Hom Stom

Hom Stom
First page of Darmesteter's French translation of the Hom Stom (called Hom Yasht) [1]
Information
Religion	Zoroastrianism
Language	Avestan
Period	Avestan period
Chapters	3
Verses	64

The Hom Stom, ^[2] also known as Hom Stod ^[3] or Hom Yasht, ^[4] is an Avestan text dedicated to the praise of Haoma. It consists of verses 9-11.11 of the Yasna and must not be confused with the Hom Yasht, which is part of the Yasht collection. ^[4]

Name

In the sources, the text itself has no clearly defined name. As a result, scholars use various names like Hom Stom, ^[2] Hom Stod, ^[3] or Hom Yasht. ^[4] Here, Hom is the Middle Persian name of Avestan Hauma, the name of the divine plant of Zoroastrianism and its associated divinity. ^[5] Avestan Hauma is cognate with Vedic Soma, but the identity of this plant is still unknown.

The name Hom Yasht, used by several authors for this text, draws on the connection to the Hom Yasht in the Yasht collection. However, as Pirart points out, the Hom Stom lacks the typical verse structure of the Yashts, i.e., hymns of worship, which are governed by the eponymous verb yazamaide (we worship). Instead, this text is characterized by the verb staomi (I praise). It should, therefore, not be intrepreted as a worship but as a praise of Hauma. ^[6] As a result, several authors use the name Hom Stod ^[3] or Hom Stom. ^[7]

Structure and content

See also: Yasna

The Hom Stom is part of the Yasna, which refers both to an important text within the Avesta and the central Zoroastrian liturgy during which this text is recited. ^[8] Within the Yasna, verses 9-11.11 are also known under the name Hom Stom or Hom Yasht. Verses 11.12-11.17, however, a series of blessings and curses, are not considered to be part of this text. ^[9] The text itself is accompanied during the liturgy by the parahoma ritual, i.e., the pressing of the Haoma plant. ^[10]

The first chapter (Y 9) is devoted to naming the early worshippers of Hoama, which is a structure also found in some Yashts from the Yasht collection. ^[11] The second chapter (Y 10) contains a long description of the Haoma plant itself, less of the associated divinity. ^[12] These descriptions are an important source for the identification of the Haoma plant. ^[13] The third chapter (Y 11) describes the appropirate portion of the sacrifice alloted to Hauma.

Manuscripts, editions and translations

Since the Hom Stom is a part of the Yasna, its Avestan text is extant through the Yasna manuscripts. The exegetical Yasna manuscripts also contain translations into Middle Persian, Sanksrit and Modern Persian. ^[14] In addition, the text of the Hom Stom can also be found in the liturgical Visperad and Vendidad manuscripts, since these liturgies are extensions of the Yasna liturgy.

Modern, scholarly editions and translations of the Hom Stom are likewise often provided as part of the Yasna. Examples are the editions by Westergaard ^[15] and Geldner ^[16] and translations by Mills into English ^[17] and by Darmesteter into French. ^[18] An edition dedicated specifically to the Hom Stom, including a commentary and translation into French, was produced by Pirart in 2004. ^[3] In 2018, Khanizadeh published an edition dedicated to the first chapter of the Hom Stom ^[19] and subsequently a full edition, including a commentary and translation into English (publication forthcoming), as part of the Multimedia Yasna project. ^[20]

References

Citations

1. Darmesteter 1892, p. 84.
2. Kellens 2007.
3. Pirart 2004.
4. Malandra 2004.
5. MacKenzie 1971, p. 44: "Hóm [...] the sacred plant Haoma".
6. Pirart 2004, p. 23.
7. Hintze 2013, p. 65.
8. Malandra 2006.
9. Malandra 2004, "Y. 9-11.11 Hōm Yašt. Y. 11 concludes with blessings and curse and other prayers.".
10. Boyce 2003.
11. Lommel 1927, p. 187: "Am meisten den Charakter der Yäst's hat Yasna 9, mit der Aufzählung der früheren Verehrer des Hauma".
12. Lommel 1927, p. 187: "In Yasna 10 erscheint Hauma besonders deutlich als Pflanze mit Wurzeln, Stengeln usw".
13. Taillieu 2003.
14. Pirart 2004, p. 24.
15. Westergaard 1852.
16. Geldner 1886.
17. Mills 1887.
18. Darmesteter 1892.
19. Khanizadeh 2018.
20. Khanizadeh 2023.

Bibliography

• Boyce, Mary (2003). "HAOMA ii. THE RITUALS". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. XI. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 662–667.
• Darmesteter, James (1892). Le Zend-Avesta: Traduction nouvelle avec commentaire historique et philologique; Vol I: La liturgie (Yasna et Vispéred). Paris: E. Leroux.
• Geldner, Karl F. (1886). Avesta. The Sacred Books of the Parsis I: Yasna. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
• Hintze, Almut (2013). "Perceptions of the Yasna Haptanghaiti". In Pirart, E. (ed.). Le Sort des Gathas et Autres Études Iraniennes - In Memoriam Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin. Acta Iranica. Vol. 54. Leuven, Paris, Walpole: Peeters. pp. 53–73.
• Hintze, Almut (2014). "Yašts". Encyclopædia Iranica. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Khanizadeh, M. (2018). Reward for sacrifice: the Pahlavi version of Yasna 9.1-15 [PhD thesis, SOAS University of London]. Brill Academic Publishers. doi:10.25501/SOAS.00030320.
• Khanizadeh, M. (2023). The Avestan Hymn to Haōma. A Critical Edition of Yasna 9 to 11 with Commentary and Glossary. Handbook of Oriental Studies – Corpus Avesticum. Brill Academic Publishers.
• Kellens, Jean (2007). Etudes avestiques et mazdéennes: Volume 2, Le Hom Stom et la zone des déclarations (Y7.24 – Y15.4, avec les intercalations de Vr3 à 6). Vol. 2. Editions De Boccard. ISBN   978-2-7018-0224-4.
• Kotwal, Firoze M.; Hintze, Almut (2008). The Khorda Avesta and Yast Codex E1 (PDF). Harrassowitz. ISBN   978-3-447-05692-2.
• Lommel, Herman (1927). Die Yäšt's des Awesta. Quellen der Religionsgeschichte: Iran. Vol. 15. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
• MacKenzie, David N. (1971). A concise Pahlavi dictionary. London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press.
• Malandra, William W. (2004). "HŌM YAŠT". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. XII. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 431–434.
• Malandra, William W. (2006). "YASNA". Encyclopædia Iranica. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Mills, Lawrence H. (1887). Müller, Max (ed.). The Zend-Avesta Part III: The Yasna, Visparad, Afrinagan, Gahs, and Miscellaneous Fragments. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 31. Oxford: Claredon Press.
• Pirart, Eric (2004). L'éloge mazdéen de l'ivresse: édition, traduction et commentaire du Hom Stod. Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN   978-2747561228.
• Stausberg, Michael (2002). Die Religion Zarathustras: Geschichte - Gegenwart - Rituale. Vol. 1. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. ISBN   978-3-17-017120-6.
• Taillieu, Dieter (2003). "HAOMA i. BOTANY". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. XI. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 659–662.
• Westergaard, Niels L. (1852). Zendavesta: or The religious books of the Zoroastrians. Copenhagen: Berling brothers.

External links

• English text of the Hom Stom (Y 9-11) at Avesta.org Translated by James Darmesteter
• Avestan text of the Hom Stom (Y 9-11) at Avesta.org Edited by Karl Friedrich Geldner