{"collection":"Zoroastrianism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/zor/av_frags.htm","path":"zor/av_frags.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/zor/av_frags.htm","text":"AVESTA: FRAGMENTS:\n==================\nContents:\n - Aogemadaeca\n - Afrin-i Zartosht\n - Bd30V16z\n - DkB131\n - Frahang-i Oim\n - Fragm. Darmesteter\n - Fragm. Gray\n - Fragm. Westergaard\n - Hadhokht Nask\n - Nirangistan\n - Pursishniha\n - Vicharkart-i Denik\n - Vaetha Nask\n - Vishtasp Yasht\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------\nAOGEMADAECA\n-----------\n[Translated by James Darmesteter, Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898, Vol. III, pg 372 ff.\n'The Aogemadaeca,' says Dastur Jamaspji,' is a treatise that inculcates a sort of serene resignation to death.' It \nis a sermon on death, originally written in Pahlavi, but preserved to us in a Parsi transcription; in which \noriginal Avesta texts are developed or paraphrased. These Avesta quotations amount to twenty-nine, of \nwhich twenty-four are new. A good edition of the Parsi text, with a Sanskrit translation, based upon a \nmanuscript of A. D. 1497, has been published by Prof. Geiger (Erlangen, 1879). Dastur Jamaspji possesses \ntwo Pahlavi retranscriptions of an independent Parsi manuscript, which contain useful corrections and \nadditions. We have thought it necessary to give here a complete translation of the treatise, as the Avesta \nquotations by themselves do not present either a continuous or a complete text. Unlike the Avesta in the \nNirangistan, they are not the principal, but only the secondary text.]\n1.\tAogemaideca usmahica visamadaeca [Y41.5] ('We come, rejoice, and submit').\n(Parsi translation:) I come, I accept, I resign;\n2. (Parsi gloss:)\tI come into this world, I accept evil, I resign myself to death;\n3.\tShato-manau vahishto-urvano ('With the mind in joy and the soul in bliss'):\n(Gloss:) In joy is he who realises the wish of his soul.\n4.\tMay the accursed Gana Mainyo be smitten, destroyed, and broken, he who has no knowledge, \nwho has evil knowledge, who is full of death,\n5.\tWho destroys the body of the immortal soul!\n6.\tMay the immortal soul have its share in Paradise!\n7.\tAnd may the pleasure and comfort that will dissipate the pain of the immortal soul come to \nus!\n8.\tAt the fourth dawn, may the holy, strong Sraosha, and Rashn Rast, and the good Vae, and \nAshtad the victorious, and Mihr of the rolling country-side, and the Fravashis of the \nrighteous, and the other virtuous spirits come to meet the soul of the blessed one,\n9.\tAnd make the immortal soul pass over the Chinvad bridge easily, happily, and fearlessly!\n10.\tAnd may Vahman, the Amshaspand, intercede for the soul of the blessed one,\n11.\tAnd introduce it to Ohrmazd and the Amshaspands!\n12.\tUsehihstad Vohu-Mano; haca gatvo zaranyo-kereto ('Up rises Vohu-Mano from his golden \nthrone').\n13.\tHe will take the blessed one by the hand,\n14.\tAnd make him rejoice as much as does the man who rejoices most when on the pinnacle of \nnobility and glory.\n15.\tAnd the Fravashis of the righteous will bring to the soul of the blessed those blessed aliments \nthat are made at the time of Maidyo-zarm:\n16.\tHvarethanam he beretam zaremayehe raoghnahe ('Let them bring unto him the butter of \nMaidhyoi-zaremaya!').\n\tAliments of waters, wine, sugar, and honey!\n17.\tYatha va erezato paiti, yatha va zaranyo paiti, yatha va kacid gaonanam ('Of silver, or gold, \nor any other kind').\n\tThe Amshaspand Vahman will give to the soul of the blessed one clothes embroidered with \ngold and a golden throne;\n18.\tAnd the demon Ahriman will be powerless to inflict any harm or damage on the soul of the \nblessed one.\n19.\tPasca parairistim daeva drvanto duzhdaungho baodhem avatha frateresenti, yatha maeshi \nvehrkavaiti vehrkad haca frateresaiti ('The wicked evil- doing Daevas tremble at his perfume \nafter death, as doth a sheep on which a wolf is pouncing').\n\tAs the sheep, on which the wolf is pouncing, tremble at the odour of the wolf, so these Drujes \ntremble at the perfume of the blessed one.\n20.\tFor whosoever has been born and whosoever shall be born must act in such a way that, when \nthe moment comes to leave this world, he may have Paradise as his portion and Garothman \nas his reward.\n21.\tThere is a passage in which Ohrmazd said to Zarathushtra: 'I created, O Spitama \nZarathushtra! good renown and salvation of the soul;'\n22.\t(That is to say, good renown in this world and salvation of the soul in the next).\n\tAnd in case of doubt we must consider as being saved,\n23.\tHim who, for all we have seen and known, has been a believer in body and soul, and has \nrejoiced Ohrmazd and afflicted Ahriman,\n24.\tAnd whoever has had this for his main object, or has been the source of this benefit, that \nfrom him should flow prosperity and joy, and from him should flow no harm and no pain.\n\tAnd there is a passage in which the soul says to the body:\n25.\tAad mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti manya manangha humatem.\n\tO thou, my perishable body, think good thoughts with thy mind!\n26.\tAad mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti hizva mruidhi hukhtem.\n\tO thou, my perishable body, speak good words with thy tongue!\n27.\tAad mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti zastaeibya vareza hvarestem shyaothanem.\n\tO thou, my perishable body, do good deeds with thy hands!\n28.\tMa mam tanvo ithyejanguhaiti angrai vaire fraspayois yim khrvantem aithivantem, yim \ndaevim afraderesavantem frakerentad angro mainyus pouru-mahrko bunem angheus \ntemanghahe yad ereghato daozanghahe.\n\tO thou, my perishable body, do not throw me down into the Var of Angra Mainyu, terrible, \ndreadful, (frightful), dark, undiscernible (for the darkness there is so dense that it can be \ngrasped with the hand), which Gana Mainyu fabricated at the bottom of the dark world of \nendless hell.\n29.\tThere is a passage in which Ohrmazd says to Zarathushtra:\n30.\tI created, O Spitama Zarathustra! the stars, the moon, the sun, and the red burning fire, the \ndogs, the birds, and the five kinds of animals; but, better and greater than all, I created the \nrighteous man who has truly received from me the Praise of Asha in the good Religion.\n31.\tBut without any reason men adhere to that evil guide, Passion, created by the demons; so that \nthey do not think of Fate,\n32.\tAnd by the bent of their nature they forget death.\n33.\tThey do not keep in mind the working of Time and the transientness of the body,\n34.\tThey ever go wandering about on the way of desire,\n35.\tThey are tossed in doubt by evil Passion,\n36.\tThey clothe themselves with spite, in the course of strife, for the sake of vanishing goods;\n37.\tThey are intoxicated with pride in their youth,\n38.\tAnd shall be full of regrets at the end of their time.\n39.\tFor if one say: 'On this earth of the seven Karshvares there is somebody going to die,' \neverybody ought to think: 'Perhaps it is I,'\n40.\tHad he sense enough to know that every creature that has been created and has had existence \nshall die, and that the unseen, deceiving Astivihad comes for every one.\n41.\tHamaschid paro avangho isente mashya-kaungho ('All men wish for supplies').\n\t(Now) when a man sets out on a journey, he takes provisions with him;\n42.\tIf it be for one day's march, he takes provisions for two days;\n43.\tIf it be for two days' march, he takes provisions for three;\n44.\tIf it be for ten days' march, he takes provisions for fifteen;\n45.\tAnd he thinks that he will come back in health to his well-beloved friends, parents, and \nbrethren.\n46.\tHow then is it that men take no provisions for that unavoidable journey,\n47.\tOn which one must go once for all, for all eternity?\n48.\tChim aoshanghau aoshanguhaiti astem isaiti tanva, kim uruna, kim frazainti, chim va \ngaethahvo mahrkathem? \n\tHow is it that a mortal can wish for another mortal the annihilation of his body (that his \nbody should be no more), or of his soul (that his soul should be damned), or death for his \nchildren or for his cattle (that his cattle should perish), if he has sense enough to know that \nhe himself is mortal?\n49.\tAnamarezhdiko zi asti havai marezhdikai. \n\tFor he is pitiless to himself (he does not pity himself) and none of the others shall pity him.\n50.\tBlind are all those who, on this earth, do not follow the religion, do not benefit the living, \nand do not commemorate the dead.\n51.\tOiuim tad va .... ayare ajasaiti, Spitama Zarathushtra! aeva va khshapa ('For there comes a \nday, O Spitama Zarathustra! or a night').\n\tThere comes a day, O Spitama Zarathustra! or a night, when the master leaves the cattle, or \nthe cattle leave the master, or the soul leaves that body full of desires;\n52.\tBut his virtue, which is of all existences the greatest, the best, the finest, never parts from a \nman.\n53.\tAyare amithnaiti juye tanush frayaere ayan bavaiti hubadhro hupaitiznato, adha apare ayan \nduzhathrem ('Every day the living man ought to think that in the forenoon he is happy and \nin credit; in the afternoon disgrace may come').\n\tEvery day every living body ought to think (for that may happen any day): in the forenoon I \nam happy, rich, in credit (that is to say, well treated by the king);\n54.\tAnd every day other people eagerly wish him evil; that he should be torn away from his \npalace, that he should have his head cut off and his wealth seized upon. Every day the living \nbody is thrown for food to the birds that fly in the empty sky.\n55.\tThis is the way of things on this earth.\n56.\tDeusgdatayau fraeshta drvanto duzdaungho ('It is ignorance that ruins most people, those \nill-informed').\n\tIt is ignorance that ruins most people, those ill-informed; both amongst those who have died, \nand those who shall die.\n57.\tAad mraod Ahuro Mazdau frakeresto Asto-vidhotush zirijau (read zivijau?) apairiayo ('Ahura \nMazda said: Astovidhotush has been created a destroyer of the living and one whom none \nescape ).\n\tOhrmazd said: Astivihad has been created for the destruction of mortals (when the mortals \nsee him, they tremble so much that they are unable to struggle with the Druj) and no one \nescapes him (as said before).\n58.\tYahmad hacha naechish bungayad aoshanguhatam mashyanam ('From whom not one of \nmortal men can escape').\n\tFrom whom not one of mortal men can escape; no one has escaped to this day, and no one \nwill escape hereafter.\n59.\tNoid aethrapatayo, noid danhupatayo, noid sasevishtau, noid asevishtau ('Neither \naethrapaitis, nor chiefs of countries, neither well-doers, nor evil-doers').\n\tNeither the herbed (the Mobedan Mobed), nor the chief of the country (the King of kings), \nneither well-doers, nor evil-doers.\n60.\tNoid usyastacho, noid niya ('Neither those who run up, nor those who go down').\n\tNeither those who run up (those who fly in the empty sky), like Kahos; with all his strength \nand kingly glory, he could not escape from Astivihad.\n61.\tNor those who go down deep (who hide themselves under the earth), like Afrasyab the Turk, \nwho made himself an iron palace under the earth, a thousand times the height of a man, with \na hundred columns;\n62.\tIn that palace he made the stars, the moon, and the sun go round, making the light of day.\n63.\tIn that palace he did everything at his pleasure,\n64.\tAnd he lived the happiest life.\n65.\tWith all his strength and witchcraft, he could not escape from Astivihad.\n66.\tNaedha frakanem anhau zemo yad pathanayau skarenayau duraeparayau.\n\tNor he who dug this wide, round earth, with extremities that lie afar, like Dahak,\n67.\tWho went from the East to the West, searching for immortality and did not find it.\n68.\tWith all his strength and power, he could not escape from Astivihad.\n69.\tAnye angheush frasho-charethrau ('Except the producers of the world of resurrection').\n\tThus until the author of the resurrection, Saoshyos: until Saoshyos comes, no one shall \nescape from Astivihad.\n70.\tTo every one comes the unseen, deceiving Astivihad,\n71.\tWho accepts neither compliments, nor bribe,\n72.\tWho is no respecter of persons,\n73.\tAnd ruthlessly makes men perish.\n74.\tAnd this glorious One must go the way he never went,\n75.\tSee what he never saw,\n76.\tAnd discuss with him whom no one can deceive or mislead.\n77.\tPairithwo bavaiti pantau yim danush paiti fra bunad tachintish; hau did aevo apairithwo, yo \nvayaosh anamarezhdikahe: --\n\tThe way may be traversed which is barred by a river springing from the deep; but one way \ncannot be traversed, namely, the way of the pitiless Vayu.\n78.\tPairithwo bavaiti pantau yim azhish paiti gaustavau, aspanghadho, viranghadho, viraja, \nanamarezhdika; hau did aevo apairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe:\n\tThe way may be traversed which is barred by a serpent as big as an ox, horse-devouring, man-\ndevouring, man-killing, and pitiless; but one way cannot be traversed, namely, the way of the \npitiless Vayu.\n79.\tPairithwo bavaiti pantau yim aresho paiti akhshaeno anamarezhdiko; hau did aevo \napairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe: \n\tThe way may be traversed which is barred by a brown bear, [with a white forehead, man-\nkilling, and] pitiless; but one way cannot be traversed, namely, the way of the pitiless Vayu.\n80.\tPairithwo bavaiti pantau yim mashyo gadho paiti aevojano anamarezhdiko; hau did aevo \napairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe: -- The way may be traversed which is defended by \na highwayman who kills at one stroke, (who stops the way and lets no one pass alive); but \none way cannot be traversed, namely, the way of the pitiless Vayu.\n81.\tPairithwo bavaiti pantau yo haenayau chakhra-vaityau vyazdayau; hau did aevo \napairithwo, yo vayaosh anamarezhdikahe:\n\tThe way may be traversed which is held by a horde armed with discs, and uplifted spears (that \nis, carrying spears to pierce men); but one way cannot be traversed, namely, the way of the \npitiless Vayu.\n81 bis.\tAad mraod Ahuro Mazdau: dushkhratum apairi gaetham athravayad gatham.\n\t[This incomplete quotation is found only in the Pahlavi transcription, with a corrupt \nparaphrase as follows: 'Ohrmazd said, \"The man without intelligence (that is, with a bad \nintelligence) ... who has not sung the Gathas (that is, who has not performed the sacrifice; cf \nNirang. 41) has no good renoun on this earth nor bliss in heaven (cf. 21, 22)...\"']\n82.\tYatha drvau gaom isti, uta drvau aspem isti, uta drvau maeshinem yavanghem isti: \n\tThe wicked acquire cattle, the wicked acquire horses, the wicked acquire sheep and corn; but \nthe wicked tyrant does not acquire a store of good deeds.\n83.\tSeek ye for a store of good deeds, O Zarathushtra, men and women! for a store of good deeds \nis full of salvation, O Zarathustra!\n84.\tPasnush gavo, pasnush aspa, pasnush erezhatem zaranim, pasnush naro chiryo takhmo:\n\t(For) the ox turns to dust, the horse turns to dust, silver and gold turn to dust, the valiant \nstrong man turns to dust; [the bodies of all men mingle with the dust. What do not mingle \nwith the dust are the Ashem-vohu which a man recites in this world and his almsgiving to the \nholy and righteous].\n85.\tFor if there were or could be any escape from death, the first of the world, Gayomard, king of \nthe Mountain, [would have escaped],\n86.\tWho for three thousand years kept the world free from death and old age, from hunger, \nthirst, and evil;\n87.\tYet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle with death.\n88.\tOr there was Hoshang, the Peshdadian,\n89.\tWho destroyed two-thirds of all the evil creatures of Ahriman;\n90.\tYet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle with death.\n91.\tOr there was Tahmuraf, the well-armed, the son of Vivanghat,\n92.\tWho made the Demon of demons, Gana Mainyo, his steed, and extorted from him the seven \nkinds of writing;\n93.\tYet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle with death.\n94.\tOr there was Jim, the Shed, the good shepherd, the son of Vivanghat; (he was Shed, that is to \nsay, shining; he was a good shepherd, that is to say, he kept in good condition troops of men \nand herds of animals);\n95.\tWho, for 616 years, 6 months and 13 days, kept this world free from death and old age, and \nkept away greed and need from the creation of Ohrmazd;\n96.\tYet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle with death.\n97.\tOr there was Dahak, he of the evil religion, who kept the world under his tyranny during a \nthousand years, less one day,\n98.\tAnd introduced into the world many ways of witchcraft and evil-doing;\n99.\tYet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle with death.\n100.\tOr there was Fredun, the Athwyan,\n101.\tWho smote and bound Azi Dahak, that great evil-doer; he put in chains the Devs of \nMazandaran, and introduced into the world a number of talismans;\n102.\tYet, when death came over him, he delivered up his body and could not struggle with death.\n103.\tI am grateful to the Lord Ohrmazd.\n104.\tI think thus in a grateful spirit: the beast of burden does not throw off its burden: fate has \ncome, it cannot be thrown away.\n105.\tMay the blessed one have Paradise as his portion!\n106.\tAs to the righteous man who has come to this banquet, who has shared this banquet, may he \nfor each step get nearer to the bright Paradise, the all-happy Garothman, by twelve hundred \nsteps!\n107.\tWhen he is approaching it, may his merits increase!\n108.\tWhen he is leaving it, may his sin be uprooted!\n109.\tMay righteousness and goodness prevail!\n110.\tMay his soul enter the Garothman!\n111.\tI am one of the righteous.\n\tAtha jamyad: May it happen according to this wish of mine!\n\tHumatanam. All the good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, done or to be done, here or \nelsewhere, we seize upon and we transmit them, that we may be in the number of the \nrighteous.\nAfrin Paighambar Zartusht\n-------------------------\n[Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.)]\n1.\t'I am a pious man, who speaks words of blessing.'\n'Thou appearest unto me full of Glory.'\nAnd Zarathushtra spake unto king Vishtaspa, saying: 'I bless thee, O man! O lord of the \ncountry! with the living of a good life, of an exalted life, of long life. May thy men live long! \nMay thy women live long! May sons be born unto thee of thy own body!\n2.\t'Mayest thou have a son like Jamaspa, and may he bless thee as (Jamaspa blessed] Vishtaspa \n(the lord) of the country!\n'Mayest thou be most beneficent, like ...\n'Mayest thou be fiend-smiting, like Thraetaona!\n'Mayest thou be strong, like Jamaspa!\n'Mayest thou be well-armed, like Takhma-Urupa!\n3.\t'Mayest thou be glorious, like Yima Khshaeta, the good shepherd! \n'Mayest thou be instructed with a thousand senses, like Azhi Dahaka, of the evil law!\n'Mayest thou be awful and most strong, like Keresaspa!\n'Mayest thou be a wise chief of assemblies, like Urvakhshaya! \n'Mayest thou be beautiful of body and without fault, like Syavarshana!\n4.\t'Mayest thou be rich in cattle, like an Athwyanide!\n'Mayest thou be rich in horses, like Pourushaspa!\n'Mayest thou be holy, like Zarathushtra Spitama!\n'Mayest thou be able to reach the Rangha, whose shores lie afar, as Vafra Navaza was!\n'Mayest thou be beloved by the gods and reverenced by men.\n5.\tMay ten sons be born of you! In three of them mayest thou be an Athravan! In three of \nthem mayest thou be a warrior! In three of them mayest thou be a tiller of the ground! And \nmay one be like thyself, O Vishtaspa!\n6.\t'Mayest thou be swift-horsed, like the Sun!\n'Mayest thou be resplendent, like the moon!\n'Mayest thou be hot-burning, like fire!\n'Mayest thou have piercing rays, like Mithra!\n'Mayest thou be tall-formed and victorious, like the devout Sraosha!\n7.\t'Mayest thou follow a law of truth, like Rashnu!\n'Mayest thou be a conqueror of thy foes, like Verethraghna, made by Ahura!\nMayest thou have fulness of welfare, like Rama Hvastra!\n'Mayest thou be freed from sickness and death, like king Husravah!\n8.\t'Then the blessing goes for the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones.\n'May it happen unto thee according to my blessing!\n\"Let us embrace and propagate the good thoughts, good words, and good deeds that have been \ndone and that will be done here and elsewhere, that we may be in the number of the good.\nYatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness ....\n'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....\n'[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode \nof the holy Ones.'\nBd30V16z:\n---------\n(Not available)\nAvesta Fragment from Denkard, book 3, chapter 118 (DkB131)\n----------------------------------------------------------\n\tntit zn dn }b pasu vnra xshathrb ahmbt ashbunt mazishtya dn shbttish mcnaybt dasishtem \nuzybthramayb.\nTranslation (Sanjana, vol 3, pg 154:)\n\tSurely, a ruler of beasts and men assures to himself extremely little greatness by his wisdom \nuntil he secures great happiness for them by means of his rule.\nFrahang-i Oim:\n--------------\n(Not available)\nFragm. Darmesteter:\n-------------------\n(Not available)\nFragm. Gray:\n------------\n(Not available)\nFragm. Westergaard:\n-------------------\n(Not available)\nHadhokht Nask\n-------------\n[Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.)]\n1.\tZarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the \nmaterial world, thou Holy One!\n'What is the only word in which is contained the glorification of all good things, of all the \nthings that are the offspring of the good principle?'\n2.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It is the praise of Holiness (Asha: the Ashem Vohu), O Spitama \nZarathushtra!\n3.\t'He who recites the praise of Holiness, in the fullness of faith and with a devoted heart, \npraises me, Ahura Mazda; he praises the waters, he praises the earth, he praises the cattle, he \npraises the plants, he praises all good things made by Mazda, all the things that are the \noffspring of the good principle.\n4.\t'For the reciting of that word of truth, O Zarathushtra! the pronouncing of that formula, the \nAhuna Vairya, increases strength and victory in one's soul and piety.\n5.\t'For that only recital of the praise of Holiness is worth a hundred khshnaothras of the beings \nof Holiness, when delivered while going to sleep, a thousand when delivered after eating, ten \nthousand when delivered during cohabitation, or any number when delivered in departing this \nlife.'\n6.\t'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth ten others in greatness, \ngoodness, and fairness?'\n7.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers when eating \nthe gifts of Haurvatat and Ameretat, at the same time professing good thoughts, good words, \nand good deeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'\n8.\t'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth a hundred others in greatness, \ngoodness, and fairness?'\n9.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers while \ndrinking of the Haoma strained for the sacrifice, at the same time professing good thoughts, \ngood words, and good deeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'\n10.\t'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth a thousand others in greatness, \ngoodness, and fairness?'\n11.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers when \nstarting up from his bed or going to sleep again, at the same time professing good thoughts, \ngood words, and good deeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'\n12.\t'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth ten thousand others in \ngreatness, goodness, and fairness?'\n13.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers when waking \nup and rising from sleep, at the same time professing good thoughts, good words, and good \ndeeds, and rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'\n14.\t'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth this Karshvare of ours, \nHvaniratha, with its cattle and its chariots, without its men, in greatness, goodness, and \nfairness?'\n15.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers in the last \nmoments of his life, at the same time professing good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, \nand rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'\n16.\t'What is the one recital of the praise of Holiness that is worth all that is between the earth \nand the heavens, and this earth, and that luminous space, and all the good things made by \nMazda at are the offspring of the good principle in greatness, goodness, and fairness?'\n17.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It is that one, O holy Zarathushtra! that a man delivers to renounce \nevil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.'\n [[2]]\n1.\tZarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the \nmaterial world, thou Holy One!\n'When one of the faithful departs this life, where does his soul abide on that night?'\nAhura Mazda answered:\n2.\t'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ushtavaiti Gatha and proclaiming happiness: \n\"Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the full \naccomplishment of his wishes!\" On that night his soul tastes as much of pleasure as the whole \nof the living world can taste.'\n3.\t-'On the second night where does his soul abide?'\n4.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ushtavaiti Gatha and \nproclaiming happiness: \"Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda \ngives the full accomplishment of his wishes!\" On that night his soul tastes as much of \npleasure as the whole of the living world can taste.'\n5.\t-'On the third night where does his soul abide?'\n6.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ushtavaiti Gatha and \nproclaiming happiness: \"Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda \ngives the full accomplishment of his wishes!\" On that night his soul tastes as much of \npleasure as the whole of the living world can taste.'\n7.\tAt the end of the third night, when the dawn appears, it seems to the soul of the faithful, one \nas if it were brought amidst plants and scents; it seems as if a wind were blowing from the \nregion of the south, from the regions of the south, a sweet-scented wind, sweeter-scented \nthan any other wind in the world.\n8.\tAnd it seems to the soul of the faithful one as if he were inhaling that wind with the nostrils, \nand he thinks: 'Whence does that wind blow, the sweetest-scented wind I ever inhaled with my \nnostrils?'\n9.\tAnd it seems to him as if his own conscience were advancing to him in that wind, in the \nshape of a maiden fair, bright, white-armed, strong, tall-formed, high-standing, thick-\nbreasted, beautiful of body, noble, of a glorious seed, of the size of a maid in her fifteenth \nyear, as fair as the fairest things in the world.\n10.\tAnd the soul of the faithful one addressed her, asking: 'What maid art thou, who art the \nfairest maid I have ever seen?'\n11.\tAnd she, being his own conscience, answers him: 'O thou youth of good thoughts, good words, \nand good deeds, of good religion, I am thy own conscience!\n'Everybody did love thee for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious \nstrength and freedom from sorrow, in which thou dost appear to me;\n12.\t'And so thou, O youth of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good religion! didst \nlove me for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious strength, and \nfreedom from sorrow, in which I appear to thee.\n13.\t'When thou wouldst see a man making derision and deeds of idolatry, or rejecting (the poor) \nand shutting his door, then thou wouldst sit singing the Gathas and worshipping the good \nwaters and Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, and rejoicing the faithful that would come from \nnear or from afar.\n14.\t'I was lovely and thou madest me still lovelier; I was fair and thou madest me still fairer; I was \ndesirable and thou madest me still more desirable; I was sitting in a forward place and thou \nmadest me sit in the foremost place, through this good thought, through this good speech, \nthrough this good deed of thine; and so henceforth men worship me for my having long \nsacrificed unto and conversed with Ahura Mazda.\n15.\t'The first step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Thought \nParadise;\n'The second step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Word \nParadise;\n'The third step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Deed Paradise;\n'The fourth step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Endless Lights.'\n16.\tThen one of the faithful, who had departed before him, asked him, saying: 'How didst thou \ndepart this life, thou holy man? How didst thou come, thou holy man! from the abodes full of \ncattle and full of the wishes and enjoyments of love? From the material world into the world \nof the spirit? From the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did thy felicity \nlast?'\n17.\tAnd Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just gone the dreary \nway, full of fear and distress, where the body and the soul part from one another.\n18.\t'[Let him eat] of the food brought to him, of the oil of Zaremaya: this is the food for the \nyouth of good thoughts, of good words, of good deeds, of good religion, after he has departed \nthis life; this is the food for the holy woman, rich in good thoughts, good words, and good \ndeeds, well-principled and obedient to her husband, after she has departed this life.'\n[[3]]\n19.\tZarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: ' O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the \nmaterial world, thou Holy One!\n'When one of the wicked perishes, where does his soul abide on that night?'\n20.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima Gatha (Y46), O \nholy Zarathushtra!\n'\"To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?\"\n'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living world can taste.'\n21.\t-'On the second night, where does his soul abide?'\n22.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima Gatha, O holy \nZarathushtra! \"To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?\" \n'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living world can taste.'\n23.\t-'On the third night, where does his soul abide?'\n24.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima Gatha, O holy \nZarathushtra! \"To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?\" \n'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living world can taste.'\n25.\tAt the end of the third night, O holy Zarathushtra! when the dawn appears, it seems to the \nsoul of the faithful one as if it were brought amidst snow and stench, and as if a wind were \nblowing from the region of the north, from the regions of the north, a foul-scented wind, the \nfoulest-scented of al] the winds in the world.\n26-32.\tAnd it seems to the soul of the wicked man as if he were inhaling that wind with the nostrils, \nand he thinks: 'Whence does that wind blow, the foulest-scented wind that I ever inhaled with \nmy nostrils?'\n33.\tThe first step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Thought Hell;\nThe second step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Word Hell;\nThe third step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Deed Hell;\nThe fourth step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Endless Darkness.\n34.\tThen one of the wicked who departed before him addressed him, saying: 'How didst thou \nperish, O wicked man? How didst thou come, O fiend! from the abodes full of cattle and full \nof the wishes and enjoyments of love? From the material world into the world of the Spirit? \nFrom the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did thy suffering last?'\n35.\tAngra Mainyu, the lying one, said 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just gone the \ndreary way, full of fear and distress, where the body and the soul part from one another.\n36.\t'Let him eat of the food brought unto him, of poison and poisonous stench: this is the food, \nafter he has perished, for the youth of evil thoughts, evil words, evil deeds, evil religion after \nhe has perished; this is the food for the fiendish woman, rich in evil thoughts, evil words, and \nevil deeds, evil religion, ill-principled, and disobedient to her husband.\n37.\t'We worship the Fravashi of the holy man, whose name is Asmo-hvanvant; then I will \nworship the Fravashis of the other holy Ones who were strong of faith.\n38.\t'We worship the memory of Ahura Mazda, to keep the Holy Word. \n'We worship the understanding of Ahura Mazda, to study the Holy Word.\n'We worship the tongue of Ahura Mazda, to speak forth the Holy Word.\n'We worship the mountain that gives understanding, that preserves understanding; [we \nworship it] by day and by night, with offerings of libations well-accepted.\n39.\t'O Maker! how do the souls of the dead, the Fravashis of the holy Ones, manifest \nthemselves?'\n40.\tAhura Mazda answered: 'They manifest themselves from goodness of spirit and excellence of \nmind.'\n41.\tThen towards the dawning of the dawn, that bird Parodarsh, that bird Kareto-dasu hears the \nvoice of the Fire.\n42.\tHere the fiendish Bushyasta, the long-handed, rushes from the region of the north, from the \nregions of the north, speaking thus, lying thus: 'Sleep on, O men! Sleep on, O sinners! Sleep \non and live in sin.'\nNirangistan:\n------------\n(Not available)\nPursishniha:\n------------\n(Not available)\nVicharkart-i Denik:\n-------------------\n(Not available)\nVaetha Nask:\n------------\n(Not available)\nVishtasp Yasht\n--------------\n[Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.)]\n [[1]]\n1.\t'I am a pious man, who speaks words of blessing,' thus said Zarathushtra to the young king \nVishtaspa. - 'She appears to me full of Glory, O Zarathushtra!' - 'O young king Vishtaspa! [I \nbless thee] with the living of a good life, of an exalted life, of a long life. May thy men live \nlong! May thy women live long! May sons be born unto thee of thy own body!\n2.\t'Mayest thou thyself be holy, like Zarathushtra.\n'Mayest thou be rich in cattle, like an Athwyanide!\n'Mayest thou be rich in horses, like Pourushaspa!\n'Mayest thou have a good share of bliss, like king Husravah!\n'Mayest thou have strength to reach the Rangha, whose way lies afar, as Vafra Navaza did.\n3.\t'May ten sons be born of thy own body! three as Athravans, three as warriors, three as tillers \nof the ground! May one of them be like Jamaspa, that he may bless thee with great and ever \ngreater happiness!\n4.\t'Mayest thou be freed from sickness and death, like Pesho-tanu. \n'Mayest thou have piercing rays, like Mithra!\n'Mayest thou be warm, like the moon!\n'Mayest thou be resplendent, like fire!\n'Mayest thou be long-lived, as long-lived as an old man can be!\n5.\t'And when thou hast fulfilled a duration of a thousand years, [mayest thou obtain] the bright, \nall-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones!\nAshem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....\n [[2]]\n6.\t'Give him strength and victory! Give him welfare in cattle and bread!' thus said Zarathushtra \nto the young king Vishtaspa! 'Give him a great number of male children, praisers [of God] and \nchiefs in assemblies, who smite and are not smitten, who smite at one stroke their enemies, \nwho smite at one stroke their foes, ever in joy and ready to help.\n7.\t'Ye gods of full Glory, ye gods of full healing, let your greatness become manifest!'\n8.\tZarathushtra addressed him, saying: 'O young king Vishtaspa! May their greatness become \nmanifest as it is called for!\n'Ye Waters, impart and give your Glory to the man who offers you a sacrifice!\n'This is the boon we beg (for thee) of Ashi Vanguhi, of Rata, with eyes of love.'\n9.\tParendi, of the light chariot, follows: 'Mayest thou become manifest unto him, the young \nking Vishtaspa!\n'May plenty dwell in this house, standing upon high columns and rich in food! Thou wilt \nnever offer and give bad food to a priest: for a priest must be to thee like the brightest \noffspring of thy own blood.'\n10.\tZarathushtra spake unto him: 'O young king Vishtaspa!\n'He who supports the Law of the worshippers of Mazda, as a brother or as a friend, he who \ntreats her friendly in any way, looks to keep off want of food from her.'\n11.\tThe holy Zarathushtra preached that law to Frashaostra and Jamaspa: 'May ye practise \nholiness and thrive, O young Frashaostra (and Jamaspa)!'\n12.\tThus said Ahura Mazda unto the holy Zarathushtra, and thus again did Zarathushtra say unto \nthe young king Vishtaspa: 'Have no bad priests or unfriendly priests; for bad priests or \nunfriendly priests will bring about much harm, and, though thou wish to sacrifice, it will be to \nthe Amesha-Spentas as if no sacrifice had been offered. \n'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....\n [[3]]\n13.\t'When I teach thee, that thou mayest do the same to thy son, O Vishtaspa! receive thou well \nthat teaching; that will make thee rich in children and rich in milk; rich in seed, in fat, in \nmilk'.\n14.\t'Thus do we announce unto thee, Ahura Mazda, and Sraosha, and Ashi, and the Law of the \nworshippers of Mazda, with the whole of all her hymns, with the whole of all her deeds, with \nthe whole of her performances; the Law of Mazda, who obtains her wishes, who makes the \nworld grow, who listens to the songs and rejoices the faithful man at his wish; who protects \nthe faithful man, who maintains the faithful man;\n15.\tFrom whom come the knowledge of holiness and the increase in holiness of the world of the \nholy Principle, and without whom no faithful man can know holiness.\n'To thee come every Havanan, every Atarevakhsha, every Frabaretar, every Aberet, every \nAsnatar, every Rathwishkar, every Sraosha-varez (priestly offices);\n16.\t'Every priest, every warrior, every husbandman; every master of a house, every lord of a \nborough, every lord of a town, every lord of a province;\n17.\t'Every youth of good thoughts, good words, good deeds, and good religion; every youth who \nspeaks the right words; every one who performs the next-of-kin marriage; every itinerant \npriest; every mistress of a house; every wandering priest, obedient to the Law.\n18.\t'To thee come all the performers (of holiness), all the masters of holiness, who, to the \nnumber of three and thirty, stand next to Havani, being masters of holiness.\n19.\t'May they be fully protected in thee, O young king Vishtaspa! While thou smitest thy \nadversaries, thy foes, those who hate thee, a hundred times a hundred for a hundred, a \nthousand-times a thousand for a thousand, ten thousand times ten thousand for ten thousand, \nmyriads of myriads for a myriad.\n20.\t'Proclaim thou that word, as we did proclaim it unto thee! \n'O Maker of the good world! Ahura Mazda, I worship thee with a sacrifice, I worship and \nforward thee with a sacrifice, I worship this creation of Ahura Mazda.'\n21.\tThe young king Vishtaspa asked Zarathushtra: 'With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship, \nwith what manner of sacrifice shall I worship and forward this creation of Ahura Mazda?'\n22.\tZarathushtra answered: 'We will make it known unto thee, O young king Vishtaspa!\n'Go towards that tree that is beautiful, high-growing, and mighty amongst the high-growing \ntrees, and say thou these words: \"Hail to thee! O good, holy tree, made by Mazda! Ashem \nVohu!\"\n23.\t'Let the faithful man cut off twigs of baresma, either one, or two, or three: let him bind them \nand tie them up according to the rites, being bound and unbound according to the rites. \n'The smallest twig of Haoma, pounded according to the rules, the smallest twig prepared for \nsacrifice, gives royalty to the man (who does it).'\nAshem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....\n[[4]]\n24.\tZarathushtra said: 'O young king Vishtaspa! Invoke Ahura Mazda, who is full of Glory, Ahura \nMazda, and the sovereign Heaven, the boundless Time, and Vayu who works highly.\n25.\t'Invoke the powerful Wind, made by Mazda, and Fate.\n'Repeat thou those words, that the god invoked may give thee the boon wished for; that thou, \nstrong, and belonging to the creation of the good Spirit, mayest smite and take away the Druj \nand watch with full success those who hate thee; smite down thy foes, and destroy at one \nstroke thy adversaries, thy enemies, and those who hate thee.\n26.\t'Proclaim thou those prayers: they will cleanse thy body from deeds of lust, O young king \nVishtaspa!\n'I will worship thee, O Fire, son of Ahura Mazda, who art a valiant warrior. He falls upon the \nfiend Kunda, who is drunken without drinking, upon the men of the Druj, the slothful ones, \nthe wicked Daeva-worshippers, who live in sin.\n27.\t'He trembles at the way made by Time and open both to the wicked and to the righteous.\n'They tremble at the perfume of his soul, as a sheep does on which a wolf is falling.\n28.\t'Reciting the whole collection of the Staota Yesnya prayers brings one up all the way to the \nblessed Garo-nmana, the palace beautifully made. That indeed is the way.\n29.\t'That man does not follow the way of the Law, O Zarathushtra! who commits the Baodho-\n(varshta) crime with a damsel and an old woman,' said Zarathushtra to the young king \nVishtaspa.\n'Let him praise the Law, O Spitama Zarathushtra! and long for it and embrace the whole of \nthe Law, as an excellent horse turns back from the wrong way and goes along the right one, \nsmiting the many Drujes.\n30.\t'Go forward with praises, go forward the way of the good Mazdean law and of all those who \nwalk in her ways, men and women.\nHe who wishes to seize the heavenly reward, will seize it by giving gifts to him who holds up \n(the Law) to us in this world here below ....\n31.\t'Let him give (the Law) to him who is unfriendly to her, that he may become friendly.\n'Wash thy hands with water, not with gomez, and let thy son, who will be born of thy wife, do \nthe same.\n'Thus thy thought will be powerful to smite him, who is not so; thy speech will be powerful to \nsmite him, who is not so; thy deed will be powerful to smite him.\n32.\t'\"Hear me! Forgive me!\" - We, the Amesha-Spentas, will come and show thee, O \nZarathushtra! the way to that world to long glory in the spiritual world, to long happiness of \nthe soul in Paradise;\n33.\t'To bliss and Paradise, to the Garo-nmana of Ahura Mazda, beautifully made and fully \nadorned, when his soul goes out of his body through the will of fate, when I, Ahura Mazda, \nwhen I, Ahura Mazda, gently show him his way as he asks for it\n'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....\n[[5]]\n34.\t'They will impart to thee full brightness and Glory.\n'They will give him quick and swift horses, and good sons.\n'He wishes to go to the Law, the young king Vishtaspa,'\nZarathushtra said, 'Let him who is unfriendly to her become a follower of the Law of Mazda, \nsuch as we proclaim it.\n35.\t'Proclaim thou ever (unto the poor).' Ever mayest thou wait here for the refuse that is \nbrought unto thee, brought by those who have profusion of wealth!\" Thus the Druj will not \nfall upon thee and throw thee away; thou wilt wield kingly power there.\n36.\t'The Law of Mazda will not deliver thee unto pain. Thou art entreated (for charity) by the \nwhole of the living world, and she is ever standing at thy door in the person of thy brethren \nin the faith beggars are ever standing at the door of the stranger, amongst those who beg for \nbread.\n'Ever will that bread be burning coal upon thy head.\n'The good, holy Rata, made by Mazda, goes and nurses thy bright offspring.'\n37.\tZarathushtra addressed Vishtaspa, saying: 'O young king Vishtaspa! The Law of Mazda, O my \nson! will give thy offspring the victorious strength that destroys the fiends.\n'Let no thought of Angra Mainyu ever infect thee, so that thou shouldst indulge in evil lusts, \nmake derision and idolatry, and shut (to the poor) the door of thy house.\n38.\t'Atar thus blesses the man who brings incense to him, being pleased with him and not angry, \nand fed as he required: \"May herds of oxen grow for thee, and increase of sons! May fate and \nits decrees bring thee the boons thou wishest for! Therefore do thou invoke and praise (me) \nexcellently in this glorious world! That I may have unceasing food, full of the glory of Mazda \nand with which I am well pleased.\"\n39.\t'O Mazda! take for thyself the words of our praise: of these words I speak and speak again, \nthe strength and victorious vigour, the power of health and healing, the fulness, increase, and \ngrowth. \n'Bring it together with the words of hymns up to the Garo-nmana of Ahura Mazda. He will \nfirst enter there. Therefore do thou pronounce these prayers.\n'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....\n[[6]]\n40.\t'Converse ye with the Amesha-Spentas,' said Zarathushtra unto the young king Vishtaspa, \n'and with the devout Sraosha, and Nairyo-sangha, the tall-formed, and Atar, the son of Ahura \nMazda, and the well-desired kingly Glory.\n41.\t'Men with lustful deeds address the body; but thou, all the night long, address the heavenly \nWisdom; but thou, all night long, call for the Wisdom that will keep thee awake.\n'Three times a day raise thyself up and go to take care of the beneficent cattle.\n42.\t'Of these men may the lordship belong to the wisest of all beings, O Zarathushtra! May their \nlord belong to the wisest, O Zarathushtra! Let him show them the way of holiness, let him \nshow them at once the way thereto, which the Law of the worshippers of Mazda enters \nvictoriously. Thus the soul of man, in the joy of perfect holiness, walks over the bridge, \nknown afar, the powerful Chinvat-bridge, the well-kept, and kept by virtue.\n43.\t'How the worlds were arranged was said to thee first, O Zarathushtra! Zarathushtra said it \nagain to the young king Vishtaspa; therefore do thou praise him who keeps and maintains the \nmoon and the sun. \nHe who has little friendship for the Law, I have placed him down below to suffer.'\n44.\tThus said Angra Mainyu, he who has no Glory in him, who is full of death: 'This is an \nunbeliever, let us throw him down below; this is a liar, or a traitor to his relatives, and like a \nmad dog who wounds cattle and men; but the dog who inflicts wounds pays for it as for wilful \nmurder.\nThe first time he shall smite a faithful man, the first time he shall wound a faithful man, he \nshall pay for it as for wilful murder.\nAshem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....\n[[7]]\n45.\t'Mayest thou receive, O holy young king Vishtaspa! (a house) with a hundred ...., ten \nthousand large windows, ten thousand small windows, all the year long, O holy Vishtaspa! \nnever growing old, never dying, never decaying, never rotting, giving plenty of meat, plenty \nof food, plenty of clothes to the other worshippers of Mazda.\n46.\t'May all boons be bestowed upon thee, as I proclaim it unto thee! May the Amesha-Spentas \nimpart to thee their brightness and glory and plenty! May they give him quick and swift \nhorses and good sons, strong, great in all things, powerful to sing the hymns.\n47.\t'He wields his power according to the wish of Ahura Mazda, the Good Spirit, and for the \ndestruction of the Evil Spirit, whichever of two men goes quicker to perform a sacrifice (to \nAhura); but if he chooses to perform the sacrifice and prayer to us not in the right way, he \ndoes not wield the right power, he will not reign.\n48.\t'He will receive bad treatment in the next world, though he has been the sovereign of a \ncountry, with good horses to ride and good chariots to drive. Give royalty to that man, O \nZarathushtra! who gives royalty unto thee with good will.\n49.\t'Thou shalt keep away the evil by this holy spell: \"Of thee [O child!] I will cleanse the birth \nand growth; of thee [O woman!] I will make the body and the strength pure; I make thee a \nwoman rich in children and rich in milk; a woman rich in seed, in milk, and in offspring. For \nthee I shall make springs run and flow towards the pastures that will give food to the child.\"\n50.\t'Do not deliver me into the hands of the fiend; if the fiend take hold of me, then fever with \nloss of all joy will dry up the milk of the good Spenta-Armaiti. The fiend is powerful to \ndistress, and to dry up the milk of the woman who indulges in lust and of all females.\n51.\t'The perfume of fire, pleasant to the Maker, Ahura Mazda, takes them away from afar; ...; \nand all those that harm the creation of the Good Spirit are destroyed;\n52.\t'Whom Mithra, and Rashnu Razishta, and the Law of the worshippers of Mazda wish to be \ntaken far away, longing for a man who is eager to perform and does perform the ceremonies \nhe has been taught; ...\n'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good .... (8)\n53.\t'The words of the Vahishtoishti Gatha are to be sung: \"Happy is he, O holy Vishtaspa, happy \nthe man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the full accomplishment of his wishes.\" \n'Where does his soul abide on that night?'\n54.\tAhura Mazda answered: ' O my son, Frashaostra! It takes its seat near the head, singing the \nUshtavaiti Gatha and proclaiming happiness: \"Happy is he, happy the man whoever he be!\" \n'On the first night, his soul sits in Good Words; on the second night, it sits in Good Deeds; on \nthe third night, it goes along the ways (to Garo-nmana).\n55.\t'At the end of the third night, O my son, Frashaostra! when the dawn appears, it seems to the \nsoul of the faithful one as if it were brought amidst plants [and scents: it seems as if a wind \nwere blowing from the region of the south, from the regions of the south], a sweet-scented \nwind, sweeter-scented than any other wind in the world, and it seems to his soul as if he were \ninhaling that wind with the nose, and it asks, saying: \"Whence does that wind blow, the \nsweetest-scented wind I ever inhaled with my nose?\"\n56.\t'And it seems to him as if his own conscience were advancing to him in that wind, in the \nshape of a maiden fair, bright, white-armed, strong, tall-formed, high-standing, thick-\nbreasted, beautiful of body, noble, of a glorious seed, of the size of a maid in her fifteenth \nyear, as fair as the fairest things in the world.\n57.\t'And the soul of the faithful one addressed her, asking: \"What maid art thou, who art the \nfairest maid I have ever seen?\"\n58.\t'And she, being his own conscience, answers him: \"O thou youth, of good thoughts, good \nwords, and good deeds, of good religion! I am thy own conscience.\n\"Everybody did love thee for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious \nstrength, and freedom from sorrow, in which thou dost appear to me; [and so thou, O youth \nof good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good religion! didst love me for that \ngreatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious strength, and freedom from \nsorrow, in which I appear to thee.\n59.\t'\"When thou wouldst see a man] making derision and deeds of idolatry, or rejecting (the poor) \nand shutting (his door), then, thou wouldst sit, singing the Gathas, and worshipping the good \nwaters, and Atar, the son of Ahura Mazda, and rejoicing the faithful that would come from \nnear or from afar.\n60.\t'\"I was lovely, and thou madest me still lovelier; I was fair, and thou madest me still fairer; I \nwas desirable, and thou madest me still more desirable; I was sitting in a forward place, and \nthou madest me sit in the foremost place, through this good thought, through this good \nspeech, through this good deed of thine; and so henceforth men worship me for my having \nlong sacrificed unto and conversed with Ahura Mazda.\"\n61.\t'The first step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Thought \nParadise; the second step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-\nWord Paradise; the third step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-\nDeed Paradise; the fourth step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the \nEndless Light.\n62.\t'Then one of the faithful, who had departed before him, asked, saying: \"How didst thou depart \nthis life, thou holy man? How didst thou come, thou holy man! from the abodes full of cattle \nand full of the wishes and enjoyments of love? from the material world into the world of the \nspirit? from the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did thy felicity last?\"'\n63.\tAnd Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just gone the dreary \nway, full of fear and distress, when the body and the soul part from one another.\n64.\t'[Let him eat] of the food brought to him, of the oil of Zaremaya: this is the food for the \nyouth of good thoughts, of good words, of good deeds, of good religion, after he has departed \nthis life; this is the food for the holy woman, rich in good thoughts, good words, and good \ndeeds, well-principled, and obedient to her husband, after she has departed this life.'\n65.\tSpitama Zarathushtra said to the young king Vishtaspa: \"To what land shall I turn, O Ahura \nMazda? To whom shall I go with praying?'\nAshem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good ....","title":"AVESTA: FRAGMENTS","type":"page"}