Avesta (Gathas) · 1 of 2 · tr. L.H. Mills
Ahunavaiti Gatha, Yasna XXVIII, Section 1a
1.
(A strengthening blessing 1 is the thought, a blessing is the word, a blessing is the deed of the righteous Zarathu s tra.
May the Bountiful Immortals 2 accept and help on 3 the chants.
Homage to you, O sacred Gâthas 4 !) 2.
With venerating (desire) for this (gift) of gracious help, O Mazda 5 , and stretching forth my hands (to Thee) I pray for the first (blessing) of (Thy) bountiful Spirit; (that is, I beseech of Thee that my) actions p.
18 [paragraph continues] (toward) all (may be performed) in (the Divine) Righteousness; and with this I implore from Thee the understanding of Thy Benevolent Mind, in order that I may propitiate the Soul of the Kine 1 (our herds and folk, which cries so bitterly to Thee).
3.
And therefore, O Great Creator, the Living Lord!
(inspired) by Thy Benevolent Mind, I approach You 2 , (and beseech of Thee 3 ) to grant me (as a bountiful gift) for both the worlds, the corporeal and (for that) of mind, those attainments which are to be derived from the (Divine) Righteousness, and by means of which (that personified Righteousness 4 within us) may introduce those who are its recipients into beatitude and glory 5 !
4.
O (thou Divine) Righteousness, and thou Benevolent p.
19 [paragraph continues] Mind (of Deity)!
I will worship you, and Ahura Mazda the first 1 , for all of whom the Pious ready mind (within us) is 2 causing the imperishable Kingdom to advance.
(And while I thus utter my supplications to You), come Ye to my calls to help 3 !
5.
(Yea, I will approach You with my supplications, I) who am delivering up (my) 4 mind and soul to that (heavenly) Mount (whither all the redeemed at last must pass 5 ), knowing (full well) the holy characteristics and rewards 6 of the (ceremonial and moral) actions (prescribed) by Ahura Mazda.
(And) p.
20 so long as I am able and may have the power, so long will I teach 1 (Your people concerning these holy deeds to be done by them with faith toward God, and) in the desire (for the coming) of the (Divine) Righteousness (within their souls) 2 .
6.
And, thou Righteousness!
when shall I see 3 (thee, knowing the Good Mind (of God), and above all the personified) Obedience 4 (of our lives which constitutes) the way 5 to the most beneficent Ahura Mazda.
(Asking this, I thus beseech thee, for) with this holy word of supplication we most hold off 6 with tongue the flesh-devouring fiends, (the very sign and power of all spiritual foulness) 7 !
p.
21 7.
And do Thou, O Lord, the Great Creator!
come to me with Thy Good Mind; and do Thou, who bestowest gifts through Thy Righteousness, bestow alike long-lasting life on us.
And (that this life may be spent aright, do) Thou by means of Thy lofty words (bestow) the (needed) powerful spiritual help upon Zarathu s tra and upon us 1 , whereby we may overcome 2 the torments of the tormentor.
8.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Ahura Mazda Principlecosmology
The divine ordering principle of truth and light.
Ahura Mazda is explicitly invoked as the Great Creator and Living Lord throughout the passage.
All passages →Asha Cosmic Ordercosmology
Truth as the fundamental structure of reality.
Divine Righteousness (Asha) is the central ethical and cosmic principle sought and worshipped.
All passages →Cosmic Dualismtheology
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The text presents a clear opposition between Divine Righteousness and flesh-devouring fiends/tormentors.
All passages →Good Thought Word Deedethics
The Zoroastrian triad of right thought, right speech, and right action as the foundation of ethical life; truth-in-living.
Verse 1 explicitly defines the blessing as thought, word, and deed of the righteous.
All passages →Kingdom Withinanthropology
The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.
The text states the pious mind 'within us' causes the imperishable Kingdom to advance.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
Ahura Mazda is addressed as the 'Living Lord' who actively grants gifts and help.
All passages →Prayerpraxis
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
The entire passage is structured as a direct supplication and prayer to the divine.
All passages →Word Power Incantationpraxis
The doctrine and practice that spoken or sung word carries causal-magical force — that uttering names, formulas, songs, or incantations alters reality directly rather than merely communicating about it. Vainamoinen's runo-songs that move mountains and command iron, Norse galdr, Vedic mantra, Shinto kotodama, the magician's barbarous names in the Greek Magical Papyri, Iamblichean arcane signatures and inexplicable symbols, biblical creation-by-word. Distinct from sacred_names (the ontological power of names themselves) and prayer (address to the divine); word_power_incantation is the magical-causal efficacy of the spoken word as such.
The holy word of supplication is described as holding off fiends, indicating causal power in speech.
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