A. V. Williams Jackson, Avesta Reader. First series, easier texts, notes & vocabulary [1893] (original) (raw)

Yasna 26 Notes. General Remark. In the performance of the Yasna sacrifice this short chapter i.s recited by the priest (Zut) and his assistant (R&spl) as part of the invocation of the Fravashis. YS. 26.1. s t a o m i zba ytmi ufy e m i : compare the formulaic yasnUtca vahtnaica etc. Ys. 57.6 et al. Ys. 26.4. ah tint ... fravaflm: be usual five-fold classification of the spiritual faculties of man. The same division is found also in later Parsism (i) ahu (Phi. aAa) ! spirit, breath of life'; (2) dafna (Hhl. din} 'religion, conscience'; (3) baodah (Phi. bod} 'consciousness, perception'; (4) urvan (Phi. rufi<fn} 'soul',-($)'/r<rve& (Phi. fronar) 'Fravashi, guardian angel'. g?u3 huJ&vho: an allusion to the Primeval Bull slain by Ahrimari, but from which all animals are sprung. Similarly, mankind are descended from his counterpart Gayo-mareton> the primitive man, a sort of Iranian Adam, who was also slain by Ahriman. See Ys. 26.5 below. YS. 26.9. uzdaftyunqm^a: Zoroastrianlsm distinctly recognized the righteous in other lands besides Iran, cf. Yt. 13.143,144 a glimpse of the idea of the universal brotherhood of mankind. Ys. 26.10. kaca ... & saoSyantSt: an allusion to the coming of the Saviour (Saoshyantj. The phrase haca a etc. is here about equivalent to 'from Lhe beginning of the world to the resurrection', cf. i Corinthians xv-45-Ys. 26.11, rvqno ... y& J ravaj&yd-here the souls of the dead are Fravashis, cf. Yt. 13.17. The relative y& (f.) is attracted to fravafayo. Notes to Yasna 57. 39 Yasna 57 Notes. General Remark. Two Yashts (Vs. 57, Yt. n) are dedicated to Sraosha the divinity of Religious Obedience and Devotion. The latter Yasht (Yt. ix) is commonly termed Srosh Yasht H&dhokht and is rather the more liturgical of the two. The former, our present selection (Ys. 57), is the Srosh Yasht si shaba or '.Srosh Yasht of the Three Nights', since it is used at funeral ceremonies during the three nights after the decease, as well as being in common use at the sacrifice. See Darmesteter, Le. Zend-Avesta, vol. i. p. 358. The MSS. generally divide this Yasna into thirteen Kardes 'sections', each of which closes with the repetition of a formula. Ys. 57-1. a$9tn whit: the opening verse beginning with these words, consists merely of formulas; it is therefore here omitted. Ys. 57-2fr as lyr* tap pai ii bar*si3n: on the construction, cf. Gr. 966 N. I. pSyii pwdr$tara: a Dvandva compound (Gr. ij 879 expl.), and it refers apparently to Mithra and Rashnu, the keeper and the judge at the Cinvat liridge after death. It seems at least reasonable to regard Mithra (cf. Yt. 10) as the watchful guardian (/>dyu); it is fair to presume that Rashnu the Just (cf. Yt. 12), the divinity who weighs in the balance the deeds of men, may be the pwor'star who has the decision. The Phi. Vers., moreover, supports the view as it actually glosses the phrase as p&tiak barinkar Mitro 'the keeper and former Mithra'; it fails to recognize the dual of the Dvandva, treats the words as singular, and hence makes no mention of Rashnu. Ys. 57-3 ray<i. . yasna: on the construction, cf. Gr. 941 expl. Ys. 57-6. pryafystt$ etc.: nouns in explanatory apposition to bar'sma. Ys. 57-8. ga& frasr&vaya$ afsmanivqn: : who chanted the Gathas, the metrical selections', etc. Ys. 57-10. yapa <&/<& na^dyf&vksm: a reminiscence of the Gathas (Ys. 34.80), hence tta*d c (d) rather than na'd (d). Ys. 57-11. fnr 9 za*dim: the Phi. Vers. has buiand 'tall' which would rather favor the MSS. reading for'zaiflm, this would imply a stem bir'zaftya-. AQ Notes to Yasna 57. Ys. 57.14d iir<i t. . vdi j>i.& ve*)f,ti: compare the words of the Psalmist (Ps. xci.io) 'there shall no evil befall thee, neither .shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling'. Ys. 57-15vis pay co f rnvOis ga epayco: i. e. l the prosperity of all mankind'. The Phi. Vers. has farulftlih 'prosperity, comfort, growth'. Ys. 57-18. frSnS-mS^te fiwcrejaj: on the syntax, see Gr. 962 expl. Ys. 57-20. pap a. vac'tv pa* i-i.gu.va (.&: the Phi. Vers. glosses 'he speakes prolection' etc. ... acj zak pdndkiJt yemaUltincd ... For the form />a z V/.Y# (Geldner's text) instead of ga (as here), see Gr. 354, 193 N. 2. Ys. 57-24. diienu.disd datnaydi: for the ap[>arent redundancy compare the phrase, Av. visit vispa'tiDt Yt. 10.18, etc., Skt. vispdl'un visam R.V. 3.13.5. On dafnayai sec Gr. 957. fraor*nta ..//. . Jra: for the repetition of fr&, cf. 6V. 752 N. 2 expl. Ys. 57-25. ahecn avbJus: on the syntax, cf. Gr. 977. drva^byo kacnfbyo: on the collocation (m. n. f.) .see Gr. 906. Ys. 57.27a say a: the Phi. Vers. has silyako-_-P. sSyah, as Dr E. W. West kindly wrote me (Dec. 5 1888); hence the suggestion 'not casting a shadow', with which Geldner compares the Skt. epithet chayadvitiyii 'accompanied by a shadow', the characteristic mark distinguishing man from the divinities MBh. 3.57.25. Ys. 57-28. Ssyavha aspacUiya; on the dual number here, cf. Gr. 908 N. 2 expl. Ys. 57-29av t vyt-iyti ... ave df?ntc: i. e. 'they pursue and overtake others, but they themselves never can be overtaken'; ave refers both times lo the horses of Sraosha. Ys. 57-3e kindvo; the river of the Orient is the-Indus, as the Phi. Vers, has it; the river in the west is perhaps the Tigris.