The Philosophy : Core Concepts

Introduction
The Ashem Vohu prayer (aṣ̌əm vohū ,UhoW ,mvCa) is likely the most important prayer in Zoroastrianism today as well as one of the four core manthras of Zoroastrianism. Alongside the common slogan of Good thoughts, words, and deeds, it is often considered as the motto of Zoroastrianism, reminding the practitioner that they should be righteous for its own sake, rather than any reward. The Ashem Vohu, in truth, circulates around the concept of Asha, a term most accurately meaning the ideal, good ordering of existence intended by Ahura Mazda, but which also contains the connotations of Rightness and Truth. The prayer succinctly tells the reciter that Asha is the best thing in existence and that the one who seeks after it will be rewarded with true happiness and contentment. In short, seek to do the right thing solely because it is the right thing to do, the joy you feel in response is its own reward.

While often called a prayer, it is more properly understood as a manthra (mąθra ,arq&m), which in Zoroastrianism are short, metrical texts intended to develop the thoughts and intellect of the ones who study them, typically on a particular topic or concept. In this sense, most Zoroastrian manthras, including the Ashem Vohu, encode multiple different truths within, allowing a diversity of interpretations and applications. Unlike the Yatha Ahu, which was composed by Zarathushtra himself, the Ashem Vohu is anonymous in its composition, likely being composed by early Zoroastrians as a reminder of their core religious responsibility: the doing of the good and the iterative perfection of existence. A simple translation can be seen below:

,Itsa ,mv!ihaW ,UhoW ,mvCa
,iAmha ,A!u ,Itsa ,A!u
.,mvCa ,iA!ihaW ,iACa ,Tayh

aṣ̌əm vohū vahištəm astī
uštā astī uštā ahmāi
hiiat̰ aṣ̌āi vahištāi aṣ̌əm

Rightness is the best good
It is joy; the joy for the one that does
The Right for the sake of the Best Rightness

Breakdown
In order to properly learn the Ashem Vohu, one must understand what it is truly saying, as well as how to pronounce it. The meaning of the manthra is dependent on a few key words, along with some ambiguous grammar. Firstly, the meaning of the word Asha is rather complex. The form Aṣ̌a is a late recitational version of the earlier form Arta, which is closely related to the Sanskrit term Ṛta (often spelled Rita). These terms come from the root ar– ‘to put in place, to set, to fix’ plus the past participle –ta, with a literal meaning of ‘how things have been set in place’. The actual meaning, both in Avestan and in Sanskrit, is the underlying order of the universe which determines how all things function, a concept often translated as ‘cosmic order’, although the concept is nearly identical to our modern concept of the “laws of physics/the universe”.^[1]

The second key word is ušta, which has long been debated. The term has previously been taken from the root vas-/us– ‘to shine’ by modern Zoroastrian writers, with the meaning of ‘radiant happiness’ or ‘illumination’. However, this verbal root was apparently unusable at the time of composition, and nearly all linguists take it from the active root of vas-/us– ‘to wish, desire’, although their translations vary. It can alternately be a verbal declension (3p sg injunctive middle), an indeclinable built off the past participle –ta, or a fixed locative from the abstract suffix –ti. The meaning seems to be some sort of joy or happiness which comes from having one’s deepest desires fulfilled. I tend to translate it as joy, which in English signifies a deeper, more lasting happiness and state of fulfillment. ušta’s form as both a verb and noun is played upon by Zarathushtra in 43.1a uštā ahmāi ẏahmāi uštā kahmāicīt̰ ‘Joy for whoso has wished it for whomever indeed’, which is further referenced in 44.16d-e, where the identity of the root ‘to wish’ is certainly confirmed, at̰ hōi vohū səraōšō jaṇtū manaŋhā, mazdā ahmāi ẏahmāi vašī kahmāicīt̰ ‘Now let Listening come through the Good Mind, O Mazda, for whomsoever you wish indeed’.

With these terms in mind, we can take a closer look at the meaning, line by line and word by word:

aṣ̌əm vohū vahištəm astī
aṣ̌əm ‘Asha’ vohū ‘the good’ vahištəm ‘best’ astī ‘it is’
‘the Asha is the best good’

The meaning here is rather simple at first glance, that Asha is the best good, and for the most part this is the intended meaning. However, the grammar of the words poses a few issues. Firstly, aṣ̌əm is nominative (that is, the subject) and vahištəm is most likely accusative (the direct object). There is a chance they could both be nominative or accusative as adjective and noun, like in the final line, but this is less likely. astī is ‘(he/she/it) is’ placed at the end, as normal. vohū can be nominative or accusative in the singular or plural, with the meaning of ‘good’, although there are some issues with the ambiguity of the -ū ending in the neuter u stem. Either way, the line is saying that ‘Asha is the best good’. Certain scholars have argued vohū here means a ‘good’ in the sense of a possession, such as in English ‘the goods’, but this feels somewhat hypothetical, given the lack of a context specifying this interpretation.

uštā astī uštā ahmāi
uštā ‘joy’ astī ‘it is’ uštā ‘joy’ ahmāi ‘for he/she/it’
It is joy; joy for that one

Here, uštā astī continues the thought of the previous line, further qualifying that Asha is also joy/joyfulness. The case of uštā here is irrelevant, because, as a noun, it only ever appears in the form uštā. The second uštā is probably the same, instead being the subject where it was previously the object. However, there is a chance it could be a verbal form, using the same wordplay seen in 43.1 above, meaning ‘he/she/it wished’. ahmāi is the dative (indirect object) demonstrative pronoun, masculine or neuter, meaning for him/for that one. In summary, this line probably means ‘(Asha) is joy, joy for that one’ but could also mean ‘(Asha) is joy for the one that desires’.^[2]

hiiat̰ aṣ̌āi vahištāi aṣ̌əm
hiiat̰ ‘that which’ aṣ̌āi vahištāi ‘for the Best Asha’ aṣ̌əm ‘Asha’
That which (is like/enacts/etc) Asha, for the sake of the Best Asha

This line is where the ambiguity appears in this manthra. Firstly, hiiat̰ is the nominative neutral relative pronoun (that which…), but it also can be a conjunction in Old Avestan meaning ‘when, if’ or ‘so that’, although the usage here is most like the first. aṣ̌āi vahištāi is the dative singular meaning ‘for the (sake of) the Best Asha’. The term Asha Vahishta is technically the full theological name of Asha in Zoroastrianism, signifying it as an emanation of Mazda Ahura and qualifying it as the perfect, ideal Order of existence. In this sense, as it was previously established to be best, it is now being subtly referred to by its full divine name: Asha Vahishta, not just the laws determining our physical existence, but the emanation from Mazda by which the order of existence came into being. Moreover, vahišta, while literally meaning best, possibly already has the connotation of perfect, highest, or heavenly, as seen in its evolution in modern Persian behešt ‘paradise’. aṣ̌əm here is the accusative of Asha.

The ambiguity in this line is that the verb is absent. Typically in Avestan, this means an implied ‘to be’ verb (copula) is left out; here, however, the missing verb could possibly be something different, as is discussed later. One could say that it is in fact the implied to be verb, with a meaning ‘(for the one) that (is) Right for the sake of the Best Rightness’, an interpretation which in fact is rather common among Zoroastrians. The problem is that if a person was being righteous for its own sake, you’d expect something like ẏə̄ aṣ̌āi (or aṣ̌auuataitiiāi) vahištāi aṣ̌auuanəm ‘he who is righteous for the sake of the Best Asha (or righteousness)’, an individual can’t be described solely as Asha. Regardless, keeping the idea of the ‘to be’ verb, one could say it is further qualifying Asha as such ‘(the joy for that) which is Asha for the sake of the Best Asha’, although I struggle to find the meaning in that translation.^[3]

Alternatively, it could be that the intended verb is not to be/to exist and is instead intended to be supplied by the reader as they envision it, giving a large amount of possible readings. I would personally supply the verb varz- ‘to enact, to actualize’ as it is often used in the Gathas in reference to Asha. Thus ‘ joy for the one that enacts Asha…’. The issue here is that the neuter relative pronoun hiiat̰ likely would not be used for a nonspecific gender, instead specifically referring to a neuter noun, here Asha. Finally, one could take the uštā to be the verb, and translate as such ‘It is the joy for the one that desires that Asha for the sake of the Best Asha’, although the verb being placed before ahmāi is odd. Of all these interpretations, I prefer the implied verb being some form of ‘to enact, to do’ etc.

With this, we get a translation of:

The Order [of existence] is the best good,
It is joy. Joy for the one
That (actualizes) the Order for the sake of the Best Order [of existence]

Pronunciation and recitation
The proper pronunciation of Avestan is rather difficult (see here for a full tutorial), but for the average learner, it is better to learn the prayer in a way that feels natural to them. The letter š is pronounced like English ‘sh’; ṣ̌ can also be pronounced ‘sh’, although it technically has a distinct pronunciation. āi is pronounced like English eye, albeit a bit longer, and ə is best pronounced like the short ‘uh’ in up, function but it can also be pronounced like the ‘e’ in pen, lend. a should always be pronounced like the vowel in father or bother, not like ‘uh’. i can be pronounced like the ‘ee’ in feed, albeit not as long. v in Avestan is always pronounced like English ‘w’.^[4]

As for ways to recite, it can be sung, recited, or chanted, although it is best to learn it as a recitation first. Later, one can find examples of it being sung online or compose their own melody. As for the recitation, it is in three lines of classic Avestan octosyllabic meter (8 syllables), albeit the first line has 9 syllables, a variation which is rather common in that meter. As such, it is rather easy to get the rhythm of the prayer through a few attempts.

,Itsa ,mv!ihaW ,UhoW ,mvCa
,iAmha ,A!u ,Itsa ,A!u
.,mvCa ,iA!ihaW ,iACa ,Tayh

aṣ̌əm vohū vahištəm astī (9)
uštā astī uštā ahmāi (8)
hiiat̰ aṣ̌āi vahištāi aṣ̌əm (8)

Interpretation
There are multiple overlapping meanings to this manthra. The first, which should be evident at this point, is the notion of being good for the sake of being good. This is the simplest and most apparent reading at first glance. The Ashem Vohu tells us that doing the right thing, being good, and engaging in the betterment of the world is its own reward, and brings true happiness. However, while this meaning is useful, the truth often with Zoroastrianism is that the reasons, justifications, and solutions for doing the right thing go much deeper than just doing good for its own sake, although such a sentiment is certainly present in the manthra.

In a deeper sense, this manthra serves as a reminder that the fundamental ordering of reality is truly good, the highest and best of all existence, and that evil only exists as an impermanent aberration against the intended ordering of reality. In this way, the Ashem Vohu can be an affirmation when life is going well and a reminder in times of strife. This last usage, in moments of despair or pain, reminds us there is a better ordering of life, a more ideal way things could be, even if that isn’t the case now. Moreover, the Ashem Vohu also tells us that within Asha is contained the best things of existence, that is, that the ideal, or best actualized, version of any thing, situation, group, or society is embedded within Asha. And so, if one wishes to do good, right a wrong, or improve any part of existence, they are to look to Asha, seek to understand its workings (at least in the respective context), and thereby find the best way to accomplish this.

Thus, does the Ashem Vohu function as an invocation to seek to understand Asha and see it fulfilled in the material world. Such is the most basic responsibility for any Zoroastrian, to understand the ideal version of any thing or situation, and to see it realized in the world, thus working towards the gradual perfection of the universe, Frasho.Kereti. As such, the Ashem Vohu teaches us that regardless of whatever happiness we seek from attaining our wishes–be they for our life, for goals to accomplish, or aspects of our life to improve–our true happiness would come from turning to Asha and seeking to see it actualized in the world. Such is the most basic responsibility of any Zoroastrian.

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1. That is, how they are understood in popular speech to refer to the fundamental rules governing reality. ↑

2. If it is a verbal form, it is an injunctive middle, technically meaning it is a past tense verb due to the function of the injunctive in Avestan. However, there would be precedent to take this as being non-specific in regards to tense. ↑

3. To be entirely honest, the only logical grammatical subject of hiiat̰ is Asha (both being neuter), and I have the suspicion the meaning of the entire prayer is solely to establish that Asha is Asha Vahishta as such “Asha is the best good, it is joy. Joy to that which is Asha for the Best Asha”. This second usage of ušta as an exclamation ‘hail/joy/cheers’ is common in Young Avestan, cf. Yasht 14.94 ušta.nō zātō āθrauua ẏō spitāmō zaraθuštrō ‘Joy to us, for he is born, the fire-tender (priest) who is Spitama Zarathushtra). Given the versatility of manthras, however, I don’t want to narrow the meaning down so far when I myself am not certain. ↑

4. This confusion is the result of modern transliteration. ↑