AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA (English): MIHR YASHT ('Hymn to Mithra')

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 Avesta: Khorda Avesta 

 10. MIHR YASHT ("Hymn to Mithra") 

 This digital edition copyright © 1995 by Joseph H. Peterson.
All rights reserved. 

Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East ,
American Edition, 1898.)
 Spelling has been normalized to conform with other texts in this series. 

This Yasht, one of the longest of the Avesta and one of the most 
interesting in a literary point of view, is not very instructive for 
mythology. It consists of long descriptive pieces, sometimes 
rather spirited, and of fervent prayers and invocations for mercy 
or protection. Originally Mithra was the god of the heavenly light 
(§§ 12, 50, 67, 104, 124 seq., 136 seq., etc.); and in that character 
he knows the truth, as he sees everything; he is therefore taken 
as a witness of truth, he is the preserver of oaths and good faith 
(§§ 2, 44 seq., 79 seq., 81 seq., etc.); he chastises those who break 
their promises and lie to Mithra, destroys their houses, and smites 
them in battle (§§ 17 seq., 28 seq., 35 seq., 47 seq., 99 seq., 105 seq., 
112 seq., 128 seq., etc.).

Particularly interesting are §§ 115-118, as giving a sketch of 
moral hierarchy in Iran, and §§ 121-122, as being perhaps the 
source of the trials in the later Roman Mithraism. Cf. Vend. 
Intro. IV, 8 and Ormazd et Ahriman , §§ 59-61.

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 [Havani],
the holy and master of holiness.... 

 Notes: 

Unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a 
thousand ears, ten thousand eyes, a Yazata invoked 
by his own name, and unto Rama Hvastra, 1 
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, 
and glorification.

Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....

 1. Sirozah 1.16.

 I. 

1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, 
saying: 'Verily, when I created Mithra, the lord of 

wide pastures, O Spitama! I created him as worthy 
of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer as myself, Ahura Mazda. 2 

 2. Cf. Yt8.50.

2. 'The ruffian who lies unto Mithra 3 brings death 
unto the whole country, injuring as much the faithful 
world as a hundred evil-doers 4 could do. Break not 
the contract, O Spitama! neither the one that thou 
hadst entered into with one of the unfaithful, nor the 
one that thou hadst entered into with one of the 
faithful who is one of thy own faith. 5 For Mithra 
stands for both the faithful and the unfaithful.

 3. The Mithra-druj: one might also translate 'who breaks the 
 contract,' as mithra, as a common noun, means 'a contract.' 
 4. Kayadhas; cf Yt1.19. 
 5. Cf. Arda Viraf, chap. 52. 

3. 'Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, gives swiftness 
to the horses of those who lie not unto 
Mithra.

'Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, gives the straightest 
way to those who lie not unto Mithra. 
'The good, strong, beneficent Fravashis of the 
faithful give a virtuous offspring to those who lie 
not unto Mithra.

4. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto 
him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto 
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.

'We offer up libations unto Mithra, the lord of 
wide pastures, who gives a happy dwelling and a 
good dwelling to the Aryan nations.

5. 'May he come to us for help! May he come 
to us for ease! May he come to us for joy! May 
he come to us for mercy! May he come to us for 
health! May he come to us for victory! May he 

come to us for good conscience! 6 May he come to 
us for bliss! 7 he, the awful and overpowering, worthy 
of sacrifice and prayer, not to be deceived anywhere 
in the whole of the material world, Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures.

 6. Cheerfulness at the head of the Chinwad bridge ( Yasna 62.6 
 [61.17]; cf. Vend. 18.6 ). 
 7. The condition of the blessed in the next world.

6. 'I will offer up libations unto him, the strong 
Yazata, the powerful Mithra, most beneficent to the 
creatures: I will apply unto him with charity 8 and 
prayers: I will offer up a sacrifice worth being heard 
unto him, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, 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. 

 8. Vanta , 'assistance, that is, making jâdangôi ' (Yasna 62.1); 
 jâdangôi is making a collection for the poor (Études 
 Iraniennes, II, 155.)

'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda.... 9 

 9. As Yt1.22. [Yenghe Hatam prayer is imitated from 
 Y51.22. ]

 II. 

7. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide 
pastures, who is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, 
with a thousand ears, well-shapen, with ten thousand eyes, 
high, with full knowledge, 10 strong, sleepless, 
and ever awake; 11 

 10. Perethu-vaêdhayana : sampûrnavittâram kâryanyâyânam 
 Ny1.6 
 11. jaghhâurvaunghem : this word, strangely enough, is generally 
 translated 'who has most strong arms' ( balishthabhujam ); jagâuru 
 is translated in the same way.

8. 'To whom the chiefs of nations offer up sacrifices, 
as they go to the field, against havocking hosts, 
against enemies coming in battle array, in the strife 
of conflicting nations.

9. 'On whichever side he has been worshipped 
first in the fulness of faith of a devoted heart, to that 
side turns Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, with 
the fiend-smiting wind, with the cursing thought 
of the wise. 12 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 12. Sr1.30. 'The blessing ( âfriti ) is twofold: one by thought, one by 
 words; the blessing by words is more powerful; the curse 
 ( upamana ) in thought is the more powerful' (Neriosengh ad 
 Yasna I.15). Upamana is the same as the Vedic manyu.

 III. 

10. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake.

11. 'Whom the horsemen worship on the back 
of their horses, begging swiftness for their teams, 
health for their own bodies, and that they may watch 
with full success those who hate them, smite down
their foes, and destroy at one stroke their adversaries, 
their enemies, and those who hate them. 13 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 13. Cf. Yt5.53 ; Yt10.94. 

 IV. 

 12.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;

13. 'Who first of the heavenly gods reaches over 
the Hara 14 , before
the undying, swift-horsed sun 15 ; 

who, foremost in a golden array, takes hold of the 
beautiful summits, and from thence looks over the 
abode of the Aryans with a beneficent eye.

 14. Mount Alburz, whence the sun rises; see § 50. 
 15. Mithra is closely connected with the sun, but not yet identical 
 with it, as he became in later times (Pers. mhr , the sun; 
 Deo invicto Soli Mithrae).

14. 'Where the valiant chiefs draw up their many 
troops in array; 16 where the high mountains, rich in 
pastures and waters, yield plenty to the cattle; 17 
where the deep lakes, with salt waters, stand; 18 
where wide-flowing rivers swell and hurry towards 
Ishkata and Pouruta, Mouru and Haroyu, the Gava-Sughdha 
and Hvairizem; 19 

 16. In the flat countries. 
 17. In the mountainous parts of Iran. 
 18. In the lake regions (Seistan, Farsistan, Adarbaijan [Azarbaijan]).
 19. In the country of the large rivers in the East. Mouru is Marv 
 (Margiana), with the Murghab river (the Margus); Haroyu is the 
 Herat country, with the Hararud; Gava-Sugdha and Hvarizm are 
 Sogdiana and Khwarizm, with the Oxus. The situation of Ishkata 
 and Pouruta is not clear: one might think of Alexander eschata 
 on the Iaxartes and the Paretacene country between the Oxus 
 and the Iaxartes.

15. 'On Arezahi and Sawahi, on Fradadhafshu 
and Widadhafshu, on Wouru-bareshti and Wourujareshti, 
on this bright karshwar of Xwaniratha 20 , the abode 
of cattle, the dwelling of cattle, the powerful Mithra 
looks with a health-bringing eye;

 20. The earth is divided into seven karshwars, separated from one 
 another by seas and mountains impassable to men. Arezahi and 
 Sawahi are the western and the eastern karshwars; Fradadhafshu 
 and Widadhafshu are in the south; Wouru-bareshti and Wourujareshti 
 are in the north; Xwaniratha is the central karshwar. Zwaniratha 
 is the only karshwar inhabited by man ( Bundahishn 11.3 ).

16. 'He who moves along all the karshwars, a 
Yazata unseen, and brings glory; he who moves 
along all the karshwars, a Yazata unseen, and 
brings sovereignty; and increases 21 strength for 

victory to those who, with a pious intent, holily 
offer him libations.

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth 
being heard....

 21. Doubtful.

 V. 

17. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... 
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Unto whom nobody must lie, neither the master 
of a house, nor the lord of a borough, nor the lord 
of a town, nor the lord of a province.

18. 'If the master of a house lies unto him, or the 
lord of a borough, or the lord of a town, or the lord 
of a province, then comes Mithra, angry and offended, 
and he breaks asunder the house, the borough, the 
town, the province; and the masters of the houses, 
the lords of the boroughs, the lords of the towns, 
the lords of the provinces, and the foremost men 
of the provinces.

19. 'On whatever side there is one who has lied 
unto Mithra, on that side Mithra stands forth, angry 
and offended, and his wrath 22 is slow to relent. 23 

 22. Mainyu , in the meaning of the Sanskrit manyu (?). 
 23. Doubtful; aspachat : cf. [Pers.] spuxtn , to be late.

20. 'Those who lie unto Mithra, however swift 
they may be running, cannot overtake; 24 riding, 
cannot ....; driving, cannot ..... The spear that 
the foe of Mithra flings, darts backwards, for the

number of the evil spells that the foe of Mithra 
works out. 25 

 24. Apayêinti, frastanvainti, framayêintê : these are three 
 technical words for the movements of the three classes of soldiers, 
 footmen, horsemen, and chariot-men; the last two words are 
 probably synonymous with the first, but the exact shades of meaning 
 are not known. Mr. West suggests, cannot outrun, outride, 
 outdrive him. 
 25. The sacramental words of the contract, by their not being 
 kept, turn to evil spells against the contract-breaker.

21. 'And even though the spear be flung well, 
even though it reach the body, it makes no wound, 
for the number of the evil spells that the foe of 
Mithra works out. 26 The wind drives away the 
spear that the foe of Mithra flings, for the number 
of the evil spells that the foe of Mithra works out. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 26. The sacramental words of the contract, by their not being 
 kept, turn to evil spells against the contract-breaker.

 VI. 

22. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who takes out of distress the man who has not 
lied unto him, who takes him out of death.

23. 'Take us out of distress, take us out of distresses, 
O Mithra! as we have not lied unto thee. 
Thou bringest down terror upon the bodies of the 
men who lie unto Mithra; thou takest away the 
strength from their arms, being angry and all-powerful; 
thou takest the swiftness from their feet, the 
eye-sight from their eyes, the hearing from their 
ears.

24. 'Not the wound 27 of the well-sharpened spear 
or of the flying
arrow reaches that man to whom Mithra comes for help with all
the strength of his soul, he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful,
all-seeing, undeceivable Mithra.

 27. Doubtful: shanamayô , or shanamaoyô ; read shanmaoyô (?), 
 from shan , Sansk. kshan .

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 VII. 

25. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;

'Who is lordly, deep, strong, and weal-giving; 
a chief in assemblies, pleased with prayers, 28 high, 
holily clever, the incarnate Word, a warrior with 
strong arms;

 28. Vahmô-sendah ; cf. Visperad 8 (IX, 1), Phl. tr.

26. 'Who breaks the skulls of the Daevas, and is 
most cruel in exacting pains; the punisher of the 
men who lie unto Mithra, the withstander of the 
Pairikas; who, when not deceived, establisheth 
nations in supreme strength; who, when not deceived, 
establisheth nations in supreme victory;

27. 'Who confounds the ways of the nation that 
delights in havoc, who turns away their Glory, 29 takes 
away their strength for victory, blows them away 
helpless, 30 and delivers them unto ten thousand 
strokes; he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, 
all-seeing, undeceivable Mithra.

 29. Their khwarenah [khwarrah]. 
 30. Doubtful.

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 VIII. 

28. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;

'Who upholds the columns of the lofty house and 
makes its pillars 31 solid; who gives herds of oxen and 
male children to that house in which he has been 
satisfied; he breaks to pieces those in which he has 
been offended.

 31. Ãithya ; cf. Lat. antae (Brugmann).

29. 'Thou, O Mithra! art both bad and good to 

nations; thou, O Mithra! art both bad and good 
to men; thou, O Mithra! keepest in thy hands both 
peace and trouble for nations.

30. 'Thou makest houses large, beautiful with 
women, beautiful with chariots, with well-laid foundations, 32 
and high above their groundwork; 33 thou 
makest that house lofty, beautiful with women, 
beautiful with chariots, with well-laid foundations, 
and high above its groundwork, of which the master, 
pious and holding libations in his hand, offers thee 
a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy own 
name and with the proper words.

 32. Doubtful. 
 33. Doubtful.

31. 'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked 
by thy own name, with the proper words will I offer 
thee libations, O powerful Mithra! 
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by 
thy own name, with the proper words will I offer 
thee libations, O most beneficent Mithra! 
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by 
thy own name, with the proper words will I offer 
thee libations, O thou undeceivable Mithra!

32. 'Listen unto our sacrifice, 34 O Mithra! Be 
thou pleased with our sacrifice, O Mithra! Come 
and sit at our sacrifice! Accept our libations! 
Accept them as they have been consecrated! 35 
Gather them together with love and lay them in 
the Garo-nmana! 36 .

 34. Cf. Yt3.18. 
 35. By the proper prayers ( yashtau ). 
 36. [ garothman, i.e. Heaven. -JHP]

33. 'Grant us these boons which we beg of thee, 
O powerful god! in accordance 37 with the words of 
revelation, namely, riches, strength, and victory, 
good conscience and bliss, 38 good fame and a good 

soul; wisdom and the knowledge that gives happiness, 39 
the victorious strength given by Ahura, the 
crushing Ascendant of Asha Vahishta, and conversation 
(with God) on the Holy Word. 40 

 37. Doubtful. 
 38. Cf. § 5. 
 39. Spiritual happiness, bliss. 
 40. Vd18.51 [III]. 

34. 'Grant that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, 
exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our 
foes; that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted 
in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our enemies; 
that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, exalted in 
joy and a good spirit, may smite all the malice of 
Daevas and Men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the 
oppressors, the blind, and the deaf. 41 

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 41. See above, Yt1.10, note 3 . §§ 30-34 = §§56-59.

 IX. 

35. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;

'Victory-making 42 , army-governing, endowed with 
a thousand senses 43 ; power-wielding, power-possessing, 
and all-knowing;

 42. Doubtful (reading arenat-jaêsha ?). 
 43. See § 82, note. 

36. 'Who sets the battle a going, who stands 
against (armies) in battle, who, standing against 
(armies) in battle, breaks asunder the lines arrayed. 
The wings of the columns gone to battle shake, and 
he throws terror upon the centre of the havocking 
host.

37. 'He can bring and does bring down upon 
them distress and fear; he throws down the heads 
of those who lie to Mithra, he takes off the 
heads of those who lie unto Mithra.

38. 'Sad is the abode, unpeopled with children, 
where abide men who lie unto Mithra, and, verily, 
the fiendish killer of faithful men. The grazing cow 
goes a sad straying way, driven along the vales 44 of 
the Mithradrujes: they 45 stand on the road, letting 
tears run over their chins 46 .

 44. Doubtful. 
 45. The cattle. 
 46. The meaning is, that the cattle of the Mithradrujes do not 
 thrive, and that their pasture fields are waste.

39. 'Their falcon-feathered arrows, shot from the 
string of the well-bent bow, fly towards the mark, and 
hit it not, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry, 
offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them. 
'Their spears, well whetted and sharp, their long 
spears fly from their hands towards the mark, and 
hit it not, as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, angry, 
offended, and unsatisfied, comes and meets them.

40. 'Their swords, well thrust and striking at the 
heads of men, hit not the mark, as Mithra, the lord 
of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, 
comes and meets them. 
'Their clubs, well falling and striking at the heads 
of men, hit not the mark, as Mithra, the lord of wide 
pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, comes and 
meets them.

41. 'Mithra strikes fear into them; Rashnu 47 
strikes a counter-fear into them 48 ; the holy Sraosha 
blows them away from every side towards the two 
Yazatas, the maintainers of the world. 49 They make 
the ranks of the army melt away, as Mithra, the lord 

of wide pastures, angry, offended, and unsatisfied, 
comes and meets them. 50 

 47. See Yt12. 
 48. As they flee from Mithra, they fall into the hands of Rashnu. 
 49. Thrâtâra ; one might feel inclined to read thrâstâra , 'the 
 fear-striking;' cf. § 36. 
 50. Cf. § 99-101 

42. 'They cry unto Mithra, the lord of wide 
pastures, saying: "O Mithra, thou lord of wide pastures! 
here are our fiery horses taking us away, as 
they flee from Mithra; here are our sturdy arms cut 
to pieces by the sword, O Mithra!"

43. 'And then Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, 
throws them to the ground, killing 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; 
as Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, is angry and 
offended. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 X. 

44. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;

'Whose dwelling, wide as the earth, extends over 
the material world, large 51 , unconfined 51 , and bright, 
a far-and-wide-extending abode.

 51. Doubtful. The text is corrupt. 

45. 'Whose eight friends 52 sit as spies for Mithra, 
on all the heights, at all the watching-places, observing 
the man who lies unto Mithra, looking at those, 
remembering those who have lied unto Mithra, but 
guarding the ways of those whose life is sought by 

men who lie unto Mithra, and, verily, by the fiendish 
killers of faithful men.

 52. Doubtful. The number eight has probably an astronomical 
 signification, each of the eight râtis of Mithra occupying one of 
 the eight points of the compass.

46. 'Helping and guarding, guarding behind and 
guarding in front, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, 
proves an undeceivable spy and watcher for the man 
to whom he comes to help with all the strength of 
his soul, he of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, 
all-knowing, undeceivable god. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XI. 

47. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'A god of high renown and old age 53 , whom wide-hoofed 
horses carry against havocking hosts, against 
enemies coming in battle array, in the strife of conflicting 
nations 54 .

 53. Doubtful. 
 54. Cf. § 8. 

48. 'And when Mithra drives along towards the havocking hosts,
towards the enemies coming in battle array, in the strife of the
conflicting nations, then he binds the hands of those who have
lied unto Mithra, he confounds their eye-sight, he takes the 
hearing from their ears; they can no longer move 
their feet; they can no longer withstand those 
people, those foes, when Mithra, the lord of wide 
pastures, bears them ill-will. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XII. 

49. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;

50. 'For whom the Maker, Ahura Mazda, has 

built up a dwelling on the Hara Berezaiti, the bright 
mountain around which the many (stars) revolve 55 , 
where come neither night nor darkness, no cold 
wind and no hot wind, no deathful sickness, no uncleanness 
made by the Daevas, and the clouds 
cannot reach up unto the Haraiti Bareza 56 ;

 55. Bundahishn 5.3 seq. ; 
 cf. Yt12.13#section5 and Yt10.13. 
 56. The Haraiti Bareza is the same as Hara Berezaiti.

51. 'A dwelling that all the Amesha-Spentas, in 
one accord with the sun, made for him in the fulness 
of faith of a devoted heart, and he survevs the whole 
of the material world from the Haraiti Bareza.

52. 'And when there rushes a wicked worker of 
evil, swiftly, with a swift step, Mithra, the lord of 
wide pastures, goes and yokes his horses to his 
chariot, along with the holy, powerful Sraosha and 
Nairyo-sangha, 57 who strikes a blow that smites the 
army, that smites the strength of the malicious. 58 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 57. Sirozah 1.9, notes 4 and 5. 
 58. Doubtful ( mâyaosh ).

 XIII. 

53. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake;

54. 'Who, with hands lifted up, ever cries unto 
Ahura Mazda, saying: "I am the kind keeper of all 
creatures, I am the kind maintainer of all creatures; 
yet men worship me not with a sacrifice in which 
I am invoked by my own name, as they worship the 
other gods with sacrifices in which they are invoked 
by their own names.

55 59 . '"If men would worship me with a sacrifice 

in which I were invoked by my own name, as they 
worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which 
they are invoked by their own names, then I would 
come to the faithful at the appointed time; I would 
come in the appointed time of my beautiful, immortal 
life."

 59. Cf. Yt8.11, 24 , and Yt10.74. 

56 60 . 'But the pious man, holding libations in his 
hands, does worship thee with a sacrifice, in which 
thou art invoked by thy own name, and with the 
proper words. 
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy 
own name, with the proper words will I offer thee 
libations, O powerful Mithra! 
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy 
own name, with the proper words will I offer thee 
libations, O most beneficent Mithra! 
'With a sacrifice, in which thou art invoked by thy 
own name, with the proper words will I offer thee 
libations, O thou undeceivable Mithra!

 60. §§ 56-59 = §§ 30-34.

57. 'Listen unto our sacrifice, 'O Mithra! Be thou 
pleased with our sacrifice, O Mithra! Come and sit 
at our sacrifice! Accept our libations! Accept them 
as they have been consecrated! Gather them together 
with love and lay them in the Garo-nmana [Garothman i.e. Heaven]!

58. 'Grant us these boons which we beg of thee, 
O powerful god! in accordance with the words of 
revelation, namely, riches, strength, and victory, 
good conscience and bliss, good fame and a good 
soul; wisdom and the knowledge that gives happiness, 
the victorious strength given by Ahura, the 
crushing Ascendant of Asha-Vahishta, and conversation 
(with God) on the Holy Word.

59. 'Grant that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, 
exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all our 
foes; that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, 
exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all 
our enemies; that we, in a good spirit and high spirit, 
exalted in joy and a good spirit, may smite all the 
malice of Daevas and Men, of the Yatus and 
Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf.

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XIV. 

60. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Whose renown is good, whose shape is good, 
whose glory is good; who has boons to give at his 
will, who has pasture-fields to give at his will; 
harmless to the tiller of the ground, .... 61 , beneficent;
he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing, undeceivable
god. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 61. The text is corrupt ( vasô-yaonânâi inatãm ).

 XV. 

61. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Firm-legged 62 , a watcher fully awake; valiant, a 
chief in assemblies; making the waters flow forward; 
listening to appeals; making the waters run 
and the plants grow up; ruling over the karshwars 63 ;

delivering 64 ; happy 65 ; undeceivable; 
endowed with many senses 66 ; a creature of wisdom;

 62. eredhwô-zeñgãm: sudridhajanghatâ, kila kârye yad pâdâbhyâm 
 yujyate kartum vyavasâyî shaktashcha ( Y62.5 ). 
 63. Karshôo-râzanghem: kêshvar vîrâi (Pahl. tr. ibid). 
 64. From Ahriman; cf. Y29.6 (vyâna = vichârishn, vishuddhatâ.) 
 65. Yaokhshtivant: kâmakômand (possessing whatever he wishes 
 for, Vd20.1 ). 
 66. See Yt10.82, note.

62. 'Who gives neither strength nor vigour to him 
who has lied unto Mithra; who gives neither glory 
nor any boon to him who has lied unto Mithra.

63. 'Thou takest away the strength from their 
arms, being angry and all-powerful; thou takest the 
swiftness from their feet, the eye-sight from their 
eyes, the hearing from their ears. 
'Not the wound of the well-sharpened spear or of 
the flying arrow reaches that man to whom Mithra 
comes for help with all the strength of his soul, he, 
of the ten-thousand spies, the powerful all-knowing, 
undeceivable god 67 .

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer
him a sacrifice worth being heard....

 67. From Yt10.23-24.

 XVI. 

64. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who takes possession 68 of the beautiful, wide-expanding 
law, greatly and powerfully, and whose face 
looks over all the seven karshwars of the earth;

 68. Cf. Y43.7 : vyânayâ: amat vandînît, yat grihnâti.

65. 'Who is swift amongst the swift, liberal 
amongst the liberal, strong amongst the strong, a 
chief of assembly amongst the chiefs of assemblies; 
increase-giving, fatness-giving, cattle-giving, sovereignty-giving, 
son-giving, cheerfulness 69 -giving, and 
bliss 69 -giving.

 69. Cf. Yt10.5, notes 6 and 7. 

66. 'With whom proceed Ashi Vanguhi, and Parendi 
on her light chariot 70 , the awful Manly Courage, 
the awful kingly Glory, the awful sovereign Sky, the 
awful cursing thought 71 of the wise, the awful Fravashis 
of the faithful, and he who keeps united together 
the many faithful worshippers of Mazda 72 . 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 70. Cf. Yt8.38. 
 71. See above, S1.30, note 1. 
 72. Mithra himself (?).

 XVII. 

67. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who drives along on his high-wheeled chariot, 
made of a heavenly 73 substance, from the Karshvare [keshwar] 
of Arezahi 74 to the Karshvare of Xwaniratha, the 
bright one; accompanied by 75 the wheel of sovereignty 76 , 
the Glory made by Mazda, and the Victory 
made by Ahura;

 73. Or 'invisible.' 
 74. The western keshwar (see above, § 15, note 20 ); this seems to
 refer to the career of Mithra during the night; cf. § 95. 
 75. And rolling upon it. 
 76. Cf. Yt13.89, note. 

68. 'Whose chariot is embraced 77 by the great 
Ashi Vanguhi; to whom the Law of Mazda opens a 
way, that he may go easily; whom four heavenly 
steeds, white, shining, seen afar, beneficent, endowed 
with knowledge, swiftly 78 carry along the heavenly 
space 79 , while the cursing thought of the wise pushes 
it forward;

 77. And uplifted. 
 78. Doubtful. 
 79. See Yt8.6, note 1. 

69. 'From whom all the Daevas unseen and the 
Varenya fiends 80 flee away in fear. Oh! may we 

never fall across the rush of the angry lord 81 , who 
goes and rushes from a thousand sides against his 
foe, he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, 
all-knowing, undeceivable god. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 80. See Vend. Introd. IV, 23. 
 81. Cf. § 98. 

 XVIII. 

70. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Before whom Verethraghna, made by Ahura, runs 
opposing the foes in the shape of a boar 82 , a sharp-toothed 
he-boar, a sharp-jawed boar, that kills at 
one stroke, pursuing 83 , wrathful, with a dripping face; 
strong, with iron feet, iron fore-paws 84 , iron weapons, 
an iron tail, and iron jaws;

 82. See Yt14.15 ; cf. Yt10.127. 
 83. Anupôithwa; cf. pôithwa (Vd14) = rânînishn. 
 84. Literally, hands.

71. 'Who, eagerly clinging to the fleeing foe, along 
with Manly Courage, smites the foe in battle, and 
does not think he has smitten him, nor does he 
consider it a blow till he has smitten away the 
marrow 85 and the column of life 86 , the marrow 85 and 
the spring of existence.

 85. Doubtful. 
 86. The spine. 

72. 'He cuts all the limbs to pieces, and mingles, 
together with the earth, the bones, hair, brains, and 
blood of the men who have lied unto Mithra 87 . 
'For his brightness and glory, we offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 87. Cf. § 80. 

 XIX. 

73. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who, with hands lifted up, rejoicing, cries out, 
speaking thus:

74. '"O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent spirit! 
Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! 
'"If men would worship me 88 with a sacrifice in 
which I were invoked by my own name, as they 
worship the other gods with sacrifices in which they 
are invoked by their own names, then I should 
come to the faithful at the appointed time; I should 
come in the appointed time of my beautiful, immortal 
life 89 ."

 88. They have worshipped him and he has subsequently overcome 
 the Mithradrujes; this accounts for the word rejoicing. 
 89. Cf. Yt10.55. 

75. 'May we keep our field; may we never be 
exiles from our field, exiles from our house, exiles 
from our borough, exiles from our town, exiles from 
our country.

76. 'Thou dashest in pieces the malice of the 
malicious, the malice of the men of malice: dash 
thou in pieces the killers of faithful men! 
'Thou hast good horses, thou hast a good 
chariot: thou art bringing help at every appeal, and 
art powerful.

77. 'I will pray unto thee for help, with many 
consecrations, with good consecrations of libations; 
with many offerings, with good offerings of libations, 
that we, abiding in thee, may long inhabit a good 
abode, full of all the riches that can be wished for.

78. 'Thou keepest those nations that tender a 
good worship to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures; 
thou dashest in pieces those that delight in havoc. 
Unto thee will I pray for help: may he come to us 
for help, the awful, most powerful Mithra, the 
worshipful and praiseworthy, the glorious lord of 
nations. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XX. 

79. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who made a dwelling for Rashnu 90 , and to whom 
Rashnu gave all his soul for long friendship;

 90. The Genius of Truth ( Yt12 ); Mithra gives a dwelling to 
 the truthful man in the same way as he destroys the dwelling of the 
 liar (§ 80).

80. 'Thou art a keeper and protector of the dwelling 
of those who lie not: thou art the maintainer of 
those who lie not. With thee hath Verethraghna, 
made by Ahura, contracted the best of all friendships 91 , 
and thus it is how so many men who have 
lied unto Mithra, even privily 92 , lie smitten down on 
the ground. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 91. Cf. § 70. 
 92. Aipi vithishi ; Vedic api vyathis (VIII, 45, 19).

 XXI. 

81. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who made a dwelling for Rashnu, and to whom 
Rashnu gave all his soul for long friendship;

82. 'To whom Ahura Mazda gave a thousand 

senses 93 and ten thousand eyes to see. With those 
eyes and those senses, he watches the man who 
injures Mithra, the man who lies unto Mithra. 
Through those eyes and those senses, he is undeceivable, 
he, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, 
all-knowing, undeceivable god. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 93. Yaokhshti , the root of Persian nyôshîdan , Pahlavi niyôkhshîtan , 
 to hear; one might be inclined to translate 'a thousand ears,' 
 or 'a thousand hearings;' but the meaning of the word must 
 have been rather more general, as Neriosangh translates it 
 ( pranidhi , IX, 8 [25]). 

 XXII. 

83. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Whom the lord of the country invokes for help, with hands uplifted;

'Whom the lord of the town invokes for help, with hands uplifted;

84. 'Whom the lord of the borough invokes for help, with hands uplifted; 
'Whom the master of the house invokes for help, with hands uplifted;

'Whom the .... 94 in danger of death 95 invokes for help, with hands
uplifted; 
'Whom the poor man, who follows the good law, when wronged and
deprived of his rights, invokes for help, with hands uplifted.

 94. Dvâchina ? 
 95. Pithê: mrityu ( Yasna 53.6 ).

85. 'The voice of his wailing reaches up to the 
sky, it goes over the earth all around, it goes over 

the seven karshwars, whether he utters his prayer 
in a low tone of voice 96 or aloud.

 96. Vâchem , the so-called vâj . [Cf. baj . -JHP.]

86. 'The cow driven astray invokes him for help 97 , 
longing for the stables: 
'"When will that bull, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
bring us back, and make us reach the 
stables? when will he turn us back to the right 
way from the den of the Druj where we were
driven 98 ?"

 97. Most manuscripts have added here, from the preceding 
 clauses, 'with hands uplifted!' 
 98. An allusion to a myth in which Mithra was described as an 
 Indra delivering the cows carried away by a Vritra: Firmicus 
 Maternus called him abactorem boum ( De Errore Profan. Relig. 
 V); Commodianus compares him with Cacus:

 'Vrtebatque boves alienos semper in antris 
 Sicut et Cacus Vulcani filius ille.'

 (Apud Windischmann, Mithra, p. 64.)

87. 'And to him with whom Mithra, the lord of 
wide pastures, has been satisfied, he comes with 
help; and of him with whom Mithra, the lord of 
wide pastures, has been offended, he crushes down 
the house, the borough, the town, the province, the 
country. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXIII. 

88. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'To whom the enlivening, healing, fair, lordly, 
golden-eyed Haoma offered up a sacrifice on the 
highest of the heights, on the Haraiti Bareza 99 , he 

the undefiled to one undefiled, with undefiled 
baresma, undefiled libations, and undefiled words;

 99. See above, § 50, note 56. 

89. 'Whom 100 the holy Ahura Mazda has established 
as a priest, quick in performing the sacrifice 
and loud in song. He performed the sacrifice with 
a loud voice, as a priest quick in sacrifice and loud 
in song, a priest to Ahura Mazda, a priest to 
the Amesha-Spentas. His voice reached up to the 
sky, went over the earth all around, went over the 
seven keshwars.

 100. Haoma; cf. Yasna 9.26. 

90. 'Who first lifted up Haomas, in a mortar 
inlaid with stars and made of a heavenly substance. 
Ahura Mazda longed for him, the Amesha-Spentas 
longed for him, for the well-slapen body of him 
whom the swift-horsed sun awakes for prayer from 
afar 101 .

 101. For the morning service in the Gah Ushahin.

91. 'Hail to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who 
has a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes! Thou 
art worthy of sacrifice and prayer: mayest thou have 
sacrifice and prayer in the houses of men! Hail to 
the man who shall offer thee a sacrifice, with the 
holy wood in his hand, the baresma in his hand, 
the holy meat in his hand, the holy mortar in his 
hand 102 , with his hands well-washed, with the mortar 
well-washed, with the bundles of baresma tied up, 
the Haoma uplifted, and the Ahuna Vairya sung 
through.

 102. Cf. Vd3.1. 

92. 'The holy Ahura Mazda confessed that religion 
and so did Vohu-Mano, so did Asha-Vahishta, 
so did Khshathra-Vairya, so did Spenta-Armaiti, so 

did Haurvatat and Ameretat; and all the Amesha-Spentas 
longed for and confessed his religion. The 
kind Mazda conferred upon him the mastership 
of the world; and [so did they 103 ] who saw thee
amongst all creatures the right lord and master of 
the world, the best cleanser of these creatures.

 103. The Amesha-Spentas.

93. 'So mayest thou in both worlds, mayest thou 
keep us in both worlds, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! 
both in this material world and in the world of 
the spirit, from the fiend of Death, from the fiend 
Aeshma 104 , from the fiendish hordes, that lift up the 
spear of havoc, and from the onsets of Aeshma, 
wherein the evil-doing Aeshma rushes along with 
Vidotu 105 , made by the Daevas.

 104. See Vend. Introd. IV, 22. 
 105. See ibid.

94. 'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! 
give swiftness to our teams, strength to our 
own bodies, and that we may watch with full success 
those who hate us, smite down our foes, and 
destroy at one stroke our adversaries, our enemies 
and those who hate us 106 . 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth 
being heard....

 106. See Yt5.53 ; Yt10.114. 

 XXIV. 

95. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, .... 
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who goes over the earth, all her breadth over, 
after the setting of the sun 107 , touches both ends of 

this wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar, and 
surveys everything that is between the earth and 
the heavens,

 107. It should seem as if Mithra was supposed to retrace his steps 
 during the night. The Hindus supposed that the sun had a bright 
 face and a dark one, and that during the night it returned from 
 the west to the east with its dark face turned towards the earth.

96. 'Swinging in his hands a club with a hundred 
knots, a hundred edges, that rushes forwards and 
fells men down; a club cast out of red brass, of 
strong, golden brass; the strongest of all weapons, 
the most victorious of all weapons 108 ;

 108. Cf. § 132. 

97. 'From whom Angra Mainyu, who is all death, 
flees away in fear; from whom Aeshma, the evil-doing 
Peshotanu 109 , flees away in fear; from whom 
the long-handed Bushyasta 110 flees away in fear; 
from whom all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya 
fiends flee away in fear 111 .

 109. See Vend. Introd. V, 19. 
 110. See ibid. IV, 24. 
 111. Cf. § 69. 

98. 'Oh! may we never fall across the rush of 
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, when in anger 112 ! 
May Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, never smite 
us in his anger; he who stands up upon this earth 
as the strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all 
gods, the most energetic of all gods, the swiftest of 
all gods, the most fiend-smiting of all gods, he, 
Mithra, the lord of wide pastures 113 .

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 112. Cf. Yt10.69. 
 113. §§ 97-98 = §§ 134-135.

 XXV. 

99. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'From whom all the Daevas unseen and the 
Varenya fiends flee away in fear 114 . 

'The lord of nations, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, 
drives forward at the right-hand side of 
this wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar.

 114. Cf. § 97. 

100. 'At his right hand drives the good, holy 
Sraosha; at his left hand drives the tall and strong 
Rashnu; on all sides around him drive the waters, 
the plants, and the Fravashis of the faithful.

101. 'In his might, he ever brings to them falcon-feathered 
arrows, and, when diiving, he himself 
comes there, where are nations, enemy to Mithra, 
he, first and foremost, strikes blows with his club 
on the horse and his rider; he throws fear and 
fright upon the horse and his rider. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXVI. 

102. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'The warrior of the white horse, of the sharp 
spear, the long spear, the quick arrows; foreseeing 
and clever;

103. 'Whom Ahura Mazda has established to 
maintain and look over all this moving 115 world, and 
who maintains and looks over all this moving world; 
who, never sleeping, wakefully guards the creation 
of Mazda; who, never sleeping, wakefully maintains 
the creation of Mazda; 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 115. Fravoish ; Parsi tradition translates large: frâz (tr. Phl.), 
 buland (Asp., Yasna 57.15).

 XXVII. 

104. 'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Whose long arms, strong with Mithra-strength, encompass what
he seizes in the easternmost river and what he beats with the
westernmost river, what is by the Sanaka of the Rangha and what
is by the boundary of the earth.
 105.
'And thou, O Mithra! encompassing all this around, do thou
reach it, all over, with thy arms. 
'The man without glory, led astray from the right way, grieves
in his heart; the man without glory thinks thus in himself: "That
careless Mithra does not see all the evil that is done, nor all
the lies that are told."
 106.
'But I think thus in my heart: 
'"Should the evil thoughts of the earthly man be a hundred
times worse, they would not rise so high as the good thoughts
of the heavenly Mithra; 
'"Should the evil words of the earthly man be a hundred times
worse, they would not rise so high as the good words of the heavenly
Mithra; 
'"Should the evil deeds of the earthly man be a hundred times
worse, they would not rise so high as the good deeds of the heavenly
Mithra;
 107.
'"Should the heavenly wisdom in the earthly man be a
hundred times greater, it would not rise so high as the heavenly
w'isdom in the heavenly Mithra; 
''And thus, should the ears of the earthly man hear a hundred
time better, he would not hear so well as the heavenly Mithra,
whose ear hears well who has a thousand senses, and sees every
man that tells a lie." 
'Mithra stands up in his strength, he drives in the awfulness
of royalty, and sends from his eyes beautiful looks that shine
from afar, (saying):
 108.
''Who will offer me a sacrifice? Who will lie unto me? Who
thinks me a god worthy of a good sacrifice? Who thinks me worthy
only of a bad sacrifice? To whom shall I, in my might, impart
brightness and glory? To whom bodily health? To whom shall I,
in my might, impart riches and full weal? Whom shall I bless by
raising him a virtuous offspring?
 109.
"'To whom shall I give in return, without his thinking
of it, the awful sovereignty, beautifully. arrayed, with many
armies, and most perfect; the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant,
who fells down heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmitten; who orders
chastisement to be done and his order is done at once, which he
has ordered in his anger?" 
'O Mithra! when thou art offended and not satisfied, he soothes
thy mind, and makes Mithra satisfied.
 110.
'"To whom shall I, in my might, impart sickness and death?
To whom shall I impart poverty and sterility? Of whom shall I
at one stroke cut off the offspring!
 111.
'"From whom shall I take away, without his thinking of
it, the awful sovereignty, beautifully arrayed, with many armies,
and most perfect; the sovereignty of an all-powerful tyrant, who
fells down heads, valiant, smiting, and unsmitten; who orders
chastisement to be done and his order is done at once, which he
has ordered in his anger." 
'O Mithra! while thou art satisfied and not angry, he moves thy
heart to anger, and makes Mithra unsatisfied. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXVIII. 

 112.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'A warrior with a silver helm, a golden cuirass, who kills with
the poniard, strong, valiant, lord of the borough. Bright are
the ways of Mithra, by which he goes towards the country, when,
wishing well, he turns its plains and vales to pasture grounds,

113. 'And then cattle and males come to graze, as many as he wants.

'May Mithra and Ahura, the high gods, come to us for help, when
the poniard lifts up its voice aloud, when the nostrils of the
horses quiver, when the poniards ...., when the, strings of the
bows whistle and shoot sharp arrows; then the brood of those whose
libations are hated fall smitten to the ground, with their hair
torn off.

114. 'So mayest thou, O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! give swiftness
to our teams, strength to our own bodies, and that we may watch
with full success those who hate us, smite down our foes, and
destroy at one stroke our adversaries, our enemies, and those
who hate us. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXIX. 

 115.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake. 
'O Mithra, lord of wide pastures! thou master of the house, of
the borough, of the town, of the country, thou Zarathushtrotema!
 116.
'Mithra is twentyfold between two friends or two relations;

'Mithra is thirtyfold between two men of the same group; 
'Mithra is fortyfold between two partners; 
'Mithra is fiftyfold between wife and husband; 
'Mithra is sixtyfold between two pupils (of the same master);

'Mithra is seventyfold between the pupil and his master; 
'Mithra is eightyfold between the son-in-law and his father-in-law;

'Mithra is ninetyfold between two brothers;
 117.
'Mithra is a hundredfold between the father and the son; 
'Mithra is a thousandfold between two nations; 
'Mithra is ten thousandfold when connected with the Law of Mazda,
and then he will be every day of victorious strength.
 118.
'May I come unto thee with a prayer that goes lowly or goes
highly! As this sun rises up above the Hara Berezaiti and then
fulfils its career, so may I, O Spitama! with a prayer that goes
lowly or goes highly, rise up above the will of the fiend Angra
Mainyu! 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXX. 

 119.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastwes, ....
sleepless, and ever awake, 
'Offer up a sacrifice unto Mithra, O Spitama! and order thy pupils
to do the same. 
'Let the worshipper of Mazda sacrifice unto thee with small cattle,
with black cattle, with flying birds, gliding forward on wings.
 120.
'To Mithra all the faithful worshiypers of Mazda must give
strength and energy with offered and proffered Haomas, which the
Zaotar proffers unto him and gives in sacrifice. Let the faithful
man drink of the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does,
if he offers them unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra
will be pleased with him and without anger.'
 121.
Zarathushtra asked him: 'O Ahura Mazda! how shall the faithful
man drink the libations cleanly prepared, which if he does and
he offers them unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, Mithra
will be pleased vvith him and without anger?'
 122.
Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let them wash their bodies three days
and three nights; let them undergo thirty strokes for the sacrifice
and prayer unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures. Let them wash
their bodies two days and two nights; let them undergo twenty
strokes for the sacrifice and prayer unto Mithra, the lord of
wide pastures. Let no man drink of these libations who does not
know the staota yesnya: Vispe ratavo. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacriace worth
being heard....

 XXXI. 

 123.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'To whom Ahura Mazda offered up a sacrifice in the shining Garo-nmana.
 124.
'With his arms lifted up towards Immortality, Mithra, the
lord of wide pastures, drives forward from the shining Garo-nmana,
in a beautiful chariot that drives on, ever-swift, adorned with
all sorts of ornaments, and made of gold.
 125.
'Four stallions draw that chariot, all of the same white colour,
living on heavenly food and undying. The hoofs of their fore-feet
are shod with gold, the hoofs of their hind-feet are shod with
silver; all are yoked to the same pole, and wear the yoke and
the cross-beams of the yoke, fastened with hooks of Khshathra
vairya to a beautiful....
 126.
'At his right hand drives Rashnu-Razishta, the most beneficent
and most well-shapen. 
'At his left hand drives the most upright Chista, the holy one,
bearing libations in her hands, clothed with white clothes, and
white herself; and the cursing thought of the Law of Mazda.

127. 'Close by him drives the strong cursing thought of the wise
man, opposing foes in the shape of a boar, a sharp-toothed he-boar,
a sharp- jawed boar, that kills at one stroke, pursuing, wrathful,
with a dripping face, strong and swift to run, and rushing all
around. 
'Behind him drives Atar, all in a blaze, and the awful kingly
Glory.
 128.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand bows well-made, with a string of cowgut; they
go through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly
space upon the skulls of the Daevas.
 129.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand vulture-feathered arrows, with a golden mouth,
with a horn shaft, with a brass tail, and well-made. They go through
the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon
the skulls of the Daevas.
 130.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand spears well-made and sharp-piercing. They go
through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space
upon the skulls of the Daevas. 
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand steel-hammers, two-edged, well-made. They go
through the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space
upon the skulls of the Daevas.
 131.
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand swords, two-edged and well-made. They go through
the heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon
the skulls of the Daevas. 
'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stand a thousand maces of iron, well-made. They go through the
heavenly space, they fall through the heavenly space upon the
skulls of the Daevas.

132. 'On a side of the chariot of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
stands a beautiful well-falling club, with a hundred knots, a
hundred edges, that rushes forward and fells men down; a club
cast out of red brass, of strong, golden brass; the strongest
of all weapons, the most victorious of all weapons. It goes through
the heavenly space, it falls through the heavenly space upon the
skulls of the Daevas.
 133.
After he has smitten the Daevas, after he has smitten down
the men who lied unto Mithra, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
drives forward through Arezahe and Savahe, through Fradadhafshu
and Vidadhafshu, through Vourubareshti and Vouru-jareshti, through
this our Karshvare, the bright Hvaniratha.
 134.
'Angra Mainyu, who is all death, flees away in fear; Aeshma,
the evil-doing Peshotanu, flees away in fear; the long-handed
Bushyasta flees away in fear; all the Daevas unseen and the Varenya
fiends flee away in fear.
 135.
'Oh! may we never fall across the rush of Mithra, the lord
of wide pastures, when in anger! May Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures, never smite us in his anger; he who stands up upon this
earth as the strongest of all gods, the most valiant of all gods,
the most energetic of all gods, the swiftest of all gods, the
most fiend-smiting of all gods, he, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.

'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXXII. 

 136.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'For whom white stallions, yoked to his chariot, draw it, on one
golden wheel, with a full shining axle.
 137.
'If Mithra takes his libations to his own dwelling, "Happy
that man, I think," -- said Ahura Mazda, "O holy Zarathra!
for whom a holy priest, as pious as any in the world, who is the
Word incarnate, offers up a sacrifice unto Mithra with bundles
of baresma and with the [proper] words. 
'"Straight to that man, I think, will Mithra come, to visit
his dwelling,
 138.
'"When Mithra's boons will come to him, as he follows
God's teaching, and thinks according to God's teaching. 
'"Woe to that man, I think," - said Ahura Mazda, - "O
holy Zarathushtra! for whom an unholy priest, not pious, who is
not the Word incarnate, stands behind the baresma, however full
may be the bundles of baresma he ties, however long may be the
sacrifice he performs."
 139.
'He does not delight Ahura Mazda, nor the other Amesha-Spentas,
nor Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, he who thus scorns Mazda,
and the other Amesha-Spentas, and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures,
and the Law, and Rashnu, and Arstat, who makes the world grow,
who makes the world increase. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXXIII. 

 140.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake. 
'I will offer up a sacrifice unto the good Mithra, O Spitama!
unto the strong, heavenly god, who is foremost, highly merciful,
and peerless; whose house is above, a stout and strong warrior;
 141.
'Victorious and armed with a well-fashioned weapon, watchful
in darkness and undeceivable. He is the stoutest of the stoutest,
he is the strongest of the strongest, he is the most intelligent
of the gods, he is victorious and endowed with Glory: he, of the
ten thousand eyes, of the ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing,
undeceivable god. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXXIV. 

 142.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, ....
sleepless, and ever awake; 
'Who, with his manifold knowledge, powerfully increases the creation
of Spenta Mainyu, and is a well-created and most great Yazata,
self-shining like the moon, when he makes his own body shine;
 143.
'Whose face is flashing with light like the face of the star
Tistrya; whose chariot is embraced by that goddess who is foremost
amongst those who have no deceit in them, O Spitama! who is fairer
than any creature in the world, and full of light to shine. I
will worship that chariot, wrought by the Maker, Ahura Mazda,
inlaid with stars and made of a heavenly substance; (the chariot)
of Mithra, who has ten thousand spies, the powerful, all-knowing,
undeceivable god. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth
being heard....

 XXXV. 

 144.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who
is truth-speaking, a chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears,
well-shapen, with a thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge,
strong, sleepless, and ever awake. 
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra around countries; 
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra within countries; 
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra in this country; 
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra above countries; 
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra under countries; 
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra before countries; 
'We sacrifice unto the Mithra behind countries.
 145.
'We sacrifice unto Mithra and Ahura, the two great, imperishable,
holy gods; and unto the stars, and the moon, and the sun, with
the trees that yield up baresma. We sacrifice unto Mithra, the
lord of all countries. 
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice
worth being heard, namely, unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures.

'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....

'I bless the sacrifice and p yer, and the strength and vigour
of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears,
ten thousand eyes, a Yazata invoked by his own name; and that
of Rama Hvastra. 
'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!'

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