Page:History of Zoroastrianism.djvu/204

Rh of the bodies of mortals, received from him a surgical instrument for healing.

As the genius of metal, Khshathra Vairya is the lord of earthly riches. He generously bestows his possessions on the poor. He is sometimes invoked in company of marezhdika, 'mercy,' who is styled the protector of the poor. We can trace this relation of Khshathra Vairya as the merciful helper of the poor to the Ahuna Vairya formula.

Her position in the Avesta. As devotion personified on the abstract side, and as the genius of the earth on the concrete side, Spenta Armaiti, 'Holy Devotion,' retains her dual nature in the Younger Avesta. Through the medium of Devotion the faithful aspire to approach Ahura Mazda, and in the Confession of Faith the pious follower of Zarathushtra chooses Devotion and yearns to make her his own. Upon lifting up his devotional prayer the house-lord prays that she may enter his house and thus rout heresy. The malice and harm of the wicked could be averted through her help. She is the daughter of Ahura Mazda and as the genius of devotion is the mother of Ashi Vanghuhi, or the genius of Good Piety, while Rata, the guardian spirit of generosity, is invoked with her.

Armaiti as earth. From her position as the female genius of the earth, Armaiti very soon becomes the earth herself. She is now more frequently spoken of as the earth than as the genius of the earth. She wears the star-studded sky as her garment.

The dual archangels. These two Amesha Spentas are closely united to each other and generally occur together side by side. Haurvatat has a Yasht consecrated to him, being invoked as the