Structure and Content
As represented within the greater Yasna liturgy, the Yasna Haptanghaiti are placed (and recited) between the first and second Gathas. Unlike the Gathas however, which are in verse, the Yasna Haptanghaiti is in prose. Analysis of the texts suggests that the hymns of the Yasna Haptanghaiti were composed as a discrete unit. The last verse of the last chapter suggests that the seven chapters represent the historical Yasna liturgy, around which the other chapters of the present-day Yasna were later organized. In that verse (41.6), the Yasna Haptanghaiti is personified as "the brave Yasna" and "the holy, the ritual chief."
The seven chapters have been summarized by Lawrence Heyworth Mills as follows:
| 1. (Yasna 35), | 10 verses, | "Praise to Ahura and the Immortals (Amesha Spentas); Prayer for the practice and diffusion of the faith" |
| 2. (Yasna 36), | 6 verses, | "To Ahura and the Fire (Atar)" |
| 3. (Yasna 37), | 5 verses, | "To Ahura, the holy Creation, the Fravashis of the Just (ashavan), and the Bountiful Immortals (Amesha Spentas) |
| 4. (Yasna 38), | 4 verses, | "To the earth and the sacred waters (Apo)" |
| 5. (Yasna 39), | 5 verses, | "To the soul of the Kine, &c" |
| 6. (Yasna 40), | 4 verses, | "Prayers for Helpers" |
| 7. (Yasna 41), | 6 verses, | "Prayer to Ahura as the King, the Life, and the Rewarder" |
In the 19th century, Yasna 42 was considered to be a supplement to the Yasna Haptanghaiti, but later discussions of the liturgy do not include it as such. Yasna 42 is younger than the Yasna Haptanghaiti.
Read more about this topic: Yasna Haptanghaiti
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