Translated by James Darmesteter. (From Sacred Books of the
East, American Edition, 1898.)
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 [Hawan],
the holy and master of holiness....
Unto the good Waters, made by Mazda; unto the holy water-spring
ARDVI ANAHITA; unto all waters, made by Mazda; unto all plants,
made by Mazda,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
|
NOTES:
|
I.
|
| 1.
Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'Offer
up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring of mine,
Ardvi Sura Anahita, the wide-expanding and health-giving, who
hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy of
sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material
world; the life-increasing and holy, the herd-increasing and holy,
the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy,
the country-increasing and holy;
|
| 2.
'Who makes the seed of all males pure, who makes the womb
of all females pure for bringing forth, who makes all females
bring forth in safety, who puts milk into the breasts of all females
in the right measure and the right quality;
|
| 3.
'The large river, known afar, that is as large as the whole
of the waters that run along the earth; that runs powerfully from
the height Hukairya down to the sea Vouru-Kasha.
|
| 4.
'All the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all
the middle of it is boiling over, when she runs down there, when
she streams down there, she, Ardvi Sura Anahita, who has a thousand
cells and a thousand channels: the extent of each of those cells,
of each of those channels is as much as a man can ride in forty
days, riding on a good horse.
|
| 5.
'From this river of mine alone flow all the waters that spread
all over the seven Karshvares; this river of mine alone goes on
bringing waters, both in summer and in winter. This river of mine
purifies the seed in males, the womb in females the milk in females'
breasts.
|
| 6.
'I, Ahura Mazda, brought it down with mighty vigor, for the
increase of the house, of the borough of the town, of the country,
to keep them, to maintain them, to look over them, to keep and
maintain them close.
|
| 7.
'Then Ardvi Sura Anahita, O Spitama Zarathushtra! proceeded
forth from the Maker Mazda. Beautiful were her white arms, thick
as a horse's shoulder or still thicker; beautiful was her ....,
and thus came she, strong, with thick arms, thinking thus in her
heart:
|
| 8.
'"Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice,
with libations cleanly prepared and well-strained, together with
the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me,
and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon me, and is of good
will unto me?"
|
9.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice
worth being heard; I will offer up unto the holy Ardvi Sura Anahita
a good sacrifice with an offering of libations;- thus mayest thou
advise us when thou art appealed to! Mayest thou be most fully
worshipped, O Ardvi Sura Anahita! with the Haoma and meat, with
the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the holy spells,
with the words with the deeds, with the libations, and with the
rightly-spoken words.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
|
II.
|
|
10. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita, the wide-expanding and health-giving,
who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura, who is worthy
of sacrifice in the material world, worthy of prayer in the material
world; the life-increasing and holy, the herd-increasing and holy,
the fold-increasing and holy, the wealth-increasing and holy,
the country-increasing and holy;
|
11.
'Who drives forwards on her chariot, holding the reins of
the chariot. She goes, driving, on this chariot, longing for men
and thinking thus in her heart: "Who will praise me? Who
will offer me a sacrifice, with libations cleanly prepared and
well-strained, together with the Haoma and meat? To whom shall
I cleave, who cleaves unto me, and thinks with me, and bestows
gifts unto me, and is of good will unto me?"
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice, worth
being heard....
|
III.
|
| 12.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
13.
'Whom four horses carry, all white, of one and the same color,
of the same blood, tall, crushing down the hates of all haters,
of the Daevas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors,
of the blind and of the deaf.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice ....
|
IV.
|
| 14.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
15.
'Strong and bright, tall and beautiful of form, who sends
down by day and by night a flow of motherly waters as large as
the whole of the waters that run along the earth, and who runs
powerfully.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
V.
|
| 16.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 17.
'To her did the Maker Ahura Mazda offer up a sacrifice to
the Airyana Vaejah, by the good river Daitya; with the Haoma and
meat, with the baresma, with the wisdom of the tongue, with the
holy spells, with the words, with the deeds, with the libations,
and with the rightly-spoken words.
|
| 18.
He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may bring the son of
Pourushaspa, the holy Zarathushtra, to think after my law, to
speak after my law, to do after my law!"
|
19.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and begging that she would
grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
VI.
|
| 20.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 21.
'To her did Haoshyangha, the Paradhata, offer up a sacrifice
on the enclosure of the Hara, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, and ten thousand lambs.
|
| 22.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita, that I may become the sovereign
lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the Yatus and
Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that
I may smite down two thirds of the Daevas of Mazana and of the
fiends of Varena."
|
23.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
VII.
|
| 24.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 25.
'To her did Yima Khshaeta, the good shepherd, offer up a sacrifice
from the height Hukairya, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 26.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may become the sovereign
lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the Yatus and
Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that
I may take from the Daevas both riches and welfare, both fatness
and flocks, both weal and Glory."
|
27.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
VIII.
|
| 28.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 29.
'To her did Azi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, offer up a sacrifice
in the land of Bawri, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen,
and ten thousand lambs.
|
| 30.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this boon,
O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may make all
the seven Karshvares of the earth empty of men."
|
31.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant him that boon, although
he was offering libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
her that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
IX.
|
| 32.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto Ardvi
Sura Anahita....
|
| 33.
'To her did Thraetaona, the heir of the valiant Athwya clan,
offer up a sacrifice in the four-cornered Varena, with a hundred
male horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 34.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome Azi Dahaka,
the three-mouthed, the three-headed, the six-eyed, who has a thousand
senses, that most powerful, fiendish Druj, that demon, baleful
to the world, the strongest Druj that Angra Mainyu created against
the material world, to destroy the world of the good principle;
and that I may deliver his two wives, Savanghavach and Erenavach,
who are the fairest of body amongst women, and the most wonderful
creatures in the world."
|
35.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
X.
|
| 36.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto Ardvi
Sura Anahita....
|
| 37.
'To her did Keresaspa, the manly-hearted, offer up a sacrifice
behind the Vairi Pisanah, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 38.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome the golden-heeled
Gandarewa, though all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling
over; and that I may run up to the stronghold of the fiend on
the wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar."
|
39.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XI.
|
| 40.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sara Anahita....
|
| 41.
'To her did the Turanian murderer, Frangrasyan, offer up a
sacrifice in his cave under the earth, with a hundred male horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 42.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may seize hold of that
Glory, that is waving in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha and
that belongs to the Aryan people, to those born and to those not
yet born, and to the holy Zarathushtra."
|
43.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XII.
|
| 44.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 45.
'To her did the great, most wise Kavi Usa offer up a sacrifice
from Mount Erezifya, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen,
ten thousand lambs.
|
| 46.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me, this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may become the
sovereign lord of all countries, of the Daevas and men, of the
Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf."
|
47.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XIII.
|
| 48.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 49.
'To her did the gallant Husravah, he who united the Aryan
nations into one kingdom, offer up a sacrifice behind the Chaechasta
lake, the deep lake, of salt waters, with a hundred male horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 50.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may become the sovereign
lord of all countries, of Daevas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas,
of the oppressors, the blind and the deaf; and that I may have
the lead in front of all the teams and that he may not pass through
the forest , he, the murderer, who now is fiercely striving against
me on horseback."
|
51.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XIV.
|
| 52.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
|
53. 'To her did the valiant warrior Tusa11 offer
worship on the
back of his horse, begging swiftness for his teams, health for
his own body, and that he might watch with full success those
who hated him, smite down his foes, and destroy at one stroke
his adversaries, his enemies, and those who hated him.
|
11. Tusa, in the Shah Nameh Tus; one of the most celebrated
Pahlavans of Kay Khosaw; he was the son of king Naotara
(Nodar).
|
| 54.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome the gallant
sons of Vaesaka, by the castle Khshathro-saoka, that stands high
up on the lofty, holy Kangha; that I may smite of the Turanian
people 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."
|
55.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XV.
|
| 56.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 57.
'To her did the gallant sons of Vaesaka offer up a sacrifice
in the castle Khshathro-saoka, that stands high up on the lofty,
holy Kangha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, ten
thousand lambs.
|
| 58.
'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that we may overcome
the valiant warrior Tusa, and that we may smite of the Aryan people
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."
|
59.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant them that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XVI.
|
| 60.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 61.
'The old Vafra Navaza worshipped her when the strong fiend-smiter,
Thraetaona, flung him up in the air in the shape of a bird, of
a vulture.
|
| 62.
'He went on flying, for three days and three nights, towards
his own house; but he could not, he could not turn down. At the
end of the third night, when the beneficent dawn came dawning
up, then he prayed unto Ardvi Sura Anahita, saying:
|
| 63.
'"Ardvi Sura Anahita! do thou quickly hasten helpfully
and bring me assistance at once. I will offer thee a thousand
libations, cleanly prepared and well strained, along with Haomas
and meat, by the brink of the river Rangha, if I reach alive the
earth made by Ahura and my own house."
|
| 64.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid,
fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girdled, pure, nobly
born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle wearing
a golden...., and radiant.
|
| 65.
'She seized him by the arm: quickly was it done, nor was it
long till, speeding, he arrived at the earth made by Mazda and
at his own house, safe, unhurt, unwounded, just as he was before.
|
[66.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, entreating that she would
grant him that boon.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XVII.
|
| 67.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 68.
'To her did Jamaspa offer up a sacrifice, with a hundred horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, when he saw the army of the
wicked, of the worshippers of the Daevas, coming from afar in
battle array.
|
| 69.
'He asked of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may be as constantly
victorious as any one of all the Aryans."
|
70.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XVIII.
|
| 71.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 72.
'To her did Ashavazdah, the son of Pouru-dhakhshti, and Ashavazdah
and Thrita, the sons of Sayuzhdri, offer up a sacrifice, with
a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs, by Apam
Napat, the tall lord, the lord of the females, the bright and
swift-horsed.
|
| 73.
'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that we may overcome
the assemblers of the Turanian Danus, Kara Asabana, and Vara Asabana,
and the most mighty Duraekaeta, in the battles of this world.
|
74.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted them that boon, as they were offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant them that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, l will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XIX.
|
| 75.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 76.
'Vistauru, the son of Naotara, worshipped her by the brink
of the river Vitanghuhaiti, with well-spoken words, speaking thus:
|
| 77.
'"This is true, this is truly spoken, that I have smitten
as many of the worshippers of the Daevas as the hairs I bear on
my head. Do thou then, O Ardvi Sura Anahita! leave me a dry passage,
to pass over the good Vitanghuhaiti."
|
| 78.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita hastened unto him in the shape of a maid,
fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girded, pure, nobly
born of a glorious race, wearing shoes up to the ankle, with all
sorts of ornaments and radiant. A part of the waters she made
stand still, a part of the waters she made flow forward, and she
left him a dry passage to pass over the good Vitanghuhaiti.
|
[79.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XX.
|
| 80.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 81.
'To her did Yoishta, one of the Fryanas, offer up a sacrifice
with a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs on
the Pedvaepa of the Rangha.
|
| 82.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome the evil-doing
Akhtya, the offspring of darkness, and that I may answer the ninety-nine
hard riddles that he asks me maliciously, the evil-doing Akhtya,
the offspring of darkness."
|
83.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXI.
|
| 84.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 85.
'Whom Ahura Mazda the merciful ordered thus, saying: "Come,
O Ardvi Sura Anahita, come from those stars down to the earth
made by Ahura, that the great lords may worship thee, the masters
of the countries, and their sons.
|
86.
'"The men of strength will beg of thee swift horses and
supremacy of Glory.
'"The Athravans who read and the pupils of the Athravans
will beg of thee knowledge and prosperity, the Victory made by
Ahura, and the crushing Ascendant.
|
87.
'"The maids of barren womb, longing for a lord, will
beg of thee a strong husband;
'"Women, on the point of bringing forth, will beg of thee
a good delivery.
'"All this wilt thou grant unto them, as it lies in thy power,
O Ardvi Sura Anahita!"
|
| 88.
'Then Ardvi Sura Anahita came forth, O Zarathushtra! down
from those stars to the earth made by Mazda; and Ardvi Sura Anahita
spake thus:
|
89.
'"O pure, holy Zarathushtra! Ahura Mazda has established
thee as the master of the material world: Ahura Mazda has established
me to keep the whole of the holy creation.
'"Through my brightness and glory flocks and herds and two-legged
men go on, upon the earth: I, forsooth, keep all good things,
made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle, just as a
shepherd keeps his flock."
|
| 90.
'Zarathushtra asked Ardvi Sura Anahita: "O Ardvi Sura
Anahita! With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship thee? With
what manner of sacrifice shall I worship and forward thee? So
that Mazda may make thee run down (to the earth), that he may
not make thee run up into the heavens, above the sun; and that
the Serpent may not injure thee with...., with...., with....,
and.... poisons."
|
91.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita answered: "O pure, holy Spitama!
this is the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship me, this is
the sacrifice wherewith thou shalt worship and forward me, from
the time when the sun is rising to the time when the sun is setting.
'"Of this libation of mine thou shalt drink, thou who art
an Athravan, who hast asked and learnt the revealed law, who art
wise, clever, and the Word incarnate.
|
| 92.
'"Of this libation of mine let no foe drink, no man fever-sick,
no liar, no coward, no jealous one, no woman, no faithful one
who does not sing the Gathas, no leper to be confined.
|
93.
'"I do not accept those libations that are drunk in my
honor by the blind, by the deaf, by the wicked, by the destroyers,
by the niggards, by the...., nor any of those stamped with those
characters which have no strength for the holy Word.
'"Let no one drink of these my libations who is hump-backed
or bulged forward; no fiend with decayed teeth."
|
| 94.
'Then Zarathushtra asked Ardvi Sura Anahita: "O Ardvi
Sura Anahita! What becomes of those libations which the wicked
worshippers of the Daevas bring unto thee after the sun has set?"
|
| 95.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita answered: "O pure, holy Spitama Zarathushtra!
howling, clapping, hopping, and shouting, six hundred and a thousand
Daevas, who ought not to receive that sacrifice, receive those
libations that men bring unto me after [the sun has set]."
|
96.
'I will worship the height Hukairya, of the deep precipices,
made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Sura Anahita leaps, from
a hundred times the height of a man, while she is possessed of
as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth,
and she runs powerfully.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXII.
|
| 97.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 98.
'Before whom the worshippers of Mazda stand with baresma in
their hands: the Hvovas did worship her, the Naotaras did worship
her; the Hvovas asked for riches, the Naotaras asked for swift
horses. Quickly was Hvova blessed with riches an full prosperity;
quickly became Vishtaspa, the Naotaride, the lord of the swiftest
horses in these countries.
|
99.
['Ardvi Sura Anahita granted them that boon, as they were
offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
that she would grant them that boon.]
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXIII.
|
| 100.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 101.
'Who has a thousand cells and a thousand channels: the extent
of each of those cells, of each of those channels, is as much
as a man can ride in forty days, riding on a good horse. In each
channel there stands a palace, well-founded, shining with a hundred
windows, with a thousand columns, well-built, with ten thousand
balconies, and mighty.
|
| 102.
'In each of those palaces there lies a well-laid, well-scented
bed, covered with pillows, and Ardvi Sura Anahita, O Zarathushtra!
runs down there from a thousand times the height of a man, and
she is possessed of as much Glory as the whole of the waters that
run along the earth, and she runs powerfully.
|
XXIV.
|
| 103.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 104.
'Unto her did the holy Zarathushtra offer up a sacrifice in
the Airyana Vaejah, by the good river Daitya; 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.
|
| 105.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may bring the son of
Aurvat-aspa, the valiant Kavi Vistaspa, to think according to
the law, to speak according to the law, to do according to the
law."
|
106.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was
offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXV.
|
| 107.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 108.
'Unto her did the tall Kavi Vishtaspa offer up a sacrifice
behind Lake Frazdanava, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 109.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome Tathravant,
of the bad law, and Peshana, the worshipper of the Daevas and
the wicked Arejat-aspa, in the battles of this world!"
|
110.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was offering
up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that she
would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXVI.
|
| 111.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 112.
'Unto her did Zairi-vairi, who fought on horseback, offer
up a sacrifice behind the river Daitya, with a hundred male horses,
a thousand oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 113.
'He begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant me this, O good,
most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that I may overcome Pesho-Changha
the corpse-burier, Humayaka the worshipper of the Daevas, and
the wicked Arejat-aspa, in the battles of this world.
|
114.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita granted him that boon, as he was
offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating
that she would grant him that boon.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXVII.
|
| 115.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 116.
'Unto her did Arejat-aspa and Vandaremaini offer up a sacrifice
by the sea Vouru-Kasha, with a hundred male horses, a thousand
oxen, ten thousand lambs.
|
| 117.
'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O
good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that we may conquer
the valiant Kavi Vishtaspa and Zairivairi who fights on horseback,
and that we may smite of the Aryan people 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."
|
118.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita did not grant them that favor, though
they were offering up libations, giving gifts, sacrificing, and
entreating that she should grant them that favor.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXVIII.
|
| 119.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 120.
'For whom Ahura Mazda has made four horses -- the wind,
the rain, the cloud, and the sleet -- and thus ever a upon the
earth it is raining, snowing, hailing, and sleeting; and whose
armies are so many and numbered by nine-hundreds and thousands.
|
121.
'I will worship the height Hukairya, of the deep precipices,
made of gold, wherefrom this mine Ardvi Sura Anahita leaps, from
a hundred times the height of a man, while she is possessed of
as much Glory as the whole of the waters that run along the earth,
and she runs powerfully.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXIX.
|
| 122.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 123.
'She stands, the good Ardvi Sura Anahita, wearing a golden
mantle, waiting for a man who shall offer her libations and prayers,
and thinking thus in her heart:
|
124.
"'Who will praise me? Who will offer me a sacrifice,
with libations cleanly prepared and well-strained, together with
the Haoma and meat? To whom shall I cleave, who cleaves unto me,
and thinks with me, and bestows gifts upon, me, and is of good
will unto me?"
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
XXX.
|
| 125.
'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring
of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita....
|
| 126.
'Ardvi Sura Anahita, who stands carried forth in the shape
of a maid, fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, high-girded,
pure, nobly born of a glorious race, wearing along her.... a mantle
fully embroidered with gold;
|
| 127.
'Ever holding the baresma in her hand, according to the rules,
she wears square golden earrings on her ears bored, and a golden
necklace around her beautiful neck, she, the nobly born Ardvi
Sura Anahita; and she girded her waist tightly, so that her breasts
may be well-shaped, that they may be tightly pressed.
|
| 128.
'Upon her head Ardvi Sura Anahita bound a golden crown, with
a hundred stars, with eight rays, a fine ...., a well-made crown,
in the shape of a ...., with fillets streaming down.
|
| 129.
'She is clothed with garments of beaver, Ardvi Sura Anahita;
with the skin of thirty beavers of those that bear four young
ones, that are the finest kind of beavers; for the skin of the
beaver that lives in water is the finest-colored of all skins,
and when worked at the right time it shines to the eye with full
sheen of silver and gold.
|
|
130. 'Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! I beg of
thee this favor: that I, fully blessed, may conquer large kingdoms,
rich in horses, with high tributes, with snorting horses, sounding
chariots, flashing swords, rich in aliments, with stores of food,
with well-scented beds; that I may have at my wish the fullness
of the good things of life and whatever makes a kingdom thrive.
|
| 131.
'Here, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! I beg of
thee two gallant companions, one two-legged and one four-legged:
one two-legged, who is swift, quickly rushing, and clever in turning
a chariot round in battle; and one four-legged, who can quickly
turn towards either wing of the host with a wide front, towards
the right wing or the left, towards the left wing or the right.
|
132.
'Through the strength of this sacrifice, of this invocation,
O Ardvi Sura Anahita! come down from those stars, towards the
earth made by Ahura, towards the sacrificing priest, towards the
full boiling [milk]; come to help him who is offering up libations
giving gifts, sacrificing, and entreating that thou wouldst grant
him thy favors; that all those gallant warriors may be strong,
like king Vishtaspa.
'For her brightness and glory, I will offer her a sacrifice....
|
133.
'Yatha ahu vairya: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigor
of the holy water-spring Anahita.
'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!'
|