Abstract
Many inflectional and syntactic categories of the Avestan verbal system disappeared in transition from Old Iranian to Middle Persian. Consequently, the Pahlavi translator had to use the closest Pahlavi equivalent or make changes and substitutions when reconstructing Avestan verbal structures. This study examines the structure and method of translating Avestan verbs into Pahlavi (Zand) in four chapters of the Yasna Haptaŋhāiti, Yasna 35-38. The study has two parts. First, verbs whose tense remains unchanged are examined according to mood, person, and number. Second, verbs whose tense changes are analyzed. It also investigates Avestan moods that disappeared in Pahlavi, particularly the injunctive mood.

Keywords
Yasna, Haptaŋhāiti, Zand, verb, mood, voice

Introduction
The Yasna is a principal section of the Avesta consisting of seventy-two chapters. The Yasna Haptaŋhāiti, or “Yasna in Seven Sections,” comprises Yasna 35-41 and is characterized by a style relatively close to that of the Gathas. Its Pahlavi translation and commentary, known as the Zand, is important for examining the transition from Avestan to Middle Persian. Pahlavi translators generally followed the Avestan text closely and preserved aspects of its sentence structure. However, differences between the grammatical systems could produce changes in meaning, ambiguity, and replacement of Avestan categories by Middle Persian equivalents.
The Avestan verbal system was richer than that of Middle Persian. It included several tenses, active and middle voices, and moods such as indicative, imperative, subjunctive, optative, and injunctive. It distinguished three persons and three numbers, including the dual. During the transition to Middle Persian, several categories disappeared, including the aorist, perfect, future, dual number, active-middle distinction, and injunctive mood. Other categories survived only in modified forms. These developments created a fundamental problem for the Pahlavi translator, who had to find grammatical and semantic equivalents for Avestan forms that no longer existed in Middle Persian.

Materials and Methods
The material consists of the Avestan verbs and their Pahlavi counterparts in Yasna 35-38. The Avestan text is based primarily on the editions of Geldner and Hoffmann, while the Pahlavi text follows the editions and transcriptions of Dhabhar and Mackenzie. The study employs a descriptive and comparative method. Verbs are divided into two groups: those whose tense remains unchanged and those whose tense changes from Avestan to Pahlavi. These groups are examined according to changes in mood, person, and number, especially categories that disappeared or were modified in Middle Persian.

Discussion and Results
The comparison demonstrates that some Avestan present indicative verbs were translated into Pahlavi without changes in tense, mood, person, or number. For example, yazamide is rendered by yazēm. Nevertheless, even when tense and mood remain unchanged, number may differ according to context and the translator’s interpretation. Forms such as dadəmahi, cīšmahi, and huuąnmahi, all first-person plural forms in Avestan, illustrate that number was not always preserved.
One of the most important findings concerns the subjunctive mood. All subjunctive verbs occurring in Yasna 35-38 are translated as Middle Persian present indicatives. For example, the Avestan first-person plural subjunctive isāmaidē is rendered by the Pahlavi expression xwāstār hēm. The translator instead uses an available Middle Persian construction to convey its meaning. The Avestan second-person singular subjunctive dåŋhē is also translated by the Pahlavi third-person singular indicative dahēd, showing that both mood and person may change.
The optative shows a similar pattern. The optative forms in Yasna 35-38 are not translated by corresponding Pahlavi optatives. Forms such as mainimadi, vaocōimā and varəzimā are rendered through indicative forms, while another optative is translated by a subjunctive. A second-person singular optative may also appear as a third-person singular indicative. Thus, when an Avestan mood lacked a direct equivalent, it was replaced by another available mood, particularly the indicative or subjunctive.
The disappearance of the injunctive mood is another significant aspect. Since the injunctive had no fixed temporal reference and disappeared from the Middle Persian verbal system, the translator replaced it with the nearest available Pahlavi forms. In the examples examined, Avestan injunctives are generally translated by simple past forms and, in some cases, present indicative forms. Avestan aorist injunctives such as varəmaidī and frauuaocāmā consequently appear in Pahlavi through constructions that no longer preserve the original category.
Imperative forms generally maintain closer correspondence between Avestan and Pahlavi. However, some third-person imperatives lose their original form and are translated by third-person plural present indicatives. This shows that the priority was not always formal correspondence but reproduction of meaning through Middle Persian resources.
Changes in tense are also observed. Avestan perfect forms may be translated by Pahlavi present indicative constructions or verbal nouns. For example, vaēdā is rendered through the Pahlavi compound present construction āgāh bawēnd, resulting in changes in both tense and number. Another example is ādā, whose interpretation has been disputed. Some scholars have interpreted it as a third-person singular perfect, while Bartholomae regarded it as a second-person singular imperative. The Pahlavi translation dahišn, a verbal noun, suggests that the translator understood the Avestan form in relation to the verb dā-. Thus, differences may reflect both grammatical adaptation and interpretation.

. Conclusion
The study demonstrates that the translation of Avestan verbs into Pahlavi in Yasna 35-38 was not a simple word-for-word transfer. The loss of important verbal categories in Middle Persian required the translator to use the closest grammatical and semantic equivalents and, when necessary, change mood, person, number, or tense. The main findings show that the disappeared injunctive was mainly replaced by simple past and, in some cases, present indicative forms; all subjunctive verbs were translated as present indicatives; optatives were replaced mainly by indicative and subjunctive forms; changes in person and number occurred in several constructions; and Avestan perfect forms were translated through present indicative constructions or verbal nouns. Some irregularities may also have resulted from misunderstanding or transmission by copyists with limited knowledge of Pahlavi. Overall, the Zand of Yasna 35-38 provides important evidence for understanding how the Avestan verbal system was adapted to the grammatical resources of Middle Persian.