Tishtrya (Tištrya) is the Avestan language name of an Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. Tishtrya is Tir in Middle- and Modern Persian. As has been judged from the archaic context in which Tishtrya appears in the texts of the Avesta, the divinity/concept is almost certainly of Indo-Iranian origin.
In a hymn of the Avesta (incorporated by Ferdowsi, with due acknowledgement, in the Shahnameh), Tishtrya is involved in a cosmic struggle against the drought-bringing demon Apaosha. According to the myth, in the form of a pure white horse the god did battle with the demon who, in contrast, had assumed the form of a terrifying black horse. Apaosa soon gained the upper hand over Tishtrya, who was weakened from the lack of sufficient prayers and sacrifices from humankind. The yazata proceeded to call upon the Creator Ahura Mazda, who himself then intervened by offering a sacrifice to the overwhelmed god. Infused with the power brought by this sacrifice, Tishtrya was able to overcome Apaosa, and his rains were able to flow to the parched fields and pastures unabated by drought. This story serves to underscore the importance of votive offerings and sacrifice in religious tradition.
In the Zoroastrian religious calendar, the 13th day of the month and the 4th month of the year are dedicated to Tishtrya/Tir, and hence named after the entity. In the Iranian civil calendar, which inherits its month names from the Zoroastrian calendar, the 4th month is likewise named Tir.
During the Achaemenid period, Tishtrya was conflated with Semitic Nabu-*Tiri, and thus came to be associated with the Dog Star, Sirius. The Tiregan festival, previously associated with *Tiri (a reconstructed name), was likewise transferred to Tishtrya. During the Hellenic period, Tishtrya came to be associated with Pythian Apollo, patron of Delphi, and thus a divinity of oracles.
From: Wiki
In a hymn of the Avesta (incorporated by Ferdowsi, with due acknowledgement, in the Shahnameh), Tishtrya is involved in a cosmic struggle against the drought-bringing demon Apaosha. According to the myth, in the form of a pure white horse the god did battle with the demon who, in contrast, had assumed the form of a terrifying black horse. Apaosa soon gained the upper hand over Tishtrya, who was weakened from the lack of sufficient prayers and sacrifices from humankind. The yazata proceeded to call upon the Creator Ahura Mazda, who himself then intervened by offering a sacrifice to the overwhelmed god. Infused with the power brought by this sacrifice, Tishtrya was able to overcome Apaosa, and his rains were able to flow to the parched fields and pastures unabated by drought. This story serves to underscore the importance of votive offerings and sacrifice in religious tradition.
In the Zoroastrian religious calendar, the 13th day of the month and the 4th month of the year are dedicated to Tishtrya/Tir, and hence named after the entity. In the Iranian civil calendar, which inherits its month names from the Zoroastrian calendar, the 4th month is likewise named Tir.
During the Achaemenid period, Tishtrya was conflated with Semitic Nabu-*Tiri, and thus came to be associated with the Dog Star, Sirius. The Tiregan festival, previously associated with *Tiri (a reconstructed name), was likewise transferred to Tishtrya. During the Hellenic period, Tishtrya came to be associated with Pythian Apollo, patron of Delphi, and thus a divinity of oracles.
From: Wiki
TIŠTRYA (Pahl. Tištar, NPers. Teštar), an important Old Iranian astral divine being (yazata-), to whom the eighth hymn (Tištar Yašt) of the Later Avestan corpus was dedicated (Panaino, 1990).
Tištrya should be identified with the most brilliant star visible in the firmament, Sirius (alpha Canis Maioris), although different opinions have been expressed in the past on this point (for the state of the question, see Panaino, 1995, pp. 1-14). This identification is confirmed by Plutarch (De Iside et Osiride 47; cf. Yt. 8.44). It is also very probable that Vedic Tiṣya (RV V.54.13; X.64.
corresponds to Av. Tištrya, according to the etymological explanation proposed by Forssman (196, which puts the star Sirius in a direct and clear relationship with the three stars of Orion’s Belt (delta, epsilon, zetaOrionis) by its name as well as by observation and by the account of a few mythological passages in Vedic literature. In these, the asterism of Orion’s Belt was represented as an arrow called iṣus trikāṇdā, shot by Tiṣya (or Rudra) towards Prajāpati in order to punish him because of a sexual sin committed agains his daughter, who appeared in the body of a “female gazelle” (rohít-); for the Indian passages concerning this astral myth see Forssman (1968, pp. 58-59). Thus Sirius would have been named as “the one who belongs to the three stars”: IE. *tri-str-o-m “group of three stars”; then IE. *tri-str-iḭo-s by dissimilation > IIr. *ti-str-iḭa- > Av. tištriia-. Ved. Ti-ṣyà-, for his part, would derive from *ti-šr-íḭa- < *ti-str-iḭa- by a secondary dissimilation of -t- by analogy with *púṣiya-, masc. “he who makes prosper.” (Púṣya- is the name of the sixth or eighth nákṣatra- “lunar station,” with which Tiṣya will be later associated.) Forrsman (1968, p. 56) would identify *púṣiya with the second part of the name of the Av. demon a-paoša- [see APŌŠ], the direct antagonist of Tištrya. But we can consider an alternative, in which Ved. tiṣya- comes directly from IIr. *ti-str-iḭa-, through the simplification of the cluster -str- to -ṣ- (Panaino, 1995, pp. 31-33; Forssman, 1968, p. 56, n. 92). The linguistic correspondence with Greek Seírios has been assumed by Fischer (1969), but it remains questioned (Panaino, 1995, p. 35).
The symbolic link with the astral theme of the heavenly “arrow” is strongly present in various Oriental uranographies, particularly with respect to the star Sirius, which in India was shot by the archers Tiásya or Rudra, but which in Iran corresponds to Tištrya himself. In fact, according to Yt. 8.6-7 and 37-38, Tištrya flies in the sky as the arrow shot by the most valiant archer of the Aryans, i.e., the hero Ǝrəxša (Kellens 1977). This image was already present in the Mesopotamian celestial lore, where Sirius was named KAK-SI-SÁ “arrow” in Sumerian and šiltaḫu or šukūdu “arrow” in Akkadian (Götze, 1923; Gnoli, 1963; Panaino, 1995, pp. 28-32, 47-59). We may notice that also in later Egypt Sirius (Sōthis) was the target of the arrow shot by Sathis, while in China, the celestial Emperor shot an arrow against the sky jackal, i.e., Sirius (Tīan láng). It is worthwhile to recall that in later times Tištar and the planet Tīr (which is sometimes by folk etymology erroneously associated with the meaning “arrow” of Mid. Pers. tīr, which actually derives from OIr. *tigra-/i-) became direct antagonists, but a strange and complex relation actually existed between them. Already in Mesopotamian texts the Sumerian name of Sirius (KAK-SI-SÁ) was sometimes used also for that of the planet Mercury. In addition, the god of the planet Mercury, Tīriya in western Iran, a protector of the scribes, as in the parallel cases of Thoth-Mercury in Egypt and Nabû-Mercury in Babylon (Panaino, 1995, pp. 62-85), probably was associated with Tištrya, but after the (later) demonization of the planets he became a demon (see tir). Relics of the original positive role of Tīriya can be seen in the Pahlavi tradition which assumes that Tištar and Tīr were the same being (Ir. Bd. V, B, 12), while the same source contrariwise states that Tīr should correspond to Apōš; the later and modern well known custom, still extant among Zoroastrians, to call Tīr Yašt the hymn to Tištrya attests to a direct identification of the two names and beings.
Tištrya is the Iranian protagonist of the myth of the liberation of the waters, which, at least to a certain extent, could be structurally and functionally compared with that of Vedic Indra Vṛtrahā´n; the parallel passages in Yt. 8.56-61 and 14.48-53 (Wahrām Yašt) have been discussed in this Indo-Iranian framework by Benveniste (1934, pp. 36-37, 177-99) and Panaino (1995, pp. 36-45); but see also Kellens (2001, pp. 478-79) for a fresh analysis of the problems involved.
The Avestan hymn to Tištrya contains two different mythical events, one concerning Tištrya’s fight with Apaoša and the latter with the Pairikās, which probably correspond to shooting stars. The first myth (stanzas 13-34) describes the combat of the yazata against Apaoša for the possess and liberation of the waters contained in the (cosmic) ocean Vourukaṧa. The two champions appear in the body of a horse, but while Tištrya is a beautiful white stallion (auruša-), his antagonist is a black (sāma-), glabrous, and horrible horse. It is possible—but the passage is unclear (see Yt. 8.—that also the Vouru.kaṧa assumes the form of a mare, for whose possession the two male horses come to fight. Before the combat Tištrya assumes three diferent avataras, taking ten days for each; he successively changes the form of his body into a fifteen-year-old man, a bull with golden horns, and finally a splendid white horse. These three transformations (which correspond to three of Vərəθrγna’s avataras) probably should astronomically cover the period beginning with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius in July and lasting till the first appearance of the meteor showers between August and September (Panaino, 1995, pp. 15-24).
In the body of a white horse Tištrya attacks Apaoša, but after three days and nights he is defeated, because the yazata was not sufficiently worshipped by the Aryans (see Yt. 8.24). Only after a kind of potential or incrementing yasna- offered by Ahura Mazdā himself in favor of his champion (Yt. 8.25) can Tištrya move again against Apaoša, and at midday he defeats him who runs away; thus the waters of the Vouru.kaṧa are free and can be distributed among the seven karšvars by Tištrya with the help of Satavāesa (Yt. 8.32). The entire story probably offered a sufficient indeterminateness in the timing of the autumnal rains on the Iranian lands; this in fact explains why the month dedicated to Tištar (i.e., the fourth of the Zoroastrian calendar; see CALENDAR) did not correpond to the actual month of the true liberation of the waters and of the rains. The day dedicated to Tištar is the 13th of the month; also in the Sogdian calendar tyš [tīš] was the name of the same day (Henning, 1939, p. 95; 1945, p. 149, line 19 = SP II, p. 20, known also from al-Bīrūnī and Mount Mugh documents, while in the Parthian calendar it was tyry, and in the Choresmian tyry (Tok-kala) or jyry (al-Bīrūnī).
According to the Tištar Yašt, other constellations and single stars, in particular Satavāesa, probably Fomalhaut (AlphaPiscis Austrini), collaborate with Tištrya. In the same hymn (st. 12), the Tištryāeinī stars also are mentioned; astronomically they seem to correspond to the constellation Canis Minor, but it is probable that they were also the “wives of Tištrya” (Klingenschmitt, 2000, p. 225).
The second myth concerns the fight of Tištrya with the Pairikās, led by a demoness called Pairikā Dužyāiryā “The Bad year Witch” (see DUŽYĀIRYĀ); these demonesses, with the support of the Yātus (whose astral role is unknown), were assumed (Yt. 8. to be stārō kərəmå “worm stars” (but, perhaps, it is a compound stārō.kərəmā- “having starred worms” or “belonging to the star-worm showers” (problems and other solutions have been discussed by Scherer, 1953, p. 24, n. 1). They were expressly flung by Aŋra Manyu (Yt. 8.39) with the purpose of bringing chaos into the (apparently) regular movement of the (fixed) stars, which in fact were strictly connected with the falling of the rains and with the return of the waters. Tištrya and the other stars were also named afšciθra-, generally translated as “having the seed/origin” of the waters (or of the rains), but possibly meaning “having the brilliance of the waters/rains” (Panaino, 1990, pp. 92-93; cf. Cantera, 1997). Tištrya (like Miθra) can get in and out of the human time, as shown by Kellens (2003; Panaino, 2003).
In the Pahlavi texts Tištar was still worshipped; he was mentioned in various Pahlavi passages, in particular in the astronomical and astrological chapters of the Bundahišn (chaps. II and V; see Henning, 1942; MacKenzie, 1956; Raffaelli, 2001), where he plays the role of direct antagonist of the planet Tīr and the leader of the fixed stars of the Eastern quarter (Tištar xwarāsān spāhbed), but under the general command of the Pole Star. Also important is the account about the cycle of Tištar as summarized in the Anthology of Zādsparam 3.7-17. The Dādestān ī dēnīg 92, gives an additional description of the liberation of the waters and rains (Gignoux, 198. Various collaborators of Tištar (hamkārān) are listed in these sources (Panaino, 1995, pp. 87-94), but very remarkable is the presence of the xar-ī se pāy “the three-legged ass,” probably a kind of Iranian unicorn (Panaino, 2001). Tištar, according to the Šāyest nē šāyest 22.3, is the protector of travelers (Kotwal, 1969, p. 91). A probable iconography of Tištrya (in Sogdian Tiš) has been recently identified by Grenet (apud Marshak. 2001: 23 in some Sogdian paintings (Grenet and Lee, 1988; Grenet and Marshak, 199 or on the ossuary from Kaška-darya (Grent and Pinaul, 1997, p. 1059).
From: TIŠTRYA - Encyclopædia Iranica
Tištrya should be identified with the most brilliant star visible in the firmament, Sirius (alpha Canis Maioris), although different opinions have been expressed in the past on this point (for the state of the question, see Panaino, 1995, pp. 1-14). This identification is confirmed by Plutarch (De Iside et Osiride 47; cf. Yt. 8.44). It is also very probable that Vedic Tiṣya (RV V.54.13; X.64.
corresponds to Av. Tištrya, according to the etymological explanation proposed by Forssman (196, which puts the star Sirius in a direct and clear relationship with the three stars of Orion’s Belt (delta, epsilon, zetaOrionis) by its name as well as by observation and by the account of a few mythological passages in Vedic literature. In these, the asterism of Orion’s Belt was represented as an arrow called iṣus trikāṇdā, shot by Tiṣya (or Rudra) towards Prajāpati in order to punish him because of a sexual sin committed agains his daughter, who appeared in the body of a “female gazelle” (rohít-); for the Indian passages concerning this astral myth see Forssman (1968, pp. 58-59). Thus Sirius would have been named as “the one who belongs to the three stars”: IE. *tri-str-o-m “group of three stars”; then IE. *tri-str-iḭo-s by dissimilation > IIr. *ti-str-iḭa- > Av. tištriia-. Ved. Ti-ṣyà-, for his part, would derive from *ti-šr-íḭa- < *ti-str-iḭa- by a secondary dissimilation of -t- by analogy with *púṣiya-, masc. “he who makes prosper.” (Púṣya- is the name of the sixth or eighth nákṣatra- “lunar station,” with which Tiṣya will be later associated.) Forrsman (1968, p. 56) would identify *púṣiya with the second part of the name of the Av. demon a-paoša- [see APŌŠ], the direct antagonist of Tištrya. But we can consider an alternative, in which Ved. tiṣya- comes directly from IIr. *ti-str-iḭa-, through the simplification of the cluster -str- to -ṣ- (Panaino, 1995, pp. 31-33; Forssman, 1968, p. 56, n. 92). The linguistic correspondence with Greek Seírios has been assumed by Fischer (1969), but it remains questioned (Panaino, 1995, p. 35).The symbolic link with the astral theme of the heavenly “arrow” is strongly present in various Oriental uranographies, particularly with respect to the star Sirius, which in India was shot by the archers Tiásya or Rudra, but which in Iran corresponds to Tištrya himself. In fact, according to Yt. 8.6-7 and 37-38, Tištrya flies in the sky as the arrow shot by the most valiant archer of the Aryans, i.e., the hero Ǝrəxša (Kellens 1977). This image was already present in the Mesopotamian celestial lore, where Sirius was named KAK-SI-SÁ “arrow” in Sumerian and šiltaḫu or šukūdu “arrow” in Akkadian (Götze, 1923; Gnoli, 1963; Panaino, 1995, pp. 28-32, 47-59). We may notice that also in later Egypt Sirius (Sōthis) was the target of the arrow shot by Sathis, while in China, the celestial Emperor shot an arrow against the sky jackal, i.e., Sirius (Tīan láng). It is worthwhile to recall that in later times Tištar and the planet Tīr (which is sometimes by folk etymology erroneously associated with the meaning “arrow” of Mid. Pers. tīr, which actually derives from OIr. *tigra-/i-) became direct antagonists, but a strange and complex relation actually existed between them. Already in Mesopotamian texts the Sumerian name of Sirius (KAK-SI-SÁ) was sometimes used also for that of the planet Mercury. In addition, the god of the planet Mercury, Tīriya in western Iran, a protector of the scribes, as in the parallel cases of Thoth-Mercury in Egypt and Nabû-Mercury in Babylon (Panaino, 1995, pp. 62-85), probably was associated with Tištrya, but after the (later) demonization of the planets he became a demon (see tir). Relics of the original positive role of Tīriya can be seen in the Pahlavi tradition which assumes that Tištar and Tīr were the same being (Ir. Bd. V, B, 12), while the same source contrariwise states that Tīr should correspond to Apōš; the later and modern well known custom, still extant among Zoroastrians, to call Tīr Yašt the hymn to Tištrya attests to a direct identification of the two names and beings.
Tištrya is the Iranian protagonist of the myth of the liberation of the waters, which, at least to a certain extent, could be structurally and functionally compared with that of Vedic Indra Vṛtrahā´n; the parallel passages in Yt. 8.56-61 and 14.48-53 (Wahrām Yašt) have been discussed in this Indo-Iranian framework by Benveniste (1934, pp. 36-37, 177-99) and Panaino (1995, pp. 36-45); but see also Kellens (2001, pp. 478-79) for a fresh analysis of the problems involved.
The Avestan hymn to Tištrya contains two different mythical events, one concerning Tištrya’s fight with Apaoša and the latter with the Pairikās, which probably correspond to shooting stars. The first myth (stanzas 13-34) describes the combat of the yazata against Apaoša for the possess and liberation of the waters contained in the (cosmic) ocean Vourukaṧa. The two champions appear in the body of a horse, but while Tištrya is a beautiful white stallion (auruša-), his antagonist is a black (sāma-), glabrous, and horrible horse. It is possible—but the passage is unclear (see Yt. 8.
—that also the Vouru.kaṧa assumes the form of a mare, for whose possession the two male horses come to fight. Before the combat Tištrya assumes three diferent avataras, taking ten days for each; he successively changes the form of his body into a fifteen-year-old man, a bull with golden horns, and finally a splendid white horse. These three transformations (which correspond to three of Vərəθrγna’s avataras) probably should astronomically cover the period beginning with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius in July and lasting till the first appearance of the meteor showers between August and September (Panaino, 1995, pp. 15-24).In the body of a white horse Tištrya attacks Apaoša, but after three days and nights he is defeated, because the yazata was not sufficiently worshipped by the Aryans (see Yt. 8.24). Only after a kind of potential or incrementing yasna- offered by Ahura Mazdā himself in favor of his champion (Yt. 8.25) can Tištrya move again against Apaoša, and at midday he defeats him who runs away; thus the waters of the Vouru.kaṧa are free and can be distributed among the seven karšvars by Tištrya with the help of Satavāesa (Yt. 8.32). The entire story probably offered a sufficient indeterminateness in the timing of the autumnal rains on the Iranian lands; this in fact explains why the month dedicated to Tištar (i.e., the fourth of the Zoroastrian calendar; see CALENDAR) did not correpond to the actual month of the true liberation of the waters and of the rains. The day dedicated to Tištar is the 13th of the month; also in the Sogdian calendar tyš [tīš] was the name of the same day (Henning, 1939, p. 95; 1945, p. 149, line 19 = SP II, p. 20
, known also from al-Bīrūnī and Mount Mugh documents, while in the Parthian calendar it was tyry, and in the Choresmian tyry (Tok-kala) or jyry (al-Bīrūnī).According to the Tištar Yašt, other constellations and single stars, in particular Satavāesa, probably Fomalhaut (AlphaPiscis Austrini), collaborate with Tištrya. In the same hymn (st. 12), the Tištryāeinī stars also are mentioned; astronomically they seem to correspond to the constellation Canis Minor, but it is probable that they were also the “wives of Tištrya” (Klingenschmitt, 2000, p. 225).
The second myth concerns the fight of Tištrya with the Pairikās, led by a demoness called Pairikā Dužyāiryā “The Bad year Witch” (see DUŽYĀIRYĀ); these demonesses, with the support of the Yātus (whose astral role is unknown), were assumed (Yt. 8.
to be stārō kərəmå “worm stars” (but, perhaps, it is a compound stārō.kərəmā- “having starred worms” or “belonging to the star-worm showers” (problems and other solutions have been discussed by Scherer, 1953, p. 24, n. 1). They were expressly flung by Aŋra Manyu (Yt. 8.39) with the purpose of bringing chaos into the (apparently) regular movement of the (fixed) stars, which in fact were strictly connected with the falling of the rains and with the return of the waters. Tištrya and the other stars were also named afšciθra-, generally translated as “having the seed/origin” of the waters (or of the rains), but possibly meaning “having the brilliance of the waters/rains” (Panaino, 1990, pp. 92-93; cf. Cantera, 1997). Tištrya (like Miθra) can get in and out of the human time, as shown by Kellens (2003; Panaino, 2003).In the Pahlavi texts Tištar was still worshipped; he was mentioned in various Pahlavi passages, in particular in the astronomical and astrological chapters of the Bundahišn (chaps. II and V; see Henning, 1942; MacKenzie, 1956; Raffaelli, 2001), where he plays the role of direct antagonist of the planet Tīr and the leader of the fixed stars of the Eastern quarter (Tištar xwarāsān spāhbed), but under the general command of the Pole Star. Also important is the account about the cycle of Tištar as summarized in the Anthology of Zādsparam 3.7-17. The Dādestān ī dēnīg 92, gives an additional description of the liberation of the waters and rains (Gignoux, 198
. Various collaborators of Tištar (hamkārān) are listed in these sources (Panaino, 1995, pp. 87-94), but very remarkable is the presence of the xar-ī se pāy “the three-legged ass,” probably a kind of Iranian unicorn (Panaino, 2001). Tištar, according to the Šāyest nē šāyest 22.3, is the protector of travelers (Kotwal, 1969, p. 91). A probable iconography of Tištrya (in Sogdian Tiš) has been recently identified by Grenet (apud Marshak. 2001: 23 in some Sogdian paintings (Grenet and Lee, 1988; Grenet and Marshak, 199 or on the ossuary from Kaška-darya (Grent and Pinaul, 1997, p. 1059).From: TIŠTRYA - Encyclopædia Iranica
‘We sacrifice unto the rains of Tishtrya. We sacrifice unto the first star; we sacrifice unto the rains of the first star, whose eye-sight is sound.’ -Tishtar Yasht (Zoroastrian Hymn to the Star Sirius).
The star Sirius or the Dog Star is part of the constellation Canis Major (Great Dog), in Greek myths he was seen as Orion’s hunting dog. After the death of Orion, Diana placed Orion’s dog in the sky at his heel to help with the stellar hunt. The star Sirius is part of the winter triangle; the two other points of the triangle are the star Betelgeuse in Orion and the star Procyon in Canis Minor. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky can be located in the night sky by following an imaginary line from the three stars of Orion’s belt to the left and down. The star Sirius is one of the oldest constellations described by Man; the Fire Star is one of the stars in Babylonian `A Prayer to Gods of the Night' (circa 1700B.C.).
In Aratus’ Phaenomena Canis Major is described in its hind legs and on tip of his jaw is the flaming star Sirius. When the helical rising of Sirius occurs in July some trees will gain strength from his heat, while others wither in his heat. As Orion hunting dog he pursues the Hare constellation.
This Sirius rite focuses on the Egyptian (Sothis) and the Persian/Vedic form (Tishtrya/Tir). Tishtrya is the Persian angel (Yazad) of the star Sirius. Tishtrya also presides over the fourth month and the thirteenth day of each month. Sirius also directs the rain; in the rite here included is an abridged version of this hymn. It covers the Tir story from the: helical rising of Sirius, bringer of rain, who flies like an arrow, his manifestation as a young man, a bull and a white horse, his battle against draught, and bringing fertility and rain onto the land.
The name of the Persian god/angel Tir means an 'arrow' (modern day interpretations include bullet too). The Nordic Tyr, in runic language has the actual letter T shaped like an arrow head/spear head, hence, it could mean arrow or spear, as well as victory.
Rune T: Tyr
Both these deities have sky god connections and are also warrior gods. The Tishtrya hymn also mentions arrows being fired.
Tishtrya further more relates to Babylonian god Ninurta who is the star Sirius. Star Sirius in Babylonian and Sumerian hymns is referred to as ‘Arrow’ and ‘Arrow star’.1
The arrow link continues as there is also the Persian legend of Arash-Kamangir (the bowman) who fires an arrow to mark the borders of the ancient Persia and is still celebrated as part of Tir Persian festival (Tigran: Summer Solstice). Arash means bright and shining, and Kamangir in means one who gets the arch, Kaman means bow. Arash was the Persian hero who sacrificed his life to preserve borders of Iran. The legend of Arash-Kamangir and the arrow is still alive now, as in 1980 during the Iraq invasion of Iran, the Iranian Air Force led a mission codenamed ‘Operation Kaman 99’ where up to 140 fighter planes retaliated against Iraq ‘likes arrows to mark the borders of modern Iran’, even though nearly half died heroically in the mission, they halted Iraq gaining air superiority and stopped their advance. This is a good example of how aerial and stellar legends and myths can inspire and influence us even in this modern era. NASA’s Apollo missions and India’s Agni space programme are other examples of myths inspiring contemporary people when naming important projects and events.
It should also be noted Mithra as the bowman opens the way to Tir the arrow. The water connection of Sothis and Tir is equally interesting. The heliacal rising of Sirius hails Tir as the bringer of rain in Persia and denotes Sothis as the bringer of floods in Egypt. The Persian Tir and the Nordic Tyr seem to be linked and have some interesting similarities. Canis Major the Great Dog of the sky perhaps acts as a celestial ‘man’s best friend’; a stellar guardian deity of our solar system!
Sirius is the sun behind the sun. In the heat of the ‘dog days’ the extent of the ‘dual’ influence of this star becomes most manifest, as the bringer of extensive heat and also rain/floods to quench the heat; the ultimate double edged sword.
All of this information is just the tip of a very interesting iceberg.
From: here, an excerpt from the book Stellar Magick by Payam Nabraz
The star Sirius or the Dog Star is part of the constellation Canis Major (Great Dog), in Greek myths he was seen as Orion’s hunting dog. After the death of Orion, Diana placed Orion’s dog in the sky at his heel to help with the stellar hunt. The star Sirius is part of the winter triangle; the two other points of the triangle are the star Betelgeuse in Orion and the star Procyon in Canis Minor. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky can be located in the night sky by following an imaginary line from the three stars of Orion’s belt to the left and down. The star Sirius is one of the oldest constellations described by Man; the Fire Star is one of the stars in Babylonian `A Prayer to Gods of the Night' (circa 1700B.C.).
In Aratus’ Phaenomena Canis Major is described in its hind legs and on tip of his jaw is the flaming star Sirius. When the helical rising of Sirius occurs in July some trees will gain strength from his heat, while others wither in his heat. As Orion hunting dog he pursues the Hare constellation.
This Sirius rite focuses on the Egyptian (Sothis) and the Persian/Vedic form (Tishtrya/Tir). Tishtrya is the Persian angel (Yazad) of the star Sirius. Tishtrya also presides over the fourth month and the thirteenth day of each month. Sirius also directs the rain; in the rite here included is an abridged version of this hymn. It covers the Tir story from the: helical rising of Sirius, bringer of rain, who flies like an arrow, his manifestation as a young man, a bull and a white horse, his battle against draught, and bringing fertility and rain onto the land.
The name of the Persian god/angel Tir means an 'arrow' (modern day interpretations include bullet too). The Nordic Tyr, in runic language has the actual letter T shaped like an arrow head/spear head, hence, it could mean arrow or spear, as well as victory.
Rune T: Tyr
Both these deities have sky god connections and are also warrior gods. The Tishtrya hymn also mentions arrows being fired.
Tishtrya further more relates to Babylonian god Ninurta who is the star Sirius. Star Sirius in Babylonian and Sumerian hymns is referred to as ‘Arrow’ and ‘Arrow star’.1
The arrow link continues as there is also the Persian legend of Arash-Kamangir (the bowman) who fires an arrow to mark the borders of the ancient Persia and is still celebrated as part of Tir Persian festival (Tigran: Summer Solstice). Arash means bright and shining, and Kamangir in means one who gets the arch, Kaman means bow. Arash was the Persian hero who sacrificed his life to preserve borders of Iran. The legend of Arash-Kamangir and the arrow is still alive now, as in 1980 during the Iraq invasion of Iran, the Iranian Air Force led a mission codenamed ‘Operation Kaman 99’ where up to 140 fighter planes retaliated against Iraq ‘likes arrows to mark the borders of modern Iran’, even though nearly half died heroically in the mission, they halted Iraq gaining air superiority and stopped their advance. This is a good example of how aerial and stellar legends and myths can inspire and influence us even in this modern era. NASA’s Apollo missions and India’s Agni space programme are other examples of myths inspiring contemporary people when naming important projects and events.
It should also be noted Mithra as the bowman opens the way to Tir the arrow. The water connection of Sothis and Tir is equally interesting. The heliacal rising of Sirius hails Tir as the bringer of rain in Persia and denotes Sothis as the bringer of floods in Egypt. The Persian Tir and the Nordic Tyr seem to be linked and have some interesting similarities. Canis Major the Great Dog of the sky perhaps acts as a celestial ‘man’s best friend’; a stellar guardian deity of our solar system!
Sirius is the sun behind the sun. In the heat of the ‘dog days’ the extent of the ‘dual’ influence of this star becomes most manifest, as the bringer of extensive heat and also rain/floods to quench the heat; the ultimate double edged sword.
All of this information is just the tip of a very interesting iceberg.
From: here, an excerpt from the book Stellar Magick by Payam Nabraz
In ancient Iran (Persia), Tishtrya was a rain god, who, as a white horse, fought Apaosha, the demon god of droughts. When Apaosha won, the earth dried up. But after Tishtrya appealed to the high god, Ahura Mazda, for more strength, he was given that strength, and he defeated his enemy, and once again released the life-giving rains.
From: here
From: here
8. TISHTAR YASHT (Hymn to Tishtrya)
Translated by James Darmesteter, From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.
Tishtrya is the angel (Yazad) of the star Sirius. Tishtrya also presides over the fourth month and the thirteenth day of each month, and also directs the rain.
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani], the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and unto the powerful Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness.... NOTES:
I.
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'We worship the lordship and mastership [of Tishtrya], whereby he protects the Moon, the dwelling, the food, when my glorious stars come along and impart their gifts to men. I will sacrifice unto the star Tishtrya, that gives the fields their share [of waters].
2. 'We offer up libations unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, that gives happy dwelling and good dwelling; the white, shining, seen afar, and piercing; the health-bringing, loud-snorting, and high, piercing from afar with its shining, undefiled rays; and unto the waters of the wide sea, the Vanguhi of wide renown, and the species of the Bull, made by Mazda, the awful kingly Glory, and the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zarathushtra.
3. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto the star Tishtrya.
'Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, we offer up the libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
II.
4. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who is the seed of the waters, powerful, tall, and strong, whose light goes afar; powerful and highly working, through whom the brightness and the seed of the waters come from the high Apam Napat.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
III.
5. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star; for whom long flocks and herds and men, looking forward for him and deceived in their hope: "When shall we see him rise up, the bright and glorious star Tishtrya? When will the springs run with waves as thick as a horse's size and still thicker? Or will they never come?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
IV.
6. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star; who flies, towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space1, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant. 1. Mainivasau = mainyu-asau (meaning pun mînôî jîvâkîh, svargasthânam, Yasna 57.27.
7. 'For Ahura Mazda gave him assistance; so did the waters and the plants; and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, opened a wide way unto him.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
V.
8. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, that afflicts the Pairikas, that vexes the Pairikas, who, in the shape of worm-stars, fly between the earth and the heavens, in the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep sea of salt waters. He goes to its lake in the shape of a horse, in a holy shape; and down there he makes the waters boil over, and the winds flow above powerfully all around.
9. 'Then Satavaesa makes those waters flow down to the seven Karshvares of the earth, and when he has arrived down there, he stands, beautiful, spreading ease and joy on the fertile countries (thinking in himself): "How shall the countries of the Aryas grow fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
VI.
10. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who spoke unto Ahura Mazda, saying: "Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
11. '"If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I were invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, then I should have come to the faithful at the appointed time; I should have come in the appointed time of my beautiful, immortal life, should it be one night, or two nights, or fifty, or a hundred nights."
12. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya;
'We sacrifice unto the rains of Tishtrya.
'We sacrifice unto the first star; we sacrifice unto the rains of the first star.
'I will sacrifice unto the stars Haptoiringa, to oppose the Yatus and Pairikas.
'We sacrifice unto Vanant, the star made by Mazda; for the well-shapen strength, for the Victory, made by Ahura, for the crushing Ascendant, for the destruction of what distresses us, for the destruction of what persecutes us.
'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, whose eye-sight is sound.
13. 'For ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a man of fifteen years of age, bright, with clear eyes, tall, full of strength, strong, and clever.
14. 'He is active as the first man was; he goes on with the strength of the first man; he has the virility of the first man.
15. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of male children, a troop of male children, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
16. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a golden-horned bull.
17. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of oxen, a herd of oxen, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
18. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
19. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of horses, a troop of horses, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
20. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
21. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha, in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
22. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya and the Daeva Apaosha. They fight together, O Spitama Zarathushtra! for three days and three nights. And then the Daeva Apaosha proves stronger than the bright and glorious Tishtrya, he overcomes him.
23. 'And Tishtrya flees from the sea Vouru-Kasha, as far as a Hathra's length. He cries out in woe and distress, the bright and glorious Tishtrya: "Woe is me, O Ahura Mazda! I am in distress, O Waters and Plants! O Fate and thou, Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Men do not worship me with a sacrifice in which I am invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names.
24. '"If men had worshipped me with a sacrifice in which I had been invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, I should have taken to me the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers."
25. 'Then I, Ahura Mazda, offer up to the bright and glorious Tishtrya a sacrifice in which he is invoked by his own name, and I bring him the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers.
26. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and golden caparison.
27. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
28. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya, and the Daeva Apaosha; they fight together, O Zarathushtra! till the time of noon. Then the bright and glorious Tishtrya proves stronger than the Daeva Apaosha, he overcomes him.
29. 'Then he goes from the sea Vouru-Kasha as far as a Hathra's length: "Hail!" cries the bright and glorious Tishtrya. "Hail unto me, O Ahura Mazda! Hail unto you, O waters and plants! Hail, O Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Hail will it be unto you, O lands! The life of the waters will flow down unrestrained to the big-seeded corn fields, to the small-seeded pasture-fields, and to the whole of the material world!"
30. Then the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes back down to the sea Vouru-Kasha, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
31. 'He makes the sea boil up and down; he makes the sea stream this and that way; he makes the sea flow this and that way: all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over.
32. 'And the bright and glorious Tishtrya rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Satavaesa rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha; and vapours rise up above Mount Us-hindu, that stands in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha.
33. 'Then the vapours push forward, in the regular shape of clouds; they go following the wind, along the ways which Haoma traverses, the increaser of the world. Behind him travels the mighty wind, made by Mazda, and the rain, and the cloud, and the sleet, down to the several places, down to the fields, down to the seven Karshvares of the earth.
34. 'Apam Napat, O Spitama Zarathushtra! divides the waters amongst the countries in the material world, in company with the mighty wind, the Glory, made by the waters, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
VII.
35. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who from the shining east, moves along his long winding course, along the path made by the gods, along the way appointed for him the watery way, at the will of Ahura Mazda, at the will of the Amesha-Spentas.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
VIII.
36. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, whose rising is watched by men who live on the fruits of the year, by the chiefs of deep understanding; by the wild beasts in the mountains, by the tame beasts that run in the plains; they watch him, as he comes up to the country for a bad year, or for a good year, (thinking in themselves): "How shall the Aryan countries be fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
IX.
37. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, swift-flying and swift-moving, who flies towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant.
38. 'Ahura Mazda gave him assistance, and the Amesha-Spentas and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, pointed him the way: behind him went the tall Ashish Vanguhi and Parendi on her light chariot: always till, in his course, he reached Mount Hvanvant on the shining waters.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
X.
39. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who afflicts the Pairikas, who destroys the Pairikas, that Angra Mainyus flung to stop all the stars that have in them the seed of the waters.
40. 'Tishtrya afflicts them, he blows them away from the sea Vouru-Kasha; then the wind blows the clouds forward, bearing the waters of fertility, so that the friendly showers spread wide over, they spread helpingly and friendly over the seven Karshvares.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XI.
41. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long the standing waters, and the running spring-waters, the stream-waters, and the rain-waters:
42. '"When will the bright and glorious Tishtrya rise up for us? When will the springs with a flow and overflow of waters, thick as a horse's shoulder, run to the beautiful places and fields, and to the pastures, even to the roots of the plants, that they may grow with a powerful growth?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XII.
43. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who washes away all things of fear, who stunts the growth of all ...., and brings health to all these creations, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XIII.
44. 'I will sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, whom Ahura Mazda has established as a lord and overseer above all stars, in the same way as he has established Zarathushtra above men; whom neither Angra Mainyu, nor the Yatus and the Pairikas, nor the men Yatus can deliver unto death, nor can all the Daevas together prevail for his death.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XIV.
45. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, to whom Ahura Mazda has given a thousand senses, and who is the most beneficent amongst the stars that have in them the seed of the waters:
46. 'Who moves in light with the stars that have in them the seed of the waters: he, from the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep, and salt of waters, goes to all the lakes, and to all the beautiful caves, and to all the beautiful channels, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
47. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the waters flow down from the sea Vouru-Kasha, mother-like, friendly, and healing: he divides them amongst these countries, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated rejoiced, and satisfied. 'For his brigbtness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XV.
48. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long all the creatures of Spenta-Mainyu, those that live under the ground, and those that live above the ground; those that live in the waters, and those that live on dry land; those that fly, and those that run in the plains; and all those that live within this boundless and endless world of the holy Spirit.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XVI.
49. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, the healthful, wise, happy, and powerful, who is the lord of a thousand boons, and grants many boons to that man who has pleased him, whether begging or not begging for them.
50. 'I, O Spitama Zarathushtra! have created that star Tishtrya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of progitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;
51. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyairya.
52. 'Had I not created that star Tishtrya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;
53. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyairya;
54. 'Then all day long, all night long, that Pairika Duzyairya would wage war against this material world of mine, wanting to extinguish its life, and she goes on, rushing upon and around it.
55. 'But the bright and glorious Tishtrya keeps that Pairika in bonds, with twofold bonds, with threefold bonds, that cannot be overcome, with bonds all over the body: it is as if there were a thousand men keeping one man in bonds, a thousand men of those who are the strongest in strength.
56. 'If the Aryan countries, O Spitama Zarathushtra! would perform in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya the due sacrifice and invocation, just as that sacrifice and invocation ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness; never should a hostile horde enter these Aryan countries, nor any plague, nor leprosy, nor venomous plants, nor the chariot of a foe, nor the uplifted spear of a foe.'
57. Zarathushtra asked: 'What is then, O Ahura Mazda! the sacrifice and invocation in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya, as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness?'
58. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him; let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white, or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same colour.
59. 'Let not a murderer take of these offerings, nor a whore, nor a .... who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra.
60. 'If a murderer take of these offerings, or a whore, or a .... who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra, then the bright and glorious Tishtrya takes back his healing virtues.
61. 'Plagues will ever pour upon the Aryan nations; hostile hordes will ever fall upon the Aryan nations; the Aryans will be smitten, by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by thetr thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.
62. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and of the powerful Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward.
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
'[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones.'
From: here
Translated by James Darmesteter, From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.
Tishtrya is the angel (Yazad) of the star Sirius. Tishtrya also presides over the fourth month and the thirteenth day of each month, and also directs the rain.
0. May Ahura Mazda be rejoiced!....
Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
I confess myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathushtra, one who hates the Daevas and obeys the laws of Ahura;
For sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification unto [Havani], the holy and master of holiness....
Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and unto the powerful Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward,
Be propitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness.... NOTES:
I.
1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: 'We worship the lordship and mastership [of Tishtrya], whereby he protects the Moon, the dwelling, the food, when my glorious stars come along and impart their gifts to men. I will sacrifice unto the star Tishtrya, that gives the fields their share [of waters].
2. 'We offer up libations unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, that gives happy dwelling and good dwelling; the white, shining, seen afar, and piercing; the health-bringing, loud-snorting, and high, piercing from afar with its shining, undefiled rays; and unto the waters of the wide sea, the Vanguhi of wide renown, and the species of the Bull, made by Mazda, the awful kingly Glory, and the Fravashi of the holy Spitama Zarathushtra.
3. 'For his brightness and glory, I will offer unto him a sacrifice worth being heard, namely, unto the star Tishtrya.
'Unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, we offer up the libations, the Haoma and meat, the baresma, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy spells, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words.
'Yenhe hatam: All those beings of whom Ahura Mazda....
II.
4. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who is the seed of the waters, powerful, tall, and strong, whose light goes afar; powerful and highly working, through whom the brightness and the seed of the waters come from the high Apam Napat.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
III.
5. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star; for whom long flocks and herds and men, looking forward for him and deceived in their hope: "When shall we see him rise up, the bright and glorious star Tishtrya? When will the springs run with waves as thick as a horse's size and still thicker? Or will they never come?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
IV.
6. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star; who flies, towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space1, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant. 1. Mainivasau = mainyu-asau (meaning pun mînôî jîvâkîh, svargasthânam, Yasna 57.27.
7. 'For Ahura Mazda gave him assistance; so did the waters and the plants; and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, opened a wide way unto him.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
V.
8. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, that afflicts the Pairikas, that vexes the Pairikas, who, in the shape of worm-stars, fly between the earth and the heavens, in the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep sea of salt waters. He goes to its lake in the shape of a horse, in a holy shape; and down there he makes the waters boil over, and the winds flow above powerfully all around.
9. 'Then Satavaesa makes those waters flow down to the seven Karshvares of the earth, and when he has arrived down there, he stands, beautiful, spreading ease and joy on the fertile countries (thinking in himself): "How shall the countries of the Aryas grow fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
VI.
10. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who spoke unto Ahura Mazda, saying: "Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
11. '"If men would worship me with a sacrifice in which I were invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, then I should have come to the faithful at the appointed time; I should have come in the appointed time of my beautiful, immortal life, should it be one night, or two nights, or fifty, or a hundred nights."
12. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya;
'We sacrifice unto the rains of Tishtrya.
'We sacrifice unto the first star; we sacrifice unto the rains of the first star.
'I will sacrifice unto the stars Haptoiringa, to oppose the Yatus and Pairikas.
'We sacrifice unto Vanant, the star made by Mazda; for the well-shapen strength, for the Victory, made by Ahura, for the crushing Ascendant, for the destruction of what distresses us, for the destruction of what persecutes us.
'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, whose eye-sight is sound.
13. 'For ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a man of fifteen years of age, bright, with clear eyes, tall, full of strength, strong, and clever.
14. 'He is active as the first man was; he goes on with the strength of the first man; he has the virility of the first man.
15. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of male children, a troop of male children, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
16. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a golden-horned bull.
17. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of oxen, a herd of oxen, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
18. 'The next ten nights, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya mingles his shape with light, moving in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
19. 'Here he calls for people to assemble, here he asks, saying: "Who now will offer me the libations with the Haoma and the holy meat? To whom shall I give wealth of horses, a troop of horses, and the purification of his own soul? Now I ought to receive sacrifice and prayer in the material world, by the law of excellent holiness."
20. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
21. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha, in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
22. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya and the Daeva Apaosha. They fight together, O Spitama Zarathushtra! for three days and three nights. And then the Daeva Apaosha proves stronger than the bright and glorious Tishtrya, he overcomes him.
23. 'And Tishtrya flees from the sea Vouru-Kasha, as far as a Hathra's length. He cries out in woe and distress, the bright and glorious Tishtrya: "Woe is me, O Ahura Mazda! I am in distress, O Waters and Plants! O Fate and thou, Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Men do not worship me with a sacrifice in which I am invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names.
24. '"If men had worshipped me with a sacrifice in which I had been invoked by my own name, as they worship the other Yazatas with sacrifices in which they are invoked by their own names, I should have taken to me the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers."
25. 'Then I, Ahura Mazda, offer up to the bright and glorious Tishtrya a sacrifice in which he is invoked by his own name, and I bring him the strength of ten horses, the strength of ten camels, the strength of ten bulls, the strength of ten mountains, the strength of ten rivers.
26. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes down to the sea Vouru-Kasha in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and golden caparison.
27. 'But there rushes down to meet him the Daeva Apaosha in the shape of a dark horse, black with black ears, black with a black back, black with a black tail, stamped with brands of terror.
28. 'They meet together, hoof against hoof, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Tishtrya, and the Daeva Apaosha; they fight together, O Zarathushtra! till the time of noon. Then the bright and glorious Tishtrya proves stronger than the Daeva Apaosha, he overcomes him.
29. 'Then he goes from the sea Vouru-Kasha as far as a Hathra's length: "Hail!" cries the bright and glorious Tishtrya. "Hail unto me, O Ahura Mazda! Hail unto you, O waters and plants! Hail, O Law of the worshippers of Mazda! Hail will it be unto you, O lands! The life of the waters will flow down unrestrained to the big-seeded corn fields, to the small-seeded pasture-fields, and to the whole of the material world!"
30. Then the bright and glorious Tishtrya goes back down to the sea Vouru-Kasha, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
31. 'He makes the sea boil up and down; he makes the sea stream this and that way; he makes the sea flow this and that way: all the shores of the sea Vouru-Kasha are boiling over, all the middle of it is boiling over.
32. 'And the bright and glorious Tishtrya rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the bright and glorious Satavaesa rises up from the sea Vouru-Kasha; and vapours rise up above Mount Us-hindu, that stands in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha.
33. 'Then the vapours push forward, in the regular shape of clouds; they go following the wind, along the ways which Haoma traverses, the increaser of the world. Behind him travels the mighty wind, made by Mazda, and the rain, and the cloud, and the sleet, down to the several places, down to the fields, down to the seven Karshvares of the earth.
34. 'Apam Napat, O Spitama Zarathushtra! divides the waters amongst the countries in the material world, in company with the mighty wind, the Glory, made by the waters, and the Fravashis of the faithful.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
VII.
35. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who from the shining east, moves along his long winding course, along the path made by the gods, along the way appointed for him the watery way, at the will of Ahura Mazda, at the will of the Amesha-Spentas.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
VIII.
36. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, whose rising is watched by men who live on the fruits of the year, by the chiefs of deep understanding; by the wild beasts in the mountains, by the tame beasts that run in the plains; they watch him, as he comes up to the country for a bad year, or for a good year, (thinking in themselves): "How shall the Aryan countries be fertile?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
IX.
37. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, swift-flying and swift-moving, who flies towards the sea Vouru-Kasha, as swiftly as the arrow darted through the heavenly space, which Erekhsha, the swift archer, the Arya amongst the Aryas whose arrow was the swiftest, shot from Mount Khshaotha to Mount Hvanvant.
38. 'Ahura Mazda gave him assistance, and the Amesha-Spentas and Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, pointed him the way: behind him went the tall Ashish Vanguhi and Parendi on her light chariot: always till, in his course, he reached Mount Hvanvant on the shining waters.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
X.
39. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who afflicts the Pairikas, who destroys the Pairikas, that Angra Mainyus flung to stop all the stars that have in them the seed of the waters.
40. 'Tishtrya afflicts them, he blows them away from the sea Vouru-Kasha; then the wind blows the clouds forward, bearing the waters of fertility, so that the friendly showers spread wide over, they spread helpingly and friendly over the seven Karshvares.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XI.
41. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long the standing waters, and the running spring-waters, the stream-waters, and the rain-waters:
42. '"When will the bright and glorious Tishtrya rise up for us? When will the springs with a flow and overflow of waters, thick as a horse's shoulder, run to the beautiful places and fields, and to the pastures, even to the roots of the plants, that they may grow with a powerful growth?"
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XII.
43. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, who washes away all things of fear, who stunts the growth of all ...., and brings health to all these creations, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XIII.
44. 'I will sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, whom Ahura Mazda has established as a lord and overseer above all stars, in the same way as he has established Zarathushtra above men; whom neither Angra Mainyu, nor the Yatus and the Pairikas, nor the men Yatus can deliver unto death, nor can all the Daevas together prevail for his death.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XIV.
45. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, to whom Ahura Mazda has given a thousand senses, and who is the most beneficent amongst the stars that have in them the seed of the waters:
46. 'Who moves in light with the stars that have in them the seed of the waters: he, from the sea Vouru-Kasha, the powerful sea, the large-sized, deep, and salt of waters, goes to all the lakes, and to all the beautiful caves, and to all the beautiful channels, in the shape of a white, beautiful horse, with golden ears and a golden caparison.
47. 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the waters flow down from the sea Vouru-Kasha, mother-like, friendly, and healing: he divides them amongst these countries, being most beneficent, when he has been worshipped with a sacrifice and propitiated rejoiced, and satisfied. 'For his brigbtness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XV.
48. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, for whom long all the creatures of Spenta-Mainyu, those that live under the ground, and those that live above the ground; those that live in the waters, and those that live on dry land; those that fly, and those that run in the plains; and all those that live within this boundless and endless world of the holy Spirit.
'For his brightness and glory, I will offer him a sacrifice worth being heard....
XVI.
49. 'We sacrifice unto Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, the healthful, wise, happy, and powerful, who is the lord of a thousand boons, and grants many boons to that man who has pleased him, whether begging or not begging for them.
50. 'I, O Spitama Zarathushtra! have created that star Tishtrya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of progitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;
51. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyairya.
52. 'Had I not created that star Tishtrya as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of prayer, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of glorification as myself, Ahura Mazda;
53. 'In order to withstand, to break asunder, to afflict, to drive back the malice of that Pairika Duzyairya, whom evil-speaking people call Huyairya;
54. 'Then all day long, all night long, that Pairika Duzyairya would wage war against this material world of mine, wanting to extinguish its life, and she goes on, rushing upon and around it.
55. 'But the bright and glorious Tishtrya keeps that Pairika in bonds, with twofold bonds, with threefold bonds, that cannot be overcome, with bonds all over the body: it is as if there were a thousand men keeping one man in bonds, a thousand men of those who are the strongest in strength.
56. 'If the Aryan countries, O Spitama Zarathushtra! would perform in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya the due sacrifice and invocation, just as that sacrifice and invocation ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness; never should a hostile horde enter these Aryan countries, nor any plague, nor leprosy, nor venomous plants, nor the chariot of a foe, nor the uplifted spear of a foe.'
57. Zarathushtra asked: 'What is then, O Ahura Mazda! the sacrifice and invocation in honour of the bright and glorious Tishtrya, as it ought to be performed in the perfection of holiness?'
58. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Let the Aryan nations bring libations unto him; let the Aryan nations tie bundles of baresma for him; let the Aryan nations cook for him a head of cattle, either white, or black, or of any other colour, but all of one and the same colour.
59. 'Let not a murderer take of these offerings, nor a whore, nor a .... who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra.
60. 'If a murderer take of these offerings, or a whore, or a .... who does not sing the Gathas, who spreads death in the world and withstands the law of Mazda, the law of Zarathushtra, then the bright and glorious Tishtrya takes back his healing virtues.
61. 'Plagues will ever pour upon the Aryan nations; hostile hordes will ever fall upon the Aryan nations; the Aryans will be smitten, by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by thetr thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.
62. 'Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness....
'I bless the sacrifice and prayer, and the strength and vigour of Tishtrya, the bright and glorious star, and of the powerful Satavaesa, made by Mazda, who pushes waters forward.
'Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good....
'[Give] unto that man brightness and glory, .... give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones.'
From: here
"May Tishtrya's rain bring fruition to our fields..."
Thou, Ahura Mazda, hast created Tishtrya, the radiant, glorious star genius of the rain, the lord of all other stars, for the fertility of the fields and farms and all other lands. Men and beasts and birds and plants and trees and rivers and streams and thirsty earth look eagerly and entreatingly to the rising of the star Tishtrya, that, in gushing torrents, he may send a flood of rain to fertilize their lands and bestow riches upon the earth. The farmer yearns for the refreshing showers of Tishtrya to water his parched fields, the gardener looks for a shower to brighten the foliage. With rich harvests does the land smile, when the rain Yazata favors it with his fertilizing waters. The drops of the rain of Tishtrya are like watery seeds that the benevolent sky scatters over the fields and spreads fertility all around.
Apaosha, the adversary of Tishtrya, struggles to keep back the rain and to hold the earth in clutch through famine and drought. In vain do we pray for the rain. A relentless heaven rains not and the land bears no crops. The desert wind scatters the clouds that look black and frown with angry look. The crashes of thunder and flashing lightnings and storm prevent the rains from coming. Disaster stares us in the face.
Then when in heart-felt humility we pray unto thee, Ahura Mazda, thou hear our supplications and impart renewed strength to Tishtrya in his war against the elements. Up rises the bright and glorious Tishtrya from the sea Vourukasha. The atmosphere absorbs water that evaporates from the seas and the land. Vapors rise above and the wind of Vayu, laden with moisture, blows over the hills and hillocks and mountains that raise their proud heads to the sky. There do the clouds rest on the stony bosoms. As the shepherd-dog drives the woolly sheep, so does the wind of Vayu drive the heavy laden clouds before it. The thick dark clouds bearing water swim in heaven. Tishtrya compresses them even as a man squeezes the sponges fined with water. The clouds now pour heavily in sheets, the silver bars of the torrential rain pelt down on the big-seeded corn fields and the small-seeded pasture field and the orchards and the land everywhere that grow food and fodder for men and beasts.
Hail unto Tishtrya who rains his fertilizing blessings over the earth. The fields do smile and trees do rejoice and the animals are gladdened. To the sound of the patter of raindrops on the leaves of the trees do the birds sing their melodious songs. Let us then sing to the greatness and glory of the lord our God and pray unto him in thankfulness.
From: here
Thou, Ahura Mazda, hast created Tishtrya, the radiant, glorious star genius of the rain, the lord of all other stars, for the fertility of the fields and farms and all other lands. Men and beasts and birds and plants and trees and rivers and streams and thirsty earth look eagerly and entreatingly to the rising of the star Tishtrya, that, in gushing torrents, he may send a flood of rain to fertilize their lands and bestow riches upon the earth. The farmer yearns for the refreshing showers of Tishtrya to water his parched fields, the gardener looks for a shower to brighten the foliage. With rich harvests does the land smile, when the rain Yazata favors it with his fertilizing waters. The drops of the rain of Tishtrya are like watery seeds that the benevolent sky scatters over the fields and spreads fertility all around.
Apaosha, the adversary of Tishtrya, struggles to keep back the rain and to hold the earth in clutch through famine and drought. In vain do we pray for the rain. A relentless heaven rains not and the land bears no crops. The desert wind scatters the clouds that look black and frown with angry look. The crashes of thunder and flashing lightnings and storm prevent the rains from coming. Disaster stares us in the face.
Then when in heart-felt humility we pray unto thee, Ahura Mazda, thou hear our supplications and impart renewed strength to Tishtrya in his war against the elements. Up rises the bright and glorious Tishtrya from the sea Vourukasha. The atmosphere absorbs water that evaporates from the seas and the land. Vapors rise above and the wind of Vayu, laden with moisture, blows over the hills and hillocks and mountains that raise their proud heads to the sky. There do the clouds rest on the stony bosoms. As the shepherd-dog drives the woolly sheep, so does the wind of Vayu drive the heavy laden clouds before it. The thick dark clouds bearing water swim in heaven. Tishtrya compresses them even as a man squeezes the sponges fined with water. The clouds now pour heavily in sheets, the silver bars of the torrential rain pelt down on the big-seeded corn fields and the small-seeded pasture field and the orchards and the land everywhere that grow food and fodder for men and beasts.
Hail unto Tishtrya who rains his fertilizing blessings over the earth. The fields do smile and trees do rejoice and the animals are gladdened. To the sound of the patter of raindrops on the leaves of the trees do the birds sing their melodious songs. Let us then sing to the greatness and glory of the lord our God and pray unto him in thankfulness.
From: here
Tishtrya, the god of rains, is personified as the star Sinus or Canis Major. His opponents are the witch Duzhyairya (Bad Harvest) and, worse still, Apaosha (Drought). He is vividly described as the god who rises from the source of all waters, the Vourukasha Sea, and who divides the waters among the countries.
The god of rains succeeds in making water pour down upon the fields, upon the whole world, and vapour rising from the sea moves forward in the form of clouds, pushed by the wind. The fourth month of the Iranian calendar is called Tir after the god Tishtrya, and the festival of Tiragan was celebrated as a rain festival.
From: here
The god of rains succeeds in making water pour down upon the fields, upon the whole world, and vapour rising from the sea moves forward in the form of clouds, pushed by the wind. The fourth month of the Iranian calendar is called Tir after the god Tishtrya, and the festival of Tiragan was celebrated as a rain festival.
From: here
A Rite to Sirius: Sothis & Tishtrya (Tir) - Payam Nabarz
Tishtar Yasht (Hymn to the Star Sirius)
PDF newsletter with mentions of Tishtrya and his festival
Related links--
Lore of Sirius - including Persian and other cultures--
Star Names & Lore - Richard Allen - Canis Major
Sirius For Seekers: The Star Sirius in Astronomy, Myth, Religion, and History
The Sah/Sopdet/Sopdu relationship - Kemetic
Sirius lore
Another site
And other
Google Books preview: Sirius: brightest diamond in the night sky
On MW: Sopdet/Sothis {Goddess of the Week} -- Kemetic goddess personifying Sirius, Aset is associated with her as well
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