The Xwarshed Yasht, also known as Khurshed Yasht[1] or Khorshed Yasht,[2] is the sixth Yasht of the Yasht collection.[3] It is dedicated to Hvare-khshaeta, the Zoroastrian Yazata representing the Sun.[4]
Xwarshed (Middle Persian: 𐭧𐭥𐭫(𐭧)𐭱𐭩𐭲, xwar(x)šēd) is the Middle Persian term for the Sun or sunlight.[5] It continues Avestan: 𐬵𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬆-𐬑𐬱𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀 (huuarə-xšaēta), the name of the ZoroastrianYazata of the Radiant Sun. It is also the origin of Modern Persianخورشید (xwaršēd), with the meaning sun or sunlight, as well as the Persian given name Khorshid. Xwarshed is a compound term consisting of xwar, the general Middle Persian word for the Sun,[6] and shet, Middle Persian for radiant or shining.[7]
Within the Yasht collection of 21 Yashts, the Xwarshed Yasht is the sixth hymn. Like most other Yasht, it is considered to haven been part of the Bagan yasht, where it may have formed the second chapter.[8] Like Yasht 7 (Moon), Yasht 8 (Sirius), Yasht 15 (Wind) and Yasht 21 (Vanant), it is devoted to a personified natural phenomen.[9] With only 6 stanzas, it is one of the shorter Yashts in the collection and it is counted among the so called Minor Yashts.[10] The Yasht is performed regularly on the 10th day of the Zoroastrian calendar, dedicated to the Sun, but also on the days dedicated to Kshatra Vairya, Mithra, Asman and Anaghra raokau.[11]
The Xwarshed Yasht has a close connection to the Xwarshed Niyayishn. Like the Mah Yasht, its text is completely contained in the corresponding Niyayishn.[12] The seven stanzas of the Xwarshed Yasht, plus its introdutory formula, form stanzas 10-17 of the Xwarshed Niyayishn.[13] There is no scholary consensus on the dependency between these two texts. Panaino has, however, provided a number of rationales, which support the conclusion that the Niyayishn are derived from the Yashts.[14]
Editions and translations
None of the manuscripts containing the Xwarshed Yasht do provide a translation of the text.[15] However, the manuscripts of the Xwarshed Nyaishn, which contains the full text of the Xwarshed Yasht, do come with translations into Middle Persian, Sanskrit, Gujarati and Modern Persian.[16] The oldest translation is into Middle Persian, which may have been created already during the Sasanian period, while the others may have been created a later time.[17]
In 1908, Dhalla, provided a translation of the Avestan, Middle Persian, Sankskit and Gujarati version of Xwarshed Nyaishn into English.[18] Most modern translations are, however, based on the edition of the Xwarshed Yasht by Geldner.[19]Darmesteter provided an English translation of the Yasht in 1883[20] and a French translation in 1892.[21] In 1927, Lommel provided a translation into German as part of his translation of the Yasht collection.[22] A critical edition of the Xwarshed Yasht and Mah Yasht including a translation into Italian was published by Panaino.[23]
↑ Hintze 2009, p. 46: "Several hymns are devoted to natural phenomena, such as the sun (Xwarsed, Yt 6), the moon (Mah, Yt 7), the wind (Vayu, Yt 15 = Ram Yah) and the stars Tistrya (Yt 8) and Vanant (Yt 21)".
↑ Hintze 2014, "'Minor' or 'apotropaic' Yašts [...] 6 (Xwaršēd)".
↑ Darmesteter 1883, p. 85:"This Yast is recited at any time, but particularly on the days consecrated to the sun and to Khshathra-Vairya (Shahrivar), Mithra (Mihir), Asman (Asmin), and Anaghra raokau (Anirin'):".
↑ Panaino 2012, p. 263: "In fact, in this very case, the two Avestan hymns are found to be entirely embedded in the corresponding Niyāyišns".
↑ Panaino 2012, p. 269: "The large number of translations, originally in Pahlavi, later in Sanskrit, afterwards also in Persian and Gujarati, shows the never-ending importance attributed to them.".
↑ Panaino 2012, p. 273: "The translations of the Niyāyišns in Pahlavi should have been prepared already in the Sasanian period, followed by a Sanskrit version (ca. 1200), then, a Persian (1600–1800) and a Gujarati one (1800)".
Hintze, Almut (2009). "Avestan Literature". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Literature of Pre-Islamic Iran. A History of Persian Literature. I.B.TAURIS.
König, Götz (2017). "Bayān Yasn: State of the Art". Iran and the Caucasus 2. 21: 13–38. doi:10.1163/1573384x-90000003.
Panaino, Antonio (2012). "The Niyāyišns Corpus and Its Relationships with the Yašts: The Case of Yašts 6 and 7". Iranian Studies. 45 (2): 261–273. doi:10.1080/00210862.2011.617161.
Panaino, Antonio (1990). Xwaršēd e Māh Yašt: Gli inni avestici al Sole e alla Luna. Testo critico con traduzione e commentario storico‐religioso. Istituto Universitario, Orientale di Napoli.
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