A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
The Tishtar Yasht gives Tishtrya successive ten-night manifestations as a fifteen-year-old youth, a golden-horned bull and a white horse with golden ears and equipment. In the horse form it descends to the cosmic sea and meets Apaosha, a threatening black horse. The initial struggle lasts three days and ends in Tishtrya’s defeat.
Tishtrya complains of inadequate invocation by name. Ahura Mazda supplies the worship and strength needed for a return, and Tishtrya overcomes the opponent in the second struggle. The sea then surges, vapour becomes cloud, and wind and rain carry water toward fields and pastures. These animal manifestations belong to a yazata’s liturgical narrative, not an independent breed of ordinary horse.
The hymn develops the release of rain into a sequence of named agents and places. After the victory, the waters rise and Satavaesa appears; vapour reaches Mount Ushindu, cloud forms, and the wind carries rain across the seven regions. Apam Napat participates in distributing the waters. Earlier passages picture hostile Pairikas in worm-star forms between earth and heaven, while later verses credit Tishtrya with scattering obstructions that would prevent the rain-bearing stars from working.
The successive animal forms also sit within a narrative about recognition and worship. Tishtrya asks why people fail to invoke its own name, and the properly named offering supplies strength compared with ten horses, camels, bulls, mountains and rivers. Farmers and herdsmen watch its rising as a sign of the coming year. The horse’s combat therefore links a visible heavenly presence, liturgical invocation and the hoped-for fertility of pastures and fields.
Origins & earliest records
Iranian Zoroastrian religious narrative
Records & interpretation
Numbered primary hymn passages directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tishtar Yasht
Yasht 8.8, 13–40 and 51–55; hosted American SBE edition date, not first composition.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Tishtar Yasht
Khorda Avesta. Yasht8.13–34
Actual primary hymn read with section numbers; no illustration verified.
The hymn develops the release of rain into a sequence of named agents and places. After the victory, the waters rise and Satavaesa appears; vapour reaches Mount Ushindu, cloud forms, and the wind carries rain across the seven regions. Apam Napat participates in distributing the waters. Earlier passages picture hostile Pairikas in worm-star forms between earth and heaven, while later verses credit Tishtrya with scattering obstructions that would prevent the rain-bearing stars from working. The successive animal forms also sit within a narrative about recognition and worship. Tishtrya asks why people fail to invoke its own name, and the properly named offering supplies strength compared with ten horses, camels, bulls, mountains and rivers. Farmers and herdsmen watch its rising as a sign of the coming year. The horse’s combat therefore links a visible heavenly presence, liturgical invocation and the hoped-for fertility of pastures and fields.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical religious primary-text translationYasht 8 — Darmesteter translationResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.