Yasna (/ΛjΚsnΙ/;[1]Avestan: π¬«π¬π¬―π¬₯π¬,) is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's principal act of worship. It is also the name of the primary liturgical collection of Avesta texts, recited during that yasna ceremony.
The function of the yasna ceremony is, very roughly described, to strengthen the orderly spiritual and material creations of Ahura Mazda against the assault of the destructive forces of Angra Mainyu. The yasna service, that is, the recitation of the Yasna texts, culminates in the apæ zaothra, the "offering to the waters." The ceremony may also be extended by recitation of the Visperad and Vendidad texts. A normal yasna ceremony, without extensions, takes about two hours when it is recited by an experienced priest.
The Yasna texts constitute 72 chapters altogether, composed at different times and by different authors. The middle chapters include the (linguistically) oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon. These very ancient texts, in the very archaic and linguistically difficult Old Avestan language, include the four most sacred Zoroastrian prayers, and also 17 chapters consisting of the five Gathas, hymns that are considered to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. Several sections of the Yasna include exegetical comments. Yasna chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated with Y.
The Avestan language word yasna literally means 'oblation' or 'worship'. The word is linguistically and functionally related to Vedic Sanskrityajna.
The service
The theological function of the yasna ceremony, and the proper performance of it, is to further asha, that is, the ceremony aims to strengthen that which is right/true (one meaning of asha) in the existence/creation (another meaning of asha) of divine order (yet another meaning of asha). The Encyclopedia Iranica summarizes the aim of the yasna ceremony as "the maintenance of the cosmic integrity of the good creation of Ahura MazdΔ."[2] Zoroastrianism's cosmological/eschatological perception of the purpose of humankind is to strengthen the orderly spiritual and material creations of Mazda against the assault of the destructive forces of Angra Mainyu. In that conflict, theologically speaking, mankind's primary weapon is the yasna ceremony, which is understood to have a direct, immediate effect: "[f]ar from being a symbolic act, the proper performance of the yasna is what prevents the cosmos from falling into chaos."[2] The culminating act of the yasna ceremony is the Ab-Zohr, the "strengthening of the waters".
The Yasna service, that is, the recitation of the Yasna texts, culminates in the Ab-Zohr, the "offering to waters". The Yasna ceremony may be extended by recitation of the Visperad and Vendidad.
A well-trained priest is able to recite the entire Yasna in about two hours.[3] With extensions, it takes about an hour longer. In its normal form, the Yasna ceremony is only to be performed in the morning.
The liturgy
Structure and organization
The texts of the Yasna are organized into 72 chapters, known as hads or has (from Avestan ha'iti, 'cut'). The 72 threads of the Zoroastrian Kusti β the sacred girdle worn around the waist β represent the 72 chapters of the Yasna.
From a literary point of view, the 72 chapters consist of two nested inner cores, and an outer envelope. The outer chapters/sections (the "envelope") are in the Younger Avestan language. The middle 27 chapters include the (linguistically) oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon. The inner chapters/sections (excepting chapters 42.1β4,52.5β8) are in the more archaic Old Avestan language, with the four sacred formulae bracketing the innermost core. This innermost core includes the 17 chapters of the Gathas, the oldest and most sacred texts of the Zoroastrian canon.
Yasna 1β27.12
Yasna 27.13β27.15: three of the four of the most sacred Zoroastrian prayers
Yasna 43β51,53: Gathas 2β5 (chapters 43β46, 47β50, 51 and 53)
Yasna 54.1: fourth of four of the most sacred Zoroastrian prayers
Yasna 54.2β72
From a ritual point of view, the liturgy can be broken into 4 major sections, each having its own internal prelude:
Chapter 1β12: Invitation of the divinities to the worship
Chapter 13β59: The Staota Yesniia
Chapter 60β69: The culmination of the Yasna (the "Ab-Zohr"), accompanied by intense ritual activity.
Chapter 70β72: Conclusion and thanks to the divinities for attending
Some sections of the Yasna occur more than once. For instance, Yasna 5 is repeated as Yasna 37, and Yasna 63 consists of passages from Yasna 15.2, 66.2 and 38.3. The ability to recite the Yasna from memory is one of the prerequisites for Zoroastrian priesthood.
"Yasna" also means white rose in arabic.
Content summaries
Yasna 1 opens with the praise of Ahura Mazda, enumerating his divine titles as the Creator, "radiant, glorious, the greatest, the best, the most beautiful, the most firm, the most wise, of the most perfect form, the highest in righteousness, possessed of great joy, creator, fashioner, nourisher, and the Most Holy Spirit." (Dhalla, 1936:155). Yasna 1 then enumerates the divinities, inviting them to the service.
Yasna 2, the Barsom Yasht, presents libation and the barsom (a bundle of 23 twigs bound together, symbolizing sanctity) to the invited divinities. Yasna 2β4 complement Yasna 1. Most verses in Yasna 2β3 begin with the formula ayese yeshti ..., "by means of this sacrifice, I call β¦", followed by the name of the divinity being invoked.
Yasna 3β8 known collectively as the Sarosh dron, presents other offerings (zaothra). Yasna 3 draws the attention of the divinities invoked in Yasna 1, and in Yasna 4, the offerings are consecrated to the divinities. Yasna 5 is repeated in Yasna 37. Yasna 6 is almost identical to the first 10 verses of Yasna 17.
Yasna 9β11 is the Hom Yasht, a collection of accolades to the Haoma plant and its divinity.
Yasna 12 constitutes the Fravarane, the Zoroastrian creed and declaration of faith. It is in "Artificial" Gathic Avestan, that is, it is stylistically and linguistically aligned with the language of the Gathas, but imperfectly. The last strophe of verse 7 as well as all of verses 8 and 9 are incorporated into the Kusti ritual.
Yasna 13β18 are comparable to Yasna 1β8 in that they too are a collection of invocations to the divinities. Chapters 14β18 serve as an introduction to the Staota Yesniia of Yasna 19β59. The first 10 verses of Yasna 17, "to the fires, waters, plants", is almost identical to Yasna 6.
Yasna 19β21, the Bhagan Yasht, are commentaries on the three 'high prayers' of Yasna 28β53.
Yasna 22β26 is another set of invocations to the divinities.
Yasna 27 has the prayers referred to by Yasna 19β21. These are:
The Ahuna Vairya invocation (also known as the Yatha Ahu Vairyo), the most sacred of all Zoroastrian prayers.
Yasna 28β53 include the (linguistically) oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon. 17 of the 26 chapters make up the Gathas, the most sacred hymns of Zoroastrianism and thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. The Gathas are in verse. These are structurally interrupted by a) the Yasna Haptanghaiti ("seven-chapter Yasna", #35β41), which is as old as the Gathas but in prose, b) two short chapters (#42 and #52) that are not as old as the Gathas and Yasna Haptanghaiti.
Yasna 54 has the text of the a airiiema ishiio, a prayer referred to in Yasna 27.
Yasna 55 is a praise to the Gathas and the Staota Yesniia.
Yasna 56 is again an invocation to the divinities, appealing for their attention.
Yasna 57 is the Sarosh Yasht, the hymn to the divinity of religious discipline. It is closely related to, and appears to have sections borrowed from Yasht 10, the hymn to Mithra.
Yasna 58 is again a "hidden" Yasht, here to the genius of prayer (cf.Dahman).
Yasna 59 is a repetition of the sections from Yasna 17 and 26.
Yasna 60 is blessing upon the house of the ashavan ('just' or 'true' man). Yasna 60.2β7 constitute the Dahma Afriti invocation, also known as the Afrinagan Dahman.
Yasna 61 praises the anti-demonic powers imbued in the Afrinagan Dahman, Yenghe hatam and the three principal prayers of Yasna 27.
Yasna 62 constitutes the Ataksh Nyashes, prayers to fire and its divinity.
Yasna 63β69 constitute the prayers that accompany the Ab-Zohr, "offering to water".
Yasna 70β72 are again a set of invocations to the divinities.
Editions
Translations of the Yasna liturgy now in the public domain:
Mills, Lawrence Heyworth (1887), Avesta: Yasna, Sacred Books of the East, vol.Β 31, Oxford University Press. at avesta.org (organized by chapter).
Mills, American Edition, 1898, with select passages adopted from Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji (1908), The Nyaishes Or Zoroastrian Litanies, Columbia University Press. at sacred-texts.com (plain text).
Boyce, Mary (1975), History of Zoroastrianism, vol.Β I, Leiden: Brill, ISBNΒ 90-04-10474-7.
Boyce, Mary (1983), "Δb-ZΕhr", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol.Β 1, Costa Mesa: Mazda Pub.
Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji (1938). History of ZoroastrianismΒ . Oxford University Press β via Wikisource.
Drower, Elizabeth Stephens (1944), "The Role of Fire in Parsi Ritual", Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 74 (1/2): 75β89, doi:10.2307/2844296, JSTORΒ 2844296
Kellens, Jean (1989), "Avesta", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol.Β 3, Costa Mesa: Mazda Pub, pp.Β 35β44.
Kotwal, Firoze M.; Boyd, James W. (1991), The Yasna: A Zoroastrian High Liturgy, Cahiers de Studia Iranica, vol.Β 8, Leuven: Peeters.
Malandra, William (2006), "Yasna", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol.Β online edition, New York: iranicaonline.org.
Β Β Wikisource has original text related to this article: Avesta/Yasna
January 09, 2023
yasna, avestan, π¬«π¬π¬―π¬₯π¬, avestan, name, zoroastrianism, principal, worship, also, name, primary, liturgical, collection, avesta, texts, recited, during, that, yasna, ceremony, contents, overview, service, liturgy, structure, organization, content, summaries, edi. Yasna Λ j Κ s n e 1 Avestan π¬«π¬π¬―π¬₯π¬ is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism s principal act of worship It is also the name of the primary liturgical collection of Avesta texts recited during that yasna ceremony Contents 1 Overview 2 The service 3 The liturgy 3 1 Structure and organization 3 2 Content summaries 4 Editions 5 References 5 1 Citations 5 2 Bibliography 6 External linksOverview EditThe function of the yasna ceremony is very roughly described to strengthen the orderly spiritual and material creations of Ahura Mazda against the assault of the destructive forces of Angra Mainyu The yasna service that is the recitation of the Yasna texts culminates in the apae zaothra the offering to the waters The ceremony may also be extended by recitation of the Visperad and Vendidad texts A normal yasna ceremony without extensions takes about two hours when it is recited by an experienced priest The Yasna texts constitute 72 chapters altogether composed at different times and by different authors The middle chapters include the linguistically oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon These very ancient texts in the very archaic and linguistically difficult Old Avestan language include the four most sacred Zoroastrian prayers and also 17 chapters consisting of the five Gathas hymns that are considered to have been composed by Zoroaster himself Several sections of the Yasna include exegetical comments Yasna chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated with Y The Avestan language word yasna literally means oblation or worship The word is linguistically and functionally related to Vedic Sanskrit yajna The service EditThe theological function of the yasna ceremony and the proper performance of it is to further asha that is the ceremony aims to strengthen that which is right true one meaning of asha in the existence creation another meaning of asha of divine order yet another meaning of asha The Encyclopedia Iranica summarizes the aim of the yasna ceremony as the maintenance of the cosmic integrity of the good creation of Ahura Mazda 2 Zoroastrianism s cosmological eschatological perception of the purpose of humankind is to strengthen the orderly spiritual and material creations of Mazda against the assault of the destructive forces of Angra Mainyu In that conflict theologically speaking mankind s primary weapon is the yasna ceremony which is understood to have a direct immediate effect f ar from being a symbolic act the proper performance of the yasna is what prevents the cosmos from falling into chaos 2 The culminating act of the yasna ceremony is the Ab Zohr the strengthening of the waters The Yasna service that is the recitation of the Yasna texts culminates in the Ab Zohr the offering to waters The Yasna ceremony may be extended by recitation of the Visperad and Vendidad A well trained priest is able to recite the entire Yasna in about two hours 3 With extensions it takes about an hour longer In its normal form the Yasna ceremony is only to be performed in the morning The liturgy EditStructure and organization Edit The texts of the Yasna are organized into 72 chapters known as hads or has from Avestan ha iti cut The 72 threads of the Zoroastrian Kusti the sacred girdle worn around the waist represent the 72 chapters of the Yasna From a literary point of view the 72 chapters consist of two nested inner cores and an outer envelope The outer chapters sections the envelope are in the Younger Avestan language The middle 27 chapters include the linguistically oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon The inner chapters sections excepting chapters 42 1 4 52 5 8 are in the more archaic Old Avestan language with the four sacred formulae bracketing the innermost core This innermost core includes the 17 chapters of the Gathas the oldest and most sacred texts of the Zoroastrian canon Yasna 1 27 12Yasna 27 13 27 15 three of the four of the most sacred Zoroastrian prayersYasna 28 34 Gatha 1Yasna 35 41 the seven chapter Yasna dd Yasna 43 51 53 Gathas 2 5 chapters 43 46 47 50 51 and 53 dd Yasna 54 1 fourth of four of the most sacred Zoroastrian prayers dd Yasna 54 2 72From a ritual point of view the liturgy can be broken into 4 major sections each having its own internal prelude Chapter 1 12 Invitation of the divinities to the worship Chapter 13 59 The Staota Yesniia Chapter 60 69 The culmination of the Yasna the Ab Zohr accompanied by intense ritual activity Chapter 70 72 Conclusion and thanks to the divinities for attending dd Some sections of the Yasna occur more than once For instance Yasna 5 is repeated as Yasna 37 and Yasna 63 consists of passages from Yasna 15 2 66 2 and 38 3 The ability to recite the Yasna from memory is one of the prerequisites for Zoroastrian priesthood Yasna also means white rose in arabic Content summaries Edit Yasna 1 opens with the praise of Ahura Mazda enumerating his divine titles as the Creator radiant glorious the greatest the best the most beautiful the most firm the most wise of the most perfect form the highest in righteousness possessed of great joy creator fashioner nourisher and the Most Holy Spirit Dhalla 1936 155 Yasna 1 then enumerates the divinities inviting them to the service Yasna 2 the Barsom Yasht presents libation and the barsom a bundle of 23 twigs bound together symbolizing sanctity to the invited divinities Yasna 2 4 complement Yasna 1 Most verses in Yasna 2 3 begin with the formula ayese yeshti by means of this sacrifice I call followed by the name of the divinity being invoked Yasna 3 8 known collectively as the Sarosh dron presents other offerings zaothra Yasna 3 draws the attention of the divinities invoked in Yasna 1 and in Yasna 4 the offerings are consecrated to the divinities Yasna 5 is repeated in Yasna 37 Yasna 6 is almost identical to the first 10 verses of Yasna 17 Yasna 9 11 is the Hom Yasht a collection of accolades to the Haoma plant and its divinity Yasna 12 constitutes the Fravarane the Zoroastrian creed and declaration of faith It is in Artificial Gathic Avestan that is it is stylistically and linguistically aligned with the language of the Gathas but imperfectly The last strophe of verse 7 as well as all of verses 8 and 9 are incorporated into the Kusti ritual Yasna 13 18 are comparable to Yasna 1 8 in that they too are a collection of invocations to the divinities Chapters 14 18 serve as an introduction to the Staota Yesniia of Yasna 19 59 The first 10 verses of Yasna 17 to the fires waters plants is almost identical to Yasna 6 Yasna 19 21 the Bhagan Yasht are commentaries on the three high prayers of Yasna 28 53 Yasna 22 26 is another set of invocations to the divinities Yasna 27 has the prayers referred to by Yasna 19 21 These are The Ahuna Vairya invocation also known as the Yatha Ahu Vairyo the most sacred of all Zoroastrian prayers The Ashem Vohu The Yenghe hatam Yasna 28 1 Ahunavaiti Gatha Bodleian MS J2 Yasna 28 53 include the linguistically oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon 17 of the 26 chapters make up the Gathas the most sacred hymns of Zoroastrianism and thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself The Gathas are in verse These are structurally interrupted by a the Yasna Haptanghaiti seven chapter Yasna 35 41 which is as old as the Gathas but in prose b two short chapters 42 and 52 that are not as old as the Gathas and Yasna Haptanghaiti Yasna 28 34 Ahunavaiti Gatha Yasna 35 41 Yasna Haptanghaiti the seven chapter Yasna also in Gathic Avestan but in prose Yasna 42 a 4 verse chapter invoking the elements Yasna 43 46 Ushtavait Gatha Yasna 47 50 Spenta Mainyu Gatha Yasna 51 Vohu Khshathra Gatha Yasna 52 an 8 verse hymn to Ashi Verses 52 5 52 8 in Younger Avestan are a duplicate of Yasna 8 5 8 8 Yasna 53 Vahishto Ishti Gatha Yasna 54 has the text of the a airiiema ishiio a prayer referred to in Yasna 27 Yasna 55 is a praise to the Gathas and the Staota Yesniia Yasna 56 is again an invocation to the divinities appealing for their attention Yasna 57 is the Sarosh Yasht the hymn to the divinity of religious discipline It is closely related to and appears to have sections borrowed from Yasht 10 the hymn to Mithra Yasna 58 is again a hidden Yasht here to the genius of prayer cf Dahman Yasna 59 is a repetition of the sections from Yasna 17 and 26 Yasna 60 is blessing upon the house of the ashavan just or true man Yasna 60 2 7 constitute the Dahma Afriti invocation also known as the Afrinagan Dahman Yasna 61 praises the anti demonic powers imbued in the Afrinagan Dahman Yenghe hatam and the three principal prayers of Yasna 27 Yasna 62 constitutes the Ataksh Nyashes prayers to fire and its divinity Yasna 63 69 constitute the prayers that accompany the Ab Zohr offering to water Yasna 70 72 are again a set of invocations to the divinities Editions EditTranslations of the Yasna liturgy now in the public domain Mills Lawrence Heyworth 1887 Avesta Yasna Sacred Books of the East vol 31 Oxford University Press at avesta org organized by chapter Mills American Edition 1898 with select passages adopted from Dhalla Maneckji Nusservanji 1908 The Nyaishes Or Zoroastrian Litanies Columbia University Press at sacred texts com plain text References EditCitations Edit Yasna Random House Webster s Unabridged Dictionary a b Malandra 2006 Stausberg 2004 pp 337 n131 Bibliography Edit Boyce Mary 1975 History of Zoroastrianism vol I Leiden Brill ISBN 90 04 10474 7 Boyce Mary 1983 Ab ZΕhr Encyclopaedia Iranica vol 1 Costa Mesa Mazda Pub Dhalla Maneckji Nusservanji 1938 History of Zoroastrianism Oxford University Press via Wikisource Drower Elizabeth Stephens 1944 The Role of Fire in Parsi Ritual Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 74 1 2 75 89 doi 10 2307 2844296 JSTOR 2844296 Kellens Jean 1989 Avesta Encyclopaedia Iranica vol 3 Costa Mesa Mazda Pub pp 35 44 Kotwal Firoze M Boyd James W 1991 The Yasna A Zoroastrian High Liturgy Cahiers de Studia Iranica vol 8 Leuven Peeters Malandra William 2006 Yasna Encyclopaedia Iranica vol online edition New York iranicaonline org Stausberg Michael 2004 Die Religion Zarathushtras Band 3 Stuttgart Kohlhammer Verlag ISBN 3 17 017120 8 External links Edit Wikisource has original text related to this article Avesta Yasna Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Yasna amp oldid 1093170026, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
