Sraosha, the ever-watchful Guardian

Thy word incarnate, Ahura Mazda, is Sraosha, the impersonation of thy religious lore. He is the celestial teacher of the Mazda-worshipping religion, even as Zarathushtra is the terrestrial. He, the wakeful and watchful, has not rested by day or by night since Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu, thy Spirits twain, the Good and the Evil, created the world. Sleep has forsaken him and his eyes have not slumbered ever since the beginning of life.

Thou hast made Sraosha a mansion supported by a thousand pillars, self-lighted from within, star-spangled from without. From the wide portals of this his heavenly abode, he, the holy and victorious, well-shapen and world-increasing, the strongest, the sturdiest, and the swiftest, drives forth after sunset in his heavenly chariot, drawn by four white shining horses, fleeter than the winds, fleeter than the rain, fleeter than the winged birds, fleeter than the well-darted arrow, overtaking all and overtaken by none, towards the land of the seven rivers, Hapta Hindu.

When the shadows of the evening cover the earth and the gathering darkness proclaims the approach of the night, Sraosha, with loins girt up and with an uplifted club in his hand, guards the sleeping world against the onslaught of Aeshma, the demon of Wrath and the forces of evil.

Sraosha comes unto him whom thou Ahura Mazda dost will. May he then come unto us who long to live under his constant guardianship. Vanish from the house and the clan and the town and the country, evil of all kind, wherein Sraosha is welcomed by the righteous as a friendly, beloved, and an honoured guest. With good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, we pray, Ahura Mazda, that thy Sraosha may enter our abodes and live in our midst for our guidance and protection.

This page was last updated on Friday, February 11, 2005.