Avesta (Gathas)

The introduction states that the five Gâthas of Zarathu s tra and his immediate followers are placed before the other parts of the Yasna because of their higher antiquity, and that for years or centuries no other Yasna existed beside them. It notes that their more remarkable circumstances were discussed in the Introduction, then recalls that they are productions of a small group of influential men referred to mostly by name, and that Zarathu s tra appears here as a struggling, suffering, human prophet. It emphasises their historical tone, describing an earnest, pure religious movement contemporaneous with their composition. It observes that nearly all myths are dropped and that the old Aryan gods, save one, are absent. It characterises the Gâthas as an anthology composed to benefit spiritual and moral natures, notes their speculative depth, and remarks they were probably once far more voluminous than the surviving fragments. It refers to the Introduction and to summaries at each Gâtha and chapter. It then introduces the Gâtha Ahunavaitî, comprising Yasna chapters XXVIII–XXXIV, named for its metre's similarity to the Ahuna-vairya formula, composed of homogeneous material in sixteen-syllable lines and three-line stanzas, mostly original with Zarathu s tra, with analyses placed before each chapter.