, literally Zoroaster’s son – surely not something he had always been, but something he had become by marriage or adoption, or just honorifically as disciple.1 Was he the bridegroom, who is not otherwise identified?This poem has a more elaborate metrical structure than any other in the collection. Certain linguistic details, and the way in which Zoroaster is referred to, suggest that it is not by him; he is revered as a patriarch, one perhaps no longer among the living. The occasion is apparently the wedding of one Porucistā, described as a daughter of Zoroaster, though we cannot be sure whether this is to be taken literally or as a term for a female follower and adherent.
Supreme in renown is the capability of Zarathushtra
Spitāma, if (it is true that) in accord with Right
the Mindful Lord will grant him blessings for ever, the good existence,
and to those who practise and master his Good Religion’s speech and conduct.
So let them accord in thought, speech, and conduct
in what gratifies the Mindful One, with devotion to His praise, and acts of worship –
the Kavi Vishtaaspa too, the Spitāma Zoroastrian, and Frasha- ushtra –
the straight paths of the gift the Lord gives, the religion of the Promoter.
Be resolute, Porucistā of the Haecataspa Spitāmas,
youngest of Zarathushtra’s daughters,
in attendance to Good Thought: it gives thee union with Right and the Mindful One.
So take counsel with thy reason; perform piety’s most liberal benefactions.
himself. She should let good sense govern her conduct, and do the good works that proceed from piety.
For I will urge on you (girls) the zeal with which one should serve her father
and husband, herdsmen, and clan too,
a righteous one (serving) the righteous; the sunny fruits of Good Thought, cognisant of marriage ties,
the Mindful Lord bestows on the Good Religion for ever.
I speak precepts for girls marrying
and for you, bridegrooms: take them to heart.
Be acquiring by your moralities, for your brides too, the life of Good Thought;
let one among you vie with another in right, for that will profit him.
These truths are like this, gentlemen; like so, ladies.
Of him that is attached to Wrong, the prosperity ye see
* * * * * * * *
* * of Wrong: I take away his defences from his body.
* * * * * *
* * * * * *
* * foul food for them as they cry ‘Woe’; well-being is lost
for the wrongful diminishers of Right. With them ye ruin spiritual life.
But there will be a reward for you from this ceremony:
one will apply his member in fullest confidence under (his bride’s) thighs,
dipping onward and down, where the wrongful one’s intent was frustrated before.
Reject this ceremony, and ‘Woe’ will be your ultimate word.
Hereby let the evildoers be thwarted
and mocked, all of them; let them wail,
by good rulers let them be beaten and bloodied, and let peace be thereby established for the manorial settlements;
let there come upon them that greatest woe with the fetter of death; and let it be soon!
Through those who make ill choice, decay takes hold: they are waning and darkness,3
those eager diminishers of Right, their persons are forfeit.
Where is the righteous lord who could deprive them of their life and freedom?
That power, Mindful One, is Thine, whereby to the right-living poor man Thou canst grant the better lot.
Let Aryaman, the one longed for, come to support
the men and women of Zarathushtra,
to support Good Thought, through which the moral self may win desirable recompense.
I pray for Right’s reward, the longed-for one that the Mindful Lord conceives.
YASNA 53 + 54.1
(1) Zoroaster’s reputation has become established and the virtue of his religion acknowledged, if it is accepted that he, and all who mould their speech and behaviour to his teaching, have won or will win the life of continual bliss from the Mindful Lord.
(2) Let his followers therefore set themselves to please the Mindful One by their thoughts, words, and deeds, to worship and praise him, and not to go astray from the path of this religion that he has given us. Notable among the followers, and deserving mention by name (as in several other poems), are the Kavi Vishtaaspa and Frashaushtra. Vishtaaspa is now given the surname Spitāma and called , literally Zoroaster’s son – surely not something he had always been, but something he had become by marriage or adoption, or just honorifically as disciple.1 Was he the bridegroom, who is not otherwise identified?
(3) The bride is now addressed. She is of the Haecataspa Spitāmas, a branch of the family that Zoroaster addresses at 46. 15, but at the same time she is called Zoroaster’s daughter; again this could be an honorific designation. She is exhorted to attend unremittingly to Good Thought, as that will link her directly with the other two members of the trinity, Right and the Mindful Lord
(4) The admonitions are now directed more generally to young people approaching marriage. The married woman (the wife of a stock-raiser is envisaged) should devotedly minister to all the menfolk’s needs: her husband’s, her father’s, those of the dependent herdsmen, and those of other clansmen. Marriage is part of the Mindful Lord’s plan; its benefits, the product of Good Thought, accrue lifelong to those who uphold his religion.
(5) The poet has advice not only for girls getting married but also for their bridegrooms, who should commit themselves to the life guided by Good Thought: this should be their governing principle, both for themselves and for their wives. They should compete with each other in their attachment to Right – it will be to their advantage.
(6) Such is the advice for the separate sexes. Now it becomes more universal. But the next lines do not give coherent meaning, and contain far too many words for a single stanza; clearly two stanzas have become conflated, with the loss of parts of both. The sense may have been, ‘when you see the wrongful one apparently prospering, it is only temporary, for he will certainly come to a bad end.’
(6a) The second stanza contained further description of the bad ones’ fate. They will be consigned to the House of Wrong, with only foul food to eat. Do not associate or co-operate with such people, or you will be assisting in the corruption of the spiritual world.
(7) The present ceremony comes back into focus.2 Marriage, conducted according to the proper procedure, offers men a desirable prize. The bridegroom will be able to consummate the union confident of his bride’s virginity. The wrongful one may have lusted after her, but she has remained pure. If the institution of marriage is set aside, however, the consequences will be disastrous.
(8) Let this ceremony therefore frustrate the wicked and make them objects of derision. (The execration now becomes more general:) May we have good rulers who will beat, injure, kill them, leaving our settlements to enjoy their peaceful pastoral life. And may this come about soon.
(9) Because of those who opt for Wrong, corruption of the world sets in. They are bent on diminishing Right and oppressing good people. But they are condemned to perdition. We are just waiting for the righteous ruler who can put a stop to their activities and eliminate them. That lies in the Mindful Lord’s power to arrange; with that power he could improve the lot of the virtuous poor.
(1) May Aryaman, the traditional Indo-Iranian personification of community ties, including those of marriage, confer his blessing on the Zoroastrian congregation, strengthening the religion with social cohesion. May the poet himself win the reward that the Mindful Lord established for Right.