, that he may go easily; whom four heavenly
steeds, white, shining, seen afar, beneficent, endowed with knowledge,
swiftly carry along the heavenly space, while the cursing thought of
the wise pushes it forward;
69
'From whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in
fear. Oh! may we never fall across the rush of the angry lord, who
goes and rushes from a thousand sides against his foe, he, of the ten
thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[18]]
70
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Before whom Verethraghna, made by Ahura, runs opposing the foes in
the shape of a boar, a sharp-toothed he-boar, a sharp-jawed boar, that
kills at one stroke, pursuing, wrathful, with a dripping face; strong,
with iron feet, iron fore-paws, iron weapons, an iron tail, and iron
jaws;
71
'Who, eagerly clinging to the fleeing foe, along with Manly Courage,
smites the foe in battle, and does not think he has smitten him, nor
does he consider it a blow till he has smitten away the marrow and the
column of life, the marrow and the spring of existence.
72
'He cuts all the limbs to pieces, and mingles, together with the
earth, the bones, hair, brains, and blood of the men who have lied
unto Mithra.
'For his brightness and glory, we offer him a sacrifice worth being
heard....
[[19]]
73
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who, with hands lifted up, rejoicing, cries out, speaking thus:
74
'"O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent spirit! Maker of the material world,
thou Holy One!
'"If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I were invoked by
my own name, as they worship the other gods with sacrifices in which
they are invoked by their own names, then I should come to the
faithful at the appointed time; I should come in the appointed time of
my beautiful, immortal life."
75
'May we keep our field; may we never be exiles from our field, exiles
from our house, exiles from our borough, exiles from our town, exiles
from our country.
76
'Thou dashest in pieces the malice of the malicious, the malice of the
men of malice: dash thou in pieces the killers of faithful men!
'Thou hast good horses, thou hast a good chariot: thou art bringing
help at every appeal, and art powerful.
77
'I will pray unto thee for help, with many consecrations, with good
consecrations of libations; with many offerings, with good offerings
of libations, that we, abiding in thee, may long inhabit a good abode,
full of all the riches that can be wished for.
78
'Thou keepest those nations that tender a good worship to Mithra, the
lord of wide pastures; thou dashest in pieces those that delight in
havoc. Unto thee will I pray for help: may he come to us for help, the
awful, most powerful Mithra, the worshipful and praiseworthy, the
glorious lord of nations.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[20]]
79
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who made a dwelling for Rashnu, and to whom Rashnu gave all his soul
for long friendship;
80
'Thou art a keeper and protector of the dwelling of those who lie not:
thou art the maintainer of those who lie not. With thee hath
Verethraghna, made by Ahura, contracted the best of all friendships,
and thus it is how so many men who have lied unto Mithra, even
privily, lie smitten down on the ground.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[21]]
81
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who made a dwelling for Rashnu, and to whom Rashnu gave all his soul
for long friendship;
82
'To whom Ahura Mazda gave a thousand senses and ten thousand eyes to
see. With those eyes and those senses, he watches the man who injures
Mithra, the man who lies unto Mithra. Through those eyes and those
senses, he is, undeceivable, he, of the ten thousand spies, the
powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[22]]
83
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Whom the lord of the country invokes for help, with hands uplifted;
'Whom the lord of the town invokes for help, with hands uplifted;
84
'Whom the lord of the borough invokes for help, with hands uplifted;
'Whom the master of the house invokes for help, with hands uplifted;
'Whom the .... in danger of death invokes for help, with hands
uplifted;
'Whom the poor man, who follows the good law, when wronged and
deprived of his rights, invokes for help, with hands uplifted.
85
'The voice of his wailing reaches up to the sky, it goes over the
earth all around, it goes over the seven Karshuares, whether he utters
his prayer in a low tone of voice or aloud.
86
'The cow driven astray invokes him for help, longing for the stables:
'"When will that bull, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, bring us
back, and make us reach the stables? when wilt he turn us back to the
right way from the den of the Druj where we were driven?"
87
'And to him with whom Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, has been
satisfied, he comes with help; and of him with whom Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures, has been offended, he crushes down the house, the
borough, tne town, the province, the country.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[23]]
88
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'To whom the enlivening, healing, fair, lordly golden-eyed Haoma
offered up a sacrifice on the highest of the heights, on the Haraiti
Bareza, he the undefiled to one undefiled, with undefiled baresma,
undefiled libations, and undefiled words;
89
'Whom the holy Ahura Mazda has established as a priest, quick in
performing the sacrifice and loud in song. He performed the sacrifice
with a loud voice, as a priest quick in sacrifice and loud in song, a
priest to Ahura Mazda, a priest to the Amesha-Spentas. His voice
reached up to the sky; went over the earth all around, went over the
seven Karshvares.
90
'Who first lifted up Haomas, in a mortar inlaid with stars and made of
a heavenly substance. Ahura Mazda longed for him, the Amesha-Spentas
longed for him, for the well-slapen body of him whom the swift-horsed
sun awakes for prayer from afar.
91
'Hail to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears
and ten thousand eyes! Thou art worthy of sacrifice and prayer: mayest
thou have sacrifice and prayer in the houses of men! Hail to the man
who shall offer thee a sacrifice, with the holy wood in his hand, the
baresma in his hand, the holy meat in his hand, the holy mortar in his
hand, with his hands well-washed, with the mortar well-washed, with
the bundles of baresma tied up, the Haoma uplifted, and the Ahuna
Vairya sung through.
92
'The holy Ahura Mazda confessed that religion and so did Vohu-Mano, so
did Asha-Vahishta, so did Khshathra-Vairya, so did Spenta-Armaiti, so
did Haurvatat and Ameretat; and all the Amesha-Spentas longed for and
confessed his religion. The kind Mazda conferred upon him the
mastership of the world; and [so did they] who saw thee amongst all
creatures the right lord and master of the world, the best cleanser of
these creatures.
93
'So mayest thou in both worlds, mayest thou keep us in both worlds, O
Mithra, lord of wide pastures! both in this material world and in the
world of the spirit, from the fiend of Death, from the fiend Aeshma,
from the fiendish hordes, that lift up the spear of havoc, and from
the onsets of Aeshma, wherein the evil-doing Aeshma rushes along with
Vidotu, made by the Daevas.
94
'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! give swiftness to
our teams, strength to our own bodies, and that we may watch with full
success those who hate us, smite down our foes, and destroy at one
stroke our adversaries, our enemies and those who hate us.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[24]]
95
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who goes over the earth, all her breadth over, after the setting of
the sun, touches both ends of this wide, round earth, whose ends tie
afar, and surveys everything that is between the earth and the
heavens,
96
'Swinging in his hands a club with a hundred knots, a hundred edges,
that rushes forwards and fells men down; a club cast out of red brass,
of strong, golden brass; the strongest of all weapons, the most
victorious of all weapons;
97
'From whom Angra Mainyu, who is all death, flees away in fear; from
whom Aeshma, the evil-doing Peshotanu, flees away in fear; from whom
the long-handed Bushyasta flees away in fear; from whom all the Daevas
unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in fear.
98
'Oh! may we never fall across the rush of Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, when in anger! May Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, never
smite us in his anger; he who stands up upon this earth as the
strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all gods, the most
energetic of all god , th swiftest of all gods, the most fiend-smiting
of all gods, he, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[25]]
99
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'From whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee away in
fear.
'The lord of nations, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, drives
forward at the right-hand side of this wide, round earth, whose ends
lie afar.
100
'At his right hand drives the good, holy Sraosha; at his left hand
drives the tall and strong Rashnu; on all sides around him drive the
waters, the plants, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
101
'In his might, he ever brings to them falcon-feathered arrows, and,
when diiving, he himself comes there, where are nations, enemy to
Mithra, he, first and foremost, strikes blows with his club on the
horse and his rider; he throws fear and fright upon the horse and his
rider.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[26]]
102
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'The warrior of the white horse, of the sharp spear, the tong spear,
the quick arrows; foreseeing and clever;
103
'Whom Ahura Mazda has established to maintain and look over all this
moving world, and who maintains and looks over all this moving world;
who, never sleeping, wakefully guards the creation of Mazda; who,
never sleeping, wakefully maintains the creation of Mazda;
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[27]]
104
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Whose long arms, strong with Mithra-strength, encompass what he
seizes in the easternmost river and what he beats with the westernmost
river, what is by the Sanaka of the Rangha and what is by the boundary
of the earth.
105
'And thou, O Mithra! encompassing all this around, do thou reach it,
all over, with thy arms.
'The man without glory, led astray from the right way, grieves in his
heart; the man without glory thinks thus in himself: "That careless
Mithra does not see all the evil that is done, nor all the lies that
are told."
106
'But I think thus in my heart:
'"Should the evil thoughts of the earthly man be a hundred times
worse, they would not rise so high as the good thoughts of the
heavenly Mithra;
'"Should the evil words of the earthly man be a hundred times worse,
they would not rise so high as the good words of the heavenly Mithra;
'"Should the evil deeds of the earthly man be a hundred times worse,
they would not rise so high as the good deeds of the heavenly Mithra;
107
'"Should the heavenly wisdom in the earthly man be a hundred times
greater, it would not rise so high as the heavenly w'isdom in the
heavenly Mithra;
''And thus, should the ears of the earthly man hear a hundred time
better, he would not hear so well as the heavenly Mithra, whose ear
hears well who has a thousand senses, and sees every man that tells a
lie."
'Mithra stands up in his strength, he drives in the awfulness of
royalty, and sends from his eyes beautiful looks that shine from afar,
(saying):
108
''Who will offer me a sacrifice? Who will lie unto me? Who thinks me a
god worthy of a good sacrifice? Who thinks me worthy only of a bad
sacrifice? To whom shall I, in my might, impart brightness and glory?
To whom bodily health? To whom shall I, in my might, impart riches and
full weal? Whom shall I bless by raising him a virtuous offspring?
109
"'To whom shall I give in return, without his thinking of it, the
awful sovereignty, beautifully. arrayed, with many armies, and most
perfect; the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who fells down
heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmitten; who orders chastisement to be
done and his order is done at once, which he has ordered in his
anger?"
'O Mithra! when thou art offended and not satisfied, he soothes thy
mind, and makes Mithra satisfied.
110
'"To whom shall I, in my might, impart sickness and death? To whom
shall I impart poverty and sterility? Of whom shall I at one stroke
cut off the offspring!
111
'"From whom shall I take away, without his thinking of it, the awful
sovereignty, beautifully arrayed, with many armies, and most perfect;
the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who fells down heads,
valiant, smiting, and unsmitten; who orders chastisement to be done
and his order is done at once, which he has ordered in his anger."
'O Mithra! while thou art satisfied and not angry, he moves thy heart
to anger, and makes Mithra unsatisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[28]]
112
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'A warrior with a silver helm, a golden cuirass, who kills with the
poniard, strong, valiant, lord of the borough. Bright are the ways of
Mithra, by which he goes towards the country, when, wishing well, he
turns its plains and vales to pasture grounds,
113
'And then cattle and males come to graze, as many as he wants.
'May Mithra and Ahura, the high gods, come to us for help, when the
poniard lifts up its voice aloud, when the nostrils of the horses
quiver, when the poniards ...., when the, strings of the bows whistle
and shoot sharp arrows; then the brood of those whose libations are
hated fall smitten to the ground, with their hair torn off.
114
'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! give swiftness to
our teams, strength to our own bodies, and that we may watch with full
success those who hate us, smite down our foes, and destroy at one
stroke our adversaries, our enemies, and those who hate us.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[29]]
115
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake.
'O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! thou master of the house, of the
borough, of the town, of the country, thou Zarathushtrotema!
116
'Mithra is twentyfold between two friends or two relations;
'Mithra is thirtyfold between two men of the same group;
'Mithra is fortyfold between two partners;
'Mithra is fiftyfold between wife and husband;
'Mithra is sixtyfold between two pupils (of the same master);
'Mithra is seventyfold between the pupil and his master;
'Mithra is eightyfold between the son-in-law and his father-in-law;
'Mithra is ninetyfold between two brothers;
117
'Mithra is a hundredfold between the father and the son;
'Mithra is a thousandfold between two nations;
'Mithra is ten thousandfold when connected with the Law of Mazda, and
then he will be every day of victorious strength.
118
'May I come unto thee with a prayer that goes lowly or goes highly! As
this sun rises up above the Hara Berezaiti and then fulfils its
career, so may I, O Spitama! with a prayer that goes lowly or goes
highly, rise up above the will of the fiend Angra Mainyu!
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[30]]
119
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastwes, .... sleepless,
and ever awake,
'Offer up a sacrifice unto Mithra, O Spitama! and order thy pupils to
do the same.
'Let the worshipper of Mazda sacrifice unto thee with small cattle,
with black cattle, with flying birds, gliding forward on wings.
120
'To Mithra all the faithful worshiypers of Mazda must give strength
and energy with offered and proffered Haomas, which the Zaotar
proffers unto him and gives in sacrifice. Let the faithful man drink
of the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does, if he offers them
unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra will be pleased with
him and without anger.'
121
Zarathushtra asked him: 'O Ahura Mazda! how shall the faithful man
drink the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does and he offers
them unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra will be pleased
vvith him and without anger?'
122
Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let them wash their bodies three days and three
nights; let them undergo thirty strokes for the sacrifice and prayer
unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let them wash their bodies two
days and two nights; let them undergo twenty strokes for the sacrifice
and prayer unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let no man drink of
these libations who does not know the staota yesnya: Vispe ratavo.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacriace worth being
heard....
[[31]]
123
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'To whom Ahura Mazda offered up a sacrifice in the shining Garo-nmana.
124
'With his arms lifted up towards Immortality, Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, drives forward from the shining Garo-nmana, in a beautiful
chariot that drives on, ever-swift, adorned with all sorts of
ornaments, and made of gold.
125
'Four stallions draw that chariot, all of the same white colour,
living on heavenly food and undying. The hoofs of their fore-feet are
shod with gold, the hoofs of their hind-feet are shod with silver; all
are yoked to the same pole, and wear the yoke and the cross-beams of
the yoke, fastened with hooks of Khshathra vairya to a beautiful....
126
'At his right hand drives Rashnu-Razishta, the most beneficent and
most well-shapen.
'At his left hand drives the most upright Chista, the holy one,
bearing libations in her hands, clothed with white clothes, and white
herself; and the cursing thought of the Law of Mazda.
127
'Close by him drives the strong cursing thought of the wise man,
opposing foes in the shape of a boar, a sharp-toothed he-boar, a
sharp- jawed boar, that kills at one stroke, pursuing, wrathful, with
a dripping face, strong and swift to run, and rushing all around.
'Behind him drives Atar, all in a blaze, and the awful kingly Glory.
128
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand
a thousand bows well-made, with a string of cowgut; they go through
the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the
skulls of the Daevas.
129
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand
a thousand vulture-feathered arrows, with a golden mouth, with a horn
shaft, with a brass tail, and well-made. They go through the heavenly
space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the
Daevas.
130
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand
a thousand spears well-made and sharp-piercing. They go through the
heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls
of the Daevas.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand
a thousand steel-hammers, two-edged, well-made. They go through the
heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls
of the Daevas.
131
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand
a thousand swords, two-edged and well-made. They go through the
heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls
of the Daevas.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stand
a thousand maces of iron, well-made. They go through the heavenly
space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the
Daevas.
132
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, stands
a beautiful well-falling club, with a hundred knots, a hundred edges,
that rushes forward and fells men down; a club cast out of red brass,
of strong, golden brass; the strongest of all weapons, the most
victorious of all weapons. It goes through the heavenly space, it
falls through the heavenly space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
133
After he has smitten the Daevas, after he has smitten down the men who
lied unto Mithra, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, drives forward
through Arezahe and Savahe, through Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu,
through Vourubareshti and Vouru-jareshti, through this our Karshvare,
the bright Hvaniratha.
134
'Angra Mainyu, who is all death, flees away in fear; Aeshma, the
evil-doing Peshotanu, flees away in fear; the long-handed Bushyasta
flees away in fear; all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya fiends flee
away in fear.
135
'Oh! may we never fall across the rush of Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, when in anger! May Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, never
smite us in his anger; he who stands up upon this earth as the
strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all gods, the most
energetic of all gods, the swiftest of all gods, the most
fiend-smiting of all gods, he, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[32]]
136
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'For whom white stallions, yoked to his chariot, draw it, on one
golden wheel, with a full shining axle.
137
'If Mithra takes his libations to his own dwelling, "Happy that man, I
think," - said Ahura Mazda,- "O holy Zarathra! for whom a holy priest,
as pious as any in the world, who is the Word incarnate, offers up a
sacrifice unto Mithra with bundles of baresma and with the [proper]
words.
'"Straight to that man, I think, will Mithra come, to visit his
dwelling,
138
'"When Mithra's boons will come to him, as he follows God's teaching,
and thinks according to God's teaching.
'"Woe to that man, I think," - said Ahura Mazda, - "O holy
Zarathushtra! for whom an unholy priest, not pious, who is not the
Word incarnate, stands behind the baresma, however full may be the
bundles of baresma he ties, however long may be the sacrifice he
performs."
139
'He does not delight Ahura Mazda, nor the other Amesha-Spentas, nor
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, he who thus scorns Mazda, and the
other Amesha-Spentas, and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, and the
Law, and Rashnu, and Arstat, who makes the world grow, who makes the
world increase.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[33]]
140
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake.
'I will offer up a sacrifice unto the good Mithra, O Spitama! unto the
strong, heavenly god, who is foremost, highly merciful, and peerless;
whose house is above, a stout and strong warrior;
141
'Victorious and armed with a well-fashioned weapon, watchful in
darkness and undeceivable. He is the stoutest of the stoutest, he is
the strongest of the strongest, he is the most intelligent of the
gods, he is victorious and endowed with Glory: he, of the ten thousand
eyes, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing,
undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[34]]
142
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... sleepless,
and ever awake;
'Who, with his manifold knowledge, powerfully increases the creation
of Spenta Mainyu, and is a well-created and most great Yazata,
self-shining like the moon, when he makes his own body shine;
143
'Whose face is flashing with light like the face of the star Tistrya;
whose chariot is embraced by that goddess who is foremost amongst
those who have no deceit in them, O Spitama! who is fairer than any
creature in the world, and full of light to shine. I will worship that
chariot, wrought by the Maker, Ahura Mazda, inlaid with stars and made
of a heavenly substance; (the chariot) of Mithra, who has ten thousand
spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable god.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....
[[35]]
144
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who is
truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears,
well-shapen, with a thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong,
sleepless, and ever awake.
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra around countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra within countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra in this country;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra above countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra under countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra before countries;
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra behind countries.
145
'We sacrifice unto Mithra and Ahura, the two great, imperishable, holy
gods; and unto the stars, and the moon, and the sun, with the trees
that yield up baresma. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of all
countries.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth
being heard, namely, unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.
'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and p yer, and the strength and vigour of
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears, ten
thousand eyes, a Yazata invoked by his own name; and that of Rama
Hvastra.
'Ashem Vohu: 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!'
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NOTES:
1. Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East,
American Edition, 1898.)
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