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28
THE GÂTHAS.
him only the more impressively to describe the rapid reunion of the righteous amid the home-happiness of Heaven.
11. Having delivered his brief but weighty communication, he commends his hearers for learning the holy vows of the Religion on account of the duration of the announced rewards and punishments. They shall be long indeed; and upon their complete inauguration full salvation shall be realised for those who shall have learned and heeded the invaluable truths.
Translation,
1. And now I will proclaim, Oye who are drawing near and seeking to be taught! those animadversions which appertain to Him who knows (all things) whatsoever; the praises which are for Ahura, and the sacrifices (which spring) from the Good Mind, and likewise the benignant meditations inspired by Righteousness. And I prays that propitious results may be seen in the lights.
As ‘ish' means approaching with desire, the Pahlavi translator has, freely, khvahîsno.
* Read măzdatha.
8 So with long e; but yaêkâ (P11 supported by the Pahl.) may be the lost dual neuter of the pronoun, referring to the two principles discussed below. Yê* kâ=I pray for, although the most natural rendering grammatically, does not seem so well adapted here, as a prayer for the success of his communication does not harmonise with the otherwise dogmatic statements of the composer. The urvâtâ (vrata) founded upon the doctrine of dualism bring about salvation. They may therefore be touched upon in this introductory verse. And that the heavenly bodies contained indications bearing directly or indirectly upon human destiny seems to have been early an accepted doctrine. (Compare also chap. XXIX, 3, where the lofty fires' seem alluded to as moved by the Deity, and this in immediate connection with the discussion of the most important problems concerning the fate of the holy community.) It is, however, not impossible that the lights of the altar may have been meant. (See saka in the second verse.) The Pahlavi translation
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| SR No. | 007673 |
| Book Title | Zend Avesta Part 03 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | L H Mills |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1887 |
| Total Pages | 2618 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 49 MB |