Ye seekers after truth, my words pray hear,
They will instructive prove to one and all.
They'll soothe your troubled minds, your hearts
they'll cheer.
On those misguided souls, who victim fall
To vice and crime at Anghremainyush' call,
Who plunge in plunder and destruction spread,
Whose aim and object is to kill and maul,
On these my words some useful light may shed,
And they their evil ways no more may tread.
But those who Ahurmazd's settled law obey,
Will surely all my words with welcome greet,
To him alone they will their homage pay,
And Him alone as their sole master treat,
And carry out His will and pleasure sweet.
The sceptics too, in course of time, will stand
With rev'rence due before His judgment seat.
And humbly bow before His presence grand,
Prepared all sins in future to withstand.
O God, that perfect comfort and delight,
Which Thou dost give to those who teach
Thy love,
And who for the truth and virtue boldly fight,
Give these to us, who staunchly plead
Thy cause,
And carry out our task without a pause.
To Thee our hearts and soul we dedicate,
We mind not men's displeasure or applause,
Thy law alone we wish to propagate,
Thy justice, kindness, love to vindicate.
O God, when Thou and Thine Archangels high
Are gracious, good, indulgent, kind to me,
To Thee with true humility I cry
To give me strength enough the world
to free
From vice of every sort and each degree.
Tell me, O Lord, what's best for me
to know,
Enlighten me what, shall and shall not be;
So that I may the seed of virtue sow,
And every sin and evil overthrow.
The learned man, who will the Mathra teach,
Will e'er enjoy beatitude supreme,
The highest pitch of welfare he will reach,
For truth and virtue are the Mazda's theme;
From it all lasting joys perennial stream.
Men gain thereby immortal paradise,
And from all vicious ways their souls redeem,
The Mathra lets no evil thought arise,
Men speak no lies, no wicked deeds devise.
Greet Mazda's rule on perfect truth is based,
The universe is built on His good thought;
He is the Thinker, whose pure mind has raised
All things in heaven and on earth from naught.
He's present everywhere if duly sought.
His light it is that shines throughout all space,
All things are by His boundless wisdom wrought.
With awe let all bend down before His face,
With earnest prayers ask for His bounteous
grace.
O God, e'er since I thought of Thee I know
Thou art the First and Only Cause of all
From Thy pure mouth the purest accents flow,
For worship fit, to help us Thee we call,
All stand in need of Thee, both great and small.
We listen to Thy words immaculate
Which form Thy holy tongue like manna fall.
Of every man on earth they seal the fate,
The humble swain or mighty potentate.
To Thy celestial Wisdom we submit,
Thy laws inscrutable are but just;
We must conform to what Thou dost permit,
From what Thou hast forbid abstain we must,
Direct us in our course, in Thee we trust,
Th' industrious peasant, who the soil upturns,
And struggles hard in heat, and cold, and dust,
Thou dost prefer to him who labour shuns,
And who his food by stealth or plunder earns.
O God, when first Thou mad'st the universe,
With Thy sublime intelligence and skill,
Thou mad'st fixed laws, which none can
e'er reverse.
To men thou gavest reason and free-will,
Due strength of mind, and judgment to fulfil
All their appointed tasks and duties well,
To tend the cattle, and the lands to till,
Respect Thy laws declared, and peaceful dwell,
The chorus of Thy praise daily sell.
The truthful man and he who deals in lies,
The learned savant and the witless wight
To act according to his conscience tries.
One seeks the spirit black, the other bright,
One's lot is dark, The other sees the light
Thy watchful eyes, O lord, observe them all,
The good that springs from virtue, and the blight
The wicked do, whereby at length they fall,
The fate of those who disobey Thy call.
Tell me, All-Knowing Mazda, what happens now,
And what is hidden in the wombs of time
What guerdon's gained by honest men, and how,
And what's the penalty for sinful crime,
For lives mis-spent and wasted in their prime.
The wise and prudent man, who works with zeal,
With sense of duty, and with aim sublime,
For his dear home, or town, or county's zeal,
With Him Thou wilt most bountifully deal.
Ye men, the teachings of the wicked shirk,
To their enchanting wiles do pay no heed;
In their false words deceit and ruin lurk,
They lead you wrong to satisfy their greed,
To free yourselves from them great care
you need,
To violence and lust they drive you straight,
And down and down you fall with headlong
speed,
Your time is spent in pillage, murder, hate,
Beware, perdition is your doleful fate.
It is the learned only, who can teach
The doctrines of religion true and pure,
A good and spotless mind alone can reach
The glorious portals of high heaven sure,
It is the pious souls that truths allure,
They think, they speak, they do whate'er is right,
For right all labour, hardship they endure,
Before the sacred fire's inspiring light,
They swear for truth eternal they will fight.
He who a pious man attempts to cheat,
In dismal darkness e'er will pass his time;
For endless days he'll grieve for his deceit,
His food will poison be, due to his crime,
Alas! Alas! will be his constant chime,
In sad repentance he will writhe and moan,
For breach of mighty Mazda's law sublime.
In hell for ages he will have to groan,
And taste the bitter fruit his hand had sown.
He who is pure in thought, and word, and deed,
Endears himself to Mazda, Who showers
His gifts,
Upon him free. He never stands in need
Of others help. Him god supports, uplifts,
He calmly sails ahead and never drifts.
He's hale and hearty, ever lives in joy,
His open mind designs no tricks or shifts,
All works of charity his thoughts employ,
His soul immortal nothing can destroy.
Eternal happiness such souls receive,
And boundless strength and power
they always wield,
They curb the cruel, and the poor relieve,
They fight the wicked and their victims shield,
For righteous men they keep an open field,
Where they may safely work, and
earn their bread,
By honest toil enjoined by law revealed.
As long as men by these bland souls are led,
No harm or danger they can ever dread.
With deep respect I raise my hands above,
And first for truthful words and deeds I pray,
For virtuous thoughts of friendly peace and love,
That thus with mighty Mazda's help I may
Preserve all living souls from sad decay.
All-knowing Lord! through pure and pious mind,
May I thy presence reach, Thy will obey,
So that by dint of truth I soon may find
E'erlasting bliss through Ahura's mercy kind.