NORTH AMERIC AN MOBEDS COUNCIL The last Karda 31 of the same Yasht is replete with combined veneration of fravashis of men and women of various countries. For lack of space it is not feasible to quote the references in full and as such the impact of it may be lost on the reader.
additions seem to have been made since then. Except for Ardvisur Nyaesh, Atash Neyaesh, Hom Yasht and Fravardin Yasht the other prayers play no direct role in the inner and outer liturgical rituals conducted by priests in fire temples.
We also find repeated allusions to this aspect in the Karda to be recited in memory of the departed souls (Yasna Ha 26) where men and women are talked about in the same breath. There is also a reference to this aspect in Aiwishuthrem Gah –
There are variations in three different renderings of our prayers as recited by Zarthushtis in North America, Iran, Pakistan and India including the Kadmi sect. The core of all prayers is identical in all three versions with additions and deviations in the beginning and at the end which are in Pazand. It is a clear indication that these were introduced at a later date after our migration to India in the 9th Century and thereafter.
Para 5: “Nairikamcha ashaonim yazamaide, …....yaoscha te ghenao, Ahura Mazda.” It would not be out of place to mention that the short prayer “Yenghe Hatam” we recite at the end of every gah, nyaesh and yasht also implies that women are accorded equal importance as their male counterparts. SHEHENSHAHI, KADMI AND IRANIAN KHORDEH AVESTA There are differences in the composition and formulation of prayers in these three versions. Take the basic Kusti prayers: Kadmis and Iranis do not have the Ahura Mazda Khoday prayers that are in Pazand; Iranis do not narrate Kemna Mazda where as Kadmis recite whole Sarosh Baj including Kemna Mazda. At the end of gahs, nyashes and yashts Shehenshahi recite Ahmai Rascha, Hazangarem Baeshazanam, Jasa me Avanghe Mazda Amahe Hutastahe and Kerfe Mozda. Kadmis and Iranis do not recite full Jasa me Avanghe Mazda Amahe Hutastahe. The end passage “Ramno khwastrahe, vayaosh uparo-kairyeh taradhato anyaish daman, aetat te vayo yat te asti spento mainyaom” is omitted. Kerfe Mozda prayer is non existent in the Kadmi and Irani editions. There are rearrangements, additions and omissions at the beginning and at the end of nyaeshs and yashts. The Shehenshahis and Kadmis recite the name of the day, month and the gah (Roj nek nam roj pak nam roj Mubarak………) in nyashes and yashts; the Irani version is void of this aspect. There are no nirangs after any of the yashts in Kadmi and Irani prayers.
The nyaeshs and the yashts along with other short prayers, included in the Khordeh Avesta, are recited in a wide range of settings; in private in the comfort of one’s own home, in public in the halls of Agiaries and Atash Behrams, during day and night, individually and collectively, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, by adherents offering reverence and adoration to Ahura Mazda and seeking solace and succor from the trials and tribulations of this world. REFERENCES: •
Ervad Bharucha Sheriarji Dadabhai A brief sketch of the Zoroastrian Religion & Customs 1928
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Ervad Kanga Kavasji Edulji : Khordeh Avesta Ba Mayeni (Gujarati) 13th Edition, 1936
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Dastur Mirza Kaiyoji Dastur Peshotanji : Sahitya (Gujarati), 1944
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Dastur Mirza Hormazdyar Dastur Kayoji Outlines of Parsi History, 1987
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Tamam Khordeh Avesta (Gujarati), Published by WZO and Distributed through Athornan Mandal – 1997
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Ervad Kanga Kavasji Edulji Khordeh Avesta Ba Mayeni – Second Edition – 2002 Translated and transliterated into English from the Gujarati original
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FEZANA JOURNAL — Spring 2010
FEZANA Journal – Treasures from the Avesta – Our daily Prayers - Summer 2003 FEZANA Journal – Treasures from the Avesta – Niyashins and Yashts – Summer 2004
CONCLUSION Khordeh Avesta, not an original scripture, is a collection of prayers to be recited by the devotees at different times of the day, in different seasons and in various situations of their lives. Although ascribed to Adarbad Mahraspand of the Sassanian period, many
Avesta
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FEZANA Journal–Treasures from the Avesta – Yasna, Visparad and Vendidad Summer 2005 continued 69