VANANT YASHT —  TRANSLITERATION.

*Vanant Yasht is prayed to banish **Kharfestar (see meaning below) and harmful animals from our lives. Vanant is considered a guardian of goodness. It is believed that praying the Vanant Yasht is a potent remedy in fighting evil. The literal meaning of Vanant is ‘conqueror’ and Vanant Yasht is the liturgy of it.

The Transliteration

From “Paname Yazdaan……pa patet hom.”

The greatness of Hormazd!

In the name of Khodai Hormazd Sahib who promotes /give progress!

May his splendour/majesty and aura (khoreh) increase!

Created by Hormazd, the holy Vanant stars, foremost in purity come to my aid!

I do penance for all my sins and become cleansed.

In this world, all the evil thoughts I may have brought to my mind, ill words that

I may have spoken, bad deeds that I may have done, those that I have induced or I have begun or that I have encouraged — those sins of thoughts, of words, of deeds, of my body and soul, of this world, of the next world— for these I am remorseful and abstain from them, I do penance for these by observing the three intrinsic goodness ( good thoughts good words good deeds).

‘Fravaraane Mazdsyasno’

A Promise (fravarane) to the Mazdayasne religion

I, the brave follower of Hormazd, follower of the Path revealed by Zoroaster, renounce  the Demons (Div also means senses), a person who behaves in accordance with the way/command of Hormazd (the Geh is prayed here) promise  (Fravaraane) in order to please, offer latria (highest worship to the divine) and laud Vanant stars created by Hormazd to worship, to sing his praises, propitiate his greatness, laud him so that, the great spirit/ meaning of ‘Yatha Ahu Vairyo’ be revealed to me; the pure sage /expert, the learned ‘Atha Rathush Asha Chit Hasha’, be revealed to me.

We glorify the holy Vanant stars, the foremost in purity (Ashoi); created by Hormazd. I extol Vanant the praiseworthy, the illustrious, that bestows health, has the courage to combat the despised and worst of **Khrafstar (destructive creatures from another timeline or creation cycle) produced by Angre Manyu, who is to be shunned. (During prayers we clap here once).

We glorify the holy Vanant stars, the foremost in purity (Ashoi); created by Hormazd. I extol Vanant the praiseworthy, the illustrious, that bestows health, has the courage to combat the despised and worst of **Khrafstar (destructive creatures from another timeline or creation cycle) produced by Angre Manyu, who is to be shunned. (During prayers we clap here twice).

We glorify the holy Vanant stars, the foremost in purity (Ashoi); created by Hormazd. I extol Vanant the praiseworthy, the illustrious, that bestows health, has the courage to combat the despised and worst of **Khrafstar (destructive creatures from another timeline or creation cycle) produced by Angre Manyu, who is to be shunned. (During prayers we clap here thrice).

(To be prayed silently, ‘Baaj ma’)

I clamp shut the laws (mouth) of all rat and cat species (rodents and feline), so they cannot harm/damage my house. Let good health be celebrated! I invoke Hormazd, ***Faredoon, that Faredoon who is the son of Aathavyaan, I invoke his bloodline (****Kovat) and his aura (Khoreh). (Clap 3 times).

I clamp shut the jaws of snake and his ilk (reptiles); so that they cannot           harm/damage my house. Let good health be celebrated! I invoke Hormazd, ***Faredoon, that Faredoon who is the son of Aathavyaan, I invoke his bloodline (****Kovat) and his aura (Khoreh). (Clap 3 times).

I clamp shut the jaws of the wolf and all its ilk (canine), known-unknown all          wolves (canine) and cats (feline) so that they do not harm/damage my house. Let good health be celebrated! I invoke Hormazd, ***Faredoon, that Faredoon who is the son of Aathavyaan, I invoke his bloodline (****Kovat) and his aura (Khoreh). (Clap 3 times).

“Ahura Mazda Khodai avazuni marhum…..rasanad aedunbad”.

O Hormazd Khodai, the one to give growth/ progress to men, mankind, to all other creation, to all who participate /share in the good religion! I, an adherent of the Mazda Yasni religion have been already informed/ forewarned /told to always walk on the Path of Righteousness. So let it be!

“Yasnemcha vahmemcha…….Vanant Sitara”

I laud the Vanant Star, worthy of latria, well reputed, with intelligence to be victorious.

For meaning of Ahmai Rasche, Hazangaram, Jashme Avange Mazda and Kerfeh Mazda please refer to the Transliteration given under Sarosh Baaj on this Blog

“Roj neknaam….staomi ashem.”

This well reputed day, this holy day, celebrated/ felicitous day of ————–(name), celebrated/felicitous month of ———–(name), Geh _________(name), homage to the creator who brought this universe into be in being.

“Gorze khoreh avazyad……aedunbaad”

May the aura increase of the Vanant Star! Brave, victorious, (Star) raise my courage to attain victory in being aware of and following the Path. May the fame of the good Zoroastrian (Mazda Yasni) religion and its awareness spread throughout the seven continents. So let it be!

“Man aano ……avavyad shudan.”

I must/should go there; I must/should go there; I must/should go there.

“Dadaare gehaan din…..Anahite ashaone.” (To face south when praying)

The religion revealed by Zoroaster was given by Hormazd, the creator. O the sanctified (ashaum), super-strong (sevishte), immaculate (Ananhite), Ardvisur (well-known Iranian river) I offer prayers to you! (Pray Ashem Vohu).

O the meritorious, created by Dadaar Hormazd. (Pray Ashem Vohu).

O virtuous soul (urvaire vanguhi), homage! (Pray Ashem Vohu).

“Vanantem Sitarem…yazamaide.”

O the Vanant Star, created by Mazda, endowed with righteousness (Ashvanem), most fit disciple, we celebrate you! (Pray Ashem Vohu).

O the Vanant Star, whose creator is Hormazd, sanctified by righteousness, by Asha (righteousness/eternal law) grow splendidly exalted. (Pray Ashem Vohu).

NIRANG:

All tribulation, and the demigods/demons, and the falsehoods, and the fairies, and the Witches/she demons, and the magicians, and the bad winds (infection), and the pains, and stomach aches and pains of the seven joints in the body, and the evil emanating from Satan, and anguish (pain of the heart), and mental pains, and the vibrations that cause malaise of the mind, and the evil eye, and the temptation that arises from becoming aware of evil persons, and all such trials;

May these be vanquished and become impotent.

* Vanant, In Zoroastrianism, is the hypostasis (underlying substance, fundamental reality) of the ‘Star of the West’, a binary multiple star system in the Constellation, Scorpious. The star system is variously recognized as Altair, Fomalhaut, Vega, Sargas or Kappa Scorpii/Girtab . Girtab or Vanant is the 83rd brightest star in the night sky and can be seen with the naked eye; it is a pulsating blue Giant. The mass and radius of the primary star in the system is about 7 times that of our Sun in both cases.

Unlike the other energies, there is no month or day dedicated to Vanant; it is invoked with other astral phenomena every month on the second and third day.

Tishtriya (Teshtar sitaara) and Vanant are constant companions.

The only other divinity with no such dedication is Drvaspa

Vanant is perhaps an adaptation of the Sumero-Akkadian ‘Vanand’ and perhaps because of and during the Achamenid Empire’s proximity to Babylon

Vannati Upartat in Zoroastrianism, are the energies which protect the environment, animals and plants. Strangely, Hindi still retains the word Vanant meaning Jungles, or the boundary of the jungle, maidaan, field or battle field.

In Armenia people still use ‘Vanant’ as a name for a male child.

In the USA, ‘Vanant’ was a family name and not that of an individual. This was discovered in the 1940s during a search of the USA Census Record

The Census had records of their Vanant ancestors including their day to day life — like hours worked per week, level of education, veteran status, employers, and more. In the 1880s, the most common Vanant occupation in the USA was that of a Farmer. A 100% of Vanants were Farmers.

**Khrafstar : In its simplest connotation means  “Most hideous noxious     creature, most filthy and most stinking”; like, frogs, reptiles, scorpions , insects, ants, wasps, rats, midges, locust, lice, fleas which are harmful or repulsive — creations of the Ahriman. Predators were not included in the term. Khrafstar also denoted mad monstrous spirits that plagued the pre-historic world.

Traditionally, the word denoted creatures from another cycle of creation bringing ruin and destruction to the present world. These are creatures believed to exist in limbo (somewhere between Spirit and Material Worlds).

In an intangible sense it has been translated as a conscious force which

manifests inappropriately/improperly — a monstrosity, a maliciously clever, corrupt, half-witted, or intelligence, distorted wisdoms or visions of bygone era –creations of the Ahriman and Angre Manyu; Stagnant energy that has stopped progressing. In Zoroastrian lore, all that has stopped evolving or progressing has no further place in creation. The word is a precursor to the Middle Persian word ‘Druj’ also translated as falsehood.

In the descending line of evil, Khrafstars are lesser than the Div but a greater evil thanHumans. This evil can be transformed or destroyed with knowledge and wisdom. It is not invincible.

After the Muslims conquered Iran, ‘Khrafstar’ included wild animals which meaning is entirely contrary to the ancient lore and understanding. ‘Yašn-e ḵarafstra koshuun’ a ‘feast of destroying Vermin’ with ‘ḵarafstraḡāns’ (rods to kill vermin), was an annual tradition at the start of summer. The entire town was then disinfected and the dead vermin treated with drugs to decompose.

Christianity has brought the Khrafstar to our era as the animals used in witch craft and omens. The ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ (the Hammer of the Witches), the legal and theological document (c. 1486) the standard handbook on witchcraft is based on the idea of Khrafstar in Middle Zoroastrianism.

***Faredoon. Ancient texts speak of Faredoon, son of Aathavyaan, as an expert in all the Nirangs. Through these Nirangs he was able to prevent all harm and mischief to himself and deterred all the divs and druj from affecting him. Some texts acclaim him as a prophet.

****Kovat. I have translated Kovat as bloodline or ancestry or lineage. The word still remains and is in use in the Finnish, Czech and the Russian languages from amongst the Indo-Germanic group of languages. I give the meanings hereunder:

In Russian it means Forged, made from.

In Finnish it means heavy –handed, (object) hard, (person) hard, strict, harsh, (noise) loud, (blow) hard, heavy, (thirst, hunger) severe, (ammunition) live, pornography – hardcore.

In Czech it means to forge, to hammer.