Airyaman ishya

The airyaman ishya (airyaman išya, airyə̄mā išyō) is Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Gathic Avestan invocations.

Name

The prayer is named after its opening words, ā airyə̄mā išyō. In present-day Zoroastrian usage, the airyama of these opening words are considered to be an invocation of the divinity Airyaman, the yazata of healing. The opening words may however have originally been an appeal to "the community" (or "tribe"), which would reflect the etymologically derived meaning of airyaman.

In relation to the other formulas

Like the other three formulas (Ahuna Vairya, Ashem vohu, Yenghe hatam), the airyaman ishya is in Gathic Avestan. While the first three formulas are located at Yasna 27.13-27.15, immediately preceding the Gathas, the airyaman ishya - at Yasna 54.1 - provides the closure. Also unlike the first three, the theological exegesis of the airyaman ishya is not embedded in the Yasna liturgy itself. Like the yenghe hatam, the third of the four formulas, the airyaman ishya is a prayer. Both it and the yenghe hatam are without the enigmatic "pronounced magical character" of the first two formulas.