THE GATHAS: The Hymns of Zarathushtra - Ahunuvaiti Gatha - (The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies

1. Unto Thee, O Lord, the Soul of Creation cried:
"For whom didst Thou create me, and who so fashioned me?
Feuds and fury, violence and the insolence of might have oppressed me;
None have I to protect me save Thee;
Command for me then the blessings of a settled, peaceful life."

2. Thereupon, the Creator asked Asha:
"Whom wilt Thou have as saviour for the world,
to be its protector and upholder of order?
Who with his sagacity and zeal may bring prosperity;
Whom wilt Thou have as its lord, who will repel violence,
and dispel the forces of Evil?"

3. Thus to the Lord doth Asha, the Truth, reply:
"No guide is known who can shelter the world from woe,
None who knows what moves and works Thy lofty plans.
The most powerful Of beings is he to whose help
I shall go on an invocation."

4. Mazda knows best what works have been wrought
by the perpetrators of Evil and their followers;
And He knows what shall be wrought by them ever hereafter.
The Lord, Ahura is, the sole discerner;
For us, let it be as He ordains.

5. And thus we two, my soul and the soul of creation,
prayed with hands outstretched to the Lord;
And thus we two urged Mazda with these entreaties:
"Let not destruction overtake the right-living,
Let not the diligent good suffer at the hands of evil."

6. Then, thus spake Ahura Mazda, the Lord of understanding and wisdom:
"As there is no righteous spiritual lord or secular chief,
So have I, as Creator, made thee (Zarathushtra) the protector and guide,
For the welfare of the world and its diligent people:"

7. The Wise Lord, with the spirit of Truth and Righteousness,
made these holy hymns,
The Benevolent Providence gave these teachings
for the well-being of the world and its righteous people.
Whom hast Thou, O Mazda, ordained, verily to give forth,
through the Good Mind, these bounties to mortals?

8. (Thus spake Ahura Mazda):
"The one who alone has hearkened to my precepts
is known as Zarathushtra Spitama;
For his Creator and for Truth he wishes to announce
the Holy Message,
Wherefore shall I bestow on him the gift of eloquent speech."

9. Thereupon the Soul of Creation cried:
"In my woes I have obtained for help the feeble voice
of an humble man,
When I wished for a mighty over-lord!
Whenever shall I get one to give me help with power
and with force?"

10. O Ahura Mazda, and O Spirit of Truth and Right!
Do Ye grant me and my followers such authority
and power through Truth,
That with the Good Mind, we may bring the world
peace and happiness,
Of which, Thou, O Lord, art indeed the first possessor.

11. When shall Truth, the Good Mind, and the Holy Power,
hasten to me in full, my Lord?
Do Thou assign them to me for the great dispensation.
And verily, grant now to us, Thy devoted servants,
Thy gracious help for this Great Cause!

Yasna 28

1. In humble adoration, with hands outstretched
I pray to Thee, O Mazda!
First of all, through Thy Holy spirit vouchsafe to me
All righteousness of action, all wisdom of the Good Mind,
That I may thereby bring joy to the Soul of Creation.

2. O Wise Lord, by virtue of the Good Mind,
may I reach Thy Presence.
Grant me the blessings in both worlds,
the corporeal and the spiritual,
attainable through Righteousness;
Thy rewards which bring beatific happiness
to the faithful blessed with them.

3. As never before, I shall weave my songs for Thee,
O Mazda Ahura,
And for Thee, O Spirits of Truth and the Good Mind,
Then, shall Armaity, the Spirit of Benevolence,
make the imperishable Dominion of Heaven flourish.
For that perfection, come ye all to my invocations.

4. I shall take the awakened soul to the exalted abode
with the help of the Good Mind;
Knowing the blissful rewards of the Wise Lord
for righteous deeds;
As long as i have power and am able,
I shall teach all to seek for Truth and Right.

5. O Asha, equipped with the knowledge of Truth and Righteousness,
When shall I see Thee, and Vohu-Mana too!
And through that Inspiration (Sraosha), when shall I
be in the presence of the Most Beneficent Mazda!
With the proclamation of these sacred words shall we
make the evil ones turn toward Thee O Holy Mazda!

6. Come, O Eternal Wise Spirit, through the Good Mind,
With the long lasting gift of Righteousness
vouchsafed in Thy sublime words.
Grant unto Zarathushtra, and to us all
Thy gracious help, O Ahura,
Whereby we may overcome the evil of wrong-doers.

7. Grant me, O Truth, the blessing which is the fruit
of the Good Mind.
Grant me, O Piety, to me and to Vishtaspa,
our desire for effectiveness,
And grant, O Mazda, sovereign Lord,
That reciting Thy holy words of revelation
I may make Thy felicitous message heard.

8. O Thou, Best One, in accord with the Highest Truth,
The best blessing, I beseech of Thee for
noble Frashaoshtra and for me.
And mayest Thou grant to us, for all time,
the gift of the Good Mind.

9. And blessed with these bounties, we who have
always offered our songs of praise to Thee,
We shall not displease Thee, O Mazda,
Or Ye, O Truth, and the Best Mind;
Ye, who are the most helpful to promote
the Dominion of Blessedness.

10. Those whom Thou knowest as full worthy, by reason
of their Righteousness and Good Mind,
For those, do Thou fulfill their desire for attainment,
O Mazda Ahura.
For I well know that the words of these song offerings
to Thee directed to righteous ends
Will have their blissful effect.

11. And through these divine songs, for evermore shall I preserve
Righteousness and Good Mind for the people.
To enable me to apprise all, teach me O Mazda Ahura,
Through Thine own Spirit and Thine own Words,
the principle of creation of the first existence.

Yasna 30

1. O ye, coming to seek wisdom, now shall I proclaim
to you the message of the Wise Creator,
The hymns unto Ahura, and the offerings of the Good Mind,
The enduring sacred Truth,
And the glorious vision of the Heavenly Lights
attainable through Truth sublime.

2. Hearken with your ears to these best counsels,
Reflect upon them with illumined judgment.
Let each one choose his creed with that
freedom of choice each must have at great events.
O ye, be awake to these, my announcements.

3. In the beginning there were two primal spirits,
Twins spontaneously active,
These are the Good and the Evil, in thought,
and in word, and in deed.
Between these two, let the wise choose aright.
Be good, not base!

4. And when these Twin Spirits came together at first,
They established Life and the Denial of Life;
And so shall it be till the world will last.
The worst existence shall be the lot of the followers of evil,
And the state of Best-Consciousness be the reward of the righteous.

5. Of these Twin Spirits, the Evil one chooses doing
the worst,
While the most bountiful Holy Spirit of Goodness,
clothing itself in the imperishable heavens,
chooses Truth and Righteousness.
And so will those who would please Ahura Mazda
with righteous deeds, performed with faith in Truth.

6. Between these two Spirits the Demon-worshipers
could not discern aright.
To them Deception came at the time of decision,
And they chose the Worst Mind.
With violence then they rushed together,
Life, in the world, to destroy.

7. And to support this life comes Armaity, the spirit of
Benevolence and Right-mindedness.
Together with the Spirit of Holy Power, the Good Mind, and Truth,
That the soul, passing through the test of truth,
shall be with Thee, O Lord.

8. And when there cometh the ultimate retribution
for the evil ones,
Then, at Thy Ordinance, shall the Good Mind
establish the Kingdom of Heaven, O Ahura!
For those who will deliver Untruth into the hands of Truth.

9. So may we be like those making the world progress
toward perfection;
May Mazda and the Divine Spirits help us and
guide our efforts through Truth;
For a thinking man is where Wisdom is at home.

10. Then truly cometh the blow of destruction upon Untruth;
While those of good renown shall be received in
the promised abode,
The blessed abode of the Good Mind, of Truth, and
of the Wise Lord.

11. O ye mortals, mark these commandments,
The commandments the Wise Lord has given for
happiness and for pain:
Long suffering for the doer of Evil, and bliss
for the follower of Truth,
The illumination of salvation for the Righteous ever after.

Yasna 31

1. O ye, mindful to learn, I proclaim to you this message,
Unheard as yet by those who are destroying the
civilization of the Righteous,
with evil ways of the Spirit of Untruth,
The message, most welcome to Thy followers
dedicated to Thee, O Mazda!

2. As you realize not the eternal truths,
and recognize not the better life,
I come to you all to guide you in the right selection
between the two sides
That we may thence live in accordance with Truth and Right.

3. Tell me, O Mazda -
That which Thou shalt bestow by Thy Spirit and Fire,
The blessing Thou shalt assign through Truth for
those acting with discernment,
The Holy Law for their enlightenment.
Give it in Thy own inspired word
That I may thereby bring its realization to all.

4. As you hear our prayer, O Lord,
Give us the Truth,
Give us the help of the Divine Spirits,
Give us the blessing of Armaity,
the Spirit of Benevolence,
And through the work of the Best Mind,
give us the mighty Dominion,
That we may overcome, thereby,
the Evil Spirit of Untruth.

5. Declare to me, what Thou hast, through Right,
appointed for me as the better portion;
Teach me, with the help of the Good Mind,
to know and realize my state,
And apprise me, O Mazda Ahura, of all things that
are to be and not to be.

6. His is indeed the Best State who declares truly
the message of holy wisdom:
The message of the perfection of being and rightful immortality,
Of Mazda's Kingdom which ever flourishes through the Good Mind.

7. He who in the First Beginning thus thought:
Let the glorious heavens be clothed in light;
He by His supreme understanding created the
principles of Truth and Light;
Enabling mortals thereby to maintain the Good Mind.
O Wise Lord, O ever-the-same Ahura, by Thy Holy Spirit
make these realms flourish.

8. Not only did I conceive of Thee, O Mazda
As the very First and the Last,
As the Father of the Good Mind,
As the veritable Creator of Truth and Right.
As the Lord Judge of our actions in life,
I beheld these with my very eyes!

9. Thine was Armaity, the Spirit of Benevolence,
Thine was the Wisdom which created Life,
Thine was the Divine Spirit which established choice
Between the diligent protector of creation, and
the not diligent.

10. Of these two, did Creation choose the diligent
cattle-tending protector.
As a righteous master and one possessing the Good Mind.
The deceiving idler, the non-protector, has no share
in the Holy Message.

11. By Thy perfect Intelligence, O Mazda
Thou didst first create us having bodies and
spiritual consciences,
And by Thy Thought gave our selves the power of
thought, word, and deed.
Thus leaving us free to choose our faith at our own will.

12. He lifts up his voice, be he the speaker of truth or
the speaker of falsehood,
He who knows and he who knows not,
Each according to his heart and mind,
May Armaity appeal to the spirits wavering in doubt.

13. Doctrines and deeds, clearly manifest or dimly recognized,
Those which impose great penance for a trifling offense;
These all, through Thy Truth, do not escape Thy perceptive vision.

14. This I ask Thee, Ahura!
Of the events happening, and the events to happen,
What requitals, in accord with their deeds, are
appointed for the truthful righteous, and
what for the lying sinners?

15. This I ask Thee, Ahura!
What is the penance ordained for one who seeks to
achieve sovereignty for the Liar;
For one of evil deeds who seeks not his living
without harm to the flock of the shepherd;
And of the good who listen not to the voice of Untruth?

16. And this I ask Thee, O Mazda Ahura!
The truthful righteous striving to establish the dominion
That will further the well-being of his house,
his province, and his country,
How shall his spirit be like unto Thee?
When shall he be worthy of Thee?
What actions of his shall be most acceptable to Thee?

17. Let him that knows, tell him that would know,
which of the creeds is better,
The belief of the righteous or of the liar?
Let not the unenlightened deceive any more!
Be Thou to us, O Mazda Ahura, the bestower of Good Thought.

18. Then let none give ear to the words of the evil liar,
The liar bringing woe and destruction to house and
clan, to the province and the land.
Resist him, then, with force.

19. Listen unto the teller of Truth, a healer of existence,
Listen unto him who thinks of Righteousness,
Listen unto him the enlightened and the knowing,
Who, standing before Thy holy Fire,
with his powerful words and flowing tongue,
Reveals the truth to the contending sides.

20. The follower of the righteous shall attain the Abode of Light;
But he who deceived the good and the righteous,
For him shall the future be long life of misery and
darkness, woe and despair,
O ye of evil lives! Your own deeds will lead you to
this dark existence.

21. To him, who is Thy true friend in spirit and in
action, O Mazda Ahura!
To him shalt Thou give the perfection of integrity
and immortality;
To him shalt Thou give perpetual communion with
Truth and the Holy Dominion,
And to him shalt Thou give the sustaining power of
the Good Mind.

22. Clear is this all, to the man of wisdom,
as to one who thinks with care:
He who upholds Truth with all the might of his power,
He who upholds Truth the utmost in his word and deed,
He, indeed, is Thy most valued helper, O Mazda Ahura!

Yasna 32

1. The followers of the counsel of Untruth in the
community and the clan
Prayed for supreme bliss, even as we do.
May we be thy messengers
May we repel the evil of Thy lying opponents!

2. The Lord Mazda inspiring with the Good Mind,
The Lord Ahura ruling in his Divine Sovereignty,
The Lord Most High, protector of Truth and Right,
Thus did reply:
"For your flourishing, We have chosen to
accept your good devotion"

3. O ye, evil ones,
You are products of the Evil Mind
And of arrogance and perversity;
And so are those who honor you!
Your evil deeds have long been known in the
seven regions of the earth.

4. For, ye liars confound the human mind,
and make men act their worst,
Make men speak as lovers of Evil,
Separated from the Good Mind,
Far removed from the will of Ahura Mazda,
Departing from the path of Truth and Right.

5. And thus the liars defrauded humanity of a life of
happiness and immortal bliss;
For the Evil One preaches with Evil Mind and Evil Word
Evil actions to the lying soul promising supremacy,
But bringing it to ruin.

6. These evil-doers, attaining notoriety by their aggression
Shall surely receive their due, before Thee, O Ahura,
Lord of the Best Understanding, ever mindful of man's deserts.
For the reign of Right shall be honored when Truth
prevails in Thy realms, O Mazda!

7. These sinners, none of them, know the end in store for them.
None of them know of the destruction of evil with
the flood of glowing metal.
The final end is indeed known to Thee, O Most Wise Lord!

8. And one of such sinners was Yima, the son of Vivahvant,
Who to gratify men sanctioned the flesh of the Cow.
From among these, let me stand apart
In Thy discriminating judgment, O Mazda.

9. The teacher of evil destroys the Understanding,
He destroys the design of life,
Snatches away the blessed realization of the Good Mind.
With these deeply felt words proceeding from my spirit,
I cry to Thee, O Mazda, and the Spirit of Truth!

10. He who abhors and shuns the light of the Sun,
He who refuses to behold with respect the
living creation of God,
He who leads the good to wickedness,
He who makes the meadows waterless and the pastures desolate,
He who lets fly his weapon against the innocent,
An enemy of my faith, a destroyer of Thy
principles is he, O Lord!

11. The fabric of my life work they destroy,
The evil doers, extolled as masters and mistresses,
Who dispossess persons of their rightful heritage
And those who will retard the good and truthful
from the realm of the Good Mind, O Mazda.

12. To those who deter men from the best action,
To those who destroy with a callous heart,
To those who place the evil and the wicked above
Truth and Right,
To those who yearn for the rule of the Lie,
Doth Mazda declare: "Evil are you all."

13. These evil-doers,
Who shall dwell in the abode of the Worst Mind,
Who yearn for ill-gotten gain, and seethe from discontent,
Who wantonly destroy life;
Away from Thy Prophet's message,
They shall not behold the Vision of Truth.

14. The evil Grehma and the tribal chiefs
For long have designed to promote the Lie,
To sacrifice the Cow and desolate the good living creation,
Kindling the fire of drink in their aid.

15. Thy message shall undo the work of the evil-doers,
No more shall the wicked Kavis, and the Karpans,
rule over the lives of the righteous.
But the good shall be escorted through Perfection
and Immortality
To the Realm of the Best Mental Existence!

16. Following the enlightening doctrine is for us indeed
the state of excellence,
Even when the vengeful harm of the wicked threaten us.
The power of Thy teaching, O Mazda Ahura, shall
avert that harm from befalling on Thy devotees.

Yasna 33

1. In accordance with the Primeval Laws of this existence,
The Ratu (Judge) shall deal perfect justice to all;
To the good who chose the Truth,
To the evil who chose Falsehood,
And to those in whom good and evil are mixed.

2. He who opposes Evil by his thought or word,
Or by the work of his own two hands,
He who instructs people to their good,
Makes a worthy offering of faith to Thy Purpose,
O Ahura Mazda!

3. He who is most good to the righteous,
Be he a noble, or a peasant, or a dependent,
He who zealously makes the good living creation flourish,
He shall come to dwell with Truth in the realm of
the Good Mind.

4. I am he who by devotion and prayer shall
Keep disobedience and the Evil Mind far from Thee, O Mazda,
Keep insolent heresy away from the nobles,
The distrust spread by slanderers, from the community,
And the evil of destruction from the pastures of cattle.

5. I invoke Thy Sraosha (Inspiration) as the greatest of
all aids at the Consummation,
To attain Life Eternal in Thy Kingdom of the Good Mind,
To attain the straight path of Truth wherein Thou
dwelleth, O Mazda Ahura!

6. I, who as Thy steadfast priest, have learned the
straight path of Asha (Truth and Righteousness),
And would learn from the Best Mind how best to
do what should be done,
Therefore I ask of Thee, My Lord,
Bless me with Thy Vision and grant me a
consultation with Thee!

7. Come hither to me, in Thine own self, O Mazda!
Come unmistakably, O Thou Best One, with
The Spirit of Truth and The Good Mind!
Let my message be heard beyond the limits of
the community of adherents.
Let the brilliant offerings of reverential prayers
be manifest to all.

8. Do Thou make known to me, the Ultimate Good,
the final end,
That I may bring it about with the help of the Good Mind.
Accept, O Mazda, the homage of Thy faithful worshipper,
Accept, O Truth, my hymn of praise for Thee,
Grant to us, O Spirits of Deathless Weal and Immortality,
your own two blessings.

9. And with the blessings of these comrade Spirits of
Perfection and Immortality,
Let all advance to Thee, O Mazda!
Let all promote the cause of Truth!
Let all advance to the most exalted Abode of
Wisdom with a mind best fitted for it!
Sure is the support of these Twain, whose spirits work together.

10. All the felicities of life, which have been,
which are, and which shall be,
Come to us through Thy Divine Grace, O Mazda;
Through Thy Holy Power, let our persons advance to the
wished-for beatitude,
With the help of the Good Mind, with the help of Truth !

11. Hearken unto me, O Most Benevolent Ahura Mazda!
O ye Spirits of Piety and Truth that bless our existence!
O ye Good Mind, and the Dominion of Heaven!
Be gracious unto us as we receive our recompense!

12. Arise for me, O Ahura!
Through my devotion give me steadfastness of purpose,
Through Thy Most Bounteous Spirit make me pure in goodness,
Through the Spirit of Righteousness grant me the
courage of spiritual might,
And through the Good Mind give me the trust of the people.

13. With Thy divine grace, O Lord.
Make wide the vision of my mind;
Make manifest Thy everlasting attributes;
Make known the blessings of Thy Kingdom of
Heaven, and the joyous recompense of
the Good Mind,
O Holy Armaity, inspire our consciousness with
the Ultimate Truth.

14. To the Lord Mazda, as an offering,
Zarathushtra dedicates the works of his life,
even his very self.
The noblest essence of his Good Thought.
To Truth, he consecrates obedience to its principles
In word and deed, and all the might of his
spiritual authority.

Yasna 34

1. The deeds, the words, the worship,
For which Thou hast established
Immortality, Righteous existence and the Kingdom of Perfection;
All these deeds and words and worship
I dedicate first of all to Thee, O Lord Mazda!

2. Inspired by the Good Mind, these deeds come from
the good spirit of the virtuous person,
Whose soul follows the path of Truth,
Approaching Thy Presence, O Mazda, singing
hymns of Thy praise.

3. To Thee, and to Truth we tender our offerings of
reverential adoration.
In Thy Kingdom may all the living achieve their
destiny of perfection through the Good Mind.
For, indeed, the advancement to Thy exalted presence is
forever secure among the right thinking, O Mazda!

4. Thy sacred fire, O Ahura, mighty through Truth,
most swift and powerful,
May its helpful radiance be a bringer of joy to the good;
But for the malicious wicked, may its power their evil disclose!

5. What is Thy power? What is thy domain, O Mazda,
How can one's actions justify Thy protection, O Mazda?
Indeed, thus:
Through Righteousness, and through the Benevolent Mind,
and by protecting Thy poor.
We will declare Thy exaltation to all -- even to the powers
of evil and the wicked destroyers among men.

6. As Thou art truly thus, O Mazda,
The very Being of Truth and the Good Mind,
Then give me a sign during this existence of mine,
That I may approach with confident joy, in veneration,
singing of Thy glory.

7. Where are those, O Mazda, with authentic
enlightenment of the Good Mind,
Who even in times of woe
Would by Thy treasured doctrines spread the light?
None do I know other than Thee;
Protect us, then, through Truth.

8. For the evil foes by their hostile actions
have spread fear;
Misery and ruin have they brought on many.
Unmindful of Thy commands, the powerful
oppress the weak, O Mazda!
They think not, alas, of Truth and Right,
From the Good Mind they always remain afar.

9. Those who spurn the bountiful Spirit of Piety
Knowing how precious it is to thine initiate,
Wicked are they by their ignorance and neglect of
the Good Mind;
From them Truth turns away, as from us flee the
beasts of prey.

10. The man of understanding will call for the
deeds of the Good Mind,
A fruitful result of a faithful life;
He who knows the zeal of Armaity is a creative
follower of Truth and Right,
Which are indeed the mighty-influences of Thy
Kingdom of Heaven, O Mazda.

11. Thy twin Spirits of Perfection and immortality
sustain our aspiration.
The zealous Armaity with Truth, shall assure the
permanence of Thy Kingdom of the Good Mind.
By these divine forces, O Mazda, dost Thou bless
the foes of Thy foes.

12. What are Thy commandments, and what dost Thou
desire, O Mazda?
What of invocation, what of worship?
Speak forth, my Lord, that I may hear Thee!
That I may know what will bestow on us Thy blessed rewards.
Teach me through the Good Mind, the noble path of
Truth and Right.

13. It is the Path of the Good Mind which Thou hast
manifested to me, O Ahura!
Whereby the well-doers, in accordance with the teaching
of the Spiritual Guides, acting in harmony
with Truth alone,
Shall pass onward to the assigned reward of which
Thou art the bestower, O Mazda!

14. This precious reward of Thine, O Mazda,
Thou givest by way of the Good Mind,
Thou givest to vigorous bodily life of him who
works for and tends to Thy Creation,
Who furthers Thy beneficent plan by the power of
his understanding,
Guided by Thy Spirit of Truth.

15. Make known to me, O Mazda, the best teachings and actions,
Actuated by the Good Mind, and inspired by Truth,
As I express my aspiration in my songs of veneration for Thee.
By Thy Sovereign Authority do Thou regenerate this
existence, through Thy gracious Will, O Ahura!

Ushtavaiti Gatha

Yasna 43

1. Happiness be the lot of him who works for the
happiness of others.
May the Lord grant him health and endurance.
For the effort to uphold Truth, I beseech these very
gifts from Thee!
Mayest Thou, through Armaity, the Spirit of Rightmindedness,
Bless me with the perfection of a life guided by the Good Mind!

2. And may we have the Best the Lord bestows;
As we strive for enlightened purpose, may we attain it!
Through Thy Most Holy Spirit, O Mazda,
Inspire us with Truth, revealed through the Good Mind,
And bless us with things good, for all the days of a long life!

3. He who teaches others the righteous path of truth and happiness,
Both in the material world and also the spiritual,
The path leading to Thy abode, O Ahura;
He attains an end better than good.
A generous and enlightened helper, a faithful worthy
of Thee, is he, O Mazda

4. Verily I regard Thee as the Holy and Powerful
Benefactor, O Mazda.
For Thou bestoweth upon the righteous as well as
the wicked their recompense,
From the flaming splendour of Thy Fire, mighty
through Asha (Truth),
The power of the Good Mind comes to me, O Mazda.

5. Verily I believed Thee, O Mazda Ahura, to be the
Supreme Benevolent Providence.
For I beheld Thee as the primeval source of creation.
For by Thy perfect wisdom Thou shalt render just
recompense for all actions,
Good to the good, evil to the evil,
At the last turning of creation.

6. Then at the last, shalt Thou come, with Thy
Bountiful Spirit, O Mazda!
With Thy Sovereign Power, and with Thy Good Mind,
The Good Mind which brings prosperity to the world.
Right dedication shall teach the Eternal Laws of Thy Wisdom,
The Wisdom which none can deceive.

7. Verily I believed Thee, O Mazda, as the
Supreme Benevolent Providence.
When the Spirit of the Good Mind came and asked me:
Who art Thou?
Whose art Thou?
How dost Thou propose to enlighten the people
and answer their questionings?

8. I replied:--"Firstly, 1 am Zarathushtra"
"A veritable opponent of the evil-doer, but a
powerful friend of the good, am I"
So long as I can sing my songs of praise for Thee, O Mazda!
So long shall I strive to enlighten and awaken all to
the realization of Thy Eternal Dominion."

9. Verily I believed Thee, O Mazda Ahura, to be the
Supreme Benevolent Providence.
When the Good Mind came to me and asked:
"What wouldst thou choose?"
Before Thy Fire in veneration, I replied:
"So far as it is in my power, I shall cherish the gift of Righteousness."

10. And grant me Righteousness, for verily I invoke it of Thee!
Earnestly I yearn to proceed in life with Armaity
the Spirit of Rightmindedness.
Teach us how to question Thee, for Thy answers console us,
The answers which lend strength to the Leaders in
their prayerful wishes.

11. Verily I believed Thee O Mazda Ahura, to be the
Supreme Benevolent Providence,
When the Good Mind came to me with enlightenment,
When first I received and became wise with Thy words,
And though the task be difficult, and hardship may
come my way,
I shall proclaim Thy message, which Thou declarest
to be the best.

12. And when Thou didst instruct me in Righteousness,
Thy command to go forth and proclaim Thy
revelation was not unheeded;
Even before the sublime enlightenment coming with
Thy messenger Sraosha,
Bringing us the destiny of our appropriate rewards.

13. Verily I believed Thee, O Mazda Ahura, to be the
Supreme Benevolent Providence,
When the Good Mind came to me ascertaining the
aim of my aspiration,
Grant me, what none has yet obtained from Thee,
The way to a long life of blessed existence for the
Good Creation subject to Thy Dominion.

14. As the wise and powerful Lord would give to
a friend, so give me Thy bliss-producing
wisdom, O Mazda!
Endowed with Thy Authority, with Thy Spirit of Righteousness,
I stand with all the followers of Thy teachings
To proclaim the message of Thy holy creed.

15. Verily I believed Thee, O Mazda Ahura, to be the
Supreme Benevolent Providence,
When the Good Mind came to me and told me assuringly,
That a reflective, contented mind is the best possession.
Let not a leader compromise with, or propitiate evil-doers,
For they treat the righteous as enemies.

16. Thus prays, O Ahura Mazda, Zarathushtra and
those who choose to follow Thy Most
Benevolent Spirit;
May Righteousness become incarnate in the faithful
with enduring vigor!
In the resplendence of Thy sun-lit realms may
Armaity, the Spirit of Rightmindedness reside!
May it grant recompense to the righteous in
accordance with their deeds, through the Good Mind.

Yasna 44

1. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
In praise of one like Thee, O Mazda, how shall I
venerate Thee?
May not one like Thee, teach it to a friend like me?
And may the friendly help of Asha, the Truth, come
to us through the Good Mind!

2. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
What is the source of the Best Existence?
How shall one who seeks it, receive the blessed
recompense?
Surely such a holy one through Righteousness,
Is a healer of existence, beneficent unto all,
a genuine friend, O Mazda?

3. This I ask Thee, tell me truly O Ahura;
In the beginning, who was the father and creator of
Asha, the Truth?
Who determined the paths of the sun and the stars?
Who, but Thee, so arranged the moon to wax and wane?
This, O Mazda, and much more, I fain would know.

4. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
Who so balanced the earth and heavens to keep them apart?
Who created the waters and the plants?
Who yoked swiftness to the winds and motion to the clouds?
Who is the Creator of the Good-Mind, O Mazda?

5. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
What great artificer created light and darkness?
What artificer produced the phenomena of sleep and
wakeful activity?
Who made the dawn, noon, and night
Which call the enlightened to their duties?

6. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
Whether what I now announce is verily the truth,
Doth Armaity, through the benevolence of our
actions, further the cause of Truth?
Doth the Kingdom of Heaven rest on the foundation
of the Good Mind?
For whom hast Thou created this richly endowed world?

7. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
Who established blessed Armaity, the spirit of
Benevolence, in the exalted dominion?
Who, with foresight, made the son reverential to the father?
Thus I seek to comprehend Thee, O Mazda,
Through the Benevolent Spirit, the Giver of all!

8. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
What is Thy message for my enlightenment, O Mazda,
In the principles which I seek from the Good Mind,
That I may understand the purpose of existence through Truth?
How shall my soul rise to the ever greater
attainment of the Good?

9. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
How shall I bring to perfection the insight into the Faith,
Which Thou, Lord of Supreme Wisdom hast
instructed me with Thy Authority?
May it be, that we, Thy followers, dwell with
Truth and the Good Mind in Thy abode!

10. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
The Faith that is the best for all that are,
That which, based on Truth, should prosper all existence,
That which establishes Righteous and Just actions
inspired by Piety,
And which has for its intelligent aspiration
Realization of Thee, O Mazda!

11. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
To those to whom Thy Faith shall be announced,
How shall Armaity, the Spirit of Rightmindedness
come to them?
I, Thy prophet, from the first was ordained by
Thee, for this task.
All others, I see, are of alienated spirit.

12. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
Who among those with whom I discourse, is
righteous and who a liar?
With which of the two is the malevolent Spirit of Untruth?
Or is he himself the Unrighteous who opposes Thy blessings?
How is it that he is not thought to be the harmful Evil-One?

13. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
How shall we dispel the Spirit of Untruth from among us?
Let it be with the unfaithful and the disobedient,
Who strive not to be the companions of Truth,
Who care not to listen to the counsels of the Good Mind.

14. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
How shall I deliver Evil into the hands of
Righteousness?
How shall I render it ineffective through the holy
words of Thy Teaching?
How shall I frustrate the followers of Evil, O Mazda,
That they come to their blind extinction ?

15. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
If Thou rulest through Truth and mean to protect me,
When the two hosts, in hostility, shall clashing meet,
Then, for the Principles which Thou desirest to maintain
Which of the two will be granted victory?

16. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
Who shall be victorious, and
Shall, through Thy Principles, protect the living?
Assure me by a vision, whom doest Thou wish to
be the judge that heals the world,
Then let Sraosha, the Spirit of Obedience, come to
him with the Good Mind, O Mazda,
And to all those whom Thou wishest, whosoever they be!

17. This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura;
How shall I attain my aspiration to reach Thee?
How can I attain Thy Perfection, O Mazda, and
make my voice effectual?
Through these divine songs, receiving their guiding
light from Truth,
May all be led up to the two gifts of Well-being and
Immortality!