Avesta of particular manuscripts. A pre-Sasanian history of the Avesta, if it had one, is in the realm of legend and myth. The oldest surviving versions of these tales are found in the ninth to 11th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition (i.e. in the so-called "Pahlavi books"). The legends run as follows: The twenty-one "nask"s ("books") of the Avesta were created by Ahura Mazda and brought by Zoroaster to his patron Vishtaspa ("Denkard" 4A, 3A). Supposedly, Vishtaspa ("Dk" 3A) or another Kayanian, Daray ("Dk" 4B), then had two copies made, one of which was stored in the treasury, and the other
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