The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Gathic Avestan manthras, and one of the most important prayers in

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

. It is assumed to be a call toward the community or its hypostasis '' Airyaman''.

Name

The prayer is named after its opening words, ''ā airyə̄mā išyō''. In present-day Zoroastrian usage, the ''airyama'' of these opening words are considered to be an invocation of the divinity '' Airyaman'', the ''

yazata Yazata () is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and is thus, in this more general ...

'' of healing. The opening words may however have originally been an appeal to "the community" (or "tribe"), which would reflect the

etymologically Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

derived meaning of ''airyaman.''

In relation to the other manthras

Like the other three manthras (''

Ahuna Vairya Ahuna Vairya (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬥𐬀⸱𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀) is the first of Zoroastrianism's four Gathic Avestan formulas. The text, which appears in ''Yasna'' 27.13, is also known after its opening words yatha ahu vairyo. In Zoro ...

'', '' Ashem vohu'', ''

Yenghe hatam The Yenghe hatam (Avestan: 𐬫𐬈𐬣𐬵𐬉⸱𐬵𐬁𐬙𐬅𐬨) is one of the four major Mantra (Zoroastrianism), manthras, and one of the most important Zoroastrian prayer, prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is interpreted as a call to pray spe ...

''), the ''airyaman ishya'' is in Gathic Avestan. While the first three manthras are placed at ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

Gathas The Gathas () are 17 hymns in the Avestan language from the Zoroastrian oral tradition of the Avesta. The oldest surviving text fragment dates from 1323 CE, but they are believed by scholars to have been composed before 1000 BCE and passed dow ...

, the ''airyaman ishya'' - at ''Yasna'' 54.1 - provides the closure. Also unlike the first three, the

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

of the ''airyaman ishya'' is not embedded in the ''Yasna''

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

itself. Like the ''yenghe hatam'', the third of the four manthras, the ''airyaman ishya'' is a prayer. Both it and the ''yenghe hatam'' are without the enigmatic "pronounced magical character" of the first two formulas.

In other scripture

In ''

Yasht A Yasht (, ) is a hymn of praise composed in the Young Avestan language and dedicated to specific Zoroastrian divinities. The term commonly applies to the collection of 21 Yashts, although it may also refer to other texts within the wider Avest ...

'' 3.8, 11 and 15, the ''airyaman ishya'' is described as the weapon with which to put the ''

daeva A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are " gods that are (to be) rejected". T ...

'' Taromaiti ("heresy") to flight. Like the ''ahuna vairya'' invocation (the first of the four great manthras), the ''airyaman ishya'' is "the most excellent, the most mighty, the most efficacious, the most smiting, the most victorious, the most healing, the greatest" of the manthras. (''Yasht'' 1.1-1.3, 3.5-3.6 and 11.3) Also like the ''ahuna vairya'', the ''airyaman ishya'' has the power to elicit good thoughts, words and deeds, and so further ''

asha ''Asha'' () or ''arta'' (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right wor ...

'' and weaken the ''druj''. (''

Visperad Visperad or Visprad or Vispered is either a particular Zoroastrian religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium of texts. Overview The Visperad ceremony "consists of the rituals of the Yasna, vi ...

'' 24.0-2). Since its incantation was considered the most effective form of healing (''Yasht'' 3.6), the ''airyaman ishya'' was accorded special status in the religion. ''

Vendidad The Vendidad /ˈvendi'dæd/, also known as Videvdat, Videvdad or Juddēvdād, is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the ''Vendidad'' is an ecclesiastical code, not a ...

'' 20.12 notes its efficacy against "all sickness and death, all sorcerers and witches, all seducers belonging to the Lie." The ''Yasna'' verse immediately following the prayer considers the ''airyaman ishya'' "the greatest uttering of ''asha''." (''Yasna'' 54.2)

In Zoroastrian tradition

In the

Middle Persian literature Middle Persian literature is the corpus of written works composed in Middle Persian, that is, the Middle Iranian dialect of Persis, Persia proper, the region in the south-western corner of the Iranian plateau. Middle Persian was the prestige diale ...

of the 9th-12th century, the ''airyaman ishya'' is described to be the prayer that will be recited by the '' saoshyans'' to bring about the final renovation of the world. This eschatological role is already alluded to in Avestan texts, and the concepts of ''

'' ("Truth"), ''

ashi Ashi (Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬌 ''aṣ̌i/arti'') is the Avestan language word for the Zoroastrian concept of "that which is attained." As the hypostasis of "reward," "recompense," or "capricious luck," ''Ashi'' is also a divinity in the Zoroastria ...

'' ("Reward"/"Recompense") and '' airyaman'' (see translation below, the three words are also etymologically related) all have an

eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negative world ...

aspect. Besides being recited (four times) during the ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

Zoroastrian marriage ceremony.

Structure and content

Transliteration based on the edition of Karl F. Geldner, Avesta, the Sacred Books of the Parsis,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

: Like all Gathic Avestan verses, the prayer is altogether ambiguous and translations vary significantly.

Translation

A translation by Dr. Irach J. S. Taraporewala below. :May the much desired Brotherhood come hither for our rejoicing, :For the men and for the maidens of Zarathushtra, :for the fulfilment of Vohu Mano (good mind); :Whosoever Inner-self earns the precious reward. :I will pray to Asha (righteousness) for the blessing, :Which greatly to be desired, Ahura Mazda hath meant for us. A liturgically inclined translation by Vazquez reads: :May Airyaman bring aid to all people of Zarathushtra, :And uphold the enlightened spiritual teachings, :Which deserve enviable praise. :I plead for the empowerment, :Which Ashi provides through Asha, :As Ahura Mazda has ordained.

References

Bibliography

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