Prayers

1. Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: ‘O Ahura Mazda! most beneficent spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead defiles the living?’

2 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice 1; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice 1; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times 2.’

3 (7). O Holy One! Which are those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice?

4 (10). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice, and thou shalt twice say them aloud:–

ahyâ yâsâ . . . urvânem (Yasna XXVIII, 2), humatenãm . . . mahî (Yas. XXXV, 2),

ashahyâ âad sairê . . . ahubyâ (Yas. XXXV, 8),

yathâ tû î . . . ahurâ (Yas. XXXIX, 4),

humâim thwâ. . . hudaustemâ (Yas. XLI, 3),

thwôi staotaraskâ . . . ahurâ (Yas. XLI, 5),

ustâ ahmâi . . . mananghô (Yas. XLIII, 1),

spentâ mainyû . . . ahurô (Yas. XLVII, 1),

vohu khshathrem . . . vareshânê (Yas. LI, 1),

vahistâ îstis . . . skyaothanâkâ (Yas. LIII, 1).

5 (10). ‘And after thou hast twice said those words, thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting and most-healing words:–

‘“I drive away Angra Mainyu from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.

6 (12). ‘“I drive away the Nasu, I drive away direct defilement, I drive away indirect defilement, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.”’

7 (13). O Holy One! Which are those words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice?

8 (16). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice, and thou shalt thrice say them aloud:–

ashem vohu . . . (Yas. XXVII, 14), ye sevistô . . . paitî (Yas. XXXIII, 11),

hukhshathrôtemâi . . . vahistâi (Yas. XXXV, 5),

duzvarenâis . . . vahyô (Yas. LIII, 9).

9 (16). ‘After thou hast thrice said those words, thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting and most-healing words:–

‘“I drive away Indra 1, I drive away Sauru 1, I drive away the daêva Naunghaithya 1, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.

10 (18). ‘“I drive away Tauru 2, I drive away Zairi 2, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.”’

11 (19). O Holy One! Which are those words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times?

12 (22). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times, and thou shalt four times say them aloud:–

yathâ ahû vairyô . . . 1 (Yas. XXVII, 13), mazdâ ad môi . . . dau ahûm 2 (Yas. XXXIV, 15),

â airyamâ ishyô . . . masatâ mazdau 3 (Yas. LIV, 1).

13 (22). ‘After thou hast said those words four times, thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting and most-healing words:–

‘“I drive away Aêshma, the fiend of the wounding spear 4, I drive away the daêva Akatasha 5, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.

14 (24). ‘“I drive away the Varenya daêvas 6, I drive away the wind-daêva 7, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.”

15 (25). ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice; these are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice; these are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times.

16 (26). ‘These are the words that smite down Angra Mainyu; these are the words that smite down Aêshma, the fiend of the wounding spear; these are the words that smite down the Mâzainya daêvas 1; these are the words that smite down all the daêvas.

17 (30). ‘These are the words that stand against that Drug, against that Nasu, who from the dead rushes upon the living, who from the dead defiles the living.

18 (32). ‘Therefore, O Zarathustra! thou shalt dig nine holes 2 in the part of the ground where there is least water and where there are fewest trees; where there is nothing that may be food either for man or beast; for purity, is for man, next to life, the greatest good; that purity that is procured by the law of Mazda for him who cleanses himself with good thoughts, words, and deeds.

19 (38). ‘Make thyself pure, O righteous man! any one in the world here below can win purity for himself, namely, when he cleanses himself with good thoughts, words, and deeds.

20. ‘The will of the Lord is the law of holiness,’ &c. 1

‘Whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me?’ &c.

‘Who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances?’ &c.

‘Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug! . . . Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!’