Avesta (Gathas) · 3 of 3 · tr. L.H. Mills
Ahunavaiti Gatha, Yasna XXXI, Section 1c
49 harm to the tiller's herd, to the pious husbandman's flock, who speaks no word with lying, (who abjures the Lie-demon's faith 1 )?
16.
Yea, I would ask Thee such a thing as this: How such an one as he who, with wise action, has striven to promote (Thy holy) Rule 2 over house, and region, and province, in the Righteous Order and in truth, how he may become like Thee 3 , O Great Creator, Living Lord?
And when he may so become, (this also I would ask), and in what actions living he may so be 4 ?
17.
And which of the (religions) is the greater (and the more prevailing 5 as to these questions which thus concern the soul?) Is it that which the p.
50 righteous believes, or the wicked 1 ?
(Let then our questionings cease.) Let the enlightened (alone) speak to the enlightened.
Let not the ignorant (further) deceive us, (high though he may lift his voice 2 ).
Do Thou thyself, O Ahura Mazda!
declare 3 to us (the truth) as Thy Good Mind's full revealer.
18.
(And you, ye assembled throngs!) let not a man of you lend a hearing to Mãthra, or to command of that sinner 4 (ignorant 5 as he is), for home, village, region, and province he would deliver to ruin 6 and death.
But (fly ye to arms without hearing), and hew ye them all with the halberd 7 !
p.
51 19.
Let them hear Him who conceived of the Righteous Order for the worlds, the (all)-wise One, O Ahura!
For truthful speech He rules with absolute sway over words, and ever free of tongue (to guide us in our way 1 ).
By Thy shining flame 2 (He doth guide us 3 , Thine altar's flame with its signs of decision and of grace) sent forth for the good of the strivers 4 .
20.
(But, O ye listening men!) he who renders p.
52 the saint deceived 1 , for him shall be later destruction 2 .
Long life shall be his lot in the darkness; foul shall be his food; his speech shall be of the lowest 3 .
And this, which is such a life 4 as your own, O ye vile!
your (perverted) conscience through your own deeds will bring 5 you 6 !
21.
But Ahura Mazda will give both Universal Weal and Immortality 7 in the fulness of His Righteous Order, and from himself 8 as the head 9 of Dominion (within His saints).
And He will likewise give the Good Mind's vigorous might 10 to him who in spirit and deeds is His friend 11 , (and with faith fulfils his vows 12 ) p.
53 22.
And to the wise are these things clear as to the one discerning with his mind (not blinded by the perverter 1 ).
With Thy Good Mind and Thy (holy) Kingdom he follows the Righteous Order both in his words and his actions.
And to Thee, O Ahura Mazda!
such a man shall be the most helpful and vigorous being 2 (for he serves with every power 3 )!
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Ahura Mazda Principlecosmology
The divine ordering principle of truth and light.
The passage is a direct address to Ahura Mazda, invoking His Rule, Good Mind, and authority as the Living Lord.
All passages →Asha Cosmic Ordercosmology
Truth as the fundamental structure of reality.
The text repeatedly references the 'Righteous Order' (Asha) as the fundamental structure to be promoted and lived in.
All passages →Cosmic Dualismtheology
Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
The passage establishes a fundamental opposition between the Righteous/Truth and the Wicked/Lie-demon.
All passages →Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology
Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.
The text describes final outcomes of destruction/darkness for the wicked and Immortality/Weal for the righteous.
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.
The text emphasizes 'wise action', 'truthful speech', and 'spirit and deeds' as the path to divine likeness.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
Ahura Mazda is explicitly addressed as the 'Living Lord' who actively gives and rules.
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 petitionary and contemplative address to the divine.
All passages →Ritual Firepraxis
Fire as medium of divine presence.
The altar's flame is mentioned as a medium sent forth for the good of strivers and decision.
All passages →Theosis Deificationsoteriology
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The central question asks how a human may 'become like Thee' (Ahura Mazda) through action.
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