Gatha (Zoroaster)

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The Gathas (/ˈɡɑːtəz, -tɑːz/)^[1] are 17 hymns in the Avestan language from the Zoroastrian oral tradition of the Avesta, the oldest surviving text fragment of which dates from 1323 CE.^[2] They are traditionally believed to have been composed by the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. They form the core of the Zoroastrian liturgy (the Yasna). They are arranged in five different modes or metres.

The Avestan term gāθā (𐬔𐬁𐬚𐬁 "hymn", but also "mode, metre") is cognate with Sanskrit gāthā (गाथा), both from the Proto-Indo-Iranian word *gaHtʰáH, from the root *gaH- "to sing".