Avesta other general. The following categorization is as described by Jean Kellens (see bibliography, below). The "Yasna" (from "yazišn" "worship, oblations", cognate with Sanskrit "yajña"), is the primary liturgical collection, named after the ceremony at which it is recited. It consists of 72 sections called the "Ha-iti" or "Ha". The 72 threads of lamb's wool in the "Kushti", the sacred thread worn by Zoroastrians, represent these sections. The central portion of the Yasna is the "Gathas", the oldest and most sacred portion of the Avesta, believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. The "Gathas" are structurally interrupted by the
Avesta the extended Yasna are from the "Yasht"s, which are hymns to the individual "yazata"s. Unlike the "Yasna", "Visperad" and "Vendidad", the "Yasht"s and the other lesser texts of the Avesta are no longer used liturgically in high rituals. Aside from the "Yasht"s, these other lesser texts include the "Nyayesh" texts, the "Gah" texts, the "Siroza", and various other fragments. Together, these lesser texts are conventionally called "Khordeh Avesta" or "Little Avesta" texts. When the first "Khordeh Avesta" editions were printed in the 19th century, these texts (together with some non-Avestan language prayers) became a book of common prayer for lay