Yasht
Yasht or Yascht ( Middle Persian and New Persian YaST /یشت, derived from “yašti” and “yaz”: to worship, sacrifice, praise - in Old Avestian ; related to Yasna ):
The third section of the Avestas , the holy scripture of the followers of the Iranian founder of religion Zarathustra , consists of twenty-one yashts. The Yashts contain hymns to ancient Iranian deities and are denoted by numbers in the sense of numbering as well as by the names of the respective deities.
The Yashts found their way into the neo-Persian work Shāhnāme by the Persian poet Firdausi as essential written sources, especially early Iranian mythology . For example, Hom / Haoma appears there as a virtuous man living in the mountains who opposes Afrasiab and supports the Iranian King Chusrau.
Among the Yashts, Hom Yasht is considered part of the Yasna . The following 20 Yashts are to be named, which are initially given here with two corresponding names and then added in brackets to the deity to which they are dedicated:
- 1. Hormazd Yasht / Ohrmazd Yasht (to Ahura Mazda )
- 2. Detention Amschaspandan Yasht / Amesha Spenta Yasht (to Amesha Spenta )
- 3. Ordibehesht Yasht / Ardwahisht Yasht (to Asha Vahishta , the "best Asha ")
- 4. Hordad Yasht / Haurvatat Yasht (an Haurvatat )
- 5. Aban Yasht / Ardvi Sura Anahita Yasht (to the water and Anahita )
- 6. Horshid Yasht / Kwarshed Yasht (an Hvare xšaeta : the sun)
- 7. Mah Yasht (to Mawangh : the moon)
- 8. Tir Yasht / Tishtar Yasht (an Tishtrya )
- 9. Geush Yasht / Drvasp Yasht (an Drvaspa )
- 10. Mihr Yasht (to Mithra )
- 11. Srosh Yasht (to Sraosha )
- 12.Rashn Yasht / Rashnu Yasht (to Rashnu )
- 13. Farwardin Yasht / Frawardin Yasht (to the Fravashi )
- 14. Bahram Yasht / Warahran Yasht (an Verethragna )
- 15. Ram Yasht / Raman Yasht (named after Raman / Rama , content directed to Vayu / Vata )
- 16. Den Yasht / Daena Yasht (an Čistā : deity of knowledge)
- 17. Ard Yasht / Art Yasht (to Ashi Vanguhi )
- 18. Arshtad Yasht / Arshtat Yasht (reference to Airyanem xvareno)
- 19.Zamyad Yasht / Zam Yasht (to earth)
- 20. Vanand Yasht / Vanant Yasht (to Vanant : one star)
In the numbering, Hom Yasht is usually counted as Yasht 20, so Vanand Yasht is assigned the number 21.
The age of the yashts
The Yashts can be divided into an older and a younger group, which is also associated with clear linguistic and stylistic differences. The origin of the older Yashts is attributed to the Iranian world of belief that existed before the time of Zarathustra and his religious renewal. However, various authors assume that the later Zoroastrian clergy influenced the form and part of the content of these yashts.
The oldest Yashts include "Hom Yasht", dedicated to Haoma , and "Mihr Yasht", who praises the deity Mithra . Other yashts in this group are:
Aban Yasht, Tir Yasht, Geush Yasht, Farwardin Yasht, Bahram Yasht, Din Yasht, Ard Yasht, Zamyad Yasht and Srosh Yasht.
From a historical and mythological point of view, the representation of different rulers in the older Yashts is of particular importance with regard to later Persian literature . So here kings of the two dynasties of the early Iranian kings mentioned by Firdausi are represented. Thus the dynasty occurring at Firdausi as "Kianian" or Kianiden is described here under the name "Kavaya" or "Kavan".
literature
- Encyclopaedia of Ancient Iran . Hashem-e Razi, Tehran, Sokhan, 2002.
- Encyclopedia Iranica . Edited by Ehsan Yarshater
- Translations: J. Darmesteter, LH Mills, F. Wolff. See also [1] .
- Old Avestan Glossary . P. Octor Skjaervo, Harvard University.
- Avesta. Translation of the text . Jalil Doostkhah. Morvarid, 1996.
- Shahnameh-e-Ferdowsi. Javidan, 1983.