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Ahunuvaiti Ushtavad Spentamad Vohukhashatr Vahestuesh |
Ahunuvaiti Gatha
Yasna 32
Verse 1:
Relatives, comrades, and friends (1) are worshipping Thee for the sake of enjoying the best luck. The devil worshippers (i.e. the nature worshippers) are also praising Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Life and Wisdom. It is the desire of all people to be the messenger of Thy message O my Lord, and to keep away those who hate calling Thy name.
Verse 2:
Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Life and Wisdom, ruling over the world, through His Wisdom and Knowledge, answered to them as follows: We have chosen for Thee the holy Armaiti which is a good friend to illuminous Asha. Therefore, try to make him your own forever.
Verse 3:
O, Ye devils who go astray, ye are all broods of untruth and evil-minded persons. Those who follow Ye and honor ye much are also wicked ones. Out of your self-centered minds, your double dealing and fraudulent deeds have sprung. Therefore, you are hated and have become notorious throughout the world.
Verse 4:
O, Ye devil worshippers, ye have perverted the minds of the people, so that they commit the worst actions, separate themselves from Vohuman and Will of Mazda Ahura (Lord of Wisdom and Life). They escape from the path of Asha and are finally regarded as friends and favorites of devils.
Verse 5:
O, Ye, devils, just as the False Spirit defrauded thee with his evil thoughts and induced followers of the Untruth to commit evil deeds through his wrong teachings, and false promises of greatness, so also did ye lead astray the people and deprived them of a perfect life and eternal prosperity.
Verse 6:
The sinner and deluded man may succeed at first and even attain high renown for his evil deeds, but Ye, O Lord of Life, are well aware of everything and shall judge the deeds of everyone from his or her motives through Thy Wisdom. O Mazda (Lord of Wisdom) at last wherever Thy Rule extends, the Eternal Law of Truth or Asha shall prevail.
Verse 7:
Among these sinners, none doth understand anything about the purport of real progress attain through activity and efforts taught by life, and are unaware of the fiery test (2). Thou, O Ahura Mazda, Lord of Wisdom and Life, art alone well aware of the destiny of sinners and shall judge about them.
Verse 8:
Among those sinners, Yima (Jamshid), the Son of Vivanghan is known to fame. Desiring to make happy the mortals and convince his own self, he contempted the Almighty. I shall have full satisfaction with Thy judgement, O Lord of Wisdom, in respect of the sinners on the final day of Judgement.
Verse 9:
The evil thinking teacher distorts the religious scripture and leads astray the mankind from his actual goal in life through his wrong teachings.
He removes us from our valuable heritage of truth, righteousness and purity of mind. With such an expression of my inner spirit, I appeal to Thee, O Lord of Wisdom and O, Asha, for protection.
Verse 10:
The above-mentioned persons denounce as most sinful gazing at the sun and the earth with respect, since they distort the religious teachings. They convert the pure minded into the followers of untruth, destroy vegetation and use arms against the righteous people.
Verse 11:
They (3) regard the false ones as great persons, because of their dignity and worldly grandeur, O Lord of Wisdom. They hold back the respectable men and women from attaining their wishes and enjoying God's gifts. They distract the minds of righteous and truthful people and destroy their lives.
Verse 12:
They, through their wrong teachings, try to stop mortals from performing good and proper deeds and lead them astray with alluring words, destroying their lives.
Owing to their evil thoughts, they prefer ferocious wolves, like Grehma and Karpans to righteous and pure persons and wish lordship for the followers of false. However, Mazda has specified severe punishment for them.
Verse 13:
The powers won by these voracious wolves (like Grehma) through wickedness and evil thoughts shall ultimately cause misfortune and destruction of their own lives. These greedy wolves, then, shall ask yearningly the holy message of Thy Chanters of hymns, the messenger who shall protect the righteous and virtues people against the threatening of enemies.
Verse 14:
It is a very long time that the greedy Grehma(4) with the help of Kavis (5) have directed their minds and power to ensnare Thy Messenger. They have approached the followers of untruth and their blinded dupes for help. They wish death and destruction for the world of creation in the hope that the invincible (6) shall help them.
Verse 15:
The Kavis and Karpans (7) shall ultimately be defeated and destroyed by those who have lost their freedom and those who are devoid of freedom shall enjoy the abode of good thought or paradise, through Lord's two gifts of perfection and eternity.
Verse 16:
The true and wise teachings of the righteous is, indeed, better than anything else, O, Lord of Wisdom and Life, Thou art able to stop the manifold plans of those who threaten me. I shall try to restrain the hate and enmity of the followers of untruth towards Thy devotees.
(1) The words which are translated into relatives, comrades and friends are Khaetush, Verezenem and Airyamna in Avesta; and they refer to 3 groups of people who were near to Zoroaster, the prophet of Iran.
They were superior to the other flowers as far as purity, righteousness and magnanimity are concerned. Amongst the above 3 groups of the intimates and relatives were nearer to Zoroaster and more trustworthy than the other two groups of comrades and friends. Members of the Magian Society or Zoroaster's Brotherhood Association were also formed out of the members of the above 3 groups, because they were selfless and faithful towards the prophet. It is, of course, possible to translate the word Khaetush to persons of strong will and self confidence as well.
The relatives were a group of people of great capability in every respect and more intimate with the prophet. This intimacy was not due to their relation to the prophet but because of their wisdom, foresight, righteousness, purity and honesty. This group of people were prepared to sacrifice their lives for the progress and spread of religion.
(2) Fiery test or ordeal means fighting with evil thoughts and resisting temptations and whatever makes the life unbearable.
(3) False Teachers. It refers to evil thinking and deviating teachers.
(4&5) Enemies of Zoroaster who tried to kill him and were not prepared to listen to the teachings and inspired words of the prophet.
(6) It refers to Haoma which is described with the epithet of invincible. This Yazata has been honored by the followers of untruth.
(7) Kavis & Karpans here refer to the Lord of devil worshippers and persons who are intentionally blind and deaf to see and hear the truth and realities.