IBefore you read
If a Zoroastrian knows only two prayers by heart, they are the two on this page. The Ahuna Vairya is twenty-one words long and the Ashem Vohu twelve, and even read slowly the two together take less than a minute. Children learn them by heart before their initiation, adults recite them every time they retie the sacred cord around the waist, and priests recite them to open and close almost every ritual. And yet the first of the two is among the hardest passages in the whole body of Avestan literature, and the leading scholars in the field still each translate it in their own way.
These two prayers go by many names. Ahuna Vairya is the Avestan name, taken from the three opening words yaϑā ahū vairiiō. Parsis usually call it by those same three words, Yatha Ahu Vairyo, or simply Ahunavar, while the Pahlavi books call it Ahunwar. Ashem Vohu likewise takes its name from its two opening words, aṣ̌əm vohū, and in everyday practice it is often called just Ashem. The Encyclopaedia Iranica places both among the four great prayers of the faith, together with the Yenghe Hatam and the Airyaman Ishya.
Placing the two prayers on one page follows the way they actually live within the faith. In the Yasna liturgy they stand side by side in chapter 27, verses 13 and 14. In daily life they go together as a pair: an affirmation about choice and rightful power, followed by praise of truth. When a believer reties the sacred kusti cord, two Ahuna Vairya and one Ashem Vohu are the fixed formula.
This page presents the full original text of both prayers, six lines of verse, one line per row. The original column is not printed in Avestan script but in the letter-by-letter Latin transliteration used by scholars. Avestan script does exist in Unicode, but the library has not yet found an authoritative copy in Avestan script against which every stroke could be checked, and the library's rule is not to build letterforms on its own when they cannot be verified. The transliteration used here writes each Avestan letter with its own distinct Latin symbol, so anyone who knows the script can convert it back into Avestan letters without error.
The Vietnamese and English translations are the library's own. Because the first prayer is so difficult that scholars translate it very differently, the translation in the table is only one reading, and the commentary and the later sections set out other readings so that you can compare them yourself. The library explains and describes, and does not rule on which translation is correct.
Both prayers are written in Old Avestan, the same language as the seventeen hymns of the Gathas, which the faith holds to be the words of Zarathustra himself. According to Schlerath's article in the Encyclopaedia Iranica, the language of the Ashem Vohu is the language of the Gathas. Linguists estimate that Old Avestan belongs to the period between about 1500 and 900 BCE, and that is an estimate based on linguistic comparison, not a date inscribed on any artifact.
In the Yasna, the two prayers sit in chapter 27, verses 13 and 14, directly before the third prayer, the Yenghe Hatam, in verse 15. According to Helmut Humbach's article GATHAS in the Encyclopaedia Iranica, these three prayers form the opening to the Gathas as a whole, and the Ahuna Vairya is composed in exactly the meter of the first group of Gathas: stanzas of three lines, each line of sixteen syllables, divided seven plus nine. That group of Gathas is called Ahunavaiti, meaning the group with the Ahuna, named after this very prayer.
The Avesta itself already contains commentary on the three prayers. Chapters 19, 20 and 21 of the Yasna, written in Young Avestan, explain the Ahuna Vairya, the Ashem Vohu and the Yenghe Hatam in turn, and chapter 19 is often called the Bagan Yasht. In other words, from ancient times the faithful themselves saw that these lines needed explaining.
As for transmission, the Avesta lived for more than a thousand years in the memory of the priesthood before it was written down in the Avestan script devised in the Sasanian period, and the oldest surviving manuscript dates from 1323. Schlerath's article also records a curious detail: a fragment of Sogdian text contains the Ashem Vohu, and from its peculiar features of pronunciation Ilya Gershevitch concluded in 1976 that the Sogdians knew the prayer before they adopted the religion of Zarathustra. If that inference is correct, the prayer may have circulated widely among the Iranian-speaking peoples very early, perhaps even before the faith itself.
The standard scholarly text is still the Avesta of Karl F. Geldner, printed in Stuttgart and completed in 1896, reconstructed by comparing many manuscripts. The original text on this page follows that edition.
IIThe full text of the two prayers
The first three lines are the Ahuna Vairya, the last three the Ashem Vohu. The original column follows Geldner's edition as digitized by the TITUS corpus of the University of Frankfurt, using a letter-by-letter transliteration. The transliteration column is the simplified spelling based on Geldner's edition that the website avesta.org uses, closer to the way Parsis usually recite. The two columns differ in spelling, not in words: vairiiō and vairyô are one word, the first recording exactly the two letters i written in the manuscripts, the second following the pronunciation.
| Verse | Original Avestan (scholarly transliteration) | Transliteration | English | Vietnamese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | yaϑā ahū vairiiō aϑā ratuš aṣ̌āt̰cīt̰ hacā | ýathâ ahû vairyô athâ ratush ashâtcît hacâ | As the lord is to be chosen, so is the judge, by reason of truth itself, | Như vị chúa tể đáng được chọn, bậc phân định cũng vậy, vì chính chân lý aša, |
| 2 | vaŋhə̄uš dazdā manaŋhō š́iiaoϑananąm aŋhə̄uš mazdāi | vanghêush dazdâ mananghô shyaothananãm anghêush mazdâi | the one who sets in place the deeds of Good Mind in this life, for Mazda, | là người đặt để những việc làm của Thiện Tâm trong cõi đời, dâng về Mazda, |
| 3 | xšaϑrəmcā ahurāi.ā yim drigubiiō dadat̰ vāstārəm | xshathremcâ ahurâi â ýim drigubyô dadat vâstârem | and power belongs to Ahura, the one appointed as herdsman for the needy. | và quyền năng thuộc về Ahura, người được đặt làm kẻ chăn giữ cho người nghèo khó. |
| 4 | aṣ̌əm vohū vahištəm astī | ashem vohû vahishtem astî | Truth is good, it is the best. | Chân lý aša là điều tốt, là điều tốt nhất. |
| 5 | uštā astī uštā ahmāi | ushtâ astî ushtâ ahmâi | It is well-being, well-being for the one | Là niềm an vui, niềm an vui cho người |
| 6 | hiiat̰ aṣ̌āi vahištāi aṣ̌əm | hyat ashâi vahishtâi ashem | who holds to truth for the sake of the best truth. | giữ chân lý aša vì chân lý tốt nhất. |
IIIPhrase by phrase commentary
The commentary below takes each phrase in the order of the original, the six phrases of the Ahuna Vairya followed by the three of the Ashem Vohu. Where scholars read a passage differently, the library says so plainly and does not treat the translation in the table as final.
The three opening words are also the prayer's common name. Yaϑā means as, just as. Vairiiō shares a root with the verb to choose, and means worthy of being chosen, to be chosen. The difficult word is ahū.
Avestan has two nouns ahu that are spelled alike. One means lord, master, and shares a root with ahura in the name Ahura Mazda. The other means life, existence, the world. The Pahlavi tradition and most Parsis read it in the first sense: as the lord who is to be chosen. Some scholars read it in the second sense, and then the whole line changes direction. The grammar supports both readings, so neither has clearly won.
The pair yaϑā and aϑā is not simple either. Most read the pair as a comparison, as this is, so is that. Helmut Humbach, in his 1994 translation with Pallan Ichaporia, reads it as causal, because this is so, therefore that is so, and the line becomes a statement about the one whom the world must choose.
Aϑā means so too. Ratuš is the second disputed word. In its broad sense ratu means one who sets the standard, an arbiter, a guiding master, and in later texts it also denotes the ritually correct divisions of time. The tradition understands the line to name two authorities to be chosen, a lord in worldly affairs and a master in spiritual affairs. Christopher Brunner's article in the Encyclopaedia Iranica follows this direction, reading it as the lord of the worldly realm and the lord of the spiritual realm. Stanley Insler in 1975 understood ratu as judgment, a verdict, rather than a person. Jean Kellens and Eric Pirart in 1988 understood it as a model.
Aṣ̌āt̰cīt̰ hacā means literally from aša itself, in accordance with aša. The particle cīt̰ adds emphasis, much like the Vietnamese word chính, meaning itself. Whether ratu is taken as a person, a judgment or a model, the translations all agree that its measure is aša, that is, truth and right order. A separate section below discusses this word in detail.
Vaŋhə̄uš manaŋhō means of Good Mind, that is, Vohu Manah, good thought, which is also the name of the foremost of the six Amesha Spentas. The two words stand apart with dazdā between them, a word order often found in the poetry of the Gathas.
Dazdā is usually understood as the one who sets in place, who gives, who establishes. The line speaks of someone who sets in place what belongs to Good Mind. Who that someone is depends on how the previous line is read: the chosen master, the judgment, or the one whom the world chooses. Some versions read it instead as something given, that is, the gift of Good Mind. The older English translation by James Darmesteter from the late 19th century, still posted on avesta.org, takes this direction.
Š́iiaoϑananąm means of the deeds, and aŋhə̄uš means of the world, of life, the same word ahu as in the first line, but here clearly in the sense of life. Mazdāi means for Mazda, to Mazda. Taken together: the deeds of this life, directed toward Mazda. The line links good thought in the previous phrase with deeds in this one, close to the spirit of the triad good thoughts, good words, good deeds described on the faith's main page.
The word š́iiaoϑananąm also has a role of its own beyond the page. When believers tie the kusti, the first knot in front is tied exactly as the lips reach this word in the first Ahuna Vairya, and the second knot exactly as they reach it in the second, according to the ritual instructions of Ervad Ramiyar Karanjia. The person tying the cord ties each knot on the word for deeds.
Xšaϑrəm means power, rule, and it is also the root of the name of the Amesha Spenta Khshathra Vairya, Desirable Dominion. Cā means and. Ahurāi means to Ahura, belonging to Ahura. The ā that follows is a directional particle, which can be understood as to, toward. The TITUS corpus writes ahurāi.ā with a dot to show that the two words go together, while avesta.org writes them as two separate words. The original column keeps the TITUS spelling.
The general sense of the phrase is fairly clear: power belongs to Ahura. In the traditional reading, the line says that those who do good add power to Ahura, as if human good deeds built up the sovereignty of the creator.
Drigubiiō means for the poor, the vulnerable, those who need protection. Vāstārəm means herdsman, one who tends the pasture for the herd, an image entirely natural to the pastoral society of the time of the Gathas. Dadat̰ means set, gave. Yim means whom.
The difficulty is who appoints whom. Brunner's translation reads it as whom they have given to the vulnerable as herdsman. Darmesteter's version, and many later small prayer books, follow a popular reading instead: whoever helps the poor makes Ahura king. That reading is grammatically distant from the original, but it explains why helping the poor is regarded as a weighty religious duty in the Parsi community.
This line closes the Ahuna Vairya. The prayer does not name Zarathustra anywhere, but Yasna 19 explains that the guiding master spoken of here is first of all Zarathustra. Brunner observes that in the beginning the prayer probably also had in mind his successors, the trustworthy guides of the faithful.
These four words open the Ashem Vohu. Aṣ̌əm is aša. Vahištəm means best, astī means is. The word that divides the readings is vohū. According to Schlerath's article in the Encyclopaedia Iranica, vohū may be the adjective good, or the noun wealth, something precious. Read the first way, the line says aša is good, it is the best. Read the second way, it says aša is the best treasure. The two readings are close in spirit but differ in image: one speaks of a quality, the other likens aša to an inheritance.
The name of the Amesha Spenta Asha Vahishta, Best Truth, consists of exactly the two words aša and best from this line. This being protects fire, and that is one thread linking the Ashem Vohu to the flame in the temple.
Uštā is the second difficult word of the Ashem Vohu. According to Schlerath, it may mean according to wish, as desired, or refer to the desired things themselves. Ahmāi means for that person. The line repeats uštā twice, a repetition familiar from ancient prayers, which helps the reciter memorize it and makes the line ring out when chanted.
The English translations popular in the Parsi community usually render this word as happiness, and many people know the Ashem Vohu by heart in the sense that truth brings happiness. The reading as desired stresses that all things go according to the wishes of the righteous. The library's translation uses well-being, an vui in the Vietnamese version, to keep both shades of meaning.
The last line holds the word aša twice: aṣ̌āi vahištāi means for the best aša, and aṣ̌əm closes the prayer with the very word that opened it. Hiiat̰ is a connecting particle, which can be understood as who, or as when. Because the line is so compact, its syntax allows several readings: the one who holds to aša for the sake of the best aša, or when aša belongs to the best aša. The library's translation in the table follows the first reading, the one closest to the tradition of recitation.
The prayer opens with aša and closes with aša, like a closed circle. Perhaps it is precisely because of this shape that the Ashem Vohu is used as a marker: Schlerath notes that in the scriptures this prayer is inserted as a kind of separator, marking the end of a chapter or a section.
IVThe word before all creation and the ways it is translated
According to the tradition: the word before all creation
The faith holds that the Ahuna Vairya is the word Ahura Mazda spoke after creating the spiritual beings but before all material things, before the sky, water, earth, plants, cattle, humankind and fire, according to the teaching of Yasna 19. The Pahlavi book Bundahishn relates that when Ohrmazd recited it, Ahriman fell down motionless for three thousand years. The Vendidad relates that Zarathustra drove back Angra Mainyu by reciting the Ahuna Vairya aloud. The Denkard records that the twenty-one words of the prayer were used to name the twenty-one nasks, or books, of the Avesta, and so the prayer is regarded as the seed of the whole faith.
This belief has a practical consequence: because the prayer contains the whole faith, reciting it a set number of times can take the place of a long prayer in circumstances where that prayer cannot be said. The next section has a table of those numbers. But also because the prayer is regarded as a sacred word with power of its own, keeping the exact sound of every word is placed above understanding every word, and it is precisely this that has kept the text intact through thousands of years of oral transmission, even as its meaning faded.
According to the historical record: a very hard poem to translate
A newcomer may be surprised that a prayer of only twenty-one words, recited daily over so many generations, still has no agreed translation. The reason lies in Old Avestan itself. The surviving body of texts in that language is very small, consisting only of the Gathas, the prose section called the Yasna Haptanghaiti and a few short prayers. Many words occur only once or twice, so their meaning has to be inferred by comparison with Vedic Sanskrit and from the commentary of the tradition itself, and the tradition is often a thousand years removed from the text. The poetry of the Gathas is also dense, leaving out verbs, inverting word order, and letting one word carry two or three meanings at once.
The Ahuna Vairya packs all of these difficulties into three lines. Even the AHUNWAR article in the Encyclopaedia Iranica, after offering a translation, states plainly that the full meaning of the prayer is still under discussion. The table below paraphrases five readings, so that you can see how far apart they are.
| Translator | Year | Reading of ahu and ratu | Gist of the first line, paraphrased by the library |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pahlavi tradition and Parsi prayer books | Many generations | Ahu is the lord of worldly affairs, ratu the master of spiritual affairs | As the lord is to be chosen, so is the master, according to aša |
| Stanley Insler | 1975 | Ahu is the Lord, ratu is judgment | The Lord is to be chosen according to truth, and so is judgment |
| Christopher J. Brunner, Encyclopaedia Iranica | 1984 | Ahu is the lord of the worldly realm, ratu the lord of the spiritual realm | As the worldly lord is chosen, so is the spiritual lord, according to truth |
| Jean Kellens and Eric Pirart | 1988 | Ahu is existence, ratu is the model | A statement about the model for the deeds of existence, a model worthy of being chosen by existence |
| Helmut Humbach and Pallan Ichaporia | 1994 | Ahu is the world, and the pair yaϑā and aϑā is causal | Because He is the one the world must choose, judgment comes from truth itself |
The word aša: truth, order, rightness
According to the teaching of the faith, aša is the right order that Ahura Mazda set for the world. It is truth, it is what is right, and it is the path that human beings are called to follow. One who lives by aša is called an ashavan, a righteous person. The opposite of aša is druj, the lie. To recite the Ashem Vohu is to affirm that aša is the best of all.
There is no single Vietnamese word that captures aša. English books of the 19th century often translated it as holiness, and Darmesteter's Ashem Vohu on avesta.org still keeps that rendering. Later translations usually choose truth, righteousness or order. Each word catches one side:
- Truth: speaking truly, not lying. This is the side directly opposed to druj.
- Order: the sun rising on time, each season arriving in its season, water flowing downhill. Aša is the principle that makes the world run rightly.
- Rightness: acts done rightly, rites performed correctly, oaths kept. Aša is the standard by which all conduct is measured.
Linguists relate aša to the word ṛta of the Rigveda, which likewise means cosmic order and the correctness of ritual, one of the clearest signs that the Indian and Iranian traditions once shared a common root. In the Avesta the word is written aṣ̌a, with a special letter that the transliteration renders as ṣ̌. Popular books write asha or aša. The name of the Amesha Spenta Asha Vahishta became Ardwahisht in Middle Persian, which is also the name of the second month of the Zoroastrian calendar.
The translation in the full text table is the library's own, staying close to the traditional reading because that is the reading the reciters live with. It is not the only correct version. With the Ahuna Vairya, any translation that presents itself as final claims more than scholarship actually knows.
VThe kusti cord, prayer counts and the fire
These two prayers are seldom recited on their own as a text. They usually accompany an action, and the most familiar action is retying the kusti, the woollen cord wound around the waist that every believer receives at initiation and wears for life, over the white undershirt called the sudreh. According to the Parsi tradition described on the faith's main page, the cord is woven from seventy-two threads of sheep's wool, matching the seventy-two chapters of the Yasna, and wound around three times, matching the triad good thoughts, good words, good deeds.
Two Ahuna Vairya, one Ashem Vohu
According to the description of the ritual by Ervad Ramiyar Karanjia, a Parsi priest who teaches religious education, the worshipper first washes the face, hands and feet and dries them, a rite called padyab. Then, standing still in one place, the worshipper recites the Kem na Mazda and unties the cord. Holding the cord, the worshipper recites the Ahura Mazda Khodae, at times bowing in gratitude, at times flicking the ends of the cord as if to drive away evil. The cord is then wound back around the waist.
The two prayers on this page come at the knot-tying stage. While reciting the Ahuna Vairya twice, the worshipper ties two knots in front: the first with the right hand exactly on reaching the word š́iiaoϑananąm in the first recitation, the second with the left hand on reaching that word in the second. Then, while reciting the Ashem Vohu once, the worshipper ties two knots at the back. Finally the worshipper recites the Jasa me Avanghe Mazda, with the thumbs holding the front knot. Another text by the same author sums this up as the formula two Yatha, one Ashem.
Five times a day, and more
The kusti ritual is not done once and then finished. Ramiyar Karanjia's list gives the occasions: on waking, before going to sleep, before meals, at the start of each new gah, after using the toilet, after bathing, before praying, on arriving at a fire temple, before and after attending a funeral, and on coming home from outside. Because the day is divided into five gahs, a strictly observant believer reties the kusti at least five times a day, each time with two Ahuna Vairya and one Ashem Vohu. Those five times alone make fifteen recitations, not counting the other occasions on the list.
Brunner's article in the Encyclopaedia Iranica also lists everyday moments at which the Ahuna Vairya is traditionally recited: on entering a house, on cutting the nails, on pouring a drink, on sneezing or coughing. The faith does not fully separate the sacred from the everyday, and a short prayer is a way of marking these small moments.
Counting a short prayer in place of a long one
Because the Ahuna Vairya is regarded as containing the whole faith, the tradition allows it to be recited a set number of times, sometimes together with the Ashem Vohu, in place of a long prayer that a person cannot recite. Ramiyar Karanjia gives the following figures in a 2019 article, with a clear condition: this is only for those who cannot read or write, or for times when no prayer book is at hand or there is not enough light, and it should not be used as a regular substitute.
| Prayer replaced | Number of Ahuna Vairya | Number of Ashem Vohu |
|---|---|---|
| Khorshed Niyayesh, the litany to the sun | 103 | None |
| Meher, Mah Bakhtar, Avan Ardvisur and Atash Niyayesh | 65 for each | None |
| Each of the main Gah prayers of the five watches | 65 | None |
| Hormazd Yasht | 103 | 12 |
| Ardibehesht Yasht | 65 | None |
| Sarosh Yasht Hadokht | 75 | None |
| Sarosh Yasht Vadi | 103 | None |
| Patet Pashemani, the prayer of repentance | 121 | 12 |
| Afrinagan | 121 | 12 |
The table above is easily read as a conversion rate, as if counting enough recitations were enough to fulfil one's duty. The very person who recorded these figures made it clear that this is a provision for times when there is no other way. It shows the place of the Ahuna Vairya in the faith more than it offers a way to shorten prayer.
Before the fire
Many recitations of these two prayers take place before a source of light. According to Ramiyar Karanjia's instructions, the person performing the kusti ritual stands facing the sun, and at night faces a source of light such as the moon, the stars or a flame, and does not face north. In the fire temple, at the start of each gah the priest offers sandalwood and recites prayers before the fire. In Parsi homes, the small oil lamp in the prayer corner is where people stand before praying.
The faith holds that fire is the purest of creations and the symbol of aša, placed under the protection of Asha Vahishta, the Amesha Spenta whose name is made of the very two words that open the Ashem Vohu. Believers worship Ahura Mazda, and fire is the point toward which they turn their hearts in worship. Reciting the Ashem Vohu before the flame, in this understanding, is praising aša before the very symbol of aša.
For this reason, calling those who recite these two prayers fire worshippers misrepresents how they understand themselves. The prayers do not mention fire anywhere. They speak of choice, of Good Mind, of the power of Ahura, of the poor and of aša. The place of fire in the faith, the three grades of fire and the fire temples, is described in detail on the main page on Zoroastrianism.
VIWhen and how the faithful recite them
These two prayers are present in almost every corner of religious life, so the question of when they are recited almost becomes the question of when they are not. The section below describes the main occasions, from an observer's point of view.
The Zoroastrian day is divided into five gahs: Havan from dawn to noon, Rapithwin from noon to about three in the afternoon, Uzerin until sunset, Aiwisruthrem until midnight, and Ushahin until daybreak. Each has its own Gah prayer in the small prayer book Khordeh Avesta, and at the start of each new gah the observant repeat the kusti ritual with two Ahuna Vairya and one Ashem Vohu. Schlerath, in the Encyclopaedia Iranica, suggests that the Ashem Vohu was probably part of the five daily prayers from the earliest days of the faith.
Parsis call the initiation ceremony Navjote, and Iranians call it Sedreh-pushi. According to Ramiyar Karanjia, it is usually performed for children aged seven to nine, fifteen at the latest, in the morning during the Havan gah. The child bathes ritually and then recites prayers with the priest. A child who has not yet learned the prayer of repentance Patet Pashemani recites instead twenty-one Ahuna Vairya and twelve Ashem Vohu. The child then puts on the sudreh, and the priest ties the child's first kusti.
The kusti ritual accompanies these moments of the day, so the two prayers are recited at these times too. The Avestan passage Yasht 21, in James Darmesteter's translation, ranks the worth of one Ashem Vohu according to the moment, such as on going to sleep, after eating, on rising, and holds that a recitation at the end of life is the most precious.
In the Yasna ceremony, the priest recites these two prayers in chapter 27, just before the Gathas. At that point, the TITUS text records after the first line of the Ahuna Vairya the instruction cihār bār, Persian for four times, meaning that the prayer is recited four times there. Beyond the Yasna, the Jashan and Afrinagan ceremonies and most of the prayers in the Khordeh Avesta have these two prayers at the beginning or at the end.
Also according to Yasht 21, one Ashem Vohu recited in the last moments of life is worth as much as the whole land where humankind dwells. Because of this belief, the prayer is associated with the hour of death and with the rites for the departed.
The prayers are the same, but names and pronunciation differ. Iranians call the sacred shirt sedreh and the sacred cord koshti. Parsis recite with their own community's familiar accent and Iranians with a Persian accent, so the same Avestan word can sound quite different. By the common custom of both communities, the prayers are recited in the original Avestan, not in translation.
A few features of recitation are shared. The reciter usually stands, facing a source of light, and according to Ramiyar Karanjia's instructions stands where no one will walk in front. The prayers are recited quietly and evenly, without breaking off midway to talk, because according to the teaching of the faith scripture is manthra, speech that has power when recited in full and with the correct sounds. Many people cover their heads with a cap or scarf when praying. Beginners read from the Khordeh Avesta, while those who have known the prayers for years recite without a book.
The library describes these customs so that you can understand what you see when you meet a Zoroastrian at prayer. The details of each step vary by community and by family, and members of the faith are the ones best placed to speak about the customs of their own household.
VIICommon misunderstandings
Because the two prayers are short, often recited before fire, and in a language few outsiders know, they are easily credited with things that are not in the text. The six points below are the most common slips.
Not a single word in the two prayers mentions fire. The Ahuna Vairya speaks of choice, of Good Mind, of the power of Ahura and of the poor. The Ashem Vohu praises aša. Believers often recite them before a flame because fire is the symbol of aša, while the object of worship, as they understand it, is Ahura Mazda.
Not for the Ahuna Vairya. Insler, Kellens and Pirart, and Humbach and Ichaporia translate it differently, from the word ahu to the word ratu, and the article in the Encyclopaedia Iranica notes that the full meaning of the prayer is still under discussion. Any translation that presents itself as final deserves to be read with some caution.
That is the rendering of many 19th century English translations, such as Darmesteter's. Aša is broader: it is at once truth as against the lie, the order of heaven and earth, and the correctness of deeds and of ritual. Any single word catches only one side.
This is a judgment made from outside. According to the teaching of the faith, the Avestan scriptures are manthra, speech that has power when recited with the correct sounds, so preserving the Avestan sounds comes before understanding every word. It is this very custom that has kept the prayer intact through thousands of years of oral transmission. Many believers still learn the meaning, but reciting in the original language does not depend on understanding every word.
The tradition does allow the Ahuna Vairya to be recited a set number of times in place of a long prayer, but the person who recorded these figures makes clear that this is a provision for those who cannot read, have no prayer book or do not have enough light, and that it should not be used regularly.
Here two different levels need to be kept apart. According to the teaching of the faith, the Ahuna Vairya is the word Ahura Mazda spoke before creating the material world. According to the historical record, scholars can say only that both prayers are written in Old Avestan like the Gathas, and that the Ahuna Vairya shares the meter of the first group of Gathas. For the Ashem Vohu in particular, the Sogdian fragment studied by Gershevitch suggests that the prayer may be even older than the faith itself.
?Quick Questions
What is the Ahuna Vairya
The Ahuna Vairya, which Parsis usually call Yatha Ahu Vairyo or Ahunavar, is the most sacred prayer of Zoroastrianism, found at Yasna 27.13. It consists of three lines of verse in Old Avestan, traditionally counted as twenty-one words, in the same meter as the Ahunavaiti group of Gathas, and that group of Gathas is named after this very prayer. According to the teaching of the faith, it is the word Ahura Mazda spoke before creating the material world. Believers recite it every time they retie the kusti cord and in almost every ritual.
What does Ashem Vohu mean
The Ashem Vohu is a short prayer of twelve words at Yasna 27.14, praising aša, that is, truth and right order. The library translates it as: truth is good, it is the best, it is well-being, well-being for the one who holds to truth for the sake of the best truth. Scholars differ over the word vohū, which may mean good or treasure, and the word uštā, which may mean as desired or happiness. The prayer opens and closes with the word aša, and is often recited as the closing of other prayers.
Why does the Ahuna Vairya have so many different translations
Because very few texts survive in Old Avestan, many words occur only once or twice, and the poetry is highly condensed. The word ahu may mean lord or the world, and the word ratu may mean master, judgment or model. Stanley Insler in 1975, Jean Kellens and Eric Pirart in 1988, and Helmut Humbach and Pallan Ichaporia in 1994 each read it differently, and the AHUNWAR article in the Encyclopaedia Iranica notes that the full meaning of the prayer is still under discussion.
When do Zoroastrians recite these two prayers
Each time they perform the kusti ritual, untying and retying the sacred cord around the waist, they recite two Ahuna Vairya and one Ashem Vohu. The ritual is performed at least at the start of each of the five gahs of the day, and also on waking, before meals, before sleep and on coming home. Children recite these two prayers at the Navjote initiation, priests recite them in the Yasna and almost every other ceremony, and according to Yasht 21 a recitation of the Ashem Vohu at the end of life is regarded as the most precious.
What does the word aša in Ashem Vohu mean
Aša brings together three things that Vietnamese keeps separate: truth as against the lie, the right order of heaven and earth, and rightness in deeds and ritual. The opposite of aša is druj, the lie. The word shares a root with ṛta in the Rigveda. English books of the 19th century often translated it as holiness, later versions chose truth, righteousness or order, and each word catches only one side of aša.