History of Zoroastrianism/Chapter 26

by Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla

 

CHAPTER XXVI

 

PRAYERS AND RITUALS

 

The nature of the Younger Avestan prayers. The Younger Avesta propounds a ritualistic religion.^[1] The texts do not contain short or long continuous compositions that may be classed as prayers which can help man to give expression to the various feelings, moods, desires, and aspirations that agitate the deepest depth of his heart and the innermost recesses of his mind, beget emotional exaltation and devotional fervour in him, and inspire him to strive after an ideal life. Only some scattered sentences and short passages, occurring at rare intervals, can be collected from the mass of the liturgical texts to serve such a purpose. Ahura Mazda, Amesha Spentas, Yazatas, Fravashis, souls of the righteous men and women of all times, celestial and terrestrial beings, sun, moon, stars, sky, fire, wind, earth, water, rain, time, space, trees, mountains, rivers, places, fields, the season festivals, years, months, days, periods of the day, religion, customs, spells, texts, chapters, verses, metres, virtues, qualities, thoughts, words, deeds, intellect, self, priests, warriors, agriculturists, artisans, laymen, teachers, pupils, ritual implements and various other objects are enumerated by name with or without their attributes and functions, and receive praise and homage. They are all alike commemorated with the common word yazamaide, 'we worship,' in innumerable passages that pass as insipid, laudatory prayers.

Yasna Haptanghaiti or the Yasna of Seven Chapters, the earliest of prose compositions, made in the Gathic dialect, in the Younger Avestan period, contains more passages that can be termed proper prayers than any other text in the Avestan literature. It is significant to note that the supplicants who pray for several boons ask them from Haoma, Ardvi Sura and her waters. Fire, Mithra, and Sraosha rather than from Ahura Mazda himself.

We have collected references to such passages as can be termed prayers and classified them under the headings: Supplicatory, Confessional, Devotional, Benedictory, Imprecatory, and Exorcising prayers. We shall now turn to these.

Supplicatory prayers. The faithful pray unto the Amesha Spentas and ask them to extend their protection, as they say they do not see others than the archangels who can take them under their protection.^[2] The Yazatas are asked to grant something greater and better and nobler than what their supplicant asks.^[3] Haoma is asked to keep his votaries far from harm,^[4] and give them foreknowledge of thieves and murderers and wolves for their safety.^[5] It is prayed that Sraosha and Ashi may dwell in the house in which Haoma is the honoured guest and that Ashi may give joy there.^[6] Haoma is implored to bestow upon his praisers the healing remedies and victory over their enemies.^[7] He is further asked to give bodily health and long life,^[8] courage and victory^[9] that the righteous may be the courageous smiters of falsehood and malice.^[10] In the end, the divinity of the sacrificial plant is asked to give the shining, all happy abode of the righteous.^[11] Mithra is besought to give swiftness to the teams of his worshippers, strength to their own bodies so that they may watch successfully their enemies and smite them,^[12] and also the demons and sorcerers and fairies and those that are seeingly blind and hearingly deaf.^[13] Those that have not lied unto the angel of truth ask him to free them from distress and to give them riches and strength, victory and happiness, name and fame^[14] and joy.^[15] Sraosha is asked by his invokers to grant strength to their horses and soundness of body and strength to themselves, so that they may be able to defeat the jealous and inimical.^[16] He is asked to protect them in both the worlds from the onslaughts of the demons of wrath and death.^[17] The fire is asked to give abundant well-being, abundant sustenance, and abundant life, together with knowledge, holiness, a ready tongue, spiritual understanding, and comprehensive, great, and imperishable wisdom.^[18] Moreover, he is asked to give manly valour, which is ever afoot, sleeplessness, watchfulness, offspring that gives support, ruling over the region, belonging to the assembly, thoroughly developed, of good intellect, that may further his house, village, town, and country, and the renown of the country.^[19] Weal and immortality are the other boons that are asked from the fire.^[20] Good reward and good renown and fulfilment of one's wishes now and forever and the shining, all-happy abode of the righteous are asked from the fire of Ahura Mazda.^[21] Ardvi Sura is invoked to grant heroic sons of innate wisdom that may further one's house, village, town, country, and the religion of the country.^[22] The waters of Ardvi Sura are asked to give riches and virtuous offspring that may not wish ill of any one;^[23] and they are asked to give radiance and glory, soundness and vigour of body, wise offspring, happiness, and life longer than long.^[24] The Zaotar or the sacrificer asks the waters on behalf of those that have participated in the sacrifice to imbue friends and pupils, teachers and learned men and women, youths and maidens and workmen and all Mazdayasnians with the wisdom to follow the path of truth.^[25] The shining, all happy abode of the righteous is the last coveted boon that the waters are asked to grant.^[26]

Confessional prayers. In the Confession of Faith the believer proclaims himself a Mazdayasnian Zoroastrian, an invoker of the Amesha Spentas; he ascribes everything good in this world to Ahura Mazda and he confesses that he is against the daevas.^[27] He declares that the religion to which he belongs is the greatest and the best and fairest among all the existing religions.^[28] He puts his faith in Ahura Mazda.^[29] As a true Mazdayasnian, he bases his conduct of life upon good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, and renounces evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds.^[30] He further emphasizes that he belongs to good thoughts and not to evil thoughts, to good words and not to evil words, to good deeds and not to evil deeds, to religious obedience and not to heresy, to righteousness and not to wickedness, and so shall he be as long as the struggle between the rival spirits of good and evil lasts.^[31] He praises righteousness.^[32] The ideal of his life will be that he will endeavour to be like Ahura Mazda and Zarathushtra and Frashaoshtra and Jamaspa and all those that have proved themselves to be the righteous and true benefactors of mankind and even like the good waters and trees and cattle.^[33] He undertakes to protect the Mazdayasnian settlements from harm and drought,^[34] and neither for the love of his body nor his life will he ever be a source of harm to them.^[35] By his thoughts, words, and deeds, does he abjure and hate the chieftainship of the daevas, sorcerers, and those addicted to sorcery.^[36] Thus will he denounce the guidance of the daevas even as Zarathushtra did at the command of Ahura Mazda when they communed together.^[37]

Devotional prayers. The devout pray that through good mind and through rectitude and through the deeds and words of wisdom they may go near Ahura Mazda.^[38] They pay homage and acknowledge themselves his debtors.^[39] As Ahura Mazda has thought and spoken and decreed and done what is good, so do they give unto him, praise him, and worship him.^[40] They long to approach him through righteousness and devotion,^[41] or through fire.^[42] Through the best and fairest righteousness they yearn to see him and attain to his perfect friendship.^[43] They worship him with their bodies and their lives.^[44] They dedicate themselves unto him and beseech him to be even their lives and bodies.^[45] They love him and lean upon him for strength, and ask him to make them cheerful and happy and give them lifelong joy in him.^[46] Ahura Mazda is the king of both the worlds and the faithful aspire to attain unto his Kingdom for ever;^[47] and for all time do they seek fellowship with him and Asha, in this world and the next.^[48] With the sacrifice and invocation and propitiation and glorification they long to approach the Amesha Spentas,^[49] and they proffer unto them sacrifice and prayer with thoughts and words and deeds and with all good things of life and with their beings and with the lives of their bodies.^[50] The worshipper strives to make Armaiti's devotion his own.^[51] The votaries of Haoma lay before him the Gathas and the songs of praise and the savoury viands and are eager to dedicate their bodies to him in order to obtain from him wisdom and happiness and purity.^[52] Mithra is implored by those who sacrifice unto him to come to them for help and freedom, joy and mercy, healing and victory, well-being and sanctification.^[53] The pious dedicate their thoughts, words, and deeds, and their property, cattle, and men unto Spenta Mainyu;^[54] and unto Staota Yasna their property and bodies for protection.^[55]

Benedictory prayers. The priest who helps the Zaotar or the officiating priest at the sacrifice, invokes blessings upon him that, what is of onefold help to himself, may be twofold and threefold and tenfold unto his senior,^[56] and that better than the good may come unto him.^[57] The Zaotar reciprocates that the better than the good may come to his junior partner and worse than the bad may not overtake him.^[58] The sacrificer blesses every Mazdayasnian family with a good home and a joyful home and a happy home.^[59] It is prayed that greatness may come unto him who feeds the fire with ceremonial offerings.^[60] The fire blesses the householder that a flock of cattle and a multitude of men attend upon him and he may have an active mind and an active spirit be his and that he may live with a joyous life the nights that he may live.^[61] The family priest invokes joy and blessings of the righteous, good nature, truth, prosperity, power, and glory for the house in which he offers prayers.^[62] He prays that the religion of Zarathushtra be firmly established in the house,^[63] and the august Fravashis of the righteous may come to the house with blessings of righteousness as wide as the earth, as long as the river, and as high as the sun for the fulfilment of the wishes of the good and for the withstanding of the wicked.^[64] His further blessings for the family are that obedience may smite disobedience in his house, peace may dispel strife, charity may rout niggardliness, devotion may smite heresy, and the truth may rout falsehood,^[65] and he concludes by praying that happiness may come to the house and that the offspring and the friendship of Ashi, the genius of fortune, may never leave it.^[66] The Fravashis of the righteous shower their blessings upon the inmates of a house in which they are propitiated that a flock of animals and a solid chariot may be in their houses.^[67]

Imprecatory prayers. The pious pray that the wicked person may be deprived of his power and driven out from the creation of the Holy Spirit.^[68] Haoma is asked to take away from the malicious that may be in the house, village, town and country, the strength of their hands and feet, and their eyesight, to cover up their intelligence, and confound their minds.^[69] He is further asked to smite the robbers, tyrants, heretics, courtezans, and slanderers.^[70] It is prayed that the waters of Ardvi Sura may not be for men of evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds, and evil religion, and for the tormentors of friends, neighbours, kinsmen, and priests, and for those who rob the good of their property and bring harm to them.^[71] Calamities and destruction are invoked upon the thieves and robbers, murderers and oppressors of the righteous, sorcerers and corpse-buriers, vicious and misers, heretics and tyrants.^[72]

Exorcising prayers. Spells are recited to deliver men and women and children from the supposed influence of the malignant spirits. The formula recites the names of diseases of the demons and condemns them to flee to the north or perish. In the name of Airyaman, the priest says avaunt to sickness and death, demons and foes, heretics and oppressors,^[73] the two-legged brood of snakes and wolves, arrogant and proud, slanderous and inimical, and evil-eyed,^[74] worst liars and witches, courtezans and the wind from the north.^[75] The priest recites the spell to purify the way over which a dead body is carried or to give cleanliness to a man who has touched a corpse or to one who seeks purification by ceremonial ablutions, and commands the demoness of defilement and her evil brood to flee and perish in the region of the north and never more appear to defile the creation of righteousness.^[76]

Priestly functionaries who conducted the sacrificial ceremonies. The priestly hierarchy that was firmly established during this period was headed by the high priest, who was called Zarathushtrotema. He is invoked by this name.^[77] The Rig Veda speaks of about sixteen priests that performed ceremonies and we have in the Avestan texts eight different functionaries who were employed in the performance of the Yasna ceremony. These are zaotar, 'sacrificer,' hāvanān, 'the pounder of Haoma,' ātravakhsh, 'tender of the fire,' fraberetar, 'carrier of things,' āberetar, 'bringer of things,' āsnātar, ’cleanser,' raethwishkara, 'auxiliary priest,' and sraoshāvarez, 'master of rituals.'^[78]

Revival of the Indo-Iranian rituals. With the return of the Indo-Iranian divinities come also the ceremonies that their early votaries had celebrated before their separation. The Yasna Haptanghaiti already refers to the Haoma ceremony,^[79] the invocation of the souls of the dead,^[80] and their Fravashis.^[81] The chief ceremony is the Yasna corresponding to the Vedic Yajnya, the more important part among both being the preparation of the Haoma-Soma juice. The Haoma ceremony is shorn of its early gross element, yet the resemblance between it and the Soma cult is so great that they are spoken of in identical words. We shall quote a few of the more important passages to show the close parallelism between the Haoma-Soma cult. The celestial plant, it is said, was brought upon earth by birds. It is girishta or girijāta and parvatā vrddhah, say the Vedic texts, and the Avesta says it is bareshnush paiti gairinām and paurvatāhva vīraodha, that is, growing on mountains. It is Av. zairi, and Skt. hari, meaning green or golden. It is passed through a sieve of the hairs of the tail of the sacred bull among the Iranians and from that made of sheep wool among the Indians. The extracting process is called Av. havana, and Skt. savana. It is Av. haomahe madho, and Skt. somyam madhu, 'sweet juice of Haoma-Soma.' It is Av. baeshaza, and Skt. bheshaja, 'healing.' The plant is deified among both and then it is called Av. hvaresh, and Skt. svarshā, 'celestial,' it is Av. hukhratu, and Skt. sukratu, 'possessed of good intelligence.' It is Av. verethrajā, and Skt. vrtrahā, 'victorious'.^[82] Herodotus says that the Magi placed the consecrated flesh upon the tenderest grass,^[83] and Strabo refers to the bundle of rods held by the Magi when he stood praying before the fire.^[84] These are the baresman twigs employed in varying numbers in different ceremonies by the Zoroastrian priests. They correspond to the Vedic barhis, the carpet of straw upon which the heavenly lords sat when they attended the sacrifices.^[85] Some of the minor ceremonies among both peoples resemble one another and same corresponding terms are employed for many ceremonial utensils, implements, and articles of offerings.^[86]

Animal sacrifices. Meat was a principal article of diet among the Iranians and it was, likewise, used in sacred feasts and festivals, or in funeral repasts. We learn from the Dinkard that the Pazag Nask dealt with the way in which an animal was to be slaughtered according to the religious rites.^[87] The Nirangistan, has several pages devoted to the kind, quality, and size of the animal that was fit for a sacrificial offering, about the way in which it was to be slaughtered, the sacred formulas to be recited while immolating the victim, about the manner in which different parts of the slaughtered animal were to be consecrated and dedicated to the various heavenly beings, and the way in which the consecrated viands were to be eaten at the close of the sacrifice Like the flesh of an animal, fish was also used for sacrificial repasts.^[88] The animals generally used in sacrifice were horses, camels, oxen, asses, stags, sheep, and birds.^[89] We have already seen that kings and heroes sacrificed male horses, oxen, and small cattle to Ardvi Sura and Drvaspa. Small and large cattle, and winged birds are sacrificed unto Mithra.^[90] Verethraghna, we have noticed, received cooked repasts of cattle and Haoma received his share of the sacrificed animal. Xerxes sacrificed a thousand oxen at Hellespont to the Athene of Ilium, while the Magi offered libations to the sun, and to the Manes of the heroes.^[91] When the great king came to the river Strymon, the Magi offered a sacrifice of white horses.^[92] We have already seen that other classical writers speak of the horses sacrificed to the sun by the Persian kings. The most important form of the sacrifice among the Vedic Indians was, likewise, the ashvamedha in which horses were sacrificed. Cyrus, says Xenophon, sacrificed bulls to God, horses to the sun, and other animals to the earth.^[93] Strabo tells us that the animal was garlanded and sacrificed at a clean place after reciting the dedicatory prayer. The victim was then divided limb from limb by the presiding priest and portions were distributed among the sacrificers. The divinity, it was believed, required the spirit of the victim. A little piece of caul was, however, put upon the fire.^[94]

 

1. For rituals see Modi, The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsis; Pavri, Ancient Ceremonies in Iranian Studies, p. 194-229, Bombay, 1927; Haug, Essays on the Parsis, (3rd. ed.) p. 393-409.
2. Ys. 58. 5.
3. Ys. 62. 14.
4. Ys. 9. 28.
5. Ys. 9. 21.
6. Ys. 10. 1.
7. Ys. 10. 9.
8. Ys. 9. 19.
9. Ys. 9. 27.
10. Ys. 9. 20.
11. Ys. 9. 19; 11. 10.
12. Yt. 10. 94, 114.
13. Yt. 10. 34, 59.
14. Yt. 10. 23, 33, 58.
15. Yt. 10. 34, 59.
16. Ys. 57. 26.
17. Ys. 57. 25.
18. Ys. 62. 4; Ny. 5. 10.
19. Ys. 62. 5; Ny. 5. 11.
20. Ys. 58. 7.
21. Ys. 62. 6; Ny. 5. 12.
22. Ys. 68. 4, 5.
23. Ys. 62. 11.
24. Ys. 68. 11.
25. Ys. 68. 12, 13.
26. Ys. 68. 11-13.
27. Ys. 12. 1, 9.
28. Ys. 12. 9.
29. Vsp. 5. 3.
30. Ys. 11. 17; 12. 8.
31. Ys. 10. 16.
32. Ys. 11. 18.
33. Ys. 12. 7.
34. Ys. 12. 2.
35. Ys. 12. 3.
36. Ys. 12. 4.
37. Ys. 12. 5, 6.
38. Ys. 36. 4, 5; 39. 4.
39. Ys. 13. 5; 36. 4, 5; 39. 4.
40. Ys. 13. 5.
41. Ys. 13. 6; 39. 5.
42. Ys. 36. 1, 3.
43. Ys. 60. 12.
44. Ys. 37. 3.
45. Ys. 41. 3.
46. Ys. 41. 4.
47. Ys. 41. 2.
48. Ys. 40. 1.
49. Ys. 14. 1; Vsp. 5. 1.
50. Ys. 11. 18; 13. 4; 14. 2; Vsp. 5. 2.
51. Ys. 12. 2.
52. Ys. 10. 18; 11. 10.
53. Yt. 10. 5; Ny. 2. 14.
54. Ys. 58. 6.
55. Ys. 58. 2, 3.
56. Ys. 11. 9.
57. Ys. 59. 30.
58. Ys. 59. 31.
59. Ys. 68. 14.
60. Ys. 62. 1.
61. Ys. 62. 9, 10; Ny. 5. 15, 16.
62. Ys. 60. 2.
63. Ys. 60. 3.
64. Ys. 60. 4.
65. Ys. 60. 5.
66. Ys. 60. 7.
67. Yt. 13. 52.
68. Ys. 60. 9.
69. Ys. 9. 28, 29.
70. Ys. 9. 30-32; 10. 12.
71. Ys. 62. 6, 7.
72. Ys. 62. 8.
73. Yt. 3. 7.
74. Yt. 3. 8.
75. Yt. 3. 9.
76. Vd. 8. 21, 72; 9. 27; cf. Vd. 10. 13, 14; 11. 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19; 20. 7, 9; 21. 18, 19; 22. 21.
77. Ys. 2. 6; 3. 8; 4. 11; 6. 5; 7. 8.
78. Vsp. 3. 1; Yt. 24. 15; Vd. 5. 57, 58; 7. 17, 18; G. 3. 5.
79. Ys. 42. 5.
80. Ys. 39. 2.
81. Ys. 37. 3.
82. See Hodivala, Indo-Iranian Religion in The Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, 4. 7-10, Bombay, 1924.
83. I. 132.
84. P. 733.
85. See article on Barsom by Mills and Gray in ERE. 2. 424, 425.
86. See Hodivala, ib., 12-20.
87. Dk., vol. 15, bk. 8. 6. 1, 2, p. 12, 13.
88. Nr., bk. 2. 13. 44; 20. 15, 16.
89. Athenaeus, 4, p. 145.
90. Yt. 10. 119.
91. Herod. 7. 43, 53, 54.
92. Ib., 7. 113; cf. Ovid, Fasti, 1. 385.
93. Cyropaedia, 8. 24.
94. P. 732, cf. Herod. 1. 132; see Edwards, Sacrifice (Iranian) in ERE. 11. 18-21.