Yasna XLIV, 11—20, a study re a new edition.
By L. H. Mills.
11 iSee ZDMG. of July 1911, S. B. E. XXXL, (1887) at the
place, also Gä.&as. 1892—94, 1902, 1911. Vi-j- 'come widely"
with the Pähl, and most MSS.; - otherwise ve{?). "See syao&nä,
'deeds' in 10; see ukhdäiS in 10; see Gä'O'as Comm. ^The -oi-
t of the exceptional Av. &vöt = the character oftenest used for
w, (0, that is, when considered as », jO = a plus i, (which
are the constituent elements of p); - but the sign m, jo = Pähl.
-Xj here equals *• + ■» cursively written = y plus a, or -a = yä.
We may have a &vayä, possessive = 'thy', formation analogous
10 to svaya(in). This was , of course , a bold suggestion ' in want of
better'. See Gä'&as, Comm. and Dictionary. ^»^^ hardly indicating 'predestination'; rec&Wpravid- , f. "^li hardly to the 'Archangels',
see yäiS adverbially in next strophe; S,iS = 'his (rebus)' =
'therefore'. The Sanskrit equivalents, which, oversights and additions
15 aside, few would dispute, are as re-edited: Tat tvä {tvam) prcchä
[■ämi{-y)'], rju me voca (-ä-) asUra: (h) kathä täü ä vi {vah(-d) ?)
gamyät{-d) aramatih{-ir) (c) yebhyah{-d), haye sumedhah{-d} [mähä-
dhäh{-ä) vä], **tvam{??) (iti{?) kila tvadiyam) vaksyate dhyänam
[dhairyam, dharmam]; (d) aham{-s-) te{-a) ebhih{-r) [ebhyah{-d)']
to pürvyah{-o'g-) [agrimah] pravevide [iti'\ ; (e) vidväJi anyän (deväfl
asma-vairinah{-o)) manyoh{-or) {ätmanah)pa^yämi dvesasä. Manyu
might almost be regarded as used in its laier evil Vedic sense
'with hate (dvesasä) of my fury' (manyoh); but ätmanah should
be held in view as an equally probable solution. The accents have
t& been removed.
12 ^Yäiä hardly as = 'among those whom'; better yäiä =
'because'; yäiä to äiS of 11. "Why peresäi; so reading against
the best MSS. , as a 2. sg. interrupting the third personals so
abruptly? Possibly: 'on which side is indeed the enemy (on this);
so - or is he, that one, the enemy'; - (this while there is no distinction
between the hvö's), - as if pointing (?) to the different throngs, or
Mills, Yasna XLIV, 11 — 20, a study re a new edition. 461
persons present in a crowded scene. Better perhaps 'against' -
which side of the two; so 'ä' exceptionally so used here; - other¬
wise what marks the hetter side in this important passage; - all
would refer to the enemy except when we resort to a not expressed
indication such as 'pointing'. ^Katarern hardly as merely = the 5
interrogative 'whether'; better 'for' - or 'against' which of the
two?; see Gä'^as. - With some 'Art Thou Thyself the Evil, or is
he the Evil'?; - from whence the reflective?; hvö must be reflective,
simply, or not reflective in each case. - Why again the 2. personal
in a piece where 'asking' in the first personal is the most character- lo
istic element. * Notice once more our Av. possessive tivä, as against
the one single Ved. possessive tusihik. ^Hvo ailgro to ye mä;
yet there is a slight pause. Hvö should hardly have reflective
force here in (e) and not in (c). 'How may it be (with him); -
should he not be held as the enemy'? *Some esteemed writers 15
seem to follow my considerably debated 'J?' as = 'qui' plus 'afighat'
= '/?«'; - 'how comes it'? See S. B. E. XXXI. at the place.
'■Cyaiighat' hardly a 'pronominal Indo-germanic form'.
[(I must continuously regret the almost total neglect of the
line-divisions which are the natural half-enclosures of the subordinate »o
thought. The mn,in sense may or must of course constantly pass
both the line's end and also the caesura , but metrical expression
has its existence alone in the subdivisions of the subordinate sense.
Even especial effort seems to be made to bring distant forms into
syntactical connection contrary to poetic usage.)] The little disputed 85
Sanskrit equivalents would be: - Tat tvä (tväm) prcchäl-ämii-y)],
jy'u me vocä (-ä-) asura: (b) kah{-d) ftävä yäih prcchä[-ämi'\
dhvaran *nästikah{-o) vä(?); (c) kataram ä (prati vä) arihurah
(-d'n)-(aithak{-s)-krit{-d)) angan^ [{ti{-y-) kila{-ä-)asma'dharma-
janma-bhümi-^atruk krüram äkränian] vä, svah(-o) vä [svayarn.{?) so
svätmäi?)] a)ihurah(-o'n-)angan (aidiah{-s) krit){?) {iti); {i) yah{-o)
mäm dhvaran nästikah{-s) tvä^ {iti, kila tvadiyäni) äaväiisiprati
{-y)-rte {-rate), [yah{-s) täni svayam iti datruvat{-d) abhisamrate
(•arpayate)], (e) kim-^ asat svah* [sah {sa) u{?)vä] ned{-t) svayam
ayam anhuram-angan [bhayänakah{-o)] manyate. ^Av. aügrö. S5
*Cp. ind. tuäbhik. »Z. vy aflghat = qui fit ; see S. B. E. XXXI.,
at the place. *Av. hvö possessive in form only.
^Ka&ä = 'how' at times, (as of course) merely indicates
the 'question' as the analogous term does in all languages; - it
has here, however, the full force of the word as adverb = 'how' 40
which seems especially called for. ^Asruitöiä hardly = 'unbelief
which rather emaculates the sense; - allusion is to the 'heretical
rebels'. I do not think that there is any suffix -öis, the oi is an
accidentally distorted a -(- t an old mode of spelling 'g'; the suffix
is simply the regular -gi = ind. -eh{-s). * Hacemnä , with the 45
great mass of MSS. is to be read; - hacenä (if so reading), not
ZaiUohrift der D. M. G. Bd. LXVI. SI
so naturally here as an instr. at the end of the line with no
preceding related word which would be always possible , but not
so probable. I prefer a nom. pl. here, well expressing the subject
of the just preceding verb. *So for a divyeinti , as the Pahlavi
6 hints; - hardly 'take pains' to a 2. div devati. Not impossibly
a 3. pl. passive in spite of the -1 final = 'are enlightened' to- a
div-, inA.jyut, dyut. Or, again, an imperfectly expressed causative.
•"Possibly an instr. frasaya so with the metre; but hardly = 'through
instruction' here. Possibly = frasyä as an acc. pl. neutr. =
10 'things to be asked'; - see peresa throughout; CTp. peresmaneri^
in Y. 30. *FoAm manah as 'the saint'; A{r)3a also as 'the Holy
Community', so wherever possible, - with a great Vedist; see Y. 50, 2 ;
- 'they do not like to consult the saints'. 'Notice the natural
tendency to iteration nöit = ned . . . ned in (d) and (e). This
16 should guide us as to 19 (b) yas-tat . . . (c) ye it. See the three
kas-, kas-, ke in 3, all referring to the same person. See kas na,
-kas, - and ke, all referring to the same person in 4; see the three
fee's in 5; see the fee's in 7; also the two yäcas in 8; the ka&as
in 2, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18; the two nOit's '{= net) in 13; see yais
20 and yä chä in 20; after this we naturally feel that yas tat in 19
(b), at the beginning, and ye it 19 (c) also at the line's beginning,
refer to the same person with the same poetic iteration. The
Sanskrit would be : Tat tvä (tväm) prcchö[-ämi(-y)], rju me vocä
(-a-) asura: (b) kathä druham nih(-r) asmat(-d)^ (a) nlnaääma
25 (c) tän ä ava yS(-a) aärushteh (dudrUsana-hinatvasya (-eV-) iti)
pürnäsah [santy, asan vä\; (d) ned ftasya (-a-) aihidyotayanti'^
[ädipayanti vä (-eV-) iti] sacamänäh (asmad-rsayo hrdaya-bhak-
täh); (e) ned(-t) prcchäh(-ä)^ vasoh(-d) cäkanüh(-r) [or cak-]
manasah. ^Perhaps asmät. ^Kila, ned(-t) tän(-K) ^uärüsähinän
30 asmarsayah(-o's-) asmadharma-pratiksäh(-ä) upadiäanti präpta-
buddhin kurvantah ... (so for zend ädivyenti; see the pahlavi
nikeztnd for approximate indication). ^Or prcchayä.
14 ^Why suppress the graphic dual here? Ä(r)sa with his 'two
hands' expresses the animus of the Holy Struggle, the Yäh-*, being
36 embodied in the Host of the Sacred Tribes, - affording us the
fullest justification for the view that A(r)sa very often and very
naturally represents the Gemeinde, ' congregation ', or , as we
should say, 'the Holy Church', - so Vohu Manah often refers to
the 'typical saint'. * Hardly 'in accordance with the manthras',
■10 which would be here a marked enfeebling of the instrumental ; -
the Mäßra was rather the 'sword of the Spirit'; 'through the
Mä&ra the evil were smitten'. Recall the Sros YaSt and Vendi-
däd XIX where the Ahunaver is tbe 'weapon', rendering
'strategical-disguised-bafflers and merciless-oppressors' I have strophe
-16 12 with its indicated uncertainties in mind, preferring also the
more realistic objectives to the thinner abstracts here, as often.
Mills, Yasna XLIV, 11 — 20, a study re a new edition. 463
[(Abstracts where unavoidable, become indeed of paramoimt value ;
see Y. 28, 29, 30 etc.)] *As alternative: 'that those deceitful
disguised liers-in-wait may not attain their ends', recall 51, 13?
where nasva may mean 'reach' in an 'evil' sense. toüprcchä
[■ämi{-y)], }ju me vocä (-a-) asura: (b) kathä {-ar-) rtäya dru- 5
harn dheyäm hastayoh{-r), (c) ni sim [imäni] nih{-r) mrksadhyai^
tvasya (?) * [{-(■ti) kila tvadiyasya] manträih äansasya{-ä) (d) ama-
vatim [amavat{-d)] viäasanarn dävane {{-a) iti) nästikesu dhvaraisu
[papesu]; (e) ä is [imän] dambhanän, haye sumedhah, a-nah^
{iti{-y) arihah{-s)-krtad ca (so)*. ^Mrce, mrcartham; - the infin. in lo
-adhyäi does not seem to occur from an -s aor. stem, but see
rnfksh for form only ; - and for unstrengthened root see vrjadhyäi.
-Cp. again tuäbhih. ^Paräjayena pratikärena ca naJe, näiaya-
dhyäi; consider also a negative infin. anase {' anakshe') {??) 'that
they should not reach their aims'; see Y. 51, 13; Ga&as p. 533.15
* Anhah{-a) ä ni vahatah (sic).
^A supplicating question in view of a near future battle-
crisis, hardly so exactly = 'upon the supposition that', rather =
'if indeed' . . . 'seeing that'. *Por 'protection' to save the interests
of the holy cause in this crisis of the religious civil, or 'border', 20
'war'; recall Y. 31, 18. 53, 8, 9, etc. Av. mat here rather = ind.
mat{-d) than smat = 'with'. 'If Thou hast the power, to which
wilt Thou give the victory ?; - surely to these hosts of ASa, (thine
own Law of Truth, and ritual, of home and host). ^'Not merely
'strange', hosts 'unaccustomed to each other'; that the Gä'&as were
the Hymns of a fierce civil or border war none should doubt.
■^Perhaps not merely 'in accordance (instr.) with Thy promises'.
[(The bearing of the word vrata is nearly everywhere unmistakable ;
the battle was rather to be for the vratä, which the Deva party
claimed as well - see Y. 31, 1, the vratä being the main body of
religious , ritual , political , civil , and criminal Law regulating the
dominions of the Mazdayasnians upon the one side, as the opposing
vrata of the Deva party were supposed to do the like upon the
other ; in a word it was a struggle for the control of the entire
religious-civic polity by each party.)] The Sanskrit equivalents
aside from my additions, would be about as follows: - Tat tvä
prcchä[-ämi{-y)'\, rju me vocä {-ä-) asura: {h) yadi{-y) asya {-ar-)
ftena pe [iti] mad ''--[panäya] ksayasi^; (c) yat sarn yodha-sene^
{-'n-) anokäsüu [yodha-samühäu^ (-a, -äv) anokivämsäu, dvesi-
■näu] sanigamete ('«-) (d) aväih{-r) [amibhih{-r)] vratäih{-r) {vra-
tänäm hetoh{-r)) yäni tvam {a)didrhhisah^ {-db-) {abubhürsah)
(e) kutra (-a-) anayoh kasmäi vananäm {jayam) dadah. ^Smaf{?).
* Yadi{-y) arthatah{-to) vastutad ca{-ä-) asya yuddhasya{-ä-) as-
madharma-pratiksah ksayasi; yadi{-y) anyatah{-td's) asmätru-
träya, äsmadharmärtham mama ksayasi, anyatah{-to'p-) api ca
yadi{-y) asma{-c)datrünäm asmapratiyudhyatäm . . . ity-ädi.
*(?) Z. spädä(?). *Yat{-d) yodha-samühäu {= sene) parasparam
etavat{-d) dvesinäu rana-bhUmi-ksobhe (bh-) (ksubhi{-y) abhiyun-
jäte [aihiyujyete] amibhih{-r) vratäih{-r) [amisäm hetoh], - anyä
senä vastutah(-to) dharmatah{-d) ca (-o'm-) amüni vratäni svaki-
s yäni tattvatah{-a) ätmiyani{-y) iva pravadantl{-y) , - anyä sa-
garvam fu (tv) adharmatah(-ä) ca ... ityädi. * Yäni vratäni kärya-
sädhakäni nihsamdigdhäni ca satyarn punyavat püjitäni{-y) iva
ca (-ä-) abubhürsah . . . kasmäi{-y) ubhayoh{-r) jayam täbhyäm
(äväbhyäm) ubhäbhyäm etävat{-d) abhilasitam prärthitam ca,
10 kasmäi svavananäm dadah(-d), däsyasi.
16 ^Perhaps not exactly 'through Thine embassy'. "'All who
exist', that is, all Thy faithful, 'aliens' were almost ignored; so
at Y. 31, 1. 'All the living' refers first of all to 'all the faithful'.
Citrä adverbially = citram (lost nasalisation). ''For dam...
\i ratüm see deng patois; recall dLaiisu-patni , f; the talk is every¬
where of a personal ratu; and he appears here in his military role
'smiting with victory', - an authoritative Chief, to wit, Zara^ustra;
see Y. 29, and elsewhere, ^ahübis so reading; see strophe 2; not
'praying for life'; as I formerly suggested, nor 'healing the world',
20 to {a)bhi-Saj , {- the latter would show a startling oversight if
'ÄÄe" = 'abhi' plus 'saj'), - ahümbis - so reading - shows again
the irregular intrusion of a case form ; recall again yav{a)etait^ ; -
see also the Indian occurrences. ^Sr{a)osa, 'Angel of God's Hearing
Ear and Man's'; - 'let him, the Heeding Ear of God and man come
25 to each saint', that is, 'let the loyal adherent' come, in our 'public
worship' with his mandate, to his mission as our ratu; see his call
in Y. 29. 'Hardly 'to everything'; see the previous strophe; see
Y. 43, 1; yahmäi kahmäi-cit is here most urgently personal.
*'Let the Angel of Heeding (God's and man's) representing the
so loyal party, come, as in Y..43, 12, to grant him his commission
fitted with the inspiring Benevolence of the saints, V. M.'. The
literal Sanskrit would be nearly as follows : - Tat tvä (tväm) pfcchä
[-ämi{-y)], rju me vocä (-ä-) asura: (b) kah(-ko) vrtram-hä {vrtra-
hä) (katvä (?) vä) tvä, (-eti kila tvadiyena pe, [kila, "^panaya] (tvä-)
36 ^äsena [(eti, kila, *pänäya (-äi-) esäm) ye (tva-däsärtham asma-
vidyärthinah)] santi(-y , asan vä) ; (c) citram me [suasti-ydäm
(dansum) asubhik(-r) [asubhyah(-o) janebhyah(-ya)] -rtum [dahsv-
rtu-sväminam rtvijam] ä-cikiddhi (äcetaya) ; (d) ät *se [tasmäi]
vasunä äräustih(-r) [kila (-ä-) anucarah drustimän ääritah(-to) hfda-
40 yabhaktak(-to)'] gantu manasä, (e) haye sumedhah(-o) [mahädhäh
(■ä)~\ asmäi yasmäi vaksi kasmäicid. ^Hardly tväm; or 'seOghä'
possibly as acc. pl. , object oi pe, pöi, and, as so often in similar
cases, to be taken as personal: kah (ko-) vrta-hä (vijayam ghnan
(-rit-) sajitvä) tvadiyän(-yänäm) pe (pänäya) tvä-däsa-khyäpakän 48 (-änärri) ye santi (asan vä) ... *tat-pänärtham . . . tat-täranärtham.
^Iti kila sväminam pra^äsitäram rtuthä janärtham (janänäm
3 5
Mills, Yasna XLIV, 11—20, a study re a new edition. 465
fietoh) svastt-susthira-krtam akrdhi, ahhisinca. ^^Se' only in view
of höi.
7 ^Zarem io jarä = 'calling', or to a 2. (?) ind. ^or = 'approach',
'conference'; another, more pallidly, 'striving forward' (?) to ind.
haryatii?). Hardly 'consideration', 'veneration'; - 'an objective 5
approach for conference'; see the stress of the entire piece. '^Aske-
reitim. So, with important MSS., and also with the hint of the
Pähl., Pers., and Skt. translations. Others, reading äsk^itlm, have
seen hac = ind. sac as being here involved = 'the adherence to
Thee'; - another renders your 'lead'. Askereittm seems closely lo
in accordance with the point of the whole piece - with its ever-
repeated peresä; - the talk is of 'practical and immediate results'.
See the same idea in fraslm kerenaun ahum in Y. 30, 9; recall
something of it in carkere&rä in Y. 29, 8; see the fraiö-kereiti
of the later Av. which might be a mere variant of this word ; is
cp. also Ved. äskräh{s), E. V. 186, 2; R. V. Ill, 6, 4; (240, 4);
R. V. VII, 43, 5 (559, 5). Other translators render Ved. äskra as
'united', surely not understanding merely 'made to' as = 'joined
to'. I prefer 'united for action', 'for benevolence' - 'joined actively
to it' - in this sense to kri, kar, skri, skar plus ä. I might 20
even emend my translation here in this sense - 'Thy beneficent
union with us'; this well following upon zarem = 'conference';
so read as altern. ''Of the two forms vakhs- and -agÄÖ it is ex¬
ceedingly improbable that väkhS-, to vac-, should here represent
the 'prayer' and {a)^ö to is = 'to send' should represent its 25
'energetic effect' so to iSird. Is = 'to wish' expresses the prayer,
and vakhs if to vac expresses its 'intonation', its 'chanting', - all
prayers were chanted. See GaS-as at the place ; - consider also a
vakhs = 'to increase', reading vakhs, as Av. or " are hopelessly
confused owing to the changes from the Pahlavi-Avesta alphabet so
to the reconstructed Avesta alphabet - that 'my prospered-prayer
may be (realised)'; the Pähl., Pers., and Skt. hint toward vac =
'speak', ^büzdyäi, dat. infin. of the '«' aor. stem to bhü- ; cp.
bhUsdni, etc. Formerly others rendered 'to enjoy weal and Immor¬
tality' to bhuj, - so a great Vedist suggested. ^Saröi - Hardly 35
merely 'in community with'. The entire connection deals with the
•hegemony'; and so the Pähl, uniformly hints; see the ratüm of
16, as indeed throughout the Gä^as; recall especially Y. 29. Better
'in-the-sheltering-chieftainship' or 'for-the-sheltering-chief, to ind.
sri, Parana, barman rather than to sarlra; see tbe latter's 40
supposed root. ^lläth{e)mö. Hardly merely 'justice', 'guidance';
- it equals 'a wagoner', to ind. rathira; for a like figurative use
cp. Y. 50, 7, 'azatha, 'ye drive on', of 'the racers' 'aurvatü'. The
Sanskrit equivalents would be. Tat tvä (team) prcchä [■ämi(-y)]
rju me vocä (-ä-) asura : (b) kathä, haye sumedhah [mahädhäh(-ä)] 45
yusmä-jaräm [äcaranam vä, eti, kila yusmü-samvidam, äcaranam
sarnvida nispannarn, {-näm)] äcarani{-y) [elcacittah{-ta-hhävah{-6'bh-)
abhyupagacchäni] sacä yusmat {-mäsu\ ; (c) äkrtim i [iti dabda-
halpänukrüyartham : (Z. äskereitim), - äskram, iti tasmin väcana-
dedasthale tu(tv) artha(-ä-)äsannatarani] yat{-c) ca me syät{-d)
6 väcana-{vaksa'na{?))-esah{-s) (d) dirasisfhe [rajätharvä (-ä-) agri¬
mah, darmakrt(-c) , darmanyäya vä] bhüsane^ sarvatätyä (-ä-)
amrtatvena (-ä-) (e) *avena [amunä] mantrena yah{-d) rathirah{-a)
rtät{-d) [rte] sacä. ^See Gä'&as comm. p. 535 for alternatives:
kathä (-0-) adah{-d) yusmä-kdrman(-n) äcaranarn ca {-äi-) etävat{-d)
10 gurvartharn sädhakam ca (-ä-) äcaräni yat{-d) me syät{-d) mad-
esak{-o) vacanävä (vaksanavän{-vä(?)), yat{-d) me prärthanarn
{pravadanärtharn prakaranena vidathe{-a) uccäritam) vastutah{-d)
niruhyeta {-äi-) eva dirasi-sthe bhüsane; [iti kila bhüyäsam räjä
{-ä-)atharvä , senäpdtih{-ir vä) dirasistkak sarvatäty-amrtatva-
\i sarnpräpty-artham anena mantrena yah pathidardakah(-a) rtät(-d)
{rtakäranena (-ä-)) asat]. *An eminent Vedist used to render 'to
enjoy health and long life in the house' . . . darmani [grhe] bhuje;
iti kila bhujema, bhujyäsam sarvataty-amrtatve . . . ityädi.
18 ^So especially with a middle hanän? (K. 4); but see the
80 Vedic; - hardly 'I shall give' even with the active here. "The
Persian mares early acquired fame as racers; and the Persian
cavalry was ever formidable; - see the allusions; - they are here
first mentioned in history. That the mares should be 'gravid'
would be hardly an 'advantage'. ^See the apparent immediate
25 syntactical connection between tat{-d) mlzdem of line b and {y)yat,
or {h)ycU, of line d; 'the reward . . . which was promised'; yet I
think that {y)yat , or {h)yat, here possesses more significance, ex¬
pressing the 'reason why the reward was given'; the {y)yat or
(h)yat may recall lightly the previous tat; but (h)yat is itself
30 adverbial. [(With hyat we may have an acutely interesting error
for hvat = quod , so with velarisation , see elsewhere , yet recall
ind. syak-s which may once have had a syat. 'y' and 'v' appear
often as closely similar in MSS.)] Hardly 'which was promised
me as well as Welfare and Immortality'; - the position of the
36 words irresistibly suggests an instrumental. We might even construe
'it was told (not perhaps 'promised') me by Haurvatat (Archangel
of the Universal Weal) and by Ameretatät (as suggesting long life
for us here and hereafter)'. The final words emphasise the nature
of the distinction involved in the sacrosanct gift. Not perhaps
40 'since Thou hast the power' which would be a platitude; but 'since
it was revealed to me . . . that thou would'st give it*. The Sanskrit
equivalents would be. Tat tvä (tväm) prcchä [^-ämi(-y)] , rju me
vocä{-ä-) asura: (b) kathä (-ar-) rtena iat(-d) midham, [iti kila
tat phalarn] sanäni^ (c) dada (-5-) adväh{ä) vrsanvafih{-r) {vrsa-
<i samanä-yojitäh{-ä)) ustram ca; (ä) yat{-d) me, haye sumedhah{-d)
[mahädhäh{-ä)] apiväti sarvatätyä (-äm-) (e) amrtatvena- yathä
Mills, Yasna XLIV, 11 — 20, a study re a new edition. 467
*si [iti kila (-e-) imau ime m] (?) tubhyam^ dadäni. iReading
'■hanäne we should write: hatha . . . sanäi dada (-5-) advah{-d)
adva-sahacäräh sammitäh [-yqjitähi-td) vd\. Recall the striking
analogous allusion to the 'ten sacred horses' behind which Xerxes
appeared: Herod., Lib. VH, Cap. 40: Iqoi Niaaioi xaXsvjiivoi innoi 6
6eKa %e»oaiirjiievoi cog xdlliara . . . (KL). 8arvatati{-y-)amrtatva-
sampräptaye [-ptyartharn]. » Reading t{a)^ibhyö . . . tebhyah{-s)
tväpüjakebhyahi-d) rtävabhyak(-a) [esärn hetoh{-s)] tvam imäu{-äv)
adhithäh {adhähi-d) vä, (-e) . . . iti(-y-)arthak].
^Erezukhdyäi, - so, obviously and with the best MSS. See lo
its intended correspondence to haneht^; - it is astonishing that
this could be ignored ; - poetic iteration is here present ; - erezukh-
dyäi here includes the 'profession of the creed' by the represen¬
tative orthodox saint, so par-eminence , - an idea which also in
the Gä'ö'a likewise includes the notion of personal honour, see i.->
T. 31, 19. "The Pähl, refers nä in (c) to 'man', so the Pers., so
the Sansk. , 'what man . . . to this promise-keeper'. But see its
position as distant from ye, and exactly corresponding to the
foregoing nöit; - nä could only equal 'man' if considered as a
'qualification' in apposition = 'as a man'. The line is also an 20
emphatic re-iteration of the preceding one with the added adjective.
^I\a)ourvye hardly as a loc. adverbial = 'at first' as I formerly
rendered; - I now hold this -e to be a false decipherment; - the
sign usually rendered e here equals y plus a — yä. The word
is pürvyä nom. sg. fem., agreeing with m{a)enis. *See Y. 43, 5; 2.')
45, 3; 51, 6; 51, 14. The Sanskrit equivalents are: T'at tvä (tväm)
prcchä(-ämi(-y)) rju me vocä (-ä-) asura: (b) yah{-s) tat{-d)
midham [iti kila phalam punyam] sanate ned däti; yah{-a) id
asmäi{-äy) rjükthäya'^ (-<«-) [arhate] na datte [iti kila na däti
dadäti], kä tarn [prati] asya [adadatah dharma-häneh(-r)]'' 30
nienih [kak pratikärah(-o's-) asat pürvye{?) (pürvyä) [iti kila
pürvyam, tat tväm prcchä (-ämi-)] vidvän aväm [iti kila amürn
menim amum pratikäram] yä [yak (ye vä) im [prati(-y) ifi kila
(-ä-) asmäi(-ä)] asat{-d) apamä [apamak(-o) vä]. ^'To the one
pronouncing our orthodox creed', and so to the 'thoroughly truthful a.^
saint'; Yah (yo 's-) asmäi(-ä) rtävane asma-sadmärga-svikurvdte
(svikurvänäya) , asma-satya-dhnrma-ghosayate , na datte [iti(-y)
artkena däti, dadäti tv evam iti. Or 'to the man who keeps his
word' kak(ko's-) asmäi pratijnä(na)-pari-pälanäya(-e), ity ädi . . .
- Kä menih, kah pratikärah(-o's-) , asat käranena (-a-) amusya ^»
(-5-) adadatah{-s) , tad-midhdsya sadmärgät(-d) adkarmatak(-to)
nivrtasya (nivartasya), kä menih, kad ca pratikärah(-o) bhavisyati ;
tat tvam prcchämi vidvän (aham) amürn menim amurn 2)ratiküram
etävat samyancarn samäpta(-ä-)artham . . . ityädi.
3 5*
20 ^Esteemed writers do not seem to have yet accepted d{a)?va here, as often elsewhere, in the sense of'deva-worshippers'. "Some
see 'sight' in peäyeinti to pas = spas. Others regard the 'evU
eye' as indicated. With this idea at base we might consider: 'who
5 see for these what (interrogative what punishment ?), - a most
awkward placing of the words. The hint of the Pähl, gloss points
to pä in its frequent sense of 'hindering'; see the Gä^as at the
place. The talk is of 'punishment' as 'of battle'; the word is to
peret = 'to fight', ^käm hardly to a 7»(a)fn^m?; notice the
10 awkwardness of such an acc. case just here. See the kä m(a)em'ä
of the previous strophe (19) with afihat. I still think that kam
equals the Vedic kam as particle emphasising the dative. Some
see ind. rucL- = 'to weep' in urüdüyatä. The Sanskrit equivalents
would be: Cid na [kadä-cid na?] suksaträsak{-sd), haye swme-
18 dhah(-d)\mahädhäh{-d)'\ deväh{-ä)[deva-püjakäh(-ä)]äsire; (b)at{-d)
id(-t) prcchä(-ämi); - ye piparti (prtsan (?), prtamkurvanti {-vä, väi
'bh-)(?))^ ebhyah kam; (c) yäih{-r) gäm [gävam vä] kalpah{-a)
udik ca {-äi) esäya [ity esa-rdksase] adhita"^ [adaduh{-r) vä];
(d) yena ca kavä [iti{-t)] **inmane{?) [ity, ürjase (s-) asma-vairine
20 (-V)] arodhata^ [edhanta vä]; (e) ned{-t) slm [imäm gävam]
mehan{-n) ftena yavabhümim pra-dhätave{? -d) [iti kila ned goh{-r)
, hetoh{-r) * yavabhümim , kseiram , sekena {-ä-) ardhayan , bahu-
phalam kartave]. ^Pesyeinti (= -yaüti), -s- aor. to a, peret-, - see
-es- to -eret-, in ames- to an ameret-; cp. also a{r)Sa and -ereta;
25 for form see also avrtsan to vft; otherwise perhaps piparti might
correspond to peäyeinti {-yafU?) in one of its {par's) more usual
Sanskrit meanings; that is, 'rescue': ye nah{-a) ebhyah{-a) [esäm
bhayänäm madhyät] trayamänäh{-d) vijayena yudhyante, piparti
ca{-e-), iti kadäcid; otherwise 'who tight for those' asma(-c-)^a<ru-
30 paksinäm ; ye{-a) esäm ketoh{-r) esu vä . . . yäih kalpah{-a) usik
ca pra-{-o-)-ut-sähitäh{-ä) gäm märätmakävaskanda-raksase [Z.
{a)^mäi] adaduh, raksase *svapaksinah{-a) etävat{-d) vardhita-
baläh{-ä) gävam {raksase) hantave {'d-)adhita [adadhata]. ^Or
Av. däta as pl. to the root conj. and by syncope = dadhire (?)
36 and the urüdüya{'K)tä{?) pl. arodhanta. ^Gäm might well remain
the object of mehan with 'vastrem' which I can only render by
yava-bhümim or the like ; frädainh? = pradhätave [iti kila ksetra-
pravrddhi{y) artham pravrdhe; see Gäi^as, pp. 182—217, 528—
539,' also S. B. E. XXXL, pp. 107—121.
3 5*
469
Der semitische Venuskult.
Von Ditlef Nielsen.
Zu den wenigen Göttern, die gemeinsemitisch sind, gehört außer
Mond und Sonne noch diejenige Gottheit, die bei fast allen Semiten
unter dem Namen 'Ättar {'Astar, Atar, lätar, 'Adtarf) verehrt wird.
Daß eine Gottheit, die als gemeinsemitisch bezeichnet werden
muß, und deren Kultus demzufolge in die Urzeit der semitischen 5
Völker zurückgeht, ursprünglich jedenfalls ein Naturgott gewesen
sein muß, ist ein sehr naheliegender Gedanke, und wenn nun diese
Gottheit ständig neben Mond und Sonne auftritt, so wird wohl
jeder dabei an die Venus denken, den größten und hellsten aller
Sterne. 10
In der Tat gibt es so viele Belege dafür, daß dieser Name
den Venusstern bezeichnet, daß ich nicht den Leser hierüber auf¬
halten möchte, — wenn nicht über diesen Gott zwei falsche An¬
sichten unter den heutigen Semitisten sehr verbreitet wären.
Die eine ist die, daß die hebr.-phön. 'AStart ursprünglich eine 15
tellurische Gottheit gewesen sein müsse. Die meisten Ausleger
des alten Testaments denken dabei ganz allgemein an die gebärende
Kraft der Natur, an die Erde selbst oder an irgend eine irdische
Gottheit, etwa in einer Quelle, in einem Baume oder dergleichen
verkörpert. Selbst ein so gediegenes religionsgeschichtliches Werk, 20
wie Graf Baudissin's neulich erschienenes Buch „ Adonis und
Esmun' ist noch von dieser Ansicht völlig beherrscht i).
Diese Annahme ist aber nicht richtig. Jede Untersuchung
über ihr ursprüngliches Wesen muß von ihrer gemeinsemitischen
Natur ausgehen. 'AStart bei den Hebräern und Phönikern muß 25
dieselbe Gottesgestalt sein wie die aramäische 'Aätar oder 'Atar,
die babylon.-assyr. iStar und der 'Attar {'Astar) der südarabischen und altäthiopischen Inschriften.
Unter den- nordsemitischen 'Aufarten ist die babylon.-assyr.
lätar am besten bekannt. Sie wurde als Muttergöttin und Göttin 30
der sexuellen Liebe aufgefaßt. Die I§tarstatuen mit dem kleinen
Kind auf dem linken Arme erinnern an die katholische Madonna;
der Mythus von der Höllenfahrt der Istar wie die Erzählung
1) Wolf Wilhelm Graf Baudissin, Adonis und Esmun, Leipzig
1911. Siehe besonders S. 19 ff.
