Avesta (Gathas) · 1 of 2 · tr. L.H. Mills
Ahunavaiti Gatha, Yasna XXIX, Section 1a
(Homage to you, O Sacred Gâthas!) 1.
Unto you (O Ahura and Asha!) the Soul of the Kine (our sacred herds and folk) cried aloud: For whom did ye create me, and by 1 whom did ye fashion me?
On me comes the assault of wrath, and of violent power, the blow 2 of desolation, audacious insolence, and (thievish) 3 might.
None other pasture-giver 4 have I than you, therefore do ye teach me good (tillage) for the fields (my only hope of welfare 5 )!
Ahura speaks.
2.
Upon this the Creator 6 of the Kine (the holy p.
7 herds) asked of Righteousness 1 : How (was) thy guardian for the Kine (appointed) by thee when, as having power (over all her fate), ye made her?
(In what manner did ye secure) for her, together with pasture, a cattle-chief who was both skilled and likewise energetic?
Whom did ye select 2 as her (life's) master who might hurl back the fury of the wicked 3 ?
Asha answers.
3.
To Him the (Divine Righteousness) answered with 4 his sanctity.
(Great was our perplexity); a chieftain who war capable of smiting 5 back (their fury), and who was himself without hate (was not to be obtained by us); among such things as these, those things are not to be known (by beings such as we) which are the influences which approach 6 (and move) the lofty fires 7 (revealing the favour and the will of God 8 ).
Of beings He is the mightiest to whom those 9 p.
8 who have performed their actions approach with invocations.
(He has no need to ask!) Zarathu s tra intervenes 1 .
4.
The Great Creator 2 (is himself) most mindful of the uttered indications which have been fulfilled beforehand hitherto in the deeds of 3 demon-gods 4 and (good or evil) men, and of those which shall be fulfilled by them 5 hereafter.
He Ahura is the discerning arbiter; so shall it be to us 6 as He shall will 7 !
5.
Therefore it is that we both, my soul 8 and (the soul) of the mother 9 Kine, (are) making our supplications p.
9 for the two worlds to Ahura, and with hands stretched out in entreaty, when (we pray to the Great Creator 1 with questions in our doubt 2 ; (and He will answer).
Not for the righteous liver, not for the thrifty (tiller of the earth), shall there be destruction 3 together with the wicked!
Ahura.
6.
Upon this the Lord, the Great Creator, He who understands the mysterious grace 4 by His insight 5 , spake thus.
Not in this manner 6 is a spiritual master found for us, nor a chieftain moved by Righteousness and appointed (in its spirit); therefore Thee 7 have I named 8 (as such a head) to the diligent tiller of the ground 9 !
p.
10 The Ameshôspends 1 .
7.
Mazda has created the inspired Word-of-reason which is a Mãthra of fatness (for the offering), the (Divine) Righteousness consenting with Him in his deed.
Food he has prepared for the Kine and for the eaters 2 , He the one bountiful with his (saving) doctrine; but whom hast Thou, endowed with the Good Mind, who may give forth those (doctrines) by word of mouth to mortals 3 ?
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Ahura Mazda Principlecosmology
The divine ordering principle of truth and light.
Ahura Mazda is the central Creator, Arbiter, and object of supplication throughout the passage.
All passages →Asha Cosmic Ordercosmology
Truth as the fundamental structure of reality.
Asha (Righteousness/Truth) is a primary speaker and the fundamental standard against which actions are judged.
All passages →Cosmic Dualismtheology
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The text contrasts Ahura/Asha with wrath, violent power, and demon-gods.
All passages →Divine Providencetheology
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The Creator is described as mindful of past and future deeds and the ultimate arbiter of fate.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
Ahura is depicted as actively speaking, answering prayers, and being mindful of human deeds.
All passages →Logoscosmology
The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
Mazda creates the 'inspired Word-of-reason' (Mathra) as a divine ordering principle.
All passages →Prayerpraxis
Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.
The passage centers on supplications, entreaties, and direct address to the divine.
All passages →Ritual Firepraxis
Fire as medium of divine presence.
Fire serves as a medium for revealing divine favour and will.
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