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Liber XXXVI · Zoroastrianism

Liber XXXVI · Zoroastrianism · Chapter VII: Zarathustra & the Gathas

Ahuna Vairya and Ashem Vohu: The Holiest Zoroastrian Prayers

The Ahuna Vairya (Yatha Ahu Vairyo) and Ashem Vohu explained: the oldest Zoroastrian prayers, their meaning, place in the Yasna and use in daily devotion.

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The Ahuna Vairya, known from its opening words as the Yatha Ahu Vairyo, and the Ashem Vohu are the two most sacred prayers of Zoroastrianism: short formulas in the ancient Gathic Avestan language, recited daily by every Zoroastrian and woven through every ritual. Tradition holds that Ahura Mazda spoke the Ahuna Vairya before the creation of the world, and the Ashem Vohu praises asha, truth and right order, the central value of the faith. With the Yenghe Hatam and the Airyema Ishyo they form the core of the oldest Zoroastrian prayer tradition.

The Sacred Prayers of the Old Avestan Canon§

The oldest part of the Avesta, written in Old or Gathic Avestan, includes the five Gathas attributed to Zarathustra, the Yasna Haptanghaiti ("Worship in Seven Chapters") and four short prayers. Three of these — the Ahuna Vairya, the Ashem Vohu and the Yenghe Hatam — appear together in chapter 27 of the Yasna, the main Zoroastrian liturgy; the fourth, the Airyema Ishyo, forms Yasna 54 and closes the sequence of Gathic texts. In the Yasna ceremony the Ahuna Vairya frames the Gathas, being recited before them and serving as a kind of seal on the whole sacred corpus.

Scholars debate whether Zarathustra composed these prayers himself. They share the language and style of the Gathas, and the Ahuna Vairya in particular uses key Gathic terms, but they may be the work of his early followers. Within the tradition they are treated as the heart of the revelation. Their language and setting are introduced in Zarathustra and the Gathas and the Avesta.

The Ahuna Vairya (Yatha Ahu Vairyo)§

Words and meaning§

The Ahuna Vairya consists of three lines totalling twenty-one words. It is famously difficult to translate, because its grammar is compressed and its key words can be read in several ways, and every modern translation is an interpretation. In broad terms it states that, just as a worldly lord (ahu) is to be chosen, so a spiritual judge or guide (ratu) is to be chosen in accordance with truth (asha); that the reward of good thought belongs to the actions of life done for Mazda; and that power is given to Ahura, whom people have made shepherd or protector of the poor. Some scholars read it as an affirmation of the authority of Ahura Mazda and of Zarathustra as spiritual guide; others emphasise the human choice and moral action it describes.

The Young Avestan commentary on the prayer, Yasna 19 (part of the Bagan Yasht), presents it as the word that Ahura Mazda spoke before the sky, the waters, the earth, plants, animals and humans were made, and explains each of its parts. Pahlavi tradition says that the twenty-one nasks, or volumes, of the great Sasanian Avesta corresponded to the twenty-one words of this prayer, one book for each word.

The prayer as a weapon against evil§

The Bundahishn tells that when Ahriman first approached the creation, Ohrmazd recited the Ahuna Vairya and Ahriman fell back stunned for three thousand years, unable to act (see the Bundahishn and Pahlavi literature). In the Videvdad, Zarathustra repels the demons sent against him with the same prayer, described as a stone the size of a house. For this reason it is recited to ward off evil, at moments of danger or impurity, and in times of illness.

The prayer also serves as a unit of devotion. When a person cannot recite a longer prayer or ritual, tradition permits the substitution of a fixed number of Ahuna Vairyas. Collections of Zoroastrian prayers specify, for example, how many recitations are to be offered to a particular divinity or for a particular purpose.

The Ashem Vohu: Praise of Asha§

The Ashem Vohu is shorter, with twelve words. Its subject is asha, the principle of truth, righteousness and cosmic order that Zoroastrians see as the will of Ahura Mazda. An approximate paraphrase is that truth is the best good, that it is happiness, and that happiness belongs to the one who is truthful for the sake of the best truth. Its repetitions of asha and ushta ("happiness", "fulfilment of wish") give it a rhythmic, chant-like quality.

The Avestan Hadokht Nask discusses the value of the Ashem Vohu in a series of comparisons, saying that a single recitation at certain moments — above all at the moment of death, with full understanding — outweighs a great quantity of recitations at other times. The prayer opens and closes most Zoroastrian devotions, and it is often the first prayer taught to children. Its focus on truth links it to the ethical core of the faith described in Ahura Mazda and cosmic dualism.

The Yenghe Hatam and the Airyema Ishyo§

The Yenghe Hatam is a prayer of veneration that honours those beings, male and female, whose worship Ahura Mazda knows to be best in accordance with truth. It appears to be modelled on a verse of the Gathas (Yasna 51.22) and is used to conclude many Avestan texts, extending reverence to all the worshipful beings of the good creation.

The Airyema Ishyo invokes Airyaman, the divinity of fellowship and healing, asking him to come to the support of the community and to bring the reward of truth. In the Videvdad, Airyaman is summoned to drive out disease, and the prayer is traditionally associated with healing. Because Airyaman is the god of friendship and alliance, the prayer also has a traditional association with marriage, expressing the hope for the union of the community and of the couple. Zoroastrian belief places great weight on the coming of Airyaman at the end of time, and some texts link the prayer with the final renovation of the world.

The Prayers in Daily Zoroastrian Life§

The kusti ritual and the five watches§

Every initiated Zoroastrian, from the age of the navjote initiation (usually between seven and fifteen), wears the sacred shirt (sudreh) and cord (kusti) and unties and reties the kusti several times a day with prayers. The kusti prayers begin and end with the Ahuna Vairya and the Ashem Vohu, and include short texts in Avestan and Middle Persian rejecting Ahriman and affirming faith in Ohrmazd. Prayers are said in five watches of the day, the gahs: Hawan (dawn to noon), Rapithwin (midday), Uzerin (afternoon), Aiwisruthrem (evening to midnight) and Ushahin (midnight to dawn). For the fire temples where these prayers are said, see Zoroastrian fire temples and ritual.

Manthra: the power of the holy word§

Zoroastrians traditionally pray in Avestan, even though few understand the language. This reflects the doctrine of manthra spenta, the "holy word" — the conviction that the sacred formulas are powerful in their sounds, correctly pronounced, and not only in their meaning. Priests are trained to recite them with great precision (see the Zoroastrian priesthood). The idea has close parallels in the Vedic concept of mantra, which shares the same Indo-Iranian root, described in the Vedas and Upanishads.

Translation and modern debate§

Since the nineteenth century, reform-minded Zoroastrians influenced by Western scholarship and by Protestant models of prayer have urged that believers understand what they recite, and many prayer books now include translations in Gujarati, Persian or English. Traditionalists accept translation as an aid but hold that the Avestan sounds must be preserved. Both sides agree on the central place of the Ahuna Vairya and the Ashem Vohu, which remain the first and last words of Zoroastrian devotion.

Frequently asked questions§

What is the most important Zoroastrian prayer?§

The Ahuna Vairya, also called the Yatha Ahu Vairyo after its opening words, is regarded as the holiest. Tradition says Ahura Mazda recited it before creation and that it repelled Ahriman. It has twenty-one words in Gathic Avestan and appears in Yasna 27.

What does Ashem Vohu mean?§

The words mean roughly "truth (is) the good". The prayer praises asha — truth, righteousness and cosmic order — as the best good and as happiness for the one who is truthful. It is recited at the beginning and end of most Zoroastrian prayers.

Do Zoroastrians pray in Avestan?§

Traditionally yes. The holy word (manthra) is believed to be effective in its sounds, so prayers are recited in the original Avestan. Many prayer books add translations, and reformers encourage understanding of the meaning.

Sources and further reading§