Yasht

TheYashtsare a collection of twenty-one hymns in theYounger Avestanlanguage. Each of these hymns invokes a specificZoroastriandivinity or concept.Yashtchapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated asYt.

Overview

The wordyashtderives from Middle Persian 𐭩𐭱𐭲 yašt ( “prayer, worship” ) probably fromAvestan𐬫𐬀𐬱𐬙𐬀‎(yašta, “honored” ), from𐬫𐬀𐬰‎(yaz, “to worship, honor” ), fromProto-Indo-European*yeh₂ǵ-or*Hyaǵ-,and several hymns of theYasnaliturgy that "venerate by praise" are—in tradition—also nominally calledyashts. These "hidden" Yashts are: theBarsomYasht(Yasna2), anotherHomYashtinYasna9–11, theBhagan YashtofYasna19–21, a hymn toAshiinYasna52, anotherSaroshYashtinYasna57, the praise of the (hypostasis of) "prayer" inYasna58, and a hymn to theAhuraniinYasna68. Since these are a part of the primary liturgy, they do not count among the twenty-one hymns of theYashtcollection.

All the hymns of theYashtcollection "are written in what appears to be prose, but which, for a large part, may originally have been a (basically) eight-syllable verse, oscillating between four and thirteen syllables, and most often between seven and nine."

Most of theyazatas that the individualYashts praise also have a dedication in theZoroastrian calendar.The exceptions areDrvaspaandVanant.

The twenty-oneyashts of the collection (notes follow):

Yasht #	title / nominally invokes[a]	in praise of[b]	extent
1.	OhrmazdYasht[c]	Ahura Mazda	33 verses
2.	HaptAmahraspandYasht[c]	the sevenAmesha Spentas	15 verses
3.	ArdawahishtYasht[c]	Asha Vahishtaof "Best Truth"	19 verses
4.	HordadYasht[c]	Haurvatatof "Wholeness" and "Perfection"	11 verses
5.	AbanYasht[b]	Aredvi Sura Anahitaofthe waters[f][g]	132 verses
6.	HwarshedYasht	Hvare-khshaetaof the "Radiant Sun"	7 verses
7.	MahYasht	Maonghahof the "Moon"	7 verses
8.	TishtarYasht	Tishtrya,the starSirius	62 verses
9.	DrvaspYasht	Drvaspa,guardian of horses[d]	33 verses
10.	MihrYasht	Mithraof "Covenant"	145 verses
11.	SroshYasht	Sraoshaof "Obedience"[e]	23 verses
12.	RashnYasht	Rashnuof "Justice"[e]	47 verses
13.	FravardinYasht	theFravashis	158 verses
14.	WarharanYasht	Verethragna,"Smiter of resistance"	64 verses
15.	Ram Yasht[b]	the "good"[i]Vayu	58 verses
16.	DenYasht[b]	Chista,"Wisdom"	20 verses
17.	ArdYasht	Ashiof "Recompense"[g]	62 verses
18.	AshtadYasht[b]	khvarenah,the "(divine) glory"	9 verses
19.	ZamYasht	see note[b]below	97 verses
20.	HomYasht	Haoma[h]	3 verses
21.	VanantYasht	Vanant,the starVega	2 verses

Notes

a.^	TheYashts did not originally have titles. These were assigned at some time during theCommon Era,and hence reflect theMiddle Persianforms of the divinities' names.
b.^	SeveralYashts are—despite their names—hymns to other divinities or concepts. Yasht5 is nominally tothe watersbut primarily addressesAredvi Sura Anahita,who is (also) a divinity of the waters. Yasht15 is nominally to Raman (Rama Kshathra) but praises the "good" Vayu[i] Yasht16 is nominally toDaena"insight, revelation" but actually invokesChista"Wisdom". Chista and Daena are very closely associated with one another. Yasht18, nominally toArshtat,is actually an ode tokhvarenah,the "(divine) glory". Yasht19, nominally toZam,the "Earth", has very little to do with the earth. SeeZamfor details.
c.^	Yashts 1–4 are "mediocre, meaningless texts, composed in incoherent language; they probably result from a very late expansion of the Yašt collection."
d.^	Yasht9 toDrvaspahas a number of verses that are originally fromYasht5, the hymn to the waters.
e.^	Yashts 11 and 12 are respectively hymns toSraoshaandRashnu,but are to some extent also an extension ofYasht10, the hymn toMithra.Sraosha and Rashnu are both attendants of Mithra.
f.^	There is also a "hidden"Yashttothe watersatYasna38.
g.^	Yasht5 (in praise ofAredvi Sura Anahita) andYasht17 (toAshi) share a number of verses. It is not possible to determine which of the two is the original.
h.^	The Avesta has two hymns that were later titledHom Yasht.The original is part of theYasnaliturgy and hence not counted as aYasht.The other,Yasht20, is a duplicate of the three verses ofYasna9–11.
i.^	Vayu,divinity of wind and atmosphere, is a dual divinity: part benevolent and part malign.

Bibliography

• Kellens, Jean (1989), "Avesta",Encyclopaedia Iranica,vol. 3, New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul:35–44.

External links

• English language translations of theYashtsfromDarmesteter, James (1898), Müller, Friedrich Max (ed.),Sacred Books of the East,vol. 23, New York: OUP