Source: http://avesta.org/ka/yt14sbe.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 06:27:04+00:00

Document:
Edited by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995. Spelling has been changed to conform with other texts in this series.
Regarding Wargaran [Behram, Verethraghna], the Genius of Victory, see Vend. Introd. V, 8.
I (§§ 1-28). An enumeration of the ten incarnations in whivh Verethraghna appeared to Zarathushtra (as a wind, § 2; as a bull, § 7; as a horse, § 9; as a camel, § 11; as a boar, § 15; as a youth, § 17; as a raven, § 19; as a ram, § 23; as a buck, § 25; and as a man, § 27).
II (§§ 30-33). The power given by Verethraghna to his worshipper, Zarathushtra.
III (§§ 34-46). The magical powers, ascribed to the raven's feather, of striking terror into an army and dispersing it (the raven being the seventh incarnation of Verethraghna).
IV (§§ 47-64). The glorification of Verethraghna.
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness.... 1. Sirozah 1.20.
1. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
2. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him first, running in the shape of a strong, beautiful wind, made by Mazda; he bore the good Glory, made by Mazda, the Glory made by Mazda, that is both health and strength.
3. Then he, who is the strongest,2 said unto him:3 'I am the strongest in strength; I am the most victorious in victory; I am the most glorious in glory; I am the most favouring in favour; I am the best giver of welfare: I am the best-healing in health-giving. 2. Verethraghna.
4. 'And I shall destroy the malice of all the malicious, the malice of Daevas and men, of the 'Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf.
5. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard; namely, unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura. We worship Verethraghna, made by Ahura, with an offering of libations, according to the primitive ordinances of Ahura; with the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.
7. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the second time, running in the shape of a beautiful bull, with yellow ears and golden horns; upon whose horns floated the well-shapen Strength, and Victory, beautiful of form, made by Ahura: thus did he come, bearing the good Glory, made by Mazda, the Glory made by Mazda, that is both health and strength.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard....6 4. As above, § 3.
5. As above, § 4.
6. As above, § 5.
8. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
9. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the third time, running in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with yellow ears and a golden caparison; upon whose forehead floated the well-shapen Strength, and Victory, beautiful of form, made by Ahura: thus did he come, bearing the good Glory, made by Mazda, that is both health and strength.
10. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
9. ? Urvatô; cf. § 19.
14. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda, the Glory made by Mazda.
14. Or better, rushing before. Cf. Yt10.127.
16. We sacrifice unto Verethragna, made by Ahura.
17. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the sixth time, running in the shape of a beautiful youth of fifteen, shining, clear-eyed, thin-heeled.
18. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
19. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the seventh time, running in the shape of a raven that ...15 below and ...15 above, and that is the swiftest of all birds, the lightest of the flying creatures.
21. He grazes the hidden ways17 of the mountains, he grazes the tops of the mountains, he grazes the depths of the vales, he grazes the summits18 of the trees, listening to the voices of the birds.
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,19 the Glory made by Mazda. 15. ? Urvatô, pishatô.
16. The raven was sacred to Appollo. The priests of the sun in Persia are said to have been named ravens (Porphyry). Cf. Georgica I, 45.
19. The royal Glory (khwarrah, Av. khwarenah) is described flying in the shape of a raven, Yt19.35.
22. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world. thou Holy One!
Thus did Verethraghna come, bearing the good Glory made by Mazda,21 the Glory made by Mazda.... 20. Doubtful.
24. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
25. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the ninth time, running in the shape of a beautiful, fighting buck, with sharp horns.
26. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
27. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, came to him the tenth time, running in the shape of a man, bright and beautiful, made by Mazda: he held a sword with a golden blade, inlaid with all sorts of ornaments.
28. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura, who makes virility, who makes death, who makes resurrection, who possesses peace, who has a free way.
Unto him did the holy Zarathushtra offer up a sacrifice, [asking] for victorious thinking, victorious speaking, victorious doing, victorious addressing, and victorious answering.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 22. Erezi, Pahl. gond (Old Zand-Pahlavi Dictionary, p. 11).
25. Cf. Yt. 16.7 and Bundashishn 18.6: 'those fish ... know the scratch of a needle's point (or better hole) by which the water shall increase, or by which it is diminished' (tr. West).
30. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura, who makes virility, who makes death, who makes resurrection, who possesses peace, who has a free way.
31. Verethraghna, made by Ahura, gave him the fountains of manliness, the strength of the arms, the health of the whole body, the sturdiness of the whole body, and the eye-sight of the male horse, that, in the dark of the night, in its first half26 and through the rain, can perceive a horse's hair lying on the ground and knows whether it is from the head or from the tail.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 26. Cf. Yt. 15.10, and Bundahishn 19.32: 'Regarding the Arab horse, they say that if, in a dark night, a single hair occurs on the groound, he sees it' (tr. West).
32. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura, who makes virility, who makes death, who makes resurrection, who possesses peace, who has a free way.
Unto him did the holy Zarathushtra sacrifice, [asking] for victorious thinking, victorious speaking, victorious doing, victorious addressing, and victorious answering.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 27. Possibly the Gypaetus, the vautour doré.
28. 'Even from his highest flight, he (the vulture) sees when flesh the size of a fist is on the ground' (Bund. 19.31; tr. West). Cf. Horapollo.
34. We sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
35. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Take thou a feather of that bird with ...29 feathers, the Varenjana, O Spitama Zarathushtra! With that feather thou shalt rub thy own body,30 with that feather thou shalt curse back thy enemies.
36. 'If a man holds a bone of that strong bird, or a feather of that strong bird, no one can smite or turn to flight that fortunate man. The feather of that bird of birds brings him help; it brings unto him the homage of men, it maintains in him his glory.
37. 'Then the sovereign, the lord of countries, will no longer kill his30 hundreds, though he is a killer of men; the ....31 will not kill at one stroke; he alone smites and goes forwards.
38. 'All tremble before him who holds the feather, they tremble therefore before me; all my enemies tremble before me and fear my strength and victorious force and the fierceness established in my body.
39. 'He32 carries the chariot of the lords; he carries the chariots of the lordly ones, the chariots of the sovereigns. He carried the chariot of Kavi Usa;33 upon his wings runs the male horse,34 runs the burden-bearing camel, runs the water of the river.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 29. Pesho-parena. The Varenjana is the same bird as the Varaghna, the raven.
30. The feather of the Varenjana plays here the same part as the Simurgh's feather in the <>Shah Nameh. When Rudabah's flank was opened to bring forth Rustam, her would was healed by rubbing it with a Simurgh's feather; Rustam, wounded to death by Isfendyar, was cured in the same manner.
31. Of him who holds that feather.
34. Kai Kaus; when he tried to ascend to heaven on a throne carried by eagles (Journal Asiatique, 1881, I, 513).
35. A metaphor to exppress the swiftness of the wind, of the camel, and of the rivers.
41. 'We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
'Verethraghna confounds the glory of this house with its wealth in cattle. He is like that great bird, the Saena;36 he is like the big clouds, full of water, that beat the mountains.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 36. The Simurgh; see above, note 30.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world thou Holy One!
44. 'Do thou throw37 four feathers38 in the way. Whichever of the two will first worship the well-shapen Strength, and Verethraghna, beautiful of form. made by Mazda, on his side will victory stand.
38. Or an arrow feathered with four Varenjana's feathers.
40. Âmarezen, cf. Pers. âmarzidan; vîmarezen, cf. Yt. 1.2; fra marezen, cf. Pers. farmush.
48.44 Ahura Mazda said: 'If men sacrifice unto Verethraghna, made by Ahura, if the due sacrifice and prayer is offered unto him just as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness, never will a hostile horde enter the Aryan countries, nor any plague, nor leprosy, nor venomous plants, nor the chariot of a foe, nor the uplifted spear of a foe.
50. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him; let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white, or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same colour.
51. 'Let not a murderer take of those offerings, nor a whore, nor a ...., who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra.
52. 'If a murderer take of those offerings, or a whore, or a ...., who does not sing the Gathas, then Verethraghna, made by Ahura, takes back his healing virtues.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 42. Against truth.
43. Cf. Yt. 10.108 seq.
44. § 48; cf. Yt. 8.56.
45. §§ 49-53 = Yt. 8.57-61.
46. Goshorun or Drvaspa; see Yt. 9. The destruction of any living being is an injury to Drvaspa.
48. The Haperesi and the Nemetka are probably some species of green wood; it is forbidden to put green wood in the fire as it kills it, and injures the Genius of Water at the same time.
49. In order to strike.
50. The general meaning of the last four clauses is that the impious are defeated.
57. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
58. That I may smite this army, that I may smite down this army, that I may cut in pieces this army that is coming behind me.
51. ? Sâiri-baoghem; cf. § 46.
52. Nivazaiti; literally, swallow (? frôt ô bun burtan, Vd. 5.8 ).
59. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
60. That I may be as constantly victorious as any one of all the Aryans;55 that I may smite this army, that I may smite down this army, that I may cut in pieces this army that is coming behind me.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 53. Cf. Yt. 5.85.
61. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
In the ox is our strength, in the ox is our need;56 in the ox is our speech, in the ox is our victory; in the ox is our food, in the ox is our clothing; in the ox is tillage, that makes food grow for us.
For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard.... 56. From Y. 10.20 (62), where, instead of the words, 'in the ox is our strength (amem), in the ox is our need,' the text has, 'in the ox is his need, in the ox is our need,' meaning, 'when we give him his need (water and grass), he gives us our need (milk and calves),' (Pahl. tr.).
Who breaks the columns asunder, who cuts the columns to pieces, who wounds the columns, who makes the columns shake; who comes and breaks the columns asunder, who comes and cuts the columns to pieces, who comes and wounds the columns, who comes and makes the columns shake, both of Daevas and men, of the Yatus and Pairikas, of the oppressors, the blind, and the deaf.
63. We sacrifice to Verethraghna, made by Ahura.
When Verethraghna, made by Ahura, binds the hands, confounds the eye-sight, takes the hearing from the ears of the Mithradrujes57 marching in columns, allied by cities, they can no longer move their feet, they can no longer-withstand.
I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of Verethraghna, made by Mazda; and of the crushing Ascendant.
[Give] unto that man58 brightness and glory, .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones. 57. See p. 120, note 2.
58. Who shall offer a sacrifice to Verethraghna.

References: § 2
 § 7
 § 9
 § 11
 § 15
 § 17
 § 19
 § 23
 § 25
 § 27
 § 3
 § 4
 § 5
 § 19
 § 48
 § 46