Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism

«This, despite its present relative neglect, is one which in its time has exerted more influence on the religious history of mankind than any other single faith.» — Boyce, en el prólogo, sostiene que la influencia histórica del zoroastrismo sobre la historia religiosa de la humanidad supera la de cualquier otra fe, y la enuncia contra el descuido presente.

«It has also preserved, in its traditions and worship, some immensely archaic elements, going far back beyond the distant day of its own foundation; so that for manifold reasons it richly merits study, whether for comparative purposes or simply for its own sake.» — Boyce señala que la religión conserva en tradición y culto elementos anteriores a su propia fundación, y de ahí deriva dos razones de estudio: la comparativa y la que no necesita comparación.

«Gathic Avestan takes its name from the chief texts to survive in this dialect, i.e. the seventeen Gathas composed by the prophet himself. Although only this part of the Avesta is directly attributable to him, traditionally the whole Avesta is held to be inspired by his teachings; and many Younger Avestan texts are presented as if directly revealed to him by God.» — Boyce distingue lo que se atribuye directamente a Zarathushtra —los diecisiete Gathas— de lo que la tradición tiene por inspirado por él, y señala que muchos textos avésticos jóvenes se presentan como revelados a él por Dios.

«When Zarathushtra lived the Iranians were not familiar with writing; and for many centuries afterwards they regarded this alien art as fit only for secular purposes. All their religious works were handed down orally; it was not until probably the fifth century A.C. that they were at last committed to writing, in the 'Avestan' alphabet, especially invented for the purpose. The oldest extant ms. is dated to 1323 A.C.» — Boyce enuncia la larga oralidad de la tradición y su motivo declarado: la escritura era arte ajeno, bueno solo para lo secular; el manuscrito más antiguo que sobrevive es de 1323.

«The Gathas were piously preserved by being made part of the liturgy of the Yasna (Y.), the 'Act of worship', which was solemnised daily. They were arranged formally in five groups, according to their five metres, and were set before and after the Yasna Haptanhaiti (YHapt.), the 'Worship of the seven Sections'.» — Boyce explica que los Gathas se conservaron por estar incrustados en la liturgia del Yasna, ordenados en cinco grupos según sus cinco metros.

«So in Zoroastrian worship the Gathas, as the greatest of manthras (inspired holy utterances) guard the central rituals of the faith with their sacred power.» — Boyce enuncia la función ritual que la tradición da a los Gathas: manthras, palabras inspiradas que guardan con su poder los ritos centrales.

«At some stage, probably during the early Islamic period, it was made part of a night celebration of the Yasna, being read aloud then in its entirety. Even today this is the only liturgical text which is not recited entirely from memory.» — Boyce señala que el Vendidad es el único texto litúrgico que no se recita entero de memoria, y liga el hecho a su lectura íntegra en una celebración nocturna del Yasna.

«This name is given to selections from the above texts which, together with some Middle Persian ones, form a book of common prayer. Every Khorda Avesta contains the same body of essential prayers for everyday use, but there is some variation in their arrangement, and in the selections from the Yashts. Some have at the end a few prayers in a modern language (Persian or Gujarati).» — Boyce define el Khorda Avesta como devocionario de uso común: mismo cuerpo de oraciones esenciales con variación en el orden y en la selección de Yashts.

«The laity have used Khorda Avestas only since the nineteenth century A.C. (when the holy texts were first printed); before then they learnt all their prayers by heart from the family priest or their parents.» — Boyce fecha en el siglo XIX, con la imprenta, el momento en que el laicado dejó de aprender las oraciones de memoria del sacerdote de familia o de los padres.

«After the tenth century even Zoroastrians abandoned composition in Pahlavi almost entirely for modern Persian, written in Arabic script with many Arabic loan words. Gradually the community was reduced by persecution to a poor and intellectually isolated minority, whose energies had to go into surviving and into preserving the core of the teachings of their faith.» — Boyce fecha en el siglo X el abandono del pahlavi por el persa moderno y describe la reducción de la comunidad por persecución a minoría pobre y aislada, con las energías puestas en sobrevivir y en preservar el núcleo de la enseñanza.

«In the ninth century A.C. a band of Zoroastrians left Iran to find religious freedom in Gujarat, western India, where they were known as Parsis, i.e. Persians.» — Boyce data en el siglo IX la salida de Irán hacia Gujarat y da la etimología del nombre parsi: persas.

«From the mid-nineteenth century, when the Parsis were prospering greatly, there is a considerable Parsi literature, in Gujarati and English, concerned with doctrines and observances. Down to this period the Zoroastrian tradition appears highly conservative and orthodox;» — Boyce data a mediados del siglo XIX el arranque de una literatura parsi abundante en gujarati e inglés y califica de conservadora y ortodoxa la tradición hasta ese corte.

«but the community suffered severe mental and emotional shocks through the abruptness of its encounter with the world of modern thought; many of its devout members were left confused and troubled, and began to look hurriedly for new interpretations of ancient doctrines and rituals.» — Boyce describe el choque de la comunidad con el pensamiento moderno y la busca apresurada de interpretaciones nuevas para doctrinas y ritos antiguos.

«Many Parsi devotional works, from this time onward, are unconsciously influenced therefore by Christian, Hindu or theosophical teachings, and some reformist ones incline to a simple theism, with virtually no observances.» — Boyce sostiene que la devoción parsi moderna queda influida sin saberlo por lo cristiano, lo hindú y lo teosófico, y que parte del reformismo se inclina a un teísmo simple sin observancias.

«In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Parsi priests began to write detailed expositions of the rituals and ceremonies of the faith, in Gujarati and English. The Pahlavi ritual texts are too technical and concise to be readily understood, and so these more recent works are valuable for the light they shed on Zoroastrian worship.» — Boyce señala que las exposiciones rituales escritas por sacerdotes parsis en gujarati e inglés valen porque los textos rituales pahlavíes son demasiado técnicos y concisos para leerse de corrido.

«This is the more important since Parsis do not admit non-Zoroastrians to their holy places.» — Boyce consigna la regla de acceso que hace del testimonio escrito la única vía para el observador de fuera: los parsis no admiten a no zoroástricos en sus lugares santos.

«Towards the end of the second millennium B.C. the Iranian tribes moved south off the steppes, and gradually conquered and settled the land now called, after them, Iran. Eastern Iranians evidently carried Zoroastrianism with them, and eventually the western Iranians, i.e. the Medes and Persians, also adopted the faith.» — Boyce traza la bajada de las tribus iranias desde la estepa y sostiene que los iranios orientales llevaron consigo el zoroastrismo y que medos y persas lo adoptaron después.

«It became the religion of the Persian Achaemenians, whose empire (see map) was the greatest in the ancient world; and religious material occurs in their inscriptions.» — Boyce hace del zoroastrismo la religión del imperio aqueménida y señala las inscripciones como el sitio donde asoma la materia religiosa.

«The Avesta itself remained, however, Eastern Iranian in substance as well as language, and there is no reference in it to these or any other Western Iranians, although the Medo-Persian magi became the best known of the Zoroastrian priests.» — Boyce consigna el silencio del Avesta sobre los iranios occidentales pese a que los magos medo-persas fueron los sacerdotes zoroástricos más conocidos; el desacuerdo entre el texto y la historia queda sin armonizar.

«Zarathushtra has often been called a religious reformer, but he was so only in the sense that this is true of the other great founders of world religions, i.e. he evidently accepted much of the faith into which he was born, but transformed it through a new teaching.» — Boyce acota el rótulo de reformador: lo acepta solo en el sentido en que vale para los demás fundadores, es decir, quien acepta mucho de la fe en que nace y la transforma con una enseñanza nueva.

«From perhaps 5000 to about 2000 B.C. they formed a single group, a branch of the Indo-European family of nations; and their homeland appears to have been the south Russian steppes, east of the Volga, where they lived as pastoralists, herding their cattle on foot.» — Boyce fecha la unidad indoirania entre el 5000 y el 2000 antes de Cristo y sitúa su patria en las estepas del sur de Rusia, al este del Volga.

«They moved presumably over hereditary tribal grazing grounds (such as the Airyanem Vaejah, MP. Eranvej, Tranian Expanse', of Zoroastrian tradition), from spring to autumn,» — Boyce identifica el Airyanem Vaejah de la tradición zoroástrica con los pastizales tribales hereditarios del ciclo estacional; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana.

«They lived close to their animals (a traditional Avestan term for the community is pasu-vira 'cattle-(and)-men'); and their society seems to have been divided into two main groups, priests and warrior herdsmen.» — Boyce deriva la cercanía con el ganado del propio término avéstico pasu-vira y divide aquella sociedad en dos grupos: sacerdotes y pastores guerreros.

«Training for the priesthood began between five and seven, and maturity was reached at fifteen years of age, when all males (to judge by Brahmanic usage) were invested with a sacred cord as an act of initiation into the adult community.» — Boyce describe la iniciación con el cordón sagrado a los quince años, y declara su fuente por analogía: *to judge by Brahmanic usage*.

«The vastness of the steppes encouraged the Indo-Iranians to conceive their gods as cosmic, not local, divinities; and they apprehended a universal principle of what ought to be, Av. 'asha', Skt. 'rta', variously translated as 'order, righteousness, truth'.» — Boyce liga la vastedad de la estepa a la concepción de dioses cósmicos y no locales, y enuncia el principio de asha, rta en sánscrito, con sus tres traducciones.

«This principle should govern everything, from the workings of nature to human laws and all human conduct. It was guarded, they held, by a great triad of ethical divinities, the Lords, Av. 'Ahura', Skt. 'Asura'.» — Boyce extiende asha de las operaciones de la naturaleza a la ley y la conducta humanas, y lo pone bajo la guarda de la tríada de los Ahuras.

«The greatest of them, known to the Iranians as Ahura Mazda, 'Lord of Wisdom', was conceived, it seems, as the divine counterpart of the wise high priest, who wielded authority in the tribe through his learning and sacral powers. In the Rigveda he is reverenced, it appears, simply as 'the Asura'.» — Boyce hace de Ahura Mazda la contraparte divina del sumo sacerdote sabio, cuya autoridad venía del saber y del poder sacral, y señala que el Rigveda lo venera simplemente como el Asura; lo dice con *it seems* y *it appears*.

«Below him were the lesser Ahuras, Varuna and Mithra (Vedic Mitra), guardians respectively of the oath and covenant, who came therefore to hypostatise truth and loyalty and were active in doing his will. These two divinities seem divine counterparts of those tribal chieftains who were 'ashavan', 'possessing asha', i.e. just, upholders of the laws.» — Boyce reparte entre Varuna y Mithra la guarda del juramento y del pacto, hipostasiados en verdad y lealtad, y los empareja con los jefes tribales ashavan, los que poseen asha.

«Varuna as lord of the truly spoken word was venerated particularly as a creator-god. His name was not uttered in the known Iranian tradition, in which he is invoked only by cult epithets.» — Boyce consigna que el nombre de Varuna no se pronunciaba en la tradición irania conocida, donde se le invoca solo por epítetos de culto.

«Another powerful god, Indra, was worshipped as the divine counterpart of the warrior, an amoral being, invoked for strength, courage, and success in battle.» — Boyce describe a Indra como contraparte divina del guerrero y lo llama ser amoral, invocado por fuerza, valor y éxito en la batalla.

«They thought of the divine beings as generally benevolent, attributing evil mainly to earth-bound devils, sorcerers and the like.» — Boyce sitúa el mal, en la religión irania antigua, no en los seres divinos sino en demonios terrestres y hechiceros.

«As wandering pastoralists the Indo-Iranians had no temples, and worshipped mainly in the open, without altars or images.» — Boyce consigna la ausencia de templos, altares e imágenes en el culto indoiranio.

«An important rite, enacted during the Yasna, consisted of expressing the juice of an intoxicant (Av. haoma, Skt. soma), which, when consecrated, was offered to the gods and drunk ritually by the worshippers.» — Boyce describe el rito del jugo embriagante —haoma en avéstico, soma en sánscrito— consagrado, ofrecido a los dioses y bebido ritualmente.

«Daily offerings were made to the hearth fire and sources of pure water; and priestly offerings to fire and water also formed part of the Yasna rituals.» — Boyce consigna la ofrenda diaria al fuego del hogar y a las aguas puras, que reaparece como ofrenda sacerdotal dentro del Yasna.

«His kingdom was reached by perilous ways which led to the 'Chinvat Crossing', possibly a ford over an underground river, guarded by supernatural dogs.» — Boyce sitúa el Paso de Chinvat como vado posible sobre un río subterráneo, guardado por perros sobrenaturales.

«There seems also to have been a hero cult, in which the souls of the mighty dead were venerated as 'fravashis', powerful supernatural beings able to protect their descendants if duly worshipped.» — Boyce propone un culto heroico en que las almas de los muertos poderosos se veneran como fravashis capaces de proteger a sus descendientes si se les da culto.

«While the Indo-Iranians were still one people, a belief evolved that some fortunate souls were able to ascend after death to join the gods in Paradise, the 'House of Song', there to enjoy perpetual bliss.» — Boyce data en la unidad indoirania la creencia en que algunas almas afortunadas ascienden tras la muerte a la Casa del Canto.

«With this belief was linked the concept of resurrection of the body, which was thought, it seems, to be recreated from the dry bones a year or so after death, after which the re-embodied spirit could again experience all the pleasures of earthly existence.» — Boyce liga la esperanza del paraíso a la resurrección del cuerpo, recreado desde los huesos secos un año después de la muerte; lo dice con *it seems*.

«As the hope of Paradise grew more general the 'Chinvat Crossing' came to be thought of as a bridge between earth and heaven. If the soul succeeded in passing over this a beautiful girl appeared to lead it upward to the gods.» — Boyce traza el cambio del Paso de Chinvat de vado a puente entre la tierra y el cielo, con la doncella hermosa que guía al alma que lo cruza.

«Cult of the ancestors was important, and was based on caring for the souls» — Boyce declara importante el culto a los antepasados; la frase se corta en el límite de plana y sigue en la 21 con las ofrendas de comida y ropa consagradas al reino de Yima.

«Textual sources for the study of Zoroastrianism / edited and translated by Mary Boyce. p. cm. Reprint. Originally published: Manchester, U.K. ; Dover, N.H., U.S.A. : Manchester University Press. 1984.» — la ficha catalográfica de la Library of Congress, que es lo que imprime la plana de derechos, asienta a Mary Boyce como editora y traductora del volumen y declara que la edición de Chicago es reimpresión de la de Manchester.

«(Textual sources for the study of religion). Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-226-06930-3 (pbk.)» — la misma ficha asienta la serie, la presencia de bibliografía e índice y el ISBN del ejemplar en rústica.

«1. Zoroastrianism. I Boyce, Mary. II. Title: Zoroastrianism. III. Series: Textual sources for the study of religion.» — los encabezamientos de materia y de autoridad de la Library of Congress: el volumen se indiza por la materia, por Boyce y por la serie.

«Printed in the United States of America 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 90 6 5 4 3 2 1» — el pie de imprenta y la doble hilera de cifras que marca la tirada; la línea de años llega hasta 1999 y la de impresiones hasta la primera.

«The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984» — la declaración de permanencia del papel que cierra la plana de derechos.

«TEXTUAL SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF Z o r o a s t r i a n i s m edited and translated by Mary Boyce Emeritus Professor of Iranian Studies in the University of London» — la portada, donde la capa de texto conserva el espaciado con que está compuesto el título; Boyce firma como editora y traductora, con su cátedra emérita de estudios iranios.

«The first systematic attempt to provide such translations was the monumental Sacred Books of the East in the nineteenth century. These were pioneering volumes but, naturally, are now somewhat out of date.» — Hinnells, editor de la serie, sitúa el precedente que la serie quiere relevar y le pone el límite de la edad.

«Since linguistic studies have advanced and more materials have come to light it is important to make some of these findings of twentieth-century scholarship available to students.» — Hinnells da la razón del relevo: avance lingüístico y materiales nuevos.

«Books in this series are written by specialists in the respective textual traditions, so that students can work on the secure foundation of authoritative translations of major literary sources.» — Hinnells declara el criterio de autoría de la serie.

«The nineteenth-century focus was largely on scriptural traditions and the 'official' theological writings of the great thinkers within each tradition.» — Hinnells describe el foco decimonónico que la serie ensancha.

«Religious studies should, obviously, include such materials; but this series also reflects more recent scholarly trends in that it is concerned with a much wider range of literature, with liturgy and legend, folklore and faith, mysticism and modern thought, political issues, poetry and popular writings.» — Hinnells enuncia la ampliación de materia de la serie, que mete liturgia, leyenda, folklore y escritura popular junto a lo doctrinal.

«However important scriptural texts are in a number of religions, even the most authoritative writings have been interpreted and elucidated; their thoughts have been developed and adapted.» — Hinnells sostiene que ni los escritos más autorizados llegan sin interpretación.

«Texts are part of living, changing religions, and the anthologies in this series seek to encapsulate something of the rich variety to be found in each tradition.» — Hinnells enuncia el supuesto de la serie: el texto pertenece a una religión viva y la antología busca su variedad.

«The translations are accompanied by generous annotation, glosses and explanations, thus providing valuable aids to understanding the especial character of each religion.» — Hinnells describe el aparato que acompaña a las traducciones de la serie.

«Books in this series are intended primarily for students in higher education in universities and colleges, but it is hoped that they will be of interest also for schools and for members of some, at least, of the religious communities with whose traditions they are concerned.» — Hinnells nombra al lector previsto y extiende la esperanza a las propias comunidades religiosas.

«I am indebted to the following individuals for kindly allowing me to reproduce passages from their works, and to the journals, institutes or publishers concerned for also giving their consent:» — Boyce abre sus agradecimientos declarando que reproduce pasajes de obras ajenas con permiso de sus autores y editoriales.

«Dr Jal F. Bulsara; Mr H. E. Eduljee (and Zoroastrian Studies, Bombay); Professor R. N. Frye (and the Mediaeval Academy of America); Professor Milton Gold (and Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente); Professor J. Gwyn Griffiths (and University of Wales Press); Professor K. D. Irani (and Parsiana, Bombay); Mr Khojeste P. Mistree; Mr B. R. Panthaki (on behalf of the late Mr Ph. N. Tavaria); Mr Rusi B. Pastakia; Dr M. Shaki (and Archiv Orientalnt); Professor H.-P. Schmidt (and the Postgraduate and Research Institute of the Deccan College, Poona)» — la lista de quienes autorizaron la reproducción; son las voces vivas del capítulo 11, y por eso el volumen no es solo traducción de textos antiguos.

«I am further indebted to Mr J. R. Hinnells and Dastur Dr Κ. M. JamaspAsa for generously making available for inclusion in this anthology the materials in 11.4.2,3.1,3.2, which they had already selected for their own forthcoming work, The Parsis in British India (to be published by Manchester University Press)» — Boyce declara que tres de sus selecciones —11.4.2, 3.1 y 3.2— vienen ya escogidas por Hinnells y JamaspAsa para un libro suyo entonces en prensa.

«* A doubtful meaning or a restored form. (This sign is used sparingly, and not at all in the Gatha translations, for which reference should be made to the latest editions of the text, see Bibliography A under H. Humbach and S. Insler.)» — la convención tipográfica del volumen: el asterisco marca sentido dudoso o forma restituida, y Boyce declara que no lo usa en las Gathas, donde remite a Humbach y a Insler.

«Translations are particularly numerous for the Gathas, composed by the founder of the faith himself. For their interpretation not only years of specialised linguistic study are needed, but also a sound knowledge of the later holy texts, and of the forms of worship.» — Boyce explica por qué las Gathas se traducen tanto y qué doble competencia exige interpretarlas.

«Such competence is rarely united in a single scholar, and so the interpretation of these supremely difficult works has been a matter of shared undertaking, to which generations of scholars have by now contributed, and are still contributing.» — Boyce declara que la interpretación de las Gathas es obra compartida de generaciones y no de un solo filólogo.

«The translations of them offered here have no claim to originality, but derive from this broad tradition.» — Boyce retira toda pretensión de originalidad a sus versiones de las Gathas.

«I am indebted to the general editor of the series, J. R. Hinnells, not only for inviting me to contribute to it, but also for wise comments and counsel during the preparation of the volume;» — Boyce nombra a Hinnells como editor general que le encargó el tomo.

«and as always my thanks are due to my Zoroastrian friends, both Irani and Parsi, who have generously helped a non-Zoroastrian to gain some measure of knowledge of their venerable religion.» — Boyce declara su posición: se nombra a sí misma no zoroástrica y agradece a amigos iranis y parsis el conocimiento que tiene de la religión.

«It forms a companion volume to the writer's Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and practices (see Bibliography B), in which a study of theology and observance is set in a framework of the history of the faith.» — Boyce sitúa la antología al lado de su propio libro de exposición y reparte los papeles: aquí las fuentes, allá la teología y la historia.

«A.C. After the birth of Christ Av. Avestan AVN. Arda Viraz Namag Dk. Denkard Eng. English GAv. Gathic Avestan GBd. Greater Bundahishn MP. Middle Persian NP. New Persian Ny. Nyayesh Olr. Old Iranian Pähl. Pahlavi Riv. Rivayat RV. Rigveda SBE. Sacred Books of the East SGV. Shkand-gumanig Vizar Skt. Sanskrit Vd. Vendidad WZ. Wizidagiha i Zadspram Y. Yasna YAv. Younger Avestan YHapt. Yasna Haptanhaiti Yt. Yasht Zor. Zoroastrian ZVYt. Zand i Vahman Yasht» — la tabla de abreviaturas del volumen, que es la clave para leer los locators internos de cada extracto; Boyce data por *A.C.*, after the birth of Christ, y no por la fórmula A.D.

«The Avesta is composed in two stages of an otherwise unrecorded Eastern Iranian language: 'Gathic' Avestan (GAv.), which in its forms is close to the language of the Indian Rigveda (which is generally assigned to the second millennium B.C.); and 'Younger' Avestan (YAv.).» — Boyce fija las dos lenguas del Avesta y empareja el avéstico gáthico con la lengua del Rigveda, fechado en el segundo milenio antes de Cristo.

«The word 'gatha' (which exists also in Sanskrit) is variously rendered as 'hymn', 'poem', or 'psalm'. Zarathushtra's Gathas are short verse texts, cast largely in the form of utterances addressed by him to Ahura Mazda; and they convey, through inspired poetry, visions of God and his purposes, and prophecies of things to come, here and hereafter.» — Boyce traduce el término y describe la forma de los Gathas: versos breves puestos en boca de Zarathushtra dirigiéndose a Ahura Mazda.

«they belong, it seems, to an ancient and learned tradition of religious poetry composed by priestly seers, who sought through study and meditation to reach direct communion with the divine.» — Boyce sitúa los Gathas en un linaje de poesía sacerdotal cuya finalidad declarada es la comunión directa con lo divino, y lo dice con *it seems*.

«However, they are the only examples of this tradition to survive in Iran; and this literary isolation, together with their great antiquity, means that they contain many words of unknown or uncertain meaning, and have baffling complexities of grammar and syntax. All this, added to their depth and originality of thought, makes them extraordinarily difficult to translate.» — Boyce da las razones filológicas por las que los Gathas resisten la traducción: aislamiento literario, antigüedad, vocabulario incierto y sintaxis.

«Only a few verses can be understood by themselves in a wholly unambiguous way; but keys to their interpretation are provided by the Younger Avesta and the Pahlavi Zand (see below), which set out clearly doctrines often only alluded to in the Gathas.» — Boyce declara que la clave de lectura de los Gathas la dan los textos posteriores, que enuncian lo que allí solo se alude.

«The living tradition of the faith, especially in worship, is also an invaluable aid.» — Boyce cuenta la tradición viva del culto entre los instrumentos de interpretación, junto al Rigveda.

«The Yasna liturgy was extended over the centuries, and finally grew to have seventy-two sections. These, almost all in Younger Avestan, are of varying age and content. The Gathic texts were kept at the heart of the liturgy, being now protected in their turn by the Younger Avestan additions.» — Boyce describe el crecimiento del Yasna a setenta y dos secciones y la protección en capas del núcleo gáthico.

«Some of the materials of the extended Yasna were taken from the Yashts (Yt.), hymns to the lesser divine beings of Zoroastrianism. A few of these are known as the 'great yashts', because of their length, and the poetic quality and antiquity of some of their verses, which (as Rigvedic parallels show) go back in substance to the Indo-Iranian period i.e. to at least 2000 B.C.;» — Boyce define los Yashts como himnos a los seres divinos menores y data la sustancia de los grandes yashts en el periodo indoirania por los paralelos rigvédicos.

«only the Gathic texts were exactly memorised, because of their great holiness. Other, less sacred, works were handed down in a more fluid oral transmission, that is, partly memorised, partly composed afresh by each generation of poet-priests, so that the language in which they were recited evolved with the spoken tongue.» — Boyce distingue dos regímenes de transmisión oral: memorización exacta para lo gáthico y transmisión fluida, recompuesta en cada generación, para lo demás.

«The Vendidad (Vd.) is a mixed collection of prose texts in late Younger Avestan, probably compiled in the Parthian period. Most are concerned with the purity laws, as a means of combating the forces of evil; and its name, a corruption of Av. Vidaevadata, means 'Against the Daevas' i.e. the evil beings.» — Boyce fecha el Vendidad en el periodo parto, lo describe como colección mixta sobre las leyes de pureza y deriva su nombre de Vidaevadata.

«The chief source for the teachings of Zarathushtra (known to the West as Zoroaster) is the compilation of holy works called the Avesta, a name which probably means The Injunction (of Zarathushtra)'.» — Boyce nombra la fuente principal de las enseñanzas y propone la etimología del nombre Avesta, con el *probably* a cuestas; la capa de texto pierde la comilla de apertura del término traducido.

«The five Nyayesh (Ny.) are prayers for regular recitation by priests and laity alike. They are addressed to the Sun and Mithra (to be recited together, three times a day); the Moon (three times a month); the Waters and Fire.» — Boyce enumera los cinco Nyayesh por sus destinatarios y por su cadencia: sol y Mithra tres veces al día, luna tres veces al mes, aguas y fuego.

«The five Gah are texts of similar character. They are meant to form part of the prayers to be recited during each of the five divisions (gah) of the twenty-four hours, and contain invocations of the lesser divinities who watch over each of these periods (cf. 2.3.3.21).» — Boyce describe los cinco Gah como las oraciones de las cinco divisiones del día, cada una con las divinidades menores que velan su periodo.

«Under the Sasanians a canon of Avestan texts was established, grouped into twenty-one nasks (books); and it was this massive collection of holy texts which was at last committed to writing in the fifth or sixth century A.C.» — Boyce fecha el canon sasánida de veintiún nasks y su puesta por escrito.