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A Yasht (, ) is a hymn of praise composed in the language and dedicated to specific Zoroastrian . The term commonly applies to the collection of 21 Yashts, although it may also refer to other texts within the wider collection.


Name
The English word yasht is derived from (, "prayer, worship"). In the Pahlavi literature, the word is used interchangeably with yasn. Yasht probably originated from 𐬫𐬀𐬱𐬙𐬀‎ (, "honored") from 𐬫𐬀𐬰‎ (, "to worship, honor"). It may ultimately go back to Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂ǵ- or *Hyaǵ-.

Avestan 𐬫𐬀𐬱𐬙𐬀‎ is also the origin of two other terms. First, Avestan (, act of worship), which is a general Zoroastrian term for an act of worship or specifically the , and, second, Avestan (, (being) worthy of worship), which is a general Zoroastrian term for .


The 21 hymns of the Yasht collection
All the hymns of the Yasht collection "are written in what appears to be prose, but which, for a large part, may originally have been a (basically) eight-syllable verse, oscillating between four and thirteen syllables, and most often between seven and nine." Most of the s that the individual Yashts praise also have a dedication in the Zoroastrian calendar. The exceptions are and .
Overview of the 21 Yashts

The 21 yashts are used today in a wide range of liturgical practices. The can be recited by priests as well as lay people and in a diverse range of settings, like as well as in private or public spaces. They are always addressed to one specific . Their liturgical use is, therefore, different from the high liturgies, like the , or , which are always performed by several priests in a fire temple and are addressed to all Zoroastrian divinities.


Yashts in the wider Avesta
In addition to the hymns in the Yasht collection, the term Yasht is also used in Zoroastrian tradition for other texts. This includes several hymns of the liturgy that "venerate by praise". These Yashts are: the Yasht ( Yasna 2), another in Yasna 9–11, the of Yasna 19–21, a hymn to in Yasna 52, another in Yasna 57, the praise of the (hypostasis of) "prayer" in Yasna 58, and a hymn to the in Yasna 68.


Notes
a. The Yashts did not originally have titles. These were assigned at some time during the , and hence reflect the forms of the divinities' names.
b. Several Yashts are—despite their names—hymns to other divinities or concepts.
  • Yasht 5 is nominally to but primarily addresses Aredvi Sura Anahita, who is (also) a divinity of the waters.
  • Yasht 15 is nominally to Raman ( Rama Kshathra) but praises the "good" Vayu
  • Yasht 16 is nominally to "insight, revelation" but actually invokes "Wisdom". Chista and Daena are very closely associated with one another.
  • Yasht 18, nominally to , is actually an ode to , the "(divine) glory".
  • Yasht 19, nominally to , the "Earth", has very little to do with the earth. See for details.
c. Yashts 1–4 are "mediocre, meaningless texts, composed in incoherent language; they probably result from a very late expansion of the Yašt collection."
d. Yasht 9 to has a number of verses that are originally from Yasht 5, the hymn to the waters.
e. Yashts 11 and 12 are respectively hymns to and , but are to some extent also an extension of Yasht 10, the hymn to . Sraosha and Rashnu are both attendants of Mithra.
f. There is also a "hidden" Yasht to at Yasna 38.
g. Yasht 5 (in praise of Aredvi Sura Anahita) and Yasht 17 (to ) share a number of verses. It is not possible to determine which of the two is the original.
h. The Avesta has two hymns that were later titled Hom Yasht. The original is part of the liturgy and hence not counted as a Yasht. The other, Yasht 20, is a duplicate of the three verses of Yasna 9–11.
i. , divinity of wind and atmosphere, is a dual divinity: part benevolent and part malign.


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