Mayest thou, O all-powerful, all-wise one, rule over thy creatures, over
all waters and trees, all empires and dominions, causing fertility,
happiness, and universal justice to abound in the world. In all
conflicts between light and darkness, between the good and the bad, let
the right prevail, O thou king of righteousness. I, Zarathustra, urge
heads of families, chiefs of clans, and rulers of states, to follow the
true religion, that revealed by Ahura-Mazda and proclaimed by his
prophet Zarathustra.
CHAPTERS 9 AND 10. [In some manuscripts these chapters are designated
Homa-Yashts, because they celebrate the praises of Homa and have the
form of Yashts. In these chapters Homa is personified, as, also, in the
Vedas, is the Sanscrit Soma. In the period before the separation of the
Iranians and Indians the worship of the Homa plant (the god of
inspiration, etc.) bulked largely. It died out, however, among the
Iranians at an early period, perhaps owing to its prevalence among their
Indian rivals, who traced to it that very courage with which they
contended against the Iranians. The present chapters belong to the
period of the revival of the Homa cult among the Mazdaists or
Zarathustrians. This comparatively late date is confirmed by the
vocabulary and style of the chapters.]
When Zarathustra was engaged in singing the Dathas and attending the
sacred fire, Homa appeared before him in resplendently supernatural
guise and explained "I am Homa, whom thou shouldst worship as the sages
and prophets of old have done." "Tell me," replied Zarathustra, "who was
it that first worshipped thee by extracting thy juice from the plant?"
"The first," said Homa, "was Vivan-Ghvant whose reward was the birth of
his august and renowned son, Yima, (6) the king, in whose reign there
was neither death, nor scorching heat, nor benumbing cold, but when
fulness of life, perfection of happiness, and unfailing justice
prevailed. The second to worship me," said Homa, "was Athwya, the
blessed one, and to him as a reward was born Thraetaona, who slew the
three-mouthed, three-tailed, six-eyed, thousand-scaled dragon that
wrought such dire havoc in the world. The third to worship me was
Thrita, to whom, in recompense, were born two sons of illustrious name,
one great as ruler of men, and the other a brave warrior who slew the
man-and-horse-swallowing dragon. The fourth was thine own distinguished
father, Pourushasha, and the reward that he received was to have thee, O
great prophet of men, for his son." On hearing which Zarathustra
immediately set about walking around the sacred fire singing lustily the
praises of the god Homa, whom his father had worshipped. "It is Homa,"
sang the prophet, "that gives men knowledge of things new and old. Even
men buried under a weight of book-lore receive from him inspiration and
perception of truth that no books can impart. It is Homa that gives kind
and wealthy husbands to unwed maidens; that fills the sky with clouds
and refreshes the ground with life-giving showers, causing the plants to
grow on the lofty mountains on whose brow thine own sacred plant
(asclepias) flourishes."
CHAPTER 12. [Profession of faith on the part of the new convert, uttered
by the ancient Iranians on their giving up the worship of Daevas and the
nomad life, and on their being received into the religious community
established by Zarathustra.]
Now cease I to be a Daeva worshipper and make profession of the religion
of Ahura-Mazda, proclaimed by Zarathustra. I ascribe all good things
everywhere to Ahura-Mazda, the true, shining and holy one. I will never
more molest Mazdaists. I will forsake the Daevas, the false and wicked
originators of all the mischief in the universe. I forsake also all
Daeva like beings, witches, wizards, and the like. I belong to the
Mazdaist religion, and will support it to my dying day. There is no joy
of virtue but has come from Ahura-Mazda.