The Ohrmazd Yasht is the first Yasht of the Yasht collection. It is named after and dedicated to Ahura Mazda, the central divinity of Zoroastrianism.[1]
Ohrmazd is the Middle Persian name of Ahura Mazda as well as of the first day of the month on which the Yasht is celebrated.[2] It consists of 33 stanzas. Within the Yasht collection of 21 Yashts, the Ohrmazd Yasht is the first hymn. Compard to the so called Great Yashts, it is assumed to be a later text.[3] Regardless, it is by far the most popular of the hymns.[4]
The Ormazd Yasht does not contain any of the elements typical of the legendary or hymnic Yashts and is therefore categorized as a minor Yasht. It does, however, use the so called Frasna-formula, where the texts is presented as a conversation between Zarathustra and Ahura Mazda.[5]
Structure and content
The content of the Ohrmazd Yasht primarily covers the many names of Ahura Mazda.[6] After the introductory stanzas 1-6, stanzas 7-11 contain a list of the 20 names of Ahura Mazda and a description of their efficacy.[7] Stanzas 12-15 contain a second list of names, which is independent from the first list and seems to be a later insertion.[8]
Stanzas 16-19 continue the description from earlier part, i.e., they refer again to the first list. Stanzas 20-23 seeem to close off the Yasht thematically with stanza 23 in particuar containing the typical closing formula of the Yashts. This part is, therefore, considered to have been its original ending.[9] It is unclear when and why the remaining stanzas 24-33 were added to the text. Darmesteter, for example, has opined that they are a fragment from the lost Bahman Yasht to Vohu Manah.[10]
Translations
Next to Yasht 11, the Ohrmazd Yasht is the only Yasht with an old translation in Middle Persian.[11] In addition, the Yasht has translations into modern Persian as well as Sanskrit.[12] The first translation of the Ohrmazd Yasht into English was published in 1883 by Darmesteter.[13] In 1892, he also published a translation into French.[14] In 1927, Lommel published a translation into German.[15] More recently, Panaino published an translation into English dedicated to the Ohrmazd Yasht as well as the Ram Yasht.[16]
↑ MacKenzie 1971, p. 61: "Ohrmazd [...] Ahura Mazda; astr. Jupiter; cal. 1st day of the month".
↑ Panaino 2002, p. 15: "The Ohrmazd Yasht [...] is a later text with respect to the so called "Great Yashts"".
↑ Hintze 2014, "By far the most popular hymn is the one to Ahura Mazdā (Yt. 1, Ohrmazd Yt.)".
↑ Hintze 2009, p. 59: "Yasts which cannot be categorized as either "legendary" or "hymnic", namely Yt 1, 3, and 4, exhibit the "Frasna"-formula as well".
↑ Darmesteter 1892, p. 331: "Le Yasht d'Ormazd est avant tout un Yasht sur les noms d'Ormazd et leur vertu".
↑ König 2015, p. 131: "Wie die Übersicht zeigt [siehe nächste Seite], begegnen in den Mss. Pahlavi-Übersetzungen (= PÜ) jenseits von Yt 1+11 kaum vor dem 19. Jh.".
↑ Darmesteter 1883, p. 21: "We have three native translations of this Yast; one in Pahlavi [...], one in Persian (East India Office, XXII, 43), and one in Sanskrit".
Hintze, Almut (2009). "Avestan Literature". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Literature of Pre-Islamic Iran. A History of Persian Literature. I.B.TAURIS.
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