Yasht 10 of the Avesta

The Mithra Yasht belongs beside Scythian oath, sword, and kingship evidence. Mithra watches the covenant, sees the lie, strengthens the truthful side in battle, and measures obligation from the bond of friends to the bond of nations.

This is not a Scythian ritual text. It is an Iranian ritual text. Its value for the Scythian shelf lies in the shared world of oath, horse, weapon, light, and sovereign truth.

The translation below is from selected Young Avestan passages of Yasht 10.

Translation

Ahura Mazda spoke to Spitama Zarathushtra: When I created Mithra of wide pastures, O Spitama, I made him worthy of sacrifice and worthy of prayer as I myself, Ahura Mazda, am worthy.

The man who lies to Mithra destroys the whole land, O Spitama, as a hundred sinners would destroy it. Do not break the covenant, O Spitama, neither with the false man nor with the truthful man of your own religion. Mithra stands for both: for the false and for the truthful.

Mithra of wide pastures gives swift horses to those who do not lie to him. Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, gives the straightest path to those who do not lie to him. The good, strong, holy Fravashis of the righteous give offspring to the houses of those who do not lie to him.

We worship Mithra of wide pastures, truth-speaking, chief in assemblies, with a thousand ears, well shaped, with ten thousand eyes, high, full of knowledge, strong, sleepless, ever awake. The lords of lands sacrifice to him when they go to the field against ravaging hosts, against enemies arrayed for battle, in the strife of warring nations.

Mithra is twentyfold between two friends, thirtyfold between two men of one clan, fortyfold between partners, fiftyfold between husband and wife, sixtyfold between two pupils of one teacher, seventyfold between pupil and teacher, eightyfold between son-in-law and father-in-law, ninetyfold between brothers, one hundredfold between father and son, a thousandfold between two nations, and ten-thousandfold in the covenant with the Mazda-worshipping Law.

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Scythian shelf by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the source text printed below. The English is an independent rendering from the source-language transliteration or Greek text, with existing public translations used only as controls for damaged or conventional passages.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text: Miθra Yašt

Young Avestan source text in romanized transliteration from Yasht 10. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

Yasht 10.1-3: mraot ahuro mazda spit amai zarathushtrai, at yat mithrem yim vouru-gaoyaoitim fradadham azem spitama at dim dadh am avantem yesnyata avantem vahmyata yatha mamcit yim ahurem mazdam. merencaite vispam dainghaom mairyo mithro-druxsh spitama, yatha satem kayadhanam avavat ashava-jacit, mithrem ma janya spitama ma yim drvatat peresanghe ma yim hvadaenat ashaonat, vaya zi asti mithro drvatae ca ashaonaeca. asu-aspim dadhaiti mithro yo vouru-gaoyaoitish yoi mithrem noit aiwi-druzhinti, razishtem pantam dadhaiti atarsh mazda ahurahe yoi mithrem noit aiwi-druzhinti.

Yasht 10.7-8: mithrahe vouru-gaoyaoit oish rathwem barentam yazamaide. mithrem vouru-gaoyaoitim yazamaide haomayo gava baresmana, hizvo danghangha manthraca, vacaca shyaothnaca zaothrabyasca, arshuxdhaeibyasca.

Yasht 10.115-118: mithro visaitim antara dva urvatha va dva hama-dahyu. mithro thrishaitim antara dva hama-zantu. mithro cithwarshaitim antara dva hama-nafshu. mithro pancashaitim antara nmana-paiti nmana-paitnish. mithro xshvashaitim antara dva hama-aethrapaiti. mithro haptathishaitim antara aethrapaiti aethrapaitish. mithro ashtishaitim antara zamatara hvasura. mithro navatishaitim antara br atar. mithro satem antara pitar puthra. mithro hazangrem antara dva dahyu. mithro baevare-pairi-baevarem daenaya mazdayasnaya.

Source Colophon

Young Avestan source inspected from the local Good Work Library Mithra Yasht source appendix, which follows Karl Friedrich Geldner's critical edition as digitized at avesta.org. The English rendering above is newly prepared from selected source passages, with the existing local translation and Darmesteter tradition used only as controls.

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