The seven Gâtha Nasks, thus named because they are mostly a development of the Githas, are:—
- The Stôt Yast (Dk. VIII, 46);
- The Sûtkar (Dk. VIII, a; IX, 2);
- The Varst-mânsar (Dk. VIII, 3; IX, 24);
- The Bak (Dk. VIII, 4 ; IX, 47);
- The Vastag (Dk. VIII, 12);
- The Hâdhôkht (Dk. VIII, 45);
- The Spand (Dk. VIII, 14).
We possess the Stôt Yast (in Zend Staota yêsnya) in its entirety: it is the core of the aggregate known as the Yasna, and the most holy part of the Avesta. It contains thirty-three chapters, of which twenty-two are metrical and written in an archaic style, these being the Gâthas, properly so called, and the three chief prayers (Ahuna Vairya, Ashem Vohû, and Yênhê hâtãm); eleven chapters are written in prose and in the common dialect[1].
The Sûtkar, the Varst-mânsar, and the Bak contain each twenty-two chapters, answering to the twenty-two Gâthas, of which they are mere commentaries or paraphrases. We possess small fragments of the Sûtkar[2] and one chapter of the Varst-mânsar[3]. Three chapters of the Bak, which are commentaries to the three chief prayers aforesaid, have been incorporated in the Yasna[4].
Nothing is left of the Vastag, of which the Dînkart gives no analysis, as the author had neither its Avesta, nor its Zend (neither its original text, nor its Pahlavi translation), in an authentic form before him.
Of the Hâdhôkht we have three chapters counted as Yasyts[5], and one inserted in the Yasna[6].
The Spand, which is dedicated to the story of Zoroaster, has been indirectly preserved, in a modem form, in the Zardust Nâma and in Ardâ Virâf's visit to hell.
