Gathas
Encyclopedia
The Gathas are 17 hymn
s believed to have been composed by Zarathusthra (Zoroaster)
himself. They are the most sacred texts of the Zoroastrian
faith.
religious poetry, which is extremely terse, and in which grammatical constructs are an exception.
The 17 hymns of the Gathas consist of 238 verses, of about 1300 lines or 6000 words in total. They were later incorporated into the 72-chapter Yasna
(chapter: ha or had, from the Avestan
ha'iti, 'cut'), which in turn is the primary liturgical collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta
. The 17 hymns are identified by their chapter numbers in the Yasna, and are divided into five major sections:
With the exception of Ahunavaiti Gatha, which is named after the Ahuna Vairya
prayer (Yasna 27, not in the Gathas), the names of the Gathas reflect the first word(s) of the first hymn within them. The meter of the hymns is historically related to the Vedic
tristubh-jagati family of meters. Hymns of these meters are recited, not sung.
The sequential order of the Gathas is structurally interrupted by the Yasna Haptanghaiti
("seven-chapter Yasna", chapters 35-41, linguistically as old as the Gathas but in prose) and by two other minor hymns at Yasna 42 and 52.
, belongs to the old Iranian language group
which is a sub-group of Eastern families of the Indo-European languages
.
It must be noted that the Gathas are in an otherwise unknown language. The dependency on Vedic Sanskrit is a significant weakness in the interpretation of the Gathas, as the two languages, though from a common origin, had developed independently. Sassanid era translations and commentaries (the Zend
) have been used to interpret the Gathas, but by the 3rd century the Avestan language was virtually extinct, and a dependency of the medieval texts is often discouraged as the commentaries are frequently conjectural. While some scholars argue that an interpretation using younger texts is inadvisable (Geldner
, Humbach), others argue that such a view is excessively skeptical (Spiegel
, Darmesteter
). The risks of mis-interpretation are real, but lacking alternates, such dependencies are perforce necessary.
"The Middle Persian
translation seldom offers an appropriate point of departure for a detailed scholarly approach to the Gathas, but an intensive comparison of its single lines and their respective glosses with their Gathic originals usually reveals the train of thought of the translator. This obviously reflects the Gatha interpretation by the priests of the Sasanian period, the general view of which is closer to the original than what is sometimes taught about the Gathas in our time."
There are four monumental translations of the Gathas worth noting: The earlier James Darmesteter version (Le Zend-Avesta, 1892-1893) which is based on a translation "from below", that is, based on the later middle Persian commentaries and translations. The other three are Christian Bartholomae's Die Gathas des Awesta (1905, Strassburg: Trübner), Helmut Humbach's The Gathas of Zarathushtra (1959, Heidelberg: Winter), and Stanley Isler's The Gathas of Zarathustra (1975, Acta Iranica IV, Leiden: Brill). These three texts exploit the "Vedic" approach, and Bartholomae's was the first of its kind.
The problems that face a translator of the Avestan Gathas are significant: "No one who has ever read a stanza of [the Gathas] in the original will be under any illusions as to the labour which underlies the effort [of translating the hymns]. The most abstract and perplexing thought, veiled further by archaic language, only half understood by later students of the seer's own race and tongue, tends to make the Gathas the hardest problem to be attempted by those who would investigate the literary monuments."
. These verses, devotional in character, expound on the divine essences of truth (Asha
), the good-mind (Vohu Manah
), and the spirit of righteousness. Some other verses are addressed to the public that may have come to hear the prophet, and in these he exhorts his audience to live a life as Ahura Mazda has directed, and pleads to Ahura Mazda to intervene on their behalf.
Other verses, from which some aspects of Zoroaster's life have been inferred, are semi-(auto)biographical, but all revolve around Zarathustra's mission to promote his view of the Truth (again Asha
). For instance, some of the passages describe Zarathustra's first attempts to promote the teachings of Ahura Mazda, and the subsequent rejection by his kinsmen. This and other rejection led him to have doubts about his message, and in the Gathas he asked for assurance from Ahura Mazda, and requests repudiation of his opponents.
The various hymns appear to have been composed at different periods in his life, and read chronologically, a certain earnestness and conviction in his message are apparent. While in earlier verses, Zarathustra occasionally expresses his doubts on his own suitability of the mission, he never wavers in his conviction that the message is correct. A tone of contentment and belief in his vindication is apparent only in the last few hymns, and to the last, where he officiates at the wedding of his youngest daughter, he remains the persevering predicant.
Aspects of Zoroastrian philosophy are distributed over the entire collection of Gathas. There is no systematic arrangement of doctrine in the texts.
Zoroaster asks Mazda for guidance
Zoroaster asks Mazda for blessings
Rhetorical questions posed by Zoroaster
Zoroaster to his own followers
Zoroaster to the followers of the druj
Complete text of the book including introduction and a plain English synopsis of each verse is available online (zarathustra.com).
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s believed to have been composed by Zarathusthra (Zoroaster)
Zoroaster
Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...
himself. They are the most sacred texts of the Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
faith.
Structure and organization
The Gathas are in verse, metrical in the nature of ancient IranianProto-Iranian
Proto-Iranian, is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family, and as such, the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Persian, Sogdian, Zazaki, Mazandarani, Kurdish and others...
religious poetry, which is extremely terse, and in which grammatical constructs are an exception.
The 17 hymns of the Gathas consist of 238 verses, of about 1300 lines or 6000 words in total. They were later incorporated into the 72-chapter Yasna
Yasna
Yasna is the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts of the Avesta as well as the name of the principal Zoroastrian act of worship at which those verses are recited. The Yasna, or Izeshne, is primarily the name of the ceremony in which the entire book is recited and appropriate...
(chapter: ha or had, from the Avestan
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
ha'iti, 'cut'), which in turn is the primary liturgical collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta
Avesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
. The 17 hymns are identified by their chapter numbers in the Yasna, and are divided into five major sections:
| 28–34 | Ahunavaiti Gatha | (cf. Ahuna Vairya Ahuna Vairya Ahuna Vairya is the Avestan language name of the most sacred of the Gathic hymns of the Avesta, the revered texts of Zoroastrianism.... ), 100 stanzas, (3 verses, 7+9 syllable meter) |
||
| 43–46 | Ushtavaiti Gatha | 'Having Happiness', 66 stanzas (5 verses, 4+7 syllable meter) | ||
| 47–50 | Spenta Mainyu Gatha | 'Bounteous Spirit', 41 stanzas (4 verses, 4+7 syllable meter) | ||
| 51 | Vohu Khshathra Gatha | 'Good Dominion', 22 stanzas (3 verses, 7+7 syllable meter) | ||
| 53 | Vahishto Ishti Gatha | 'Best Beloved', 9 stanzas (4 verses, two of 7+5 and two of 7+7+5 syllables) |
With the exception of Ahunavaiti Gatha, which is named after the Ahuna Vairya
Ahuna Vairya
Ahuna Vairya is the Avestan language name of the most sacred of the Gathic hymns of the Avesta, the revered texts of Zoroastrianism....
prayer (Yasna 27, not in the Gathas), the names of the Gathas reflect the first word(s) of the first hymn within them. The meter of the hymns is historically related to the Vedic
Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit is an old Indo-Aryan language. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language...
tristubh-jagati family of meters. Hymns of these meters are recited, not sung.
The sequential order of the Gathas is structurally interrupted by the Yasna Haptanghaiti
Yasna Haptanghaiti
The Yasna Haptanghaiti , Avestan for "Worship in Seven Chapters," is a set of 7 hymns within the greater Yasna collection, that is, within the primary liturgical texts of the Zoroastrian Avesta.-Age and importance:...
("seven-chapter Yasna", chapters 35-41, linguistically as old as the Gathas but in prose) and by two other minor hymns at Yasna 42 and 52.
Language
The language of the Gathas, Gathic or Old AvestanAvestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
, belongs to the old Iranian language group
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
which is a sub-group of Eastern families of the Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
.
It must be noted that the Gathas are in an otherwise unknown language. The dependency on Vedic Sanskrit is a significant weakness in the interpretation of the Gathas, as the two languages, though from a common origin, had developed independently. Sassanid era translations and commentaries (the Zend
Zend
Zend can mean:*Zend, commentaries on the Avesta, the sacred texts of the Zoroastrian religion.**In older texts, Zend can refer to the Avestan language*Salla Zend, a character in Star Wars*Zend Technologies, a PHP-focused company...
) have been used to interpret the Gathas, but by the 3rd century the Avestan language was virtually extinct, and a dependency of the medieval texts is often discouraged as the commentaries are frequently conjectural. While some scholars argue that an interpretation using younger texts is inadvisable (Geldner
Karl Friedrich Geldner
Karl Friedrich Geldner was a German linguist best known for his analysis and synthesis of Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit texts.-Biography:...
, Humbach), others argue that such a view is excessively skeptical (Spiegel
Friedrich von Spiegel
Friedrich Spiegel was a German orientalist. He was one of the pioneers in the field of Iranian philology.- Biography :...
, Darmesteter
James Darmesteter
James Darmesteter was a French author, orientalist, and antiquarian.He was born of Jewish parents at Château-Salins, in Alsace. The family name had originated in their earlier home of Darmstadt...
). The risks of mis-interpretation are real, but lacking alternates, such dependencies are perforce necessary.
"The Middle Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
translation seldom offers an appropriate point of departure for a detailed scholarly approach to the Gathas, but an intensive comparison of its single lines and their respective glosses with their Gathic originals usually reveals the train of thought of the translator. This obviously reflects the Gatha interpretation by the priests of the Sasanian period, the general view of which is closer to the original than what is sometimes taught about the Gathas in our time."
There are four monumental translations of the Gathas worth noting: The earlier James Darmesteter version (Le Zend-Avesta, 1892-1893) which is based on a translation "from below", that is, based on the later middle Persian commentaries and translations. The other three are Christian Bartholomae's Die Gathas des Awesta (1905, Strassburg: Trübner), Helmut Humbach's The Gathas of Zarathushtra (1959, Heidelberg: Winter), and Stanley Isler's The Gathas of Zarathustra (1975, Acta Iranica IV, Leiden: Brill). These three texts exploit the "Vedic" approach, and Bartholomae's was the first of its kind.
The problems that face a translator of the Avestan Gathas are significant: "No one who has ever read a stanza of [the Gathas] in the original will be under any illusions as to the labour which underlies the effort [of translating the hymns]. The most abstract and perplexing thought, veiled further by archaic language, only half understood by later students of the seer's own race and tongue, tends to make the Gathas the hardest problem to be attempted by those who would investigate the literary monuments."
Content
Some of the verses of the Gathas are directly addressed to the Omniscient Creator Ahura MazdaAhura Mazda
Ahura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
. These verses, devotional in character, expound on the divine essences of truth (Asha
Asha
Asha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
), the good-mind (Vohu Manah
Vohu Manah
Vohu Manah is the Avestan language term for a Zoroastrian concept, generally translated as "Good Purpose" or "Good Mind", referring to the good moral state of mind that enables an individual to accomplish his duties...
), and the spirit of righteousness. Some other verses are addressed to the public that may have come to hear the prophet, and in these he exhorts his audience to live a life as Ahura Mazda has directed, and pleads to Ahura Mazda to intervene on their behalf.
Other verses, from which some aspects of Zoroaster's life have been inferred, are semi-(auto)biographical, but all revolve around Zarathustra's mission to promote his view of the Truth (again Asha
Asha
Asha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
). For instance, some of the passages describe Zarathustra's first attempts to promote the teachings of Ahura Mazda, and the subsequent rejection by his kinsmen. This and other rejection led him to have doubts about his message, and in the Gathas he asked for assurance from Ahura Mazda, and requests repudiation of his opponents.
The various hymns appear to have been composed at different periods in his life, and read chronologically, a certain earnestness and conviction in his message are apparent. While in earlier verses, Zarathustra occasionally expresses his doubts on his own suitability of the mission, he never wavers in his conviction that the message is correct. A tone of contentment and belief in his vindication is apparent only in the last few hymns, and to the last, where he officiates at the wedding of his youngest daughter, he remains the persevering predicant.
Aspects of Zoroastrian philosophy are distributed over the entire collection of Gathas. There is no systematic arrangement of doctrine in the texts.
Excerpts
The following excerpts are from the translation by Humbach & Ichaporia.Zoroaster asks Mazda for guidance
- Where and which part of land shall I go to succeed? They keep me away from the family and the tribe. The community that I wish to join does not gratify me, nor do the deceitful tyrants of the lands. How shall I gratify you, O Mazda AhuraAhura MazdaAhura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
? (46.1)
Zoroaster asks Mazda for blessings
- I approach you with good thought, O Mazda Ahura, so that you may grant me (the blessing) of two existences (i.e. physically and mentally), the material and that of thought, the blessing emanating from Truth, with which one can put (your) support in comfort. (28.2)
- With these entreaties, O Mazda Ahura, may we not anger you, nor TruthAshaAsha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
or Best ThoughtVohu ManahVohu Manah is the Avestan language term for a Zoroastrian concept, generally translated as "Good Purpose" or "Good Mind", referring to the good moral state of mind that enables an individual to accomplish his duties...
, we who are standing at the offering of praises to you. You are the swiftest (bringer of) invigorations, and (you hold) the power over benefits.
- I ask you, O Ahura, about the punishment for the evil-doer who delegates power to the deceitful one and who does not find a livelihood without injury to the cattle and men of undeceiving herdsman.
- Grant us (a share) of it both this (material) existence and the spiritual one, that (share) of it through which we may come (and be in) Your shelter and that of TruthAshaAsha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
, for all time. (41.6)
- Let good rulers assume rule (over us), with actions of Good InsightDaenaDaena is a Zoroastrian concept representing insight and revelation, hence "conscience" or "religion." Alternately, Daena is considered to be a divinity, counted among the yazatas.-Nomenclature:...
, O right mindedness. Let not bad rulers assume rule over us. The best (insight), which purifies progeny for mankind, let it also be applied to the cow. Her You breed for us for food. (48.5)
Rhetorical questions posed by Zoroaster
- This I ask you, O Ahura, tell me truly: Of what kind is the first (stage) of Best ExistenceAshaAsha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
? The desired one who implements it so that we may enjoy benefit, that one indeed, holy through truth, watching with His spirit the outcome left for all, is the healer of existence, (our) ally, (you), O Mazda. (44.2)
- This I ask you, O Ahura, tell me truly: Who, by procreation, is the primal father of TruthAshaAsha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
? Who created the course of the sun and stars? Through whom does the moon waxe and wane? These very things and others I wish to know, O Mazda. (44.3)
Zoroaster to his own followers
- TruthAshaAsha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
is best (of all that is) good. As desired, what is being desired is truth for him who (represents) the best truth. (27.14)
- The person who is pure-in-heart towards me, I for my part assign to him the best things in my command, through Good ThoughtVohu ManahVohu Manah is the Avestan language term for a Zoroastrian concept, generally translated as "Good Purpose" or "Good Mind", referring to the good moral state of mind that enables an individual to accomplish his duties...
, but harm to him who schemes to harm us. O Mazda, thereby gratifying your will by TruthAshaAsha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism." ...
. Such is the discrimination made by my intellect and thought.
Zoroaster to the followers of the druj
- Brilliant things instead of weeping will be (the rewardAshiRav Ashi was a celebrated Jewish religious scholar, a Babylonian amora, who reestablished the academy at Sura and was first editor of the Babylonian Talmud...
) for the person who comes to the truthful oneAshavanAvestan ashavan is a Zoroastrian theological term. It literally means "possessing aša", hence "possessing truth" or "possessing righteousness", but has further implications:...
. But a long period of darkness, foul food, and the word 'woe' - to such an existence your religious view will lead you, O deceitful ones, of your own actions. (31.20)
Further reading
Bartholomae's translations ("Die Gatha's des Awesta", 1905) were re-translated into English by Taraporewala. The raw texts, sans commentary or introduction, are available online (avesta.org).Complete text of the book including introduction and a plain English synopsis of each verse is available online (zarathustra.com).