From the Spentamainyu Gatha of the Avesta
Yasna 47 is the first hymn of the Spentamainyu Gatha (Yasna 47–50), the third of the five Gāthā collections attributed to the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster). Where the Ahunavaiti Gatha (Yasna 28–34) established the prophet's voice and the Ushtavaiti Gatha (Yasna 43–46) moved from joy through questioning to lament, the Spentamainyu Gatha opens with a concentrated theological statement: six verses on the Holy Spirit — Spenta Mainyu — as the force through which Ahura Mazdā creates, sustains, and judges. It is the shortest of the Gāthā hymns, and among the most direct.
The hymn's six verses form a complete arc. The first three verses describe the Holy Spirit's gifts — perfection and immortality to those whose thought, word, and deed align with truth (verse 1); the best life lived through wisdom and devotion (verse 2); and the creation of the earth itself, with Armaiti (devotion) as protector and Vohu Manah (good mind) as counsellor (verse 3). The final three verses turn to judgment — the wicked who reject the Holy Spirit are thwarted (verse 4), the righteous receive the promised gifts while the false remain far from God's love (verse 5), and the blazing Fire determines the fate of both parties, drawing the seekers of truth to the path (verse 6). The movement from creation to judgment, from gift to consequence, gives the hymn its theological architecture.
This translation is by Mobed Firouz Azargoshasb, published by the Council of Iranian Mobeds of North America (1988). The Avestan source text in romanised transliteration follows the English for reference and study. With this hymn, the Spentamainyu Gatha begins to enter the library.
Verse 1
One who is led by Thy Holy Spirit and Thy love, his thought, word and deed are good and in tune with truth. He shall be granted perfection and eternity by Mazda Ahura through his strength and love.
Verse 2
One who led by Thy Holy Spirit lives the best life, his words shall be full of love and wisdom, and his hands shall fulfill the task of Armaiti through faith. His life shall be guided by one single thought that only Mazda is the source of truth.
Verse 3
Thou art indeed, O my Lord, the Holy Father of Wisdom. Thou hast created this joy-bringing Mother Earth. When people go towards Vohuman and consult with him Thou shalt grant them peace, O Mazda; and Armaiti or faith shall be the protector.
Verse 4
The wicked persons, O Mazda, who turn away from Thy Holy Spirit, they feel themselves ever-thwarted, but no truthful man shall ever act like that. The truthful person, though of small possessions and poor should be loved and respected, but followers of untruth, though of great possessions and power should be despised and regarded as wicked.
Verse 5
The righteous shall enjoy, O Ahura Mazda, the best gifts promised by Thee, through Thy Holy Spirit. However, the false ones shall remain afar from Thy love, since their evil deeds proceed from their evil minds which darkens with black clouds of wickedness their bright sky of soul.
Verse 6
O Lord of Life and Wisdom, through Thy Holy Spirit and Thy blazing Fire Thou shalt determine the fate of the two parties of righteous and wicked; and grant their respective recompense and penalty. By advancement of Thy fire of faith, truth and purity, O my Lord, the seekers of truth shall come to Thy Path.
Colophon
Yasna 47 is the first hymn of the Spentamainyu Gatha (Yasna 47–50), the third of the five Gāthā collections attributed to Zarathustra. Its six verses are the shortest hymn in the Gāthās and among the most theologically concentrated — a sustained meditation on Spenta Mainyu, the Holy Spirit, as the creative and adjudicative force through which Ahura Mazdā acts in the world. The opening verse names the triad of thought, word, and deed that defines Zoroastrian ethics; the closing verse names the fire that determines the fate of the truthful and the wicked. Between them, the hymn traces the arc from divine gift to divine judgment, with Armaiti (devotion) and Vohu Manah (the good mind) as the instruments of both. With this hymn, the third Gāthā collection begins to enter the library.
Translation by Mobed Firouz Azargoshasb, published by the Council of Iranian Mobeds of North America (March 1988). Electronic version authorised by Mobed Mehraban Zarthoshty of Vancouver, Canada (August 1997). No digitisation errors were identified in the electronic text. Reproduced for scholarly and archival purposes with attribution, per the translator's stated permissions.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Avestan Source Text (Romanised Transliteration)
Old Avestan source text from avesta.org, based on the edition of Karl Friedrich Geldner (Avesta: The Sacred Books of the Parsis, Stuttgart, 1896). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
Verse 1
speñtâ mainyû vahishtâcâ mananghâ hacâ ashât shyaothanâcâ vacanghâcâ ahmâi dãn haurvâtâ ameretâtâ mazdå xshathrâ ârmaitî ahurô.
Verse 2
ahyâ manyêush spênishtahyâ vahishtem hizvâ uxdhâish vanghêush êeânû mananghô ârmatôish zastôibyâ shyaothanâ verezyat ôyâ cistî, hvô patâ ashahyâ mazdå.
Verse 3
ahyâ manyêush tvêm ahî tâ speñtô ýê ahmâi gãm rânyô-skeretîm hêm-tashat at hôi vâstrâi râmâ-då ârmaitîm hyat hêm vohû mazdâ hême-frashtâ mananghâ.
Verse 4
ahmât manyêush râreshyeiñtî dregvañtô mazdâ speñtât nôit ithâ ashâunô kasêushcît nâ ashâunê kâthê anghat isvâcît hãs paraosh akô dregvâitê.
Verse 5
tâcâ speñtâ mainyû mazdâ ahurâ ashâunê côish ýâ-zhî cîcâ vahishtâ hanare thwahmât zaoshât dregvå baxshaitî ahyâ shyaothanâish akât âshyãs mananghô.
Verse 6
tâ då speñtâ mainyû mazdâ ahurâ âthrâ vanghâu vîdâitîm rânôibyâ ârmatôish debãzanghâ ashah'yâcâ hâ-zî pourûsh isheñtô vâurâitê!
Source Colophon
Avestan text in romanised transliteration from avesta.org, the Joseph H. Peterson Encyclopaedia on Iran, based on the critical edition by Karl Friedrich Geldner (Avesta: The Sacred Books of the Parsis, 3 vols., Stuttgart, 1886–1896). The transliteration follows the avesta.org convention, consistent with the Yasna 28 through Yasna 46 source texts in this archive. Liturgical performance directions (zôt u râspî), repetition markers, and the closing liturgical formula have been omitted for clarity, following the convention established for the Ahunavaiti, Ushtavaiti, and Vahishtoishti Gatha source texts in this archive. A stray digital artifact ("dà") has been removed from verse 2, consistent with the same artifact found and removed from Yasna 46, verse 9. The Gāthās survive in manuscripts no older than the fourteenth century CE, but linguistic analysis places their composition in the second millennium BCE, contemporary with the Rigvedic hymns.
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