Haft Amahraspand is a compound term ofMiddle Persianhaft, with the meaningseven,[3] andamahraspand, the Middle Persian term for theAmesha Spenta.[4] It therefore means theseven Amesha Spentas. The hymn is also known asHaf-tan Yasht orHaptan Yasht meaningYasht of the Seven.[5]
Within the Yasht collection of 21 Yashts, the Haft Amahraspand Yasht is the second hymn. Overall, the literary quality of the Yasht is considered inferior.[6] It is performed on the first seven days of the month, which are dedicated to theAmesha Spenta.[7]
There are a number of features which set it apart from the other Yashts. First, while most Yashts are dedicated to a single divinity, the Haft Amahraspand Yasht, as well as theFrawardin Yasht, is dedicated to several divinities.[8] Furthermore, unlike most other Yashts, it is not derived from theBagan yasht, but must have been drawn from another source.[9] Finally, the text does not follow the metrical pattern and the division intoKardas as most other Yashts.[10]
According toDarmesteter, the Haft Amahraspand Yasht can be divided into three main parts. The first part consists of stanzas 1–5,[11] whereas the seond part consists of stanzas 6–10.[12] Both parts praise the Amesha Spantas using somewhat different formulas. According to Darmesteter, these two parts are drawn from theSih-rozag,[13] whereasLommel considers them to be mere adaptation of the typical opening formulas of the Yashts.[14] The last part, comprising stanzas 11–15, is considered to contain the only verses original to the Yasht.[15] They are, however, written in a particularly defectiveAvestan, indicating them to be a late composition.[16]
^Panaino 2002, "HAFT AMAHRASPAND YAŠT or simply Haf-tān yašt, the second hymn of the Avestan corpus. It is dedicated to the seven Zoroastrian entities and recited on the first seven days of the month".
^Nyberg 1974, p. 14: "amahraspand [mhrspnd] the circle of the six divinities Vahuman, Art-/Urt-/vahišt, Sahrévar, Harvadat, Amurdat and Spandarmat surrounding Ohurmazd, himself reckoned as the seventh".
^Darmesteter 1892, p. 346: "Ce Yasht, dit « Yasht des sept Amshaspands » ou « Yasht des Sept » (Haftân Yasht)".
^Lommel 1927, p. 19: "Dies ist wohl unter allen Yäshts das erbärmlichste Machwerk".
^Darmesteter 1883, p. 35: "The Yast of the seven Amshaspands is recited on the first seven days of the week, that is to say, on the days consecrated to the Amesha-Speztas".
^Hintze 2009, p. 47: "With the exception of Yasts 2 and 13, which praise the Amesha Spentas viz. the 'guardian angels', or Fravasis, as a group, each of the Yasts is dedicated to one particular divinity".
^Darmesteter 1883, p. 35: " In fact it is nothing more than an extract from the Sirézahs, being composed of the first seven formulas in their two forms".
