zoroastrianism ancient and modern - Hindu Temple of Greater ...

870
AHUNA VAR - the Quintessence of the Entire Scriptures.
(ix)
(x)
and Yenghe Hatam. These are composed in the Gathic dialect and
are of rare merit. They are next in importance only to the most
sacred formula of all, the Ahuna Vairya.”
“The greatest of all the spells, the Word par excellence of the
Zarathushtrian theology, which is constantly on the tongue of the
faithful, is the Ahuna Vairya. It is made up of twenty-one words,
everyone of which corresponds to one of the twenty-one Nasks,
which make up the complete Holy Writ of the Zoroastrians. It is
the quintessence of the entire scriptures. Ahura Mazda.
pronounced it when the world was not. Of all the sacred formulas
that have ever been pronounced, or are now recited, or which will
be recited hereafter, this word that the Lord God has announced to
the holy prophet is the best. It gives courage and victory to the
Soul.”
“Zarathushtra chants aloud this Word when the demon Buiti seeks
his death, and he puts the fiend to flight by the mere recital of it.
With the same word does the prophet repel the Evil Spirit himself,
when he comes to tempt him.”
(xi) “The value of the recitation and the intonation of the formula is
greatly impaired when it is inattentively chanted with errors and
omissions.”
(xii) “The most frequently occurring formulas that are repeated in
various numbers, as the occasion demands, are the Ashern Vohu
and the Ahuna Vairya. The number of times which they are recited
varies from one to a hundred thousand.”
(xiii) “The Manthrans, or chanters, are those who are privileged to recite
the spells. The knowledge of the secret formulas is to be zealously
guarded, it is to be imparted only to the veriest few in the closest
circle.”
(xiv) “The potency of spells greatly lies in their careful and accurate
recitation, without omitting any part of the prescribed formulas, or
without violating the rigid rules of the manner of chanting. This
requires that the reciter