Song 5.8 (Yasna 32.8)
Transliterated Text:
aêshãm aênanghãm vîvanghushô srâvî ýimascît ýê mashyêñg cixshnushô ahmâkêñg gâush bagâ xvâremnô aêshãmcît â ahmî thwahmî mazdâ vîcithôi aipî
Translated Text:
Regarding these crimes, it is said that Yima son of Vivanhan also sounded himself the god of our world. For such a crime too, as far as I am concerned, the final judgement lies with You.
Summary Substance:
Among those who have committed crimes, Yima (King Jamshid) is reported to have declared himself the “god of the world”. But as far as Zarathushtra is concerned, he leaves it to God to be the final judge. He has nothing to state.
Note: King Jamshid’s reign and feats symbolize the period during which the Indo-Iranians migrated from northern steppes to the Iranian Plateau and then survived a severe spell of the ice age. His period also symbolizes many advances made in social comforts. When Jamshid felt that it was he who had provided his people with prosperity, he became proud and arrogant and declared himself, in words of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (the epic of Book of the Kings), “the Creator of the World”. The boast brought his downfall at the hands of Azhi Dahaka (Zahhak or Zohak of the Shahnameh). Incidentally Jamshid is the only legendary subject mentioned in the Gathas and that too casually. The Gathas are free of myth and legend.
Pondering Point:
“Do not pass judgment on another without insight into the circumstances.”