The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Editorial Note
• Author’s Preface
• Introduction
• Extracts
• Purity *
• Prayer of Ashem-vohu † From Khordah-avesta
• The Law of Ahura-mazda *
• Commandments For the Body and the Soul †
• The Soul’s Destination *
• The Soul’s Rendering of Account *
• Gatha Hymn *
• Confession of Faith
• The Creed *
• Prayer of Kem NÂ Mazda *
• Prayer of Ke Verethrem Ga †
• Prayer of Ormuzd Yast ‡ ( In Praise of God )
• God As the King, the Life, the Rewarder *
• The Creation of the World By Ahura-mazda and Corresponding Evils By Angro Mainyus *
• God’s Warning to Yima of Winter and Deluge *
• Blessings of Cultivating the Soil *
• Happiness of the Earth *
• Grief of the Earth †
• Cultivation of Land Where a Corpse Is Found *
• Purification of Water Defiled By a Corpse †
• Religious Education †
• Reward For the Pious *
• Forgiveness of Sin ‡
• The Temptation *
• Banishment of Angro Mainyus *
• On Loan *
• On Waste †
• Temperance ‡
• Souls’ Visit to the Earth †
• The Mazdayasnian Confession *
• Patet Erani *
• Marriage Service †
• The Vision of ArdÂ-vÎrÂf †
• Sanctity *
• Prayer For Safety *
• Notes

BLESSINGS OF CULTIVATING THE SOIL*

“He who would till the earth, . . . with the left arm and the right, . . . unto him will she bring forth plenty, like a loving bride, on her bed, unto her beloved; the bride will bring forth children, the earth will bring forth plenty of fruit.

“He who sows corn sows holiness: he makes the law of Mazda grow higher and higher.

“When barley is coming forth, the Daêvas start up; when corn is growing ripe, then faint the Daêvas’ hearts; when the corn is being ground, the Daêvas groan; when wheat is coming forth, the Daêvas are destroyed. In that house they can no longer stay; from that house they are beaten away, wherein wheat is thus coming forth.

“He who tilling the earth, . . . would not kindly and piously give to one of the faithful, he shall fall down into the darkness . . . down into the world of woe, the dismal realm, down into the house of hell.”

[* ]Sacred Books of the East.