E.W. West

The Pahlavi texts are the theological and cosmological literature of Sasanian Zoroastrianism, written in Middle Persian between the third and tenth centuries CE. This first volume contains three foundational works: the Bundahishn, the great creation narrative telling how Ohrmazd fashioned the world and how Ahriman invaded it; the Bahman Yasht, an apocalyptic vision of the ages of the world and the final renovation; and the Shayast La-Shayast, a compendium of religious customs, purity laws, and ritual propriety. Together they form the backbone of Zoroastrian cosmology, eschatology, and religious practice as understood in the late Sasanian period. Translated by E.W. West for the Sacred Books of the East, Volume 5.

INTRODUCTION

TO

PAHLAVI TEXTS.

THOUGH we must look to the Avesta for information regarding the main outlines of the Parsi religion, it is to Pahlavi writings we must refer for most of the details relating to the traditions, ceremonies, and customs of this ancient faith, which styles itself emphatically 'the good religion of the Mazdayasnians,' and calls its laity bahdînân, or 'those of the good religion.' In the fragments of the Avesta which still exist, we may trace the solid foundations of the religion, laid by philosophic bards and lawgivers of old, with many a mouldering column and massive fragment of the superstructure. erected upon them by the ancient priesthood. These are the last remnants of the faith held by Cyrus, the anointed of the Lord (Isaiah xlv. 1), the righteous one (Is. xli. 2), or eagle (Is. xlvi. 11), whom He called from the east, and the shepherd who performed His pleasure (Is. xliv. 28); scattered fragments of the creed professed by Darius in his inscriptions, when he attributes his successes to 'the will of Aûramazdâ;' and mouldering ruins of the comparatively pure religion of oriental 'barbarism,' which Alexander and his civilising Greek successors were unable wholly to destroy, and replace by their own idolatrous superstitions. While in the Pahlavi texts we, find much of the mediaeval edifice built by later Persian priest craft upon the old foundations, with a strange mixture of old and new materials, and exhibiting the usual symptom of declining powers, a strong insistence upon complex forms and minute details, with little of the freedom of treatment and simplicity of outline characteristic of the ancient bards.

To understand the relationship between these two classes of Parsi sacred writings, it must be observed that the Avesta and Pahlavi of the same scripture, taken together, form its Avesta and Zand, terms which are nearly synonymous with 'revelation and commentary.' Both words are derived from verbal roots implying 'knowledge;' Avesta being the Pahlavi avistâk, which may most probably be traced to the past participle of â, 'to,' + vid, 'to know,' with the meaning of 'what is announced' or 'declaration;' and Zand, being the Pahlavi form of Av. zainti (traceable in the word âzaintis), must be referred to the root zan, 'to know,' with the meaning of 'knowledge, understanding .' European scholars, misled probably by Muhammadan writers, have converted the phrase 'Avesta and Zand' into 'Zend-Avesta,' and have further identified Zand with the language of the Avesta. This use of the word Zand is, however, quite at variance with the practice of all Parsi writers who have been independent of European influence, as they apply the term Zand only to the Pahlavi translations and explanations of their sacred books, the original text of which they call Avesta. So that when they use the phrase 'Avesta and Zand' they mean the whole of any scripture, both the Avesta text and Pahlavi translation and commentary. And the latter, being often their only means of understanding the former, has now become of nearly equal authority with the Avesta itself. It is probable, indeed, that the first Zand was really written in the Avesta language, as we find many traces of such Avesta commentaries interpolated both in the Avesta and Pahlavi texts of the Parsi scriptures; but this is rather a matter of, European inference than of Parsi belief. The later (or Pahlavi) Zand appears also, in many places, to be merely a translation of this earlier (or Avesta) Zand, with additional explanations offered by the Pahlavi translators.

Regarding the sacredness of these Pahlavi translations, in the eyes of the Parsis, there can be no manner of doubt, so far as they cannot be shown to be inconsistent with the original Avesta text. But besides these translations there is another class of Pahlavi religious writings whose authority is more open to dispute. These writings are either translations and Zands of Avesta texts no longer extant, or they contain the opinions and decisions of high-priests of later times, when the Pahlavi language was on the decline. Such writings would hardly be considered of indisputable authority by any Parsi of the present day, unless they coincided with his own preconceived opinions. But for outsiders they have the inestimable value either of supplying numerous details of religious traditions and customs which would be vainly sought for elsewhere, or of being contemporary records of the religious ideas of the Parsis in the declining days of their Mazdayasnian faith. It is with a few of such writings this volume has to deal; but before describing them more minutely it will be desirable to give some account of the Pahlavi language in which they are written.

Footnotes x:1 See Haug's Essays, on the Sacred Language, Writings, and Religion of the Parsis, second edition, London, 1878; pp. 121, 122.

2. THE PAHLAVI LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.

The term 'Pahlavi,' in its widest extent, is applied to all the varying forms of the mediæval Persian language, from the time when the grammatical inflexions of ancient Persian were dropped, till the period when the modern alphabet was invented, and the language became corrupted into modern Persian by the adoption of numerous Arabic words and phrases. Some traces of Pahlavi words and phrases, written in old Semitic characters, have been found in the legends of coins struck by certain kings of Persian provinces, subordinate to the Greek successors of Alexander, as early As the third century B.C.  Further traces have been discovered in the legends on some provincial coins of the time of the Arsacidan dynasty. But, practically, our acquaintance with Pahlavi commences with the inscriptions, on rocks and coins, of Ardakhshîr-i Pâpakân (A.D. 226-140), the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, and ends with certain religious writings of priests and other devout Parsis of post-Muhammadan times, among the latest of which is one dated A.Y. 250 (A.D. 881). Any fragments of Pahlavi composition of later date than A.D. 1000, must be considered merely as modern imitations of a dead language, and cannot be quoted as authorities for the use of any particular Pahlavi words or construction.

With regard to the origin of the word Pahlavî, or language of Pahlav, many suggestions have been offered; but the most probable explanation  is that which connects it of with the Parthva, of the cuneiform inscriptions, the land the Parthians known to the Greeks and Romans, and of the Pahlavâs mentioned by Sanskrit writers; the change of Parthva into Pahlav being very similar to that of Av. Mithra into Pers. Mihr. No doubt the language of the Parthians themselves was not Pahlavi, but they were the actual rulers of Persia for some centuries at the time when the Pahlavi language was forming there; and, being formidable to their neighbours, it is not surprising that their name became identified with everything Persian, in the same way as the Roman name has been applied by the Persians, not only to the later Greek empire of Constantinople, but even to the earlier conqueror, Alexander the Great.

Strictly speaking, the mediæval Persian language is only called Pahlavi when it is written in one of the characters used before the invention of the modern Persian alphabet, and in the peculiarly enigmatical mode adopted in Pahlavi writings. Whenever it is transcribed, either in Avesta characters, or in those of the modern Persian alphabet, and freed from this peculiarity, it is called Pâzand.

The peculiar mode of writing Pahlavi, here alluded to long made the character of the language a standing puzzle for European scholars, and was first satisfactorily explained, by Professor Haug, of Munich, in his admirable Essay on the Pahlavi Language already cited.

Like the Assyrians of old, the Persians of Parthian times appear to have borrowed their writing from a foreign race.

But, whereas the Semitic Assyrians adopted a Turanian syllabary, these later Aryan Persians accepted a Semitic alphabet. Besides the alphabet, however, which they could use for spelling their own words, they also transferred a certain number of complete Semitic words to their writings, as representatives of the corresponding words in their own language. These Semitic representatives (the number of which might at any time be increased or diminished at the discretion of the writer) were probably never very numerous, and not more than four hundred of them are to be found in the Pahlavi, writings now extant; but, as they represent nearly all the commonest words in the language (excepting those specially relating to religious matters), they often constitute more than half the bulk of a Pahlavi text.

The use of such Semitic words, scattered about in Persian sentences, gives Pahlavi the motley appearance of a compound language; more especially as Persian terminations are often added to the Semitic words. But there are good reasons for supposing that the language was never spoken as it was written. The spoken language appears to have been purely Persian; the Semitic words being merely used, as written representatives, or logograms, of the Persian words which were spoken. Thus the Persians would write malkân malkâ, 'king of kings,' but they would read shâhân shâh. This is still the mode in which most Parsis read their Pahlavi literature; and it is only by assuming it to have been their universal practice, in former times, that we can account for the total and immediate disappearance of the Semitic portion of the Pahlavi, from their language, when the Persians adopted their modern alphabet. As the Semitic words were merely a Pahlavi mode of writing their Persian equivalents (just as 'viz.' is a mode of writing 'namely' in English), they disappeared with the Pahlavi writing, and the Persians began at once to write all their words, with their new alphabet just as they pronounced them.

In the meantime, the greater part of the nation had become Muhammadans, and a new influx of Semitic words commenced, but of a very different character. The Semitic portion of the Pahlavi writing was nearly pure Chaldee, and was confined (as already stated) to the graphic representation of most of the simplest and commonest words unconnected with religion; but it seems to have formed no part of the spoken language, at all events in later times. Whereas the Semitic portion of modern Persian is borrowed from Arabic, and includes most words connected with religion, science, and literature; in fact, every class of words except that which was usually Semitic in Pahlavi writings; and these Arabic words form an essential part of the spoken language, being as indispensable to the modern Persian as words of Norman-French origin are to the English.

In Pahlavi writings, moreover, besides the four hundred Semitic logograms already mentioned, we also find about one hundred obsolete forms of Iranian words used as logograms; much in the same way as 'ye' may be used for 'the,' and 'Xmas' for 'Christmas' in English. The use of all these logograms was, however, quite optional, as their usual Persian equivalents might, be substituted for any of them at any time, according to each particular writer's taste and discretion. But whenever they are employed they form. what is called the Huzvâris portion of the Pahlavi; while the other words, intended to be pronounced as they are spelt, form the Pâzand portion.
Many attempts have been made to explain the word Huzvâris, but it cannot be said that any satisfactory etymology has yet been proposed. Like the word Pahlavî it seems hardly to occur in any old Pahlavi text, but only in colophons, chapter-headings, and similar notes of modern writers; it seems, therefore, more reasonable to trace it to modern Persian than direct to any more ancient source. Its Pahlavi form, hûzvâris or aûzvârisn, appears to represent the modern Persian uzvâris, which is rarely used; the usual Persian form of the word being zuvâris. Now zuvâris is precisely the form of an abstract noun derived from the crude form of a verb zuvârîdan, which has been admitted into some Persian dictionaries on the authority of Golius . with the meaning 'to grow old, to become thread-bare.' If such a verb really exists in Persian, although its meaning may imply 'decrepitude or decay' rather than 'antiquity or obsoleteness,' yet its abstract noun would not be altogether inapplicable to the logograms used in Pahlavi, which are, in fact, last remnants of older writings.

The word Pâzand is probably derived from Av. paitizanti, with the meaning 're-explanation,' that is, a further interpretation of the Pahlavi Zand in the Persian vernacular. This term is applied not only to the purely Persian words in Pahlavi texts, but also (as already noticed) to transliterations of the said texts, either in Avesta or modern Persian characters, in which all the Huzvâris words are replaced by their Pâzand equivalents. These transliterations form what are called Pâzand texts; they retain the exact idiom and construction of the Pahlavi original, and represent the mode in which it was read. It may be remarked, however, that all such Pâzand texts, as have been examined, seem to have been written in India, so that they may be suspected of representing some corrupt Gugarâti pronunciation of Persian, rather than the peculiar orthography of any period of the Persian language.

This theory of the origin and development of Pahlavi writing could hardly be upheld, unless we could trace the same artificial mixture of Huzvâris and Pâzand in all accessible Pahlavi records, from their earliest appearance to the present time. This we are able to do, even in the scanty materials afforded by the legends on the provincial Persian coins of the third century B.C. and second century A.D. already mentioned. But we can trace it with greater certainty not only in the coin legends, but also in the rock inscriptions of the earlier Sasanian kings (A.D. 226-388), in the latest of which we find the written language differing very slightly from that contained in the manuscripts pre served by the Parsis of the present, day, although the characters differ very much in form. And, finally, in the legends on the coins of the later Sasanian kings (A.D. 388-651) and on seals of their times, we find even this difference in. the shapes of the letters disappearing by degrees. In fact, all the materials at our disposal tend to show that Huzvâris has been an essential constituent of all Pahlavi writings from the time of Alexander's successors to that of the disuse of Pahlavi characters; but we have no reason to suppose that the spoken language of the great mass of the Persian. people ever contained the Semitic words which they thus used as Huzvâris in their writings.

Although the use of Huzvâris, until explained recently, rendered the nature of the Pahlavi language very obscure, it added very little to the difficulty of understanding the Pahlavi texts, because the meaning of nearly every Huzvâris logogram was well known; being recorded in an old glossary preserved by the Parsis, in which every logogram is explained by its proper Pâzand equivalent. The extant copies of this old glossary generally contain the Huzvâris and Pâzand words written in the Pahlavi character, together with their traditional pronunciation, either in Avesta or modern Persian letters; there is, therefore, no particular difficulty in reading or translating the Huzvâris portion of a Pahlavi text, although doubts may often be entertained as to the accuracy of the traditional pronunciation.
The real difficulty of reading Pahlavi texts lies in the Pâzand portion (so far as it may be unexplained by existing vocabularies), and is chiefly occasioned by the ambiguity of some of the Pahlavi letters. The alphabet used in Pahlavi books contains only fourteen distinct letters, so that some letters represent several different sounds; and this ambiguity is increased by the letters being joined together, when a compound of two letters is sometimes exactly like some other single letter. The complication arising from these ambiguities may be understood from the following list of the sounds, simple and compound, represented by each of the fourteen letters of the Pahlavi alphabet respectively:— a, â, h, kh. b. p, f, t, d. k, g, z, v. r, l. z. s, yî, yad, yag, yag, dî, dad, dag, dag, gî, gad, gag, gag, gî, gad, gag, gag. sh, s, yâ, yah, yakh, îh, îkh, dâ, dah, dakh, gâ, gah, gakh, gâ, gah, gakh. gh. k. m. n. v, w, û, ô, r, l. y, î, ê, d, g, g.

From this list it is easy to see the confusion produced by the letter s being exactly like the letter y doubled, and by the letter sh being identical with a compound of y and â; and there are, in fact, some compounds of two letters which have from ten to fifteen sounds in common use, besides others which might possibly occur. If it be further considered that there are only three letters (which are also consonants, as in most Semitic languages) to represent five long vowels, and that there are probably five short vowels to be understood, the difficulty of reading Pahlavi correctly may be readily imagined.

When Pahlavi writing was in common use this difficulty was probably no more felt by the Persians, than the complexity of Chinese characters is felt as an evil by a Chinese mandarin, or the corrupt system of English orthography by an educated Englishman. It is only the foreigner, or learner, who fully appreciates the difficulty of understanding such cumbrous systems of writing.

With regard, however, to their Huzvâris logograms the Persians seem to have experienced more difficulty. As the actual sounds of these Semitic words were rarely pronounced, in consequence of their Pâzand equivalents being substituted in reading, there must have been some risk of their true pronunciation being forgotten. That this risk was understood by the Persians, or Parsis, is proved by the existence of the Huzvâris-Pâzand glossary already described, which was evidently compiled as a record both of the pronunciation and meaning of the Huzvâris logograms. But its compilation does not appear to have been undertaken until the true pronunciation of some of these logograms had been already lost. Thus, although the traditional readings of most of the Semitic portion of the Huzvâris can be readily traced to well known Chaldee words, there are yet many other such readings which are altogether inexplicable as Semitic words. In most such cases, however, European scholars have found that the Huzvâris word can be easily read in some other way which at once connects it with some ordinary Chaldee equivalent. It may, therefore, be reasonably assumed that the compilers of the glossary had in some instances lost the correct pronunciation of these old Semitic words, and that, in such cases, they adopted (as a Parsi would probably do at the present day) the most obvious reading of the letters before them, which thenceforth became an artificial word to, be handed down to posterity, by successive generations of writers, with all the authority of old tradition.

In the same manner the artificial pronunciation of the Iranian portion of the Huzvâris may be explained. The compilers of the glossary found a number of words in the Pahlavi texts, which were written in some obsolete or contracted manner; they knew the meanings of these words, but could not trace the true readings in the altered letters; they, therefore, adopted the most obvious readings of the written characters, and thus produced another series of artificial words, such as anhômâ for aûharmazd, yahân for yazdân, madônad for maînôk, shatan for shatrô, &c.

Naturally enough the Parsis are loth to admit the possibility of any error in their traditional readings of Huzvâris, and very few of them have yet adopted the views of European scholars further than to admit that they are ingenious hypotheses, which still require satisfactory proof. They are quite right in demanding such proof, and they may reasonably argue that the conflicting opinions of various European scholars do not tend to increase the certainty of their explanations. But, on the other hand, they are bound to examine all proofs that may be offered, and to consider the arguments of scholars, before utterly rejecting them in favour of their own preconceived notions of traditional authority.

Fortunately, we possess some means of ascertaining the ancient pronunciation of a few Huzvâris words, independent of the opinions of comparative philologists, in the inscriptions already mentioned as having been engraved on rocks, and impressed on coins, by the earlier kings of the Sasanian dynasty in Persia. The earliest of these rock inscriptions records the name and titles of Artakhshatar son  of Pâpak, the first Sasanian monarch (A.D. 226-240); it is engraved in Greek and two kinds of old Pahlavi characters, which have been called Chaldæo-Pahlavi and Sasanian-Pahlavi, because the one bears more resemblance to Chaldee, both in its letters and the language they express, and the other is more frequently used by the subsequent Sasanian monarchs. A similar tri-lingual inscription records the names and titles of his son and successor Shahpûhar I (A.D. 240-271), who has also left a long bi-lingual inscription, in Chaldæo and Sasanian-Pahlavi, in a cave near Persepolis. Another long bi-lingual inscription, fragments of which have been found on stones among the ruins of Pâî Kûlî, is attributed to his early successors, who have also left us several uni-lingual inscriptions in Sasanian-Pahlavi, two of which are of great length, but none later than the end of the fourth century.

The language of the earlier of these inscriptions differs from that of the manuscripts preserved by the Parsis, chiefly in the use of several Semitic words unknown to the manuscript Huzvâris, the non-existence of Iranian Huzvâris (which is evidently a growth of later times), and the less frequent use of Persian terminations affixed to Semitic words. These differences, however, are hardly greater than those which distinguish the English of Chaucer from that of our own day. Moreover, they gradually disappear in process of time, as we find the later inscriptions of the fourth century approaching much closer, in language, to the manuscripts.

As the alphabets of these inscriptions are less imperfect and ambiguous than that of the Pahlavi manuscripts, they render the pronunciation of many words much more certain. They consist of eighteen letters, having the following sounds:—

1. a, â. 2. b. 3. p, f. 4. t, d, 5. k, g, ‏צ‎. 6. kh, h. 7. d. 8. r, v, w, û, ô. 9. z. 10. s. 11. sh, s. 12. k. 13. g. 14. l, r. 15. m. 16. n. 17. y, î, ê. 18. doubtful, being equivalent to Chaldee
   , and to Pahl. MS. -man .

Comparing this list of sounds with that of the sounds of. the manuscript alphabet (pp. xvi, xvii) it is evident that the inscriptions must afford a means of distinguishing â from kh, s from any binary compound of y, d, g, or g, sh from any compound of y, d, g, or g with â, h, or kh, n from v, r, or l, and y, d, g from each other; all which letters and compounds are left in doubt by the manuscript alphabet. Unfortunately we do not possess trustworthy copies of some of the inscriptions which are evidently the most important from a linguistic point of view  but such copies as have been obtained supply corrections of traditional misreadings of about twenty-five Huzvâris logograms, and at the same time they confirm the correctness of three traditional readings which have been called in question by most European scholars. So far, therefore, the inscriptions would teach the Parsis that the decisions of comparative philologists are not likely to be right more than seven times out of eight, even when they are tolerably unanimous.

The Chaldæo-Pahlavi character appears to have soon gone out of use, after the establishment of the Sasanian dynasty, as the latest known inscription, in which it occurs, is that of Pâî Kûlî, which contains the name of Aûharmazd I (A.D. 271-272); while the long inscriptions of Naqs-i Ragab and Naqs-i Rustam, which contain the name of Varahrân II (A.D. 275-283), are engraved only in Sasanian-Pahlavi. From these facts it seems probable that Chaldæo-Pahlavi went out of use about A.D. 275. The Sasanian characters continue to appear, with very little alteration, upon the coins until the end of the fifth century, when most of them begin to assume the cursive form of the manuscript Pahlavi, which appears to have altered very slightly since the eighth century.

The oldest Pahlavi manuscript known to be extant, consists of several fragments of papyrus recently found in a grave in the Fayûm district in Egypt, and now in the Royal Museum at Berlin; it is supposed to have been written in the eighth century. Next to this, after a long interval, come four manuscripts written on Indian paper, all by the same hand, in A.D. 1323-1324; they are two copies of the Yasna and two of the Vendidad, containing the Avesta with its Zand, or Pahlavi translation and commentary; two of these old MSS. are now preserved in Kopenhagen, one in London, and one in Bombay. Next to these in age are two MSS. of miscellaneous Pahlavi texts, written probably about fifty years later; one of these is now in Kopenhagen and one in Bombay. Another MS. of nearly the same age is also a miscellaneous collection of Pahlavi texts, written in A.D. 1397, and now in Munich; where there is also one of the oldest Pâzand-Sanskrit MSS., a copy of the Ardâ-Vîrâf-nâmak, written in A.D. 1410. Another Pâzand-Sanskrit MS., a copy of the Khurdah Avesta, of about the same age, exists in Bombay. Pahlavi and Pâzand manuscripts of the sixteenth century are rather more numerous.

Pahlavi literature reached the zenith of its prosperity about thirteen centuries ago, when it included the whole literature of Persia. Seventy years later its destruction commenced with the fall of the Sasanian dynasty (A.D.

636-651); and the subsequent adoption of the modern Persian alphabet gave it its death-blow. The last remnants of Pahlavi writings are now contained in the few manuscripts, still preserved by the Parsis in Western India, and their almost-extinct brethren in Persia. A careful estimate of the length of these remnants, so far as they are known to, Europeans, has shown that the total extent of existing, Pahlavi literature is about thirty-six times that of the Bundahis, as translated in this volume. One-fifth of this, literature consists of translations accompanying Avesta texts, and the remaining four-fifths are purely Pahlavi works which are nearly all connected with religion. How much of this literature may have descended from Sasanian times can hardly be ascertained as yet; in fact, it is only very recently that any trustworthy data, for determining the age of a few Pahlavi writings, have been discovered, as will be explained hereafter, when considering the age of the Bundahis.

Footnotes xi:1 See Levy's Beiträge zur aramäischen Münzkunde Eran's, und zur Kunde der ältern Pehlewi-Schrift, Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Leipzig, 1867; XXI, 421-465.

xii:1 See Haug's Essay on the Pahlavi language, Stuttgart, 1870; pp. 33-37. xiv:1 See Castelli Lexicon Heptaglotton, Pars altera, London, 1669. xix:1 So stated in the inscription, but Pahlavi MSS. call him the son of Pâpak's daughter and of Sâsân (see Bund. XXXI. 30). xx:1 Whether the sound of this letter can ever be satisfactorily settled remains doubtful. Levy, in his Beiträge, cited on p. xi, considers it to be the Semitic ‏ה‎, on palæographical grounds; but there are serious objections to all the identifications that have been proposed. xx:2 The Sasanian inscriptions, of which new and correct copies are most urgently wanted, are:—1. An inscription of thirty-one lines high up in the left side-compartment (behind the king) of the centre bas-relief of Naqs-i Ragab, near Persepolis. 2. Two inscriptions, of eleven and twelve lines respectively, on the stones of the edifice near the south-west corner of the great platform at Persepolis, south of the Hall of Columns (see Ouseley's Travels in Persia, vol. ii. p. 237 and plate 42). 3. All the fragments of the Pâî Kûlî inscription, of which probably not more than half have yet been copied.

Of the very long inscription behind the king's horse in the bas-relief of Naqs-i Rustam, containing more than seventy lines very much damaged, a copy taken by Westergaard in 1843 with his usual accuracy, probably gives nearly all that is legible. And of the Hâgîâbâd and shorter inscriptions, little or nothing remains doubtful.

3. THE BUNDAHIS.

The term Bundahis, 'creation of the beginning,' or 'original creation,' is applied by the Parsis to a Pahlavi work  which, in its present state, appears to be a collection of fragments relating to the cosmogony, mythology, and legendary history taught by Mazdayasnian tradition, but which cannot be considered, in any way, a complete treatise on these subjects. This term is applicable enough to much of the earlier part of the work, which treats of the progressive development of creation under good and evil influences; but it is probably not the original name of the book. Its adoption was no doubt partly owing to the occurrence of the word bûn-dahisn, or bûn-dahisnîh, twice in the first sentence, and partly to its appropriateness to the subject. But the same sentence seems to inform us that the actual name of the treatise was Zand-âkâs, 'knowing the tradition.'

The work commences by describing the state of things in the beginning; the good spirit being in endless light and omniscient, and the evil spirit in endless darkness and with limited knowledge. Both produced their own creatures, which remained apart, in a spiritual or ideal state, for three thousand years, after which the evil spirit began his opposition to the good creation under an agreement that his power was not to last more than nine thousand years, of which only the middle three thousand were to see him successful. By uttering a sacred formula the good spirit throws the evil one into a state of confusion for a second three thousand years, while he produces the archangels and the material creation, including the suit, moon, and stars. At the end of that period the evil spirit, encouraged by the demons he had produced, once more rushes upon the good creation, to destroy it. The demons carry on conflicts with each of the six classes of creation, namely, the sky, water, earth, plants, animals represented by the primeval ox, and mankind represented by Gâyômard: producing little effect but movement in the sky, saltness in the water, mountains in the earth, withering in plants, and death to the primeval ox, and also to Gâyômard after an interval.

Then follows a series of chapters describing the seven regions of the earth, its mountains and seas, the five classes of animals, the origin of mankind, generation, the five kinds of fire and three sacred fires, the white Hôm tree and the tree of many seeds, the three-legged ass, the ox Hadhayôs, the bird Kâmrôs, and other birds and animals opposed to the evil creation, the rivers of the world, the seventeen species of liquids, the lakes, the origin of the ape and bear, the chiefs of the several kinds of creatures and creations, the calendar, lineal measures, trees and plants, the characteristics of various demons, the spiritual chiefs of the various regions of the earth, and the resurrection and future existence; all which descriptions are given on the authority of the Dîn, which may have been some particular book, or revelation generally. The concluding chapters give the genealogies of the legendary Persian kings and heroes, and of Zaratûst and certain priests, together with an epitome of Persian chronology from the creation to the Muhammadan conquest.

As the work now stands it is evidently of a fragmentary character, bearing unmistakable marks both of omissions and dislocations; and the extant manuscripts, as will be seen, differ among themselves both as to the extent and arrangement of the text. Many passages have the appearance of being translations from an Avesta original, and it is very probable that we have in the Bundahis either a translation, or an epitome, of the Dâmidâd Nask, one of the twenty-one books into which the whole of the Zoroastrian scriptures are said to have been divided before the time of Darius. This may be guessed from a comparison of the contents of the Bundahis with those of the Dâmdâd Nask, which are detailed in the Dînî-vagarkard as follows :—'It contained an explanation of the spiritual existence and heaven, good and evil, the material existence of this world, the sky and the earth, and everything which Aûharmazd produced in water, fire, and vegetation, men and quadrupeds, reptiles and birds, and everything which is produced from the waters, and the characteristics of all things. Secondly, the production of the resurrection and future existence; the concourse and separation at the Kinvad bridge; on the reward of the meritorious and the punishment of sinners in the future existence, and such-like explanations. Moreover, the Dâmdâd Nask is twice quoted as an authority in the Selections of Zâd-sparam (IX, 1, 16), when treating of animals, in nearly the same words as those used in the Bundahis.

The first manuscript of the Bundahis seen in Europe was brought from Surat by Anquetil Duperron in 1761, and he published a French translation of it in his great work on the Zend-Avesta in 1771 . This manuscript, which is now in the National Library at Paris, was a modern copy, written A.D. 1734, and contained a miscellaneous collection of Pahlavi writings besides the Bundahis. And Anquetil's translation, though carefully prepared in accordance with the information he had obtained from his Parsi instructor, is very far from giving the correct meaning of the original text in many places.

In 1820 the very old codex from which Anquetil's MS. had been copied was had been brought to Europe, from Bombay, by the Danish scholar Rask, and was subsequently deposited in the University Library at Kopenhagen. This most important codex, which will be more particularly described under the appellation of K20, appears to have been written during the latter half of the fourteenth century; and a facsimile of the Pahlavi text of the Bundahis, which it contains, was very carefully traced from it, lithographed, and published by Westergaard in 1850. 

In a review of this lithographed edition of the Pahlavi text, published in the Göttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen in 1854 , Haug gave a German translation of the first three chapters of the Bundahis. And Spiegel, in his Traditional Literature of the Parsis , published in 1860 a German translation of many passages in the Bundahis, together with a transcript of the Pahlavi text of Chaps. I, II, III, and XXX in Hebrew characters. But the complete German translation of the Bundahis by Windischmann, with his commentary on its contents, published in his Zoroastrian Studies  in 1863, was probably toe most important step in advance since the time of Anquetil, and the utmost that could be done on the authority of a single MS. which is far from perfect.

In 1866 another very old codex, containing the Pahlavi texts of the Bundahis and other works, was brought to Europe by Haug, to whom it had been presented at Surat in 1864. It is now in the State Library at Munich, and will be more minutely described under the appellation of M6. In this codex the Bundahis is arranged in a different order from that in K20, and Chaps. XXVIII, XXIX, and XXXI-XXXIII are omitted.

A second complete German translation of the Bundahis, with a lithographed copy of the Pahlavi text, a transliteration of the text in modern Persian characters, and a glossary of all the words it contains, was published by Justi in 18681.  Its author, having had access to other MSS. (descended from M6) at London and Oxford, was able to rectify many of the deficiencies in Windischmann's translation; but, otherwise, he made but little progress in elucidating difficult passages.

Other European writers have published the result of their studies of particular parts of the Bundahis, but it does not appear that any of them have attempted a continuous translation of several chapters.

Whether the existence of previous translations be more of an assistance than a hindrance in preparing a new one, may well be a matter of doubt. Previous translations may prevent oversights, and in difficult passages it is useful to see how others have floundered through the mire; but, on the other hand, they occasion much loss of time, by the necessity of examining many of their dubious renderings before finally fixing upon others that seem more satisfactory. The object of the present translation is to give the meaning of the original text as literally as possible, and with a minimum of extra words; the different renderings of other translators being very rarely noticed, unless there be some probability of their being of service to the reader. Some doubtful words and passages still defy all attempts at satisfactory solution, but of these the reader is warned; and, no doubt, a few oversights and mistakes will be discovered.

With regard to the original text, we have to recover it from four manuscripts which are, more or less, independent authorities, and may be styled K20, K20b, M6, and TD. The first three of these have evidently descended, either directly or through one or more intermediate copies, from the same original; but the source of TD, so far as it can be ascertained, seems to have been far removed from, that of the others. All the other MSS. of the Bundahis, which have been examined, whether Pahlavi or Pâzand, are descended either from K20 or M6, and are, therefore, of no independent authority.

K20 is the very old codex already mentioned as having been brought from Bombay by Rask in 1820, and is now No. 20 of the collection of Avesta and Pahlavi MSS. in the University Library at Kopenhagen. It consists now of 173 folios of very old and much-worn Indian paper of large octavo size, but five other folios are certainly missing, besides an uncertain number lost from the end of the volume. This MS. contains twenty Pahlavi texts, written twenty lines to the page, and some of them, accompanied by Avesta; the Bundahis is the ninth of these texts, and occupies fols. 88-129, of which fol. 121 is missing. Three of the texts, occurring before the Bundahis, have dated colophons, but the dates are A.Y. 690, 720, and 700, all within 36 folios; it is, therefore, evident that these dates have been copied from older MSS.; but at the same time the appearance of the paper indicates that the actual date of the MS. cannot be much later than A.Y. 720 (A.D. 1351), and there are reasons for believing that it was written several years before A.Y. 766 (A.D. 1397), as will be explained in the description of M6. Owing to its age and comparative completeness this MS. of the Bundahis is certainly the most important one extant, although comparison with other MSS. proves that its writer was rather careless, and frequently omitted words and phrases. The loss of fol. 121, though it has hitherto left an inconvenient gap in the text (not filled up by other MSS.), is more than compensated by the three extra chapters which this MS. and its copies have hitherto alone supplied. The text on the lost folio was supposed by Anquetil to have contained a whole chapter besides portions of the two adjacent ones; this is now known to be a mistake, Anquetil's Chap. XXVIII being quite imaginary; the end of Chap. XXVII has long been supplied from other MSS., but the beginning of the next chapter has hitherto been missing.

Only two copies of K20 appear to be known to Europeans; the best of these is the copy brought from Surat by Anquetil, No. 7 of his collection of manuscripts, now in the National Library at Paris; this was written in A.D. 1734, when K20 appears to have been nearly in its present imperfect state, though it may have had some 15 folios more at the end. This copy seems to have been carefully written; but the same cannot be said of the other copy, No. 21 in the University Library at Kopenhagen, which is full of blunders, both of commission and omission, and can hardly have been written by so good a Pahlavi scholar as Dastûr Dârâb, Anquetil's instructor, although attributed to him.
K20b consists of nineteen loose folios , found by Westergaard among some miscellaneous fragments in the collection of Avesta and Pahlavi MSS. in the University Library at Kopenhagen, and now forming No. 20b in that collection, The first two folios are lost, but the third folio commences with the Pahlavi equivalent of the words 'knew that Aharman exists' (Bund. Chap. 1, 8), and the text continues to the end of Chap. XI, 1, where it leaps at once (in the middle of a line on the fifteenth folio) to Chap. XXX, 15, 'one brother who is righteous,' whence the text continues to the end of Chap. XXXI, 15, which is followed by Chaps. XXXII, XXXIV, as in K20. This MS. is not very old, and contains merely a fragment of the text; but its value consists in its not being a descendant of either K20 or M6, as it clearly represents a third line of descent from their common original. It agrees with K20 in the general arrangement of its chapters, so far as they go, and also in containing Chap. XXXI; but it differs from it in some of the details of that chapter, and agrees with M6 in some verbal peculiarities elsewhere; it has not, however, been collated in any other chapter. The omission of nearly twenty chapters, in the centre of the work, indicates that some one of the MSS. from which it is descended, had lost many of its central folios before it was copied, and that the copyist did not notice the deficiency; such unnoticed omissions frequently occur in Pahlavi manuscripts.

M6 is the very old codex brought to Europe by Haug in 1866, and now No. 6 of the Haug collection in the State Library at Munich. It consists of 240 folios of very old, but well-preserved, Indian paper of large octavo size (to which thirteen others, of rather later date, have been prefixed) bound in two volumes. This MS. contains nineteen Pahlavi texts, written from seventeen to twenty-two lines to the page, and some of them accompanied by Avesta; eleven of these texts are also found in K20, and the Bundahis is the fourteenth of the nineteen, occupying fols. 53-99 of the second volume. Two of the other texts have dated colophons, the dates being fifty days apart in A.Y. 766 (A.D. 1397), and as there are 150 folios between the two dates there is every probability that they are the actual dates on which the two colophons were written. The arrangement of the Bundahis in this MS. is different from that in K20, giving the chapters in the following order:—Chaps. XV-XXIII, I-XIV, XXIV-XXVII, XXX, XXXII, XXXIV, and omitting Chaps. XXVIII, XXIX, and XXXI. These omissions and the misplacement of Chaps. I-XIV render it probable that the MS., from which the Bundahis in M6 was copied, was already in a state of decay; and this supposition is confirmed by upwards of fifty peculiar mistakes, scattered over most parts of the text in M6, which are evidently due to the illegibility of the original from which it was copied, or to its illegible words having been touched up by an ignorant writer, instances of which are not uncommon in old Pahlavi MSS. Eliminating these errors, for which the writer of M6 cannot be held responsible, he seems to have been a more careful copyist than the writer of K20, and supplies several words and phrases omitted by the latter. The close correspondence of K20 and M6 in most other places, renders it probable that they were copied from the same original, in which case K20 must have been written several years earlier than M6, before the original MS. became decayed and difficult to read. It is possible, however, that K20 was copied from an early copy of the original of M6; in which case the date of K20, is more uncertain, and may even be later than that of M6.

Several MSS. of the Bundahis descended from M6 are in existence. One is in the MS. No. 121 of the Ouseley collection in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and contains the chapters in the following order:—Chaps. XV-XXIII, I-VII, 17 (to 'Arag river'), XII-XIV, XXIV-XXVII, XXX, VII, 12-XI; followed by Sls. Chap. XX, 4-17, also derived from M6. Another is in the library of Dastûr Jâmâspji Minochiharji at Bombay, and contains the chapters also in a dislocated state (due to the misplacement of folios in some former MS.) as follows:—Chaps. XV-XXIII, I-XI, 5 (to 'and the evil spirit'), XII, 2 (from 'Sikidâv')—XII, 2 (first word), XI, 5 (from 'produced most for Khvanîras')—XII, 2 (to 'and Kôndras, Mount'),—XXX, 32 (from 'the renovation arises in')—XXX, 33, XXXII, XXXIV, Sls. Chap. XVIII, Bund. Chaps. XII, 12 (from 'Aîrak')—XIV, XXIV-XXVII, XXX. A third is in the library of Dastûr Nôshirvânji Jâmâspji at Poona, and contains the text in the same order as M6. A fragment of the Pahlavi text of the Bundahis, also descended from M6, occupies eight folios in the Additional Oriental MS. No. 22,378 in the Library of the British Museum; it contains Chaps. XVIII, XIX, 17, and XX, 1-2 (to 'one from the other').

There are also several Pâzand manuscripts of the Bundahis, written in Avesta characters, and likewise derived from M6. One of the best of these is No. 22 of the collection of Avesta and Pahlavi MSS. in the India Office Library at London; it is old, and has the date A.Y. 936 (A.D. 1567) in a Pahlavi colophon on fol. III, but this may have been copied from an older MS.; its contents are arranged as follows:—Chaps. XVIII-XXIII, I-XIV, XXIV-XXVII, XXX, XXXII, XXXIV, followed by several short Pâzand texts, only part of which are derived from M6, and the last of them being left incomplete by the loss of the folios which originally formed the end of the volume; instead of these lost folios others, containing Chaps. XV-XVII, have been added and bound up with the rest. Another MS., No. 7 in the same collection, which is dated A.Y. 1174 (A.D. 1805), is a modern copy derived from No. 22 through one or more intervening MSS. ; it contains precisely the same text, but with many variations in orthography, indicative of the very uncertain character of Pâzand spelling. Two fragments of the Pâzand text are also contained in the MSS. No. 121 at Oxford, already mentioned; they consist of Chaps. V, 3-7 (to 'would have known the secret') and XXV, 18-22. Another fragment, evidently copied from an old MS., is found on fols. 34, 35 of the Rivâyat MS. No. 8 of the collection in the India Office Library; it consists of Chap. XVIII, 1-8.

The Pâzand text of the Bundahis, derived from M6, is also written in Persian characters in M7 (No. 7 of the Haug collection at Munich), dated A.Y. 1178 (A.D. 1809). It is interlined by Persian glosses, word for word, and consists of Chaps. XVIII-XXIII, I-XIV, XXIV-XXVII, and XXX on fols. 81-119, with Chaps. XV-XVII on fols. 120-126, a repetition of Chap. XV and part of XVI on fols. 223-227, and Chap. XXXII on fol. 232.
Thus far, it will be noticed, we have two good independent authorities, K20 and M6, for ascertaining the text of the Bundahis in the fourteenth century, so far as Chaps. I-XXVII, XXX, XXXII, and XXXIV are concerned; and we have also, in K20b, a second authority for so much of Chap. XXXI as occurs in K20; but for Chaps. XXVIII and XXIX we have nothing but K20 to rely on, and part of Chap. XXVIII is lost in that manuscript. Such was the unsatisfactory state of that part of the text until Dec. 1877, when information about the MS. TD was received, followed by further details and a copy of Chaps. XXVIII, XXIX, and XXXI-XXXIII in Oct. 1878 .

TD is a manuscript of the Bundahis which contains a much more extensive text than the MSS. already described, but whether it be an extension of the hitherto-received text, or the received text be an abridgement of this longer one, is likely to be a matter of dispute among Pahlavi scholars until the whole of the new text has been thoroughly examined. At any rate, the contents of this MS., combined with those of some MSS. of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk, afford a means of fixing the date of this recension of the Bundahis, as will be seen hereafter.

This MS. belongs to a young Mobad named Tehmuras Dinshawji Anklesaria in Bombay, and was brought from Persia a few years ago by a Mobad named Khodabakhsh Farod Abadan. It occupies the first 103 folios of the volume containing it, and is followed by 112 more folios containing the Nîrangistân. The first original folio, which contained the text as far as Chap. I, 5 (to 'endless light'), has been lost and replaced by another (which, however, is now old) containing some introductory sentences, besides the missing text. The last original folio of the Bundahis, containing the last five lines of the last chapter, has also been lost and replaced by another modern folio, which contains the missing text followed by two colophons, both expressing approval of the text, and asserting that the MS. was written by Gôpatshah Rûstâm Bôndâr. The first of these colophons is undated, but gives the testimony of Dastûr Rûstâm  Gûstâsp Ardashîr, who is known to have written another MS. dated A.Y. 1068 (A.D. 1699). The second colophon is by Dastûr Jamshêd Jâmâsp Hakim, and is dated A.Y. 1113 (A.D. 1743), which was probably the date when this last folio was supplied to complete the old defective MS.

With regard to the age of the older part of. this MS. we can arrive at an approximation in the following manner:—A valuable MS. of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk, which also belongs to Tehmuras Dinshawji, was written (according to a colophon which it contains) by Gôpatshah Rûstôm  Bândâr Malkâ-mardân in the land of Kirmân, who was evidently the same person as the writer of TD. Another MS. of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk was written by Marzapân Frêdûn Vâhrôm Rûstâm Bôndâr Malkâ-mardân Dîn-ayâr, also in the land of Kirmân, in A.Y. 941 (A.D. 1572). Comparing these two genealogies together it seems evident that Gôpatshah was a brother of Vâhrôm, the grandfather of Marzapân, and, therefore, a grand-uncle of Marzapân himself. Allowing for these two generations, it is probable that Gôpatshah wrote TD about A.Y. 900 (say A.D. 1530); although instances have occurred in which a son has written a MS. at an earlier date than that of one written by his father.

The introductory sentences on the first restored folio are evidently a modern addition to the text, after it had acquired the name of Bundahis; but they seem to have been copied from some other MS., as the copyist appears to have hardly understood them, having written them continuously with the beginning of the text, without break or stop. The spelling is modern, but that may be due to the copyist; and the language is difficult, but may be translated as follows :—

‘The propitiation of the creator Aûharmazd, the radiant, glorious, omniscient, wise, powerful, and supreme, by what is well-thought, well-said, and well-done in thought, word, and deed, and the good augury of all the celestial angels and terrestrial angels upon the virtuous creation, I beseech.

‘Written at the second fortunate conjunction (akhtar) in the high-priestship (dastûrîh) of the God-devoted, all-sagacious cultivator of righteousness, the lover of good works who is God-discerning, spirit-surveying, and approved by the good, the high-priest of the good religion of the Mazdayasnians, the glorified  Spendyâd son of Mâh-vindâd, son of Rûstâm, son of Shatrôyâr.

‘The writing  of the Bûndahis was set going by the coming of the Arabs to the country of Iran, whose heterodoxy (dûs-dînîh) and ignorance have arisen from not understanding the mysteries of Kayân  orthodoxy (hû-dînôîh) and of those revered by the upholders of the religion. From their deep seats it draws the purport of benedictions, and from dubious thinking of actions it draws words of true meaning, the disclosure of which is entertaining knowledge.

'On account of evil times, even he of the undecayed family of the Kayâns and the Kayân upholders of the religion are mingled with the obedient and just of those heterodox; and by the upper class the words of the orthodox, uttered in assembled worship, are considered as filthy vice. He also whose wish was to learn propriety (varâg) through this treatise (farhâng), might provide it for himself, from various places, by trouble and day and night painstaking, but was not able.'

The text of Chap. I then commences (without any intermediate stop) with the words zak zand-âkâsih, 'that knowledge of tradition.' As the whole text of the Bundahis occupies about 203 pages in TD, and each page contains seventeen lines rather longer than those in K20, it is evident that the text in TD must be more than twice the length of that in K20, which occupied originally about eighty-three pages of twenty lines each. This additional text consists not only of additional matter in many of the chapters, but also of extra chapters, which give the work a more complete appearance than it presents in the manuscripts hitherto known. The whole number of chapters in TD appear to be forty-two, the general character of the contents of which may be gathered from the following list of the headings of each chapter, with the space it occupies in TD, and a reference to the corresponding chapter of the translation in this volume (such chapters as seem to be entirely wanting in K20 being marked with an asterisk):—

The knowledge of tradition, first about Aûharmazd's original creation and the antagonism of the evil spirit, afterwards about the nature of the creatures of the world, from the original creation till the end; 19 pages; see Chap. I.

On the formation of light; 11 pages; see Chap. II.

The rush of the destroyer at the creatures; 6 pages; see Chaps. III, IV.

On the opposition of the two spirits, that is, in what manner the arch-fiends have come spiritually in opposition to the celestial angels; 10 pages; see Chap. V for two of the middle pages.

On the waging of the conflict (ârdîk) of the creations of the world, encountering the evil spirit; 1 page; see Chap. VI.

The second conflict the water waged; 3 pages; see Chap. VII.

The third conflict the earth waged; 1 page; see Chap. VIII.

The fourth conflict the plants waged; ½ page; see Chap. IX.

The fifth conflict the primeval ox waged; ⅓ page; see Chap. X.

• 10. The sixth conflict Gâyômard waged; 1⅓ page.
• 11. The seventh conflict the fire waged; ⅓ page.
• 12. The eighth conflict the constellations waged; ⅓ page.
• 13. The ninth conflict the celestial angels waged with the evil spirit; three lines.
• 14. Tenth, the stars practised non-intermeddling (agûmêgisn) ½ page.

On the species of those creations; 2⅓ pages.

On the nature of lands; 1⅓ page; see Chap. XI.

On the nature of mountains; 4½ pages; see Chap. XII.

On the nature of seas; 2½ pages; see Chap. XIII.

On the nature of rivers; 5 ⅓ pages; see Chaps. XX, XXI.

On the nature of lakes; 1¼ page; see Chap. XXII.

On the nature of the five classes of animals; 5⅓ pages; see Chap. XIV.

On the nature of men; 7½ pages; see Chap. XV .

On the nature of generation of every kind; 5 pages; see Chap. XVI.

On the nature of plants; 3½ pages; see Chap. XXVII.

On the chieftainship of men and animals and every single thing; 2⅓ pages; see Chap. XXIV.

On the nature of fire; 4⅔ pages; see Chap. XVII.

• 27. On the nature of sleep; 2⅓ pages.
• 28. On the nature of wind and cloud and rain; 9⅔ pages.
• 29. On the nature of noxious creatures; 4½ pages .
• 30. On the nature of the wolf species; 2 pages.

On things of every kind that are created by the spirits , and the opposition which came upon them; 7¾ pages; see Chaps. XVIII, XIX.

On the religious year; 4 pages; see Chaps. XXV, XXVI.

• 33. On the great exploits of the celestial angels; 17½ pages.

On the evil-doing of Aharman and the demons; 7 pages, as in Chap. XXVIII.

On the body of man and the opinion of the world ; 7 pages.

On the spiritual chieftainship of the regions of the earth; 3½ pages, as in Chap. XXIX.

• 37. On the Kinvad bridge and the souls of the departed; 5⅔ pages.
• 38. On the celebrated provinces of the country of Iran, the residence of the Kayâns; 5 pages .
• 39. On the calamities of various millenniums happening to the country of Iran; 8⅔ pages .

On the resurrection and future existence; 6⅔ pages; see Chap. XXX.

On the race and offspring of the Kayâns; 8⅔ pages, as in Chaps. XXXI-XXXIII.

On the computation of years of the Arabs; 2¼ pages; see Chap. XXXIV.

Comparing this list of contents with the text in K20, as published in Westergaard's lithographed facsimile edition, it appears that TD contains, not only fifteen extra chapters, but also very much additional matter in the chapters corresponding to Chaps. I, II, V, XVI, XXVIII, and XXXI of the translation in this volume, and smaller additions to those corresponding to Chaps. III, IV, XV, XVII, and XXXIV. The arrangement of the chapters in TD is also much more methodical than in the Indian MSS., especially with regard to Chaps. XX, XXI, XXII, and XXVII, which evidently occupy their proper position in TD; and so far as Chap. XX is concerned, this arrangement is confirmed by the insertion of its first sentence between Chaps. XIII and XIV in the Indian MSS., which indicates that the whole chapter must have been in that position in some older copy. In fact, the Indian MSS. must probably be now regarded merely as collections of extracts from the original work; this has been long suspected from the fragmentary character of the text they contain, but it could hardly be proved until a more complete text had been discovered.

Whether TD may be considered as a copy of the text as it stood originally, or merely of an after recension of the work, can hardly be determined with certainty until the whole contents of the manuscript have been carefully examined; it is, therefore, to be hoped that its owner will be induced to publish a lithographed facsimile of the whole, after the manner of Westergaard's edition. So far as appears in the lengthy and valuable extracts, with which he has kindly favoured me, no decided difference of style can be detected between the additional matter and the text hitherto known, nor any inconsistencies more striking than such as sometimes occur in the Indian MSS. On the other hand, it will be noticed that heading No. 25 in the list of contents seems to be misplaced, which is an argument against the text being in its original state; and the style of the Bundahis is so much less involved and obscure than that of the Selections of Zâd-sparam (see Appendix to the Bundahis), which treat of some of the same subjects, that it may be fairly suspected of having been written originally in a different age. But the writer of the text, as it appears in TD, calls Zâd-sparam  one of his contemporaries (see Chap. XXXIII, 10, 11 of the translation); it may, therefore, be suspected that he merely re-edited an old text with some additions of his own, which, however, are rather difficult to distinguish from the rest. No stress can be laid upon peculiarities of orthography in TD, as they are, in all likelihood, attributable to copyists long subsequent to Zâd-sparam's contemporaries.

Any future translator of the Bundahis will probably have to take the text in TD as the nearest accessible approach to the original work; but the present translation is based, as heretofore, upon the text in K20, corrected in many places from M6, but with due care not to adopt readings which seem due to the illegibility of the original from which M6 was copied, as already explained. In Chaps. XXVIII, XXIX, XXXI, XXXII, and XXXIII, however, TD has been taken as a principal authority, merely checked by K20, and having its additional passages carefully indicated; and in Chap. XXXI, K20b has also been consulted.

Since the present translation was printed, any lingering doubts, as to the genuineness of the text in TD, have been, in a great measure, dissipated by the discovery that a small fragment  of an old MS. of the Bundahis, which has long been in Europe, is evidently a portion of a text of similar character to TD, and of exactly the same extent. This small fragment consists of two folios belonging to an old MS. brought from Persia by the late Professor Westergaard in 1843-44, and which is evidently the codex mentioned by him in the preface to his Zend-Avesta, p. 8, note 3. These two folios, which are numbered 130 and 131 in Persian words, now form the commencement of this old mutilated MS., of which the first 129 folios have been lost. They contain very little more than one page of the Bundahis text, namely, the last sentences of the last chapter (corresponding to Bund. XXXIV, 7-9), followed by a colophon occupying less than two pages. This fragment of the text contains some additional details not. found in the Indian MSS., as well as a few other variations of no great importance. It may be translated as follows:—

‘[. . . . Sâhm  was in those reigns of Aûzôbô, Kavâd, and Mânûs**kîhar.] Kaî-Kâyûs, till his going to the sky, seventy-five years, and after that, seventy-five years, altogether a hundred and fifty years; Kaî-Khûsrôbô sixty years; Kai-Lôharâsp a hundred and twenty years; Kai-Vistâsp, till the coming of the religion, thirty years; [total (mar) one thousand years . Then the millennium reign came to Capricornus, and Zaratûhast  the Spîtâmân, with tidings (pêtkhambarîh) from the creator Aûharmazd, came to King Vistâsp; and Vistâsp was king,] after receiving the religion, ninety years.

‘Vohûman, son of Spend-dâd, a hundred and twelve years; Hûmâî, daughter of Vohûman, thirty years; Dârâî, son of Kîhar-âzâd, that is, of the daughter of Vohûman, twelve years; Dârâî, son of Dârâî, fourteen years; and Alexander the Rûman  fourteen years.

'The Askânians should bear the title in an uninterrupted sovereignty two hundred and so many  years; and Artakhshatar, son of Pâpak, and the number of the Sâsânians bear it four hundred and sixty years, until the withering Arabs obtained a place  [as far as the year 447 of the Persians; now it is the Persian year 527] .'

The colophon, which follows, states that the MS. was finished on the thirteenth day of the ninth month A.Y. 936 (A.D. 1567), and was written by Mitrô-âpân, son of Anôshak-rûbân, son of Rûstâm. This MS. is, therefore, of nearly the same age as TD; but there has been no opportunity of collating the fragment of it, which is still extant, with the corresponding portion of TD. That it was a MS. of the same character as TD (that is, one containing the same text as K20, but with much additional matter) appears clearly from the fragment translated above. Regarding its original extent, it is possible to make an approximate estimate, by calculating the quantity of text which the 129 lost folios must have contained, from the quantity actually existing on folio 130. According to this calculation, the original extent of the text of the Bundahis in this MS. must have been very nearly 30,000 words; and it is remarkable that a similar calculation of the extent of the text in TD, based upon the actual contents of ten folios out of 103, gives precisely the same result. This coincidence is a strong argument in favour of the absolute identity of the text lost from Westergaard's MS. with that actually existing in TD; it shows, further, that the original extent of the Bundahis may now be safely estimated at 30,000 words, instead of the 13,000 contained in K20 when that MS. was complete.

That this fragment belonged to a separate MS., and is not the folio missing from the end of TD, is shown not only by its containing more of the text than is said to be missing, but also by the first folio of the fragment being numbered 130, instead of 103, and by its containing fifteen lines to the page, instead of seventeen, as would be necessary in order to correspond with TD.

Regarding the age of the Bundahis many opinions have been hazarded, but as they have been chiefly based upon minute details of supposed internal evidence evolved from each writer's special misinterpretation of the text, it is unnecessary to detail them. The only indication of its age that can be fairly obtained from internal evidence, is that the text of the Bundahis could not have been completed, in its present form, until after the Muhammadan conquest of Persia (A.D. 651). This is shown not only by the statements that the sovereignty 'went to the Arabs' (Chap. XXXIV, 9), that 'now, through the invasion of the Arabs, they (the negroes) are again diffused through the country of Iran' (Chap. XXIII, 3), and that 'whoever keeps the year by the revolution of the moon mingles summer with winter and winter with summer' (Chap. XXV, 19, referring probably to the Muhammadan year not corresponding with the seasons), but also, more positively by the following translation of an extract from Chap. 39 in TD:—

'And when the sovereignty came to Yazdakard he exercised sovereignty twenty years, and then the Arabs rushed into the country of Iran in great multitude. Yazdakard did not prosper (lâ sâkaftŏ) in warfare with them, and went to Khûrâsân and Tûrkistân to seek horses, men, and assistance, and was slain by them there. The son of Yazdakard went to the Hindûs and fetched an army of champions; before it came, conducted unto Khûrâsân, that army of champions dispersed. The country of Iran remained with the Arabs, and their own irreligious law was propagated by them, and many ancestral customs were destroyed; the religion of the Mazdayasnians was weakened, and washing of corpses, burial of corpses, and eating of dead matter were put in practice. From the original creation until this day evil more grievous than this has not happened, for through their evil deeds—on account of want, foreign habits (Anîrânîh), hostile acts, bad decrees, and bad religion—ruin, want, and other evils—have taken lodgment.'

None of these passages could have been written before the Muhammadan conquest; but the writer, or editor, of the text as it appears in TD, supplies the means of approximating much more closely to the date of his work, in a passage in Chap. 41 of TD, in which he mentions the names of several of his contemporaries (see Chap. XXXIII, 10, 11). Among these, as already noticed, he mentions 'Zâd-sparham son of Yûdân-Yim,' who must have been the writer of the Selections of Zâd-sparam, a translation of which is added as an appendix to the Bundahis in this volume. This writer was the brother of Mânûs**kîhar son of Yûdân-Yim, who wrote the Dâdistân-i Dînîk , and from colophons found in certain MSS. of the Dâdistân (which will be more particularly described in the next section of this introduction) it appears that this Mânûs**kîhar was high-priest of Pârs and Kîrmân in A.Y. 250 (A.D. 881). This date may, therefore, be taken as a very close approximation to the time at which the Bundahis probably assumed the form we find in TD; but that MS., having been written about 650 years later, can hardly have been copied direct from the original. Whether that original was merely a new edition of an older Pahlavi work, as may be suspected from the simplicity of its language, or whether it was first translated, for the most part, from the Avesta of the Dâmdâd Nask, in the ninth century, we have no means of determining with certainty. Judging, however, from Chap. I, 1, the original Bundahis probably ended with the account of the resurrection (Chap. XXX), and the extra chapters, containing genealogical and chronological details (matters not mentioned in Chap. I, 1), together with all allusions to the Arabs, were probably added by the revising editor in the ninth century. The last, or chronological, chapter may even have been added at a later date.

A Gugarâti translation, or rather paraphrase, of the Bundahis was published in 1819 by Edal Dârâb Jamshêd Jâmâsp Âsâ, and a revised edition of it was published by Peshutan Rustam in 1877 . In the preface to the latter edition it is stated that the translator made use of two MSS., one being a copy of a manuscript written in Iran in A.Y. 776 by Rustamji Meherwanji Margabân Sheheriâr , and the other a MS. written in India by Dastûr Jamshêdji Jâmâspji in A.Y. 1139 . It is also mentioned that he was four years at work upon his translation. The editor of the new edition states that he has laboured to improve the work by collecting all the further information he could find, on the various subjects, in many other Pahlavi works. The result of all this labour is not so much a mere translation of the Bundahis, as a larger work. upon the same subject, or a paraphrase more methodically arranged, as may be seen from the following summary of its contents:—

The headings of the fifty-nine chapters, which form the first part of the work, are:—Ahuramazd's covenant, account of the sky, of the first twelve things created, of Mount Alborg, of the twelve signs of the zodiac, of the stars, of the soul, of the first practices adopted by the creatures of the evil spirit Ahereman, of Ahereman's first breaking into the sky, of Ahereman's coming upon the primeval ox, of Ahereman's arrival in the fire, of Ahereman's coming upon Gaiomard, of the coming of Ahuramazd and Ahereman upon Gaiomard at the time of his creation, of the lustre residing in both spirits; further account of the arrangement of the sky, another account of all the mountains, of depressions for water, of great and small rivers, of the eighteen rivers of fresh water, of the seven external and seven internal liquids in the bodies of men, of the period in which water falling on the earth arrives at its destination, of the three spiritual rivers, of the star Tehestar's destroying the noxious creatures which Ahereman had distributed over the earth, of the prophet Zarathost's asking the creator Ahuramazd how long these noxious creatures will remain in the latter millenniums, of driving the poison of the noxious creatures out of the. earth, of the divisions of the land, of the creator Ahuramazd's placing valiant stars as club-bearers over the heads of the demons, of all the things produced by the passing away of the primeval ox, of the 282 species of beasts and birds, of the bird named Kamros, of the bird named Karsapad and the hollow of Vargamkard, of the birds who are enemies opposed to the demons and fiends, of the bitter and sweet plants among the fifty-five kinds of grain and twelve kinds of herbs, of the flowers of the thirty days, of the revolution of the sun and moon and stars, and how night falls, and how the day becomes light, of the seven regions of the earth, of depressions, of the creatures of the sea, of the flow and, ebb of the tide, of the three-legged ass, of the Gâhambârs, of Rapithvan, of the revolution of the seasons, of the production of mankind from the passing away of Gaiomard, of the production of offspring from the seed of men, of all fires, of all the clever work produced in the reign of King Jamshed and the production of the ape and bear, of the production of the Abyssinian and negro from Zohâk, of the splendour and glory of King Jamshed, of the soul of Kersâsp, of Kersâsp's soul being the first to rise, of the names of the prophet Zarathost's pedigree, of his going out into the world, of his children, of the orders given by Ahereman to the demons when the creator Ahuramazd created the creatures, of the weeping and raging of the evil spirit Ahereman, of the weeping of the demon of Wrath in the presence of Ahereman when the prophet Zarathost brought the religion, of the computation of twelve thousand years.

The headings of the thirteen chapters, which form the second part, are:—Account of the last millenniums, of the appearance of Hosedar-bâmi, of his going out into the world, of the appearance of Hosedar-mâh, of Sosios, of the fifty-seven years, of giving the light of the sun to men on the day of the resurrection, of the rising again of the whole of mankind on that day, of the resurrection, of the means of resurrection, of the annihilation of the evil spirit Ahereman and the demons and fiends on the day of resurrection, of the creator Ahuramazd's making the earth and sky one after the resurrection, of the proceedings of all creatures after the resurrection.

The third part contains an abstract of the contents of the hundred chapters of the Sad-dar Bundahis, and concludes with an account of the ceremonial formula practised when tying the kusti or sacred thread-girdle.

Footnotes xxii:1 When this work forms part of a collection of Pahlavi texts, the whole manuscript is sometimes called 'the great Bundahis.' There also exists a Saddar Bundahis, or Bundahis of a hundred chapters, which is a comparatively modern compilation, detailing the chief customs and religious laws of the Parsis; in a hundred sections.

xxiv:1 See Haug's Essays, &c., second edition, pp. 127, 128. xxiv:2 Zend-Avesta, ouvrage de Zoroastre, &c., par Anquetil Duperron; Paris, 1771. Tome seconde, pp. 343-422, Boun-dehesch. xxv:1 Bundehesh, Liber Pehlvicus. E vetustissimo codice Hayniensi descripsit, duas inscriptiones regis Saporis Primi adjecit, N. L. Westergaard; Havniæ, 1851. xxv:2 Ueber die Pehlewi-Sprache und den Bundehesh, von Martin Haug; Göttingen, 1854. xxv:3 Die Traditionelle Literatur der Parsen in ihrem Zusammenhange mit den angränzenden Literaturen, dargestellt von Fr. Spiegel; Wien, 1860. xxv:4 Zoroastriche Studien. Abhandlungen zur Mythologie und Sagengeschichte des alten Iran, von Fr. Windischmann (nach dem Tode des Verfassers herausgegeben von Fr. Spiegel); Berlin, 1863. xxvi:1 Der Bundehesh, zum ersten Male herausgegeben, transcribirt, übersetzt, und mit Glossar versehen, von Ferdinand Justi; Leipzig; 1868. xxviii:1 I am indebted to the late Professor N. L. Westergaard for all information about this MS., and also for a tracing of the Pahlavi text of so much of Chap. XXXI as is contained in it. xxxi:1 This is proved by an omission in fol. 40, which clearly indicates the loss of a folio in an intermediate MS. xxxii:1 I am indebted to Mr. Khurshedji Rustamji Cama, of Bombay (who is well known for the interest he takes in all matters relating to the ancient customs and history of his fellow-countrymen), for obtaining this information, and to the owner of the MS. for his liberality in supplying me with all the details and extracts mentioned in the text. xxxiii:1 This Dastûr is said to have sprung from the laity, and not from a priestly family. xxxiii:2 The vowels â and ô (or û) often interchange in Pahlavi MSS. from Persia, probably owing to peculiarities of dialect, and the very broad sound of Persian â, like English a in call. xxxiii:3 English words in italics are additions to complete the sense. xxxiv:1 Literally, 'immortal-soulled,' a term implying generally that the person is dead; but it seems to have been applied to King Khûsrô I (Nôshirvân) during his lifetime. The time when this priest lived has yet to be discovered. xxxiv:2 Reading zektîbûn-i, equivalent to Pâz. nivîs-i; the MS. has zak tîbnâ. xxxiv:3 The hero tribe or princely race of the Kayânian dynasty, from which later Persian rulers have fancied themselves descended. xxxvi:1 TD contains half a page more near the beginning, and a page and a half more at the end. xxxvi:2 Probably Chap. XXIII of the translation forms a put either of this chapter or the next. xxxvi:3 This word is doubtful. xxxvii:1 The meaning is doubtful and must depend upon the context. xxxvii:2 This chapter begins with a translation of the first fargard of the Vendidad, and concludes with an account of buildings erected by various kings. xxxvii:3 Containing an account of the kings reigning in the various millenniums, and concluding with prophecies similar to those in the Bahman Yast. xxxviii:1 He writes the name Zâd-sparham. xxxix:1 I am indebted to Professor G. Hoffmann, of Kiel, for directing my attention to this fragment, and also for kindly sending me a facsimile of it. It had been recognised as a portion of the Bundahis by Dr. Andreas some years ago, and probably by the owner of the MS., the late Professor Westergaard, long before that. xxxix:2 See Bund. XXXI, 27. As the beginning of this sentence is lost in translation is uncertain. Details not found in K20 and M6 are here enclosed in brackets, and words added by the translator to complete the sense are printed in italics. xl:1 From the beginning of Frêdûn's reign, when the millennium of Sagittarius commenced. xl:2 The usual way of spelling Zaratûst in old MSS; excepting K20 and a few others. xl:3 Here written correctly Alaksandar-i Arûmâî. xl:4 Reading va and; as the final letter is d and not d it cannot be read nâvad as a variant of navad, 'ninety.' xl:5 The words are, vad gînâk ayâft khûskô-i Tâzîkânŏ, but the exact meaning is rather doubtful. xl:6 The last date is doubtful, as the Pahlavi text gives the ciphers only for 'five and twenty-seven,' omitting that for 'hundred.' These Persian dates must either have been added by some former copyist, or Chap. XXXIV must have been appended to the Bundahis at a later date than the ninth century, when the preceding genealogical chapters were probably added to the original work (see p. xliii). The Persian year 627 was A.D. 1158. xlii:1 It is quite possible that Mânûs**kîhar was also the reviser of the Bundahis; see the note on Dâdakîh-i Ashôvahistô in Chap. XXXIII, 10. xliii:1 Bundehes ketâb, iâne duniâ-ni awal-thi te âkher sudhi pedâes-ni sahruât-ni hakikat; bigi-vâr sudhârine khapâwanâr, Peshutan bin Rustam; Mumbai, 1877. xliii:2 There is no doubt whatever that the writer of the preface is referring to M6, although his description is incorrect. M6 was written at Bhrôk in India A.Y. 766 by Pêshôtan Râm Kâmdîn Shaharyâr Nêryôsang Shâhmard Shaharyâr Bâhrâm Aûrmazdâyr Râmyâr; but some portion of it (probably not the Bundahis) was copied from a MS. written A.Y. 618 (A.D. 1249) by Rûstam Mihirâpân Marzapân Dahisni-ayâr, who must be the copyist mentioned in the preface to the Gugarâti translation. xliii:3 This is probably the copy derived from M6, and mentioned in p. xxx as being now in the library of Dastûr Jâmâspji Minochiharji.

4. THE SELECTIONS OF ZÂD-SPARAM.

In some manuscripts of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk the ninety-two questions and answers, which usually go by that name, are preceded and followed by Pahlavi texts which are each nearly equal in extent to the questions and answers, and treat of a variety of subjects, somewhat in the manner of a Rivâyat. Of the texts which follow the questions and answers the following are the principal:—

Incantations for fever, &c.; indications afforded by natural marks on the body; about the hamîstakân ('the ever-stationary,' or neutral state of future existence) and the different grades in heaven; copy of an epistle  from Herbad Mânûs**kîhar son of Yûdân-Yim , Which he addressed to the good people of Sîrkân , about the decisions pronounced by Herbad Zâd-sparam son of Yûdân-Yim; copy of a letter from Herbad Mânûs**kîhar son of Yûdân-Yim to his brother, Herbad Zâd-sparam, on the same subject, and replying to a letter of his written from Nîvshâpûhar; copy of a notice by Herbad Mânûs**kîhar, son of Yûdân-Yim and high-priest (rad) of Pârs and Kîrmân, of the necessity of fifteen-fold ablution on account of grievous sin, written and sealed in the third month A.Y. 250 (A.D. 881); memoranda and writings called 'Selections of Zâd-sparam son of Yûdân-Yim,' the first part treating of many of the same subjects as the Bundahis, together with legends regarding Zaratûst and his family; the second part about the formation of men out of body, life, and soul; and the third part about the details of the renovation of the universe. The last part of these Selections is incomplete in all known MSS., and is followed by some fragments of a further series of questions and answers regarding the omniscient wisdom, the evil spirit, Kangdez, the enclosure formed by Yim, &c.
A translation of so much of the Selections of Zâd-sparam as treats of the same subjects as the Bundahis, has been added as an appendix to the translation of that work in this volume, because the language used in these Selections seems to have an important bearing upon the question of the age of the Bundahis. The time when the Selections themselves were written is fixed with considerable precision by the date (A.D. 881), when their author's brother, Mânûs**kîhar, issued his public notice, as mentioned above. But Zâd-sparam uses, in many places, precisely the same words as those employed in the Bundahis, interspersed with much matter written in a more declamatory style; it is, therefore, evident that he had the Bundahis before him to quote from, and that work must consequently have been written either by one of his contemporaries, or by an older writer. So far the Selections merely confirm the information already obtained more directly from TD (see p. xxxviii); but the involved style of their language seems to prove more than this. In fact, in none of the text of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk and its accompaniments is there much of the simplicity of style and directness of purpose which are the chief characteristics of most of the language of the Bundahis. So far, therefore, as style can be considered a mark of age, rather than a mere personal peculiarity of a contemporary writer, the contrast between the straightforward language of the Bundahis and the laboured sentences of Mânûs**kîhar and Zâd-sparam, sons of Yûdân-Yim, tends to prove that the bulk of the Bundahis was already an old work in their days, and was probably saved from oblivion through their writings or influence. That this original Bundahis or Zandâkâs was an abridged translation of the Avesta of the Dâmdâd Nask appears pretty evident from Zâd-sparam's remarks in Chap. IX, 1, 16 of his Selections.

The first part of these Selections consists of 'sayings about the meeting of the beneficent and evil spirits,' and, the first portion of these 'sayings' (divided into eleven, chapters in the translation) is chiefly a paraphrase of Caps. I-XVII of the Bundahis (omitting Chaps. II, V, and XVI). It describes the original state of the two spirits, their meeting and covenant, with a paraphrase of the Ahânavar formula; the production of the first creatures, including time; the incursion of the evil spirit and his temporary success in deranging the creation, with the reason why he was unable to destroy the primitive man for thirty years; followed by the seven contests he carried on with the sky, water, earth, plants, animals, man, and fire, respectively, detailing how each of these creations was modified in consequence of the incursion of the evil spirit. In the account of the first of these contests the Pahlavi translation of one stanza in the Gâthas is quoted verbatim, showing that the same Pahlavi version of the Yasna was used in the ninth century as now exists. The remainder of these 'sayings,' having no particular connection with the Bundahis, has not been translated.

With regard to the Pahlavi text of the Selections, the present translator has been compelled to rely upon a single manuscript of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk, brought by Westergaard from Kirmân  in 1843, and now No. 35 of the collection of Avesta and Pahlavi MSS. in the University Library at Kopenhagen; it may, therefore, be called K35. This MS. is incomplete, having lost nearly one-third of its original bulk, but still contains 181 folios of large octavo size, written fifteen to seventeen lines to the page; the first seventy-one folios of the work have been lost, and about thirty-five folios are also missing from the end; but the whole of the ninety-two questions and answers, together with one-third of the texts which usually precede them, and three-fifths of those which usually follow them, are still remaining. This MS. has lost its date, but a copy  of it exists in Bombay (written when it was complete) which ends with a colophon dated A.Y. 941 (A.D. 1572), as detailed in p. xxxiii; this may either be the actual date of that copy, or it may have been merely copied from K35, which cannot be much older. The latter supposition appears the more probable, as this colophon seems to be left incomplete by the loss of the last folio in the Bombay copy, and may, therefore, have been followed by another colophon giving a later date.

This copy of K35 was, no doubt, originally complete, but has lost many of its folios in the course of time; most of the missing text has been restored from another MS., but there are still twelve or more folios missing from the latter part of the work; it contains, however, all that portion of the Selections which is translated in this volume, but has, of course, no authority independent of K35. The other MS. in Bombay, from which some of the missing text was recovered, is in the library of Dastûr Jâmâspji Minochiharji; it is a modern copy, written at different periods from forty to sixty years ago, and is incomplete, as it contains only one-fourth of the texts which usually follow the ninety-two questions and answers, and includes no Portion of the Selections of Zâd-sparam.
Another MS. of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk and its accompaniments, written also at Kirmân, but two generations earlier than K35 (say, about A.D. 1530), has been already mentioned (see p. xxxiii). It is said still to contain 227 folios, though its first seventy folios are missing; it must, therefore, begin very near the same place as K35, but extends much further, as it supplies about half the text still missing from the Bombay copy of K35, though it has lost about fourteen folios at the end. This MS. must be either the original from which K35 was copied, or an independent authority of equal value, but it has not been available for settling the text of the Selections for the present translation.

Footnotes xlvi:1 This long epistle contains one statement which is important in its bearing upon the age of certain Pahlavi writings. It states that Nîshahpûhar was in the council of Anôshak-rûbân Khûsrô, king of kings and son of Kavâd, also that he was Mobad of Mobads and a commentator. Now this is the name of a commentator quoted in the Pahlavi Vend. III, 151, V, 112, VIII, 64, and very frequently in the Nîrangistân; it is also a title applied to Ardâ-Vîrâf (see AV. I. 35). These facts seem to limit the age of the last revision of the Pahlavi Vendidad, and of the composition of the Pahlavi Nîrangistân and Ardâ-Vîrâf-nâmak to the time of King Khûsrô Nôshirvân (A.D. 531-579). The statement depends, of course, upon the accuracy of a tradition three centuries old, as this epistle must have been written about A.D. 880.

xlvi:2 Some Parsis read this name Gôshnajam, others Yûdân-dam. xlvi:3 Mr. Tehmuras Dinshawji thinks this is the place now called Sîrgan, about thirty parasangs south of Kirmân, on the road to Bandar Abbâs, which is no doubt the case. xlviii:1 That is, so far as the late Professor Westergaard could remember in 1878, when he kindly lent me the MS. for collation with my copy of the text, already obtained from more recent MSS. in Bombay, the best of which turned out to be, a copy of K35. xlix:1 The fact of its being a copy of K35 is proved by strong circumstantial evidence. In the first place, it contains several false readings which are clearly due to mis-shapen letters and accidental marks in K35, so that it is evidently descended from that MS. But it is further proved to have been copied direct from that MS., by the last words in thirty-two of its pages having been marked with interlined circles in K35; the circle having been the copyist's mark for finding his place, when beginning a new page after turning over his folios.

5. THE BAHMAN YAST.

The Bahman Yast, usually called the 'Zand of the Vohûman Yast,' professes to be a prophetical work, in which Aûharmazd gives Zaratûst an account of what was to happen to the Iranian nation and religion in the future.

It begins with an introduction (Chap. I) which states that, according to the Stûdgar Nask, Zaratûst having asked Aûharmazd for immortality, was supplied temporarily with omniscient wisdom, and had a vision of a tree with four branches of different metals which were explained to him as symbolical of four different periods, the times of Vistâsp, of Ardakhshîr the Kayânian, of Khûsrô Nôshirvân, and of certain demons or idolators who were to appear at the end of a thousand years. It states, further, that the commentaries of the Vohûman, Horvadad, and Âstâd Yasts mentioned the heretic Mazdak, and that Khûsrô Nôshirvân summoned a council of high-priests and commentators, and ordered them not to conceal these Yasts, but to teach the commentary only among their own relations.
The text then proceeds (Chap. II) to give the details of the commentary on the Vohûman Yast as follows:—Zaratûst, having again asked Aûharmazd for immortality, is refused, but is again supplied with omniscient wisdom for a week, during which time he sees, among other things, a tree with seven branches of different metals, which are again explained to him as denoting the seven ages of the religion, its six ages of triumph in the reigns of Vistâsp, of Ardakhshîr the Kayânian, of one of the Askânian kings, of Ardakhshîr Pâpakân and Shahpûr I and II, of Vâhrâm Gôr, and of Khûsrô Nôshirvân, and its seventh age of adversity when Iran is to be invaded from the east by hordes of demons or idolators with dishevelled hair, who are to work much mischief, so as to destroy the greater part of the nation and mislead the rest, until the religion becomes nearly extinct. The details of this mischief, written in a tone of lamentation, constitute the greater part of the text, which also notices that the sovereignty will pass from the Arabs, Romans, and these leathern-belted demons (Tûrks) to other Tûrks and non-Tûranians who are worse than themselves.

Distressed at this narrative Zaratûst asks Aûharmazd (Chap. III, 1) how the religion is to be restored, and these demons destroyed? He is informed that, in the course of time, other fiends with red banners, red weapons, and red hats, who seem to be Christians, will appear in the northwest, and will advance either to the Arvand (Tigris) or the Euphrates, driving back the former demons who will assemble all their allies to a great conflict, one of the three great battles of the religions of the world, in which the wicked will be so utterly destroyed that none will be left to pass into the next millennium.

Zaratûst enquires (III, 12) how so many can perish, and is informed that, after the demons with dishevelled hair appear, Hûshêdar, the first of the last three apostles, is born near Lake Frazdân; and when he begins to confer with Aûharmazd a Kayân prince is born in the direction of Kînistân (Samarkand), who is called Vâhrâm the Vargâvand, and when he is thirty years old he collects a large army of Hindu (Bactrian) and Kînî (Samarkandian) troops, and advances into Iran, where he is reinforced by a numerous army of Iranian warriors, and defeats the demon races with immense slaughter, in the great conflict already mentioned, so that there will be only one man left to a thousand women.

The writer then proceeds to describe the supernatural agencies employed to produce this result: how the evil spirit (III, 24) comes to the assistance of the demon-worshippers; how Aûharmazd sends his angels to Kangdez, to summon Pêshyôtanû, the immortal son of Vistâsp, with his disciples, to re-establish the sacred fires and restore the religious ceremonies; and how the angels assist them against the evil spirits, so that Vâhrâm the Vargâvand is enabled to destroy the fiendish races, as already detailed, and Pêshyôtanû becomes supreme high-priest of the Iranian world.

Finally, the writer. gives some details regarding the missions of the last three apostles, returning for that purpose (III, 44) to the birth of Hûshêdar, the first of the three, whose millennium witnesses both the invasion and the destruction of the fiendish races. Hûshêdar proves his apostolic authority, to the satisfaction of Vargâvand and the people, by making the sun stand still for ten days and nights. His mission is to 'bring the creatures back to their proper state;' and it is not till near the end of his millennium that Pêshyôtanû appears, as before described. As this millennium begins with the invasion of the fiendish races and the fall of the Sasanian dynasty, it must have terminated in the seventeenth century, unless it was to last more than a thousand years. A very brief account is then given of the millennium of Hûshêdar-mâh, the second of the three apostles, whose mission is to make 'the creatures more progressive' and to destroy 'the fiend of serpent origin' (Az-i Dahâk). During his millennium (which appears to be now in progress) mankind become so skilled in medicine that they do not readily die; but owing to their toleration of heretics the evil spirit once more attains power, and releases Az-i Dahâk, from his confinement in Mount Dimâvand, to work evil in the world, till Aûharmazd sends his angels to rouse Keresâsp the Sâmân, who rises from his trance and kills Az-i Dahâk with his club at the end of the millennium. Afterwards, Sôshyans, the last apostle, appears to 'make the creatures again pure;' when the resurrection takes place and the future existence commences.

Whether this text, as now extant, be the original commentary or zand of the Vohûman Yast admits of doubt, since it appears to quote that commentary (Chap. II, 1) as an authority for its statements; it is, therefore, most probably, only an epitome of the original commentary. Such an epitome would naturally quote many passages verbatim from the original work, which ought to bear traces of translation from an Avesta text, as its title zand implies a Pahlavi translation from the Avesta (see p. x). There are, in fact, many such traces in this epitome, as indicated by the numerous sentences beginning with a verb, the mode of addressing Aûharmazd, the quotation of different opinions from various commentators, and other minor peculiarities. Some of these might be the result of careful imitation of other commentaries, but it seems more likely that they are occasioned by literal translation from an original Avesta text. In speculating, therefore, upon the contents of the Bahman Yast it is necessary to remember that we are most probably dealing with a composite work, whose statements may be referred to the three different ages of the Avesta original, the Pahlavi translation and commentary, and the Pahlavi epitome of the latter; and that this last form of the text is the only old version now extant.

With regard to the age of the work we have the external evidence that a copy of it exists in a manuscript (K20) written about five hundred years ago, and that this copy is evidently descended from older manuscripts as it contains several clerical blunders incompatible with any idea of its being the original, manuscript, as witness the omissions noted in Chaps. II, 10, 13, 14, 22, 27, 45, III, 30, 32, the misplacement of II, 18, and many miswritings of single words. Owing to the threefold character of the work, already noticed, the internal evidence of its age can only apply to its last recension in the form of an epitome, as an oriental editor (to say nothing of others) generally considers himself at liberty to alter and add to his text, if he does not understand it, or thinks he can improve it. That this liberty has been freely exercised, with regard to these professed prophecies, is shown by the identification of the four prophetical ages of the Stûdgar Nask in the first chapter of the Bahman Yast being different from that given in the Dînkard. The Dînkard quotes the Stûdgar Nask (that is, its Pahlavi version) as identifying the iron age with some period of religious indifference subsequent to the time of Âtarô-pâd son of Mâraspend, the supreme high-priest and prime minister of Shahpûr II (A.D. 309-379); but the Bahman Yast (Chap. I, 5) quotes the Nask as identifying the same age with the reign of an idolatrous race subsequent to the time of Khûsrô Nôshirvân (A.D. 531-579). This example is sufficient to show that the compiler of the extant epitome of the Bahman Yast commentary largely availed himself of his editorial license, and it indicates the difficulty of distinguishing his statements from those of the former editors. At the same time it proves that the epitome could not have been compiled till after Iran had been overrun by a foreign race subsequent to the reign of Khûsrô Nôshirvân. It is remarkable that the compiler does not mention any later Sasanian king, that he does not allude to Muhammadanism, and speaks of the foreign invaders as Turanians and Christians, only mentioning Arabs incidentally in later times; at the same time the foreign invasion (which lasts a thousand years) is of too permanent a character to allow of its having reference merely to the troublous times of Nôshirvân's successor.

Perhaps the most reasonable hypotheses that can be founded upon these facts are, first, that the original zand or commentary of the Bahman Yast was written and translated from the Avesta in the latter part of the reign of Khûsrô Nôshirvân, or very shortly afterwards, which would account for no later king being mentioned by name; and, secondly, that the epitome now extant was compiled by some writer who lived so long after the Arab invasion that the details of their inroad had, become obscured by the more recent successes of Turanian rulers, such as the Ghaznavîs and Salgûqs of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. It is hardly possible that the epitomist could have lived as late as the time of Gingîz Khân, the great Mongol conqueror (A.D. 1206-1227), as that would bring him within 150 years of the date of the extant manuscript of his work, which has no appearance of being an immediate copy of the original; but the rule of the Salgûqs would certainly have afforded him sufficient materials for his long description of the iron age. The Avesta of the Bahman Yast was probably compiled from older sources (like the rest of the Avesta) during the reigns of the earlier Sasanian monarchs but it was, no doubt, very different in its details from the epitome of its commentary which still exists.

These hypotheses, regarding the threefold origin of the present form of this Yast, derive some confirmation from the inconsistencies in its chronological details; especially those relating to the periods of the invaders’ reign and of Hûshêdar's birth. The Zoroastrians have for ages been expecting the appearance of Hûshêdar, the first of their last three apostles, but have always had to postpone their expectations from time to time, like the Jews and other interpreters of prophecy; so that they are still looking forward into the future for his advent, although his millennium has long since expired according to the chronology adopted in the Bahman Yast. This chronology, of course, represents the expectations of Zoroastrians in past times, and seems to express three different opinions. First, we have the statement that the last great battle of the demon-races is to take place at the end of Zaratûst's millennium (see Chap. III, 9), when the wicked will be so destroyed (compare III, 22, 23) that none will pass into the next millennium (III, 11), which is that of Hûshêdar (III, 43). And that the reign of evil is to precede the end of Zaratûst's millennium is evidently assumed also in Chap. II, 41, 63. Such opinions may reasonably be traced to the original Avesta writer, who must have expected only a short reign of evil to arise and fall near the latter end of Zaratûst's millennium, which was still far in the future, and to be followed by the appearance of Hûshêdar to restore the 'good' religion. Secondly, we are told (I, 5, II, 22, 24, 31) that the invasion of the demon-races, with its attendant evils, is to take place when Zaratûst's millennium is ended; on their appearance Hûshêdar is born (III, 13), and when he is thirty years old (compare III, 14 with III, 44) Vâhrâm the Vargâvand is also born, who at the age of thirty (III, 17) advances into Iran with an innumerable army to destroy the invaders.

Such statements may be attributed to the original Pahlavi translator and commentator who, writing about A.D. 570-590, would have before his eyes the disastrous reign of Aûharmazd IV, the son and successor of Khûsrô Nôshirvân, together with the prowess of the famous Persian general Bahrâm Kôpîn, which drove out all invaders. This writer evidently expected the reign of the demon-races to last less than a century, but still at some period in the near future; merely illustrating his theme by details of the disasters and wars of his own time. Thirdly, we find it stated (III, 44) that Hûshêdar will be born in 1600, which seems to mean the sixteen hundredth year of Zaratûst's millennium, or six hundredth of his own (say A.D. 1193-1235),—also that the reign of the demon-races is to last a thousand years (III, 34), and that Pêshyôtanû does not come to restore the religion till near the end of the millennium (III, 51); it also appears (III, 49) that Vargâvand occupies a prominent position when Hûshêdar comes from his conference with Aûharmazd at thirty years of age (III, 44, 45). Such details were probably inserted by the compiler of the epitome, who had to admit the facts that the reign of the demon-races had already lasted for centuries, and that Hûshêdar had not yet appeared. To get over these difficulties he probably adopted the opinions current in his day, and postponed the advent of Hûshêdar till the beginning of the next century in his millennium, and put off the destruction of the wicked, as a more hopeless matter, till near the end of the millennium. Both these periods are now long since past, and the present Zoroastrians have still to postpone the fulfilment of the prophecies connected with their last three apostles, or else to understand them in a less literal fashion than heretofore.

For the Pahlavi text, of the Bahman Yast the translator has to rely upon the single old manuscript K20, already described (p. xxvii), in which it occupies the 131 folios immediately following the Bundahis; these folios are much worn, and a few words have been torn off some of them, but nearly all of these missing-words can be restored by aid of the Pâzand version. The Pahlavi text is also found in the modern copies of K20 at Paris and Kopenhagen, but these copies (P7 and K21) have no authority independent of K20. In India this text has long been exceedingly rare, and whether any copy of it exists, independent of K20, is doubtful.

The Pâzand version is more common in Parsi libraries, but contains a very imperfect text. Of this version two modern copies, have been consulted; one of these occupies fols. 38-62 of a small manuscript, No. 22 of the Haug collection in the State Library at Munich; the other is a copy of a manuscript in the library of the high-priest of the Parsis in Bombay. Both these MSS. are evidently descended from the same original, which must have been a very imperfect transliteration of a Pahlavi text closely resembling that of K20, but yet independent of that MS., as a few words omitted in K20 are supplied by these Pâzand MSS. (see B.Yt. II, 13, 14, 22, &c.) To a certain extent, therefore, these Pâzand MSS. are of some assistance in settling the text of a few sentences, but the greater part of their contents is so imperfect as to be utterly unintelligible; they not only omit Chaps. I, 1-8, II, 17, 30-32, 40, III, 9, 12, 17-44, 58-63 entirely, but also words and phrases from nearly every other section of the text. Adhering scrupulously to the Pahlavi original for a few consecutive words, and then widely departing from it by misreading or omitting all difficult words and passages, this Pâzand version is a complete contrast to the Pâzand writings of Nêryôsang, being of little use to the reader beyond showing the extremely low ebb to which Pahlavi learning must have fallen, among the Parsis, before such unintelligible writings could have been accepted as Pâzand texts.

There is also a Persian version of the Bahman Yast, a copy of which, written A.D. 1676, is contained in a large Rivâyat MS. No. 29, belonging to the University Library at Bombay. According to the colophon of this Persian version it was composed in A.D. 1496 by Rustam Isfendiyâr of Yazd, from an Avesta (Pâzand) MS. belonging to his brother Jamshêd. This Persian version contains less than three per cent of Arabic words, and is more of a paraphrase than a translation, but it adheres very closely to the meaning of the Pahlavi text from Chaps. I, 1 to III, 9, where a dislocation occurs, evidently owing either to the displacement of two folios in an older MS., or to the second page of a folio being copied before the first, so that §§ 10-14 follow §§ 15-22. From the middle of § 22 the folios of the older MS. seem to have been lost as far as the end of Hûshêdar's millennium (§ 51), to which point the Persian version leaps, but the remainder of this paraphrase is much more diffuse than the Bahman Yast, and is evidently derived from some other Pahlavi work.

This conclusion of the Persian version describes how adversity departs from the world, and ten people are satisfied with the milk of one cow, when Hûshêdar-mâh appears and his millennium commences. On his coming from his conference with Aûharmazd the sun stands still for twenty days and nights, in consequence of which two-thirds of the people in the world believe in the religion. Meat is no longer eaten, but only milk and butter, and a hundred people are satisfied with the milk of one cow. Hûshêdar-mâh destroys the terrible serpent, which accompanies apostasy, by means of the divine glory and Avesta formulas; he clears all noxious creatures out of the world, and wild animals live harmlessly among mankind; the fiends of apostasy and deceit depart from the world, which becomes populous and delightful, and mankind abstain from falsehood. After the five-hundredth year of Hûshêdar-mâh has passed away, Sôshyans (Sâsân) appears, and destroys the fiend who torments fire. The sun stands still for thirty days and nights, when all mankind believe in the religion, and the year becomes exactly 360 days. Dahâk escapes from his confinement, and reigns for a day and a half in the world with much tyranny; when Sôshyans, rouses Sâm Narîmân, who accepts the religion and becomes immortal. Sâm calls upon Dahâk to accept the religion, but the latter proposes that they should together seize upon heaven for themselves, whereupon Sâm kills him. All evil having departed from the world mankind become like the archangels, and the resurrection takes place, which is described with many of the same details as are mentioned in Bund. XXX.

Accompanying this Persian version in B29 is another fragment from the same source, which treats of the same subjects as the third chapter of the Bahman Yast, but is differently arranged. It confines itself to the millennium of Hûshêdar, and may possibly be some modification of the contents of the folios missing from the version described above. After some introductory matter this fragment contains a paraphrase (less accurate than the preceding) of Chap. III, 23-49 of the Bahman Yast; it then proceeds to state that Hûshêdar destroys the wolf race, so that wolves, thieves, highway robbers, and criminals cease to exist. When Hûshêdar's three-hundredth year has passed away the winter of Malkôs arrives and destroys all animals and vegetation, and only one man survives out of ten thousand; after which the world is repeopled from the enclosure made by Yim. Then comes the gathering of the nations to the great battle on the Euphrates, where the slaughter is so great that the water of the river becomes red, and the survivors wade in blood up to their horses’ girths. Afterwards, the Kayân king, Vargâvand, advances from the frontiers of India and takes possession of Iran to the great delight of the inhabitants, but only after a great battle; and then Pêshyôtanû is summoned from Kangdez to restore the religious ceremonies.

A German translation of some passages in the Bahman Yast, with a brief summary of the greater part of the remainder, was published in 1860 in Spiegel's Traditionelle Literatur der Parsen, pp. 128-135.

6. THE SHÂYAST LÂ-SHÂYAST.

Another treatise which must be referred to about the same age as the Bundahis, though of a very different character, is the Shâyast lâ-shâyast or 'the proper and improper.' It is a compilation of miscellaneous laws and customs regarding sin and impurity, with other memoranda about ceremonies and religious subjects in general. Its name has, no doubt, been given to it in modern times , and has probably arisen from the frequent use it makes of the words shâyad, 'it is fit or proper,' and lâ shâyad, 'it is not fit or proper.' And, owing to its resemblance to those Persian miscellanies of traditional memoranda called Rivâyats, it has also been named the Pahlavi Rivâyat, though chiefly by Europeans.

It consists of two parts, which are often put together in modern MSS., and bear the same name, but are widely separated in the oldest MSS. These two parts, consisting respectively of Chaps. I-X and XI-XIV in the present translation, are evidently two distinct treatises on the same and similar subjects, but of nearly the same age. That they were compiled by two different persons, who had access to nearly the same authorities, appears evident from Chaps. XI, 1, 2, XII, 11, 13-16, 18, 20 being repetitions of Chaps. I, 1, 2, X, 4, 20-23, 7, 31, with only slight alterations; such repetitions as would hardly be made in a single treatise by the same writer. Minor repetitions in the first part, such as those of some phrases in Chaps. II, 65, IV, 14, repeated in Chap. X, 24, 33, might readily be made by the same writer in different parts of the same treatise. To these two parts of the Shâyast lâ-shâyast a third part has been added in the present translation, as an appendix, consisting of a number of miscellaneous passages of a somewhat similar character, which are found in the same old MSS. that contain the first two parts, but which cannot be attributed either to the same writers or the same age as those parts.

The first part commences with the names and amounts of the various degrees of sin, and the names of the chief commentators on the Vendidad. It then gives long details regarding the precautions to be taken with reference to corpses and menstruous women, and the impurity they occasion; besides mentioning (Chap. II, 33-35) the pollution caused by a serpent. It next describes the proper size and materials of the sacred thread-girdle and shirt, giving some details about the sins of running about uncovered and walking with one boot, and thence proceeding to the sin of unseasonable chatter. Details are then given about good works, and those who can and cannot perform them; in which reference is made to Christians, Jews, and those of other persuasions (Chap. VI, 7). The next subjects treated of are reverencing the sun and fire, the sin of extinguishing fire, confession and renunciation of sin, atonement for sins, especially mortal sins, both those affecting others and those only affecting one's own soul; with a digression (Chap. VIII, 3) prohibiting the rich from hunting. The remainder of this first treatise is of a miscellaneous character, referring to the following subjects:—The Hâsar of time, priests passing away in idolatry, the discussion of religion, ceremonies not done aright, throwing a corpse into the sea, evil of eating in the dark, the four kinds of worship, when the angels should be invoked in worship, the ephemeral nature of life, proper looseness for a girdle, when the sacred cake set aside for the guardian spirits can be used, maintaining a fire where a woman is pregnant, providing a tank for ablution, the Gâthas not to be recited over the dead, food and drink not to be thrown away to the north at night, unlawful slaughter of animals, how the corpse of a pregnant woman should be carried, forgiveness of trespasses, evil of walking without boots, when the sacred girdle is to be assumed, breaking the spell of an inward prayer, ten women wanted at childbirth, and how the infant is to be treated, sin of beating an innocent person, evil of a false judge, men and women who do not marry, a toothpick must be free from bark, acknowledging the children of a handmaid, advantage of offspring and of excess in almsgiving, prayer on lying down and getting up, Avesta not to be mumbled, doubtful actions to be avoided or consulted about, evil of laughing during prayer, crowing of a hen, treatment of a hedgehog, after a violent death corruption does not set in immediately, necessity of a dog's gaze, putrid meat and hairy cakes or butter unfit for ceremonies, when a woman can do priestly duty, &c.

The second part also commences with the names and amounts of the various degrees of sin, followed by the proper meat-offerings for various angels and guardian spirits. Next come miscellaneous observations on the following subjects:—The simplest form of worship, necessity of submitting to a high-priest, advantage of a fire in the house, sin of clothing the dead, presentation of holy-water to the nearest fire after a death, nail-parings to be prayed over, advantage of light at childbirth, offerings to the angels, maintaining a fire where a woman is pregnant and a child is born, a toothpick must be free from bark, acknowledging the children of a handmaid, advantage of offspring and of excess in almsgiving, evil of drawing well-water at night, food not to be thrown away to the north at night, advantage of prayer at feasts, treatment of a hedgehog, praying when washing the face, the proper choice of a purifying priest, no one should be hopeless of heaven, necessity of a wife being religious as well as her husband, the ceremonies which are good works, and the cause of sneezing, yawning, and sighing. These are followed by a long account of the mystic signification of the Gâthas, with some information as to the errors which may be committed in consecrating the sacred cakes, and how the beginning of the morning watch is to be determined.

The third part, or appendix, commences with an account of how each of the archangels can be best propitiated, by a proper regard for the particular worldly existence which he specially protects. This is followed by a statement of the various degrees of sin, and of the amount of good works attributed to various ceremonies. Then come some account of the ceremonies after a death, particulars of those who have no part in the resurrection, the duty of submission to the priesthood, whether evil may be done for the sake of good, the place where people will rise from the dead, Aêshm's complaint to Aharman of the three things he could not injure in the world, the occasions on which the Ahunavar formula should be recited, and the number of recitals that are requisite, &c. And, finally, statements of the lengths of midday and afternoon shadows, blessings invoked from the thirty angels and archangels who preside over the days of the month, and the special epithets of the same.

With regard to the age of this treatise we have no precise information. All three parts are found in a MS. (M6) which was written in A.D. 1397 (see p. xxix), and nearly the whole is also found in the MS. K20, which may be a few years older (see p. xxvii), and in which the first part of the Shâyast lâ-shâyast is, followed by a Persian colophon dated A.Y. 700 (A.D. 1331), copied probably from an older MS. The text in both these old MSS. seems to have been derived almost direct from the same original, which must have been so old when M6 was written that the copyist found some words illegible (see notes on Chaps. VIII, 19, X, 34, XII, 14, 15, &c.) Now it is known from a colophon that a portion of M6, containing the book of Ardâ-Vîrâf and the tale of Gôst-i Fryânô, was copied from a MS. written in A.D. 1249; and we may safely conclude that the Shâyast lâ-shâyast was copied, either from the same MS., or from one fully as old. So far, therefore, as external evidence goes, there is every reason to suppose that the whole of the Shâyast lâ-shâyast, with its appendix , was existing in a MS. written about 630 years ago.

But internal evidence points to a far higher antiquity for the first two parts, as the compilers of those treatises evidently had access, not only to several old commentaries, but also to many of the Nasks, which have long been lost. Thus, the first treatise contains quotations from the commentaries of Afarg, Gôgôsasp, Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd, Mêdôk-mâh, Rôshan, and Sôshyans, which are all frequently quoted in the Pahlavi translation of the Vendidad (see Sls. I, 3, 4, notes); besides mentioning the opinions of Mard-bûd, Nêryôsang, Nôsâî Bûrz-Mitrô, and Vand-Aûharmazd, who are rarely or never mentioned in the Pahlavi Vendidad. It also quotes no less than eleven of the twenty Nasks or books of the complete Mazdayasnian literature which are no longer extant, besides the Vendidad, the only Nask that still survives in the full extent it had in Sasanian times.

The Nasks quoted are the Stûdgar (Sls. X, 8), the Bagh (X, 26), the Dâmdâd (X, 22), the Pâzôn (IX, 9), the Ratûstâîtîh (X, 29), the Kîdrast (X, 28), the Spend (X, 4), the Nihâdûm (X, 3, 22, 23), the Dûbâsrûgêd (X, 13), the Hûspâram (X, 21), and the Sakâdûm (X, 25), very few of which are mentioned even in the Pahlavi Vendidad. The second treatise mentions only one commentator, Vand-Aûharmazd, but it quotes eight of the Nasks no longer extant; these are the Stûdgar (Sls. XII, 32), the Dâmdâd (XII, 5, 15), the Spend (XII, 3, 11, 15, 29), the Bâg-yasnô (XII, 17), the Nihâdûm (XII, 15, 16), the Hûspâram (XII, 1, 7, 14, 31, XIII, 17), the Sakâdûm (XII, 2, 10, 12, XIII, 30), and the Hâdôkht (XII, 19, 30, XIII, 6, 10).

Of two of these Nasks, the Bagh and Hâdôkht, a few fragments may still survive (see notes on Sls. X, 26, Haug's Essays, p. 134, B.Yt. III, 25), but those of the latter Nask do not appear to contain the passages quoted in the Shâyast lâ-shâyast. With regard to the rest we only know that the Dâmdâd, Hûspâram, and Sakâdûm must have been still in existence about A.D. 881, as they are quoted in the writings of Zâd-sparam and Mânûs**kîhar, sons. of Yûdân-Yim, who lived at that time (see pp. xlii, xlvi); and the Nihâdûm and Hûspâram are also quoted in the Pahlavi Vendidad. It is true that the Dînkard gives copious information about the contents of all the Nasks, with two or three exceptions; and the Dînkard seems to have assumed its present form about A.D. 900 (see Bund. XXXIII, 11, notes); but its last editor was evidently merely a compiler of old fragments, so there is no certainty that many of the Nasks actually existed in his time.

Thus far, therefore, the internal evidence seems to prove that the two treatises called Shâyast lâ-shâyast, which constitute the first two parts of the present translation, are more than a thousand years old. On the other band, they cannot be more than three centuries older, because they frequently quote passages from the Pahlavi Vendidad which, as we have seen (p. xlvi, note 1), could not have assumed its present form before the time of Khûsrô Nôshirvân (A.D. 531-579). As they contain no reference to any interference of the governing powers with the religion or priesthood, it is probable that they were written before the Muhammadan conquest (A.D. 636-651), although they do not mention the existence of any 'king of the kings,' the usual title of the Sasanian monarchs. And this probability is increased by there being no direct mention of Muhammadanism among the contemporary religions named in Chap. VI, 7, unless we assume that passage to be a quotation from an earlier book. We may, therefore, conclude, with tolerable certainty, that the Pahlavi text of the first two parts of the present translation of the Shâyast lâ-shâyast was compiled some time in the seventh century; but, like the Bundahis and Bahman Yast, it was, for the most part, a compilation of extracts and translations from far older writings, and may also have been rearranged shortly after the Muhammadan conquest.

The fragments which are collected in the appendix, or third part of the present translation, are probably of various ages, and several of them may not be more than seven centuries old. The commentator Bakht-âfrîd, whose work (now lost) is quoted in Chap. XX, 11, may have lived in the time of Khûsrô Nôshirvân (see B.Yt. I, 7). And Chap. XXI must certainly have been written in Persia, as the lengths of noonday shadows which it mentions are only suitable for 32° north latitude. As regards the last two chapters we have no evidence that they are quite five centuries old.

For the Pahlavi text of the Shâyast lâ-shâyast and its appendix we have not only the very old codex M6 (see p. xxix) for the whole of it, but also the equally old codex K20 (see p. xxvii) for all but Chaps. XV-XVII, XX, XXII, and XXIII in the appendix. In M6 the first two parts are separated by twenty folios, containing the Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk, and the second part is separated from the first three chapters of the appendix by four folios, containing the Patit-i Khûd; the next three chapters of the appendix are from the latter end of the second volume of M6, Chap, XXI is from the middle of the same, and the last two chapters are from some additional folios at the beginning of the first volume. In K20 the first two parts are separated by ninety-two folios, containing the Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk, Bundahis, Bahman Yast, and several other Pahlavi and Avesta texts; Chap. XVIII precedes the first part, Chap. XIX precedes the second part, and Chap. XXI is in an earlier part of the MS.

Derived from K20 are the two modern copies P7 and K21 (see p. xxviii). Derived from M6 are the modern copy of the first two parts in M9 (No. 9 of the Haug collection in the State Library at Munich), a copy of Chaps. XIV, XV in L15 (No. 15 of the collection of Avesta and Pahlavi MSS. in the India Office Library at London), a copy of Chap. XX, 4-17 in O121 (No. 121 of the Ouseley collection in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, see p. xxx), and a copy of Chap. XVIII in Dastûr Jâmâspji's MS. of the Bundahis at Bombay. While an independent Pahlavi Version of Chap. XXIII occurs in a very old codex in the library of the high-priest of the Parsis at Bombay, which version has been used for the text of the present translation, because that chapter is incomplete in M6.

Pâzand versions of some of the chapters, chiefly in the appendix, are to be found in some MSS., but all derived apparently from M6. Thus, in the Pâzand MSS. L7 and L22 (Nos. 7 and 22 in the India Office Library at London, see p. xxxi), written in Avesta characters, Chaps. XVIII, XX, XV follow the last chapter of the Bundahis, and Chap. XIV occurs a few folios further on. And in the Pâzand MS. M7 (No. 7 of the Haug collection in the State Library at Munich), written in Persian characters, the following detached passages occur in a miscellaneous collection of extracts (fols. 126-133):—Chaps. XX, 14-16, X, 18, 19, IX, 9, 10, XX, 12, 13, 4, 5, VIII, 2, 4-14, XX, 11. A Persian version of Chap. XVIII also occurs in M5 (No. 5 of the same collection) on fol. 54.

It does not appear that the Shâyast lâ-shâyast has ever been hitherto translated into any European language , nor is any Persian or Gugarâti translation of it known to the present translator, though a good deal of the matter it contains may be found in the Persian Rivâyats, but generally given in a different form. Owing to the technical character of the treatise, it is hazardous for any one but a Parsi priest to attempt to translate it, so that errors will, no doubt, be apparent to the initiated in the present translation. At the same time it must not be forgotten that the laws and customs mentioned in the text were those current in Persia twelve centuries ago, which may be expected to differ, in many details, from those of the Parsis in India at the present day. This is a consideration which a Parsi translator might be too apt to ignore; so that his thorough knowledge of present customs, though invaluable for the decipherment of ambiguous phrases, might lead him astray when dealing with clear statements of customs and rules now obsolete and, therefore, at variance with his preconceived ideas of propriety.

Footnotes lix:1 But perhaps before the compilation of the prose Sad-dar Bundahis, or Bundahis of a hundred chapters, which seems to refer to the Shâyast lâ-shâyast p. lx in its opening words, as follows:—'This book is on "the proper and improper" which is brought out from the good, pure religion of the Mazdayasnians;' though this term may possibly relate to its own contents. There is also a Persian treatise called Shâyast na-shâyast, which gives a good deal of information obtained from the Persian Rivâyats, and copies of which are contained in the MSS. Nos. 56 and 116 of the Ouseley collection in the Bodleian Library at Oxford.

lxiii:1 Except Chaps, XXII, XXIII (see the note on the heading of Chap. XXII). lxvi:1 Except Chap. XVIII, which was translated into German by Justi, as the last chapter of his translation of the Bundahis (see p. xxvi).

7. CONCLUDING REMARKS.

The Pahlavi texts selected for translation in this volume are specimens of three distinct species of writings. Thus, the Bundahis and its appendix, which deal chiefly with cosmogony, myths, and traditions, may be roughly compared to the book of Genesis. The Bahman Yast, which professes to be prophetical, may be likened unto the Apocalypse. And the Shâyast lâ-shâyast, which treats of religious laws regarding impurity, sin, ritual, and miscellaneous matters, bears some resemblance to Leviticus. But, though thus dealing with very different subjects, these texts appear to have all originated in much the same manner, a manner which is characteristic of the oldest class of the Pahlavi writings still extant. All three are full of translations from old Avesta texts, collected together probably in the latter days of the Sasanian dynasty, and finally rearranged some time after the Muhammadan conquest of Persia,; so that, practically, they may be taken as representing the ideas entertained of their prehistoric religion by Persians in the sixth century, but modified so far as to suit the taste and exigencies of the tenth.

But, notwithstanding the wide range of subjects embraced by these texts, it would be rash for the reader to assume that they afford him sufficient information for forming a decided opinion as to the character of the Parsi religion. The texts translated in this volume contain barely one-eleventh part of the religious literature extant in the Pahlavi language, without taking the Pahlavi versions of existing Avesta texts into account, which latter are even more important than the former, from a religious point of view, as they are considered more authoritative by the Parsis themselves. What proportion the literature extant may bear to that which is lost it is impossible, to guess; but, omitting all consideration of the possible contents of the lost literature, it is obvious that the remaining ten-elevenths of that which is extant may contain much which would modify any opinion based merely upon the one-eleventh here translated. What the untranslated portion actually contains no one really knows. The best Pahlavi scholar can never be sure that be understands the contents of a Pahlavi text until he has fully translated it; no amount of careful reading can make him certain that he does not misunderstand some essential part of it, and were he to assert the contrary he would be merely misleading others and going astray himself. How far the translations in this volume will enable the reader to judge of the Parsi religion may perhaps be best understood by considering how far careful perusal of the books of Genesis, Leviticus, and the Revelation, which constitute one-eleventh part of the Protestant Bible, would enable him to judge of Christianity, without any further information.

But, though these translations must be considered merely as a contribution towards a correct account of mediæval Zoroastrianism, the Bundahis does afford some very definite information upon one of the fundamental doctrines of that faith. The Parsi religion has long been represented by its opponents as a dualism; and this accusation, made in good faith by Muhammadan writers, and echoed more incautiously by Christians, has been advanced so strenuously that it has often been admitted even by Parsis themselves, as regards the mediæval form of their faith. But neither party seems to have fairly considered how any religion which admits the personality of an evil spirit, in order to account for the existence of evil, can fail to become a dualism to a certain extent. If, therefore, the term is to be used in controversy, it behoves those who use it to define the limits of objectionable dualism with great precision, so as not to include most of the religions of the world, their own among the number.

If it be necessary for a dualism that the evil spirit be omnipresent, omniscient, almighty, or eternal, then is the Parsi religion no dualism. The Bundahis distinctly asserts that the evil spirit is not omniscient and almighty (Chap. I, 16); that his understanding is backward (I, 3, 9), so that he was not aware of the existence of Aûharmazd till he arose from the abyss and saw the fight (I, 9); that he is unobservant and ignorant of the future (I, 19) till it is revealed to him by Aûharmazd (I, 21); that his creatures perish at the resurrection (I, 7, 21), and he himself becomes impotent (I, 21, III, 1) and will not be (I, 3, XXX, 32). Nowhere is he supposed to be in two places at once, or to know what is occurring elsewhere than in his own presence. So far, his powers are considerably less than those generally assigned by Christians to the devil, who is certainly represented as being a more intelligent and ubiquitous personage. On the other hand, Aharman is able to produce fiends and demons (Chap. I, 10, 24), and the noxious creatures are said to be his (III, 15, XIV, 30, XVIII, 2); in which respects he has probably rather more power than the devil, although the limits of the latter's means of producing evil are by no means well defined.

The origin and end of Aharman appear to be left as uncertain as those of the devil, and, altogether, the resemblance between these two ideas of the evil spirit is remarkably close; in fact, almost too close to admit of the possibility of their being ideas of different origin. The only important differences are that Zoroastrianism does not believe in an eternity of evil as Christianity does, and that Christianity has been content to leave all its other ideas about the devil in a very hazy and uncertain form, while Zoroastrianism has not shrunk from carrying similar ideas to their logical conclusion. If, therefore, a belief in Aharman, as the author of evil, makes the Parsi religion a dualism, it is difficult to understand why a belief in the devil, as the author of evil, does not make Christianity also a dualism. At any rate, it is evident from the Bundahis that a Christian is treading on hazardous ground when be objects to Zoroastrianism on the score of its dualism.

Another misrepresentation of the Parsi religion is shown to have no foundation in fact, by a passage in the Selections of Zâd-sparam. Several writers, both Greek and Armenian, contemporaries of the Sasanian dynasty, represent the Persians as believing that both Aûharmazd and Aharman were produced by an eternal being, who is evidently a personification of the Avesta phrase for 'boundless time.' This view was apparently confirmed by a passage in Anquetil Duperron's French translation of the Vendidad (XIX, 32-34), but this has long been known to be a mistranslation due to Anquetil's ignorance of Avesta grammar; so that the supposed doctrine of 'boundless time' being the originator of everything is not to be found in the Avesta; still it might have sprung up in Sasanian times. But the Selections of Zâd-sparam (I, 24) distinctly state that Aûharmazd produced the creature Zôrvân (precisely the term used in the phrase 'boundless time' in the Avesta). Here 'time,' although personified, is represented as a creature of Aûharmazd, produced after the first appearance of Aharman; which contradicts the statement of the Greek and Armenian writers completely, and shows how little reliance can be placed upon the assertions of foreigners regarding matters which they view with antipathy or prejudice.

With reference to the general plan of these translations of Pahlavi texts a few remarks seem necessary. In the first place, it will be obvious to any attentive reader of this introduction that a translator of Pahlavi has not merely to translate, but also to edit, the original text; and, in some cases, he has even to discover it. Next, as regards the translation, it has been already mentioned (p. xxvi) that the translator's object is to make it as literal as possible; in order, therefore, to check the inevitable tendency of free translation to wander from the meaning of the original text, all extra words added to complete the sense, unless most distinctly understood in the original, are italicised in the translation. And in all cases that seem doubtful the reader's attention is called to the fact by a note, though it is possible that some doubtful matters may be overlooked.

The notes deal not only with explanations that may be necessary for the general reader, but also with various readings and other details that may be useful to scholars; they are, therefore, very numerous, though some passages may still be left without sufficient explanation. References to the Vendidad, Yasna, and Visparad are made to Spiegel's edition of the original texts, not because that edition is superior, or even equal, in accuracy to that of Westergaard, but because it is the only edition which gives the Pahlavi translations, because its sections are shorter and, therefore, reference to them is more definite, and because the only English translation of the Avesta hitherto existing  is based upon Spiegel's edition, and is divided into the same sections.

No attempt has been made to trace any of the myths or traditions farther back than the Avesta, whence their descent is a fact that can hardly be disputed. To trace them back to earlier times, to a supposed Indo-Iranian personification or poetic distortion of meteorological phenomena, would be, in the present state of our knowledge, merely substituting plausible guesses for ascertained facts. In many cases, indeed, we have really no right to assume that an Avesta myth has descended from any such Indo-Iranian origin, as there have been ample opportunities for the infiltration of myths from other sources, yet unknown, among the many nations with which the religion of the Avesta has come in contact, 'both before and since the' time of Zaratûst. For, notwithstanding the ingenious rhetoric of the expounders of myths, it is still as unsafe, from a scientific point of view, to disbelieve the former existence of Zaratûst as it is to doubt that of Moses, or any other practically prehistoric personage, merely because mythic tales have gathered about his name in later times, as they always do about the memory of any individual who has become famous or revered.

In many cases the original Pahlavi word is appended, in parentheses, to its English equivalent in the translation. This has been done for the sake of explanation, when the word is technical or rare, or the translation is unusual. For, with regard to technical terms, it has been considered best, in nearly. all cases, to translate them by some explanatory phrase, in preference to filling the translation with foreign words which would convey little or no distinct meaning to the general reader. Some of these technical terms have almost exact equivalents in English, such as those translated 'resurrection' and 'demon,' or can be well expressed by descriptive phrases, such as 'sacred twigs' and 'sacred cakes.' Other terms are only approximately rendered by such words as 'archangel' and 'angel;' others can hardly be expressed at all times by the same English words, but must change according to the context, such as the term variously rendered by 'worship, ceremonial, prayer, or rites.' While the meaning of some few terms is so technical, complicated, or uncertain, that it is safer to use the Pahlavi word itself, such as Tanâpûhar, Frasast, Gêtî-kharîd, Dvâzdah-hômâst, &c.
The following is a list of nearly all the technical terms that have been translated, with the English equivalents generally used to express them:—Âfrîn, 'blessing;' aharmôk, 'apostate, heretic;' aharûbŏ, 'righteous;' aharûbŏ-dâd, 'alms, almsgiving;' akdînô, 'infidel;' ameshôspend, 'archangel;' armêst, 'helpless;' ast-hômand, 'material;' aûsôfrîd, 'propitiation, offering;' baghô-bakhtô, 'divine providence;' baresôm, 'sacred twigs or twig-bundle;' baresômdân, 'twig stand;' dakhmak (Huz. khazân), 'depository for the dead;' dashtânistân, 'place for menstruation;' dînô, 'religion, revelation, religions rites;' drâyân-gûyisnîh, 'unseasonable chatter;' drevand, 'wicked;' drônô, 'sacred cake;' drûg, 'fiend;' frashakard, 'renovation of the universe;' fravâhar, 'guardian spirit;' fravardîkân, 'days devoted to the guardian spirits;' ganrâk maînôk, 'evil spirit;' garzisn, 'confession of sin;' gâs, 'period of the day, time;' gâsânbâr, 'season-festival;' gasnŏ, 'feast;' gâûs-dâk (Av. gâus hudhau), 'meat-offering, sacred butter;' gavîd-rastakân, 'the heterodox;' gîv (Av. gâus gîvya), 'sacred milk;' gômêz, 'bull's urine;' hamêmâl, 'accuser;' hamrêd, 'direct pollution, contagion;' hazârak, 'millennium;' hîkhar, 'bodily refuse;' kâr, 'duty;' kêshvar, 'region;' khayebît, 'destroyer;' khrafstar, 'noxious creature;' khvêtûk-das, 'next-of-kin marriage;' kirfak, 'good works;' kûstîk, 'sacred thread-girdle;' magh, 'stone ablution-seat;' maînôk, 'spirit;' marg-argân, 'worthy of death, mortal sin;' myazd, 'feast, sacred feast;' nasâî, 'corpse, dead matter;' nasâî katak, 'corpse chamber;' nîrang, 'religious formula, ritual;' nîrangistân, 'code of religious formulas;' nîyâyisn, 'salutation;' padâm, 'mouth-veil;' pâdîyâvîh, 'ablution, ceremonial ablution;' pâhlûm ahvân, 'best existence;' paîtrêd, 'indirect pollution, infection;' parâhôm, 'hôm-juice;' parîk, 'witch;' patîtîh, 'renunciation of sin;' patîyârak, 'adversary;' pôryôdkêshîh, 'primitive faith;' rad, 'chief, spiritual chief, primate, high-priest;' rîstâkhêz, 'resurrection;' satûîh, 'the three nights;' sêdâ, 'demon;' shapîk, 'sacred shirt;' shnâyisn, 'propitiation, gratification;' shnûman, 'dedication formula, propitiation;' spênâk maînôk, 'beneficent spirit;' tanû-i pasînŏ, 'future existence;' tôgisn, 'retribution;' tôrâ-i khadû-dâd, 'primeval ox;' vâg, 'inward prayer;' vigârisn, 'atonement for sin;' vishâd-dûbârisnîh, 'running about uncovered;' yasnô, 'ritual;' yast, 'prayers, ritual, form of prayer, worship, consecration;' yastanŏ, 'to consecrate, solemnize, propitiate, reverence;' yâtûk, 'wizard;' yazdân, 'angels, sacred beings, celestial beings, God;' yazisn, 'ceremonial, ceremony, sacred ceremony, ceremonial worship, worship, reverence, rites, prayer;' yêdatô, 'angel;' zand, 'commentary;' zôhar or zôr, 'holy-water;' zôt, 'officiating priest.'

With regard to the orthography of Pahlavi names and words, advantage has been taken of the system of transliteration adopted for this series of Translations of the Sacred Books of the East, by making use of italics for the purpose of distinguishing between certain Pahlavi letters which were probably pronounced very nearly alike. Thus besides the usual letters for v and for z, the Pahlavi letter is often used to denote those same sounds which, in such cases, are represented by the italic letters v and z. An extension of the same mode of distinction to the letters l and r would be desirable, but has not bean attempted in this volume; these two letters are usually written , but in a few words they are represented by or by in which cases they would be better expressed by the italics l and r. Some attempt has been made to adhere to one uniform orthography in such names as occur frequently, but as there is no such uniformity in the various languages and writings quoted, nor even in the same manuscript, some deviations can hardly be avoided.

In conclusion it may be remarked that a translator of Pahlavi generally begins his career by undervaluing the correctness of Pahlavi texts and the literary ability of their authors, but he can hardly proceed far without finding abundant reason for altering his opinion of both. His depreciatory view of Pahlavi literature is generally due partly to want of knowledge, and partly to his trusting too much to the vile perversions of Pahlavi texts usually supplied by Pâzand writers. But as his knowledge of Pahlavi increases he becomes better able to appreciate the literary merits of the texts. If the reader should have already formed some such low estimate of the ability of Pahlavi writers, it may be hoped that these translations will afford him sufficient reason for changing his opinion; if not, they will have signally failed in doing those writers justice.

Footnotes lxxi:1 Bleeck's Avesta; the Religious Books of the Parsees; from Professor Spiegel's German Translation; London, 1864. Not much reliance can be placed upon the correctness of this translation, owing to defects in the German one.

BUNDAHIS

OR

THE ORIGINAL CREATION.

OBSERVATIONS.

For all divisions into chapters and sections the translator is responsible, as the original text is written continuously, with very few stops marked.

Italics are used for any English words which are not expressed, or fully understood, in the original text, but are added to complete the sense of the translation.

Oriental words are usually 'spaced.' Italics occurring in them, or in names, are intended to represent certain peculiar Oriental letters. The italic consonants d, n, v may be pronounced as in English; but g should be sounded like j, h**v like wh, k like ch in 'church,' N like ng, s like sh, z like French j. For further information, see 'Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for the Translations of the Sacred Books of the East' at the end of the volume.

In Pahlavi words all circumflexed vowels and any final ŏ are expressed in the Pahlavi original, but all other vowels are merely understood.

In the translation, words in parentheses are merely explanatory of those which precede them.

Abbreviations used are:—Av. for Avesta. Dâd. for Dâdistân-i Dînîk. Huz. for Huzvâris. Mkh. for Mainyô-i-khard, ed. West. Pahl. for Pahlavi. Pâz. for Pâzand. Pers. for Persian. Sans. for Sanskrit. Vend. for Vendîdâd, ed. Spiegel. Visp. for Visparad, ed. Sp. Yas. for Yasna, ed. Sp. Yt. for Yast, ed. Westergaard.

The manuscripts mentioned in the notes are:—

K20 (about 500 years old), No. 20 in the University Library at Kopenhagen.

K20b (uncertain date), a fragment of the text, No. 20b in the same library.

M6 (written A.D. 1397), No. 6 of the Haug Collection in the State Library at Munich.

TD (written about A.D. 1530), belonging to Mobad Tehmuras Dinshawji Anklesaria at Bombay.

BUNDAHIS.

CHAPTER I.

In the name of the creator Aûharmazd.
The Zand-âkâs ('Zand-knowing or tradition-informed ), which is first about Aûharmazd's original creation and the antagonism of the evil spirit  and afterwards about the nature of the creatures from the original creation till the end, which is the future existence (tanû-i pasînŏ). 2. As revealed by the religion of the Mazdayasnians, so it is declared that Aûharmazd is supreme in omniscience and goodness, and unrivalled  in splendour; the region of light is the place of Aûharmazd, which they call 'endless light,' and the omniscience and goodness of the unrivalled Aûharmazd is what they call 'revelation .' 3. Revelation is the explanation of both spirits together; one is he who is independent of unlimited time , because Aûharmazd and the region, religion, and time of Aûharmazd were and are and ever will be; while Aharman  in darkness, with backward understanding and desire for destruction, was in the abyss, and 'it is he who will not be; and the place of that destruction, and also of that darkness, is what they call the 'endlessly dark.' 4. And between them was empty space, that is, what they call 'air,' in which is now their meeting.

Both are limited and unlimited spirits, for the supreme is that which they call endless light, and the abyss that which is endlessly dark, so that between them is a void, and one is not connected with the other; and, again, both spirits are limited as to their own selves. 6. And, secondly, on account of the omniscience of Aûharmazd, both things are in the creation of Aûharmazd, the finite and the infinite; for this they know is that which is in the covenant of both spirits. 7. And, again, the complete sovereignty of the creatures of Aûharmazd is in the future existence, and that also is unlimited for ever and everlasting; and the creatures of Aharman will perish at the time when  the future existence occurs, and that also is eternity.

Aûharmazd, through omniscience, knew that Aharman exists, and whatever he schemes he infuses with malice and greediness till the end; and because He accomplishes the end by many means, He also produced spiritually the creatures which were necessary for those means, and they remained three thousand years in a spiritual state, so that they were unthinking  and unmoving, with intangible bodies.

The evil spirit, on account of backward knowledge, was not aware of the existence of Aûharmazd; and, afterwards, he arose from the abyss, and came in unto the light which he saw. 10. Desirous of destroying, and because of his malicious nature, he rushed in to destroy that light of Aûharmazd unassailed by fiends, and he saw its bravery and glory were greater than his own; so he fled back to the gloomy darkness, and formed many demons and fiends; and the creatures of the destroyer arose for violence.

Aûharmazd, by whom the creatures of the evil spirit were seen, creatures terrible, corrupt, and bad, also considered them not commendable (bûrzisnîk). 12. Afterwards, the evil spirit saw the creatures of Aûharmazd; they appeared many creatures of delight (vâyah), enquiring creatures, and they seemed to him commendable, and he commended the creatures and creation of Aûharmazd.

Then Aûharmazd, with a knowledge  of which way the end of the matter would be, went to meet the evil spirit, and proposed peace to him, and spoke thus: 'Evil spirit! bring assistance unto my creatures, and offer praise! so that, in reward for it, ye (you and your creatures) may become immortal and undecaying, hungerless and thirstless.'
And the evil spirit shouted thus : 'I will not depart, I will not provide assistance for thy creatures, I will not offer praise among thy creatures, and I am not of the same opinion with thee as to good things. I will destroy thy creatures for ever and everlasting; moreover, I will force all thy creatures into disaffection to thee and affection for myself.' 15. And the explanation thereof is this, that the evil spirit reflected in this manner, that Aûharmazd was helpless as regarded him , therefore He proffers peace; and he did not agree, but bore on even into conflict with Him.

And Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'You are not omniscient and almighty, O evil spirit! so that it is not possible for thee to destroy me, and it is not possible for thee to force my creatures so that they will not return to my possession.'

Then Aûharmazd, through omniscience, knew that: If I do not grant a period of contest, then it will be possible for him to act so that he may be able to cause the seduction of my creatures to himself. As even now there are many of the intermixture of mankind who practise wrong more than right. 18. And Aûharmazd spoke to the evil spirit thus: 'Appoint a period! so that the intermingling of the conflict may be for nine thousand years.' For he knew that by, appointing this period the evil spirit would be undone.

Then the evil spirit, unobservant and through ignorance, was content with that agreement; just like two men quarrelling together, who propose a time thus: Let us appoint such-and-such a day for a fight.

Aûharmazd also knew this, through omniscience, that within these nine thousand years, for three thousand years everything proceeds by the will of Aûharmazd, three thousand years there is an intermingling of the wills of Aûharmazd and Aharman, and the last three thousand years the evil spirit is disabled, and they keep the adversary away  from the creatures.

Afterwards, Aûharmazd recited the Ahunavar thus: Yathâ ahû vairyô ('as a heavenly lord is to be chosen'), &c.  once, and uttered the twenty-one words ; He also exhibited to the evil spirit His own triumph in the end, and the impotence of the evil spirit, the annihilation of the demons, and the resurrection and undisturbed future existence of the creatures for ever and everlasting. 22. And the evil spirit, who perceived his own impotence and the annihilation of the demons, became confounded, and fell back to the gloomy darkness; even so as is declared in revelation, that, when one of its (the Ahunavar's) three parts was uttered, the evil spirit contracted his body through fear, and when two parts of it were uttered he fell upon his knees, and when all of it was uttered he became confounded and impotent as to the harm he caused the creatures of Aûharmazd, and he remained three thousand years in confusion .

Aûharmazd created his creatures in the confusion of Aharman; first he produced Vohûman ('good thought'), by whom the progress of the creatures of Aûharmazd was advanced.

The evil spirit first created  Mîtôkht ('falsehood'), and then Akôman ('evil thought').

The first of Aûharmazd's creatures of the world was the sky, and his good thought (Vohûman), by good procedure , produced the light of the world, along with which was the good religion of the Mazdayasnians; this was because the renovation (frashakard) , which happens to the creatures was known to him. 26. Afterwards arose Ardavahist, and then Shatvaîrô, and then Spendarmad, and then Horvadad, and then Amerôdad .

From the dark world of Aharman were Akôman and Andar, and then Sôvar, and then Nâkahêd, and then Tâîrêv and Zâîrîk .

Of Aûharmazd's creatures of the world, the first was the sky; the second, water; the third, earth; the fourth, plants; the fifth, animals; the sixth, mankind.

Footnotes

3:1 The Pâzand and most of the modern Pahlavi manuscripts have, 'From the Zand-âkâs,' but the word min, 'from,' does not occur in the old manuscript K20, and is a modern addition to M6. From this opening sentence it would appear that the author of the work gave it the name Zand-âkâs.

3:2 The Avesta Angra-mainyu, the spirit who causes adversity or anxiety (see Darmesteter's Ormazd et Ahriman, pp. 92-95); the Pahlavi name is, most probably, merely a corrupt transliteration of the Avesta form, and may be read Ganrâk-maînôk, as the Avesta Spenta-mainyu, the spirit who causes prosperity, has become Spênâk-maînôk in Pahlavi. This latter spirit is represented by Aûharmazd himself in the Bundahis. The Pahlavi word for 'spirit,' which is read madônad by the Parsis, and has been pronounced mînavad by some scholars and mînôî by others, is probably a corruption of maînôk, as its Sasanian form was minô. If it were not for the extra medial letter in ganrâk, and for the obvious partial transliteration of spênâk, it would be preferable to read ganâk, 'smiting,' and to derive it from a supposed verb gandan, 'to smite' (Av. ghna), as proposed by most Zendists. A Parsi would probably suggest gandan, 'to stink.'

4:1 Reading aham-kaî, 'without a fellow-sovereign, peerless, unrivalled, independent.' This rare word occurs three times in §§ 2, 3, and some Pâzand writers suggest the meaning 'everlasting' (by means of the Persian gloss hamîsah), which is plausible enough, but hâmakî would be an extraordinary mode of writing the very common word hamâî, 'ever.'

4:2 The word dînô (properly dênô), Av. daêna, being traceable to a root dî, 'to see,' must originally have meant 'a vision' (see Haug's Essays on the Religion of the Parsis, 2nd ed. p. 152, note 2), whence the term has been transferred to 'religion' and all religious observances, rules, and writings; so it may be translated either by 'religion' or by 'revelation.'

4:3 This appears to be the meaning, but the construction of § 3 is altogether rather obscure, and suggestive of omissions in the text.

4:4 The usual name of the evil spirit; it is probably an older corruption of Angra-mainyu than Ganrâk-maînôk, and a less technical term. Its Sasanian form was Aharmanî.

5:1 Substituting amat, 'when,' for mûn, 'which,' two Huzvâris forms which are frequently confounded by Pahlavi copyists because their Pâzand equivalents, ka and ke, are nearly alike.

5:2 Reading aminîdâr in accordance with M6, which has amînîdâr in Chap. XXXIV, 1, where the same phrase occurs. Windischmann and Justi read amûîtâr, 'uninjured, invulnerable,' in both places. This sentence appears to refer to a preparatory creation of embryonic and immaterial existences, the prototypes, fravashis, spiritual counterparts, or guardian angels of the spiritual and material creatures afterwards produced.

6:1 The Huz. khavîtûnast stands for the Pâz. dânist with the meaning, here, of 'what is known, knowledge,' as in Persian.

6:2 Literally, 'And it was shouted by him, the evil spirit, thus:' the usual idiom when the nominative follows the verb.

7:1 The words dên val stand for dên valman.

7:2 That is, 'the adversary is kept away.' In Pahlavi the third person plural is the indefinite person, as in English. These 9000 years are in addition to the 3000 mentioned in § 8, as appears more clearly in Chap. XXXIV, 1.

8:1 This is the most sacred formula of the Parsis, which they have to recite frequently, not only during the performance of their ceremonies, but also in connection with most of their ordinary duties and habits. It is neither a prayer, nor a creed, but a declaratory formula in metre, consisting of one stanza of three lines, containing twenty-one Avesta words, as follows:—
Yathâ ahû vairyô, athâ ratus, ashâd kîd hakâ, Vangheus dazdâ mananghô, skyaothnanãm angheus mazdâi, Khshathremkâ ahurâi â, yim dregubyô dadad vâstârem.

And it may be translated in the following manner: 'As a heavenly lord is to be chosen, so is an earthly master (spiritual guide), for the sake of righteousness, to be a giver of the good thoughts of the actions of life towards Mazda; and the dominion is for the lord (Ahura) whom he (Mazda) has given as a protector for the poor' (see Haug's Essays on the Religion of the Parsis, 2nd ed. pp. 125, 141).

8:2 The word mârik must mean 'word' here, but in some other places it seems to mean 'syllable' or 'accented syllable.'

9:1 This is the first third of the 9000 years appointed in §§ 18, 20, and the second 3000 years mentioned in Chap. XXXIV, 1.

9:2 It is usual to consider dâdan (Huz. yehabûntan), when traceable to Av. dâ = Sans. dhâ, as meaning 'to create,' but it can hardly be proved that it means to create out of nothing, any more than any other of the Avesta verbs which it is sometimes convenient to translate by 'create.' Before basing any argument upon the use of this word it will, therefore, be safer to substitute the word 'produce' in all cases.

9:3 Or it may be translated, 'and from it Vohûman, by good procedure,' &c. The position here ascribed to Vohûman, or the good thought of Aûharmazd, bears some resemblance to that of the Word in John i. 1-5, but with this essential difference, that Vohûman is merely a creature of Aûharmazd, not identified with him; for the latter idea would be considered, by a Parsi, as rather inconsistent with strict monotheism. The 'light of the world' now created must be distinguished from the 'endless light' already existing with Aûharmazd in § 2.

9:4 The word frashakard, 'what is made durable, perpetuation,' is applied to the renovation of the universe which is to take place about the time of the resurrection, as a preparation for eternity.

10:1 These five, with Vohûman and Aûharmazd in his angelic capacity, constitute the seven Ameshaspends, 'undying causers of prosperity, immortal benefactors,' or archangels, who have, charge of the whole material creation, They are personifications of old Avesta phrases, such as Vohû-manô, 'good thought;' Asha-vahista, 'perfect rectitude;' Khshathra-vairya, 'desirable dominion;' Spenta-ârmaiti, 'bountiful devotion;' Haurvatâd, 'completeness or health;' and Ameretâd, 'immortality.'

10:2 These six demons are the opponents of the six archangels respectively (see Chap. XXX, 29); their names in the Avesta are, Akem-manô, 'evil thought;' Indra, Sauru, Naunghaithya, Tauru, Zairika (see Vendîdâd X, 17, 18 Sp., and XIX, 43 W.), which have been compared with the Vedic god Indra, Sarva (a name of Siva), the Nâsatyas, and Sans. tura, 'diseased,' and garas, 'decay,' respectively. For further details regarding them, see Chap. XXVIII, 7-13.

CHAPTER II.

On the formation of the luminaries.

Aûharmazd produced illumination between the sky and the earth, the constellation stars and those also not of the constellations , then the moon, and afterwards the sun, as I shall relate.

First he produced, the celestial sphere, and the constellation stars are assigned to it by him; especially these twelve whose names are Varak (the Lamb), Tôrâ (the Bull), Dô-patkar (the Two-figures or Gemini), Kalakang (the Crab), Sêr (the Lion), Khûsak (Virgo), Tarâzûk (the Balance), Gazdûm (the Scorpion), Nîmâsp (the Centaur or Sagittarius), Vahîk  (Capricornus), Dûl (the Waterpot), and Mâhîk (the Fish); 3. which, from their original creation, were divided into the twenty-eight subdivisions of the astronomers , of which the names are Padêvar, Pêsh-Parvîz, Parviz, Paha, Avêsar, Besn, Rakhvad, Taraha, Avra, Nahn, Miyân, Avdem, Mâshâha, Spûr, Husru, Srob, Nur, Gêl, Garafsa, Varant, Gau, Goî, Muru, Bunda, Kahtsar, Vaht, Miyân, Kaht . 4. And all his original creations, residing in the world, are committed to them ; so that when the destroyer arrives they overcome the adversary and their own persecution, and the creatures are saved from those adversities.

5. As a specimen of a warlike army, which is destined for battle, they have ordained every single constellation of those 6480 thousand small stars as assistance; and among those constellations four chieftains, appointed on the four sides, are leaders. 6. On the recommendation of those chieftains the many unnumbered stars are specially assigned to the various quarters and various places, as the united strength and appointed power of those constellations. 7. As it is said that Tîstar is the chieftain of the east, Satavês the chieftain of the west, Vanand the chieftain of the south, and Haptôk-rîng the chieftain of the north . 8. The great one which they call a Gâh (period of the day), which they say is the great one of the middle of the sky, till just before the destroyer came was the midday (or south) one of the five, that is, the Rapîtvîn .

Aûharmazd performed the spiritual Yazisn ceremony with the archangels (ameshêspendân) in the Rapîtvîn Gâh, and in the Yazisn he supplied every means necessary for overcoming the adversary . 10. He deliberated with the consciousness (bôd) and guardian spirits (fravâhar) of men , and the omniscient wisdom, brought forward among men, spoke thus: 'Which seems to you the more advantageous, when  I shall present you to the world? that you shall contend in a bodily form with the fiend (drûg), and the fiend shall perish, and in the end I shall have you prepared again perfect and immortal, and in the end give you back to the world, and you will be wholly immortal, undecaying, and undisturbed; or that it be always necessary to provide you protection from the destroyer?'

Thereupon, the guardian spirits of men became of the same opinion with the omniscient wisdom about going to the world, on account of the evil that comes upon them, in the world, from the fiend (drûg) Aharman, and their becoming, at last, again unpersecuted by the adversary, perfect, and immortal, in the future existence, for ever and everlasting.

Footnotes

10:3 The word akhtar is the usual term in Pahlavi for a constellation of the zodiac; but the term apâkhtar, 'away from the akhtar,' means not only 'the north,' or away from the zodiac, but also 'a, planet,' which is in the zodiac, but apart from the constellations. The meaning of akhtar, most suitable to the context here, appears to be the general term 'constellation.'

11:1 Written Nahâzîk here, both in K20 and M6, which may be compared with Pers. nahâz, 'the leading goat of a flock;' but the usual word for 'Capricornus' is Vahîk, as in Chap. V, 6. None of the other names of the signs of the zodiac are written here in Pâzand, but it may be noted that if the ah in Vahîk were written in Pâzand (that is, in Avesta characters), the word would become the same as Nahâzîk in Pahlavi.

11:2 Literally, 'fragments of the calculators,' khurdak-i hâmârikân. These subdivisions are the spaces traversed daily by the moon among the stars, generally called 'lunar mansions.'

11:3 All these names are written in Pâzand, which accounts for their eccentric orthography, in which both K20 and M6 agree very closely. The subdivision Parviz is evidently the Pers. parvên, which includes the Pleiades, and corresponds therefore to the Sanskrit Nakshatra Krittikâ. This correspondence leads to the identification of the first subdivision, Padêvar, with the Nakshatra Asvinî. The Pâzand names are so corrupt that no reliance can be placed upon them, and the first step towards recovering the true Pahlavi names would be to transliterate the Pâzand back into Pahlavi characters. The ninth subdivision is mentioned in Chap. VII, 1 by the name Avrak.

12:1 That is, to the zodiacal constellations, which are supposed to have special charge of the welfare of creation.

12:2 Of these four constellations or stars, which are said to act as leaders, there is no doubt that Haptôk-rîng, the chieftain of the north, is Ursa Major; and it is usually considered that Tîstar, the chieftain of the east, is Sirius; but the other two chieftains are not so well identified, and there may be some doubt as to the proper stations of the eastern and western chieftains. It is evident, however, that the most westerly stars, visible at any one time of the year, are those which set in the dusk of the evening; and east of these, all the stars are visible during the night as far as those which rise at daybreak, which are the most easterly stars visible at that time of the year. Tîstar or Sirius can, therefore, be considered the chieftain of the eastern stars only when it rises before daybreak, which it does at the latter end of summer; and Haptôk-rîng or Ursa Major is due north at midnight (on the meridian below the pole) at about the same time of the year. These stars, therefore, fulfil the conditions necessary for being chieftains of the east and north at the end of summer, and we must look for stars capable of being chieftains of the south and west at the same season. Now, when Ursa Major is near the meridian below the pole, Fomalhaut is the most conspicuous star near the meridian in the far south, and is probably to be identified with Vanand the chieftain of the south. And when Sirius rises some time before daybreak, Antares (in Scorpio) sets some time after dusk in the evening, and may well be identified with Satavês the chieftain of the west assuming that there has been a precession of the equinoxes equivalent to two hours of time, since the idea of these chieftains (which may perhaps be traced to Avesta times) was first formed, it may be calculated that the time of year when these leading stars then best fulfilled that idea was about a month before the autumnal equinox, when Ursa Major would be due north three-quarters of an hour after midnight, and Fomalhaut due south three-quarters of an hour before midnight, Sirius would rise three hours before the sun, and Antares would set three hours after the sun. In the Avesta these leading stars are named Tistrya, Satavaêsa, Vanant, and Haptôi-ringa (see Tîstar Yt. 0, 8, 9, 12, 32, &c., Rashnu Yt. 26-28, Sîrôz. 13).

13:1 This translation, though very nearly literal, must be accepted with caution. If the word mas be not a name it can hardly mean anything but 'great;' and that it refers to a constellation appears from Chap. V, 1. The word khômsâk is an irregular form of the Huz. khômsyâ, 'five,' and may refer either too the five chieftains (including 'the great one') or to the five Gâhs or periods of the day, of which Rapîtvîn is the midday one (see Chap. XXV, 9). The object of the text seems to be to connect the Rapîtvîn Gâh with some great mid-sky and midday constellation or star, possibly Regulus, which, about B. C. 960, must have been more in the daylight than any other important star during the seven months of summer, the only time that the Rapîtvîn Gâh can be celebrated (see Chap. XXV, 7-14). Justi has, 'They call that the great one of the place, which is great in the middle of the sky; they say that before the enemy came it was always midday, that is, Rapîtvîn.' Windischmann has nearly the same, as both follow the Pâzand MSS. in reading hômîsak (as a variant of hamîsak), 'always,' instead of khômsâk.

14:1 Or 'adversity.'

14:2 These were among the fravashis already created (see Chap. I, 8).

14:3 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which' (see note to Chap. I, 7).

CHAPTER III.

On the rush of the destroyer at the creatures it is said, in revelation, that the evil spirit, when he saw the impotence of himself and the confederate  (hâm-dast) demons, owing to the righteous man , became confounded, and seemed in confusion three thousand years. 2. During that confusion the archfiends  of the demons severally shouted thus: 'Rise up, thou father of us! for we will cause a conflict in the world, the distress and injury from which will become those of Aûharmazd and the archangels.'

Severally they twice recounted their own evil deeds, and it pleased him not; and that wicked evil spirit, through fear of the righteous man, was not able to lift up his head until the wicked Gêh  came, at the completion of the three thousand years. 4. And she shouted to the evil spirit thus: 'Rise up, thou father of us! for I will cause that conflict in the world wherefrom the distress and injury of Aûharmazd and the archangels will arise.' 5. And she twice recounted severally her own evil deeds, and it pleased him not; and that wicked evil spirit rose not from that confusion, through fear of the righteous man.

And, again, the wicked Gêh shouted thus: 'Rise up, thou father of us! for in that conflict I will shed thus much vexation  on the righteous man and the labouring ox that, through my deeds, life will not be wanted, and I will destroy their living souls (nismô) ; I will vex the water, I will vex the plants, I will vex the fire of Aûharmazd, I will make the whole creation of Aûharmazd vexed.' 7. And she so recounted those evil deeds a second time, that the evil spirit was delighted and started up from that confusion; and he kissed Gêh upon the head, and the pollution which they call menstruation became apparent in Gêh.

He shouted to Gêh thus: 'What is thy wish? so that I may give it thee.' And Gêh shouted to the evil spirit thus: 'A man is the wish, so give it to me.'

The form of the evil spirit was a log-like lizard's (vazak) body, and he appeared a young man of fifteen years to Gêh, and that brought the thoughts of Gêh to him .

Afterwards, the evil spirit, with the confederate demons, went towards the luminaries, and he saw the sky; and he led them up, fraught with malicious intentions. 11. He stood upon one-third  of the inside of the sky, and he sprang, like a snake, out of the sky down to the earth.

12. In the month Fravardîn and the day Aûharmazd  he rushed in at noon, and thereby the sky was as shattered and frightened by him, as a sheep by a wolf. 13. He came on to the water which was arranged  below the earth, and then the middle of this earth was pierced and entered by him. 14. Afterwards, he came to the vegetation, then to the ox, then to Gâyômard, and then he came to fire ; so, just like a fly, he rushed out upon the whole creation; and he made the world quite as injured and dark  at midday as though it were in dark night. 15. And noxious creatures. were diffused by him over the earth, biting and venomous, such as the snake, scorpion, frog (kalvâk), and lizard (vazak),—so that not so much as the point of a needle remained free from noxious creatures. 16. And blight  was diffused by him over the vegetation, and it withered away immediately. 17. And avarice, want, pain, hunger, disease, lust, and lethargy were diffused by him abroad upon the ox and Gâyômard.

Before his coming to the ox, Aûharmazd ground up the healing fruit , which some call 'bînâk,' small in water openly before its eyes, so that its damage and discomfort from the calamity (zanisn) might be less; and when it became at the same time lean and ill, as its breath went forth and it passed away, the ox also spoke thus: 'The cattle are to be created, and their work, labour, and care are to be appointed.'

And before his coming to Gâyômard, Aûharmazd brought forth a sweat upon Gâyômard, so long as he might recite a prayer (vâg) of one stanza (vikast); moreover, Aûharmazd formed that sweat into the youthful body of a man of fifteen years, radiant and tall. 20. When Gâyômard issued from the sweat he saw the world dark as night, and the earth as though not a needle's point remained free from noxious creatures; the celestial sphere was in revolution, and the sun and moon remained in motion: and the world's struggle, owing to the clamour of the Mâzînâkân demons , was with the constellations.
And the evil spirit thought that the creatures of Aûharmazd were all rendered useless except Gâyômard; and Astô-vîdâd  with a thousand demons, causers of death, were let forth by him on Gâyômard, 22. But his appointed time had not come, and he (Astô-vîdâd) obtained no means of noosing (âvizîdanŏ) him; as it is said that, when the opposition of the evil spirit came, the period of the life and rule of Gâyômard was appointed for thirty years. 23. After the coming of the adversary he lived thirty years, and Gâyômard spoke thus: 'Although the destroyer has come, mankind will be all of my race; and this one thing is good, when they perform duty and good works.'

And, afterwards, he (the evil spirit) came to fire, and he mingled smoke and darkness with it. 25. The planets, with many demons, dashed against the celestial sphere, and they mixed the constellations; and the whole creation was as disfigured as though fire disfigured every place and smoke arose over it. 26. And ninety days and nights the heavenly angels were contending in the world with the confederate demons of the evil spirit, and hurled them confounded to hell; and the rampart of the sky was formed so that the adversary should not be able to mingle with it.

Hell is in the middle of the earth; there where the evil spirit pierced the earth  and rushed in upon it, as all the possessions of the world were changing into duality, and persecution, contention, and mingling of high and low became manifest.

Footnotes

15:1 The Pâzand MSS. have garôist, for the Huz. hêmnunast, 'trusted.' Windischmann and Justi have 'all.'

15:2 Probably Gâyômard.

15:3 The word kamârakân is literally 'those with an evil pate,' and is derived from Av. kameredha, 'the head of an evil being,' also applied to 'the evil summit' of Mount Arezûra (Vend. XIX, 140, 142), which is supposed to be at the gate of hell (see Chap. XII, 8). That the chief demons or arch-fiends are meant, appears, more clearly in Chap. XXVIII, 12, 44, where the word is kamârîkân.

15:4 The personification of the impurity of menstruation.

16:1 The word vêsh or vîsh may stand either for bêsh, 'distress, vexation,' as here assumed, or for vish, 'poison,' as translated by Windischmann and Justi in accordance with the Paz. MSS.

16:2 That this is the Huzvâris of rûbân, 'soul,' appears from Chap. XV, 3-5, where both words are used indifferently; but it is not given in the Huz.-Pâz. Glossary. It is evidently equivalent to Chald. nismâ, and ought probably to have the traditional pronunciation nisman, an abbreviation of nismman.

16:3 This seems to be the literal meaning of the sentence, and is confirmed by Chap. XXVIII, 1, but Windischmann and Justi understand that the evil spirit formed a youth for Gêh out of a toad's body. The incident in the text may be compared with Milton's idea of Satan and Sin in Paradise Lost, Book II, 745-765.

17:1 Perhaps referring to the proportion of the sky which is overspread by the darkness of night. The whole sentence is rather obscure.

17:2 The vernal equinox (see Chap. XXV, 7).

17:3 Literally, 'and it was arranged.'

17:4 For the details of these visitations, see Chaps. VI-X.

17:5 Reading khûst tôm; but it may be hangîdtûm, 'most turbid, opaque.'

17:6 The word makhâ, 'blow, stroke,' is a Huzvâris logogram not found in the glossaries; M6 has dâr, 'wood,' but this may be a misreading, due to the original, from which M6 was copied, being difficult to read.

18:1 The word mîvang is an unusual form of mîvak, 'fruit.' It is probably to be traced to an Av. mivangh, which might mean 'fatness,' as Windischmann suggests.

18:2 The Mâzainya daêva of the Avesta, and Mâzendarân demons, or idolators, of Persian legends.

19:1 The demon of death, Astô-vîdhôtu in the Avesta (Vend. IV, 137, V, 25, 31), who is supposed 'to cast a halter around the necks of the dead to drag them to hell, but if their good works have exceeded their sins they throw off the noose and go to heaven' (Haug's Essays, 2nd ed. p. 321). This name is misread Asti-vihâd by Pâzand writers.

19:2 See § 13.

CHAPTER IV.

This also is said, that when the primeval ox  passed away it fell to the right hand, and Gâyômard afterwards, when he passed away, to the left hand. 2. Gôsûrvan , as the soul of the primeval ox came out from the body of the ox, stood up before the ox and cried to Aûharmazd, as much as a thousand men when they sustain a cry at one time, thus: 'With whom is the guardianship of the creatures left by thee, when ruin has broken into the earth, and vegetation is withered, and water is troubled? Where is the man  of whom it was said by thee thus: I will produce him, so that he may preach carefulness?'

And Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'You are made ill , O Gôsûrvan! you, have the illness which the evil spirit brought on if it were proper to produce that man in this earth at this time, the. evil spirit would not have been oppressive in it.'

Forth Gôsûrvan walked to the star station (pâyak) and cried in the same manner, and forth to the moon station and cried in the same manner, and forth to the sun station, and then the guardian spirit of Zaratûst was exhibited to her, and Aûharmazd said thus : 'I will produce for the world him who will preach carefulness.' 5. Contented became the spirit Gôsûrvan, and assented thus: 'I will nourish the creatures;' that is, she became again consenting to a worldly creation in the world.

Footnotes

20:1 Literally, 'the sole-created ox' from whom all the animals and some plants are supposed to have proceeded (see Chaps. X and XIV), as mankind proceeded from Gâyômard. It is the ox of the primitive creation, mentioned in Chap. III, 14, 18.

20:2 The spiritual representative of the primeval ox, called Geus-urvâ, 'soul of the bull,' in the Avesta, of which name Gôsûrvan is a corruption. The complaint of Gôsûrvan is recorded in the Gâthas, the oldest part of the Avesta (see Yas, XXIX).

20:3 Referring to Zaratûst.

20:4 In K20, 'You are ill.'

21:1 As the text stands in the MSS. it means, 'and then the guardian spirit of Zaratûst demonstrated to her thus;' but whether it be intended to represent the fravâhar as producing the creature is doubtful. The angel Gôs, who is identified with Gôsûrvan, is usually considered a female, but this is hardly consistent with being the soul of a bull (see Chap. X, 1, 2), though applicable enough to a representative of the earth. In the Selections of Zâd-sparam, II, 6, however, this mythological animal is said to have been a female (see Appendix to Bundahis).

CHAPTER V.

Seven chieftains of the planets have come unto the seven chieftains of the constellations , as the planet Mercury (Tîr) unto Tîstar, the planet Mars (Vâhrâm) unto Haptôk-rîng, the planet Jupiter (Aûharmazd) unto Vanand, the planet Venus (Anâhîd) unto Satavês, the planet Saturn (Kêvân) unto the great one of the middle of the sky, Gôkîhar and the thievish (dûggun) Mûspar , provided with tails, unto the sun and moon and stars. 2. The sun has attached Mûspar to its own radiance by mutual agreement, so that he may be less able to do harm (vinâs).

Of Mount Albûrz  it is declared, that around the world and Mount Têrak , which is the middle of the world, the revolution of the sun is like a moat  around the world; it turns back in a circuit  owing to the enclosure (var) of Mount Albûrz around Têrak. 4. As it is said that it is the Têrak of Albûrz from behind which my sun and moon and stars return again . 5. For there are a hundred and eighty apertures (rôgîn) in the east, and a hundred and eighty in the west, through Albûrz; and the sun, every day, comes in through an aperture, and goes out through an aperture ; and the whole connection and motion of the moon and constellations and planets is with it: every day it always illumines (or warms) three regions (kêshvar)  and a half, as is evident to the eyesight. 6. And twice in every year the day and night are equal, for on the original attack , when  it (the sun) went forth from its first degree (khûrdak), the day and night were equal, it was the season of spring; when it arrives at the first degree of Kalakang (Cancer) the time of day is greatest, it is the beginning of summer; when it arrives at the sign (khûrdak) Tarâgûk (Libra) the day and night are equal, it is the beginning of autumn; when it arrives at the sign Vahîk (Capricorn) the night is a maximum, it is the beginning of winter; and when it arrives at Varak (Aries) the night and day have again become equal, as when it went forth from Varak. 7. So that when it comes back to Varak, in three hundred and sixty days and the five Gâtha days , it goes in and comes out through one and the same aperture; the aperture is not mentioned, for if it had been mentioned the demons would have known the secret, and been able to introduce disaster.

From there where the sun comes on on the longest day to where it comes on on the shortest day is the east region Savah; from there where it comes on on the shortest day to where it goes off on the shortest day is the direction of the south regions Fradadafsh and Vîdadafsh; from there where it goes in on the shortest day to where it goes in on the longest day is the west region Arzah; from there where it comes in on the longest day to there where it goes in on the longest day are the north regions Vôrûbarst and Vôrûgarst . 9. When the sun comes on, it illumines (or warms) the regions of Savah, Fradadafsh, Vîdadafsh, and half of Khvanîras ; when it goes in on the dark side, it illumines the regions of Arzah, Vôrûbarst, Vôrûgarst, and one half of Khvanîras; when it is day here it is night there.

Footnotes

21:2 Five of these are mentioned in Chap. II, 7, 8, to which the sun and moon are here added.

21:3 As this name stands in the MSS. it may be read Gûrgdâr (as in the Pâz. MSS), Gûrkîhar, or Dûrkîhar; the reading is very uncertain, and Windischmann suggests Gûrg-kîhar, 'wolf progeny' (compare vehrkô-kithra in Ardabahist Yast 8). A shooting star, or meteor, is probably meant (see Chap. XXX, 18, 31), and as it is the special disturber of the moon, it may be Gô-kîhar (Av. gaokithra, of ox-lineage'), a common epithet of the moon; the Pahlavi letter k being often written something like the compound rk; and this supposition is confirmed by the Gôk-kihar of TD in Chap. XXVIII, 44.

22:1 This is written Mûs-parîk in TD in Chap. XXVIII, 44, and seems to be the mûs pairika of Yas. XVII, 46, LXVII, 23, as noticed by Windischmann; it is probably meant here for a comet, as it is attached to the sun. The zodiacal light and milky way have too little of the wandering character of planets to be considered planetary opponents of the sun and moon.

22:2 The hara berezaiti, 'lofty mountain-range,' of the Avesta, which is an ideal representative of the loftiest mountains known to the ancient Iranians, the Alburz range in Mâzendarân, south of the Caspian. See Chaps. VIII, 2, XII, 1, 3.

22:3 The Taêra of Yas. XLI, 24, Râm Yt. 7, Zamyâd Yt. 6. See Chap. XII, 2, 4.

22:4 The word mayâ-gîr is a Huz. hybrid for âv-gîr, 'a water-holder, or ditch.'

22:5 The word may be either âvêgak or khavîgak, with this meaning.

22:6 This appears to be a quotation from the Rashnu Yast, 26. The Huz. word for 'month' is here used for the 'moon.'

23:1 This mode of accounting for the varying position of sunrise and sunset resembles that in the Book of Enoch, LXXI, but only six eastern and six western gates of heaven are there mentioned, and the sun changes its gates of entrance and exit only once a month, instead of daily.

23:2 See § 9 and Chap. XI.

23:3 The reading of this word is doubtful, although its meaning is tolerably clear. The Pâz. MSS. read har dô, 'both;' Justi reads ardab, 'quarrel;' and in the Selections of Zâd-sparam it is written ârdîk. It seems probable that the word is kharah, 'attack,' which being written exactly like ardê (Av. ashya, see Yas. LVI, 1, 1) has had a circumflex added to indicate the supposed d, and this false reading has led to the more modern form ârdîk (Pers. ârd, 'anger'). But probabilities in obscure matters are often treacherous guides.

23:4 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which,' throughout the sentence (see note to Chap. I, 7).

24:1 The five supplementary days added to the last of the twelve months, of thirty days each, to complete the year. For these days no additional apertures are provided in Albûrz, and the sun appears to have the choice of either of the two centre apertures out of the 180 on each side of the world. This arrangement seems to indicate that the idea of the apertures is older than the rectification of the calendar which added the five Gâtha days to an original year of 360 days.

24:2 This sentence occurs, without the names of the kêshvars or regions, in the Pahl. Vend. XIX, 19. For the kêshvars see Chap. XI.

24:3 Often corrupted into Khanîras in the MSS.

CHAPTER VI.

On the conflict  of the creations of the world with the: antagonism of the evil spirit it is said in revelation, that the evil spirit, even as he rushed in and looked upon the pure bravery of the angels and his own violence , wished to rush back. 2. The spirit of the sky is himself like one of the warriors who has put on armour; he arrayed the sky against the evil. spirit, and led on in the contest, until Aûharmazd had completed a rampart around, stronger than the sky and in front of the sky. 3. And his guardian spirits (fravâhar) of warriors and the righteous, on war horses and spear in hand, were around the sky; such-like as the hair on the head is the similitude (ângunî-aîtak) of those who hold the watch of the rampart. 4. And no passage was found by the evil spirit, who rushed back; and he beheld the annihilation of the demons and his own impotence, as Aûharmazd, did his own final triumph, producing the renovation of the universe for ever and everlasting.

Footnotes

25:1 This is the doubtful word translated 'attack' in Chap. V, 6 (see the note there); it also occurs at the beginning of each of the following four chapters.

25:2 Reading zôrîh; but it may be zûrîh, 'falsity.'

CHAPTER VII.

The second conflict was waged with the water, because, as the star Tîstar was in Cancer, the water which is in the subdivision they call Avrak  was pouring, on the same day when the destroyer rushed in, and came again into notice for mischief (âvârak) in the direction of the west. 2. For every single month is the owner of one constellation; the month Tîr is the fourth month  of the year, and Cancer the fourth constellation from Aries, so it is the owner of Cancer, into which Tîstar sprang, and displayed the characteristics of a producer of rain; and he brought on the water aloft by the strength of the wind. 3. Co-operators with Tîstar were Vohûman and the angel Hôm, with the assistance of the angel Bûrg and the righteous guardian spirits in orderly arrangement.

Tîstar was converted into three forms, the form of a man and the form of a horse and the form of a bull ; thirty days and nights he was distinguished in brilliance , and in each form he produced rain ten days and nights; as the astrologers say that every constellation has three forms. 5. Every single drop of that rain became as big as a bowl, and the water stood the height of a man over the whole of this earth; and the noxious creatures on the earth being all killed by the rain, went into the holes of the earth .

And, afterwards, the wind spirit, so that it may not be contaminated (gûmîkht), stirs up the wind and atmosphere as the life stirs in the body; and the water was all swept away by it, and was brought out to the borders of the earth, and the wide-formed  ocean arose therefrom. 7. The noxious creatures remained dead within the earth, and their venom and stench were mingled with the earth, and in order to carry that poison away from the earth Tîstar went down into the ocean in the form of a white horse with long hoofs .

And Apâôsh , the demon, came meeting him in the likeness of a black horse with clumsy (kund) hoofs; a mile (parasang)  away from him fled Tîstar, through the fright which drove him away. 9. And Tîstar begged for success from Aûharmazd, and Aûharmazd gave him strength and power, as it is said, that unto Tîstar was brought at once the strength of ten vigorous horses, ten vigorous camels, ten vigorous bulls, ten mountains, and ten rivers . 10. A mile away from him fled Apâôsh, the demon, through fright at his strength; on account of this they speak of an arrow-shot with Tîstar's strength in the sense of a mile.

Afterwards, with a cloud for a jar (khûmb)—thus they call the measure which was a means of the work—he seized upon the water and made it rain most prodigiously, in drops like bull's heads and men's heads, pouring in handfuls and pouring in armfuls, both great and small. 12. On the production of that rain the demons Aspengargâk  and Apâôsh contended with it, and the fire Vâzist  turned its club over; and owing to the blow of the club Aspengargâk made a very grievous noise, as even now, in a conflict with the producer of rain, a groaning and raging  are manifest. 13. And ten nights and days rain was produced by him in that manner, and the poison and venom of the noxious creatures which were in the earth were, all mixed up in the water, and the water became quite salt, because there remained in the earth some of those germs which noxious creatures ever collect.

Afterwards, the wind, in the same manner as before, restrained the water, at the end of three days, on various sides of the earth; and the three great seas and twenty-three small seas  arose therefrom, and two fountains (kashmak) of the sea thereby became manifest, one the Kêkast lake, and one the Sôvbar , whose sources are connected with the fountain of the sea. 15. And at its north side  two rivers flowed out, and went one to the east and one to the west; they are the Arag river and the Vêh river; as it is said thus: 'Through those finger-breadth tricklings do thou pour and draw forth two such waters, O Aûharmazd!' 16. Both those rivers wind about through all the extremities of the earth, and intermingle again with the water of the wide-formed ocean. 17. As those two rivers flowed out, and from the same place of origin as theirs, eighteen  navigable rivers flowed out, and after the other waters have flowed out from those navigable streams they all flow back to the Arag  river and Vêh river, whose fertilization (khvâpardârîh) of the world arises therefrom.

Footnotes

25:3 The ninth lunar mansion (see Chap. II, 3) corresponding with the middle of Cancer. Tîstar (Sirius) being in Cancer probably means that it rises about the same time as the stars of Cancer, as is actually the case.

26:1 See Chap. XXV, 20.

26:2 See Tîstar Yt. 13, 16, 18, where it is stated that Tîstar assumes the form of a man for the first ten nights, of a bull for the second ten nights, and of a horse for the third ten nights. Also in Vend. XIX, 126 Tîstar is specially invoked in his form of a bull.

26:3 Or it may be translated, 'he hovered in the light,' as Windischmann and Justi have it.

26:4 In comparing the inundation produced by Tîstar, with the Noachian deluge, it must be recollected that the former is represented as occurring before mankind had propagated on the earth.

27:1 The term farâkû-kard, 'wide-formed,' is a free Pahlavi translation of Av. vouru-kasha, 'wide-shored,' or 'having wide abysses,' applied to the boundless ocean (see Chap. XIII, 1).

27:2 For the Avesta account of this expedition of Tîstar, see Tîstar Yt. 20-29.

27:3 Miswritten Apavs or Apavas in Pâzand, by all MSS. in this chapter, but see Chap. XXVIII, 39.

27:4 The word parasang is here used for Av. hâthra, which was about an English mile (see Chap. XXVI, 1).

27:5 A quotation from Tîstar Yt. 25.

28:1 Mentioned in Vend. XIX, 135, thus: 'thou shouldst propitiate the fire Vâzista, the smiter of the demon Spengaghra.' It, is also written Spêngargâk in Chap. XVII, 1, and Aspengarôgâ in Chap. XXVIII, 39.

28:2 That is, the lightning (see Chap. XVII, 1).

28:3 Or, 'a tumult and flashing.' Justi has 'howling and shrieking;' the two words being very ambiguous in the original.

28:4 See Chap. XIII, 6.

28:5 See Chap. XXII, 1-3.

29:1 Probably meaning the north side of the Arêdvîvsûr fountain of the sea, which is said to be on the lofty Hûgar, a portion of Albûrz, from the northern side of which these two semi-mythical rivers are said to flow (see Chaps. XII, 5, XX, 1).

29:2 See Chap. XX, 2.

29:3 Here written Arêng, but the usual Pahlavi reading is Arag; the nasal of the Av. Rangha being generally omitted in Pahlavi, as other nasals are sometimes; thus we often find sag for sang, 'stone.'

CHAPTER VIII.

On the conflict which the evil spirit waged with the earth.

As the evil spirit rushed in, the earth shook , and the substance of mountains was created in the earth. 2. First, Mount Albûrz arose; afterwards, the other ranges of mountains (kôfânîhâ) of the middle of the earth; for as Albûrz grew forth all the mountains remained in motion, for they have all grown forth from the root of Albûrz. 3. At that time they came up from the earth, like a tree which has grown up to the clouds and its root  to the bottom; and their root passed on that way from one to the other, and they are arranged in mutual connection. 4. Afterwards, about that wonderful shaking out from the earth, they say that a great mountain is the knot of lands; and the passage for the waters within the mountains is the root which is below the mountains; they forsake the upper parts so that they may flow into it, just as the roots of trees pass into the earth; a counterpart (ângunî-aîtak) of the blood in the arteries of men, which gives strength to the whole body. 5. In numbers , apart from Albûrz, all the mountains grew up out of the earth in eighteen years , from which arises the perfection  of men's advantage.

Footnotes

29:4 The word gudnîd is a transposition of gundîd, a graphical variant of gunbîd, 'shook.'

30:1 M6 has rakâk, but this and many other strange words are probably due to the copyist of that MS. having an original before him which was nearly illegible in many places.

30:2 Or, 'as it were innumerable;' the word amar meaning both 'number' and 'innumerable.'

30:3 See Chap. XII, 1.

30:4 The word must be farhâkhtagân, 'proprieties,' both here and in Chap. IX, 6, as farhâkhtisn is an ungrammatical form.

CHAPTER IX.

The conflict waged with plants was that when  they became quite dry. 2. Amerôdad the arch-angel, as the vegetation was his own, pounded the plants small, and mixed them up with the water which Tîstar seized, and Tîstar made that water rain down upon the whole earth. 3. On the whole earth plants grew up like hair upon the heads of men. 4. Ten thousand  of them grew forth of one special description, for keeping away the ten thousand species of disease which the evil spirit produced for the creatures; and from those ten thousand, the 100,000 species  of plants have grown forth.

From that same germ of plants the tree of all germs  was given forth, and grew up in the wide-formed ocean, from which the germs of all species of plants ever increased. 6. And near to that tree of all germs the Gôkard tree  was produced, for keeping away deformed (dûspad) decrepitude; and the full perfection of the world arose therefrom.

Footnotes

30:5 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which' (see the note to Chap. 1, 7).

31:1 See Chap. XXVII, 2.

31:2 Here 120,000 are mentioned, but see Chap. XXVII, 2, and Selections of Zâd-sparam, VIII, 2.

31:3 Or, 'of all seeds' (see Chap. XVIII, 9).

31:4 The white-Hôm tree (see Chaps. XVIII, 1-6, XXVII, 4).

CHAPTER X.

On the conflict waged with the primeval ox.

As it passed away , owing to the vegetable principle (kîharak) proceeding, from every limb of the ox, fifty and five species of grain  and twelve species of medicinal plants grew forth from the earth, and their splendour and strength were the seminal energy (tôkhmîh) of the ox. 2. Delivered to the moon station , that seed was thoroughly purified by the light of the moon, fully prepared in every way, and produced life in a body. 3. Thence arose two oxen, one male and one female; and, afterwards, two hundred and eighty-two species of each kind  became manifest upon the earth. 4. The dwelling (mânîst) of the birds is in the air, and the fish are in the midst of the water.

Footnotes

31:5 See Chap. IV, 1.

31:6 See Chaps. XIV, 1, XXVII, 2.

32:1 See Chap. XIV, 3. In the Mâh Yt. 0, 7, blessings are invoked for 'the moon of ox lineage' (gaokithra) in conjunction with the 'sole-created ox and the ox of many species.' In the Avesta the gender of these two primeval oxen appears doubtful, owing probably to the dual gen. masc. of their epithets being of the same form as a sing. gen. fem.

32:2 That is, of each sex. See Chap. XIV, 13, 27. In all three occurrences of this number K20 has 272, but all other MSS. have 282 (except M6 in this place only).

CHAPTER XI.

On the nature of the earth it says in revelation, that there are thirty and three kinds  of land. 2. On the day when Tîstar produced the rain, when its seas arose therefrom, the whole place, half taken up by water, was converted into seven portions; this portion , as much as one-half, is the middle, and six portions are around; those six portions are together as much as Khvanîras. 3. The name kêshvar ('zone or region') is also applied to them, and they existed side by side (kash kash) ; as on the east side of this portion (Khvanîras) is the Savah region, on the west is the Arzah region; the two portions on the south side are the Fradadafsh and Vîdadafsh regions, the two portions on the north side are the Vôrûbarst and Vôrûgarst regions, and that in the middle is Khvanîras. 4. And Khvanîras has the sea, for one part of the wide-formed ocean wound about around it; and from Vôrûbarst and Vôrûgarst a lofty mountain grew up; so that it is not possible for any one to go from region to region .

And of these seven regions every benefit was created most in Khvanîras, and the evil spirit also produced most for Khvanîras, on account of the superiority (sarîh)  which he saw in it. 6. For the Kayânians and heroes were created in Khvanîras; and the good religion of the Mazdayasnians was created in Khvanîras, and afterwards conveyed to the other regions; Sôshyans  is born in Khvanîras, who makes the evil spirit impotent, and causes the resurrection and future existence.

Footnotes

32:3 K20b has 'thirty-two kinds.'

32:4 That is, Khvanîras; or it may be 'one portion,' as hanâ, 'this,' is often used for aê, 'one,' because the Pâzand form of both words is e.

33:1 Possibly an attempt to connect the term kêshvar with kash; but the sentence may also be translated thus: 'and they formed various districts like this portion; on the east side is the Savah region,' &c.

33:2 In the Pahlavi Vend. I, 4a, and in the Mainyô-i-khard, IX, 6, it is added, 'except with the permission of the angels' or the demons.

33:3 So in M6; but K20 has zadârîh, which would imply, 'for the destruction of what he saw of it.'

33:4 Always spelt so in the Bundahis MSS. K20 and M6, and corrupted into Sôshyôs in Pâzand; but it is more usually written Sôshâns in other Pahlavi works, and its Avesta form is Saoshyãs (see Chap. XXXII, 8).

CHAPTER XII.

On the nature of mountains it says in revelation, that, at first, the mountains have grown forth in eighteen years; and Albûrz ever grew, till the completion of eight hundred years; two hundred years up to the star station (pâyak), two hundred years to the moon station, two hundred years to the sun station, and two hundred years to the endless light . 2. While the other mountains have grown out of Albûrz, in number 2244 mountains, and are Hûgar the lofty , Têrak of Albûrz, Kakâd-i-Dâîtîk, and the Arezûr ridge, the Aûsîndôm mountain, Mount Apârsên which they say is the mountain of Pârs, Mount Zarid also which is Mount Mânûs, Mount Aîrak, Mount Kaf, Mount Vâdgês, Mount Aûshdâstâr, Mount Arezûr-bûm, Mount Rôyisn-hômand, Mount Padashkhvârgar which is the greatest in Khvârîh, the mountain which they call Kînŏ, Mount Rêvand, Mount Dârspêt the Bakyir mountain, Mount Kabed-sikaft, Mount Sîyâk-mûî-mand, Mount Vafar-hômand, Mount Spendyâd and Kôndrâsp, Mount Asnavand and Kôndras, Mount Sikidâv , a mountain among which are in Kangdez , of which they say that they are a comfort and delight of the good creator, the smaller hills.
I will mention them also a second time; Albûrz  is around this earth and is connected with the sky. 4. The Têrak  of Albûrz is that through which the stars, moon, and sun pass  in, and through it they come back. 5. Hûgar the lofty  is that from which the water of Arêdvîvsûr  leaps down the height of a thousand men. 6. The Aûsîndôm  mountain is that which, being of ruby (khûn-âhinŏ), of the substance of the sky , is in the midst of the wide-formed ocean, so that its water, which is from Hûgar, pours down into it (the ocean). 7. Kakâd-i-Dâîtîk ('the judicial peak') is that of the middle of the world, the height of a hundred men, on which the Kînvar bridge  stands; and they take account of the soul at that place. 8. The Arezûr  ridge [of the Albûrz mountain] is a summit at the gate of hell, where they always hold the concourse of the demons. 9. This also is said, that, excepting Albûrz, the Apârsên  mountain is the greatest; the Apârsên mountain they call the mountain of Pars, and its beginning is in Sagastân  and its end in Khûgîstân. 10. Mount Mânûs  is great; the mountain on which Mânûs**kîhar was born.
The remaining mountains have chiefly grown from those; as it is said that the elevation (afsârîh) of the districts had arisen most around those three mountains . 12. Mount Aîrak  is in the middle from Hamadân to Khvârizem, and has grown from Mount Apârsên. 13. Mount [Kînŏ] , which is on its east, on the frontier of Tûrkistân, is connected also with Apârsên. 14. Mount Kaf  has grown from the same Mount Apârsên. 15. Mount Aûshdâstâr  is in Sagastân. 16. Mount Arezûr  is that which is in the direction of Arûm. 17. The Padashkhvârgar  mountain is that which is in Taparîstân and the side of Gîlân. 18. The Rêvand  mountain is in Khûrâsân , on which the Bûrzîn fire  was established; and its name Rêvand means this, that it is glorious. 19. The Vâdgês  mountain is that which is on the frontier of the Vâdgêsians; that quarter is full of timber and full of trees. 20. The Bakyîr  mountain is that which Frâsiyâv of Tûr used as a stronghold, and he made his residence within it; and in the days of Yim  a myriad towns and cities were erected on its pleasant and prosperous territory. 21. Mount Kabed-sikaft  ('very rugged') is that in Pârs, out of the same Mount Apârsên. 22. Mount Sîyâk-hômand ('being black') and Mount Vafar-hômand ('having snow') , as far as their Kâvûl borders, have grown out of it (Apârsên) towards the direction of Kînŏ. 23. The Spendyâd  mountain is in the circuit (var) of Rêvand . 24. The Kôndrâsp  mountain, on the summit of which is Lake Sôvbar , is in the district (or by the town) of Tûs. 25. The Kondrâs  mountain is in Aîrân-vêg . The Asnavand  mountain is in Âtarô-pâtakân. 27. The Rôyisn-hômand  ('having growth') mountain is that on which vegetation has grown.

Whatever  mountains are those which are in every place of the various districts and various countries, and cause the tillage and prosperity therein, are many in name and many in number, and have grown from these same mountains. 29. As Mount Ganâvad, Mount Asparôg, Mount Pâhargar, Mount Dimâvand, Mount Râvak, Mount Zarîn, Mount Gêsbakht, Mount Dâvad, Mount Mîgîn, and Mount Marak , which have all grown from Mount Apârsên, of which the other mountains are enumerated. 30. For the Dâvad  mountain has grown into Khûgîstân likewise from the Apârsên mountain. 31. The Dimâvand  mountain is that in which Bêvarâsp is bound. 32. From the same Padashkhvârgar mountain unto Mount Kûmîs , which they call Mount Madôfryâd ('Come-to-help')—that in which Vistâsp routed Argâsp—is Mount Mîyân-i-dast ('mid-plain') , and was broken off from that mountain there. 33. They say, in the war of the religion, when there was confusion among the Iranians it broke off from that mountain, and slid down into the middle of the plain; the Iranians were saved by it, and it was called, 'Come-to-help' by them. 34. The Ganâvad  mountain is likewise there, on the Ridge of Vistâsp (pûst-i Vistâspân)  at the abode of the Bûrzîn-Mitrô fire, nine leagues (parasang) to the west. 35. Râvak Bîsan  is in Zrâvakad; this place, some say, is Zravad, some call it Bîsan, some Kalâk; from this the road of two sides of the mountain is down the middle of a fortress; for this reason, that is, because it is there formed, they call Kalâk a fortress this place they also call within the land of Sarak. 36. Mount Asparôg  is established from the country of Lake Kêkast  unto Pârs. 37. Pâhargar ('the Pâhar range') is in Khûrâsân. 38. Mount Marak  is in Lârân. 39. Mount Zarîn is in Tûrkîstân. 40. Mount Bakht-tan  is in Spâhân.

The rest, apart from this enumeration, which they reckon as fostering hills of the country in the religion of the Mazdayasnians, are the small hills, those which have grown piecemeal in places.

Footnotes

34:1 These are the four grades of the Mazdayasnian heaven.

34:2 In all the geographical details, mentioned in the Bundahis, there is a strange mixture of mythical tradition with actual fact. The author of the work finds names mentioned in the Avesta, by old writers of another country, and endeavours to identify them with places known to himself; much in the same way as attempts have been made to identify the geographical details of the garden of Eden. Most of the names of these mountains occur in the Zamyâd Yast, or in other parts of the Avesta, as will be noticed in detail further on. The number 2244 is also mentioned in § 7 of that Yast. A very able commentary on this chapter will be found in Windischmann's Zoroastriche Studien, pp. 1-19.

35:1 The Av. Sikidava of Zamyâd Yt. 5.

35:2 See Chap. XXIX, 4, 10; the name is here written Kandez in R20. In M6 the word is kôf, 'mountain,' which is almost identical in form; if this be the correct reading, the translation will be, 'a mountain among those in the mountain which they say is agreeable and the delight,' &c. This mountain is, however, probably intended for the Av. Antare-kangha, 'within Kangha,' of Zamyâd Yt. 4.

35:3 The Haraiti-bares of Zamyâd Yt. 1; but it is more usually called Hara berezaiti (see Chap. V, 3).

35:4 A central peak of the mythic Albûrz, around which the heavenly bodies are said to revolve (see Chap. V, 3). It is the Av. Taêra, mentioned in Yas. XLI, 24, Râm Yt. 7, Zamyâd Vt. 6.

35:5 So in M6, but K20 has 'go in.'

35:6 This appears to be another peak of the mythic Albûrz, probably in the west, as it is connected with Satavês, the western chieftain of the constellations (see Chaps. XXIV, 17 and II, 7), It is the Av. Hukairya berezô, of Yas. LXIV, 14, Âbân Yt. 3, 25, 96, Gôs Yt. 8 Mihir Yt. 88, Rashnu Yt. 24, Fravardîn Yt. 6, Râm Yt. 15.

35:7 See Chap. XIII, 3-5.

35:8 In Aûharmazd Yt. 31 and Zamyâd Yt. 2, 66, an Ushidhâo mountain is mentioned as having many mountain waters around it, but this seems to be a near neighbour of the Ushidarena mountain (see § 15). The details in the text correspond with the description of the Hindva mountain, given in Tîstar Yt. 32, thus: us Hindvad paiti garôid yô histaiti maidhîm zrayanghô vouru-kashahê, 'up on the Hindva mountain, which stands amid the wide-shored ocean;' and the Pahlavi name, Aûsîndôm, has probably arisen from the us Hindvad of this passage, as suggested by Justi. (See Chaps. XIII, 5, and XVIII, 10, 11.)

36:1 The sky is considered to be a true firmament, or hard and indestructible dome.

36:2 The Kinvatô-peretu of the Avesta, mentioned even in the Gâthas. In the Pahlavi Vend. XIX, 101, it is stated that 'they pass across by the Kinvad bridge, whose two extremities are their own heavenly angels, one stands at Kakâd-i-Dâîtîk, and one at Albûrz;' the former mountain seems not to be mentioned in the Avesta, but the bridge is the path of the soul to the other world if righteous the soul passes by it easily over Albûrz (the confines of this world) into paradise, but if wicked it drops off the bridge into hell.

36:3 See Vend III, 23, XIX, 140. The words in brackets may perhaps be inserted by mistake, but they occur in all MSS. examined, and there is nothing inconsistent with tradition in supposing Arezûr to be the extreme northern range of the mythic Albûrz which surrounds the earth, being the place where demons chiefly congregate.

36:4 Justi adopts the reading Harpârsên, which occurs in K20 four times out of eleven, but is corrected thrice. Windischmann suggests that this mountain is the Av. skyata (or iskatâ) upairi-saêna of Yas. X, 29, and Zamyâd Yt. 3, which the Pahlavi translator of the Yasna explains as 'the Pârsên crag.' It seems to be a general name for the principal mountain ranges in the south and east of Iran, as maybe seen on comparing this passage and Chap. XXIV, 28, with Chap. XX, 16, 17, 21, 22, where the Haro, Hêtûmand, Marv, and Balkh rivers are said to spring from Mount Apârsên; but its application to the southern range is perhaps due to the etymological attempt, in the text, to connect it with Pârs. The Selections of Zâd-sparam, VII, 7, have Kînîstân for Khûgîstân.

37:1 This name can also be read Sîstân.

37:2 In § 2 it is also called Zarid, but in Zamyâd Yt. 1 Zeredhô and Aredhô-manusha are mentioned as neighbouring mountains. The word 'great' is omitted in M6.

37:3 That is, around the ranges of Albûrz, Apârsên, and Mânûs.

37:4 Perhaps intended for the Erezishô of Zamyâd Yt. 2. The description would apply to any of the mountains near Nîsâpûr.

37:5 This name is omitted in the MSS., but is taken from § 2 as suggested by Justi. Perhaps it maybe connected with 'the country of Sênî' (Chap. XV, 29), which is explained as being Kînîstân, probably the land of Samarkand, which place was formerly called Kîn, according to a passage in some MSS. of Tabari's Chronicle, quoted in Ouseley's Oriental Geography, p. 298.

37:6 Not Kâf, nor is it mentioned in the Pahlavi Vend. V, 57, as supposed by Justi; the kâf kôp ârâyad of Spiegel's edition of the Pahlavi text being a misprint for kâfakŏ pârâyad, 'it traverses a fissure' (see Haug's Essays. 2nd ed. p. 326, note 2).

38:1 The Av. Ushi-darena of Yas. I, 41, II, 54, III, 65, IV, 45, XXII, 31, XXV, 22, Aûharmazd Yt. 31, Zamyâd Yt. 0, 2, 97.

38:2 Called Arezûr-bûm in § 2, which name stands for the sixth and seventh mountains, Erezurô and Bumyô, in Zamyâd Yt. 2. The land of Arûm was the eastern empire of the Romans.

38:3 Evidently the mountain range south of the Caspian, now called Albûrz; but whether this actual Albûrz is to be considered a part of the mythic Albûrz is not very clear.

38:4 The Av. Raêvaus, 'shining,' of Zamyâd Yt. 6. It is also called the Ridge of Vistâsp (see § 34).

38:5 Or, 'the east.'

38:6 See Chap. XVII, 8.

38:7 The Av. Vâiti-gaêsô, the twelfth mountain in Zamyâd. Yt. 2; Bâdghês in Persian.

38:8 In § 2 it is Bakyir, which Justi thinks is another name for Mount Dârspêt ('white poplar'); the latter name not being repeated here makes this supposition probable.

38:9 K20 has rûm and M6 has lanman, but both explained by the Pâz. gloss Yim, which is also the reading of the Pâz. MSS. If the gloss be rejected the most probable translation would be, 'and in our days Shatrô-râm (or râmisn), the victorious, erected on it a myriad towns and cities.'

38:10 Windischmann suggests that this may he intended for the Av. skyata or iskatâ mentioned in the note on Apârsên in § 9.

39:1 The Av. Syâmaka and Vafrayau of Zamyâd Yt. 5; and probably the Siyâh-kôh and Safêd-kôh of Afghânistân. With regard to Kînŏ, see the note on § 13. The former mountain is called Sîyâk-mûî-mand, 'having black hair,' in § 2, which is certainly a more grammatical form than Sîyâk-hômand.

39:2 The Av. Spentô-dâta of Zamyâd Yt. 6.

39:3 The term var often means 'lake,' but we are not informed of any Lake Rêvand, though a mountain of that name is described in § 18; so it seems advisable to take var here in its wider sense of 'enclosure, circuit, district.'

39:4 The Av. Kadrva-aspa of Zamyâd Yt. 6.

39:5 See Chap. XXII, 3. All MSS. have Sôbar here.

39:6 If the circumflex be used in Pahlavi to indicate not only the consonant d, but also the vowel î, ê when it follows a vowel, as seems probable, this name can be read Kôîrâs; in any case, it is evidently intended for the Av. Kaoirisa in Zamyâd Yt. 6. It is written Kôndras in § 2.

39:7 The Av. Asnavau of Zamyâd Yt. 5, Âtash Nyây. 5, Sîrôz. 9. See also Chap. XVII, 7.

39:8 The Av. Raoidhitô, the eighth mountain of Zamyâd Yt. 2.

39:9 So in M6 and the Pâz. MSS., but K20 has, 'The country mountains.'

40:1 This list is evidently intended to include the chief mountains known to the author of the Bundahis, which he could not identify with any of those mentioned in the Avesta.

40:2 This is the Pâzand reading of the name, on which very little reliance can be placed; the Pahlavi can also be read Dânad, and it may be the Deana mountain, 12,000 feet high, near Kaski-zard.

40:3 See Chap. XXIX, 9. This volcanic mountain, about 20,000 feet high and near Teheran, still retains this ancient Persian name, meaning 'wintry.' It is the chief mountain of the Padashkhvârgar range, which the Bundahis evidently considers as an offshoot of the Apârsên ranges.

40:4 The present name of a mountain between Nîsâpûr and the desert.

40:5 The name of a place about midway between Astarâbâd and Nîsâpûr. This mountain is called Mîgîn in § 29, probably from a place called Mezinan in the same neighbourhood.

41:1 The Pers. Kanâbad, or Gunâbad, is near Gumin.

41:2 Another name for Mount Rêvand (§ 18). See Chap. XVII, 8.

41:3 Probably in Kirmân.

41:4 The mountain ranges of western Persia, including the Mount Zagros of classical writers.

41:5 See Chap. XXII, 2.

41:6 Probably the Merkhinah range in northern Lâristân.

41:7 The Bakhtiyârî range in the province of Ispahân.

CHAPTER XIII.

On the nature of seas it says in revelation, that the wide-formed ocean keeps one-third of this earth on the south side of the border of Albûrz , and so wide-formed is the ocean that the water of a thousand lakes is held by it, such as the source Arêdvîvsûr , which some say is the fountain lake. 2. Every particular lake is of a particular kind , some are great, and some are small; some are so large that a man with a horse might compass them around in forty days , which is 1700 leagues (parasang) in extent.

Through the warmth and clearness of the water, purifying more than other waters, everything continually flows from the source Arêdvîvsûr. 4. At the south of Mount Albûrz a hundred thousand golden channels are there formed, and that water goes with warmth and clearness, through the channels, on to Hûgar the lofty ; on the summit of that mountain is a lake ; into that lake it flows, becomes quite purified, and comes back through a different golden channel. 5. At the height of a thousand men an open golden branch from that channel is connected with Mount Aûsîndôm , amid the wide-formed ocean; from there one portion flows forth to the ocean for the purification of the sea, and one portion drizzles in moisture upon the whole of this earth, and all the creations of Aûharmazd acquire health from it, and it dispels the dryness of the atmosphere.

Of the salt seas three are principal, and twenty-three are small. 7. Of the three which are principal, one is the Pûtîk, one the Kamrûd, and one the Sahî-bûn. 8. of all three the Pûtîk  is the largest, in which is a flow and ebb, on the same side as the wide-formed ocean, and it is joined to the wide-formed ocean. 9. Amid this wide-formed ocean, on the Pûtîk side, it has a sea which they call the Gulf (var) of Satavês . 10. Thick and salt the stench  wishes to go from the sea Pûtîk to the wide-formed ocean; with a mighty high wind therefrom, the Gulf of Satavês drives away whatever is stench, and whatever is pure and clean goes into the wide-formed ocean and the source Arêdvîvsûr; and that flows back a second time to Pûtîk . 11. The control  of this sea (the Pûtîk) is connected with the moon and wind; it comes again and goes down, in increase and decrease, because of her revolving. 12. The control  also of the Gulf of Satavês is attached to the constellation Satavês, in whose protection are the seas of the southern quarter, just as those on the northern side are in the protection of Haptôk-ring . 13. Concerning the flow and ebb it is said, that everywhere from the presence of the moon two winds continually blow, whose abode is in the Gulf of Satavês, one they call the down-draught, and one the up-draught; when the up-draught blows it is the flow, and when the down-draught blows it is the ebb . 14. In the other seas there is nothing of the nature of a revolution of the moon therein, and there are no flow and ebb. 15. The sea of Kamrûd  is that which they pass by, in the north, in Taparîstân; that of Sahî-bûn  is in Arûm.

Of the small seas that which was most wholesome  was the sea Kyânsîh , such as is in Sagastân; at first, noxious creatures, snakes, and lizards (vazagh) were not in it, and the water was sweeter than in any of the other seas; later (dadîgar) it became salt; at the closest, on account of the stench, it is not possible to go so near as one league, so very great are the stench and saltness through the violence of the hot wind. 17. When the renovation of the universe occurs it will again become sweet .

Footnotes

41:8 Or perhaps better thus: 'the wide-formed ocean is in the direction of the south limit of Albûrz, and possesses one-third of this earth.'

42:1 The Av. Ardvî sûra of Âbân Yt. 1, &c.

42:2 Literally, 'for every single lake there is a single kind;' but we may perhaps read lâ, 'not,' instead of the very similar râî, 'for,' and translate as follows: 'every single lake is not of one kind;' which expresses very nearly the same meaning.

42:3 Compare Âbân Yt. 101.

42:4 See Chap. XII, 5.

42:5 Lake Urvis (see Chap. XXII, 11).

42:6 See Chaps. XII, 6, and XVIII, 10, 11.

43:1 The Av. Pûitika of Vend. V, 52, 57, and evidently the Persian Gulf.

43:2 So called from the constellation Satavês (§ 12), see Chap. 11, 7. The details given in the text are applicable to the Gulf and Sea of ’Umân, the Arabian Sea of Europeans. The description of this Gulf, given in the Pahl. Vend. V, 57, which is rather obscure, is as follows: 'In purification the impurities flow, in the purity of water, from the sea Pûtîk into the wide-formed ocean; at the southernmost side the water stands back in mist, and the blue body of Satavês stands back around it. Pûtîk stands out from the side of Satavês, this is where it is. From which side it stands is not clear to me. The water comes to Satavês through the bottom; some say that it traverses a fissure.'

43:3 Perhaps a better reading would be stûrg sûr-i gôndakîh, 'the intense saltness which is stench.' The author appears to have had some vague idea of the monsoon.

43:4 Or, perhaps, 'the other (the stench) flows back to Pûtîk.'

43:5 Reading band; but it may be bôd, 'consciousness, sensitiveness.'

44:1 See p. 43, note .

44:2 See Chap. II, 7.

44:3 This is not a confused attempt to explain the tides as the effect of the land and sea breezes, as might be suspected at first, but is a reasonable conclusion from imaginary facts. Assuming that the wind always blows eastward and westward from the moon, it follows that as the moon rises an easterly wind must blow, which may be supposed to drive the flood tide westward into the Persian Gulf; until the moon passes the meridian, when the wind, changing to the west, ought to drive the ebb tide eastward out of the Gulf thus accounting for one flow and ebb every day, dependent on the position of the moon.

44:4 Evidently the Caspian, which lies north of Taparîstân, a province including part of Mâzendarân.

44:5 Or perhaps Gâhî-bûn, meaning probably the Mediterranean or Euxine, if not both of them; the author appears merely to have heard of the existence of such a sea in Asia Minor (Arûm). In the Selections of Zâd-sparam, VI, 14, it is called Gêhân-bûn.

45:1 Comparing nîstûm with Pers. nist, 'healthy.'

45:2 The Av. Kãsu of Vend. XIX, 18, and Zamyâd Yt. 66, 92 (see also Chaps. XX, 34, and XXI, 7). A brackish lake and swamp now called Hâmûn, 'the desert,' or Zarah, 'the sea,' and which formerly contained fresher water than it does now.

45:3 The MSS. here add the first sentence of Chap. XX, and there is every reason to believe that Chaps. XX-XXII originally occupied this position, between XIII and XIV, (see the list of the contents of TD in the Introduction.).

CHAPTER XIV.

On the nature of the five classes of animals (gôspend) it says in revelation, that, when the primeval ox passed away , there where the marrow came out grain grew up , of fifty and five species, and twelve  species of medicinal plants grew; as it says, that out of the marrow is every separate creature, every single thing whose lodgment is in the marrow . 2. From the horns arose peas (mîgûk), from the nose the leek, from the blood the grapevine  from which they make wine—on this account wine abounds with blood—from the lungs the rue-like herbs, from the middle of the heart  thyme for keeping away stench, and every one of the others as revealed in the Avesta.

The seed of the ox was carried up to the moon station ; there it was thoroughly purified, and produced the manifold species of animals . 4. First, two oxen, one male and one female, and, afterwards, one pair of every single species was let go into the earth, and was discernible in Aîrân-vêg for a Hâsar ('mile'), which is like a Parasang ('league') ; as it says, that, on account of the valuableness of the ox, it was created twice, one time as an ox, and one time as the manifold species of animals. 5. A thousand days and nights they were without eating, and first water and afterwards herbage (aûrvar) were devoured by them.

And, afterwards, the three classes (kardak) of animals were produced therefrom, as it says that first were the goat and sheep, and then the camel and swine, and then the horse and ass. 7. For, first, those suitable for grazing were created therefrom, those are now kept in the valley (lâî); the second created were those of the hill summits (sar-i dêz) , which are wide-travellers, and habits (nihâdak) are not taught to them by hand; the third created were those dwelling in the water.

As for the genera (khadûînak), the first genus is that which has the foot cloven in two, and is suitable for grazing; of which a camel larger than a horse is small and new-born. 9. The second genus is ass-footed, of which the swift  horse is the largest, and the ass the least. 10. The third genus is that of the five-dividing paw, of which the dog is the largest, and the civet-cat the least. 11. The fourth genus is the flying, of which the griffon of three natures  is the largest, and the chaffinch  the least. 12. The fifth genus is that of the water, of which the Kar fish  is the largest, and the Nemadu  the least.

13, These five genera are apportioned out into two hundred and eighty-two  species (sardak). 14. First are five species of goat, the ass-goat , the milch-goat, the mountain-goat, the fawn, and the common goat. 15. Second, five species of sheep, that with a tail, that which has no tail, the dog-sheep, the wether, and the Kûrisk sheep, a sheep whose horn is great; it possesses a grandeur  like unto a horse, and they use it mostly for a steed (bâra), as it is said that Mânûs**kîhar kept a Kûrisk as a steed. 16. Third, two species of camel, the mountain one and that suitable for grazing; for one is fit to keep in the mountain, and one in the plain; they are one-humped and two-humped. 17. Fourth, fifteen species of ox, the white, mud-coloured , red, yellow, black, and dappled, the elk, the buffalo, the camel-leopard ox, the fish-chewing  ox, the Fars ox, the Kag**au, and other species of ox. 18. Fifth, eight species of horse, the Arab, the Persian, the mule , the ass, the wild ass (gôr), the hippopotamus (asp-i âvî), and other species of horse. 19. Sixth, ten species of dog, the shepherd's dog, the village-dog which is the house-protector, the blood-hound, the slender hound , the water-beaver  which they call the water-dog, the fox, the ichneumon (râsu), the hedgehog which they call 'thorny-back,' the porcupine , and the civet-cat; of which, two species are those accustomed  to burrows, one the fox and one the ichneumon; and those accustomed to jungle are such as the porcupine which has spines on its back, and the hedgehog which is similar. 20.

Seventh, five species of the black  hare; two are wild species, one dwelling in a burrow  and one dwelling in the jungle. 21. Eighth, eight species of weasel; one the marten, one the black marten, the squirrel, the Bez ermine , the white ermine, and other species of weasel. 22. Ninth, eight species of musk animals; one is that which is recognised by its musk , one the musk animal with a bag in which is their pleasant scent, the Bis-musk  which eats the Bis-herb, the black musk which is the enemy of the serpent that is numerous in rivers, and other species of musk animals. 23. Tenth, one hundred and ten species of birds; flying creatures (vey = vâî) such as the griffon bird , the Karsipt , the eagle, the Kahrkâs  which they call the vulture, the crow, the Ardâ, the crane, and the tenth  is the bat. 24. There are two of them which have milk in the teat and suckle their young, the griffon bird and the bat which flies in the night; as they say that the bat is created of three races (sardak), the race (âyina) of the dog, the bird, and the musk animal; for it flies like a bird, has many teeth like a dog, and is dwelling in holes like a musk-rat. 25. These hundred and ten species of birds are distributed into eight groups (khadûînak), mostly as scattered about as when a man scatters seed, and drops the seed in his fingers to the ground, large, middling, and small. 26. Eleventh , fish were created of ten species; first, the fish Ariz , the Arzuvâ, the Arzukâ, the Marzukâ, and other Avesta names . 27. Afterwards, within each species, species within species are created, so the total is two hundred and eighty-two species .

Of the dog they say that out of the star station, that is, away from the direction of the constellation Haptôk-rîng, was given to him further by a stage (yôgist)  than to men, on account of his protection of sheep, and as associating with sheep and men; for this the dog is purposely adapted , as three more kinds of advantage are given to him than to man, he has his own boots, his own clothing , and may wander about without self-exertion. 29. The twelfth  is the sharp-toothed beast of which the leader of the flock is in such great fear, for that flock of sheep is very badly maintained which has no dog.

Aûharmazd said when the bird Vâresha  was created by him, which is a bird of prey, thus: 'Thou art created by me, O bird Vâresha! so that my vexation may be greater than my satisfaction with thee, for thou doest the will of the evil spirit more than that of me; like the wicked man who did not become satiated with wealth, thou also dost not become satiated with the slaughter of birds; but if thou be not created by me, O bird Vâresha! thou wouldst be created by him, the evil spirit, as a kite  with the body of a Varpa , by which no creature would be left alive.'

Many animals are created in all these species for this reason, that when one shall be perishing through the evil spirit, one shall remain.

Footnotes

45:4 See Chaps. IV, 1, and X, 1.

45:5 All MSS. have lakhvâr, 'again,' but this is probably a blunder for lâlâ, 'up.'

45:6 K20 has 'fifteen' here, but 'twelve' in Chaps. X, 1, and XXVII, 2.

45:7 K20 has 'of every single thing the lodgment is in the marrow.'

46:1 Probably kadûk-i raz may mean 'the pumpkin and grape.'

46:2 Reading dîl; but the word may also be read sar, 'the head,' or jigar, 'the liver.'

46:3 See Chap. X, 2.

46:4 This translation suits both text and context very welt but gôspend pûr-sardak is evidently intended for the Av. gâus pouru-saredhô, 'the ox of many species,' of Mâh Yt. 0, 7, and Sîrôz. 12.

46:5 Reading mûn aê parasang humânâk; if 3 be read for aê the translation must be, 'three of which are like a Parasang,' for a Hâsar cannot be equal to three Parasangs (see Chaps. XVI, 70 and XXVI). The phrase in the text probably means merely that a Hâsar is a measure for long distances, just as a Parasang is.

47:1 Justi reads gîrîsak, the Av. gairishâkô, 'mountain-frequenting,' of Tîstar Yt. 36; but this is doubtful.

47:2 Pahl. zibâl = Pers. zîbâl.

47:3 The Paz. sin-i se avinâ is the Pahl. sên-i 3 khadûînak of Chap. XXIV, II, 29, the Sîn bird or Sîmurgh of Persian legends, the Av. saêna. The word avinâ is a Pâz. misreading either of âînak, 'kind, sort,' or of anganâk, 'dividing.' The mixture of Pâzand and Pahlavi in this and some other chapters is rather perplexing, but the Pâzand misreadings can usually be corrected after transliterating them back into Pahlavi characters.

47:4 Reading va taru (Pers. tar).

47:5 See Chaps. XVIII, 3, and XXIV, 13.

47:6 If this Pâzand word be written in Pahlavi letters it may be read va magan, which may stand for va magil, 'and the leech;', but this is very uncertain.

48:1 K20 alone has 272 (see Chap. X. 3).

48:2 The khar-bûz (see Chap. XXIV, 2).

48:3 Supposing se koh to be a Pâz. misreading of Pahl. sukûh. Justi's translation is: 'it inhabits the three mountains, like the horse.'

48:4 Pâz. ashgun is evidently for Pahl. hasgûn.

48:5 Transcribing the Pâz. mâhi khu ushân into Pahlavi it may be read mâhîkân-khvashân (khashân?).

48:6 Instead of these first three species M6 has 'the white, black, yellow, bay, and chestnut.' K20 omits 'the ass' by mistake.

48:7 These first four species are the Av. pasus-haurvô, vis-haurvô, vôhunazgô, and taurunô of Vend. V, 92-98, XIII, 21, 26-74, 117, 164, 165.

49:1 The Av. bawris upâpô of Âbân Yt. 129.

49:2 The word indra has usually been taken as a Pâz. misreading of the Pahl. aûdrak (Av. udra, 'otter,' of Vend. XIII, 48, 167, 169, XIV, 2), but this would be more probably read andra. The Pahl. sûgar, 'porcupine,' is just as likely to be misread indra, and its meaning suits the context better.

49:3 The Paz. âmokhtesn, which is an ungrammatical form, is evidently a misreading of the Pahl. âmûkhtagân.

49:4 K20 has seyâ, M6 has zyâgi hest. Perhaps some old copyist has corrected siyâk-gôsh into khar-gôsh, and so both the epithets have crept into the text, the word 'black' being superfluous.

49:5 Reading khan-mânist, the Pâz. khu being an obvious misreading of khan.

49:6 The Pâz. bez is written bedh in the Pâzand MS. (the z in M6 being shaped something like dh), and Justi supposes it represents the Arabic abyadh or baîdhâ, 'white,' and is explained by the Pers. sapêd, 'white,' which follows; but there is nothing in the text to indicate that the second name is an explanation of the first. It is more probable that bez represents the Pers. bîgâd, 'reddish, rufous, variegated,' an epithet quite applicable to the ermine in its summer fur.

49:7 Or, 'is known as the musk animal.'

50:1 A kind of musk-rat; the bîs it eats is said to be the Napellus Moysis.

50:2 Pahl. sênô mûrûk, the sîmurgh of Persian tradition, and Av. mereghô saênô of Bahrâm Yt. 41.

50:3 See Chap. XIX, 16.

50:4 See Chap. XIX, 25.

50:5 Counting the 'flying creatures' and 'the vulture' as distinct species, 'the bat' is the tenth. It has been generally supposed that we should read 'eleventh,' and consider the bats as an eleventh group, especially as the MSS. call the next group (the fish) the 'twelfth;' but this view is contradicted by the remarks about the bats being mingled with those about the birds, and also by Zâd-sparam in his Selections, Chap. IX, 14 (see App. to Bund.), not mentioning any group of bats among the other animals.

50:6 All the MSS. have 'twelfth,' but they give no 'eleventh' nor 'thirteenth,' though they have 'fourteenth' in § 29. These irregularities seem to indicate that part of this chapter has been omitted by some old copyist.

51:1 See Chaps. XVIII, 5, and XXIV, 13.

51:2 None of these names are found in the portion of the Avesta now extant.

51:3 K20 alone has 272 (see Chap. X, 3). The actual total number of species mentioned is 186, leaving ninety-six for the 'species within species.' Zâd-sparam in his Selections, Chap. IX, 14, differs from the numbers given in the text merely in giving ten species of ox, instead of fifteen; so the total of his details is 181, leaving 101 sub-species to make up his; grand total of 282 (see App. to Bund.)

51:4 A yôgist (compare Sans. yogana) was probably from fifteen to sixteen English miles, as it consisted of sixteen hâsar, each of one thousand steps of the two feet (see Chap. XXVI, 1). This sentence seems to imply that on account of the useful qualities of the dog he has a part of the lowermost grade of paradise allotted to him, further from the demon-haunted north than that allotted to the men whose inferior order of merit does not entitle them to enter the higher grades of paradise.

51:5 Reading âhang-hômand, 'having a purpose.'

51:6 Compare Vend. XIII, 106.

51:7 All the MSS. have 'fourteenth,' but they give no 'thirteenth.'

52:1 No doubt 'a hawk' (Pers. vâsah or bâsah), as mentioned by Justi; Av. vâre would become vâ or bâ in Persian.

52:2 Compare gûrîk with Pers. varik, varkâ, varkâk, varkak, vargâh, 'an eagle, falcon, kite, or hawk.'

52:3 Transcribing the Pâz. varpa êyi into Pahlavi we have varpak-aê, which is very nearly the same in form as varîkak-aê, 'a hut or cottage' (Pers. gurîkah-ê); so the formidable bird which the evil spirit might have created was 'a kite with a body like a cottage.'

CHAPTER XV.

On the nature of men it says in revelation, that Gâyômard, in passing away , gave forth seed; that seed was thoroughly purified by the motion of the, light of the sun, and Nêryôsang  kept charge of two portions, and Spendarmad  received one portion. 2. And in forty years, with the shape of a one stemmed Rîvâs-plant , and the fifteen years of its fifteen leaves, Matrô and Matrôyâô  grew up from the earth in such a manner that their arms rested behind on their shoulders (dôsh), and one joined to the other they were connected together and both alike. 3. And the waists of both of them were brought close and so connected together that it was not clear which is the male and which the female, and which is the one whose living soul (nismô) of Aûharmazd is not away . 4. As it is said thus: 'Which is created before, the soul (nismô) or the body? And Aûharmazd said that the soul is created before, and the body after, for him who was created; it is given into the body that it may produce activity, and the body is created only for activity;' hence the conclusion is this, that the soul (rûbân) is created before and the body after. 5. And both of them changed from the shape of a plant into the shape of man, and the breath (nismô) went spiritually into them, which is the soul (rûbân); and now, moreover, in that similitude a tree had grown up whose fruit was the ten varieties of man .

Aûharmazd spoke to Mashya and Mashyôî thus: 'You are man, you are the ancestry of the world, and you are created perfect in devotion  by me; perform devotedly the duty of the law, think good thoughts, speak good words, do good deeds, and worship no demons!' 7. Both of them first thought this, that one of them should please the other, as he is a man for him; and the first deed done by them was this, when they went out they washed  themselves thoroughly; and the first words spoken by them were these, that Aûharmazd created the water and earth, plants and animals, the stars, moon, and sun, and all prosperity whose origin and effect are from the manifestation of righteousness . 8. And, afterwards, antagonism rushed into their minds, and their minds were thoroughly corrupted, and they exclaimed that the evil spirit created the water and earth, plants and animals, and the other things as aforesaid. 9. That false speech was spoken through the will of the demons, and the evil spirit possessed himself of this first enjoyment from them; through that false speech they both became wicked, and their souls are in hell until the future existence.

And they had gone thirty days without food , covered with clothing of herbage (giyâh); and after the thirty days they went forth into the wilderness, came to a white-haired goat, and milked the milk from the udder with their mouths. 11. When they had devoured the milk Mâshya said to Mâshyôî thus: 'My delight was owing to it when I had not devoured the milk, and my delight is more delightful now when it is devoured by my vile body.' 12. That second false speech enhanced the power of the demons, and the taste of the food was taken away by them, so that out of a hundred parts one part remained.

Afterwards, in another thirty days and nights they came to a sheep, fat  and white-jawed, and they slaughtered it; and fire was extracted by them out of the wood of the lote-plum  and box-tree, through the guidance of the heavenly angels, since both woods were most productive of fire for them; and the fire was stimulated by their mouths; and the first fuel kindled by them was dry grass, kendâr, lotos, date palm leaves, and myrtle; and they made a roast of the sheep. 14. And they dropped three handfuls of the meat into the fire, and said: 'This is the share of the fire .' One piece of the rest they tossed to the sky, and said: 'This is the share of the angels.' A bird, the vulture, advanced and carried some of it away from before them, as a dog ate the first meat. 15. And, first, a clothing of skins covered them; afterwards, it is said, woven garments were prepared from a cloth woven  in the wilderness. 16. And they dug out a pit in the earth, and iron was obtained by them and beaten out with a stone, and without a forge they beat out a cutting edge  from it; and they cut wood with it, and prepared a wooden shelter from the sun (pês-khûr).

Owing to the gracelessness which they practised, the demons became more oppressive, and they themselves carried on unnatural malice between themselves; they advanced one against the other, and smote and tore their hair and cheeks . 18. Then the demons shouted out of the darkness thus: 'You are man; worship the demon! so that your demon of malice may repose.' 19. Mâshya went forth and milked a cow's milk, and poured it out towards the northern quarter; through that the demons became more powerful, and owing to them they both became so dry-backed that in fifty winters they had no desire for intercourse, and though they had had intercourse they would have had no children. 20. And on the completion of fifty years the source of desire arose, first in Mâshya and then in Mâshyôî, for Mâshya said to Mâshyôî thus: 'When I see thy shame my desires arise.' Then Mâshyôî spoke thus: 'Brother Mâshya! when I see thy great desire I am also agitated .' 21. Afterwards, it became their mutual wish that the satisfaction of their desires should be accomplished, as they reflected thus: 'Our duty even for those fifty years was this.'

From them was born in nine months a pair, male and female; and owing to tenderness for offspring  the mother devoured one, and the father one. 23. And, afterwards, Aûharmazd took tenderness for offspring away from them, so that one may nourish a child, and the child may remain.
And from them arose seven pairs, male and female, and each was a brother and sister-wife; and from every one of them, in fifty years, children were born, and they themselves died in a hundred years. 25. of those seven pairs one was Sîyâkmak, the name of the man, and Nasâk  of the woman; and from them a pair was born, whose names were Fravâk of the man and Fravâkaîn of the woman. 26. From them fifteen pairs were born, every single pair of whom became a race (sardak); and from them the constant continuance of the generations of the world arose.

Owing to the increase (zâyisn) of the whole fifteen races, nine races proceeded on the back of the ox Sarsaok , through the wide-formed ocean, to the other six regions (kêshvar), and stayed there; and six races of men remained in Khvanîras. 28. Of those six races the name of the man of one pair was Tâz and of the woman Tâzak, and they went to the plain of the Tâzîkân (Arabs); and of one pair Hôshyang  was the name of the man and Gûzak of the woman, and from them arose the Airânakân (Iranians); and from one pair the Mâzendarân  have arisen. 29. Among the number (pavan aê mar) were those who are in the countries of Sûrâk , those who are in the country of Anêr , those who are in the countries of Tûr, those who are in the country of Salm which is Arûm, those who are in the country of Sênî, that which is Kînîstân, those who are in the country of Dâî , and those who are in the country of Sînd . 30. Those, indeed, throughout the seven regions are all from the lineage of Fravâk, son of Sîyâkmak, son of Mâshya.

As there were ten varieties of man , and fifteen races from Fravâk, there were twenty-five races all from the seed of Gâyômard; the varieties are such as those of the earth, of the water, the breast-eared, the breast-eyed, the one-legged, those also who have wings like a bat, those of the forest, with tails, and who have hair on the body .

Footnotes

52:4 See Chap. IV, 1.

53:1 Av. Nairyô-sangha of Yas. XVII, 68, LXX, 92, Vend. XIX, 111, 112, XXII, 22, &c.; the angel who is said to be Aûharmazd's usual messenger to mankind.

53:2 The female archangel who is supposed to have special charge of the earth (see Chap. I, 26).

53:3 A plant allied to the rhubarb, the shoots of which supply an acid juice used by the Persians for acidulating preserves and drinks.

53:4 These names are merely variants of the Mâshya and Mâshyôî of the latter part of this chapter (nom. dual, m. and f., of Av. mashya, 'mortal'). This is shown by the Pandnâmak-i Zaratûst, saying: 'and my human nature is from Matrôîh and Matrô-yâôîh, from which first generation and seed from Gâyômard I have sprung.' And the names are also found in the more Persian forms Maharîh and Maharîyâôyîh (see the note to § 22). Windischmann considered the meaning to be that 'they grew up on the day Mitrô of the month Mitrô,' that is, the sixteenth day of the seventh month of the Parsi year; this is not confirmed, however, by Zâd-sparam in his Selections, Chap. X, 4 (see App. to Bund.)

53:5 That is, whether they had souls or not. That nismô is the Huzvâris for rûbân, 'soul,' appears clearly in § 4, where both words are used for the same thing.

54:1 This evidently refers to another tree, which is supposed to have produced the ten varieties of human monstrosities (see § 31).

54:2 This would be a translation of the Avesta phrase, 'the best of Ârmaiti (the spirit of the earth).'

54:3 Comparing mêgîd with Pers. magîd; but the verb is very ambiguous, as it may mean, 'they feasted themselves,' or 'they made water.'

54:4 The last phrase appears to be quoted from the Pahlavi Hâdôkht Nask, I, 2.

55:1 Reading akhûrisn instead of the khûrisn of all MSS. which is hardly intelligible. Perhaps âv-khûrisn, 'drinking water,' ought to be read, as it is alluded to in Chap. XXX, 1.

55:2 Comparing gefar with Av. garewa and Pers. garb, but this identification may not be correct.

55:3 The kûnâr, a thorny tree, allied to the jujube, which bears a small plum-like fruit.

56:1 Most of this sentence is omitted in K20 by mistake.

56:2 Reading khês-1-i tad, which Pahlavi words might be easily misread ashâbê tad, as given in Pâzand in the text. That Pâz. tadha stands for Pahl. tadak (Pers. tadah, 'spun, woven') is quite certain.

56:3 Or 'an axe,' according as we read têkh or tash. The order of the foregoing words, barâ tapâk-1, 'without a forge,' appears to have been reversed by mistake.

56:4 Reading rôd as equivalent to Pers. rûî, 'face,' but it ought to be rôd. Perhaps the word is lût, 'bare,' and the translation should be, 'tore their hair bare.'

57:1 This is merely a paraphrase of the original.

57:2 Or, 'the deliciousness of children' (shîrînîh-i farzand). Justi has, 'owing to an eruption on the children the mother deserted one,' &c.; but the legend of devouring the first children is still more clearly mentioned in the Pahlavi Rivâyat, which forms the first book of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk (preceding the ninety-two questions and answers to which that name is usually applied) as follows: Maharîh va Maharîyâôyîh dûshâram râî nazdistô farzand-i nafsman barâ vastamûnd, 'Mashya and Mâshyôî, through affection, at first ate up their own offspring.'

58:1 Or 'Vasâk.'

58:2 See Chaps. XVII, 4, XIX, 13; the name is here written Srisaok in the MSS., and is a Pâzand reading in all three places.

58:3 Av. Haoshyangha of Âbân Yt. 21, Gôs Yt. 3, Fravardîn Yt. 137, Râm Yt. 7, Ashi Yt. 24, 26, Zamyâd Yt. 26. His usual epithet is paradhâta (Pahl. pês-dâd), which is thus explained in the Pahlavi Vend. XX, 7: 'this early law (pês-dâdîh) was this, that he first set going the law of sovereignty.' For this reason he is considered to be the founder of the earliest, or Pêsdâdian, dynasty. See Chaps. XXXI, 1, XXXIV, 3, 4.

58:4 The people of the southern coast of the Caspian, the Mâzainya daêva, 'Mâzainyan demons or idolators,' of the Avesta.

59:1 Not Syria (which is Sûristân, see Chap. XX, 10), but the Sûrîk of the Pahlavi Vend. I, 14, which translates Av. Sughdha, the land east of the Oxus (see Chap. XX, 8). Windischmann reads it as Pâz. Erâk.

59:2 Probably for Av. anairya, 'non-Aryan,' which seems specially applied to the lands east of the Caspian.

59:3 The countries of Tûr, Salm, Sênî, and Dâî are all mentioned successively in Fravardîn Yt. 143, 144, in their Avesta forms Tûirya, Sairima, Sâini and Dâhi. The country of Tûr was part of the present Turkistân, that of Salm is rightly identified with Arûm (the eastern Roman Empire, or Asia Minor) in the text; the country of Sênî (miswritten Sênd), being identified with Kînîstân, was probably the territory of Samarkand, and may perhaps be connected with Mount Kînŏ (see Chap. XII, 2, 13); and the land of Dâî must be sought somewhere in the same neighbourhood.

59:4 Bactria or any part of north-western India may be intended; wherever Brahmans and Buddhists existed (as they did in Bactria) was considered a part of India in Sasanian times.

59:5 Grown on a separate tree (see § 5).

59:6 Only seven varieties of human monsters are here enumerated, for the last three details seem to refer to one variety, the monkeys. The Parsi MS. of miscellaneous texts, M7 (fol. 120), says, 'The names of the ten species of men are the breast-eyed, the three-eyed, the breast-eared, the elephant-eared, the one-legged, the web-footed, the leopard-headed, the lion-headed, the camel-headed, and the dog-headed.'

CHAPTER XVI.

On the nature of generation it says in revelation, that a woman when she comes out from menstruation, during ten days and nights, when they go near unto her, soon becomes pregnant. 2. When she is cleansed from her menstruation, and when the time for pregnancy has come, always when the seed of the man is the more powerful a son arises from it; when that of the woman is the more powerful, a daughter; when both seeds are equal, twins and triplets. 3. If the male seed comes the sooner, it adds to the female, and she becomes robust; if the female seed comes the sooner, it becomes blood, and the leanness of the female arises therefrom.
The female seed is cold and moist, and its flow is from the loins, and the colour is white, red, and yellow; and the male seed is hot and dry, its flow is from the brain of the head, and the colour is white and mud-coloured (hasgûn). 5. All  the seed of the females which issues beforehand, takes a place within the womb, and the seed of the males will remain above it, and will fill the space of the womb; whatever refrains therefrom becomes blood again, enters into the veins of the females, and at the time any one is born it becomes milk and' nourishes him, as all milk arises from the seed of the males, and the blood is that of the females.

These four things, they say, are male, and these female: the sky, metal, wind, and fire are male, and are never otherwise; the water, earth, plants, and fish are female, and are never otherwise; the remaining creation consists of male and female.

As regards the fish  it says that, at the time of excitement, they go forwards and come back in the water, two and two, the length of a mile (hâsar), which is one-fourth of a league (parasang), in the running water; in that coming and going they then rub their bodies together, and a kind of sweat drops out betwixt them, and both become pregnant.

Footnotes

60:1 M6 has 'always.'

61:1 K20 has 'the male fish,' which is inconsistent with the preceding sentence.

CHAPTER XVII.

On the nature of fire it says in revelation, that fire is produced of five kinds, namely, the fire Berezi-savang , the fire which shoots up before Aûharmazd the lord; the fire Vohu-fryãn , the fire which is in the bodies of men and animals; the fire Urvâzist , the fire which is in plants; the fire Vâzist , the fire which is in a cloud which stands opposed to Spêngargâk in conflict; the fire Spênist , the fire which they keep in use in the world, likewise the fire of Vâhrâm . 2. Of those five fires one consumes both water and food, as that which is in the bodies of men; one consumes water and consumes no food, as that which is in plants, which live and grow through water; one consumes food and consumes no water, as that which they keep in use in the world, and likewise the fire of Vâhrâm; one consumes no water and no food, as the fire Vâzist. 3. The Berezi-savang is that in the earth and mountains and other things, which  Aûharmazd created, in the original creation, like three breathing souls (nismô); through the watchfulness and protection due to them the world ever develops (vakhshêd).

And in the reign of Takhmôrup , when men continually passed, on the back of the ox Sarsaok , from Khvanîras to the other regions, one night amid the sea the wind rushed upon  the fireplace—the fireplace in which the fire was, such as was provided in three places on the back of the ox—which the wind dropped with the fire into the sea; and all those three fires, like three breathing souls, continually shot up in the place and position of the fire on the back of the ox, so that it becomes quite light, and the men pass again through the sea. 5. And in the reign of Yim  every duty was performed more fully through the assistance of all those three fires; and the fire Frôbak  was established by him at the appointed place (dâd-gâs) on the Gadman-hômand ('glorious') mountain in Khvârizem , which Yim constructed for them; and the glory of Yim saves the fire Frôbak from the hand of Dahâk . 6. In the reign of King Vistâsp, upon revelation from the religion , it was established, out of Khvârizem, at the Rôshan ('shining') mountain in Kâvulistân, the country of Kâvul (Kâbul), just as it remains there even now.

The fire Gûsasp, until the reign of Kaî-Khûsrôb  continually afforded the world protection in the manner aforesaid ; and when Kaî-Khûsrôb  was extirpating the idol-temples of Lake Kêkast  it settled upon the mane of his horse, and drove away the darkness and gloom, and made it quite light, so that they might extirpate the idol-temples; in the same locality the fire Gûsasp was established at the appointed place on the Asnavand mountain .

The fire Bûrzîn-Mitrô, until the reign of King Vistâsp, ever assisted , in like manner, in the world, and continually afforded protection; and when the glorified  Zaratûst was introduced to produce confidence in the progress of the religion, King Vistâsp and his offspring were steadfast in the religion of God. , and Vistâsp established this fire at the appointed place on Mount Rêvand, where they say the Ridge of Vistâsp (pûst-i Vistâspân) is .

All those three fires are the whole body of the fire of Vâhrâm, together with the fire of the world, and those breathing souls are lodged in them; a counterpart of the body of man when it forms in the womb of the mother, and a soul from the spirit-world settles within it, which controls the body while living; when that body dies, the body mingles with the earth, and the soul goes back to the spirit.

Footnotes

61:2 These Avesta names of the five kinds of fire are enumerated in Yas. XVII, 63-67, and the Pahlavi translation of that passage interchanges the attributes ascribed to the first and fifth in the text, thus it calls the first 'the fire of sublime benefit in connection with Varahrân (Bahrâm).' See also Selections of Zâd-sparam, XI, 1.

61:3 'The fire of the good diffuser (or offerer), that within the bodies of men' (Pahl. Yas. XVII, 64).

61:4 'The fire of prosperous (or abundant) life, that within plants' (Pahl. Yas. XVII, 65).

62:1 'The fire Vâzist, that which smites the demon Spengargâ' (Pahl. Yas. XVII, 66). See Chap. VII, 12.

62:2 'The propitious fire which stands in heaven before Aûharmazd in a spiritual state' (Pahl. Yas. XVII, 67).

62:3 The Bahrâm fire, or sacred fire at places of worship.

62:4 M6 has min, instead of mûn, which alters the translation, but not the meaning. This appears to be a different account of the fire Berezi-savang to that given in § 1, but it merely implies that it is fire in its spiritual state, and the name can, therefore, be applied to any natural fire which can be attributed to supernatural agency, such as burning springs of petroleum, volcanic eruptions, ignis fatuus, phosphorescence of the sea, &c.

62:5 The second Pêsdâdian monarch (see Chaps. XXXI, 2, 3, XXXIV, 4).

62:6 Written Srisaok in the MSS. in Chap. XV, 27; where it also appears that the sea was 'the wide-formed ocean.' See likewise Chap. XIX, 13.

63:1 Compare staft with Pers. sitâftan, 'to hasten.'

63:2 The third Pêsdâdian monarch (see Chaps. XXXI, 3, 4, XXXIV, 4).

63:3 Also written Frôbŏ, Frôbâ, Frôbâk, or Frôbâg.

63:4 The Av. H**vâirizem of Mihir Yt. 14, a province east of the Caspian.

63:5 It is doubtful whether va gadman, 'and the glory,' or nismô, 'the soul, reason' (see Chaps. XXIII, 1, XXXIV, 4), should be read. And it may even be that 'the fire Frôbak saves the soul of Yim,' &c. For Dahâk see Chaps. XXXI, 6, XXXIV, 5.

63:6 Or, I upon declaration from revelation!

63:7 Here written Kai-Khûsrôbî.

63:8 In § 3. The 'three breathing souls' of spiritual fire are supposed to be incorporated in its three earthly representatives, the fires Frôbak, Gûsasp, and Bûrzîn-Mitrô respectively.

64:1 That is, of the province around that lake (see Chap. XXII, 2).

64:2 See Chap. XII, 26. Compare Selections of Zâd-sparam, VI, 22.

64:3 Taking vagîd as equivalent to Pers. guzîd; but it may be equivalent to Pers. vazîd, 'grew, shot up.'

64:4 The epithet anôshak-rûbân (Pers. nôshirvân) means literally 'immortal-souled.'

64:5 Or, 'of the angels,' which plural form is often used to express 'God.'

64:6 See Chap. XII, 18, 34.

CHAPTER XVIII.

On the nature of the tree they call Gôkard  it says in revelation, that it was the first day when the tree they call Gôkard grew in the deep mud  within the wide-formed ocean; and it is necessary as a producer of the renovation of the universe, for they prepare its immortality therefrom. 2. The evil spirit has formed therein, among those which enter as opponents, a lizard  as an opponent in that deep water, so that it may injure the Hôm . 3. And for keeping away that lizard, Aûharmazd has created there ten Kar fish  which, at all times, continually circle around the Hôm, so that the head of one of those fish is continually towards the lizard. 4. And together with the lizard those fish are spiritually fed , that is, no food is necessary for them; and till the renovation of the universe they remain in contention. 5. There are places where that fish is written of as 'the Ariz  of the water;' as it says that the greatest of the creatures of Aûharmazd is that fish, and the greatest of those proceeding from the evil spirit is that lizard; with the jaws of their bodies, moreover, they snap in two whatever of the creatures of both spirits has entered between them, except that one fish which is the Vâs of Pankâsadvarân . 6. This, too, is said, that those fish are so serpent-like  in that deep water, they know the scratch (mâlisn) of a needle's point by which the water shall increase, or by which it is diminishing.

Regarding the Vâs of Pankâsadvarân it is declared that it moves within the wide-formed ocean, and its length is as much as what a man, while in a swift race, will walk from dawn till when the sun goes down; so much that it does not itself move  the length of the whole of its great body. 8. This, too, is said, that the creatures of the waters live also specially under its guardianship.

The tree of many seeds has grown amid the wide-formed ocean, and in its seed are all plants; some say it is the proper-curing, some the energetic-curing, some the all-curing .

Between  these trees of such kinds  is formed the mountain with cavities, 9999 thousand myriads in number, each myriad being ten thousand. 11. Unto that mountain is given the protection of the waters, so that water streams forth from there, in the rivulet channels, to the land of the seven regions, as the source of all the sea-water in the land of the seven regions is from there .

Footnotes

65:1 A corruption of the Av. gaokerena of Vend. XX, 17, Aûharmazd Yt. 30, Haptân Yt. 3, Sîrôz, 7. In the old MSS. of the Bundahis the form gôkard occurs thrice, gôkarn once, and gogrv once.

65:2 Reading gil, 'mud.' Windischmann and Justi prefer gar, 'mountain,' and have 'depth of the mountain.'

65:3 That the writer of the Bundahis applies the term vazagh to a lizard, rather than a frog, appears from the 'log-like lizard's body' of Chap. III, 9.

65:4 That is, the Gôkard tree, which is the white Hôm (see Chap. XXVII, 4).

65:5 The Av. karô masyô of Vend. XIX, 140, Bahrâm Yt. 29, Dîn Yt. 7; see also Chap. XXIV, 13.

65:6 Windischmann and Justi prefer translating thus: 'Moreover, the lizard is the spiritual food of those fish;' but this can hardly be reconciled with the Pahlavi text.

66:1 See Chaps. XIV, 26, and XXIV, 13.

66:2 The Av. vâsîm yãm pan**kâsadvarãm of Yas. XLI, 27.

66:3 Transcribing the Pâz. mârâdu into Pahlavi we have mâr âyin, 'snake's manner.' Compare the text with Bahrâm Yt. 29.

66:4 K20 omits the words from 'walk' to 'move.'

66:5 This is the tree of the saêna or Simurgh, as described in Rashnu Yt. 17, and these three epithets are translations of its three titles, hubis, eredhwô-bis, and vîspô-bis. See also Chap. XXVII, 2, 3.

67:1 This must have been the original meaning of the Huz. dên (bên in the Sasanian inscriptions) before it was used as a synonym of Pâz. andar, 'within.' The mountain is between the white-Hôm tree and the tree of many seeds.

67:2 Transcribing the Pâz. oînoh into Pahlavi we have ân-gûnak, 'that kind;' or the word may be a miswriting of Pâz. ânô, 'there.'

67:3 This description of the mountain seems to identify it with the Aûsîndôm mountain of Chaps. XII, 6, and XIII, 5.

CHAPTER XIX.

Regarding the three-legged a ass  they say, that it stands amid the wide-formed ocean, and its feet are three, eyes six, mouths  nine, ears two, and horn one, body white, food spiritual, and it is righteous. 2. And two of its six eyes are in the position of eyes, two on the; top of the head, and two in the position of the hump ; with the sharpness of those six eyes it overcomes and destroys. 3. Of the nine mouths three are in the head, three in the hump, and three in the inner part of the flanks; and each mouth is about the size of a cottage, and it is itself as large as Mount Alvand . 4. Each one of the three feet, when it is placed on the ground, is as much as a flock (gird) of a thousand sheep comes under when they repose together; and each pastern  is so great in its circuit that a thousand men with a thousand horses may pass inside. 5. As for the two ears it is Mâzendarân which they will encompass. 6. The one horn is as it were of gold and hollow, and a thousand branch horns  have grown upon it, some befitting  a camel, some befitting a horse, some befitting an ox, some befitting an ass, both great and small. 7. With that horn it will vanquish and dissipate all the vile corruption due to the efforts of noxious creatures.

When that ass shall hold its neck in the ocean its ears will terrify (asahmêd), and all the water of the wide-formed ocean will shake with agitation, and the side of Ganâvad  will tremble (shîvanêd). 9. When it utters a cry all female water-creatures, of the creatures of Aûharmazd, will become pregnant; and all pregnant noxious water-creatures, when they hear that cry, will cast their young. 10. When it stales in the ocean all the sea-water will become purified, which is in the seven regions of the earth—it is even on that account when all asses which come into water stale in the water—as it says thus: 'If, O three-legged ass! you were not created for the water, all the water in the sea would have perished from the contamination which the poison of the evil spirit has brought into its water, through the death of the creatures of Aûharmazd.'

Tîstar seizes the water  more completely from the ocean with the assistance of the three-legged ass. 12. Of ambergris also (ambar-ik) it is declared, that it is the dung of the three-legged ass; for if it has much spirit food, then also the moisture of the liquid nourishment goes through the veins pertaining to the body into the urine, and the dung is cast away.

Of the ox Hadhayôs , which they call Sarsaok , it says, that in the original creation men passed from region to region upon it, and in the renovation of the universe they prepare Hûsh (the beverage producing immortality) from it. 14. It is said, that life is in the hand of that foremost man, at the end of his years , who has constructed the most defences around this earth, until the renovation of the universe is requisite.

Regarding the bird Kâmrôs  it says, that it is on the summit of Mount Albûrz; and every three years many come from the non-Iranian districts for booty (gird) , by going to bring damage (zîyân) on the Iranian districts, and to effect the devastation of the world; then the angel Bûrg , having come up from the low country of Lake Arag , arouses that very bird Kâmrôs, and it flies upon the loftiest of all the lofty mountains, and picks up all those non-Iranian districts as a bird does corn.

Regarding Karsipt  they say, that it knew how to speak words, and brought the religion to the enclosure which Yim made, and circulated it; there they utter the Avesta in the language of birds.

Regarding the ox-fish they say, that it exists in all seas; when it utters a cry all fish become pregnant, and all noxious water-creatures cast their young.

The griffon bird , which is a bat, is noticed (kard) twice in another chapter (babâ).

Regarding the bird Ashôzust , which is the bird Zobara -vahman and also the bird Sôk , they say that it has given an Avesta with its tongue; when it speaks the demons tremble at it and take nothing away there; a nail-paring, when it is not prayed over (afsûd), the demons and wizards seize, and like an arrow it shoots at and kills that bird. 20. On this account the bird seizes and devours a nail-paring, when it is prayed over, so that the demons may not control its use; when it is not prayed over it does not devour it, and the demons are able to commit an offence with it.

Also other beasts and birds are created all in opposition to noxious creatures, as it says, that when the birds and beasts are all in opposition to noxious creatures and wizards, &c.  22. This, too, it says, that of all precious  birds the crow (valâgh) is the most precious. 23, Regarding the white falcon it says, that it kills the serpent with wings. 24. The magpie (kâskînak) bird kills the locust, and is created in opposition to it. 25. The Kahrkâs , dwelling in decay, which is the vulture, is created for devouring dead matter (nasâî); so also are the crow (valâk)  and the mountain kite.

The mountain ox, the mountain goat, the deer, the wild ass, and other beasts devour all snakes. 27. So also, of other animals, dogs are created in opposition to the wolf species, and for securing the protection of sheep; the fox is created in opposition to the demon Khava; the ichneumon is created in opposition to the venomous snake (garzak) and other noxious creatures in burrows; so also the great musk-animal is created in opposition  to ravenous intestinal worms (kadûk-dânak garzak). 28. The hedgehog is created in opposition to the ant which carries off grain , as it says, that the hedgehog, every time that it voids urine into an ant's nest, will destroy a thousand ants; when the grain-carrier travels over the earth it produces a hollow track ; when the hedgehog travels over it the track goes away from it, and it becomes level. 29. The water-beaver is created in opposition to the demon which is in the water. 30. The conclusion is this, that, of all beasts and birds and fishes, every one is created in opposition to some noxious creature.

Regarding the vulture (karkâs) it says, that, even from his highest flight, he sees when flesh the size of a fist is on the ground; and the scent of musk is created under his wing, so that if, in devouring dead matter, the stench of the dead matter comes out from it, he puts his head back under the wing and is comfortable again. 32. Regarding the Arab horse they say, that if, in a dark night, a single hair occurs on the ground, he sees it.

The cock is created in opposition to demons and wizards, co-operating with the dog; as it says in revelation, that, of the creatures of the world, those which are co-operating with Srôsh , in destroying the fiends, are the cock and the dog. 34. This, too, it says, that it would not have been managed if I had not created the shepherd's dog, which is the Pasus-haurva , and the house watchdog, the Vis-haurva ; for it says in revelation, that the dog is a destroyer of such a fiend as covetousness, among those which are in the nature (aîtîh) of man and of animals. 35. Moreover it says, that, inasmuch as it will destroy all the disobedient, when it barks it will destroy pain ; and its flesh and fat are remedies for driving away decay and pain from men .

Aûharmazd created nothing useless whatever, for all these (kolâ aê) are created for advantage; when one does not understand the reason of them, it is necessary to ask the Dastûr ('high-priest'), for his five dispositions (khûk)  are created in this way that he may continually destroy the fiend (or deceit).

Footnotes

67:4 The Av. khara, 'which is righteous and which stands in the middle of the wide-shored ocean' (Yas. XLI, 28). Darmesteter, in his Ormazd et Ahriman (pp. 148-151), considers this mythological monster as a meteorological myth, a personification of clouds and storm; and, no doubt, a vivid imagination may trace a striking resemblance between some of the monster's attributes and certain fanciful ideas regarding the phenomena of nature; the difficulty is to account for the remaining attributes, and to be sure that these fanciful ideas were really held by Mazdayasnians of old. Another plausible view is to consider such mythological beings as foreign gods tolerated by the priesthood, from politic motives, as objects worthy of reverence; even as the goddess Anâhita was tolerated in the form of the angel of water.

67:5 This is the traditional meaning of the word, which (if this meaning be correct) ought probably to be read yông, and be traced to Av. eeaungh (Yas. XXVIII, ii). In the MSS. the word is marked as if it were pronounced gûnd, which means 'a testicle.'

68:1 The hump is probably supposed to be over the shoulders, as in the Indian ox, and not like that of the camel.

68:2 Near Hamadân, rising 11,000 feet above the sea, or 6000 above Hamadân. It may be one of the Av. Aurvantô of Zamyâd Yt. 3. The Pâzand MSS. read Hunavand.

68:3 Literally, 'the small of the foot,' khûrdak-i ragelman.

68:4 Or, 'a thousand cavities (srûbŏ, Pers. surub, ‘cavern’) have grown in it.'

68:5 Reading zîyâk; compare Pers. ziyîdan, 'to suit, befit.'

69:1 A mountain (see Chap. XII, 29, 34).

69:2 See Chap. VII, 11.

69:3 Written Hadayâvs in the MSS. in Chap. XXX, 25, and Hadhayãs in the Dâdistân-i Dînîk, Part II, reply 89; it is a Pâzand reading in all three places.

69:4 See Chaps. XV, 27, XVII, 4.

70:1 Transcribing the Pâz. svadyi into Pahlavi we have snatîh, 'term of years.' The whole sentence is very obscure.

70:2 Written Kamrôs in Chap. XXIV, 29. It is the Av. Kamraos (gen. of Kamru) of Fravardîn Yt. 109. See also Chap. XVII, 3.

70:3 Or, 'to an assembly.'

70:4 The Av. Beregya of Yas. I, 21, II, 27, III, 35, 'a spirit cooperating with the Ushahina Gâh, who causes the increase of herds and corn.'

70:5 Or, 'of the district of Arag' (see the note on Chap. XII, 23). Although no Lake Arag is described in Chap. XXII, some of the epithets referring to its Avesta equivalent Rangha are more applicable to a lake than to a river, as in Bahrâm Yt. 29. Possibly the low lands between the Caspian and Aral, or on the shores of the Caspian, are meant.

70:6 The Av. vis karsipta of Vend. II, 139, where, however, vis does not mean 'bird,' and the Pahlavi translator calls it 'a quadruped.' In the Pahl. Visp. I, 1, 'the Karsipt is the chief of flying creatures,' and the Bundahis also takes it as a bird (see Chaps. XIV, 23, XXIV, 11).

71:1 See Chaps. XIV, 11, 23, 24, XXIV, 11, 29.

71:2 The Av. Ashô-zusta of Vend. XVII, 26, 28.

71:3 Compare Pers. zûlah, 'a sparrow or lark.'

71:4 Compare Pers. sak, 'a magpie.'

71:5 This quotation is evidently left incomplete.

71:6 The Pahlavi word is ambiguous; it may be read zîl, 'cheap, common,' or it may be zagar = yakar, 'dear, precious,' but the latter seems most probable, although the crow is perhaps as 'common' as it is 'precious,' as a scavenger in the East. Singularly enough Pers. arzân is a synonym to both words, as it means both 'cheap' and 'worthy.'

72:1 The Av. kahrkâsa of Vend. III, 66, IX, 181, Âbân Yt. 61, Mihir Yt. 129; its epithet zarmân-mânisn, 'dwelling in decay,' is evidently intended as a translation of the Av. zarenumainis, applied to it in Bahrâm Yt. 33, Dîn Yt. 13.

72:2 The text should probably be valâk-i sîyâk va sâr-i gar, 'the black crow and the mountain kite,' which are given as different birds in Shâyast-lâ-shâyast, II, 5.

72:3 K20 omits the words from this 'opposition' to the next one.

72:4 The môr-i dânak-kash is the Av. maoiris dânô-karsô of Vend. XIV, 14, XVI; 28, XVIII, 146.

73:1 Comparing sûrâk with Pers. surâgh in preference to sûrâkh or sûlâkh, 'a hole.'

73:2 Av. Sraosha, the angel who is said specially to protect the world from demons at night; he is usually styled 'the righteous,' and is the special opponent of the demon Aêshm, 'Wrath' (see Chap. XXX, 29).

73:3 These are the Avesta names of those two kinds of dog (see Chap. XIV, 19).

74:1 Or it may be thus: 'For it says thus: Wherewith will it destroy? When it barks it will destroy the assembly (gird) of all the disobedient.'

74:2 This is the most obvious meaning, but Spiegel (in a note to Windischmann's Zoroastrische Studien, p. 95) translates both this sentence and the next very differently, so as to harmonize with Vend. XIII, 78, 99.

74:3 The five dispositions (khîm) of priests are thus detailed in old Pahlavi MSS.: 'First, innocence; second, discreetness of thoughts, words, and deeds; third, holding the priestly office as that of a very wise and very true-speaking master, who has learned religion attentively and teaches it truly; fourth, celebrating the worship of God (yazdân) with a ritual (nîrang) of rightly spoken words and scriptures known by heart (narm naskîhâ); fifth, remaining day and night propitiatingly in his vocation, struggling with his own resistance (hamêstâr), and, all life long, not turning away from steadfastness in religion, and being energetic in his vocation.'

CHAPTER XX.

On the nature of rivers it says in revelation, that these two rivers flow forth from the north, part from Albûrz and part from the Albûrz of Aûharmazd ; one towards the west, that is the Arag , and one towards the east, that is the Vêh river. 2. After them eighteen rivers flowed forth from the same source, just as the remaining waters have flowed forth from them in great multitude; as they say that they flowed out so very fast, one from the other, as when a man recites one Ashem-vohû  of a series (padîsâr). All of those, with the same water, are again mingled with these rivers, that is, the Arag river and Vêh river. 4. Both of them continually circulate through the two extremities of the earth, and pass into the sea; and all the regions feast owing to the discharge (zahâk) of both, which, after both arrive together at the wide-formed ocean, returns to the sources whence they flowed out; as it says in revelation, that just as the light comes in through Albûrz and goes out through Albûrz , the water also comes out through Albûrz and goes away through Albûrz. 5. This, too, it says, that the spirit of the Arag begged of Aûharmazd thus: 'O first omniscient creative power ! from whom the Vêh river begged for the welfare that thou mightest grant, do thou then grant it in my quantity!' 6. The spirit of the Vêh river similarly begged of Aûharmazd for the Arag river; and on account of loving assistance, one towards the other, they flowed forth with equal strength, as before the coming of the destroyer they proceeded without rapids, and when the fiend shall be destroyed  they will again be without rapids.

Of those eighteen principal rivers, distinct from the Arag river and Vêh river, and the other rivers which flow out from them, I will mention the more famous : the Arag river, the Vêh river, the Diglat  river they call also again the Vêh river , the Frât river, the Dâîtîk river, the Dargâm river, the Zôndak river, the Harôî river, the Marv river, the Hêtûmand river, the Akhôshir river, the Nâvadâ  river, the Zîsmand river, the Khvegand river, the Balkh river, the Mehrvâ river they call the Hendvâ river, the Spêd  river, the Rad  river which they call also the Koir, the Khvaraê river which they call also the Mesrgân, the Harhaz  river, the Teremet river, the Khvanaîdis  river, the Dâraga river, the Kâsîk river, the Sêd  ('shining') river Pêdâ-meyan or Katru-meyan river of Mokarstân.
I will mention them also a second time: the Arag  river is that of which it is said that it comes out from Albûrz in the land of Sûrâk , in which they call it also the Âmi; it passes on through the land of Spêtos, which they also call Mesr, and they call it there the river Niv . 9. The Vêh  river passes on in the east, goes through the land of Sînd , and flows to the sea in Hindûstân, and they call it there the Mehrâ  river. 10. The sources of the Frât  river are from the frontier of Arûm, they feed upon it in Sûristân, and it flows to the Diglat river; and of this Frât it is  that they produce irrigation over the land. 11. It is declared that Mânûs**kîhar excavated the sources, and cast back the water all to one place, as it says thus 'I reverence the Frât, full of fish, which Mânûs**kîhar excavated for the benefit of his own soul, and he seized the water and gave to drink ,' 12. The Diglat  river comes out from Salmân , and flows to the sea in Khûgîstân. 13. The Dâîtîk  river is the river which comes out from Aîrân-vêg, and goes out through the hill-country ; of all rivers the noxious creatures in it are most, as it says, that the Dâîtîk river is full of noxious creatures. 14. The Dargâm river is in Sûde. 15. The Zend  river passes through the mountains of Pangistân, and flows away to the Haro river. 16. The Haro  river flows out from the Apârsên range . 17. The Hêtûmand  river is in Sagastân, and its sources are from the Apârsên range; this is distinct from that which Frâsîyâv conducted away . 18. The river Akhôshir is in Kûmîs . 19. The Zîsmand  river, in the direction of Soghd, flows away towards the Khvegand river. 20. The Khvegand  river goes on through the midst of Samarkand and Pargâna, and they call it also the river Ashârd. 21. The Marv  river, a glorious river in the east , flows out from the Apârsên range. 22. The Balkh river comes out from the Apârsên mountain of Bâmîkân , and flows on to the Vêh  river. 23. The Spêd  river is in Âtarô-pâtakân; they say that Dahâk begged a favour  here from Aharman and the demons. 24. The Tort  river, which they call also the Koir, comes out from the sea of Gîklân , and flows to the sea of Vergân . 25. The Zahâvayi  is the river which comes out from Âtarô-pâtakân, and flows to the sea in Pârs. 26. The sources of the Khvaraê  river are from Spâhân ; it passes on through Khûgîstân, flows forth to the Diglat  river, and in Spâhân they call it the Mesrkân  river. 27. The Harhaz  river is in Taparîstân, and its sources are from Mount Dimâvand. 28. The Teremet  river flows away to the Vêh river. 29. The Vendeses  river is in that part of Pârs which they call Sagastân. 30. The Kâsak  river comes out through a ravine (kâf) in the province of Tûs , and they call it there the Kasp river; moreover, the river, which is there the Vêh, they call the Kâsak ; even in Sînd they call it the Kâsak. 31. The Pêdâk-mîyân , which is the river Katru-mîyân, is that which is in Kangdez . 32. The Dâraga river is in Aîrân-vêg, on the bank (bâr) of which was the dwelling of Pôrûshasp, the father of Zaratûst . 33. The other innumerable waters and rivers, springs and channels are one in origin with those ; so in various districts and various places they call them by various names.

Regarding Frâsîyâv  they say, that a thousand springs were conducted away by him into the sea Kyânsîh , suitable for horses, suitable for camels, suitable for oxen, suitable for asses, both great and small ; and he conducted the spring Zarînmand (or golden source), which is the Hêtûmand  river they say, into the same sea; and he conducted the seven navigable waters of the source of the Vakaêni  river into the same sea, and made men settle there.

Footnotes

75:1 So in K20, and if correct (being only partially confirmed by the fragment of this chapter found in all MSS. between Chaps. XIII and XIV) this reading implies that the rivers are derived partly from the mountains of Albûrz, and partly from the celestial Albûrz, or the clouds in the sky. M6 has 'flow forth from the north part of the eastern Albûrz.'

75:2 For further details regarding these two semi-mythical rivers see §§ 8, 9.

75:3 The sacred formula most frequently recited by the Parsis, and often several times in succession, like the Pater-noster of some Christians; it is not, however, a prayer, but a declaratory formula in 'praise of righteousness' (which phrase is often used as its name in Pahlavi). It consists of twelve Avesta words, as follows:

Ashem vohû vahistem astî, ustâ astî; ustâ ahmâi hyad ashâi vahistâi ashem.

And it may be translated in the following manner: 'Righteousness is the best good, a blessing it is; a blessing be to that which is righteousness to perfect rectitude' (Asha-vahista the archangel).

75:4 See Chap. V, 5.

76:1 So in M6, but K20 has, 'First is the propitiation of all kinds.'

76:2 Literally, 'when they shall destroy the fiend.'

76:3 For details regarding these rivers see the sequel.

76:4 The Pâz. Deyrid is evidently a misreading of Pahl. Diglat or Digrat, which occurs in § 12.

76:5 So in K20, but M6 (omitting two words) has, 'they call also the Didgar.'

76:6 No further details are given, in this chapter, about this river, but it seems to be the river Nâhvtâk of Chap. XXI, 6, the Nâîvtâk of Chap. XXIX, 4. 5.

76:7 K20 has 'Spend.'

76:8 Called Tort in § 24.

77:1 Miswritten Araz in Pâzand, both here and in § 27.

77:2 M6 has Khvanaînidis, but in K20 it is doubtful whether the extra syllable (which is interlined) is intended to be inserted or substituted; the shorter form is, however, more reconcilable with the Pahlavi form of Vendeses in § 29.

77:3 As there is no description of any Sêd river it is probably only an epithet of the Pêdâ-meyan or Katru-meyan (pêdâk being the usual Pahlavi equivalent of Av. kithrô). Justi suggests that Mokarstân (Mokarsta rûd in M6) stands for Pers. Moghulstân, 'the country of the Moghuls,' but this is doubtful.

77:4 Sometimes written Arang or Arêng, but the nasal is usually omitted; it is the Av. Rangha of Âbân Yt. 63, Rashnu Yt. 18, Râm Yt. 27, which is described more like a lake or sea in Vend. I, 77, Bahrâm Yt. 29. This semi-mythical river is supposed to encompass a great part of the known world (see Chap. VII, 16), and the Bundahis probably means to trace its course down the Âmû (Oxus) from Sogdiana, across the Caspian, up the Aras (Araxes) or the Kur (Cyrus), through the Euxine and Mediterranean, and up the Nile to the Indian Ocean. The Âmû (Oxus) is also sometimes considered a part of the Vêh river or Indus (see §§ 22, 28).

77:5 Sogdiana (see Chap. XV, 29), the country of the Âmû river.

77:6 The combination of the three names in this clause, as Justi observes, renders it probable that we should read, 'the land of Egypt,' which is called Misr, and where the river is the Nile. The letter S in Pâz. Spêtos is very like an obsolete form of Av. g, or it may be read as Pahl. îk or îg, so the name may originally have been Gpêtos or Ikpêtos; and the Pâz. Niv, if transcribed into Pahlavi, can also be read Nîl.

77:7 The 'good' river, which, with the Arag and the ocean, completes the circuit of the known world, and is evidently identified with the Indus; sometimes it seems also to include the Âmû (Oxus), as Bactria was considered a part of India; thus we find the Balkh and Teremet rivers flowing into the Vêh (see §§ 22, 28).

78:1 See § 30.

78:2 No doubt the Mehrvâ or Hendvâ river of § 7, and the Mihrân of Ouseley's Oriental Geography of the pseudo Ibn ‘Haûqal, pp. 148-155, which appears to combine the Satlig and lower Indus. The final n is usually omitted by the Bundahis after â in Pâzand words. This river is also called Kâsak (see § 30).

78:3 The Euphrates, which rises in Armenia (part of the eastern empire of the Romans), traverses Syria, and joins the Tigris.

78:4 Or, 'and its convenience is this;' a play upon the words farhat and Frât, which are identical in Pahlavi.

78:5 Referring probably to canals for irrigation along the course of the Euphrates.

78:6 The Tigris (Arabic Diglat), Hiddekel of Gen. ii. 14, Dan. x. 4, and perhaps the Av. tighris of Tîstar Yt. 6, 37; misread Dêîrid in Pâzand.

78:7 The country of Salm (see Chap. XV, 29), son of Frêdûn (see Chap. XXXI, 9, 10). The name can also be read Dîlmân, which is the name of a place in the same neighbourhood.

78:8 The Av. Dâitya of Vend. XIX, 5, Aûharmazd Yt. 21, Âbân Yt. 112, Gôs Yt. 29. The 'good dâitya of Airyana-vaêgô' is also mentioned in Vend. I, 6, II, 42, 43, Âbân Yt. 17, 104, Râm Yt. 2, but this may not be a river, though the phrase has, no doubt, led to locating the river Dâîtîk in Aîrân-vêg.

79:1 Pâz. gopestân in K20, which is evidently Pahl. kôfistân, but not the Kôhistân of southern Persia. M6 has 'the mountain of Pangistân,' which must be incorrect, as according to §§ 15, 16, this is in north-east Khurâsân, and too far from Aîrân-vêg in Âtarô-pâtakân (Âdar-bîgân), see Chap. XXIX, 12. Justi proposes to read Gurgistân (Georgia), and identifies the Dâîtîk with the Araxes, but, adhering to the text of K20, the Dâîtîk rises in Âdar-bîgân and departs through a hill-country, a description applicable, not only to the Araxes, but also more particularly to the Safêd Rûd or white river; although this river seems to be mentioned again as the Spêd or Spend river in § 23.

79:2 Written Zôndak in § 7. This can hardly be the Zendah river of Ispahan, but is probably the Tegend river, which flows past Meshhed into the Heri river.

79:3 This is the Heri, which flows past Herat.

79:4 See Chap. XII, 9.

79:5 The Etymander of classical writers, now the Hêlmand in Afghânistân. The Av. Haêtumat of Vend. I, 50, XIX, 130, Zamyâd Yt. 66, is the name of the country through which it flows.

79:6 See § 34 and Chap. XXI, 6.

79:7 The district about Dâmaghân.

79:8 Perhaps the Zarafsân.

80:1 This is evidently not the small affluent now called the Khugand, but the great Syr-darya or Iaxartes, which flows through the provinces of Farghânah and Samarkand, past Kokand, Khugand, and Tashkand, into the Aral. The Pâz. Ashârd represents Pahl. Khshârt, or Ashârt (Iaxartes).

80:2 The Murghâb.

80:3 Or, 'in Khûrâsân.'

80:4 Bâmian, near which the river of Balkh has its source.

80:5 Justi observes that it should be 'the Arag river;' but according to an Armenian writer of the seventh century the Persians called the Oxus the Vêh river, and considered it to be in India, because Buddhists occupied the country on its banks (see Garrez in Journal Asiatique for 1869, pp. 161-198). It would seem, therefore, that the Oxus was sometimes (or in early times) considered a part of the Arag (Araxes), and sometimes (or in later times) a part of the Vêh (Indus).

80:6 So in M6, but K20 has 'Spend,' both here and in § 7. The name of this river corresponds with that of the Safêd Rûd, although the position of that river agrees best with the account given of the Dâîtîk in § 13.

80:7 Compare Râm Yt. 19, 20. K20 has 'there,' instead of 'here.'

80:8 Called Rad in § 7 (by the loss of the first letter of the original Pahlavi name); by its alternative name, Koir, Justi identifies it as the Kûr in Georgia, flowing into the Caspian, or sea of Vergân, the Av. Vehrkâna (Hyrcania) of Vend. I, 42, which is Gûrgân in Pahlavi.

81:1 M6 has Pâz. Keyâseh, but this is in Sagastân (see Chap. XIII, 16).

81:2 The MSS. have Vergâ, but the final nasal after i is often omitted in Pâzand reading in the Bundahis.

81:3 Not mentioned in § 7. Possibly one of the rivers Zâb, which rise on the borders of Âdarbîgân, flow into the Tigris, and so reach the Persian Gulf, the sea on the coast of Pârs. Or it may be the Shirvân, another affluent of the Tigris, which flows through the district of Zohab.

81:4 The Kuran, upon which the town of Shûstar was founded by one of the early Sasanian kings, who also dug a canal, east of the town, so as to form a loop branch of the river; this canal was called Nahr-i Masrûqân by Oriental geographers (see Rawlinson, journal Roy. Geogr. Soc. vol. ix. pp. 73-75).

81:5 Ispahân in Persian.

81:6 Miswritten Dayrid in Pâzand (see § 12).

81:7 Written in Pâzand without the final n, as usual. This is the old name of the canal forming the eastern branch of the Kuran at Shûstar, it is now called Âb-i Gargar.

81:8 Flows into the Caspian near Amûl.

81:9 Probably the river which flows into the Âmû (Oxus) at Tarmaz; but, in that case, the Oxus is here again identified with the Vêh (Indus) as in § 22, instead of the Arag (Araxes) as in § 8.

81:10 Called Khvanaîdis, or Khvanaînidis, in § 7.

81:11 Called Kâsîk in § 7.

81:12 Close to Meshhed.

82:1 Or, 'this same Vêh river they call there the Kâsak; even in Sênî they call it the Kâsak;' Sênî is apt to be miswritten Sênd or Sînd (see Chap. XV, 29).

82:2 See § 7. The latter half of both names can also be read mâhan, mâhô, or mahân. Pêshyôtan, son of Vistâsp, seems to have taken a surname from this river (see Chap. XXIX, 5).

82:3 See Chap. XXIX, 10.

82:4 See Chaps. XXIV, 15, XXXII, 1, 2.

82:5 Or, 'are from those as a source.'

82:6 The MSS. have 'Pôrûshasp,' but compare § 17 and Chap. XXI, 6. The two names are somewhat alike in Pahlavi writing.

82:7 See Chap. XIII, 16.

82:8 Compare Chap. XIX, 6. K20 omits the words 'suitable for asses' here.

82:9 Another Hêtûmand according to § 17. Possibly a dried-up bed of that river.

82:10 K20 has Vataêni; k and t being much alike in Pâzand. The 'navigable (nâvtâk) waters' may be 'the Nâvadâ river' of § 7, 'the river Nâîvtâk' of Chap. XXI, 6, and Nâîvtâk of Chap. XXIX, 4, 5.

CHAPTER XXI .

In revelation they mention seventeen  species of liquid (mâyâ), as one liquid resides in plants  ; second, that which is flowing from the mountains, that is, the rivers; third, that which is rain-water; fourth, that of tanks and other special constructions; fifth, the semen of animals and men; sixth, the urine of animals and men ; seventh, the sweat of animals and men; the eighth liquid is that in the skin of animals and men; ninth, the tears of animals and men; tenth, the blood of animals and men; eleventh, the oil in animals and men, a necessary in both worlds ; twelfth, the saliva of animals and men, with which they nourish the embryo ; the thirteenth is that which is under the bark  of plants, as it is said that every bark has a liquid, through which a drop appears on a twig (têkh) when placed four finger-breadths before a fire ; fourteenth, the milk of animals and men. 2. All these, through growth, or the body which is formed, mingle again with the rivers, for the body which is formed and the growth are both one.

This, too, they say, that of these three rivers, that is, the Arag river, the Marv river, and the Vêh  river, the spirits were dissatisfied, so that they would not flow into the world, owing to the defilement of stagnant water (armêst) which they beheld, so that they were in tribulation through it until Zaratûst was exhibited to them, whom I (Aûharmazd) will create, who will pour sixfold holy-water (zôr) into it and make it again wholesome; he will preach carefulness . 4. This, too, it says, that, of water whose holy-water is more and pollution less, the holy-water has come in excess, and in three years it goes back to the sources ; that of which the pollution and holy-water have both become equal, arrives back in six years; that of which the pollution is more and holy-water less, arrives back in nine years. 5. So, also, the growth of plants is connected, in this manner, strongly with the root ; so, likewise, the blessings (âfrîn) which the righteous utter, come back, in this proportion, to themselves.
Regarding the river Nâhvtâk  it says, that Frâsîyâv of Tûr conducted it away; and when Hûshêdar  comes it will flow again suitable for horses; so, also, will the fountains of the sea Kyânsîh . 7. Kyânsîh  is the one where the home (ginâk) of the Kayân race is.

Footnotes

83:1 This chapter is evidently a continuation of the preceding one.

83:2 Only fourteen are mentioned in the details which follow.

83:3 Most of these details are derived from the Pahl. Yas. XXXVIII, 7-9, 13, 14; and several varieties of water are also in Yas. LXVII, 15.

83:4 This sixth liquid is omitted by K20.

83:5 Departed souls are said to be fed with oil in paradise.

83:6 K20 omits the word pûs, 'embryo.'

83:7 The meaning 'bark' for Pâz. ayvan is merely a guess; Anquetil has 'sap' (compare Pers. âvînâ, 'juice'), but this is hardly consistent with the rest of the sentence.

83:8 See Chap. XXVII, 25.

84:1 K20 has 'Hêlmand,' but M6 has 'Sapîr,' the Huz. equivalent of 'Vêh,' which is more probable.

84:2 Or, 'abstinence from impurity.'

84:3 The source Arêdvîvsûr (see Chap. XIII, 3, 10).

84:4 That is, by the sap circulating like the waters of the earth. The greater part of this sentence is omitted in K20.

84:5 Probably 'the Nâvadâ' and 'navigable waters' of Chap. XX, 7, 34, and Nâîvtâk of Chap. XXIX, 4, 5.

84:6 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which' (see note to Chap. I, 7).

85:1 Written Khûrshêdar, as usual in Bundahis (see Chap. XXXII, 8).

85:2 Written Kayâseh in Pâzand (see Chap. XIII, 16).

CHAPTER XXII.

On the nature of lakes it says in revelation, that thus many fountains of waters have come into notice, which they call lakes (var); counterparts of the eyes (kashm) of men are those fountains (kashmak) of waters; such as Lake Kêkast, Lake Sôvbar, Lake Khvârizem , Lake Frazdân, Lake Zarînmand, Lake Âsvast, Lake Husru, Lake Satavês, Lake Urvis.

I will mention them also a second time: Lake Kêkast  is in Âtarô-pâtakân, warm is the water and opposed to harm, so that nothing whatever is living in it; and its source is connected with the wide-formed ocean . 3. Lake Sôvbar is in the upper district and country on the summit of the mountain of Tûs ; as it says, that the Sûd-bâhar  ('share of benefit') is propitious and good from which abounding liberality is produced. 4. Regarding Lake Khvârizem  it says that excellent benefit is produced from it, that is, Arshisang  the rich in wealth, the well-portioned with abounding pleasure. 5. Lake Frazdân  is in Sagastân; they say, where a generous man, who is righteous, throws anything into it, it receives it; when not righteous, it throws it out again; its source also is connected with the wide-formed ocean. 6. Lake Zarînmand is in Hamadân . 7. Regarding Lake Âsvast it is declared that the undefiled  water which it contains is always constantly flowing into the sea, so bright and copious  that one might say that the sun had come into it and looked at Lake Âsvast, into that water which is requisite for restoring the dead in the renovation of the universe. 8. Lake Husru  is within fifty leagues (parasang). of Lake Kêkast. 9. Lake (or, rather, Gulf) Satavês  is that already written about, between the wide-formed ocean and the Pûtîk. 10. It is said that in Kamîndân is an abyss (zafar), from which everything they throw in always comes back, and it will not receive it unless alive (gânvar); when they throw a living creature into it, it carries it down; men say that a fountain from hell is in it. 11. Lake Urvis is on Hûgar the lofty .

Footnotes

85:3 Pâz. Khvârazm both here and in § 4.

85:4 Av. Kaêkasta of Âbân Yt. 49, Gôs Yt. 18, 21, 22, Ashi Yt. 38, 41, Sîrôz. 9. The present Lake Urumiyah in Âdarbîgân, which is called Khegest, or Kegest, by ’Hamdu-l-lâh Mustaûfî.

85:5 Implying that the water is salt.

85:6 The Kôndrâsp mountain (see Chap. XII, 24). This lake is probably a small sheet of water on the mountains near Meshhed.

85:7 Evidently a punning etymology of the name of this lake.

86:1 The province of Khvârizem was between the Aral and Caspian, along the ancient course of the Oxus (see Chap. XVII, 5). This lake has been identified with the Aral.

86:2 Av. ashis vanguhi, 'good rectitude,' personified as a female angel whose praises are celebrated in the Ashi Yast; in later times she has been considered as the angel dispensing wealth and possessions. She is also called Ard (Av. areta, which is synonymous with asha), see Chap. XXVII, 24.

86:3 The 'Frazdânava water' of Âbân Yt. 108 and Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk, p. 17. Justi identifies it with the Âb-istâdah ('standing water') lake, south of Ghaznî. It is here represented as a salt lake.

86:4 K20 adds, 'they say.' This lake cannot be the spring Zarînmand of Chap. XX, 34.

86:5 Pâz. avnasti transcribed into Pahlavi is avinastag, 'unspoiled,' the equivalent of Av. anâhita in Yas. LXIV, 1, 16, Visp. I, 18.

86:6 K20 has 'glorious' as a gloss to 'copious.'

86:7 The Av. Haosravangha of Sîroz. 9, 'the lake which is named Husravau' of Zamyâd Yt. 56. It may be either Lake Van or Lake Sevan, which are nearly equidistant from Lake Urumiyah.

86:8 M6 has 'four leagues.'

87:1 See Chap. XIII, 9-13.

87:2 See Chaps. XII, 5, XIII, 4.

CHAPTER XXIII.

On the nature of the ape and the bear they say, that Yim, when reason (nismô) departed from, him , for fear of the demons took a demoness as wife, and gave Yimak, who was his sister, to a demon as wife; and from them have originated the tailed ape and bear and other species of degeneracy.

This, too, they say, that in the reign of Az-i Dahâk  a young woman was admitted to a demon, and a young man was admitted to a witch (parîk), and on seeing them they had intercourse; owing to that one intercourse the black-skinned negro arose from them. 3. When Frêdûn  came to them they fled from the country of Iran, and settled upon the sea-coast; now, through the invasion of the Arabs, they are again diffused through the country of Iran.

Footnotes

87:3 See Chap. XXXIV, 4. This is the Jamshêd of the Shâhnâmah. Perhaps for 'reason' we should read 'glory.'

87:4 See Chaps, XXXI, 6, XXXIV, 5.

87:5 See Chap. XXXIV, 6.

CHAPTER XXIV.

On the chieftainship of men and animals and every single thing it says in revelation, that first of the human species Gâyômard was produced, brilliant and white, with eyes which looked out for the great one, him who was here the Zaratûstrôtûm (chief high-priest); the chieftainship of all things was from Zaratûst . 2. The white ass-goat , which holds its head down, is the chief of goats, the first of those species created . 3. The black sheep which is fat and white-jawed is the chief of sheep; it was the first of those species created . 4. The camel with white-haired knees and two humps is the chief of camels. 5. First the black-haired ox with yellow knees was created; he is the chief of oxen. 6. First the dazzling white (arûs) horse, with yellow ears, glossy hair, and white eyes, was produced; he is the chief of horses. 7. The white, cat-footed  ass is the chief of asses. 8. First of dogs the fair (arûs) dog with yellow hair was produced; he is the chief of dogs. 9. The hare was produced brown (bûr); he is the chief of the wide-travellers. 10. Those beasts which have no dread whatever of the hand are evil. 11. First of birds the griffon of three natures  was created, not for here (this world), for the Karsipt  is the chief, which they call the falcon (kark), that which revelation says was brought to the enclosure formed by Yim. 12. First of fur animals the white ermine was produced; he is the chief of fur animals; as it says that it is the white ermine which came unto the assembly of the archangels. 13. The Kar-fish, or Ariz , is the chief of the water-creatures. 14. The Dâîtîk  river is the chief of streams. 15. The Dâraga  river is the chief of exalted rivers, for the dwelling of the father of Zaratûst was on its banks , and Zaratûst was born there. 16. The hoary forest  is the chief of forests. 17. Hûgar the lofty , on which the water of Arêdvîvsûr flows and leaps, is the chief of summits, since it is that above which is the revolution of the constellation Satavês , the chief of reservoirs . 18. The Hôm which is out-squeezed is the chief of medicinal plants . 19. Wheat is the chief of large-seeded  grains. 20. The desert wormwood is the chief of unmedicinal  plants. 21. The summer vetch, which they also call 'pag' (gâvirs), is the chief of small-seeded grains . 22. The Kûstîk (sacred thread-girdle) is the chief of clothes. 23. The Bâzâyvâna  is the chief of seas. 24. Of two men, when they come forward together, the wiser and more truthful is chief.

This, too, it says in revelation, that Aûharmazd created the whole material world one abode, so that all may be one; for there is much splendour and glory of industry in the world. 26. Whatsoever he performs, who practises that which is good, is the value of the water of life ; since water is not created alike  in value, for the undefiled water of Arêdvîvsûr is worth the whole water of the sky and earth of Khvanîras , except the Arag river , created by Aûharmazd. 27. Of trees the myrtle and date, on which model, it is said, trees were formed, are worth all the trees of Khvanîras, except the Gôkard tree  with which they restore the dead.

Of mountains Mount Apârsên's beginning is in Sagastân and end in Khûgîstân, some say it is all the mountains of Pârs, and is chief of all mountains except Albûrz. 29. Of birds Kamrôs  is chief, who is worth all the birds in Khvanîras, except the griffon of three natures. 30. The conclusion is this, that every one who performs a great duty has then much value.

Footnotes

88:1 So in all MSS., but by reading mûn, 'who,' instead of min, 'from,' we should have, 'him who was here the chief high-priest and chieftainship of all things, who was Zaratûst.' The Pahlavi Visp. I. 1, gives the following list of chiefs: 'The chief of spirits is Aûharmazd, the chief of worldly existences is Zaratûst, the chief of water-creatures is the Kar-fish, the chief of land-animals is the ermine, the chief of flying-creatures is the Karsipt, the chief of the wide-travellers is the . . . , the chief of those suitable for grazing is the ass-goat.'

88:2 See Chap. XIV, 14.

88:3 It is doubtful whether the phrase, 'the first of those species created,' belongs to this sentence or the following one.

88:4 Or, 'cat-legged.'

89:1 The Sîmurgh (see § 29 and Chap. XIV, 11, 23, 24). In Mkh. LXII, 37-39, it is mentioned as follows: 'And Sînamrû's resting-place is on the tree which is opposed to harm, of all seeds; and always when he rises aloft a thousand twigs will shoot forth from that tree; and when he alights he will break off the thousand twigs, and he sheds their seed therefrom.'

89:2 See Chap. XIX, 16. In § 29 Kamrôs is said to be the chief.

89:3 See Chaps. XIV, 12, 26, XVIII, 3-6.
89:4 See Chap. XX, 13 89:5 See Chap. XX, 32.

89:6 The MSS. have 'in Balkh' instead of 'on the banks.'

89:7 The arûs-i razur is the Av. spaêtitem razurem of Râm Yt. 31.

89:8 See Chap. XII, 5.

89:9 See Chap. II, 7.

90:1 The meaning of Pâz. gobarâ is doubtful, but it is here taken as standing for Pahl. gôbalân, equivalent to the plural of Pers. gôl or kôl, 'a reservoir;' Satavês being a specially 'watery' constellation (see Tîstar Yt. 0). Justi traces gobarân to Av. gufra, and translates it by 'protecting stars.'

90:2 Pâz. khvad and bakagâ evidently stand for Pahl. hûd (Av. huta) and bezashk.

90:3 Compare Av. as-dânunãm-ka yavananãm (Tîstar Yt. 29).

90:4 Pâz. abakagâ stands for Pahl. abezashk.

90:5 Compare Av. kasu-dânunãm-ka vâstranãm (Tîstar Yt. 29).

90:6 Justi identifies this with Lake Van, but perhaps Lake Sevan may be meant.

90:7 Or, 'its value is water.' K20 omits the word 'water.'

90:8 Reading ham instead of hamâk, 'all.'

90:9 See Chap. XI, 2-6.

90:10 See Chap. XX, 8.

91:1 See Chap. XVIII, 1-4.

91:2 See Chap. XIX, 115, where it is written Kâmrôs. This § is at variance with § 11, which gives the chieftainship to Karsipt.

CHAPTER XXV.

On matters of religion  it says in revelation thus: 'The creatures of the world were created by me complete in three hundred and sixty-five days,' that is, the six periods of the Gâhanbârs which are completed in a year. 2. It is always necessary first to count the day and afterwards the night, for first the day goes off, and then the night comes on . And from the season (gâs) of Mêdôk-shêm , which is the auspicious  day Khûr of the month Tîr , to the season of Mêdîyârêm , which is the auspicious day Vâhrâm of the month Dîn —the shortest day—the night increases; and from the season of Mêdîyârêm to the season of Mêdôk-shêm the night decreases and the day increases. 4. The summer day is as much as two of the shortest  winter days, and the winter night is as much as two of the shortest summer nights . 5. The summer day is twelve Hâsars, the night six Hâsars; the winter night is twelve Hâsars, the day six; a Hâsar being a measure of time and, in like manner, of land . 6. In the season of Hamêspamadâyêm , that is, the five supplementary days at the end of the month Spendarmad, the day and night are again equal.

As from the auspicious day Aûharmazd of the month Fravardîn to the auspicious day Anîrân of the month Mitrô  is the summer of seven months, so from the auspicious day Aûharmazd of the month Âvân to the auspicious month Spendarmad, on to the end of the five supplementary days , is winter of five months. 8. The priest fulfils the regulation (vakar) about a corpse and other things, by this calculation as to summer and winter. 9. In those seven months  of summer the periods (gâs) of the days and nights are five—since one celebrates the Rapîtvîn—namely, the period of daybreak is Hâvan, the period of midday is Rapîtvîn, the period of afternoon is Aûzêrîn, when the appearance of the stars has come into the sky  until midnight is the period of Aîbisrûtêm, from midnight until the stars become imperceptible is the period of Aûshahîn . 10. In winter are four periods, for from daybreak till Aûshahîn is all Hâvan, and the rest as I have said; and the reason of it is this, that the appearance  of winter is in the direction of the north, where the regions Vôrûbarst  and Vôrûgarst are; the original dwelling of summer, too, is in the south, where the regions Fradadafsh and Vîdadafsh are; on the day Aûharmazd of the auspicious month Âvân the winter acquires strength and enters into the world, and the spirit of Rapîtvîn goes from above-ground to below-ground, where the spring (khânî) of waters is, and diffuses  warmth and moisture in the water, and so many roots of trees do not wither with cold and drought. 11. And on the auspicious day Âtarô of the month Dîn  the winter arrives, with much cold, at Aîrân-vêg; and until the end, in the auspicious month Spendarmad, winter advances through the whole world; on this account they kindle a fire everywhere on the day Âtarô of the month Dîn, and it forms an indication that winter has come. 12.

In those five months the water of springs and conduits is all warm , for Rapîtvîn keeps warmth and moisture there, and one does not celebrate the period of Rapîtvîn. 13. As the day Aûharmazd of the month Fravardîn advances it diminishes the strength which winter possesses, and summer comes in from its own original dwelling, and receives strength and dominion. 14. Rapîtvîn comes up from below-ground, and ripens the fruit of the trees; on this account the water of springs is cold in summer , for Rapîtvîn is not there; and those seven  months one celebrates the Rapîtvîn, and summer advances through the whole earth. 15. And yet in the direction of Hindûstân, there where the original dwelling of summer is nearer, it is always neither cold nor hot; for in the season which is the dominion of summer, the rain always dispels most of the heat, and it does not become perceptible; in the winter rain does not fall, and the cold does not become very perceptible . 16. In the northern direction, where the preparation of winter is, it is always cold ; for in the summer mostly, on account of the more oppressive winter there, it is not possible so to dispel the cold that one might make it quite warm. 17. In the middle localities the cold of winter and heat of summer both come on vehemently.

Again, the year dependent on the revolving moon is not equal to the computed year on this account, for the moon  returns one time in twenty-nine, and one time in thirty days, and there are four hours (zamân) more than such a one of its years ; as it says, that every one deceives where they speak about the moon (or month), except when they say that it comes twice in sixty days. 19. Whoever keeps the year by the revolution of the moon mingles summer with winter and winter with summer .

This, too, it says, that the auspicious month Fravardîn, the month Ardavahist, and the month Horvadad  are spring; the month Tîr, the month Amerôdad, and the month Shatvaîrô are summer; the month Mitrô, the month Âvân, and the month Âtarô are autumn; the month Dîn, the month Vohûman, and the month Spendarmad are winter . 21. And the sun comes from the sign (khûrdak) of Aries, into which it proceeded in the beginning, back to that same place in three hundred and sixty-five days and six short times (hours), which are one year. 22. As every three months it (the sun) advances through three constellations, more or less, the moon comes, in a hundred and eighty days, back to the place out of which it travelled in the beginning .

Footnotes

91:3 That is, 'on the periods for observance of religious duties.'

91:4 The Jewish and Muhammadan practice is just the contrary.

91:5 The Av. maidhyô-shema of Yas. I, 27, II, 36, III, 41, Visp. I, 3, II, 1, Âfrîngân Gâhanbâr 2, 8. It is the second season-festival, held on the five days, ending with the 105th day of the Parsi year, which formerly corresponded approximately to midsummer, according to the Bundahis. Later writings assert that it commemorates the creation of water.

92:1 A dispute as to the meaning of this word formed no small part of the Kabîsah controversy, carried on between the leaders of the two rival sects of Parsis in Bombay about fifty years ago. Dastur Edalji Dârâbji, the high-priest of the predominant sect (who adhered to the traditional calendar of the Indian Parsis), insisted that it meant 'solar,' or 'belonging to the calendar rectified for solar time by the intercalation of a month every 120 years;' Mullâ Firûz, the high-priest of the new sect (who had adopted the calendar of the Persian Parsis, which is one month in advance of the other), asserted that the word had no connection with intercalation, but meant 'commencing,' or 'pertaining to New-year's day,' as translated into Sanskrit, by Nêryôsang, in Mkh. XLIX, 27. Anquetil translates it either as 'inclusive' or 'complete;' Windischmann simply skips it over; and Justi translates it everywhere as 'inclusive.' Dastur Edalji reads the word vehîgakî or vehîgak; Nêryôsang has vahe**za, Mullâ Firûz reads nâîkakîk in the Bundahis, but vêhîgakîk in the Dînkard, where the word also occurs; Justi has nâîkakîk. The meaning 'inclusive' suits the context in nearly all cases in the Bundahis, but not elsewhere; if it had that meaning the most probable reading would be vikhêgakîk or nikhêgakîk, 'arising, leaping over, including.' It is nearly always used in connection with dates or periods of time, and must be some epithet of a very general character, not only applicable to intercalary periods, but also to New-Year's day and dates in general; something like the Arabic epithet mubârak, 'fortunate,' so commonly used in Persian dates. Dastur Edalji compares it with Pers. bîhrak or bihtarak, 'intercalary month,' which is probably a corruption of it; and this suggests veh, 'good,' as one component of the epithet. The word may be read veh-yazakîk, 'for reverencing the good,' but as veh, 'good,' is an adjective, this would be an irregular form; a more probable reading is veh-îkakîk, 'for anything good,' which, when applied to a day, or any period of time, would imply that it is suitable for anything good, that is, it is 'auspicious.' Sometimes the word is written vehîkak, vêhîkakîk, or vêhîkŏ; and epithets of similar forms in Pahlavi are applied by the writers of colophons to themselves, but these should be read vakhêzak or nisîvak, 'lowly, abject.'

92:2 The eleventh day of the fourth month, when the festival commences.

92:3 The Av. maidhyâirya of Yas. I, 30, II, 39, III, 44, Visp. I, 6, II, 1, Âf. Gâhan. 2, 11. It is; the fifth season-festival, held on the five days ending with the 290th day of the Parsi year, which formerly corresponded approximately to midwinter, according to the Bundahis. Later writings assert that it commemorates the creation of animals.

93:1 The twentieth day of the tenth month, when the festival ends.

93:2 The word kah-aît is merely a hybrid Huzvâris form of kahist, 'shortest,' which occurs in the next phrase.

93:3 This statement must be considered merely as an approximation. The longest day is twice the length of the shortest one in latitude 49°, that is, north of Paris, Vienna, and Odessa, if the length of the day be computed from sunrise to sunset; and, if twilight be included, it is necessary to go still further north. In Âdarbîgân, the northern province of Persia, the longest day is about 14½ hours from sunrise to sunset, and the shortest is about 9½ hours.

93:4 According to this passage a hâsar of time is one hour and twenty minutes; it is the Av. hâthra of the Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk (P. 43, ed. Hoshangji), which says, 'of twelve Hâsars is the longest day, and the day and night in which is the longest day are twelve of the longest Hâsars, eighteen of the medium, and twenty-four of the least—an enumeration of the several measures of the Hâsar.' For the hâsar measure of land, see Chap. XXVI.

93:5 So in K20, but this name is rarely written twice alike; it is the Av. hamaspathmaêdaya of Yas. I, 31, II, 40, III, 45, Visp, I. 7, II, 1, Âf. Gâhan. 2, 12. It is the sixth season-festival, held on the five Gâtha days which conclude the Parsi year, just before the vernal equinox, according to the Bundahis. Later writings assert that it commemorates the creation of man.

94:1 That is, from the first day of the first month to the last day of the seventh month.

94:2 That is, from the first day of the eighth month to the last of the five Gâtha days, which are added to the twelfth month to complete the year of 365 days.

94:3 All MSS. have 'five months' here.

94:4 K20 has 'when the stars have come into sight.'

94:5 The Avesta names of the five Gâhs are Hâvani, Rapithwina, Uzayêirina, Aiwisrûthrema, and Ushahina.

94:6 Pâz. ashâris is evidently a misreading of Pahl. âshkârîh.

95:1 See Chaps. V, 8, XI, 3. The north, being opposed to the south or midday quarter, is opposed to the midday period of Rapîtvîn, which, therefore, disappears as winter approaches from the north.

95:2 If, instead of khânî for khânîk, 'spring,' we read ahû-i, 'lord of,' the translation will be, 'so that the angel of waters may diffuse,' &c.

95:3 The ninth day of the tenth month.

95:4 That is, warmer than the air, as it is cooler in summer.

96:1 K20 has 'winter' by mistake.

96:2 K20 has 'six,' and M6 'five,' instead of 'seven.'

96:3 This is a fairly accurate account of the effect of the monsoons over the greater part of India, as understood by a foreigner unacquainted with the different state of matters in a large portion of the Madras provinces.

96:4 M6 has khûrâsân instead of ârâyisn, 'preparation,' which alters the sense into 'that is, Khûrâsân, of which the winter is always cold.'

96:5 The MSS. have the Huzvâris term for 'month,' which is sometimes used, by mistake, for 'moon.' It is doubtful which word the author intended to use here, but it is usual to count the days of a lunar month from the first actual appearance of the new moon, which usually occurs a full day after the change of the moon.

97:1 Meaning, probably, that the lunar year is four hours more than twelve months of 29 and 30 days each, alternately. It should be 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 37 seconds. The sentence seems defective, but it is evident from § 21 that zamân means 'hour.'

97:2 That is, the lunar year being eleven days shorter than the solar one, its months are constantly retrograding through the seasons.

97:3 Generally written Avardâd in Pâzand, and Khurdâd in Persian.

97:4 The names of the months are selected from the names of the days of the month (see Chap. XXVII, 24), but are arranged in a totally different order.

97:5 Probably meaning, that the new moon next the autumnal equinox is to be looked for in the same quarter as the new moon nearest the vernal equinox, the moon's declination being nearly the same in both cases.

CHAPTER XXVI.

A Hâsar  on the ground is a Parasang of one thousand steps of the two feet. 2. A Parasang  is a measure as much as a far-seeing man may look out, see a beast of burden, and make known that it is black or white. 3. And the measure of a man is eight medium spans .

Footnotes

98:1 Av. hâthra of Vend. II, 65, VIII, 280, 287, 291, Tîstar Yt. 23, 29. The statements regarding the length of a Hâsar are rather perplexing, for we are told that it 'is like a Parasang' (Chap. XIV, 4), that 'the length of a Hâsar is one-fourth of a Parasang' (Chap. XVI, 7), and that 'a medium Hâsar on the ground, which they also call a Parasang, is a thousand steps of the two feet when walking with propriety' (Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk, ed. Hosh. p. 42). To reconcile these statements we must conclude that the Hâsar is like a Parasang merely in the sense of being a long measure of distance, that it is really the mille passus or mile of the Romans, and that it is a quarter of the actual Parasang. At the same time, as it was usual to call a Hâsar by the name of a Parasang, we are often left in doubt whether a mile or a league is meant, when a Hâsar or Parasang is mentioned. The Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk (p. 41) also mentions other measures of distance, such as the takar (Av. takara) of two Hâsars, the asvâst (or aêast) of four Hâsars, the dashmêst (Av. dakhshmaiti) of eight, Hâsars, and the yôgêst (Av. yigaiasti or yugaiasti) of sixteen Hâsars.

98:2 A Parasang is usually from 3½ to 4 English miles, but perhaps a Hâsar is meant here.

98:3 Reading vitast-i miyânak instead of vitast damânak. The Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk (p. 41) mentions three kinds of spans, the Av. vitasti (Vend. VIII, 243, 245, XVII, 13) of twelve finger-breadths (angûst), or about 9 inches, which is a full span between the thumb and little finger (the one mentioned in the text); the Av. disti (Vend. XVII, 13) of ten finger-breadths, or about 7½ inches, which is a span between the thumb and middle finger; and the Av. uzasti (Pahl. lâlâ-ast) of eight finger-breaths, or about 6 inches which is a span between the thumb and fore-finger. Other measures mentioned by the same authority are the pâî (Av. padha, Vend. IX, 15, 20, 29), 'foot,' of fourteen finger-breadths, or about 10½ inches; the gâm (Av. gâya, Vend. III, 57, &c.), 'step,' which 'in the Vendîdâd is three pâî,' or about 2 feet 7½ inches, 'and in other places is said to be two frârâst' (Av. frârâthni in Vend. VII, 76, 79, 87); so the frârâst, which is probably the distance from the neck to the extended elbow, is half a gâm, or from 15 to 16 inches. Two other measures are mentioned in Vend. VII, 7 9, 87, 90, IX, 8, the Av. frâbâzu, 'fore-arm or cubit' from elbow to finger-ends, which is about 18 inches (or it may be a half fathom); and Av. vîbâzu, which is probably the 'fathom,' or extent of the two arms out-stretched, from 5½ to 6 feet.

CHAPTER XXVII.

On the nature of plants it says in revelation, that, before the coming of the destroyer, vegetation had no thorn and bark about it; and, afterwards, when the destroyer came, it became coated with bark and thorny , for antagonism mingled with every single thing; owing to that cause vegetation is also much mixed with poison, like Bis the height of hemp (kand) , that is poisonous, for men when they eat it die.

In like manner even as the animals, with grain of fifty and five species and twelve species of medicinal plants, have arisen from the primeval ox , ten thousand  species among the species of principal plants, and a hundred thousand species among ordinary plants have grown from all these seeds of the tree opposed to harm , the many-seeded, which has grown in the wide-formed ocean. 3. When the seeds of all these plants, with those from the primeval ox, have arisen upon it, every year the bird  strips that tree and mingles all the seeds in the water; Tîstar seizes them with the rain-water and rains them on to all regions. 4. Near to that tree the white Hôm, the healing and undefiled, has grown at the source of the water of Arêdvîvsûr ; every one who eats it becomes immortal, and they call it the Gôkard  tree, as it is said that Hôm is expelling death ; also in the renovation of the universe they prepare its immortality therefrom ; and it is the chief of plants .
These are as many genera of plants as exist: trees and shrubs, fruit-trees, corn, flowers, aromatic herbs, salads, spices, grass, wild plants, medicinal plants, gum plants, and all producing  oil, dyes, and clothing. 6. I will mention them also a second time: all whose fruit is not welcome as food of men, and are perennial (sâlvâr), as the cypress, the plane, the white poplar, the box, and others of this genus, they call trees and shrubs (dâr va dirakht). 7. The produce of everything welcome as food of men, that is perennial, as the date, the myrtle, the lote-plum , the grape, the quince, the apple, the citron, the pomegranate, the peach, the fig, the walnut, the almond, and others in this genus, they call fruit (mîvak). 8. Whatever requires labour with the spade , and is perennial, they call a shrub (dirakht). 9. Whatever requires that they take its crop through labour, and its root withers away, such as wheat, barley, grain, various kinds  of pulse, vetches, and others of this genus, they call corn (gûrdâk). 10. Every plant with fragrant leaves, which is cultivated by the hand-labour of men, and is perennial (hamvâr), they call an aromatic herb (siparam). 11. Whatever sweet-scented blossom arises at various seasons through the hand-labour of men, or has a perennial root and blossoms in its season with new shoots and sweet-scented blossoms, as the rose, the narcissus, the jasmine, the dog-rose (nêstarûn), the tulip, the colocynth (kavastîk), the pandanus (kêdi), the kamba, the ox-eye (hêri), the crocus, the swallow-wort (zarda), the violet, the kârda, and others of this genus, they call a flower (gûl). 12. Everything whose sweet-scented fruit, or sweet-scented blossom, arises in its season, without the hand-labour of men, they call a wild plant (vahâr or nihâl). 13. Whatever is welcome as food of cattle and beasts of burden, they call grass (giyâh). 14. Whatever enters into cakes (pês-pârakîhâ) they call spices (âvzârîhâ). 15. Whatever is welcome in eating of bread, as torn shoots  of the coriander, water-cress (kakîg), the leek, and others of this genus, they call salad (têrak) . 16. Whatever is like spinning  cotton, and others of this genus, they call clothing plants (gâmak). 17. Whatever lentil  is greasy, as sesame, dûshdâng, hemp, zandak , and others of this genus, they call an oil-seed (rôkanô). 18. Whatever one can dye clothing with, as saffron, sapan-wood, zakava, vaha, and others of this genus, they call a dye-plant (rag). 19. Whatever root, or gum , or wood is scented, as frankincense , varâst , kust, sandalwood, cardamom , camphor, orange-scented mint, and others of this genus, they call a scent (bôd). 20. Whatever stickiness comes out from plants  they call gummy (zadak). 21. The timber which proceeds, from the trees, when it is either dry or wet, they call wood (kîbâ). 22. Every one of all these plants which is so, they call medicinal (dârûk) .

The principal fruits are of thirty kinds (khadûînak), and ten species (sardak) of them are fit to eat inside and outside, as the fig, the apple, the quince, the citron, the grape, the mulberry, the pear, and others of this kind; ten are fit to eat outside, but not fit to eat inside, as the date, the peach, the white apricot, and others of this kind; those which are fit to eat inside, but not fit to eat outside, are the walnut, the almond, the pomegranate, the cocoanut , the filbert , the chesnut , the pistachio nut, the vargân, and whatever else of this description are very remarkable.
24 . This, too, it says, that every single flower is appropriate to an angel (ameshôspend) , as the white  jasmine (saman) is for Vohûman, the myrtle and jasmine (yâsmin) are Aûharmazd's own, the mouse-ear (or sweet marjoram) is Ashavahist's  own, the basil-royal is Shatvaîrô's own, the musk flower is Spendarmad's, the lily is Horvadad's, the kamba is Amerôdad's, Dîn-pavan-Âtarô has the orange-scented mint (vâdrang-bôd), Âtarô has the marigold  (âdargun), the water-lily is Âvân's, the white marv is Khtûrshêd's, the ranges  is Mâh's, the violet is Tîr's, the mêren  is Gôs's, the kârda is Dîn-pavan-Mitrô's, all violets are Mitrô's, the red chrysanthemum (khêr) is Srôsh's, the dog-rose (nestran) is Rashnû's, the cockscomb is Fravardîn's, the sisebar is Vâhrâm's, the yellow chrysanthemum is Râm's, the orange-scented mint is Vâd's , the trigonella is Dîn-pavan-Dîn's, the hundred-petalled rose is Dîn's, all kinds of wild flowers (vahâr) are Ard's , Âstâd has all the white Hôm , the bread-baker's basil is Asmân's, Zamyâd has the crocus, Mâraspend has the flower  of Ardashîr, Anîrân has this Hôm of the angel Hôm , of three kinds.

It is concerning plants that every single kind with a drop of water on a twig (teh) they should hold four finger-breadths in front of the fire ; Most of all it is the lotos (kûnâr) they speak of.

Footnotes

99:1 M6 has 'poisonous,' but is evidently copied from an original almost illegible in some places.

99:2 Perhaps 'hemp the height of Bîs' would better express the Pahlavi words, but Bîs (Napellus Moysis) is often mentioned as a poisonous plant. The phrase may also be translated 'like Bîs and tall hemp.'

99:3 See Chap. XIV, 1.

99:4 M6 has 'a thousand,' but marks an omission. See Chap. IX. 4.

100:1 See Chaps. IX, 5, XVIII, 9, XXIX, 5.

100:2 The apparently contradictory account in Chap. IX, 2, refers only to the first production of material plants from their spiritual or ideal representative. The bird here mentioned is Kamrôs (see Chaps. XIX, 15, XXIV, 29), as appears from the following passage (Mkh. LXII, 40-42): 'And the bird Kamrôs for ever sits in that vicinity; and his work is this, that he collects that seed which sheds from the tree of all seeds, which is opposed to harm, and conveys it there where Tîstar seizes the water, so that Tîstar may seize the water with that seed of all kinds, and may rain it on the world with the rain.'

100:3 See Chaps. XII, 5, XIII, 3-5.

100:4 Here written Gôkarn in all MSS. See Chaps. IX, 6, XVIII, I, 2.

100:5 That is, in Yas. IX, where Haoma is entitled dûraosha.

100:6 See Chap. XXIV, 27.

100:7 See Chap. XXIV, 18.

101:1 Comparing this list with the subsequent repetition it appears probable that hamâk barâ is a corruption of aesam bôd (see §§ 19, 21), and that we ought to read 'gum plants, woods, scents, and plants for oil, dyes, and clothing.' M6 has 'oil and dyes for clothing.'

101:2 The kûnâr (see Chap. XV, 13).

101:3 The Pâz. pêhani (which is omitted in K20) is evidently a misreading of Pahl. pashang, 'a hoe-like spade.'

101:4 M6 adds Pâz. gavina (Pahl. gûnak) to gvîd gvîd mungân, without altering the meaning materially.

102:1 Reading stâk darîd; Justi has 'baked shoots;' Anquetil has 'the three following;' M6 has stâk va karafs, 'shoots and parsley.'

102:2 Or târak in § 5, Pers. tarah.

102:3 Reading Huz. neskhunân, 'twisting,' but the word is doubtful. Justi has 'sitting on the plant,' which is a rather singular description for cotton.

102:4 Reading makag; Anquetil, Windischmann, and Justi read mazg, 'marrow,' but this is usually written otherwise.

102:5 Perhaps for zêtô, 'olive,' as Anquetil supposes, and Justi assumes.

102:6 Reading tûf (compare Pers. tuf, 'saliva').

103:1 Pâz. kendri for Pahl. kundur probably.

103:2 Justi compares Pers. barghast.

103:3 Pâz. kâkura may be equivalent to Pers. qaqulah, 'cardamoms,' or to Pers. kâkul or kâkûl, 'marjoram.'

103:4 K20 omits a line, from here to the word 'either.'

103:5 The line which contained this sentence is torn off in K20.

103:6 Pâz. anârsar is a misreading of Pahl. anârgîl (Pers. nârgîl, 'cocoa-nut').

103:7 Pâz. pendak, a misreading of Pahl. funduk.

103:8 Pâz. shahbrôd, a misreading of Pahl. shahbalût; omitted in M6.

103:9 M6 begins a new chapter here.

103:10 These are the thirty archangels and angels whose names are applied to the thirty days of the Parsi month, in the order in which they are mentioned here, except that Aûharmazd is the first day, and Vohûman is the second.

104:1 M6 has 'yellow.'

104:2 Synonymous with the Ardavahist of Chap. I, 26.

104:3 Anquetil, Windischmann, and Justi have 'the poppy.'

104:4 M6 has Pâz. lg as only the first part of the word, and Justi translates it by 'red lac,' which is not a plant. Transcribing the Pâzand into Pahlavi, perhaps the nearest probable word is rand, 'laurel.'

104:5 M6 has Pâz. mênr; Anquetil has 'vine blossom,' and is followed by Windischmann and Justi, but the word is very uncertain.

104:6 The remainder of this chapter is lost from K20.

104:7 This female angel is also called Arshisang (see Chap. XXII, 4).

104:8 See § 4.

104:9 M6 leaves a blank space for the name of the flower; perhaps it is the marv-i Ardashîrân.

105:1 Reading, in Pahlavi, Hôm yêdatô aê hôm.

105:2 See Chap. XXI, 1. Referring to the necessity of drying firewood before putting it on the fire. The kûnâr is specially mentioned, as one of the first fire-woods used by mankind, in Chap. XV, 13.

CHAPTER XXVIII .

[1. On the evil-doing of Aharman and the demons it says in revelation, that the evil which the evil spirit has produced for the creation of Aûharmazd it is possible to tell by this winter ; and his body is that of a lizard (vazagh)  whose place is filth (kalk). 2. He does not think, nor speak, nor act for the welfare (nadûkîh) of the creatures of Aûharmazd; and his business is unmercifulness and the destruction of this welfare, so that the creatures which Aûharmazd shall increase he will destroy; and his eyesight (kashm mîkisn)  does not refrain from doing the creatures harm. 3. As it says that, 'ever since a creature was created by, us, I, who am Aûharmazd, have not rested at ease, on account of providing protection for my own creatures; and likewise not even he, the evil spirit, on account of contriving evil for the creatures.' 4. And by their devotion to witchcraft (yâtûk-dînôîh) he seduces mankind into affection for himself and disaffection to Aûharmazd , so that they forsake the religion of Aûharmazd, and practise that of Aharman. 5. He casts this into the thoughts of men, that this religion of Aûharmazd is nought, and it is not necessary to be steadfast in it. 6. Whoever gives that man anything, in whose law (dâd) this saying is established, then the evil spirit is propitiated by him, that is, he has acted by his pleasure.
The business of Akôman  is this, that he gave vile thoughts and discord to the creatures. 8. The business of the demon Andar is this, that he constrains the thoughts of the creatures from deeds of virtue, just like a leader who has well-constrained (sardâr-i khûp afsârdŏ); and he casts this into the thoughts of men, that it is not necessary to have the sacred shirt and thread-girdle. 9. The business of the demon Sâvar , that is a leader of the demons, is this, that is, misgovernment, oppressive anarchy, and drunkenness. 10. The business of the demon Nâîkîyas  is this, that he gives discontent to the creatures; as it says, that should this one give anything to those men whose opinion (dâd) is this, that it is not necessary to have the sacred shirt and thread-girdle, then Andar, Sâvar, and Nâîkîyas are propitiated by him. 11. The demon Taprêv  is he who mingles poison with plants and creatures; as it says thus: 'Taprêv the frustrater, and Zâîrîk the maker of poison.' 12. All those six, it is said, are arch-fiends  of the demons; the rest are cooperating and confederate with them. 13. This, too, it says, that]  should one give [anything to] a man who says [that it is proper to have one boot], and in his law walking with one boot [is established, then]  the fiend Taprêv is propitiated [by him].

The demon Tarômat  [is he who] produces disobedience; the demon Mîtôkht  is the liar (drôgan) of the evil spirit ; the demon Arask  ('malice') is the spiteful fiend of the evil eye. 15. Theirs are the same  appliances as the demon Aeshm's , as it says that seven powers are given to Aeshm , that he may utterly destroy the creatures therewith; with those seven powers he will destroy seven  of the Kayân heroes in his own time, but one will remain. 16. There where Mîtôkht ('falsehood') arrives, Arask ('malice') becomes welcome, [and there where Arask is welcome]  Aeshm lays a foundation , and there where Aeshm has a foundation  many creatures perish, and he causes much non-Iranianism . 17. Aeshm mostly contrives all evil for the creatures of Aûharmazd, and the evil deeds of those Kayân heroes have been more complete through Aeshm, as it says, that Aeshm, the impetuous assailant, causes them most .

The demon Vîzarêsh  is he who struggles with the souls of men which have departed, those days and nights  when they remain in the world; he carries them on, terror-stricken, and sits at the gate of hell. 19. The demon Uda  is he who, when a man sits in a private place, or when he eats at meals, strikes his knee spiritually on his back , so that he bawls out [and looks out, that chattering he may eat, chattering] he may evacuate (rîed), and chattering he may make water (mêzêd), so that he may not attain [unto the] best existence  .

[20. The demon Akâtâsh  is the fiend of perversion (nikîrâyîh), who makes the creatures averse (nikîrâî) from proper things; as it says, that whoever has given anything to that person (tanû) whose opinion (dâd) is this, that it is not necessary to have a high-priest (dastôbar), then the demon Aeshm is propitiated by him. 21. Whoever has given anything to that person whose opinion is this, and who says, that it is not necessary to have a snake-killer (mâr-van), then Aharman, with the foregoing demons, is propitiated by him; this is said of him who, when he sees a noxious creature, does not kill it. 22. A snake-killer (mâro-gnô)  is a stick on the end of which a leathern thong is provided; and it is declared that every one of the good religion must possess one, that they may strike and kill noxious creatures and sinners more meritoriously with it.

Zarmân  is the demon who makes decrepit (dûspad), whom they call old age (pirîh). 24. Kîshmak  is he who makes disastrous (vazandak), and also causes the whirlwind  which passes over for disturbance. 25. The demon Varenô  is he who causes illicit intercourse, as it says thus: 'Varenô the defiling (âlâî).' 26. The demon Bûshâsp  is she who causes slothfulness; Sêg is the fiend (drûg) who causes annihilation; and the demon Nîyâz is he who causes distress.
The demon Âz  ('greediness') is he who swallows everything, and when, through destitution, nothing has come he eats himself; he is that fiendishness which, although the whole wealth of the world be given up to it, does not fill up and is not satisfied; as it says, that the eye of the covetous is a noose (gamand), and in it the world is nought. 28. Pûs  is the demon who makes a hoard, and does not consume it, and does not give to any one; as it says, that the power of the demon Âz is owing to that person who, not content with his own wife, snatches away even those of others.
The demon Nas  is he who causes the pollution and contamination (nisrûstih), which they call nasâi ('dead matter'). 30. The demon Frîftâr ('deceiver') is he who seduces mankind. 31. The demon Spazg  ('slander') is he who brings and conveys discourse (milayâ), and it is nothing in appearance such as he says; and he shows that mankind fights and apologizes (avakhshînêd), individual with individual. 32. The demon Arâst  ('untrue') is he who speaks falsehood. 33. The demon Aîghâsh  is the malignant-eyed fiend who smites mankind with his eye. 24. The demon Bût  is he whom they worship among the Hindûs, and his growth is lodged in idols, as one worships the horse as an idol . 35 Astô-vîdâd  is the evil flyer (vâê-i sarîtar) who seizes the life; as it says that, when his hand strokes a man it is lethargy, when he casts it on the sick one it is fever, when he looks in his eyes he drives away the life, and they call it death. 36. The demon of the malignant eye (sûr-kashmîh) is he who will spoil anything which men see, when they do not say 'in the name of God' (yazdân).

With every one of them are many demons and fiends co-operating, to specify whom a second time would be tedious; demons, too, who are furies (khashmakân), are in great multitude it is said. 38. They are demons of ruin, pain, and growing old (zvârân), producers of vexation and bile, revivers of grief (nîvagîh), the progeny of gloom, and bringers of stench, decay, and vileness, who are many, very numerous, and very notorious; and a portion of all of them is mingled in the bodies of men, and their characteristics are glaring in mankind.

The demon Apâôsh  and the demon Aspengargâk  are those who remain in contest with the rain. 40. Of the evil spirit  are the law of vileness, the religion of sorcery, the weapons of fiendishness, and the perversion (khâmîh) of God's works; and his wish is this, that is: 'Do not ask about me, and do not understand me! for if ye ask about and understand me, ye will not come after me .' 41. This, too, it says, that the evil spirit remains at the distance of a cry, even at the cry of a three-year-old cock (kûlêng), even at the cry of an ass, even at the cry of a righteous man when one strikes him involuntarily and he utters a cry . 42. The demon Kûndak  is he who is, the steed (bârak) of wizards.

Various new demons arise from the various new sins the creatures may commit, and are produced for such purposes; who make even those planets rush on which are in the celestial sphere, and they stand very numerously in the conflict. 44. Their ringleaders (kamârîkân) are those seven planets, the head and tail of Gôkîhar, and Mûspar provided with a tail, which are ten. 45. And by them these ten worldly creations, that is, the sky, water, earth, vegetation, animals, metals, wind, light, fire, and mankind, are corrupted with all this vileness; and from them calamity, captivity, disease, death, and other evils and corruptions ever come to water, vegetation, and the other creations which exist in the world, owing to the fiendishness of those ten. 46. They whom I have enumerated are furnished with the assistance and crafty (afzar-hômand) nature of Aharman.

Regarding the cold, dry, stony, and dark interior of mysterious (târîk dên afrâg-pêdâk) hell it says, that the darkness is fit to grasp with the hand , and the stench is fit to cut with a knife; and if they inflict the punishment of a thousand men within a single span, they (the men) think in this way, that they are alone; and the loneliness is worse than its punishment . 48. And its connection (band) is with the seven planets, be it through much cold like Saturn  (Kêvân), be it through much heat like Aharman; and their food is brimstone (gandak), and of succulents the lizard (vazagh), and other evil and wretchedness (patyân).]

Footnotes

105:3 Chaps. XXVIII, XXIX, and XXXI are omitted in M6 and all MSS. descended from it, whether Pahlavi or Pâzand; and, owing to the loss of a folio from K20 before any of its extant copies were written, the first quarter of Chap. XXVIII has hitherto been missing, but is here supplied (enclosed in brackets) from TD, a MS. belonging to Mobad Tahmuras Dinshaw (see Introduction).

105:4 Winter being one of the primary evils brought upon creation by Angra-mainyu (see Vend. I, 8-12).

105:5 See Chap. III, 9.

105:6 Referring to 'the evil eye.'

106:1 Compare Chap. I, 14.

106:2 The six arch-fiends of this paragraph are those mentioned in Chaps. I, 27, XXX, 29.

106:3 Written Sôvar in Chap. I, 27.

106:4 Written Nâkahêd in Chap. I, 27, Nâîkîyas when repeated in this sentence, and Pâz. Nâûnghas in Chap. XXX, 29.

107:1 Written Tâîrêv in Chap. I, 27.

107:2 See Chap. III, 2.

107:3 From this point the Pahlavi text is extant in K20, except some illegible words, the translation of which (supplied from TD) is here enclosed in brackets.

107:4 Anquetil, misled by the lacuna in his MS., thought that there was a change of subject here, and began a new chapter at this point. On this account the numbers of his chapters are henceforth one in excess of those in this translation.

107:5 Written Tarôkmatŏ in TD, and identified with Nâûnghas (Nâîkîyas) in Chap. XXX, 29; a personification of the Av. tarômaiti, 'disobedience,' of Yas. XXXIII, 4, LIX, 8.

107:6 A personification of the Av. mithaokhta, 'false-spoken,' of Yas. LIX, 8, Vend. XIX, 146, Visp. XXIII, 9, Zamyâd Yt. 96.

107:7 TD has drûg gûmânîkîh, 'the fiend of scepticism.'

107:8 Av. araska of Yas. IX, 18, Râm Yt. 16, personified.

107:9 The word hômanam in K20 is a false Huzvâris reading of ham, owing to the copyist reading am, 'I am;' TD has hamafzâr, 'having like means.'

107:10 Or Khashm, 'wrath;' so written in K20, but it is usually Aêshm elsewhere; the Av. aêshma of Vend. IX, 37, X, 23, 27, &c. The Asmodeus of the Book of Tobit appears to be the Av. Aêshmô daêvô, 'demon of wrath.'

108:1 TD has 'there were seven powers of Aêshm.'

108:2 TD has 'six,' which looks like an unlucky attempt to amend a correct text. Tradition tells us that only five Kayâns reigned (see Chap. XXXIV, 7), and the Shâhnâmah also mentions Sîyâwush (Pahl. Kaî-Sîyâvakhsh), who did not reign; but eight Kayâns, besides Lôharâsp and Vistâsp, who were of collateral descent (see Chap. XXXI, 28), are mentioned in the Avesta, whence the author of the Bundahis would obtain much of his information (see Fravardîn Yt. 132, Zamyâd Yt. 71, 74).

108:3 The phrase in brackets occurs only in TD.

108:4 Reading bunak as in TD; K20 has 'sends down a root.'

108:5 So in TD; K20 has 'where Aeshm keeps on.'

108:6 That is, 'many foreign customs.'

108:7 The word vêsh, 'most,' is only in TD.

108:8 So in TD; K20 has Vigêsh. He is the Av. Vîzaresha of Vend. XIX, 94, who is said to convey the souls of the departed to the Kinvad bridge.

109:1 TD has 'those three nights,' referring to the period that the soul is said to remain hovering about the body after death (see Hâdôkht Nask, ed. Haug, II, 1-18, III, 1-17).

109:2 So in K20; TD has Aûdak (see Pahl. Vend. XVIII, 70).

109:3 TD has merely 'strikes a slipper (padîn-pôsh) spiritually,' that is, invisibly, for the purpose of startling the man.

109:4 The short phrases in brackets are taken from TD to supply words torn off from K20, which passes on to Chap. XXIX at this point, but TD supplies a continuation of Chap. XXVIII, which is added here, and enclosed in brackets.

109:5 The Av. Akatasha of Vend. X, 23 Sp., XIX, 43 W.

109:6 See Pahlavi Vend. XVIII, 5, 6.

110:1 A personification of the Av. zaurva of Vend. XIX, 43 W., Yas. IX, 18 Sp., Gôs Yt. 10, Râm Yt. 16.

110:2 The reading of this name is uncertain.

110:3 The small whirlwinds, which usually precede a change of wind in India, are commonly known by the name of shaîTân, which indicates that such whirling columns of dust are popularly attributed to demoniacal agency.

110:4 A personification of Av. varena, 'desire,' in an evil sense.

110:5 Av. Bûshyãsta of Vend. XI, 28, 29, 36, 37, XVIII, 38, &c. The names of the three demons in this sentence are Persian words for 'sloth,' 'trouble,' and 'want.'

110:6 Av. Âzi of Vend. XVIII, 45, 50, Yas. XVII, 46, LXVII, 22, Âstâd Yt. 1.

110:7 Compare Pers. payûs, 'covetous,' and piyûs, 'avarice.' Pûs is evidently the demon of misers, and Âz that of the selfish.

111:1 Av. Nasu of Vend, V, 85-106, VI, 65, 72, 74, 79, VII, 2-27, 70, VIII, 46, 48, 132-228, IX, 49-1 7, &c.

111:2 Av. spazga of Ardabahist Yt. 8, 11, 15.

111:3 Always written like anâst.

111:4 Av. aghashi of Vend. XX, 14, 20, 24, which appears to be 'the evil eye;' but see § 36.

111:5 Av. Bûiti of Vend. XIX, 4, 6, 140, who must be identified with Pers. but, 'an idol,' Sans. bhûta, 'a goblin,' and not with Buddha.

111:6 Reading afas vakhsh pavan bûtîhâ mâhmânŏ, kîgûn bût asp parastêdŏ, which evidently admits of many variations, but the meaning is rather obscure.

111:7 Here written Astî-vîdâd (see Chap. III, 21). Vend. V, 25, 31 says, 'Astô-vîdhôtu binds him (the dying, man); Vayô (the flying demon) conveys him bound;' from which it would appear that Astî-vîdâd and 'the evil flyer' were originally considered as distinct demons.

112:1 Av. Apaosha of Tîstar Yt. 21, 22, 27, 28, Âstâd Yt. 2, 6; see also Chap. VII, 8, 10, 12.

112:2 Here written Aspengarôgâ, but see Chaps. VII, 12, XVII, 1. He is the Av. Spengaghra of Vend. XIX, 135, and, being a demon, is not to be confounded with the demon-worshipper, Spin**gauruska, of Gôs Yt. 31, Ashi Yt. 51.

112:3 The 'evil spirit,' Ganrâk-maînôk, seems to be here treated as a demon distinct from Aharman, which is inconsistent with what is stated in §§ 1-6, and is contrary to general opinion. This inconsistency would indicate the possibility of this continuation of Chap. XXVIII in TD, or a portion of it, having been added by an editor in later times (although it is difficult to discover any difference of style in the language), if we did not find a similar confusion of the two names in Chap. XXX, 29, 30.

113:1 Compare Mkh. XL, 24-28: 'The one wish that Hôrmezd, the lord, desires from men is this, that "ye shall understand me (Hôrmezd), since every one who shall understand me comes after me, and strives for my satisfaction." And the one wish that Aharman desires from men is this, that "ye shall not understand me (Aharman), since whoever shall understand me wicked, his actions proceed not after me, and, moreover, no advantage and friendship come to me from that man."'

113:2 The sentence is rather obscure, but it seems to imply that such cries keep the evil spirit at a distance; it is, however, just possible that it means that the cry of the evil spirit can be heard as far as such cries.

113:3 Av. Kunda of Vend. XI, 28, 36, XIX, 138.

113:4 TD has Gôk-kihar and Mûs-parîk here, but see Chap. V, 1, where these beings are included among the seven planetary leaders, and not counted in addition to them. This is another inconsistency which leads to the suspicion that this continuation of the chapter may have been written by a later hand. According to this later view, the sun and moon must be included among those malevolent orbs, the planets.

114:1 Compare Mkh. VII, 31: 'and always their darkness is suchlike as though it be possible to grasp with the hand.'

114:2 Compare Ardâ-Vîrâf-nâmak (LIV, 5-8): 'As close as the ear to the eye, and as many as the hairs on the mane of a horse, so close and many in number, the souls of the wicked stand, but they see not, and hear no sound, one from the other; every one thinks thus, "I am alone.".

114:3 Or, 'with more cold than Saturn.'

CHAPTER XXIX .

On [the spiritual chieftainship  of the regions of the earth] it says in revelation, that every one of those six chieftainships  has one spiritual chief; as the chief of Arzah is Ashâshagahad-ê H**vandkãn , the chief of Savah is Hoazarôdathhri-hanâ Parêstyarô , the chief of Fradadafsh is Spîtôîd-i Aûspôsînân , [the chief of Vîdadafsh is Aîrîz-râsp Aûspôsînân ,] the chief of Vôrûbarst is Huvâsp , the chief of Vôrûgarst is Kakhravâk . 2. Zaratûst is spiritual chief of the region of Khvanîras, and also of all the regions; he is chief of the world of the righteous, and it is said that the whole religion was received by them from Zaratûst .

In the region of Khvanîras are many places, from which, in this evil time of violent struggling with the adversary, a passage (vidarg) is constructed by the power of the spiritual world (maînôkîh), and one calls them the beaten tracks  of Khvanîras.

Counterparts of those other regions  are such places as Kangdez, the land of Saukavastân, the plain of the Arabs (Tâzîkân), the plain of Pêsyânsaî, the river Nâîvtâk , Aîrân-vêg, the enclosure (var) formed by Yim, and Kasmîr in India . 5. And one immortal chief acts in the government of each
of them; as it says, that Pêshyôtanû  son of Vistâsp, whom they call Kîtrô-maînô , is in the country of Kangdez ; Aghrêrad  son of Pashang is in the land of Saukavastân , and they call him Gôpatshah ; Parsadgâ  H**vembya is in the plain of Pêsyânsaî , and he is H**vembya for this reason, because they brought him up in a h**vemb ('jar') for fear of Khashm ('Wrath'); [Asâm-i  Yamâhust is in the place which they call the River Nâîvtâk]; the tree opposed to harm  is in Aîrân-vêg; Urvatad-nar  son of Zaratûst is in the enclosure formed by Yim. 6. Regarding them it says, they are those who are immortal, as are Narsih  son of Vîvanghâû, Tûs  son of Nôdar , Gîw  son of Gûdarz, Ibairaz  the causer of strife, and Ashavazd son of Pourudhâkhst ; and they will all  come forth, to the assistance of Sôshyans, on the production of the renovation of the universe.

Regarding Sâm  it says, that he became immortal, but owing to his disregard of the Mazdayasnian religion, a Tûrk whom they call Nihâg  wounded him with an arrow, when he was asleep there, in the plain of Pêsyânsaî; and it had brought upon him the unnatural lethargy (bûshasp) which overcame him in the midst of the heat . 8. And the glory (far) of heaven stands over him  for the purpose that, when Az-i Dahâk  becomes unfettered (arazak), he may arise and slay him; and a myriad guardian spirits of the righteous are as a protection to him. 9. Of Dahâk, whom they call Bêvarâsp, this, too, it says, that Frêdûn when he captured Dahâk was not able to kill him, and afterwards confined him in Mount Dimâvand ; when he becomes unfettered, Sâm arises, and smites and slays him.

As to Kangdez, it is in the direction of the east, at many leagues from the bed (var)  of the wide-formed ocean towards that side. 11. The plain of Pêsyânsaî is in Kâvulistân, as it says, that the most remarkable upland (bâlist) in Kâvulistân is where Pêsyânsaî is; there it is hotter, on the more lofty elevations there is no heat . 12. Aîrân-vêg is in the direction of Âtarô-pâtakân . 13. The land of Saukavastân is on the way from Tûrkistân to Kînistân, in the direction of the north. 14. [The enclosure]  formed by Yim is in the middle of Pârs, in Sruvâ ; thus, they say, that what Yim formed (Yim-kard) is below Mount Yimakân . 15. Kasmîr is in Hindûstân.

Footnotes

115:1 For this chapter, which is numbered XXX by previous translators, we have to depend only on K20 and TD (see the note on the heading of Chap. XXVIII); and the words enclosed in brackets are supplied from TD, being either illegible or omitted in K20.

115:2 Perhaps 'patriarchate' or 'episcopate' would be a better translation of radîh, and 'patriarch' or 'bishop' of rad, in this chapter, as the chief high-priest (dastûr-i dastûrân) and his office are evidently meant by these words.

115:3 Of the six other regions, distinct from this one of Khvanîras, see Chap. XI, 2-4.

115:4 TD has Ashashâg,hd-ê aîgh Nêvandãn; both MSS. giving these names in a barbarous Pâzand form which cannot be relied on. Perhaps this Dastûr is the Av. Ashâvanghu Bivandangha of Fravardîn Yt. 110.

115:5 TD has Hôazarôkakhhr-hanâ Parêstyrô, all in Pâzand in both MSS., except Huz. hanâ, which stands for Pâz. ê, here used for the idhâfat i. Perhaps this Dastûr is the Av. Garô-danghu Pairistîra of Fravardîn Yt. 110.

115:6 So in TD; K20 has Pâz. Spaitanid-i Huspâsnyân. This Dastûr is, no doubt, the Av. (gen.) Spitôis Uspãsnaos of Fravardîn Yt. 121.

115:7 Omitted in K20, but, no doubt, this Dastûr is the Av. Erezrâspa Uspãsnu of Fravardîn Yt. 121.

115:8 Av. Hvaspa of Fravardîn Yt. 122.

115:9 So in both MSS. As in the case of each of the preceding two pair of regions, two consecutive names of Dastûrs have been taken from the Fravardîn Yast, it may be supposed that the names taken for this third pair of regions will also be consecutive, and this Dastûr must, therefore, be identified with the Av. Kathwaraspa of Fravardîn Yt. 122.

116:1 TD has 'Zaratûst is chief of this region of Khvanîras, and also of the whole world of the righteous; all chieftainship, also, is from Zaratûst, so that the whole religion,' &c.

116:2 Justi has 'zones, climates;' but transcribing Pâz. habâvanhâ back into Pahlavi we have a word which may be read khabânŏhâ, pl. of khabân, 'a trampling-place' (comp. Pers. khabîdan). TD has khvabîsnŏ-gâs, which has the same meaning.

116:3 Meaning, probably, that they resemble the six smaller regions in being isolated and difficult of access; in other words, either mythical, or independent of Iranian rule.

116:4 So in TD, which also omits the second, third, and fourth of these isolated territories. In K20 we might read rad va khûdâk, 'chief and lord,' as an epithet of Aîrân-vêg. This river must be the Nâhvtâk of Chap. XXI, 6.

116:5 Reading Kasmîr-i andar Hindû, but TD has Kasmîr-i andarûnŏ; perhaps the last word was originally anîrânak, in which case we should read 'the not-Iranian Kasmîr.'

117:1 The Av. Peshôtanu of Vistâsp Yt. 4, where he is described as free from disease and death. TD has Pêshyôk-tanû. See also Chaps. XXXI, 29, XXXII, 5.

117:2 TD has Kitrô-mâônô, and it may be doubted whether the latter portion of the name be derived from Av. mainyu, 'spirit,' or maunghô, 'moon.' The Dâdistân-i-Dînîk (Reply 89) calls him 'Patshâyôtanû who is called from the Kîtrôk-mâhanô (or mîyânô),' the Katru-mîyân river of Chap. XX, 7, 31.

117:3 See § 10. TD has Kangdez-i bâmîk, 'Kangdez the splendid.'

117:4 The Av. Aghraêratha Narava of Gôs Yt. 18, 22, Fravardîn Yt. 131, Ashi Yt. 38, Zamyâd Yt. 77; he is Aghrîrath, brother of Afrâsiyâb, in the Shâhnâmah; see also Chap. XXXI, 15.

117:5 TD has Pahl. Sakîkstân here, but Sôkapastân in § 13 (the letters îk and p being often much alike in Pahlavi writing). K20 has Pâz. Sâvkavatân, Saukâvasta, and Sâvkavastãn.

117:6 TD has Gôpat-malkâ, 'king of Gôpat;' and Dâd. (Reply 89) states that 'the reign of Gôpatshah is over the country of Gôpatô, coterminous with Aîrân-vêg, on the bank of the water of the Dâîtîk; and he keeps watch over the ox Hadhayãs, on whom occurred the various emigrations of men of old.' Mkh. (LXII, 31-36) says, 'Gôpatshâh remains in Aîrân-vêg, within the region of Khvanîras; from foot to mid-body he is a bull, and from mid-body to top he is a man; at all times he stays on the sea-shore, and always performs the worship of God, and always pours holy-water into the sea; through the pouring of that holy-water innumerable noxious creatures in the sea will die; for if he should not mostly perform that ceremonial, and should not pour that holy-water into the sea, and those innumerable noxious creatures should not perish, then always when rain falls the noxious creatures would fall like rain.' In Chap. XXXI, 20, he is said to be a son of Aghrêrad.

117:7 So in K20; and Av. Parshadgau occurs in Fravardîn Yt. 96, 127; but TD has Fradakhstar Khûmbîkân, and Dâd. (Reply 89) mentions 'Fradhakhstô son of Khûmbîkân' as one of the seven immortal lords of Khvanîras, which name corresponds with the Av. Fradhâkhsti Khunbya of Fravardîn Yt. 138.

118:1 TD has always Pahl. Pêsânsih. No doubt the Pisîn valley is meant (see § 11).

118:2 Or it may be read Aêshm-i. This phrase occurs only in TD, but Dâd. (Reply 89) mentions 'the Avesta Yakhmâyîsad, son of the same Fryânô,' as one of the seven immortal lords of Khvanîras.

118:3 See Chap. XXVII, 2.

118:4 See Chap. XXXII, 5.

118:5 Or Narsâe in TD; K20 has Paz. Narêî, but see Chap. XXXI, 3, 5.

118:6 Av. Tusa of Âbân Yt. 53, 58, and an Iranian warrior in the Shâhnâmah.

118:7 Av. Naotara, whose descendants are mentioned in Âbân Yt. 76, 98, Fravardîn Yt. 102, Râm Yt. 35.

118:8 Av. Gaêvani of Fravardîn Yt. 115 is something like this name of one of the Iranian warriors in the Shâhnâmah.

118:9 TD has Pâz. Bairazd. Perhaps it is not a name but a Pâzand corruption of Pahl. aêvarz, 'warrior, trooper' (traditionally); in which case we should have to read 'the warrior who was a causer of strife.'

118:10 So in TD; K20 has 'Ashavand son of Porudakhst' and Dâd. (Reply 89) mentions 'Ashavazang son of Pôrûdakhstôîh' as one of the seven immortal lords of Khvanîras. He is the Av. 'Ashavazdangh the Pourudhâkhstiyan' of Âbân Yt. 72, Fravardîn Yt. 112.

118:11 So in TD, but K20 has 'always.'

119:1 This is not Sâm the grandfather of Rustam, but the Av. Sâma, who appears to have been an ancestor of Keresâspa (see Yas. IX, 30), called Sam, grandfather of Garsâsp, in a passage interpolated in some copies of the Shâhnâmah (compare Chap. XXXI, 26, 27). Here, however, it appears from the Bahman Yast (III, 59, 60) that Keresâspa himself is meant, he being, called Sâma Keresâspa in Fravardîn Yt. 61, 136.

119:2 It can also be read Nihâv or Nîyâg in K20, and Nihâv or Nihân in TD.

119:3 TD has 'as he lay in the midst of the heat.'

119:4 TD has 'and the snow (vafar) has settled (nishast) over him.'

119:5 See Chaps. XXXI, 6, XXXIV, 5.

119:6 See Chap. XII, 31.

119:7 TD has agvar, 'above,' instead of min var, 'from the bed.'

120:1 Or, 'the hottest there, through the very lofty elevation, is not heat.'

120:2 Pers. Âdarbîgân.

120:3 The word var is omitted in K20.

120:4 TD has Pahl. Srûbâk.

120:5 Or it may be read Damakân, but TD has Kamakân. It can hardly be Dâmaghân, as that is a town and district in Khurâsân; Justi also suggests the district of Gamagân in Pârs, and thinks Sruvâ means 'cypress wood,' there being a Salvastân between Shîrâz and Fasâ.

CHAPTER XXX .

On the nature of the resurrection and future existence it says in revelation, that, whereas Mâshya and Mâshyôî, who grew up from the earth , first fed upon water, then plants, then milk, and then meat, men also, when their time of death has come, first desist from eating meat, then milk, then from bread, till when  they shall die they always feed upon water. 2. So, likewise, in the millennium of Hûshêdar-mâh , the strength of appetite (âz) will thus diminish, when men will remain three days and nights in superabundance (sîrîh) through one taste of consecrated food. 3. Then they will desist from meat food, and eat vegetables and milk; afterwards, they abstain from milk food and abstain from vegetable food, and are feeding on water; and for ten years before Sôshyans  comes they remain without food, and do not die.

After Sôshyans comes they prepare the raising of the dead, as it says, that Zaratûst asked of Aûharmazd thus: 'Whence does a body form again, which the wind has carried and the water conveyed (vazîd) ? and how does the resurrection occur?' 5. Aûharmazd answered thus: 'When through me the sky arose from the substance of the ruby , without columns, on the spiritual support of far-compassed light; when through me the earth arose, which  bore the material life, and there is no maintainer of the worldly creation but it; when by me the sun and moon and stars are conducted in the firmament (andarvaî) of luminous bodies; when by me corn was created so that, scattered about in the earth, it grew again and returned with increase; when by me colour  of various kinds was created in plants; when by me fire was created in plants and other things  without combustion; when by me a son was created and fashioned  in the womb of a mother, and the structure (pîsak) severally of the skin, nails, blood, feet, eyes, ears, and other things was produced; when by me legs were created for the water, so that it flows away, and the cloud was created which carries the water of the world and rains there where it has a purpose; when by me the air was created which conveys in one's eyesight, through the strength of the wind, the lowermost upwards according to its will, and one is not able to grasp it with the hand out-stretched; each one of them, when created by me, was herein more difficult than causing the resurrection, for  it is an assistance to me in the resurrection that they exist, but when they were formed it was not forming the future out of the past . 6. Observe that when that which was not was then produced, why is it not possible to produce again that which was? for at that time one will demand the bone from the spirit of earth, the blood from the water, the hair from the plants, and the life from fire, since they were delivered to them in the original creation.'

First, the bones of Gâyômard are roused up then those of Mâshya and Mâshyôî, then those of the rest of mankind; in the fifty-seven years of Sôshyans  they prepare all the dead, and all men stand up; whoever is righteous and whoever is wicked, every human creature, they rouse up from the spot where its life departs. 8. Afterwards, when all material living beings assume again their bodies and forms, then they assign (barâ yehabûnd) them a single class . 9. Of the light accompanying (levatman) the sun, one half will be for Gâyômard, and one half will give enlightenment among the rest of men, so that the soul and body will know that this is my father, and this is my mother, and this is my brother, and this is my wife, and these are some other of my nearest relations.

Then is the assembly of the, Sadvâstarân  where all mankind will stand at this time; in that assembly every one sees his own good deeds and his own evil deeds; and then, in that assembly, a wicked man becomes as conspicuous as a white sheep among those which are black. 11. In that assembly whatever righteous man was friend of a wicked one in the world, and the wicked man complains of him who is righteous, thus: 'Why did he not make me acquainted, when in the world, with the good deeds which he practised himself?' if he who is righteous did not inform him, then it is necessary for him to suffer shame accordingly in that assembly .

Afterwards they set the righteous man apart from the wicked; and then the righteous is for heaven (garôdmân), and they cast the wicked back to hell. 13. Three days and nights they inflict punishment bodily in hell, and then he beholds bodily those three days' happiness in heaven . 14. As it says that, on the day when the righteous man is parted from the wicked, the tears of every one, thereupon, run down unto his legs. 15. When, after they set apart a father from his consort (hambâz), a brother from his brother, and a friend from his friend, they suffer, every one for his own deeds, and weep, the righteous for the wicked, and the wicked about himself; for there may be a father who is righteous and a son wicked, and there may be one brother who is righteous and one wicked. 16. Those for whose peculiar deeds it is appointed, such as Dahâk and Frâsîyâv of Tûr, and others of this sort, as those deserving death (marg-argânân), undergo a punishment no other men undergo; they call it 'the punishment of the three nights .'

Among his producers of the renovation of the universe, those righteous men of whom it is written  that they are living, fifteen men and fifteen damsels, will come to the assistance of Sôshyans. 18. As Gôkîhar  falls in the celestial sphere from a moonbeam on to the earth, the distress of the earth becomes such-like as that of a sheep when a wolf falls upon it. 19. Afterwards, the fire and halo  melt the metal of Shatvaîrô, in the hills and mountains, and it remains on this earth like a river.

Then all men will pass into that melted metal and will become pure; when one is righteous, then it seems to him just as though he walks continually in warm milk; but when wicked, then it seems to him in such manner as though, in the world, he walks continually in melted metal.

Afterwards, with the greatest affection, all men come together, father and son and brother and friend ask one another thus: 'Where has it  been these many years, and what was the judgment upon thy soul? hast thou been righteous or wicked?' 22. The first soul the body sees, it enquires of it with those words (gûft). 23. All men become of one voice and administer loud praise to Aûharmazd and the archangels.

Aûharmazd completes his work at that time, and the creatures become so that it is not necessary to make any effort about them; and among those by whom the dead are prepared, it is not necessary that any effort be made. 25. Sôshyans, with his assistants, performs a Yazisn ceremony in preparing the dead, and they slaughter the ox Hadhayôs  in that Yazisn; from the fat of that ox and the white Hôm  they prepare Hûsh, and give it to all men, and all men become immortal for ever and everlasting. 26. This, too, it says, that whoever has been the size of a man, they restore him then with an age of forty years; they who have been little when not dead, they restore then with an age of fifteen years; and they give every one his wife, and show him his children with the wife; so they act as now in the world, but there is no begetting of children.

Afterwards, Sôshyans and his assistants, by order of the creator Aûharmazd, give every man the reward and recompense suitable to his deeds; this is even the righteous existence (aît) where it is said that they convey him to paradise (vahist), and the heaven (garôdmân) of Aûharmazd takes up the body (kerp) as itself requires; with that assistance he continually advances for ever and everlasting. 28. This, too, it says, that whoever has performed no worship (yast), and has ordered no Gêtî-kharîd , and has bestowed no clothes as a righteous gift, is naked there; and he performs the worship (yast) of Aûharmazd, and the heavenly angels  provide him the use of his clothing.

Afterwards, Aûharmazd seizes on  the evil spirit, Vohûman on Akôman , Ashavahist on Andar , Shatvaîrô on Sâvar, Spendarmad on Tarômat who is Nâûnghas , Horvadad and Amerôdad on Tâîrêv and Zâîrîk , true-speaking on what is evil-speaking, Srôsh  on Aeshm  30. Then two fiends remain at large, Aharman  and Âz ; Aûharmazd comes to the world, himself the Zôta and Srôsh the Râspî , and holds the Kûstî in his hand; defeated by the Kûstî  formula the resources of the evil spirit and Âz act most impotently, and by the passage through which he rushed into the sky  he runs back to gloom and darkness. 31. Gôkîhar  burns the serpent (mâr)  in the melted metal, and the stench and pollution which were in hell are burned in that metal, and it (hell) becomes quite pure. 32. He (Aûharmazd) sets the vault  into which the evil spirit fled, in that metal; he brings the land of hell back for the enlargement of the world ; the renovation arises in the universe by his will, and the world is immortal for ever and everlasting.

This, too, it says, that this earth becomes an iceless , slopeless plain ; even the mountain , whose summit is the support of the Kînvar bridge, they keep down, and it will not exist.

Footnotes

120:6 This chapter is found in all MSS., and has been numbered XXXI by former translators.

120:7 See Chaps. XV, 2-16, XXXIV, 3.

121:1 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which' (see the note on Chap. 1, 7).

121:2 Written Khûrshêdar-mâh, or Khûrshêd-mâh, in the Bundahis; see Chap. XXXII, 8, and Bahman Yt. III, 52, 53.

121:3 See Chaps. XI, 6, X XXII, 8, Bahman Yt. III, 62.

121:4 Compare (Vend. V, 26) 'the water carries him up, the water carries him down, the water casts him away.'

121:5 Compare Mkh. IX, 7.

121:6 All MSS. have min, 'out of,' but translators generally suppose it should be mûn, 'which,' as the meaning of 'brought out of material life' is by no means clear. Perhaps the two phrases might be construed together, thus: 'there is no other maintainer of the worldly creation, brought from the material life, than it.' Windischmann refers to Fravardîn Yt. 9.

122:1 Former translators all read rag, 'vein, pore;' but it probably stands for rang, 'colour, dye,' as in Chap. XXVII, 5, 18.

122:2 See Chap. XVII, 1, 2.

122:3 Pâz. srahtîd is evidently a misreading of Pahl. srîstîd, 'formed, shaped.' Windischmann compares Fravardîn Yt. 11, 22, 28.

122:4 Here kîm is the Pâzand of Huz. mamanam, 'for to me;' being a different word from the interrogative kîm, 'why?' of the next §.

122:5 Literally, 'what becomes out of what was.'

123:1 K20 omits 'Sôshyans.'

123:2 The phrase is obscure, and K20 omits the numeral 'one' (the idhâfat of unity); but the meaning is probably that all former distinctions of class, or caste, are abolished.

123:3 Windischmann suggests that it may be 'the assembly of Isadvâstar,' the eldest son of Zaratûst (see Chap. XXXII, 5); perhaps supposed to be presided over by him as the first supreme high-priest after Zaratûst's death.

124:1 In the Ardâ-Vîrâf-namak (Chap. LXVIII) it is related that Ardâ-Vîrâf saw the souls of a husband and wife, that of the husband destined for heaven, and that of the wife for hell; but the wife clung to her husband and asked why they should be separated, and he told her it was on account of her neglect of religious duties; whereupon she reproached him for not teaching and chastising her. 'And, afterwards, the man went to heaven and the woman to hell. And owing to the repentance of that woman she was in no other affliction in hell but darkness and stench. And that man sat in the midst of the righteous of heaven in shame, from not converting and not teaching the woman, who might have become virtuous in his keeping.'

124:2 As an aggravation of his punishment in hell. It has generally been supposed that this last phrase refers to the reward of the righteous man, but this cannot be the case unless akhar be taken in the sense of 'other,' which is unlikely; besides, beholding the happiness of others would be no reward to an Oriental mind.

125:1 According to the Pahlavi Vend. VII, 136 (p. 96, Sp.) it appears that a person who has committed a marg-argân or mortal sin, without performing patît or renunciation of sin thereafter, remains in hell till the future existence, when he is brought out, beheaded three times for each mortal sin unrepented of, and then cast back into hell to undergo the punishment tishrãm khshafnãm ('of the three nights') before he becomes righteous; some say, however, that this punishment is not inflicted for a single mortal sin. This period of three nights’ punishment is quite a different matter from the three nights’ hovering of the soul about the body after death.

125:2 See Chap. XXIX, 5, 6. As the text stands in the MSS. it is uncertain whether the fifteen men and fifteen damsels are a portion of these righteous immortals, or an addition to them.

125:3 Probably a meteor (see Chap. V, 1).

125:4 Reading khîrman; M6 has 'the fire and angel Aîrman (Av. Airyaman) melt the metal in the hills,' &c.

126:1 K20 has 'have I;' probably hômanîh, 'hast thou,' was the original reading.

126:2 See Chap. XIX, 13.

126:3 See Chap. XXVII, 4.

127:1 The Sad-dar Bundahis says that by Gêtî-kharîd 'heaven is purchased in the world, and one's own place brought to hand in heaven.' The Rivâyat of Dastûr Barzû (as quoted in MS. 29 of Bombay University Parsi Collection) gives the following details in Persian: 'To celebrate Gêtî-kharîd it is necessary that two hêrbads (priests) perform the Nâbar, and with each khshnûman which they pray it is fit and necessary that both hêrbads have had the Nâbar; and the first day they recite the Nônâbar yast, and consecrate the Nônâbar drôn and the Nônâbar âfrîngân which they recite in each Gâh; in the Hâvan Gâh it is necessary to recite fravarânê (as in Yas. III, 24 W. to end), ahurahê mazdau raêvatô (as in Aûharmazd Yt. 0, to) frasastayaêka, then Yas. III, 25 W., XVII. 1-55 Sp., ashem vohû thrice, âfrînâmi khshathryãn (as in Âfrîngân I, 14, to end). The second day the Srôsh yast and Srôsh drôn and âfrîngân are to be recited; and the third day it is necessary to recite the Sîrôzah yast, the Sîrôzah drôn and âfrîngân dahmân; and it is needful to recite the second and third âfrîngâns in each Gâh, and each day to consecrate the barsom and drôn afresh with seven twigs, so that it may not be ineffective.'

127:2 Pâz. gehân is probably a misreading of Pahl. yazdân, as neither 'the spirit of the world,' nor 'the spirit of the Gâhs' is a likely phrase. It is possible, however, that maînôk gehân is a misreading of min aîvyahân, 'from the girdle,' and we should translate as follows: 'and out of its girdle (that is, the kûstî of the barsom used in the ceremony) he produces the effect of his clothing.'

128:1 Instead of vakhdûnd, 'seize on,' we should probably read vânend, 'smite,' as in the parallel passages mentioned below.

128:2 Compare Zamyâd Yt. 96. Each archangel (see Chap. I, 25, 26) here seizes the arch-fiend (see Chaps. I, 27, XXVIII, 7-12) who is his special opponent.

128:3 Here written Pâz. Inder. Compare Pahlavi Yas. XLVII, 1: 'When among the creation, in the future existence, righteousness smites the fiend, Ashavahist smites Indar.'

128:4 Written Nâkahêd in Chap. I, 27, and Nâîkîyas in Chap. XXVIII, 20, where he is described as a distinct demon from Tarômat in XXVIII, 14.

128:5 Here written Târêv and Zârîk.

128:6 Av. Sraosha, a personification of attentive hearing and obedience, who is said to watch over the world and defend it from the demons, especially at night; see Vend. XVIII, 48, 51, 70, &c., Yas. LVI, Srôsh Yt. Hâdôkht, &c.

128:7 See Chap. XXVIII, 15-17.

128:8 Comparing § 29 with § 30 it is not very clear whether the author of the Bundahis considered Aharman and the evil spirit as the same or different demons; compare also Chap. XXVIII, 1-6 with 40, 41.

128:9 See Chap. XXVIII, 27.

128:10 The Zôta is the chief officiating priest in all ceremonies, and the Râspî is the assistant priest.

129:1 The words zak g,hâni, for ân gehâni, are probably a misreading of aîvyahân, 'the kûstî or sacred thread-girdle,' which is tied round the waist in a peculiar manner, during the recital of a particular formula, in which Aûharmazd is blessed and Aharman and the demons are cursed.

129:2 See Chap. III, 10-12.

129:3 See § 18 and Chap. V, 1.

129:4 Probably referring to Âz, which means both 'greediness' and 'serpent.' It is, however, possible to read 'Gôkîhar the serpent burns in' &c., and there can be no doubt that Gôkîhar is represented as a malevolent being.

129:5 Or, perhaps, 'hiding-place.' Comparing K20 and M6 together the word seems to be alôm, which may be compared with Heb. ‏אוּלָם‎ 'a vault,' or Chald. ‏אוּלָמָא‎ 'a porch;' it may, however, be vâlôm, which may be traced to ‏עלם‎ 'to conceal.' In the old MSS. it is certainly not shôlman, 'hell,' which is an emendation due to the modern copy in Paris.

129:6 Or, 'to the prosperity of the world.'

129:7 Former translators read anhîkhar, 'undefiled,' but this does not suit the Pahlavi orthography so well as anhasâr, 'iceless' (compare Pers. hasar, khâsar, or khasâr, 'ice'); cold and ice, being produced by the evil spirit, will disappear with him.

129:8 Pâz. âmâvan is a misreading of Pahl. hâmûn, so the reading is ansîp (compare Pers. sîb) hâmûn. Mountains, being the work of the evil spirit, disappear with him.

129:9 Kakâd-i-Dâîtîk, see Chap. XII, 17.

CHAPTER XXXI 

On the race and genealogy of the Kayâns.
Hôshyang  was son of Fravâk, son of Sîyâkmak , son of Mâshya  , son of Gâyômard. [2. Takhmôrup  was son of Vîvanghâû , son of Yanghad , son of Hôshyang. 3. Yim,]  Takhmôrup, Spîtûr , and Narsih , whom they also call 'the Rashnû of Kînŏ ,' were all brothers 4. From Yim and Yimak , who was his sister, was born a pair, man and woman, and they became husband and wife together; Mîrak the Âspiyân  and Zîyânak Zardâhim were their names, and the lineage went on. 5. Spîtûr was he who, with Dahâk, cut up Yim ; 3; Narsih  lived then  also, whom they call Nêsr-gyâvân ; they say that such destiny (gadman) is allotted to him , that he shall pass every day in troubles, and shall make all food purified and pure.
Dahâk  was son of Khrûtâsp, son of Zâînîgâv, son of Virafsang, son of Tâz, son of Fravâk, son of Sîyâkmak ; by his mother Dahâk was of Udaî , son of Bayak, son of Tambayak, son of Owokhm , son of Pairi-urvaêsm , son of Gadhwithw , son of Drûgâskân , son of the evil spirit.
Frêdûn the Âspiyân  was son of Pûr-tôrâ  the Âspiyân, son of Sôk-tôrâ  the Âspiyân, son of Bôr-tôrâ the Âspiyân, son of Sîyâk-tôrâ the Âspiyân, son of Spêd-tôrâ the Âspiyân, son of Gefar-tôrâ the Âspiyân, son of Ramak-tôrâ the Âspiyân, son of Vanfraghesn  the Âspiyân, son of Yim, son of Vîvanghâû; as these, apart from the Âspiyân Pûr-tôrâ, were ten generations, they every one lived a hundred years, which becomes one thousand years; those thousand years were the evil reign of Dahâk. 8. By the Âspiyân Pûr-tôrâ was begotten Frêdûn, who exacted vengeance for Yim; together with him , also were the sons Barmâyûn and Katâyûn, but Frêdûn was fuller of glory than they.

By Frêdûn three sons were begotten, Salm and Tûg and Aîrîk ; and by Aîrîk one son and one pair  were begotten; the names of the couple of sons were Vânîdâr and Anastokh , and the name of the daughter was Gûzak . 10. Salm and Tûg slew them all, Aîrîk and his happy sons, but Frêdûn kept the daughter in concealment, and from that daughter a daughter was born ; they became aware of it, and the mother was slain by them. 11. Frêdûn provided for the daughter , also in concealment, for ten generations, when Mânûs-i Khûrshêd-vînîk was born from his mother, [so called because, as he was born, some of]  the light of the sun (khûrshêd) fell upon his nose (vînîk). 12. From Mânûs-i Khûrshêd-vînîk and his sister  was Mânûs-khûrnar, and from Mânûs-khûrnar [and his sister] was Mânûs**kîhar born , by whom Salm and Tûg were slain in revenge for Aîrîk . 13. By Mânûs**kîhar were Fris, Nôdar , and Dûrâsrôb  begotten.
Just as Mânûs**kîhar was of Mânûs-khûrnar, of Mânûs-khûrnâk , who was Mâm-sozak , of Aîrak, of Thritak, of Bîtak, of Frazûsak, of Zûsak , of Fragûzak, of Gûzak, of Aîrîk, of Frêdûn, so Frâsîyâv  was of Pashang, of Zaêsm , of Tûrak, of Spaênyasp, of Dûrôshasp, of Tûg, of Frêdûn. 15. He (Frâsîyâv) as well as Karsêvaz , whom they call Kadân , and Aghrêrad  were all three brothers.

[16 . Pashang and Vîsak were both brothers. 17. By Vîsak were Pîrân , Hûmân, Sân , and other brothers begotten. 18. By Frâsîyâv were Frasp-i Kûr, Sân, Shêdak , and other sons begotten; and Vispân-fryâ , from whom Kaî-Khûsrôb was born, was daughter of Frâsîyâv, and was of the same mother with Frasp-i Kûr. 19. From Frasp-i Kûr were Sûrâk, Asûrîk, and other children; and by them were Khvâst-aîrikht, Yazdân-aîrikht, Yazdân-sarâd, Frêh-khûrd, Lâ-vahâk , and others begotten, a recital of whom would be tedious.
By Aghrêrad was Gôpatshah  begotten. 21. When Frâsîyâv made Mânûs**kîhar, with the Iranians, captive in the mountain-range (gar) of Padashkh-vâr , and scattered ruin and want among them, Aghrêrad begged a favour of God (yazdân), and he obtained the benefit that the army and champions of the Iranians were saved by him from that distress. 22. Frâsîyâv slew Aghrêrad for that fault; and Aghrêrad, as his recompense, begat such a son as Gôpatshah.

Aûzôbô the Tûhmâspian , Kanak-i Barzist, Arawisanasp, and Vaêtan**d-i Râghinôid were the three sons and the daughter of Agâimasvâk , the son of Nôdar, son of Mânûs**kîhar, who begat Aûzôbô. 24. Kavâd  was a child in a waist-cloth (kuspûd) they abandoned him on a river, and he froze upon the door-sills (kavâdakân); Aûzôbô perceived and took him, brought him up, and settled the name of the trembling child.

By Kavâd was Kaî-Apîvêh begotten; by Kaî-Apîvêh were Kaî-Arsh, Kaî-Vyârsh, Kaî-Pisân, and Kaî-Kâûs begotten; by Kaî-Kâûs was Sîyâvakhsh begotten; by Sîyâvakhsh was Kaî-Khûsrôb begotten. 26. Keresâsp  and Aûrvakhsh  were both brothers. 27. Athrat  was son of Sâhm, son of Tûrak, son of Spaênyasp, son of Dûrôshasp , son of Tûg, son of Frêdûn. 28. Lôharâsp  was son of Aûzâv , son of Mânûs, son of Kaî-Pîsîn , son of Kaî-Apîvêh, son of Kaî-Kavâd. 29. By Kaî-Lôharâsp were Vistâsp, Zarîr , and other brothers begotten; by Vistâsp were Spend-dâd  and Pêshyô-tanû  begotten; and by Spend-dâd were Vohûman , Âtarô-tarsah, Mitrô-tarsah, and others begotten.
Artakhshatar descendant of Pâpak—of whom his mother was daughter—was son of Sâsân , son of Vêh-âfrîd and  Zarîr, son of Sâsân, son of Artakhshatar who was the said Vohûman son of Spend-dâd.

The mother of Kaî-Apîvêh was Farhank , daughter of him who is exalted on the heavenly path , Urvad-gâi-frâst , son of Râk, son of Dûrâsrôb, son of Mânûs**kîhar. 32. This, too, it says, that the glory  of Frêdûn settled on the root of a reed (kanyâ) in the wide-formed ocean; and Nôktargâ , through sorcery, formed a cow for tillage, and begat children there; three years he carried the reeds there, and gave them to the cow, until the glory went on to the cow; he brought the cow, milked her milk, and gave it to his three sons; as their walking was on hoofs, the glory did not go to the sons, but to Farhank. 33. Nôktargâ wished to injure  Farhank, but Farhank went with the glory away from the fierce (tîb) father, and made a vow (patyastâk) thus: 'I will give my first son to Aûshbâm .' 34. Then Aûshbâm saved her from the father; and the first son, Kaî-Apîvêh, she bore and gave to Aûshbâm, was a hero associating with Aûshbâm, and travelled in Aûshbâm's company.

The mother of Aûzôbô was the daughter of Nâmûn the wizard, when Nâmak  was with Frâsîyâv.

And, moreover, together with those begotten by Sâm  were six children in pairs, male and female; the name of one was Damnak, of one Khûsrôv, and of one Mârgandak, and the name of each man and woman together was one. 37. And the name of one besides them was Dastân ; he was considered more eminent than they, and Sagânsîh  and the southern quarter were given to him; and Avar-shatrô  and the governorship were given by him to Avarnak. 38. of Avar-shatrô this is said, that it is the district of Avarnak, and they offered blessings to Srôsh and Ardavahist in succession; on this account is their possession of horses and possession of arms; and on account of firm religion, purity, and manifest joy, good estimation and extensive fame are greatly among them. 39. To Damnak the governorship of Asûristân was given; sovereignty and arranging the law of sovereignty, wilfulness and the stubborn defects they would bring, were among them. 40. To Sparnak  the governorship of Spâhân  was given; to Khûsrôv the governorship of Râi  was given; to Mârgandak the kingdom, forest settlements, and mountain settlements of Padashkhvârgar were given; where they travel nomadically, and there are the forming of sheep-folds, prolificness, easy procreation, and continual triumph over enemies. 41. From Dastân proceeded Rûdastâm  and Hûzavârak .]

Footnotes

130:1 For this chapter, which is numbered XXXII by previous translators, we have to depend only on K20, TD, and K20b (a fragment evidently derived from the same original as K20 and M6, but through some independent line of descent).

130:2 So in K20, but usually Hôshâng (see Chaps. XV, 28, XXXIV, 3, 4).

130:3 See Chap. XV, 25,30.

130:4 See Chaps. XV, 2-24, 30, XXXIV, 3.

130:5 Av. Takhmô-urupa of Râm Yt. 11, Zamyâd Yt. 28, Âfrîn Zarat. 2; written Tâkhmôrup in TD, which is the only MS. in which the passage enclosed in brackets is found, the omission of which by K20 was suspected by Windischmann (Zoroastriche Studien, p. 199). This king is the Tahmûras of the Shâhnâmah. See also Chaps. XVII, 4, XXXIV, 4.

130:6 Av. Vîvanghau of Yas. IX, 11, 20, XXXII, 8, Vend. II, 8, 28, 94, Fravardîn Yt. 130, Zamyâd Yt. 35.

130:7 As this Pâzand name or title begins with a medial y, its initial vowel is probably omitted (see p. 141, note 8).

130:8 Av. Yima or Yima khshaêta of Vend. II, &c., the Jamshêd of the Shâhnâmah (see Chaps. XVII. 5, XXXIV, 4).

130:9 Av. Spityura of Zamyâd Yt. 46.

130:10 Here written Nârsî in K20, and K20b, and Nôsîh in TD; but see § 5 and Chap. XXIX, 6. Windischmann suggests that he may be the Av. Aoshnara pouru-gîra of Fravardîn Yt. 131, Âf. Zarat. 2.

130:11 An epithet equivalent to 'the Minos of China;' Rashnû being the angel of justice, who is said to weigh the meritorious deeds of the departed soul against its sins. Neither word is, however, quite certain, as rashnûk may stand for rasnîk, 'spear,' and has also been translated by 'light' and 'hero;' Kînŏ, moreover, was probably not China, but Samarkand (see Chaps. XII, 13, 22, XV, 29).

131:1 See Chap. XXIII, 1.

131:2 Av. Âthwyâna of Âbân. Yt. 33, Gôs Yt. 13, Fravardîn Yt. 131, Zamyâd Yt. 36, &c., where it is the family name of Thraêtaona, who is said to be a son of Âthwya in Yas. IX, 23, 24. In the text this name seems to be used rather as a title than a patronymic, and in § 7 it appears to be a family surname.

131:3 As stated in Zamyâd Yt. 46.

131:4 Here written Nârsak in K20 and K20b, and Nôsîh in TD.

131:5 TD has 'together,' instead of 'then.'

131:6 So in K20, but K20b has Narst-gyâvân, and TD has Nôsîh-vîyâvânîk (or nîyâzânîk). Perhaps we may assume the epithet to have been nîgîr-vîyâvânîk (or nîyâzânîk), 'one with a bewildering (or longing) glance.'

131:7 Justi supposes this clause of the sentence refers to Yim and the disease which attacked his hand. If this be the case it may be translated as follows: 'they say aîghash is produced on his hand (yadman), so that,' &c.; aîghash being a disease, or evil, mentioned in Vend. XX, 14, 20, 24; compare Chap. XXVIII, 33.

131:8 Or Az-i Dahâk, the Av. Azi Dahâka, 'destructive serpent,' of Yas. IX, 25, Vend. I, 69, Âbân Yt. 29, 34, Bahrâm Yt. 40, Zamyâd Yt. 46-50. A name applied to a foreign dynasty (probably Semitic) personified as a single king, which conquered the dominions of Yim (see Chap. XXXIV, 5).

132:1 For the last three names, see Chap. XV, 25, 28.

132:2 Pahl. Aûd in TD; compare 'the demon Uda' of Chap. XXVIII, 19. The following two names look like 'fear' and 'gloom-fear,' both appropriate names for demons.

132:3 TD has Pâz. Owôikh; compare Av. aoiwra, 'a species of nightmare,' observing that r and ô are often written alike in Pahlavi.

132:4 TD and K20b have Paz. Pairi-urva-urvaêsm, and K20 has Pai-urvaêsm.

132:5 TD has Pâz. Gawithw.

132:6 So in TD, but K20 has Pâz. Druz-i ayaskâ, and K20b has Drug-i ayaskâ. It corresponds to Av. drugaska in Vend. XIX, 139, Vistâsp Yt. 26. This genealogy appears to trace Dahâk's maternal descent through a series of demons.

132:7 Av. Thraêtaona, son of Âthwya, but generally called 'the Âthwyânian,' who slew the destructive serpent (azi dahâka), see Yas. IX, 24, 25, Vend. I, 69, Âbân Yt. 33, 61, Gôs Yt. 13, Fravardîn Yt. 131, Bahrâm Yt. 40, Râm Yt. 23, Ashi Yt. 33, Zamyâd Yt. 36, 92, Âf. Zarat. 2. In the Shâhnâmah he is called Ferîdûn son of Abtîn.

132:8 This name is omitted in K20, but occurs in the other two MSS.; it is a Huzvâris hybrid equivalent to Pâz. Pûr-gau and Av. Pouru-gau which is. a title of an Âthwyânian in Âf. Zarat. 4, Vistâsp Yt. 2. This genealogy consists almost entirely of such hybrid names, which have a very artificial appearance, though suitable enough for a race of herdsmen, meaning, as they severally do, 'one with abundant oxen, with useful oxen, with the brown ox, with the black ox, with the white ox, with the fat ox, and with a herd of oxen.'

132:9 So in TD, but the other two MSS. have Sîyâk-tôrâ, which is probably wrong, as the same name occurs again in this genealogy.

133:1 In TD this name can be read Vanfrôkisn or Vanfrôkgân.

133:2 TD has 'as well as him.' K20b omits most of this sentence by mistake.

133:3 These sons, as Windischmann observes, are not mentioned in the extant Avesta, but their Avesta names, Sairima, Tûirya or Tûra, and Airya or Airyu, may be gathered from the names of the countries over which they are supposed to have ruled (see Fravardîn Yt. 143).

133:4 TD has 'two sons and one daughter.'

133:5 TD has Anîdâr and Anastabŏ.

133:6 Or Gûgak, in TD; the other MSS. have Pâz. Ganga here, but Guzak in § 14; it is identical with the name of Hôshyang's sister and wife in Chap. XV, 28. in the Pâzand Gâmâsp-nâmah the name of Frêdûn's daughter is written Vîrak.

133:7 Reading min zak dûkht dûkht-i zâd, as in K20b and TD; some uncertainty arises here from the words dûkht, 'daughter,' and dvâd, 'pair,' being written alike in Pahlavi.

133:8 TD has bartman, 'daughter,' indicating that the word in K20 must be read dûkht, and not dvâd, 'pair.'

134:1 The phrase in brackets occurs only in TD; and the whole passage from 'vînîk' to 'sun' is omitted in K20, evidently by mistake.

134:2 TD has 'from Manûs and his sister,' and K20b 'has from Mânûs-hûkîhar and Mânûs-khûrshêd.'

134:3 The words in brackets occur only in TD, and K20b has 'from Mânûs-khûrnar also was Mânûs-khûrnâk, from Mânûs-khûrnâk was Mânûs**kîhar born,' but this introduction of an extra generation is not confirmed by the list of names in § 14. The term khûrnâk (or khûrnak) seems to be merely a transcript of the Avesta word of which khûrshêd-vînîk, 'sun-nose,' is a translation. The other term khûrnar can also be read khûrvar, but K20 has Pâz. h**varnar. Mânûs**kîhar is the Av. Manuskithra of Fravardîn Yt. 131, where he is styled the Airyavan, or descendant of Airyu (Aîrîk).

134:4 TD has 'and vengeance exacted for Aîrîk.'

134:5 See Chap. XXIX, 6.

134:6 Pâz. Durâsro, but the Pahlavi form, given in the text, occurs in § 31 and Chap. XXXII, 1 in TD, which MS. omits this § by mistake.

134:7 The same as Mânûs-i khûrshêd-vînîk, as noted above.

134:8 This Pâzand epithet seems to mean 'mother-burning,' and may have some connection with the legend mentioned in § 11. TD has mûn am Gûgak, 'whose mother was Gûgak.'

134:9 K20b omits the five names from Aîrak to Zûsak.

134:10 Av. Frangrasyan, the Tûryan, of Yas. XI, 21, Âbân Yt. 41, Gôs Yt. 18, 22, Ashi Yt. 38, 42, Zamyâd Yt. 56-63, 62, 93; called Afrâsiyâb in the Shâhnâmah.

135:1 Zâdsam in the Shâhnâmah.

135:2 Garsîvaz in the Shâhnâmah.

135:3 TD has Pahl. Kîdân.

135:4 See Chap. XXIX, 5.

135:5 The remainder of this chapter is found only in TD.

135:6 Pîrân Vîsah is Afrâsiyâb's chief general in the Shâhnâmah and Hûmân and Pîlsam are his brothers.

135:7 This name is very ambiguous in Pahlavi, as it can be read many other ways.

135:8 Shêdah in the Shâhnâmah.

135:9 She is called Farangîs in the Shâhnâmah.

135:10 The reading of several of these names is more or less uncertain, but the object of the author is evidently to apply opprobrious epithets to all the male descendants of Afrâsiyâb.

135:11 TD has Gôpat-malkâ here, as also in Chap. XXIX, 5, where it is said to be a title of Aghrêrad (always written Agrêrad in TD).

136:1 The mountains south of the Caspian (see Chap. XII. 17).

136:2 Av. Uzava Tûmâspana of Fravardîn Yt. 131, called Zav, or Zâb, son of Tahmâsp, in the Shâhnâmah.

136:3 None of these names, which TD gives in Pâzand, are to be found in the portion of the Avesta yet extant.

136:4 Av. Kavi Kavâta of Fravardîn Yt. 132, Zamyâd Yt. 71, called Kaî-Qubâd in the Shâhnâmah. There appears to be an attempt, in the text, to derive his name from the 'door-sill' on which he is said to have been found.

136:5 The Avesta names of these seven other Kayâns are, respectively, Kavi Aipi-vanghu, Kavi Arshan, Kavi Byârshân, Kavi Pisanangh, Kavi Usadhan, Kavi Syâvarshân, and Kavi Husravangh (see Fravardîn Yt. 132, Zamyâd Yt. 71, 74); omitting the third, they are called, respectively, Armîn, Aris, Pasîn, Kaî-Kâvûs, Siyâvush, and Kaî-Khusrô in the Shâhnâmah. TD, omitting the first letter, has Sânŏ for Pisân; it also writes Kaî-Kâyûks and Kei-Khûsrôvî.

137:1 Av. Keresâspa of Yas. IX, 31, 36, 39, Vend. I, 36, Âbân Yt. 37, Fravardîn Yt. 61, 136, Râm Yt. 27, Zamyâd Yt. 38-44, Âf. Zarat. 3; he is called Garsâsp in the Shâhnâmah.

137:2 Av. Urvâkhshaya of Yas. IX, 31, Râm Yt. 28, Âf. Zarat. 3. These brothers were sons of Thrita or Athrat, mentioned in the next §.

137:3 Av. Thrita of the Sâma race (see Yas. IX, 30, Vend. XX, 11) and father of Keresâspa, whose genealogy is given in a passage interpolated in some copies of the Shâhnâmah as follows: Garsâsp, Atrat, Sam, Tûrag, Sîdasb, Tûr, Jamshêd.

137:4 Written Dûrôshap in TD, both here and in § 14.

137:5 Av. Aurvad-aspa of Âbân Yt. 105, Vistâsp Yt. 34, 46, called Luhrâsp in the Shâhnâmah.

137:6 Reading doubtful.

137:7 Written Ka-Pîsîn here, but he is the same person as Kaî-Pisân of § 25; the latter part of the name is written both Pisanangh and Pisina in the Avesta.

137:8 Probably Zargar (being Av. Zairivairi of Âbân Yt. 112, 117, Fravardîn Yt. 101), but called Zarîr in the Shâhnâmah.

137:9 Av. Spentô-dâta of Fravardîn Yt. 103. Vistâsp Yt. 25, called Isfendiyâr in the Shâhnâmah.

137:10 See Chaps. XXIX, 5, XXXII, 5.

137:11 Called Bahman in the Shâhnâmah, and Ardashîr the Kayânian in Bahman Yt. II, 17; the successor of his grandfather Vistâsp (see Chap. XXXIV, 8).

137:12 The text is rather obscure, but the Kârnâmak of Ardashîr-i Pâpakân states clearly that Ardashîr was son of Sâsân by the daughter of Pâpak, a tributary ruler of Pârs under Ardavân, the last of the Askâniyân monarchs.

138:1 So in the Pahlavi text, which therefore makes Vêh-âfrîd a woman's name (like Pers. Beh-âfrîn); but this is doubtful, as the MSS. often confound va, 'and,' and i, 'son of.'

138:2 In the Shâhnâmah Farhang is mother of Kaî-Kâvûs. The Pahlavi name can also be read Farânak, the name of the mother of Ferîdûn in the Shâhnâmah.

138:3 Pâz. vîdharg-âfrârstaka, which looks more like an epithet than a name.

138:4 Or, perhaps, 'Urvad-gâ son of Frâst.'

138:5 The divine glory which was supposed to accompany all legitimate sovereigns of Iran, from the time of Hôshyang even to that of the Sasanian dynasty; it is the Av. h**varenangh of the Zamyâd Yast, and is said to have fled to the ocean for refuge during the reign of foreign dynasties and wicked kings (see Âbân Yt. 42, Zamyâd Yt. 51, 56, 59, 62).

138:6 The last syllable is so written, in Pâzand, in § 33.

138:7 Reading hangîdanŏ, to injure,' instead of khung**danŏ, which may mean 'to embrace;' the difference between the two words being merely the letter î.

139:1 This name means 'the dawn;' perhaps it may be identified with Av. Usinemangh or Usenemangh of Fravardîn Yt. 113, 1401 whose wife Freni may possibly be the Farhank (or Frânak) of the text.

139:2 So in TD, but it is probably only a variant of Nâmûn.

139:3 The grandfather of Rustam (see § 41). In the Avesta he is usually called Sâma Keresâspa with the title Nairimanau; while in the Shâhnâmah Sâm is son of Narîmân.

139:4 Another name for Zâl, the father of Rustam, in the Shâhnâmah.

139:5 The same as Sagastân.

139:6 Or, perhaps, 'the upper district.'

140:1 He would seem not to have been a son of Sâm, as he is not mentioned before. The reading of all these names is uncertain.

140:2 The Pahlavi form of Ispahân.

140:3 Av. Ragha of Yas. XIX, 51, Vend. I, 60, whose ruins are near the modern Teherân.

140:4 The usual Pahlavi form of Rustam.

140:5 Or Aûzvârak; Rustam's brother is called Zavârah in the Shâhnâmah.

CHAPTER XXXII 

On the kindred of Pôrûshasp , son of Paîtirâsp , son of Aurvadasp , son of Hâêkadâsp , son of Kakhshnûs , son of Pâîtîrasp, son of Hardarsn , son of Hardâr , son of Spîtâmân , son of Vîdast , son of Ayazem, son of Ragan , son of Dûrâsrôb , son of Mânûs**kîhar . 2. As Paîtirâsp had two sons, one Pôrûshasp and one Ârâsti , by Pôrûshasp was Zaratûst begotten for a sanctuary of good religion , and by Ârâsti was Mêdyôk-mâh  begotten. 3. Zaratûst, when he brought the religion, first celebrated worship  and expounded in Aîrân-vêg, and Mêdyôk-mâh received the religion from him. 4. The Môbads  of Pârs are all traced back to this race of Mânûs**kîhar.

Again, I say, by Zaratûst  were begotten three sons and three daughters ; one son was Isadvâstar , one Aûrvatad-nar , and one Khûrshêd-kîhar ; as Isadvâstar was chief of the priests he became the Môbad of Môbads, and passed away in the hundredth year of the religion; Aûrvatad-nar was an agriculturist, and the chief of the enclosure formed by Yim , which is below the earth; Khûrshêd-kîhar was a warrior, commander of the army of Pêshyôtanû, son of Vistâsp, and dwells in Kangdez ; and of the three daughters the name of one was Frên, of one Srît, and of one Pôrukîst . 6. Aûrvatad-nar and Khûrshêd-kîhar were from a serving (kakar) wife , the rest were from a privileged (pâdakhshah) wife.

7 . By Isadvâstar was begotten a son whose name was Ururviga , and they call him Arang-i Bîrâdân  ('fore-arm of brothers') for this reason, that, as they were from a serving wife, she then delivered them over to Isadvâstar through adoption. 8. This, too, one knows, that three sons of Zaratûst, namely, Hûshêdar, Hûshêdar-mâh , and Sôshyans , were from Hvôv ; as it says, that Zaratûst went near unto Hvôv three times, and each time the seed went to the ground; the angel Nêryôsang  received the brilliance and strength of that seed, delivered it with care to the angel Anâhîd , and in time will blend it with a mother. 9. Nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine, and nine myriads  of the guardian spirits of the righteous are intrusted with its protection, so that the demons may not injure it .

The name of the mother of Zaratûst was Dughdâ , and the name of the father of the mother, of Zaratûst was Frahimravâ .

Footnotes

140:6 This chapter, which is numbered XXXIII, by previous translators, is found in all MSS., but in TD it forms a continuation of the preceding chapter, beginning with the name Pôrûshasp.

140:7 Av. Pourushaspa of Yas. IX, 42, 43, Vend. XIX, 15, 22, 143, Âbân Yt. 18, &c.

140:8 K20 has Pâz. Spitarsp, and M6 has Pâz. Piruasp (see note on Chap. XXXIII, 1). The reading in the text is doubtful.

140:9 Omitted in K20 and TD.

140:10 Av. Haêkadaspa of Yas. XLI, 15, LII, 3.

141:1 Windischmann suggests Av. Kâkhshnôis (gen.) of Fravardîn Yt. 114.

141:2 K20 has Pâz. Harsn and TD has Harakîdârsnŏ.

141:3 TD has Harâîdâr, or Arâîdâr.

141:4 Or Spîtâm (as the last syllable is the patronymical suffix), Av. Spitâma, the usual patronymic of Zaratûst.

141:5 May be read Vâdist in TD.

141:6 Possibly the same person as Râk in Chap. XXXI, 31; but see XXXIII, 3.

141:7 So in TD, but Pâz. Durâsrun in K20, M6.

141:8 This genealogy is somewhat differently given in the Vagarkard-i Dînîk (pp. 28, 29), as published in Bombay by Dastur Peshotanji Behramji Sanjânâ in 1848; and is extended back, through the generations mentioned in Chap. XXXI, 1, 2, 7, 14, to Gâyômard, as follows: 'Pôrûshâspô son of Paîtîrâsp, and Arâspô son of Paîtîrâsp, Urvandasp, Haêkadasp, Kikhshnus, Paêtirasp, Hardrsn, Haridâr, Spîtâmânŏ, Vaêdist, Nayâzem, Ragisn, Dûrâsrôb, Mânûs**kîhar sovereign of Iran, Mânus-khûrnar, Mânus-khûrnâk, Nêryôsang, Varzîd-dîn, Vîzak, Airyak, Aithritak, Ibitak, Frazîsak, Zisak, Frasizak, Izak, Aîrîk, Frêdûn lord of Khvanîras, Pûr-tôrâ the Âspîkân, Nêvak-tôrâ the Âspîkân, Sôg-tôrâ the Âspîkân, Gêfar-tôrâ the Âspîkân, Vanô-i-fravisn the Âspîkân, Yim lord of the seven regions, Vîvanghâû, Ayanghad, Ananghad, Takhmôrup, Hôshâng the Pêsdâd, lord of the seven regions, Fravâk, Sîyâmak, Mashyô whose wife was Mashyãk, Gâyôkmard the first man, and father of all mankind in the material world.'

141:9 Av. Âkrâstaya of Fravardîn Yt. 95; TD has Ârâstih.

141:10 The Pâzand words dargâ hidainis appear to be merely a misreading of Pahl. dargâs-i hûdînôîh.

141:11 Av. Maidhyô-maungha of Yas. L, 19, Fravardîn Yt. 95, 106. He is said to have been Zaratûst's first disciple.

142:1 Reading frâg yast; but it may be frâg gast, 'wandered forth.'

142:2 The class of priests whose special duty is to perform all religious rites and ceremonies.

142:3 This paragraph is quoted, with a few alterations, in the Vagarkard-i Dînîk, pp. 21-23.

142:4 K20 omits the 'three daughters' here, by mistake.

142:5 Av. Isad-vâstra of Yas. XXIII, 4, XXVI, 17, Fravardîn Yt. 98.

142:6 Av. Urvatad-nara of Vend. II, 143, Fravardîn Yt. 98. K20 and A16 have Aûrvartad-nar, and TD has Aûrvâtad-nar.

142:7 Av. Hvare-kithra of Fravardîn Yt. 98; TD has Khûr-kîhar.

142:8 See Chap. XXIX, 5. Windischmann and Justi consider the clause about Pêshyôtanû as inserted by mistake, and it is omitted in the Vagarkard-i Dînîk (p. 21); it is found, however, in all MSS. of the Bundahis.

142:9 These daughters are the Av. Freni, Thriti, and Pouru-kista of Fravardîn Yt. 139; the last is also mentioned in Yas. LII, 3.

142:10 The following is a summary of the Persian descriptions of the five kinds of marriage, as given in the Rivâyats:—

A pâdshâh ('ruling, or privileged') wife is when a man marries, with the parents' consent, an unbetrothed maiden out of a family, and she and her children remain his in both worlds.

A yûkan or ayûk ('only child') wife is an only child, married with the parents’ consent, and her first child belongs to them; after its birth she becomes a pâdshâh wife. She is entitled to one-third of her parents' property for giving up the child.

A satar ('adopted') wife is when a man over fifteen years of age dies childless and unmarried, and his relatives provide a maiden with a dowry, and marry her to another man; when half her children belong to, the dead man, and half to the living, and she herself is the dead man's wife in the other world.

A kakar or kâkar ('serving') wife is a widow who marries again; if she had no children by her first husband she is acting as a satar wife, and half her children by her second husband belong to her first one; and she herself, in any case, belongs to her first husband in the other world.

A khûd-sarâî or khûd-sarâî ('self-disposing') wife is one who marries without her parents’ consent; she inherits no property from her parents until her eldest son has given her as a pâdshâh wife to his father.

143:1 Instead of this sentence the Vagarkard-i Dînîk (pp. 21, 22) has the following, which appears to rest upon a misinterpretation of the text:—

'And Zaratûst the righteous had three wives; all three were in the lifetime of Zaratûst, and all three wives were living throughout the lifetime of Zaratûst; the name of one was Hvôv, of the second Urvig, of the third Arnig-baredâ. And from Urvig, who was a privileged wife, four children were born; one was the son Isadvâstar, and the three daughters, namely, Frên, Srîtak, and Pôrukist; these four were from Urvig. And from the wife Arnig-baredâ two sons were born, one Aûrvart-nar, and the second Khûrshêd-kîhar; and Arnig-baredâ was a serving wife, and the name of the former husband of Arnig-baredâ was Mitrô-ayâr. And from Hvôv, who was a privileged wife, were three sons, namely, Hûshêdar, Hûshêdar-mâh, and Sôshâns, as it says,' &c. (as in § 8).

143:2 TD has Pahl. Aûrvarvîgak or Khûrûrûpak.

143:3 So in TD.

144:1 Av. Ukhshyad-ereta and Ukhshyad-nemangh of Fravardîn Yt. 128.

144:2 Av. Saoshyãs of Vend. XIX, 18, Fravardîn Yt. 129, &c. See Chaps. XI, 6, XXIX, 6, XXX, 3, 4, 7, 17, 25, 27.

144:3 Av. Hvôvi of Fravardîn Yt. 139, Dîn Yt. 15; the Pahlavi form of the name, as given once in TD, is Hûvâôbŏ.

144:4 See Chap. XV, 1.

144:5 Av. anâhita of Âbân Yt. 1, &c.; a female personification of 'unsullied' water, known generally by the epithet ardvî sûra (the Arêdvîvsûr of Chap. XIII), and whose name is also applied to the planet Venus (see Chap. V, 1).

144:6 So in M6; other MSS. have '9,999 myriads,' but see Fravardîn Yt. 62.

144:7 This last phrase, about the demons, is omitted in TD and the Vagarkard-i Dînîk.

144:8 The Avesta word for 'daughter.'

144:9 TD has Pâz. Fereâhimruvânâ.

[CHAPTER XXXIII .

The family of the Môbads ('priests').

Bahak  was son of Hûbakht, son of Âtarô-bôndak, son of Mâhdad, son of Mêdyôk-mâh, son of Frâh-vakhsh-vindâd , son of Mêdyôk-mâh, son of Kâd , son of Mêdyôk-mâh, son of Ârâstih, son of Paîtirâsp . 2. As Bahak was Môbad of Môbads (high-priest) unto Shâhpûhar , son of Aûharmazd, so Kâd was the great preceptor (farmâdâr) unto Dârâî .

3. Âtarô-pâd  was son of Mâraspend, son of Dâdardâ, son of Dâdîrâd, son of Hûdînô, son of Âtarôdâd, son of Mânûs**kîhar, son of Vohûman-kîhar, son of Fryânô , son of Bâhak , son of Frêdûn, son of

Frashâîtar , son of Pôrûshasp, son of Vînâsp, son of Nivar, son of Vakhsh, son of Vahidhrôs, son of Frast, son of Gâk , son of Vakhsh, son of Fryân, son of Ragan, son of Dûrâsrôb, son of Mânûs**kîhar .

Mitrô-varâz was son of Nîgâs-afzûd-dâk, son of Shîrtashôsp, son of Parstva, son of Urvad-gâ, son of Tâham, son of Zarîr, son of Dûrâsrôb, son of Mânûs . 5. Dûrnâmîk was son of Zâgh, son of Masvâk, son of Nôdar , son of Mânûs**kîhar.

Mitrô-akâvîd is son of Mardân-vêh , son of Afrôbag-vindâd, son of Vindâd-i-pêdâk, son of Vâê-bûkht , son of Bahak, son of Vâê-bûkht. 7. The mother from whom I was born is Hûmâî, daughter of Freh-mâh, who also was the righteous daughters of Mâh-ayâr son of Mâh-bôndak, son of Mâh-bûkht. 8. Pûyisn-shâd is son of Mardân-vêh, son of Afrôbag-vindâd, son of Vindâd-i-pêdâk, son of Vâê-bûkht, son of Bahak, son of Vâê-bûkht.
All the other Môbads who have been renowned in the empire (khûdâyîh) were from the same family it is said, and were of this race of Mânûs**kîhar . 10. Those Môbads, likewise, who now exist are all from the same family they assert, and I, too, they boast, whom they call  'the administration of perfect rectitude' (Dâdakîh-i Ashôvahistô) . 11. Yûdân-Yim son of Vâhrâm-shâd, son of Zaratûst, Âtarô-pâd son of Mâraspend, son of Zâd-sparham , Zâd-sparham son of Yûdân-Yim , Âtarô-pâd son of Hâmîd , Ashôvahist son of Freh-Srôsh, and the other Môbads have sprung from the same family.

This, too, it says, that 'in one winter I will locate (gâkînam) the religion of the Mazdayasnians, which came out into the other six regions.']

Footnotes

145:1 This chapter is found only in TD, where it forms a continuation of the preceding, and affords a means (see §§ 10, 11) for determining the age of the recension of the text contained in that MS. As nearly all the names are written, in Pahlavi letters, the pronunciation of many of them is merely a matter of guess.

145:2 Here written Bôhak, but it is Bahak or Bâk in § 2; compare Bâhak in § 3, and Av. Baungha of Fravardîn Yt. 124.

145:3 Compare Av. Frashâvakhsha of Fravardîn Yt. 109.

145:4 Compare Av. Kâta of Fravardîn Yt. 124.

145:5 See Chap. XXXII, 2, for the last three generations; TD has Pîrtarâsp here, like the variant of M6 in Chap. XXXII, 1.

145:6 The Sasanian king Shâpûr II, who reigned A.D. 309-379.

145:7 According to the chronology of the Bundahis (Chap. XXXIV, 8, 9), Dârâî lived only some four centuries before Shâpûr II, for which period only seven generations of priests are here provided. This period, moreover, is certainly about three centuries less than the truth.

145:8 This priest was prime minister of Shâpûr II.

145:9 Compare Av. Fryâna of Yas. XLV, 12.

145:10 This name is repeated in TD, probably by mistake (compare Bahak in §§ 1, 2).

146:1 This is probably a semi-Huzvâris form of Frashôstar.

146:2 Perhaps this name should be read along with the next one, so as to give the single Pâzand name Skinas or Skivas.

146:3 See Chap. XXXII, 1, for the last three generations. According to this genealogy Âtarôpâd-i Mâraspendân was the twenty-third in descent from Mânûs**kîhar, whereas his contemporary, Bahak (§ 1), was twenty-second in descent from the same.

146:4 No doubt Mânûs**kîhar is meant; if not, we must read Mânûs-dûrnâmîk in connection with § 5.

146:5 Here written Nîdar, but see Chaps. XXIX, 6, XXXI, 13.

146:6 Here written Mard-vêh, but see § 8.

146:7 Here written Aê-vûkht, but see § 8; it may be Vîs-bûkht, or Vês-bûkht.

146:8 The text is amîdar mûnas li agas zerkhûnd Hûmôî dûkht-i Freh-mâh-ik aharôb vûkht (dûkht?). We might perhaps read 'Freh-mâh son of Kahârôb-bûkht,' but it seems more probable that §§ 7, 8 should be connected, and that the meaning intended is that Hûmâî was daughter of Freh-mâh (of a certain family) and of Pûyisn-shâd (of another family); she was also the mother of the editor of that recension of the Bundahis which is contained in TD; but who was his father? The singularly unnecessary repetition of the genealogy of the two brothers, Mitrô-akâvîd and Pûyisn-shâd, in §§ 6, 8, leads to the suspicion that if the latter were his mother's father, the former was probably his own father or grandfather. Unfortunately the text makes no clear statement on the subject, and § 10 affords further material for guessing otherwise at his name and connections.

147:1 Compare Chap. XXXII, 4.

147:2 Reading va lîk laband-i karîtûnd.

147:3 This looks more like a complimentary title than a name, and if the editor of the TD recension of the Bundahis were the son or grandson of Mitrô-akâvîd (§ 6) we have no means of ascertaining his name; but if he were not descended from Mitrô-akâvîd it is possible that §§ 10, 11 should be read together, and that he was the son of Yûdân-Yim. Now we know, from the heading and colophon of the ninety-two questions and answers on religious subjects which are usually called the Dâdistân-i Dînîk, and from the colophons of other writings which usually accompany that work, that those answers were composed and certain epistles were written by Mânûs**kîhar, son of Yûdân-Yim, who was high-priest of Pârs and Kirmân in A.Y. 250 (A.D. 881), and apparently a more important personage than his (probably younger) brother Zâd-sparham, who is mentioned in § 11 as one of the priests contemporary with the editor of the TD recension. If this editor, therefore, were a son of Yûdân-Yim (which is a possible interpretation of the text) he was most probably this same Mânûs**kîhar, author of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk (see the Introduction. § 4).

147:4 The last name is very probably superfluous, Zâd-sparham having been written twice most likely by mistake. This Âtarô-pâd son of Mâraspend was probably the one mentioned in the following extract from the old Persian Rivâyat MS., No. 8 of the collection in the Indian Office Library at London (fol. 142 a):—

'The book Dînkard which the dastûrs of the religion and the ancients have compiled, likewise the blessed Âdarbâd son of Mahrasfend, son of Asavahist of the people of the good religion, in the year three hundred of Yazdagard Shahryâr, collected some of the more essential mysteries of the religion as instruction, and of these he formed this book.' That is, he was the last editor of the Dînkard, which seems to have remained unrevised since his time, as the present copies have descended from the MS. preserved by his family and first copied in A.Y. 369.

148:1 Zâd-sparham was brother of the author of the Dâdistân-i Dînîk; he was high-priest at Sîrkân in the south, and evidently had access to the Bundahis, of part of which he wrote a paraphrase (see Appendix). His name is usually written Zâd-sparam.

148:2 In the history of the Dînkard, given at the end of its third book (see Introd. to Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk, p. xxxiv), we are told as follows:—

'After that, the well-meaning Âtarô-pâd son of Hêmîd, who was the leader of the people of the good religion, compiled, with the assistance of God, through inquiry, investigation, and much trouble, a new means of producing remembrance of the Mazdayasnian religion.' He did this, we are further told, by collecting all the decaying literature and perishing traditions into a work 'like the great original Dînkard, of a thousand chapters' (mânâk-i zak rabâ bûn Dînô-kartô 1000-darakŏ). We thus learn from external sources that the group of contemporary priests, mentioned in the text, was actively employed (about A.D. 900) in an attempted revival of the religious literature of the Mazdayasnians, to which we owe either the revision or compilation of such works as the Dînkard, Dâdistân-i Dînîk, and Bundahis.

CHAPTER XXXIV .

On the reckoning of the years .

Time was for twelve thousand years; and it says in revelation, that three thousand years was the duration of the spiritual state, where the creatures were unthinking, unmoving, and intangible ; and three thousand years  was the duration of Gâyômard, with the ox, in the world. 2. As this was six thousand years series of millennium reigns  of Cancer, Leo, and Virgo had elapsed, because it was six thousand years when the millennium reign came to Libra, the adversary rushed in, and Gâyômard lived thirty years in tribulation . After the thirty years  Mâshya and Mashyôî grew up; it was fifty years while they were not wife and husband , and they were ninety-three years together as wife and husband till the time when Hôshyang  came.

Hôshyang was forty years , Takhmôrup  thirty years, Yim till his glory  departed six hundred and sixteen years and six months, and after that he was a hundred years in concealment. 5. Then the millennium  reign came to Scorpio, and Dahâk  ruled a thousand years. 6. After the millennium reign came to Sagittarius, Frêdûn  reigned five hundred years; in the same five hundred years of Frêdûn were the twelve years of Aîrîk; Mânûs**kîhar  was a hundred and twenty years, and in the same reign of Mânûs**kîhar, when he was in the mountain fastness (dûshkhvâr-gar) , were the twelve years of Frâsîyâv; Zôb  the Tûhmâspian was five years.

Kaî-Kabâd  was fifteen years; Kaî-Kâûs, till he went to the sky, seventy-five years, and seventy-five years after that, altogether a hundred and fifty years; Kai-Khûsrôv sixty years; Kaî-Lôrâsp  a hundred and twenty years; Kaî-Vistâsp, till the coming of the religion, thirty years , altogether a hundred and twenty years.

Vohûman  son of Spend-dâd a hundred and twelve years; Hûmâî, who was daughter of Vohûman, thirty years; Dârâî son of Kîhar-i-âzâd , that is, of the daughter of Vohûman, twelve years; Dârâî son of Dârâî fourteen years; Alexander the Rûman  fourteen years.

The Askânians bore the title in an uninterrupted (a-arûbâk) sovereignty two hundred and eighty-four years , Ardashîr son of Pâpak and the number of the Sâsânians four hundred and sixty years , and then it went to the Arabs.

Footnotes

149:1 This chapter is found in all the MSS.

149:2 TD adds 'of the Arabs (Tâzîkân).'

149:3 See Chap. I, 8.

149:4 See Chaps. I, 22, III, 1.

149:5 This system of a millennium reign for each constellation of the zodiac can hardly have any connection with the precession of the equinoxes, as the equinoxes travel backwards through the zodiac, whereas these millennium reigns travel forwards.

149:6 See Chap. III, 21-23.

149:7 That is, forty years after the thirty (see Chap. XV, 2).

149:8 See Chap. XV, 19, 20.

149:9 See Chaps. XV, 28. XXXI, 1.

149:10 K20 omits, by mistake, from 'together' in § 3 to this point.

149:11 See Chap. XXXI, 2.

149:12 So in K20, but M6 has nismô, 'soul, reason,' as in Chap. XXIII, 1; the word 'glory' would refer to the supposed divine glory of the Iranian monarchs (see Chap. XXXI. 32).

150:1 The seventh millennium, ruled by Libra, is computed by Windischmann as follows: 30 + 40½ + 50 + 93 + 40 + 30 + 616½ + 100 = 1000. The eighth millennium, ruled by Scorpio, is the thousand years of Dahâk.

150:2 See Chap. XXXI, 6.

150:3 See Chap. XXXI, 7-11.

150:4 See Chap. XXXI, 12-14.

150:5 See Chap. XXXI, 21.

150:6 Written Aûzôbô in Chap. XXXI, 23, 24.

150:7 Usually written Kai-Kavâd in Pahlavi (see Chap. XXXI, 24,25).

150:8 Also written Kaî-Lôharâsp (see Chap. XXXI, 28, 29).

150:9 This is the end of the ninth millennium, ruled by Sagittarius, which is computed by Windischmann as follows, 500 + 120 + 5 + 15+ 150 +60+ 120+ 30 = 1000.

150:10 See Chap. XXXI, 29, 30, where he is said to have been also called Artakhshatar, which seems to identify him with Artaxerxes Longimanus and his successors down to Artaxerxes Mnemon; so that Hûmâî may perhaps be identified with Parysatis, and Dârâî Kihar-âzâdân with Artaxerxes Ochus, as Dârâî Dârâyân must be Darius Codomannus, while the reign of Kai-Vistâsp seems intended to cover the period from Cyrus to Xerxes.

151:1 A surname of Hûmâî.

151:2 Sikandar-i Arûmâk, that is, Alexander the Roman (of the eastern or Greek empire), as Pahlavi writers assume.

151:3 This period is nearly two centuries too short.

151:4 The actual period of Sasanian rule was 425 years (A.D. 226-651). According to the figures given in the text, the tenth millennium, ruled by Capricornus, must have terminated in the fourth year of the last king, Yazdakard. This agrees substantially with the Bahman Yast, which makes the millennium of Zaratûst expire some time after the reign of Khûsrô Nôshirvân; probably in the time of Khûsrô Parvîz, or some forty years earlier than the fourth year of Yazdakard. According to the text we must now be near the end of the first quarter of the twelfth and last millennium.

APPENDIX TO THE BUNDAHIS.

SELECTIONS OF ZÂD-SPARAM,

BROTHER OF THE DASTÛR OF PÂRS AND KIRMÂN,

A.D. 881

PART I, CHAPTERS I-XI.

(PARAPHRASE OF BUNDAHIS, I-XVII.)

OBSERVATIONS.

1-5. (The same as on p. 2.)

Abbreviations used are:—Av. for Avesta. Bund. for Bundahis, as translated in this volume. B. Yt. for Bahman Yast, as translated in this volume. Haug's Essays, for Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings, and Religion of, the Parsis, by Martin Haug, 2nd edition. Mkh. for Mainyô-i-khard, ed. West. Pers. for Persian. Vend. for Vendîdâd, ed. Spiegel. Yas. for Yasna, ed. Spiegel. Yt. for Yast, ed. Westergaard.

The MS. mentioned in the notes is K3. (written probably A.D. 1572), No. 35 in the University Library at Kopenhagen.

SELECTIONS

OF

ZÂD-SPARAM.

THEY call these memoranda and writings the Selections (kîdakîhâ) of Zâd-sparam, son of Yûdân-Yim.

CHAPTER I.

In propitiation of the creator Aûharmazd and all the angels—who are the whole of the heavenly and earthly sacred beings (yazdân)—are the sayings of Herbad Zâd-sparam, son of Yûdân-Yim, who is of the south , about the meeting of the beneficent spirit and the evil spirit.
It is in scripture thus declared, that light was above and darkness below, and between those two was open space. 2. Aûharmazd was in the light, and Aharman in the darkness ; Aûharmazd was aware of the existence of Aharman and of his coming for strife; Aharman was not aware of the existence of light and of Aûharmazd . 3. It happened to Aharman, in the gloom and darkness, that he was walking humbly (frô-tanû) on the borders, and meditating other things he came up to the top, and a ray of light was seen by him; and because of its antagonistic nature to him he strove that he might reach it, so that it might also be within his absolute power. 4. And as he came forth to the boundary, accompanied by certain others , Aûharmazd came forth to the struggle for keeping Aharman away from His territory; and He did it through pure words, confounding witchcraft, and cast him back to the gloom.

For protection from the fiend (drûg,) the spirits rushed in, the spirits of the sky, water, earth, plants, animals, mankind, and fire He had appointed, and they maintained it (the protection) three thousand years. 6. Aharman, also, ever collected means in the gloom; and at the end of the three thousand years he, came back to the boundary, blustered (patîstâd), and exclaimed thus: 'I will smite thee, I will smite the creatures which thou thinkest have produced fame for thee—thee who art the beneficent spirit—I will destroy everything about them.'

Aûharmazd answered thus: 'Thou art not a doer of everything, O fiend !'

And, again, Aharman retorted thus: 'I will seduce all material life into disaffection to thee and affection to myself .'
Aûharmazd perceived, through the spirit of wisdom, thus: 'Even the blustering of Aharman is capable of performance, if I do not allow disunion (lâ barînînam) during a period of struggle.' 10. And he demanded of him a period for friendship , for it was seen by him that Aharman does not rely upon the intervention of any vigorous ones, and the existence of a period is obtaining the benefit of the mutual friendship and just arrangement of both; and he formed it into three periods, each period being three millenniums. 11. Aharman relied upon it, and Aûharmazd perceived that, though it is not possible to have Aharman sent down, ever when he wants he goes back to his own requisite, which is darkness; and from the poison which is much diffused endless strife arises .

And after the period was appointed by him, he brought forward the Ahûnavar formula ; and in his Ahûnavar these  kinds of benefit were shown:—13. The first is that, of all things, that is proper which is something declared as the will of Aûharmazd; so that, whereas that is proper which is declared the will of Aûharmazd, where anything exists which is not within the will of Aûharmazd, it is created injurious from the beginning, a sin of a distinct nature. 14. The second is this, that whoever shall do that which is the will of Aûharmazd, his reward and recompense are his own; and of him who shall not do that which is the will of Aûharmazd, the punishment at the bridge,  owing thereto is his own; which is shown from this  formula; and the reward of doers of good works, the punishment of sinners, and the tales of heaven and hell are from it. 15. Thirdly, it is shown that the sovereignty of Aûharmazd increases that which is for the poor, and adversity is removed; by which it is shown that there are treasures for the needy one, and treasures are to be his friends; as the intelligent creations are to the unintelligent, so also are the treasures of a wealthy person to a needy one, treasures liberally given which are his own. 16. And the creatures of the trained hand of Aûharmazd are contending and angry (ârdîk), one with the other, as the renovation of the universe must occur through these three things. 17. That is, first, true religiousness in one self, and reliance upon a man's original hold on the truly glad tidings (nav-barhâm), that Aûharmazd is all goodness without vileness, and his will is a will altogether excellent; and Aharman is all vileness without goodness. 18. Secondly, hope of the reward and recompense of good works, serious fear of the bridge and the punishment of crime, strenuous perseverance in good works, and abstaining from sin. 19. Thirdly, the existence of the mutual assistance of the creatures, or along with and owing to mutual assistance, their collective warfare; it is the triumph of warfare over the enemy which is one's own renovation .

By this formula he (Aharman) was confounded, and he fell back to the gloom ; and Aûharmazd produced the creatures bodily for the world; first, the sky; the second, water; the third, earth; the fourth, plants; the fifth, animals; the sixth, mankind . 21. Fire was in all, diffused originally through the six substances, of which it was as much the confiner of each single substance in which it was established, it is said, as an eyelid when they lay one down upon the other.

Three thousand years the creatures were possessed of bodies and not walking on their navels; and the sun, moon, and stars stood still. 23. In the mischievous incursion, at the end of the period, Aûharmazd observed thus: 'What advantage is there from the creation of a creature, although thirstless, which is unmoving or mischievous?'

24. And in aid of the celestial sphere he produced the creature Time (zôrvan) ; and Time is unrestricted, so that he made the creatures of Aûharmazd moving, distinct from the motion of Aharman's creatures, for the shedders of perfume (bôi-dâdân) were standing one opposite to the other while emitting it. 25. And, observantly of the end, he brought forward to Aharman a means out of himself, the property of darkness, with which the extreme limits (vîrûnakŏ) of Time were connected by him, an envelope (pôstô) of the black-pated and ash-coloured kind. 26. And in bringing it forward he spoke thus: 'Through their weapons the co-operation of the serpent (azŏ) dies away, and this which is thine, indeed thy own daughter, dies through religion; and if at the end of nine thousand years, as it is said and written, is a time of upheaval (madam kardanŏ), she is upheaved, not ended.'

At the same time Aharman came from accompanying Time out to the front, out to the star station; the connection of the sky with the star station was open, which showed, since it hung down into empty space, the strong communication of the lights and glooms, the place of strife in which is the pursuit of both. 28. And having darkness with himself he brought it into the sky, and left the sky so to gloom that the internal deficiency in the sky extends as much as one-third  over the star station.

Footnotes

155:1 Zâd-sparam appears to have been dastûr of Sîrkân, about thirty parasangs south of Kirmân, and one of the most southern districts in Persia (see Ouseley's Oriental Geography, pp. 138, 139, 141, 143-145).

155:2 See Bund. I, 2-4.

155:3 Or 'of the light of Aûharmazd' (compare Bund. I, 8, 9).

156:1 Reading pavan katârânŏ ham-tanû, but the phrase is somewhat doubtful, and rather inconsistent with Bund. I, 10.

156:2 Bund. I, 0.

156:3 Bund. I, 14.

157:1 Bund. I, 17, 18.

157:2 Or 'the poison of the serpent, which is much diffused, becomes endless strife.'

157:3 Bund. I, 21.

157:4 The word ân, 'those,' however, is probably a miswriting of the cipher for 'three.'

157:5 The Kînvad or Kînvar bridge (see Bund. XII, 7).

158:1 The MS. has hûman, 'well-meditating,' instead of denman, 'this;' but the two words are much alike in Pahlavi writing.

158:2 This commentary on the Ahûnavar, or Yathâ-ahû-vairyô formula, is rather clumsily interpolated by Zâd-sparam, and is much more elaborate than the usual Pahlavi translation and explanation of this formula, which may be translated as follows:—

'As is the will of the living spirit (as is the will of Aûharmazd) so should be the pastor (so excellent should he be) owing to whatsoever are the duties and good works of righteousness (the duties and good works should be as excellent as the will of Aûharmazd). Whose is the gift of good thought (that is, the reward and recompense good thought gives, it gives also unto him) which among living spirits is the work of Aûharmazd (that is, they would do that which Aûharmazd requires); there are some who say it is thus: Whose gift is through good thought (that is, the reward and recompense which they will give to good thought, they would give also unto him); Âtarô-pâd son of Zaratûst said that by the gift of good thought, when among living spirits, they comprehend the doing of deeds. The sovereignty is for Aûharmazd (that is, the sovereignty which is his, Aûharmazd has kept with advantage) who gives necessaries [or comfort, or clothing] to the poor (that is, they would make intercession for them).'

Additional phrases are sometimes inserted, and some words altered, but the above is the usual form of this commentary.

159:1 Bund. I, 22.

159:2 Bund. I, 28.

160:1 This is the Av. zrvâna akarana, 'boundless time or antiquity,' of Vend. XIX, 33, 44. He is a personification of duration and age, and is here distinctly stated to be a creature of Aûharmazd. This throws some doubt upon the statements of Armenian writers, who assert that the two spirits sprang from Zrvâna.

160:2 Compare Bund. III, 11.

CHAPTER II.

On the coming in of Aharman to the creatures it is thus declared in revelation, that in the month Fravardîn and the day Aûharmazd, at noon , he came forth to the frontier of the sky. 2. The sky sees him and, on account of his nature, fears as much as a sheep trembles at a wolf; and Aharman came on, scorching and burning into it. 3. Then he came to the water which was arranged below the earth , and darkness without an eyelid was brought on by him; and he came on, through the middle of the earth, as a snake all-leaping comes on out of a hole; and he stayed within the whole earth. 4. The passage where he came on is his own, the way to hell, through which the demons make the wicked run.

Afterwards, he came to a tree, such as was of a single root, the height of which was several feet, and it was without branches and without bark, juicy and sweet; and to keep the strength of. all kinds of trees in its race, it was in the vicinity of the-middle of the earth; and at the self-same time it became quite withered .

Afterwards, he came to the ox, the sole-created , as it stood as high as Gâyômard on the bank of the water of Dâîtih  in the middle of the earth; and its distance from Gâyômard being as much as its own height, it was also distant from the bank of the water of Dâîtih by the same measure; and it was a female, white and brilliant as the moon. 7. As the adversary came upon it Aûharmazd gave it a narcotic, which is also called 'bang,' to eat, and to rub the 'bang' before the eye , so that the annoyance from the assault of crimes may be less; it became lean and ill, and fell upon its right breast  trembling.

Before the advance to Gâyômard, who was then about one-third the height of Zaratûst, and was brilliant as the sun; Aûharmazd forms, from the sweat  on the man, a figure of fifteen years, radiant and tall, and sends it on to Gâyômard; and, he also brings his sweat  on to him as long as one Yathâ-ahû-vairyô  is being recited. 9. When he issued from the sweat, and raised his eyes, he saw. the world when it was dark as night ; on the whole earth were the snake, the scorpion, the lizard (vazak), and noxious creatures of many kinds; and so the other kinds of quadrupeds stood among the reptiles; every approach of the whole earth was as though not as much as a needle's point remained, in which there was no rush of noxious creatures. 10. There were the coming of a planetary star into planetary conjunction, and the moon and planets at sixes and sevens ; many dark forms with the face and curls of Az-i Dahâk suffered punishment in company with certain non-Iranians; and he was amazed at calling the wicked out from the righteous.

Lastly, he (Aharman) came up to the fire, and mingled darkness and smoke with it .

Footnotes

161:1 Bund. III, 12.

161:2 Bund. III, 13.

161:3 Bund. III, 14, 16.

161:4 The primeval ox, or first-created representative of animals, as Gâyômard was of mankind; from which two representatives all mankind and animals are said to have been afterwards developed. There seems to have been some doubt as to the sex of this mythological ox; here it is distinctly stated to have been a female, but from Bund. X, 1, 2, XIV, 3, it would appear to have been a male, and this seems to be admitted by Dâd-sparam himself, in Chap. IX, 7.

162:1 The Dâîtîk river (see Bund. XX, 13).

162:2 This is a misunderstanding of the corresponding phrase in Bund. III, 18. The narcotic here mentioned is usually prepared from the hemp plant, and is well known in India and the neighbouring countries.

162:3 See Bund. IV, 1.

162:4 The word which, as it stands in the MS., looks like hômanâe, is here taken as a transposition of min khvâe, in accordance with Bund. III, 19; but it may be a variant of anumâe, 'embryo,' in which case the translation should be, 'forms an embryo into the shape of a man of fifteen years.'

162:5 Or it may be 'sleep,' both here and in § 9.

162:6 See Bund. I, 21.

162:7 Bund. III, 20.

163:1 Literally, 'in fours and fives.'

163:2 Bund. III, 24.

CHAPTER III.

And Gôsûrvan, as she was herself the soul of the primeval ox, when the ox passed away, came out from the ox, even as the soul from the body of the dead, and kept up the clamour of a cry to Aûharmazd in such fashion as that of an army, a thousand strong, when they cry out together . 2. And Aûharmazd, in order to be much more able to keep watch over the mingled creatures than in front of Gâyômard, went from the earth up to the sky. 3. And Gôsûrvan continually went after him crying, and she kept up the cry thus: 'With whom may the guardianship over the creatures be left by thee?'

Footnotes

163:3 Bund. IV, 2.

CHAPTER IV.

This was the highest predominance of Aharman, for he came on, with all the strength which he had, for the disfigurement of the creatures; and he took as much as one-third of the base of the sky , in a downward direction, into a confined and captive state, so that it was all dark and apart from the light, for it was itself, at the coming of the adversary, his enemy among the struggles for creation. 2. And this is opposing the renovation of the universe, for the greatest of all the other means of the fiend, when he has come in, are of like origin and strength this day, in the sleep  of the renovation, as on that when the enemy, who is fettered on coming in, is kept back.

Amid all this struggling were mingled the instigations of Aharman, crying thus: 'My victory has come completely, for the sky is split and disfigured by me with gloom and darkness, and taken by me as a stronghold; water is disfigured by me, and the earth, injured by darkness, is pierced by me; vegetation is withered by me, the ox is put to death by me, Gâyômard is made ill by me, and opposed to those revolving  are the glooms and planets arranged by me; no one has remained for me to take and pervert in combat except Aûharmazd, and of the earth there is only one man, who is alone, what is he able to do?'

And he sends Astô-vîdâd  upon him with the thousand decrepitudes (aûzvârânŏ) and diseases which are his own, sicknesses of various kinds, so that they may make him ill and cause death. 5. Gâyômard was not secured by them, and the reason was because it was a decree of appointing Time (zôrvânŏ) in the beginning of the coming in of Aharman, that: 'Up to thirty winters I appoint Gâyômard unto brilliance and preservation of life.' 6. And his manifestation in the celestial sphere was through the forgiveness of criminals and instigators of confusion by his good works, and for that reason no opportunity was obtained by them during the extent of thirty years.

For in the beginning it was so appointed that the star Jupiter (Aûharmazd) was life towards the creatures, not through its own nature, but on account of its being within the control (band) of the luminaries ; and Saturn (Kêvân) was death towards the creatures. 8. Both were in their supremacy (bâlîst)  at the beginning of the creatures, as Jupiter was in Cancer on rising, that which is also called Gîvân ('living") , for it is the place in which life is bestowed upon it; and Saturn was in Libra, in the great subterranean, so that its own venom and deadliness became more evident and more dominant thereby. 9. And it was when both shall not be supreme that Gâyômard was to complete his own life, which is the thirty years  Saturn came not again to supremacy, that is, to Libra. 10. And at the time when Saturn came into Libra, Jupiter was in Capricornus , on account of whose own lowness , and the victory of Saturn over Jupiter, Gâyômard suffered through those very defects which came and are to continue advancing, the continuance of that disfigurement which Aharman can bring upon the creatures of Aûharmazd.

Footnotes

164:1 Compare Bund. III, 11. The involved style of Zâd-sparam is particularly conspicuous in this chapter.

164:2 The word seems to be khvâpisnŏ.

164:3 Meaning probably the zodiacal signs, but the word is doubtful, being spelt vardisnânŏ instead of vardisnânŏ. A very small alteration would change it into varôîsnânŏ, 'believers,' but there were no earthly believers at the time alluded to.

164:4 See Bund. III, 21, and XXVIII, 35.

165:1 These luminaries are the fixed stars, especially the signs of the zodiac, to whose protection the good creation is committed (see Bund. II, 0-4); whereas Jupiter and all other planets are supposed to be, by nature, disturbers of the creation, being employed by Aharman for that purpose (see Mkh. VIII, 17-21, XII, 7-10, XXIV, 8, XXXIII, 5).

165:2 The most obvious meaning of bâlîst is 'greatest altitude,' and this is quite applicable to Jupiter when it attains its highest northern declination on entering Cancer, but it is not applicable to Saturn in Libra, when it has only its mean altitude. At the vernal equinox, however, which was the time of the beginning mentioned in the text, when Aharman invaded the creation (see Chap. II, 1), Libra is in opposition to the sun, and Saturn in Libra would be at its nearest approach to the earth, and would, therefore, attain its maximum brightness; while Jupiter in Cancer would be at its greatest altitude and shining with four-fifths of its maximum brightness. Both planets, therefore, were near their most conspicuous position (which would seem to be the meaning of bâlîst here), and might each be supposed to the exercising its maximum astrological influence, so that the presumed deadly power of Saturn would be neutralised by the supposed reviving influence of Jupiter.

166:1 This reading suits the context best, but the name can also be read Snahan, and in many other ways. It may possibly be the tenth lunar mansion, whose name is read Nahn in Bund. II, 3, by Pâzand writers, and which corresponds to the latter part of Cancer.

166:2 Saturn revolves round the sun in about 29 years and 167 days, so it cannot return into opposition to the sun (or to its maximum brightness), at or near the vernal equinox, in less than thirty years.

166:3 That is, while Saturn performs one revolution round the sun, Jupiter performs two and a half, which is very nearly correct, as Jupiter revolves round the sun in about 11 years and 315 days. Therefore, when the supposed deadly influence of Saturn has returned to its maximum, the supposed reviving influence of Jupiter is at its minimum, owing to the small altitude of Capricornus, and no longer counterbalances the destructive power of Saturn.

166:4 There seems to be no other reasonable translation, but the MS. has lâ instead of râî, and niskasp instead of nisîv.

CHAPTER V.

When in like manner, and equally oppressively, as his (Aûharmazd's) creatures were disfigured, then through that same deterioration his own great glory was exhibited; for as he came within the sky  he maintains the spirit of the sky, like an intrepid warrior who has put on metal armour ; and the sky in its fortress  spoke these hasty, deceitful words to Aharman, thus: 'Now when thou shalt have come in I will not let thee back;' and it obstructed him until Aûharmazd prepared another rampart, that is stronger, around the sky, which is called 'righteous understanding' (ashôk âkâsîh). 2. And he arranged the guardian spirits  of the righteous who are warriors around that rampart, mounted on horses and spear in hand, in such manner as the hair on the head; and they acquired the appearance of prison guards who watch a prison from outside, and would not surrender the outer boundaries to an enemy descended from the inside.

Immediately, Aharman endeavours that he may go back to his own complete darkness, but he found no passage; and he recapitulated, with seeming misgiving, his fears of the worthiness which is to arise at the appearance of the renovation of the universe at the end of the nine thousand years.

As it is said in the Gâthas, thus : 'So also both those spirits have approached together unto that which was the first creation—that is, both spirits have come to the body of Gâyômard. Whatever is in life is so through this purpose of Aûharmazd, that is: So that I may keep it alive; whatever is in lifelessness is so through this purpose  of the evil spirit, that is: So that I may utterly destroy it; and whatever is thus, is so until the last in the world, so that they (both spirits) come also on to the rest of mankind. And on account of the utter depravity of the wicked their destruction is fully seen, and so is the perfect meditation of him who is righteous, the hope of the eternity of Aûharmazd.'

And this was the first contest , that of the sky with Aharman.

Footnotes

167:1 See Chap. III, 2.

167:2 Compare Bund. VI, 2.

167:3 Or 'zodiacal signs,' for bûrgŏ means both.

167:4 Bund. VI, 3, 4.

167:5 This quotation from the Gâthas is from the Pahlavi Yas. XXX, 4, and agrees with the Pahlavi text, given in Dastûr Jâmâspji's old MS. of the Yasna in Bombay, very nearly as closely as Spiegel's edition does. It appears, therefore, that Dâd-sparam used the same Pahlavi translation of the Yasna as the Parsis do at the present day.

168:1 The MS. here omits the words 'through this purpose,' by mistake.

168:2 The word ârdîk, which Dâd-sparam uses instead of the kharah, 'conflict,' of Bund. V, 6, VI, 1, &c., may be connected with Pers. ârd, 'anger.'

CHAPTER VI.

And as he (Aharman) came secondly to the water, together with him rushed in, on the horse Cancer, he who is the most watery Tîstar; the equally watery one, that is called Avrak , gave forth a cloud and went down in the day; that is declared as the movement of the first-comers of the creatures. 2. Cancer became a zodiacal constellation (akhtar); it is the fourth constellation of the zodiac for this reason, because the month Tîr is the fourth month of the year .

And as Tîstar begged for assistance, Vohûman and Hôm are therefore co-operating with him in command, Bûrg of the waters and the water in mutual aid, and the righteous guardian spirits in keeping the peace. 4. He was converted into three forms, which are the form of a man, the form of a bull, and the form of a horse; and each form was distinguished in brilliance for ten nights, and lets its rain fall on the night for the destruction of noxious creatures. 5. The drops became each separately like a great bowl in which water is drawn; and as to that on which they are driven, they kill all the noxious creatures except the reptiles , who entered into the muddiness of the earth.

Afterwards, the wind spirit, in the form of a man, became manifest on the earth; radiant and tall he had a kind of wooden boot (mûkvŏ-aê-i dârînô) on his feet; and as when the life shall stir the body, the body is advancing with like vigour, so that spirit of the wind stirs forth the inner nature of the atmospheric wind, the wind pertaining to the whole earth is forth, and the water in its grasp is flung out from it to the sides of the earth, and its wide-formed ocean arose therefrom.

It (the ocean) keeps one-third of this earth , and among its contents are a thousand sources and fountains, such as are called lakes (var); a thousand water-fountains, whose water is from the ocean, come up from the lakes and are poured forth into it. 8. And the size of some of all the lakes and all the fountains of water is as much as a fast rider on an Arab horse, who continually compasses and canters around them, will attain in forty days, which is 1900 , long leagues (parasang-i akarîk), each league being at least 20,000 feet.

And after the noxious creatures died , and the poison therefrom was mixed up in the earth, in order to utterly destroy that poison Tîstar went down into the ocean; and Apâôsh, the demon, hastened to meet him, and at the alarm of the first contest Tîstar was in terror (pard). 10. And he applied unto Aûharmazd, who brought such power unto Tîstar as arises through propitiation and praise and invoking by name , and they call forth such power unto Tîstar as that of ten vigorous horses, ten vigorous camels, ten vigorous bulls, ten mountains when hurled, and ten single-stream rivers when together. 11. And without alarm he drove out Apâôsh, the demon, and kept him away from the sources of the ocean.

And with a cup and measuring bowl, which possessed the diligence even of a guardian spirit (fravâhar), he seized many more handfuls of water, and made it rain down  much more prodigiously, for destruction, drops as large as men's heads and bulls' heads, great and small. 13. And in that cloud and rain were the chastisement and beating which Tîstar and the fire Vâzist inflicted on the opposition of Apâôsh; the all-deciding (vispô-vikîr) fire Vâzist struck down with a club of fire, all-deciding among the malevolent (kêbarânŏ).

Ten days and nights there was rain, and its darting  was the shooting of the noxious creatures; afterwards, the wind drove it to the shore of the wide-formed ocean, and it is portioned out into three, and three seas arose from it; they are called the Pûîtîk, the Kamîrîd, and the Gehân-bûn . 15. Of these the Pûîtîk itself is salt water, in which is a flow and ebb ; and the control of its flow and ebb is connected with the moon, and by its continual rotation, in coming up and going down, that of the moon is manifested. 16. The wide-formed ocean stands forth on the south side as to (pavan) Albûrz , and the Pûîtîk stands contiguous to it, and amidst it is the gulf (var) of Satavês, whose connection is with Satavês, which is the southern quarter. 17. In the activity of the sea, and in the increase and decrease of the moon, whose circuit is the whole of Iran, are the flow and ebb; of the curving tails in front of the moon two issue forth, and have an abode in Satavês; one is the up-drag and one the down-drag; through the up-drag occurs the flood, and through the down-drag occurs the ebb . 18. And Satavês itself is a gulf (var) and side arm of the wide-formed ocean, for it drives back the impurity and turbidness which come from the salt sea, when they are continually going into the wide-formed ocean, with a mighty high wind , while that which is clear through purity goes into the Arêdvîvsûr sources of the wide-formed ocean. 19. Besides these four  there are the small seas .

And, afterwards, there were made to flow from Albûrz, out of its northern border, two rivers , which were the Arvand —that is, the Diglît, and the flow of that river was to those of the setting sun (val frôd-yehevundânŏ)—and the Vêh  was the river of the first-comers to the sun; formed as two horns they went on to the ocean. 21. After them eighteen  great rivers came out from the same Albûrz; and these twenty rivers, whose source is in Albûrz, go down into the earth, and arrive in Khvanîras.

Afterwards, two fountains of the sea are opened out for the earth , which are called the Kêkast —a lake which has no cold wind, and on whose shore rests the triumphant fire Gûsnasp  and, secondly, the Sôvar  which casts on its shores all turbidness, and keeps its own salt lake clear and pure, for it is like the semblance of an eye which casts out to its edges every ache and every impurity; and on account of its depth it is not reached to the bottom, for it goes into the ocean; and in its vicinity rests the beneficial fire Bûrzîn-Mitrô .

And this was the second contest, which was with the water.

Footnotes

168:3 The ninth lunar mansion (see Bund. II, 3, VII, 1).

169:1 Bund. VII, 2-6 is paraphrased in §§ 2-6.

169:2 Reading neksûnd barâ min khasandakânŏ instead of the MS. barâ nasûnd min khasandakânŏ.

169:3 Compare Bund. XIII, 1, 2.

170:1 Bund. XIII, 2 has 1700, but as neither number is a multiple of forty in round numbers, it is probable that both are wrong, and that we ought to read 1600.

170:2 Bund. VII, 7-4 is paraphrased in §§ 9-14.

170:3 The Av. aokhtô-nâmana yasna of Tîstar Yt. II, 23; 24.

171:1 Or perhaps 'made the cloud rain,' if madam vârânînîd stands for avar vârânînîd.

171:2 Reading partâv instead of the MS. patûtâv, 'powerful fury.'

171:3 This is a variant of the Sahî-bûn or Gâhî-bûn of Bund. XIII, 7, 15; the other two names differ but little from those given in Bund. XIII. In the MS. Pûîtîk occurs once, and Puîtîk twice.

171:4 Compare §§ 15-18 with Bund. XIII, 8-14.

171:5 Compare Bund. XIII, 1.

172:1 This, is even a more mechanical theory of the tides than that detailed in Bund. XIII, 13,. Whether the 'curving tails' (gagak dunbak) are the 'horns' of the crescent moon is uncertain.

172:2 By an accidental transposition of letters the MS. has âtarô, 'fire,' instead of vâtô, 'wind.'

172:3 The ocean and three principal seas.

172:4 Said to be twenty-three in number in Bund. XIII, 6.

172:5 Bund. VII, 15, 16, XX, 1.

172:6 This appears to be a later identification of the Arag, Arang, or Arêng river of Bund. XX with the Tigris, under its name Arvand, which is also found in the Bahman Yast (III, 21, 38) and the Âfrîn of the Seven Ameshaspends (§ 9). The Bundahis (XX, 8) seems to connect the Arag (Araxes?) with the Oxus and Nile, and describes the Diglat or Tigris as a distinct river (Bund. XX, 12). This difference is one of the indications of the Bundahis having been so old a book in the time of Zâd-sparam that he sometimes misunderstood its meaning, which could hardly have been the case if it had been written by one of his contemporaries. As the Persian empire has several times included part of Egypt, the Nile must have then been well known to the Persians as the great western river of their world. The last time they had possession of part of Egypt was, for about half a century, in the reigns of Khusrô Nôshirvân, Aûharmazd IV, and Khusrô Parvîz; but since the early part of the seventh century the Tigris has practically been their extreme western limit; hence the change of the old Arag or Arang into the very similarly written Arvand, a name of the Tigris.

173:1 See Bund. XX, 9.

173:2 Bund. XX, 2, 7.

173:3 Bund. VII, 14.

173:4 Bund. XXII, 2.

173:5 Written Gûsasp in Bund. XVII. 7, and Gûsnâsp in B. Yt. III, 30, 40, while the older form Visnâsp occurs in B.Yt. III, 10.

173:6 The Sôvbar of Bund. VII, 14, XII, 24, XXII, 3.

173:7 Bund. XVII, 8.

CHAPTER VII.

And as he (Aharman) came thirdly to the earth, which arrayed the whole earth against him— since there was an animation of the earth through the shattering—Albûrz grew up , which is the boundary of the earth, and the other  mountains, which are amid the circuit of the earth, come up 2244 in number . 2. And by them the earth was bound together and arranged, and on them was the sprouting and growth of plants, wherefrom was the nourishment of cattle, and therefrom was the great advantage of assistance to men.

Even so it is declared that before the coming of the destroyer to the creatures, for a thousand years the substance of mountains was created in the earth—especially as antagonism came on the earth, and settled on it with injury—and it came up over the earth just like a tree whose branch has grown at the top, and its root at the bottom. 4. The root of the mountains is passed on from one to the other, and is arranged in connection with them, and through it is produced the path and passage of water from below to above, so that the water may flow in it in such manner as blood in the veins, from all parts of the body to the heart, the latent vigour which they possess. 5. And, moreover, in six hundred years , at first, all the mountains apart from Albûrz were completed. 6. Albûrz was growing during eight hundred years ; in two hundred years it grew up to the star station, in two hundred years up to the moon station, two hundred years up to the sun station, and two hundred years up to the sky. 7. After Albûrz the Aparsên mountain  is the greatest, as it is also called the Avar-rôyisn  (up-growth') mountain, whose beginning is in Sagastân and its end unto Pârs and to Kînîstân .

This, too, is declared, that after the great rain in the beginning of the creation , and the wind's sweeping away the water to the ocean, the earth is in seven portions , a little above it, as the compact earth, after the rain, is torn up by the noise and wind in various places. 9. One portion, moreover, as much as one-half the whole earth, is in the middle, and in each of the six portions around is as much as Sagastân; moreover, as much as Sagastân is the measure of what is called a keshvar ('region') for the reason that one was defined from the other by a kêsh ('furrow'). 10. The middle one is Khvanîras, of which Pârs is the centre, and those six regions are like a coronet (avîsar) around it. 11. One part of the wide-formed ocean wound around it, among those six regions; the sea and forest seized upon the south side, and a lofty mountain grew up on the north, so that they might become separate, one from the other, and imperceptible.

This is the third contest, about the earth.

Footnotes

174:1 Bund. VIII, 1-4 is paraphrased in §§ 1-4.

174:2 The MS. has âvânŏ, 'waters,' instead of avârîk, 'other,' which alters the meaning into, 'which is the boundary of the waters of the earth, and the mountains,' &c.

174:3 Bund. XII, 2.

174:4 Bund. VIII, 5, and XII, 1, have 'eighteen years.' As both numbers are written in ciphers it would be easy for either to be corrupted into the other.

174:5 Bund. XII, 1.

175:1 The Apârsên of Bund. XII, 9.

175:2 Written Apû-rôyisn, as if it were an Arabic hybrid meaning 'father of growth.'

175:3 Bund. XII, 9. XXIV, 28, have Khûgîstân instead of Kînîstân; the latter appears to be an old name of the territory of Samarkand (see note to Bund. XII, 13).

175:4 Literally, 'creature.'

175:5 Bund. XI, 2-4 is paraphrased in §§ 8-11.

CHAPTER VIII.

As he (Aharman) came fourthly to the plants—which have struggled (kûkhshî-aîtŏ) against him with the whole vegetation—because the vegetation was quite dry , Amerôdad, by whom the essence of the world's vegetation  was seized upon, pounded it up small, and mixed it up with the rain-water of Tîstar. 2. After the rain the whole earth is discerned sprouting, and ten thousand  special species and a hundred thousand  additional species (levatman sardakŏ) so grew as if there were a species of every kind; and those ten thousand species are provided for  keeping away the ten thousand  diseases.

Afterwards, the seed was taken up from those hundred thousand species of plants, and from the collection of seed the tree of all germs, amid the wide-formed ocean, was produced, from which all species of plants continually grow. 4. And the griffon bird (sênô mûrûvŏ) has his resting-place upon it; when he wanders forth from within it, he scatters the dry seed into the water, and it is rained back to the earth with the rain.

And in its vicinity the tree was produced which is the white Hôm, the counteractor of decrepitude, the reviver of the dead, and the immortalizer of the living.

This was the fourth contest, about the plants.

Footnotes

176:1 This chapter is a paraphrase of Bund. IX.

176:2 Or, perhaps, 'the worldly characteristics of vegetation.'

176:3 Written like 'one thousand,' but see the context and Bund. IX, 4.

176:4 In Bund. IX, 4, the MSS. have '120,000,' which is probably wrong, as Bund. XXVII, 2, agrees with the text above.

176:5 The MS. has barâ instead of pavan, a blunder due probably to some copyist reading the Huzvâris in Persian, in which language bih (= barâ) and bah (= pavan) are written alike. In Pâzand they are usually written be and pa, respectively.

CHAPTER IX.

As he (Aharman) came fifthly to cattle—which struggled against him with all the animals—and likewise as the primeval ox  passed away, from, the nature of the vegetable principle it possessed, fifty-five  species of grain and twelve species of medicinal plants grew from its various members; and forasmuch as they should see from which member each one proceeds, it is declared in the Dâmdâd Nask . 2. And every plant grown from a member promotes that member, as it is said that there where the ox scattered its marrow  on to the earth, grain afterwards grew up, corn  and sesame, vetches  and peas; so sesame, on account of  its marrow quality, is itself a great thing for developing marrow. 3. And it is also said that from the blood is the vine , a great vegetable thing—as wine itself is blood—for more befriending the sound quality of the blood. 4. And it is said that from the nose is the pulse (mâys or mâsah) which is called dônak, and was a variety of sesame (samagâ) , and it is for other noses.

And it is also said that from the lungs are the rue-like herbs  which heal, and are for the lung-disease of cattle. 6. This, rooted amid the heart, is thyme, from which is Vohûman's thorough withstanding of the stench of Akôman , and it is for that which proceeds from the sick and yawners.

Afterwards, the brilliance of the seed, seized upon, by strength, from the seed which was the ox's, they would carry off from it, and the brilliance was intrusted to the angel of the moon ; in a place therein that seed was thoroughly purified by the light of the moon, and was restored in its many qualities, and made fully infused with life (gânvar-hômand). 8. Forth from there it produced for Aîrân-vêg, first, two oxen, a pair, male and female , and, afterwards, other species, until the completion of the 282 species ; and they were discernible as far as two long leagues on the earth. 9. Quadrupeds walked forth on the land, fish swam in the water, and birds flew in the atmosphere; in every two, at the time good eating is enjoyed, a longing (âvdahân) arose therefrom, and pregnancy and birth.
Secondly, their subdivision is thus:—First, they are divided into three, that is, quadrupeds walking on the earth, fish swimming in the water, and birds flying in the atmosphere. 11. Then, into five classes , that is, the quadruped which is round-hoofed, the double-hoofed, the five-clawed, the bird, and the fish, whose dwellings are in five places, and which are called aquatic, burrowing, oviparous, wide-travelling, and suitable for grazing. 12. The aquatic are fish and every beast of burden, cattle, wild beast, dog, and bird which enters the water; the burrowing are the marten (samûr) and musk animals, and all other dwellers and movers in holes; the oviparous are birds of every kind; the wide-travelling sprang away for help, and are also those of a like kind; those suitable for grazing are whatever are kept grazing in a flock.

And, afterwards, they were divided into genera, as the round-hoofed are one, which is all called 'horse;' the double-hoofed are many, as the camel and ox, the sheep and goat, and others double-hoofed; the five-clawed are the dog, hare, musk animals, marten, and others; then are the birds, and then the fish. 14. And then they were divided into species , as eight species of horse, two species of camel, ten  species of ox, five species of sheep, five species of goat, ten of the dog, five of the hare, eight of the marten, eight of the musk animals, 110 of the birds, and ten of the fish; some are counted for the pigs, and with all those declared and all those undeclared there were, at first, 282 species ; and with the species within species there were a thousand varieties.

The birds are distributed  into eight groups (rîstakŏ), and from that which is largest to that which is smallest they are so spread about as when a man, who is sowing grain, first scatters abroad that of heavy weight, then that which is middling, and afterwards that which is small.

And of the whole of the species, as enumerated a second time in the Dâmdâd Nask , and written by me in the manuscript (nipîk) of 'the summary enumeration of races '—this is a lordly  summary—the matter which is shown is, about the species of horses, the first is the Arab, and the chief of them  is white and yellow-eared, and secondly the Persian, the mule, the ass, the wild ass, the water-horse, and others. 17. Of the camel there are specially two, that for the plain, and the mountain one which is double-humped. 18. Among the species of ox are the white, mud-coloured, red, yellow, black, and dappled, the elk, the buffalo, the camel-leopard , the ox-fish, and others. 19. Among sheep are those having tails and those which are tailless, also the wether and the Kûrisk which, because of its trampling the hills, its great horn, and also being suitable for ambling, became the steed of Mânûs**kîhar. 20. Among goats are the ass-goat, the Arab, the fawn (varîkŏ), the roe, and the mountain goat. 21. Among martens are the white ermine, the black marten, the squirrel, the beaver (khaz), and others. 22. Of musk animals with a bag, one is the Bîsh-musk—which eats the Bîsh poison and does not die through it,—and it is created for the great advantage that it should eat the Bîsh, and less of it should succeed in poisoning the creatures—and one is a musk animal of a black colour which they desired (ayûftŏ) who were bitten by the fanged serpent—as the serpent of the mountain water-courses (makŏ) is called—which is numerous on the river-banks; one throws the same unto it for food, which it eats, and then the serpent enters its body, when his  serpent, at the time this happens, feeds upon the same belly in which the serpent is, and he will become clear from that malady. 23. Among birds two were produced of a different character from the rest, and those are the griffon bird and the bat, which have teeth in the mouth, and suckle their young with animal milk from the teat.

This is the fifth contest, as to animals.

Footnotes

177:1 See Chaps. II, 6, III, 1, and Bund. IV, 1, X, 1, XIV, 1.

177:2 The MS. has 'fifty-seven' in ciphers, but Bund. X, 1, XIV, 1, XXVII, 2, have, 'fifty-five' in words.

177:3 This was the fourth nask or 'book' of the complete Mazdayasnian literature, according to the Dînkard, which gives a very short and superficial account of its contents. But, according to the Dînî-vagarkard and the Rivâyats of Kâmah Bahrah, Narîmân Hôshang, and Barzû Qiyâmu-d-dîn, it was the fifth nask, and was called Dvâzdah-hâmâst (or homâst). For its contents, as given by the Dînî-vagarkard, see Haug's Essays, p. 127. The Rivâyat of Kâmah Bahrah, which has a few more words than the other Rivâyats, gives the following account (for the Persian text of which, see 'Fragmens relatifs à la religion de Zoroastre,' par Olshausen et Jules Mohl):—

'Of the fifth the name is Dvâzdah-homâst, and the interpretation of this is "the book about help" (dar imdâd, but this is probably a corruption of dâmdâd). And this book has thirty-two sections (kardah) that the divine and omnipotent creator sent down, in remembrance of the beginning of the creatures of the superior world and inferior world, and it is a description of the whole of them and of that which God, the most holy and omnipotent, mentioned about the sky, earth, and water, vegetation and fire, man and quadrupeds, grazing and flying animals, and what he produced for their advantage and use, and the like. Secondly, the resurrection and heavenly path, the gathering and dispersion, and the nature of the circumstances of the resurrection, as regards the virtuous and evil-doers, through the weight of every action they perform for good and evil.'

This description corresponds very closely with what the Bundahis must have been, before the addition of the genealogical and chronological chapters at the end; and Dâd-sparam mentions in his text here, and again in § 16, particulars regarding the Dâmdâd which also occur in the Bundahis (XIV, 2, 14-18, 21-24). There can be very little doubt, therefore, that the Bundahis was originally a translation of the Dâmdâd, though probably abridged; and the text translated in this volume is certainly a further abridgment of the original Bundahis, or Zand-âkâs. Whether the Avesta text of the Dâmdâd was still in existence in the time of Dâd-sparam is uncertain, as he would apply the name to the Pahlavi text. At the present time it is very unusual for a copyist to write the Pahlavi text without its Avesta, when the latter exists, but this may not always have been the case.

178:1 Or 'brains.'

178:2 Supposing the MS. galôlag is a corruption of gallak (Pers. ghallah).

178:3 Assuming the MS. alûhŏ or arvanŏ to be a corruption of alûm or arzanŏ.

178:4 Reading râî instead of lâ.

178:5 Compare Bund. XIV, 2.

178:6 Either this sentence is very corrupt in the MS. or it cannot be reconciled with the corresponding clause of Bund. XIV, 2. Altering dônak and gûnak into gandanak, and samagâ into samasdar, we might read, 'from the nose is mâys, which is called the leek, and the leek was an onion;' but this is doubtful, and leaves the word mâys unexplained.

179:1 The MS. has gôspendânŏ, 'cattle,' instead of sipandânŏ, 'rue, herbs.'

179:2 See Bund. I, 24, 27, XXVIII, 7, XXX, 29.

179:3 Bund. X, 2, XIV, 3.

179:4 Bund. X, 3, XIV, 4.

179:5 Bund. X, 3, XIV, 13.

180:1 Bund, XIV, 8-12.

180:2 Bund. XIV, I, 3-2 3, 26, 27.

180:3 Bund. XIV, 17 says, 'fifteen,' which is probably correct.

180:4 Only 181 species are detailed or 'declared' here.

181:1 Bund. XIV, 25.

181:2 See § 1; the particulars which follow are also found in Bund. XIV, 14-18, 21-24, showing that the Bundahis must be derived from the Dâmdâd.

181:3 The title of this work, in Pahlavi, is Tôkhm-ausmaris-nîh-i hangardîkŏ, but it is not known to be extant.

181:4 Reading marâk (Chaldee ‏מָרֵא‎), but this is doubtful, though the Iranian final k is often added to Semitic Huzvâris forms ending with â. It may be minâk, 'thinking, thoughtful,' or a corruption of manîk, 'mine,' in which last case we should translate, 'this is a summary of mine.'

181:5 Bund. XXIV, 6.

181:6 Literally, 'camel-ox-leopard.'

182:1 This appears to be the meaning here of amat zak garzakŏ, but the whole sentence is a fair sample of Dâd-sparam's most involved style of writing. By feeding the black musk animal with snakes the effect of a snake-bite, experienced by the feeder, is supposed to be neutralized.

CHAPTER X.

As he (Aharman) came sixthly to Gâyômard there was arrayed against him, with Gâyômard, the pure propitious liturgy (mânsarspend), as heard from Gâyômard; and Aûharmazd, in pure meditation, considered that which is good and righteousness as destruction of the fiend (drûgô). 2. And when he (Gâyômard) passed away eight kinds of mineral of a metallic character arose from his various members; they are gold, silver, iron, brass, tin, lead, quicksilver (âvgînakŏ), and adamant; and on account of the perfection of gold it is produced from the life and seed.

Spendarmad received the gold of the dead Gâyômard , and it was forty years in the earth. 4. At the end of the forty years, in the manner of a Rîvâs-plant, Mashya and Mashyôî  came up, and, one joined to the other, were of like stature and mutually adapted ; and its middle, on which a glory came, through their like stature , was such that it was not clear which is the male and which the female, and which is the one with the glory which Aûharmazd created. 5. This is that glory for which man is, indeed, created, as it is thus said in revelation:

'Which existed before, the glory  or the body?' And Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'The glory was created by me before; afterwards, for him who is created, the glory is given a body so that it may produce activity, and its body is created only for activity.' 6. And, afterwards, they changed from the shape of a plant into the shape of man , and the glory went spiritually into them.

Footnotes

183:1 Compare Bund. XV, 1.

183:2 The MS. has Mashâî Mashâyê, but see Bund. XV, 6. The Avesta forms were probably mashya mashyôi (or mashyê), which are regular nominatives dual, masculine and feminine, of mashya, 'mortal,' and indicate that they were usually coupled together in some part of the Avesta which is no longer extant. Pâzand writers have found it easy to read Mashyanî instead of Mâshyôî.

183:3 Reading ham-basnŏ ham-dakhîk, but whether this is more likely to be the original reading than the ham-badisn va ham-dasak of Bund. XV, 2, is doubtful. The last epithet here might also be read ham-sabîk, 'having the same shirt,' but this is an improbable meaning.

183:4 It is evident that ham-bandisnîh, 'mutual connection,' in accordance with Bund. XV, 3, would be preferable to the ham-basnŏîh, 'like stature,' of this text.

184:1 The old word nismô, 'soul' (see Bund. XV, 3, 4), has become corrupted here (by the omission of the initial stroke) into gadman, 'glory.' This corruption may be due either to Dâd-sparam not understanding the word (in which case the Bundahis must have been an old book in his time), or else to some later copyist confounding the old word for 'soul' with the better-known 'glory' of the Iranian sovereigns.

184:2 Bund. XV, 5.

CHAPTER XI.

As he (Aharman) came seventhly to fire, which was all together against him, the fire separated into five kinds , which are called the Propitious, the Good diffuser, the Aûrvâzîst, the Vâzîst, and the Supremely-benefiting. 2. And it produced the Propitious fire itself in heaven (garôdmân); its manifestation is in the fire which is burning on the earth, and its propitiousness is this, that all the kinds are of its nature. 3. The Good diffuser is that which is in men and animals , and its business consists in the digestion of the food, the sleeping of the body, and the brightening of the eyes. 4. The Aûrvâzîst is that which is in plants, in whose seed it is formed, and its business consists in piercing the earth, warming the chilled water  and producing the qualities and fragrance of plants and blossoms therefrom, and elaborating the ripened produce into many fruits. 5. And the Vâzîst is that which has its motion in a cloud, and its business consists in destroying the atmospheric gloom and darkness, and making the thickness of the atmosphere fine and propitious in quality, sifting the hail, moderately warming the water which the cloud holds, and making sultry weather showery. 6. The Supremely-benefiting, like the sky, is that glory whose lodgment is in the Behrâm fire , as the master of the house is over the house, and whose propitious power arises from the growing brightness of the fire, the blazing forth in  the purity of the place, the praise of God (yazdânŏ), and the practice of good works. 7. And its business is that it struggles with the spiritual fiend, it watches the forms of the witches—who walk up from the river , wear woven clothing, disturb the luminaries by the concealment of stench, and by witchcraft injure the creatures—and the occurrences of destruction, burning, and celebration of witchcraft, especially at night; being an assistant of Srôsh the righteous.

And in the beginning of the creation  the whole earth was delivered over into the guardianship of the sublime Frôbak fire, the mighty Gûsnasp fire, and the beneficial Bûrzîn-Mitrô fire , which are like priest, warrior, and husbandman. 9. The place of the fire Frôbak was formed on the Gadman-hômand ('glorious') mountain in Khvârizem , the fire Gûsnasp was on the Asnavand mountain in Âtarô-pâtakân, and the fire Bûrzîn-Mitrô on the Rêvand mountain which is in the Ridge of Vistâsp, and its material manifestation in the world was the most complete.

In the reign of Hôshâng , when men were continually going forth to the other regions (kêshvar) on the ox Srûvô , one night, half-way, while admiring the fires, the fire-stands which were prepared in three places on the back of the ox, and in which the fire was, fell into the sea, and the substance of that one great fire which was manifest, is divided into three, and they established it on the three fire-stands, and it became itself three glories whose lodgments are in the Frôbak fire, the Gûsnasp fire, and the Bûrzîn-Mitrô .

Footnotes

184:3 Bund. XVII, 1. Three of the Avesta names are here translated, the first two being the Spênist and Vohu-fryãn, which are the fifth and second in the Bundahis, and the fifth being the Berezi-savang, which is the first in the Bundahis.

184:4 See Bund. XVII, 2.

185:1 Reading mayâ-i afsardînîdŏ tâftanŏ instead of the seemingly unmeaning mayâ asardînîdŏ âftanŏ of the MS.

185:2 The Verehrânŏ âtâsh, or sacred fire of the fire-temples.

185:3 Reading pavan instead of barâ (see p. 176, note 5).

185:4 Or 'sea' (darîyâvŏ). This long-winded sentence is more involved and obscure in the original than in the translation.

186:1 Literally, 'creature.'

186:2 The epithets of these three sacred fires are, respectively, vargân, tagîkŏ, and pûr-sûdŏ in Pahlavi.

186:3 See Bund. XVII, 5, 7, 8.

186:4 Bund. XVII, 4 says, 'in the reign of Takhmôrup,' his successor.

186:5 Sarsaok or Srisaok in the Bundahis.

186:6 The remainder of 'the sayings of Zâd-sparam, about the meeting of the beneficent spirit and the evil spirit,' have no special reference to the Bundahis. They treat of the following matters:—

The coming of the religion, beginning in the time of Frâsîyâv and Mânûs**kîhar, with an anecdote of Kâî-ûs and the hero Srîtô (Av. Thrita). The manifestation of the glory of Zaratûst before his birth. The begetting of Zaratûst through the drinking of hôm-juice and cow's milk infused, respectively, with his guardian spirit and glory, as declared in the manuscript on 'the guidance of worship.' The connection of Zaratûst with Aûharmazd, traced back through his genealogy as far as Gâyômard. The persistent endeavours of the fiends to destroy Zaratûst at the time of his birth, and how they were frustrated. His receiving the religion from Aûharmazd, with another anecdote of Kâî-ûs and Srîtô, and of Zaratûst's exclamation on coming into the world. The enmity borne to him by five brothers of the Karapân family, and how it was frustrated; his own four brothers, and some of his wonderful deeds. The worthiness of his righteousness; his compassionate and liberal nature; his giving up worldly desires; his pity; his good selection of a wife; and what is most edifying for the soul. What occurred when he was thirty years old, and his being conducted by the archangel Vohûman to the assembly of the spirits. The questions asked by Zaratûst, and Aûharmazd's replies thereto. The seven questions he asked of the seven archangels in seven different places, in the course of one winter. [Westergaard's MS. K35 ends in the middle of the second of these questions.] The five dispositions of priests, and the ten admonitions. The three preservatives of religion, with particulars about the Gâthas and the connection of the Ahunavar with the Nasks. Zaratûst's obtaining one disciple, Mêdyôk-mâh, in the first ten years, and the acceptance of the religion by Vistâsp two years afterwards.

The second of the writings of Zâd-sparam consists of his 'sayings about the formation of men out of body, life, and soul;' and the third (which is imperfect in all known MSS.) contains his 'sayings about producing the renovation of the universe.'

1-5. (The same as on p. 2.)

Abbreviations used are:—Av. for Avesta. Bund. for Bundahis, as translated in this volume. Dâd. for Dâdistân-i Dînîk. Gr. for Greek. Haug's Essays, for Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings, and Religion of the Parsis, by Martin Haug, 2nd edition. Huz. for Huzvâris. Pahl. for Pahlavi. Pâz. for Pâzand. Pers. for Persian. Sans. for Sanskrit. Sls. for Shâyast la-shâyast, as translated in this volume. SZS. for Selections of Zâd-sparam, as translated in this volume. Vend. for Vendîdâd, ed. Spiegel. Yas. for Yasna, ed. Spiegel. Yt. for Yast, ed. Westergaard.

The manuscripts mentioned in the notes are:—

K20 (about 500 years old), No. 20 in the University Library at Kopenhagen.

Pâz. MSS. (modern), No. 22 of the Haug Collection in the State Library at Munich, and a copy of one in the library of the high-priest of the Parsis at Bombay.

Pers. version (composed A.D. 1496, copied A.D. 1679) in a Rivâyat MS., No. 29 of the University Library at Bombay.

BAHMAN YAST.

CHAPTER I.

0. May the gratification of the creator Aûharmazd, the beneficent, the developer, the splendid, and glorious, and the benediction of the archangels, which constitute the pure, good religion of the Mazdayasnians, be vigour of body, long life, and prosperous wealth for him whose writing I am .
   As  it is declared by the Stûdgar Nask  that Zaratûst asked for immortality from Aûharmazd, then Aûharmazd displayed the omniscient wisdom to Zaratûst, and through it he beheld the root of a tree, on which were four branches, one golden, one of silver, one of steel, and one was mixed up with iron. 2. Thereupon he reflected in this way, that this was seen in a dream, and when he arose from sleep Zaratûst spoke thus: 'Lord of the spirits and earthly existences! it appears that I saw the root of a tree, on which were four branches.'
   Aûharmazd spoke to Zaratûst the Spîtâmân  thus: 'That root of a tree which thou sawest, and those four branches, are the four periods which will come. 4. That of gold is when I and thou converse, and King Vistâsp shall accept the religion, and shall demolish the figures of the demons, but they themselves remain for . . . . concealed proceedings. 5. And that of silver is the reign of Ardakhshîr  the Kayân king (Kaî shah), and that of steel is the reign of the glorified (anôshak-rûbân) Khûsrô son of Kêvâd , and that which was mixed with iron is the evil sovereignty of the demons with dishevelled hair  of the race of Wrath , and when it is the end of the tenth hundredth winter (satô zim) of thy millennium, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân!'

It is declared in the commentary (zand)  of the Vohûman Yast, Horvadad Yast, and Âstâd Yast that, during this time, the accursed Mazdîk son of Bâmdâd, who is opposed to the religion, comes into notice, and is to cause disturbance among those in the religion of God (yazdân). 7. And he, the glorified one , summoned Khûsrô son of Mâh-dâd and Dâd-Aûharmazd of Nishâpûr, who were high priests of Âtarô-pâtakân, and Âtarô-frôbâg the undeceitful (akadbâ), Âtarô-pâd, Âtarô-Mitrô, and Bakht-âfrîd to his presence, and he demanded of them a promise , thus: 'Do not keep these Yasts in concealment, and do not teach the commentary except among your relations .' 8. And they made the promise unto Khûsrô.

Footnotes

191:1 Or, possibly, 'for whom I am written,' the meaning of mûn yektîbûnîhêm being not quite clear. In fact, the construction of the whole of this initial benediction is rather obscure.

191:2 It is possible that this is to be read in connection with Chap. II, 1, with the meaning that 'as it is declared by the Stûdgar Nask that Zaratûst asked for immortality from Aûharmazd, so in the Vohûman Yast commentary it is declared that he asked for it a second time.' This introductory chapter is altogether omitted in both the Pâz. MSS. which have been examined, but it is given in the Pers. version. It is also omitted in the epitome of the Bahman Yast contained in the Dabistân (see Shea's translation, vol. i. pp. 264-271).

191:3 This was the first nask or 'book' of the complete Mazdayasnian literature, according to the Dînkard, which calls it Sûdkar; but according to the Dînî-vagarkard and the Rivâyats it was the second nask, called Stûdgar or Istûdgar. For its contents, as given by the Dînî-vagarkard (which agrees with the account in the Rivâyats), see Haug's Essays, p. 126. In the Dînkard, besides a short description of this Nask, given in the eighth book, there is also a detailed account of the contents of each of its fargards, or chapters, occupying twenty-five quarto pages of twenty-two lines each, in the ninth book. From this detailed statement it appears that the passage mentioned here, in the text, constituted the seventh fargard of the Nask, the contents of which are detailed as follows:—

'The seventh fargard, Tâ-ve-ratŏ (Av. tâ ve urvâtâ, Vas. XXXI, 1), is about the exhibition to Zaratûst of the nature of the four periods in the Zaratûstian millennium (hazangrôk zim, "thousand winters"). First, the golden, that in which Aûharmazd displayed the religion to Zaratûst. Second, the silver, that in which Vistâsp received the religion from Zaratûst. Third, the steel, the period within which the organizer of righteousness, Âtarô-pâd son of Mârspend, was born. Fourth, the period mingled with iron is this, in which is much propagation of the authority of the apostate and other villains (sarîtarânŏ), along with destruction of the reign of religion, the weakening of every kind of goodness and virtue, and the departure of honour and wisdom from the countries of Iran. In the same period is a recital of the many perplexities and torments of the period for that desire (girâyîh) of the life of the good which consists in seemliness. Perfect is the excellence of righteousness (Av. ashem vohû vahistem astî, Yas. XXVII. 14, W.).'

If this be a correct account of the contents of this fargard, the writer was evidently consulting a Pahlavi version of the Nask, composed during the later Sasanian times.

192:1 Generally understood to mean 'descendant of Spitama,' who was his ancestor in the ninth generation (see Bund. XXXII, 1).

193:1 A word is lost here in K20 and does not occur in the other copies and versions, nor can it be supplied from the similar phrase in Chap. II, 16. The meaning of the sentence appears to be that Vistâsp destroyed the idols, but the demons they represented still remained, in a spiritual state, to produce evil.

193:2 See, Chap. II, 17.

193:3 Khusrô Nôshirvân son of Qubâd, in modern Persian, who reigned in A.D. 531-579. Kêvâd is usually written Kavâd.

193:4 The epithet vigârd-vars may also mean 'dressed-hair,' but the term in the text is the more probable, as the Persian version translates it by kushâdah muî, 'uncovered hair.' That it is not a name, as assumed by Spiegel, appears clearly from the further details given in Chap. II, 25.

193:5 Or, 'the progeny of Aêshm,' the demon. Wrath is not to be understood here in its abstract sense, but is personified as a demon. It is uncertain whether the remainder of this sentence belongs to this § or the next.

193:6 If there were any doubt about zand meaning the Pahlavi translation, this passage would be important, as the Avesta of the Horvadad (Khordâd) and Âstâd Yasts is still extant, but contains nothing about the heretic Mazdîk or Mazdak (see Chap. II, 21). No Avesta of the Vohûman Yast is now known.

194:1 That is, Khusrô Nôshirvân. As the names of his priests and councillors stand in K20 they can hardly be otherwise distributed than they are in the text, but the correctness of the Ms. is open to suspicion. Dâd-Aûharmazd was a commentator who is quoted in Chap. III, 16, and in the Pahl. Yas. XI, 22; Âtarô-frôbâg was another commentator mentioned in Sls. I, 3; and Âtarô-pâd and Bakht-âfrîd are names well known in Pahlavi literature, the former having been borne by more than one individual (see Sls. I, 3, 4).

194:2 The Pers. version says nothing about this promise, but states that Khûsrô sent a message to the accursed Mazdak, requiring him to reply to the questions of this priestly assembly on pain of death, to which he assented, and he was asked ten religious questions, but was unable to answer one so the king put him to death immediately.

194:3 A similar prohibition, addressed to Zaratûst, as regards the Avesta text, is actually found in the Horvadad Yt. 10.

CHAPTER II.

In the Vohûman Yast commentary (zand) it is declared  that Zaratûst asked for immortality from Aûharmazd a second time, and spoke thus: 'I am Zaratûst, more righteous and more efficient among these thy creatures, O creator! when thou shalt make me  immortal, as the tree opposed to harm , and Gôpatshah, Gôst-i Fryân, and Kîtrôk-miyân son of Vistâsp, who is Pêshyôtanû, were made . 2. When thou shalt make me immortal they in thy good religion will believe that the upholder of religion, who receives from Aûharmazd his pure and good religion of the Mazdayasnians, will become immortal; then those men will believe in thy good religion.'

Aûharmazd spoke  thus: 'When I shall make thee immortal, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! then Tûr-i Brâdarvash the Karap  will become immortal, and when Tûr-i Brâdarvash the Karap shall become immortal the resurrection and future existence are not possible.'

Zaratûst seemed uneasy about it in his mind ; and Aûharmazd, through the wisdom of omniscience, knew what was thought by Zaratûst the Spîtâmân with the righteous spirit, and he  took hold of Zaratûst's hand. 5. And he, Aûharmazd the propitious spirit, creator of the material world, the righteous one, even he put the omniscient wisdom, in the shape of water, on the hand of Zaratûst, and said to him thus: 'Devour it.'

And Zaratûst devoured some of it; thereby the omniscient wisdom was intermingled with Zaratûst, and seven days and nights Zaratûst was in the wisdom of Aûharmazd. 7. And Zaratûst beheld the men and cattle in the seven regions of the earth, where the many fibres of hair of every one are, and whereunto the end of each fibre holds on the back. 8. And he beheld whatever trees and shrubs there were, and how many roots of plants were in the earth of Spendarmad, where and how they had grown, and where they were mingled.

And the seventh day and night he (Aûharmazd) took back the omniscient wisdom from Zaratûst, and Zaratûst reflected in this way, that I have seen it in a pleasant dream produced by Aûharmazd, and I am not surfeited with the dream. 10. And he took both hands, rubbed his body (kerp) again, and spoke  thus: 'I have slept a long time, and am not surfeited with this pleasant dream produced by Aûharmazd.'

Aûharmazd said to the righteous Zaratûst thus: 'What was seen in the pleasant dream produced by Aûharmazd?'

Zaratûst spoke thus: 'O Aûharmazd, propitious spirit! creator of the material world, righteous creator! I have seen a celebrity (khunîd) with much wealth, whose soul, infamous in the body, was hungry (gurs)  and jaundiced and in hell, and he did not seem to me exalted; and I saw a beggar with no wealth and helpless, and his soul was thriving (farpîh) in paradise, and  he seemed to me exalted.

13. [And I saw a wealthy man without children, and he did not seem to me exalted;]  and I saw a pauper with many children, and he seemed to me exalted. 14. And I saw a tree on which were seven branches, one golden, one of silver, one brazen, one of copper, [one of tin] , one of steel, and one was mixed up with iron.'
    Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! this is what I say beforehand, the one tree which thou sawest is the world which I, Aûharmazd, created; and those seven branches thou sawest are the seven periods which will come. 16. And that which was golden is the reign of King Vistâsp, when I and thou converse about religion, and Vistâsp shall accept that religion and shall demolish the figures of the demons, and the demons desist from demonstration into concealed proceedings; Aharman and the demons rush back to darkness, and care for water, fire, plants, and the earth of Spendarmad  becomes apparent. 17. And that which was of silver  is the reign of Ardashîr  the Kayân (Kaî), whom  they call Vohûman son of Spend-dâd , who is he who separates the demons from men, scatters them about, and makes the religion current in the whole world. 18. And that which was brazen  is the reign of Ardakhshîr , the arranger and restorer of the world, and that of King Shahpûr, when he arranges the world which I, Aûharmazd, created; he makes happiness (bûkhtakîh)  prevalent in the boundaries of the world, and goodness shall become manifest; and Âtarô-pâd of triumphant destiny, the restorer of the true religion, with the prepared brass , brings this religion, together with the transgressors, back to the truth. 19. And that which was of copper is the reign of the Askânian king , who removes from the world the heterodoxy (gavîd-rastakîh) which existed, and the wicked Akandgar-i Kilisyâkîh  is utterly destroyed by this religion, and goes unseen and unknown from the world. 20. And that which was of tin is the reign of King Vâhrâm Gôr , when he makes the sight  of the spirit of pleasure manifest, and Aharman with the wizards rushes back to darkness and gloom. 21. And that which was of steel is the reign of King Khûsrô son of Kêvâd , when he keeps away from this religion the accursed Mazdîk , son of Bâmdâd, who remains opposed to the religion along with the heterodox. 22. And that which was mixed with iron [is the reign of the demons with dishevelled hair  of the race of Wrath, when it is the end of the tenth hundredth winter of thy millennium], O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân!'

Zaratûst said thus: 'Creator of the material world! O propitious spirit! what token would you give of the tenth hundredth winter?'

Aûharmazd spoke thus: ‘Righteous Zaratûst! I will make it clear: the token that it is the end of thy millennium, and the most evil period is coming, is that a hundred kinds, a thousand kinds, a myriad of kinds of demons with dishevelled hair, of the race of Wrath, rush into the country of Iran (Aîrân shatrô) from the direction of the east , which has an inferior race and race of Wrath. 25. They have uplifted banners, they slay those living in the world , they have their hair dishevelled on the back, and they are mostly a small and inferior (nîtûm) race, forward in destroying the strong doer; O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! the race of Wrath is miscreated (vishûd) and its origin is not manifest. 26. Through witchcraft they rush into these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created, since they burn and damage many things; and the house of the house-owner, the land of the land-digger, prosperity, nobility, sovereignty, religion , truth, agreement, security, enjoyment, and every characteristic which I, Aûharmazd, created, this pure religion of the Mazdayasnians, and the fire of Vâhrâm, which is set in the appointed place, encounter annihilation, and the direst destruction and trouble will come into notice. 27. And that which is a great district will become a town; that which is a great town, a village; that which is a great village, a family; and that which is a [great]  family, a single threshold. 28. O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! they will lead these Iranian countries of Aûharmazd into a desire for evil, into tyranny and misgovernment, those demons with dishevelled hair who are deceivers, so that what, they say they do not do, and they are of a vile religion, so that what they do not say they do. 29. And their assistance and promise have no sincerity, there is no law, they preserve no security, and on the support they provide no one relies; with deceit, rapacity, and misgovernment they will devastate these my Iranian countries, who am Aûharmazd.

‘And at that time, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! all men will become deceivers, great friends will become of different parties, and respect, affection, hope , and regard for the soul will depart from the world; the affection of the father will depart from the son; and that of the brother from his brother; the son-in-law will become a beggar (kîdyak or kasîk) from his father-in-law , and the mother will be parted and estranged from the daughter.

‘When it is the end of thy tenth hundredth winter, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! the sun is more unseen and more spotted (vasangtar); the year, month, and day are shorter; and the earth of Spendarmad is more barren, and fuller of highwaymen ; and the crop will not yield the seed, so that of the crop of the corn-fields in ten cases seven will diminish and three  will increase, and that which increases does not become ripe ; and vegetation, trees, and shrubs will diminish; when one shall take a hundred, ninety will diminish and ten will increase, and that which increases gives no pleasure and flavour. 32. And men are born smaller, and their skill and strength are less; they become more deceitful and more given to vile practices; they have no gratitude and respect for bread and salt, and they have no affection for their country (dêsak).

‘And in that most evil time a boundary has most disrespect  where it is the property of a suffering man of religion; gifts are few among their deeds, and duties and good works proceed but little from their hands; and sectarians of all kinds are seeking mischief for them . 34. And all the world will be burying and clothing the dead, and burying the dead and washing the dead will be by law; the burning, bringing to water and fire, and eating of dead matter they practise by law and do not abstain from. 35. They recount largely about duties and good works, and pursue wickedness and the road to hell; and through the iniquity, cajolery, and craving of wrath and avarice they rush to hell.
‘And in that perplexing time, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân!—the reign of Wrath with infuriate spear  and the demon with dishevelled hair, of the race of Wrath,—the meanest slaves walk forth with the authority of nobles of the land; and the religious, who wear sacred thread-girdles on the waist, are then not able to perform their ablution (pâdîyâvîh), for in those last times dead matter and bodily refuse become so abundant, that one who shall set step to step walks upon dead matter; or when he washes in the barashnûm ceremony, and puts down a foot from the stone seat (magh) , he walks on dead matter; or when he arranges the sacred twigs (baresôm) and consecrates the sacred cakes (drônô) in their corpse-chamber (nasâî katak)  it is allowable.

37. Or, in those last times, it becomes allowable to perform a ceremonial (yazisn) with two men, so that this religion may not come to nothing and collapse ; there will be only one in a hundred, in a thousand, in a myriad, who believes in this religion, and even he does nothing of it though it be a duty ; and the fire of Vâhrâm, which will come to nothing and collapse, falls off from a thousand to one care-taker, and even he does not supply it properly with firewood and incense; or when a man, who has performed worship and does not know the Nîrangistân  ('code of religious formulas'), shall kindle it with good intentions, it is allowable.

‘Honourable  wealth will all proceed to those of perverted faith (kêvîd-kêshân); it comes to the transgressors, and virtuous doers of good works, from the families of noblemen even unto the priests (môg-mardân), remain running about uncovered; the lower orders take in marriage the daughters of nobles, grandees, and priests; and the nobles, grandees, and priests come to destitution and bondage. 39. The misfortunes of the ignoble will overtake greatness and authority, and the helpless and ignoble will come to the foremost place and advancement; the words of the upholders of religion, and the seal and decision of a just judge will become the words of random speakers (andêzŏ-gokân) among the just and even the righteous; and the words of the ignoble and slanderers, of the disreputable and mockers, and of those of divers opinions they consider true and credible, about which they take  an oath, although with falsehood, and thereby give false evidence, and speak falsely and irreverently about me, Aûharmazd. 40. They who bear the title of priest and disciples wish evil concerning  one another; he speaks vice and they look upon vice; and the antagonism of Aharman and the demons is much brought on by them; of the sin which men commit, out of five  sins the priests and disciples commit three sins, and they become enemies of the good, so that they may thereby speak of bad faults relating to one another; the ceremonies they undertake they do not perform, and they have no fear of hell.

‘And in that tenth hundredth winter, which is the end of thy millennium, O righteous Zaratûst! all mankind will bind torn hair, disregarding revelation , so that a willingly-disposed cloud and a righteous wind are not able to produce rain in its proper time and season. 42. And a dark cloud makes the whole sky night, and the hot wind and the cold wind arrive, and bring along fruit and seed of corn, even the rain in its proper time; and it does not rain, and that which rains also rains more noxious creatures than water; and the water of rivers and springs will diminish, and there will be no increase. 43. And the beast of burden and ox and sheep bring forth more painfully  and awkwardly, and acquire less fruitfulness; and their hair is coarser and skin thinner; the milk does not increase and has less cream (karbist); the strength of the labouring ox is less, and the agility of the swift horse is less, and it carries less in a race.

‘And on the men in that perplexing time, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! who wear the sacred thread-girdle on the waist, the evil-seeking of misgovernment and much of its false judgment have come as a wind in which their living is not possible, and they seek death as a boon; and youths and children will be apprehensive, and gossiping chitchat and gladness of heart do not arise among them. 45. And they practise the appointed feasts (gasnŏ) of their ancestors, the propitiation (aûsôfrîd) of angels, and the prayers and ceremonies of the season festivals and guardian spirits, in various places, yet that which they practise they do not believe in unhesitatingly; they do not give rewards lawfully, and bestow no gifts and alms, and even those [they bestow]  they repent of again. 46. And even those men of the good religion, who have reverenced the good religion of the Mazdayasnians, proceed in conformity with (bar-hamakŏ rûbisn) those ways and customs , and do not believe their own religion. 47. And the noble, great, and charitable , who are the virtuous of their own country and locality, will depart from their own original place and family  as idolatrous; through want they beg something from the ignoble and vile, and come to poverty and helplessness; through them  nine in ten of these men will perish in the northern quarter.

‘Through their way of misrule everything comes to nothingness and destitution, levity and infirmity; and the earth of Spendarmad opens its mouth wide, and every jewel and metal becomes exposed, such as gold and silver, brass, tin, and lead. 49. And rule and sovereignty come to slaves, such as the Tûrk and non-Tûranian (Atûr) of the army , and are turbulent as among the mountaineers ; and the Kînî , the Kâvûlî, the Sôftî, the Rûman (Arûmâyak), and the white-clothed Karmak  then attain sovereignty in my countries of Iran, and their will and pleasure will become current in the world. 50. The sovereignty will come from those leathern-belted ones  and Arabs (Tâzîgân) and Rûmans to them, and they will be so misgoverning that when they kill a righteous man who is virtuous and a fly, it is all one  in their eyes. 51. And the security, fame, and prosperity, the country and families, the wealth and handiwork, the streams, rivers, and springs of Iran, and of those of the good religion, come to those non-Iranians; and the army and standards of the frontiers come to them, and a rule with a craving for wrath advances in the world. 52. And their eyes of avarice are not sated with wealth, and they form hoards of the world's wealth, and conceal them underground; and through wickedness they commit sodomy, hold much intercourse with menstruous women, and practise many unnatural lusts.

'And in that perplexing time the night is brighter , and the year, month, and day will diminish one-third; the earth of Spendarmad arises, and suffering, death, and destitution become more severe in the world.'

Aûharmazd said to Zaratûst the Spîtâmân: 'This is what I foretell: that wicked evil spirit, when it shall be necessary for him to perish, becomes more oppressive and more tyrannical.'

So Aûharmazd spoke to Zaratûst the Spîtâmân thus: 'Enquire fully and learn by heart  thoroughly! teach it by Zand, Pâzand, and explanation! tell it to the priests and disciples who speak forth in the world, and those who are not aware of the hundred winters, tell it then to them! so that, for the hope of a future existence, and for the preservation of their own souls, they may remove the trouble, evil, and oppression which those of other religions cause in the ceremonies of religion. (dînô yêsnân). 56. And, moreover, I tell thee this, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! that whoever, in that time, appeals for the body is not able to save the soul, for he is as it were fat, and his soul is hungry and lean in hell; whoever appeals for the soul, his body is hungry and lean through the misery of the world, and destitute, and his soul is fat in heaven.'

57 . Zaratûst enquired of Aûharmazd thus: 'O Aûharmazd, propitious spirit! creator of the material world who art righteous!'—He is Aûharmazd through righteous invocation, and the rest through praise; some say 'righteous creator !'—'O creator! in that perplexing time are they righteous? and are there religious people who wear the sacred thread-girdle (kûstîk) on the waist, and celebrate religious rites (dînô)  with the sacred twigs (baresôm)? and does the religious practice of next-of-kin marriage (khvêtûk-das) continue in their families?'

Aûharmazd said to Zaratûst thus: 'Of the best men is he who, in that perplexing time, wears the sacred thread-girdle on the waist, and celebrates religious rites with the sacred twigs, though not as in the reign of King Vistâsp. 59. Whoever in that perplexing time recites Itâ-âd-yazam (Av. ithâ âd yazamaidê, Yas. Vand XXXVII)  and one Ashem-vohû , and has learned it by heart, is as though, in the reign of King Vistâsp, it were a Dvâzdah-hômâst , with holy-water (zôhar). 60. And by whomever prayer is offered up, and the Gâtha-hymns are chanted, it is as though the whole ritual had been recited, and the Gâtha-hymns consecrated by him in the reign of King Vistâsp. 61. The most perfectly righteous of the righteous is he who remains in the good religion of the Mazdayasnians, and continues the religious practice of next-of-kin marriage in his family.'

Aûharmazd said to the righteous Zaratûst: 'In these nine thousand years which I, Aûharmazd, created, mankind become most perplexed in that perplexing time; for in the evil reigns of Az-i Dahâk and Frâsîyâv of Tûr mankind, in those perplexing times, were living better and living more numerously, and their disturbance by Aharman and the demons was less. 63. For in their evil reigns, within the countries of Iran, there were not seven  towns which were desolate as they will be when it is the end of thy millennium, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! for all the towns of Iran will be ploughed up by their horses' hoofs, and their banners will reach unto Padashkhvârgar , and they will carry away the sovereignty of the seat of the religion I approve from there; and their destruction comes from that place, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! this is what I foretell.'

Whoever  of those existing, thus, with reverence unto the good, performs much worship for Aûharmazd, Aûharmazd, aware of it through righteousness, gives him whatsoever Aûharmazd is aware of through righteousness, as remuneration and reward of duty and good works, and such members of the congregation, males and females, I reverence; and the archangels, who are also male and female, they are good.

Footnotes

194:4 This seems to imply that this text is not the commentary itself, but merely an epitome of it. The Pâz. MSS. which have been examined, begin with this chapter.

195:1 Or, 'when I shall become;' the verb is omitted by mistake in K20.

195:2 Three of these immortals are mentioned in Bund. XXIX, 5, and Gôst-i Fryân is included in a similar enumeration in Dâd. (Reply 89). The tale of Gôst-i Fryân (Av. Yôistô yô Fryananãm, of Âbân Yt. 81 and Fravardîn Yt. 120) has been published with The Book of Ardâ-Vîrâf,' ed. Hoshangji and Haug.

195:3 Or, 'became;' most of this verb is torn off in K20.

195:4 The verb is placed before its nominative in the Pahlavi text, both here and in most similar sentences, which is an imitation of the Avesta, due probably to the text being originally translated from an Avesta book now lost, or, at any rate, to its author's wish that it might appear to be so translated. In such cases of inverted construction, when the verb is in a past tense, the Pahlavi idiom often requires a pronominal suffix, corresponding, to the nominative, to be added to the first word in the sentence; thus, gûftŏs Aûharmazd, or afas gûft Aûharmazd, does not mean 'Aûharmazd spoke to him (or said it),' but merely 'Aûharmazd spoke' (lit. 'it was said by him, Aûharmazd').

195:5 According to an untranslated passage in the Selections of Zâd-sparam, mentioned in the note on p. 187, this is the name of one of the five brothers in the Karapân family of sorcerers, who were enemies of Zaratûst during his childhood. Their names, as written in SZS., may be read as follows, 'Brâdarvakhsh, Brâdrôyisnŏ, Tûr Brâgrêsh, Azânŏ, and Nasm,' and the first is also called 'Tûr-i 'Brâdarvakhsh;' they are described as descendants of the sister of Manûs**kîhar. In the seventh book of the Dînkard a wizard, who endeavours to injure Zaratûst in his childhood, is called 'Tûr-i Brâdrôk-rêsh, the Karapŏ,' and was probably the third brother, whose name (thus corrected) indicates brâthrô-raêsha as its Avesta form. Karap or Karapân in all these passages is evidently the name of a family or caste, probably the Av. karapanô which Haug translates by 'performers of (idolatrous) sacrificial rites,' in connection with Sans. kalpa, 'ceremonial ritual' (see Haug's Essays, pp. 289-291).

196:1 K20 has 'among the spirits;' the word mînisn having become maînôkân by the insertion of an extra stroke.

196:2 Reading afas instead of minas (Huz. of agas, 'from or by him,' which is written with the same letters as afas; 'and by him'), not only here, but also in §§ 5, 7, 9. The copyist of K20 was evidently not aware that afas is a conjunctive form, but confounded it with the prepositional form agas, as most Parsis and some European scholars do still. The Sasanian inscriptions confirm the reading afas for the conjunctive form; and Nêryôsang, the learned Parsi translator of Pahlavi texts into Pâzand and Sanskrit some four centuries ago, was aware of the difference between the two forms, as he transcribes them correctly into Paz. vas and azas.

197:1 This verb is omitted in K20 by mistake.

197:2 Or else 'dirty.'

197:3 Reading afam instead of minam, both here and in § 14; the copyist of K20 having confounded these two words, like those mentioned in the note on § 4.

198:1 The passage in brackets is omitted in K20, but is supplied from the Paz. MSS., being evidently necessary to complete the contrast. It occurs also in the Pers. version.

198:2 Supplied from the Paz. and Pers. versions, being omitted here in K20, though occurring in § 20.

198:3 The female archangel who has charge of the earth (see Bund. I, 26).

198:4 The Pâz. MSS. omit the description of the silver age.

198:5 Usually identified with Artaxerxes Longimanus, but his long reign of 112 years may include most of the Achæmenian sovereigns down to Artaxerxes Mnemon, several of whom are called Ahasuerus or Artaxerxes in the biblical books of Ezra and Esther. See Bund. XXXI, 30, XXXIV, 8.

199:1 Reading mûn, 'whom,' instead of amat, 'when' (see the note on Bund. I, 7).

199:2 Contracted here into Spendâd, as it is also in Bund. XXXIV, 8 in the old MSS. This name of the king is corrupted into Bahman son of Isfendiyâr in the Shâhnâmah.

199:3 This brazen age is evidently out of its proper chronological order. The Pâzand and Persian versions correct this blunder by describing the copper age before the brazen one here, but they place the brazen branch before the copper one in § 14, so it is doubtful how the text stood originally.

199:4 Artakhshatar son of Pâpakî and Shahpûharî son of Artakhshatar are the Sasanian forms of the names of the first two monarchs (A.D. 226-271) of the Sasanian dynasty, whose reigns constitute this brazen age.

199:5 Literally, 'deliverance from sin' or 'salvation' by one's own good works, and, therefore, not in a Christian sense.

199:6 Referring to the ordeal of pouring molten brass on his chest, undergone by Âtarô-pâd son of Mâraspend, high-priest and prime minister of Shâpûr I, for the purpose of proving the truth of his religion to those who doubted it.

199:7 It is uncertain which of the Askânian sovereigns is meant, or whether several of the dynasty may not be referred to. The Greek successors of Alexander were subdued in Persia by Ask (Arsaces I), who defeated Seleucus Callinicus about B.C. 236. But the third book of the Dînkard (in a passage quoted by Haug in his Essay on the Pahlavi Language) mentions Valkhas (Vologeses) the Askânian as collecting the Avesta and Zand, and encouraging the Mazdayasnian religion. This Valkhas was probably Vologeses I, a contemporary of Nero, as shown by Darmesteter in the introduction to his translation of the Vendidad.

200:1 I am indebted to Professor J. Darmesteter for pointing out that Nêryôsang, in his Sanskrit translation of Yas. IX, 75, explains Kalasiyâkâh as 'those whose faith is the Christian religion;' the original Pahlavi word in the oldest MSS. is Kilisâyâîk, altogether a misunderstanding of the Avesta name Keresâni, which it translates, but sufficiently near the name in our text to warrant the assumption that Nêryôsang would have translated Kilisyâkîh by 'Christianity;' literally it means 'ecclesiasticism, or the church religion' (from Pers. kilisyâ, Gr. ἐκκλησία). Akandgar is probably a miswriting of Alaksandar or Sikandar; though Darmesteter suggests that Skandgar (Av. skendô-kara, Pers. sikandgar), 'causer of destruction,' would be an appropriate punning title for Alexander from a Persian point of view. The anachronisms involved in making Alexander the Great a Christian, conquered by an Askânian king, are not more startling than the usual Pahlavi statement that he was a Roman. To a Persian in Sasanian times Alexander was the representative of an invading enemy which had come from the countries occupied, in those times, by the eastern empire of the Christian Romans, which enemy had been subdued in Persia by the Askânian dynasty; and such information would naturally lead to the anachronisms just mentioned. The name Kilisyâkîh is again used, in Chap. III, 3, 5, 8, to denote some Christian enemy.

200:2 This Sasanian monarch (A.D. 420-439), after considerable provocation, revived the persecution of the heretics and foreign creeds which had been tolerated by his predecessor, and this conduct naturally endeared him to the priesthood.

201:1 Reading vênâp (Pers. bînâb), but it may be va davâg, in which case the phrase must be translated as follows: 'when he makes the spirit of pleasure and joy manifest.'

201:2 See Chap. I, 5. The characteristic of the steel age, like that of the tin one, was the persecution of heretics who had been tolerated by the reigning monarch's predecessor.

201:3 Generally written Mazdak, a heretic whose teaching was very popular in the time of King Kêvâd (or Kavâd, A.D. 487-531). His doctrine appears to have been extreme socialism built upon a Mazdayasnian foundation. He was put to death by Khûsrô I, as hinted in the text. It is remarkable that none of the successors of Khûsrô Nôshirvân are mentioned in the Bahman Yast, so that a Parsi, who even did not believe in the verbal inspiration of the book, might possibly consider the remainder of it as strictly prophetical.

201:4 The passage in brackets is omitted in K20 by mistake, and is here supplied from Chap. I, 5, in accordance with the Pâz. and Pers. versions.

202:1 Or 'of Khûrâsân.' it is difficult to identify these demons with the Arabs, who came from the west, though a dweller in Kirmân might imagine that they came from Khûrâsân. In fact, hardly any of the numerous details which follow, except their long-continued rule, apply exclusively to Muhammadans. It appears, moreover, from § 50 and Chap. III, 8, that these demons are intended for Tûrks, that is, invaders from Turkistân, who would naturally come from the east into Persia.

202:2 Reading gêhân-zîvŏ zektelûnd, but the beginning of the latter word is torn off in K20, and the other versions have no equivalent phrase. The Pâzand substitutes the phrase 'black banners, and black garments.'

202:3 This word, being torn off in K20, is supplied from the Pâz. MSS.

203:1 This word is omitted in K20, but supplied from the Pâzand. The whole section is omitted in the Pers. version.

203:2 This word, being torn off in K20, is doubtfully supplied from the Pers. paraphrase. The Pâz. MSS. omit §§ 30-32.

203:3 Or, perhaps, 'parents-in-law;' the original is khûsrûînê, followed by some word (probably nafsman) which is torn off in K20. The Pers. version gives no equivalent phrase.

204:1 Or, 'tax-collectors;' Pahl. tangtar va râs-vânagtar.

204:2 In K20 'va 3' is corrupted into the very similar va vâi, 'and a portion.'

204:3 Literally, 'white.'

204:4 Reading anâzarm instead of hanâ âzarm.

204:5 That is, for the Iranians in general, who are the 'they' in §§ 32-35.

205:1 The Av. Aêshmô khrvîdrus, 'Aêshma the impetuous assailant' (see Bund. XXVIII, 15-17); this demon's Pahlavi epithet is partly a transcription, and partly a paraphrase of the Avesta term.

205:2 According to Dastûr Hoshangji (Zand-Pahlavi Glossary, p. 65) the term magh is now applied to the stones on which the person undergoing purification has to squat during ablution in the barashnûm ceremony. Originally, however, Av. magha appears to have meant a shallow hole dug in the earth, near or over which the person squatted upon a seat, either of stone or some other hard material (see Vend. IX). The term for the hole was probably extended to the whole arrangement, including the seat, which latter has thus acquired the name of magh, although magh and maghâk still mean 'a channel or pit' in Persian.

205:3 The Av. kata of Vend V, 36-40; a special chamber for the temporary reception of the corpse, when it was impossible to remove it at once to the dakhma, owing to the inclemency of the weather. It should be large enough for standing upright, and for stretching out the feet and hands, without touching either walls or ceiling; that is, not less than six feet cube. The text means that those times will be so distressing, that it will be considered lawful to perform the sacred ceremonies even in a place of such concentrated impurity as a dead-house not actually occupied by a corpse.

206:1 The Pâz. MSS. add, 'and helplessness.'

206:2 The Pâz. MSS. add, 'and the prayers and ceremonies that he orders of priests and disciples they do not fulfil.'

206:3 The name of a work which treats of various ceremonial details, and appears to be a portion of the Pahlavi translation of the seventeenth or Hûspâram Nask, containing many Avesta quotations, which are not now to be found elsewhere.

206:4 The Pâz. MSS. have misread azîr damîk, 'underground,' instead of âzarmîk.

207:1 Literally, 'devour an oath,' which Persian idiom was occasioned by the original form of oath consisting in drinking water prepared in a particular manner, after having invoked all the heavenly powers to bear witness to the truth of what had been asserted (see the Saûgand-nâmah).

207:2 Reading râî instead of lâ, 'not.' The whole section is omitted by the Pâz. MSS., possibly from politic motives, as the language is plain enough.

207:3 The Persian paraphrase has 'eight.'

207:4 Referring probably to the injunctions regarding cutting the hair and paring the nails, with all the proper precautions for preventing any fragments of the hair or nails from lying about, as given in Vend. XVII. One of the penalties for neglecting such precautions is supposed to be a failure of the necessary rains. The words anâstak dînô can also be translated by 'despising the religion.'

208:1 The word appears to be dardaktar, but is almost illegible in K20; it may possibly be kûtaktar, 'more scantily' as the Pâz. MSS. have kôdaktar bahôd, 'become smaller.'

209:1 This verb is omitted in K20.

209:2 It is rather doubtful whether their own customs are meant, or those of their conquerors.

209:3 Or dahâkân may mean 'the skilful.'

209:4 Reading dûdak instead of rûdak. At first sight the miswriting of r for d seems to indicate copying from a text in the modern Persian character, in which those two letters are often much alike; but it happens that the compounds dû and rû also resemble one another in some Pahlavi handwriting.

209:5 Whether through poverty and helplessness, or through the conquerors, is not quite clear.

209:6 Very little reliance can be placed upon the details of this sentence, but it is difficult to make any other complete and consistent translation. Darmesteter suggests the reading hênô, 'army,' but another possible reading is Khyôn (Av. H**vyaona), the old name of some country probably in Turkistân, as Argâsp, the opponent of Vistâsp, is called 'lord or king of Khyôn' in the Yâdkâr-i Zarîrân (see also Gôs Yt. 30, 31, Ashi Yt. 50, 51, Zamyâd Yt. 87).

210:1 Or, 'as the mountain-holding Khûdarak.' Darmesteter suggests that Khûdarak may be an 'inhabitant of Khazar.'

210:2 Probably the people of Samarkand, which place was formerly called Kîn according to a passage in some MSS. of Tabart's Chronicle, quoted in Ouseley's Oriental Geography, p. 298. See also Bund. XII, 22.

210:3 The Kâbulî and Byzantine Rûman are plain enough; not so the Sôftî and Karmak (Kalmak or Krimak).

210:4 That is, the Tûrks, as appears more clearly from Chap. III, 8, 9. The Arabs are mentioned here, incidently, for the first time, and again in Chap. III, 9, 51.

210:5 Literally, 'both are one.'

211:1 The Pâz. version adds, 'the motion of the sun is quicker.'

211:2 Literally, 'make easy.'

212:1 This interpolated commentary is a pretty clear indication that the writer is translating from an Avesta text.

212:2 Both Pâz. and Pers. have drônô, 'sacred cakes.'

212:3 The third hâ or chapter of the Yasna of seven chapters. It worships Aûharmazd as the creator of all good things.

212:4 See Bund. XX, 2.

212:5 For the following explanation of the various kinds of hômâst I am indebted to Dastûr Jâmâspji Minochiharji Jâmâsp-Âsâ-nâ of Bombay:—

There are four kinds of hômâst recited by priests for the atonement of any sin that may have been committed by a woman during menstruation, after her purification:—

Hômâst consists of prayers recited for 144 days, in honour of the twelve following angels: Aûharmazd, Tîstar, Khûrshêd, Mâh, Âbân, Âdar, Khurdâd, Amerdâd, Spendarmad, Bâd, Srôsh, and Ardâ-fravash. Each angel, in turn, is reverenced for twelve days successively, with one Yasna each day.

Khadûk-hômâst, 'one hômâst,' differs from the last merely in adding a Vendidad every twelfth day, to be recited in the Ushahin Gâh (12 PM. to 6 AM.) in honour of the angel whose propitiation ends that day.

Dah-hômâst, 'ten hômâsts,' differs from the preceding merely in having a Vendidad, in addition to the Yasna, every day.

Dvâzdah-hômâst, 'twelve hômâsts,' are prayers recited for 264 days in honour of twenty-two angels, namely. the twelve aforesaid and the following ten: Bahman, Ardibahist, Shahrivar, Mihir, Bahrâm, Râm, Dîn, Rashnû, Gôs, and Âstâd. Each angel, in turn, is reverenced as in the last.

The celebration of hômâst costs 350 rûpîs, that of khadûk-hômâst 422 rûpîs, that of dah-hômâst 1000 rûpîs, and that of dvâzdah-hômâst 2000 rûpîs; but the first and third are now no longer used. The merit obtained by having such recitations performed is equivalent to 1000 tanâpûhars for each Yasna, 10,000 for each Visparad, and 70,000 for each Vendidad recited. A tanâpûhar is now considered as a weight of 1200 dirhams, with which serious sins and works of considerable merit are estimated; originally it must have meant a sin which was 'inexpiable' by ordinary good works, and, conversely, any extraordinary good work which was just sufficient to efface such a sin.

The amount of merit attaching to such recitations is variously stated in different books, and when recited with holy-water (that is, with all their ceremonial rites) they are said to be usually a hundred times as meritorious as when recited without it.

214:1 So in the Pâzand, but 'seventeen' in Persian; in K20 the word is partly illegible, but can be no other number than sibâ, seven.'

214:2 The mountainous region south of the Caspian (see Bund. XII, 2, 17).

214:3 This section is the Pahlavi version of an Avesta formula which is appended to nearly two-thirds of the hâs or chapters of the Yasna, and, therefore, indicates the close of the chapter at this point. The version here given contains a few verbal deviations from that given in the Yasna, but none of any importance. The Avesta text of this formula is as follows:—

YêNhê hâtãm âad, yêsnê paitî vanghô mazdau ahurô vaêthâ, ashâd hakâ, yaunghãmkâ, tãskâ tauskâ yazamaidê.

And it may be translated in the following manner:—

'Of whatever male of the existences, therefore, Ahuramazda was better cognizant, through righteousness in worship, and of whatever females, both those males and those females we reverence.'

CHAPTER III.

Zaratûst enquired of Aûharmazd thus: 'O Aûharmazd, propitious spirit! creator of the material world, righteous one! whence do they restore this good religion of the Mazdayasnians? and by what means will they destroy these demons with dishevelled hair , of the race of Wrath? 2. O creator! grant me death! and grant my favoured ones death I that they may not live in that perplexing time; grant them exemplary living! that they may not prepare wickedness and the way to hell.'
Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! after the ill-omened  sovereignty of those of the race of Wrath  there is a fiend, Shêdâspîh  of the Kilisyâkîh, from the countries of Salmân ;' Mâhvand-dâd said that these people are Rûman (Arûmâyîk), and Rôshan  said that they have red weapons, red banners, and red hats (kûlâh). 4. 'It is when a symptom of them appears, as they advance, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! the sun and the dark show signs, and the moon becomes manifest of various colours; earthquakes (bûm-guzand), too, become numerous, and the wind comes mote violently; in the world want, distress, and discomfort come more into view; and Mercury and Jupiter advance the sovereignty for the vile , and they are in hundreds and thousands and myriads. 5. They have the red banner of the fiend Shêdâspîh of Kilisyâkîh, and they hasten much their progress to these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created, up to the bank of the Arvand ,' some have said  the Frât  river, 'unto the Greeks (Yûnân) dwelling in Asûristân;' they are Greeks by strict reckoning , and their Assyrian dwelling is this, that they slay the Assyrian people therein, and thus they will destroy their abode, some have said the lurking-holes (grêstak) of the demons.

‘They turn back those of the race of Wrath  in hundreds and thousands and myriads; and the banners, standards, and an innumerable army of those demons with dishevelled hair will come to these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created. 7. And the army of the invader  is an extending enemy of the Tûrk  and even the Karm , be it with banners aloft when he shall set up a banner, be it through the excessive multitude which will remain—like hairs in the mane of a horse—in the countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created.

'The leathern-belted Tûrk and the Rûman Shêdâspîh of Kilisyâkîh come forth with simultaneous movement , and in three places, with similar strife, there was and will be three times a great contest (ârdîh), O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! One in the reign of Kaî-Kâûs , When through the assistance of demons it was with the archangels; and the second when thou, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! receivedst the religion and hadst thy conference, and King Vistâsp and Argâsp , miscreated by wrath, were, through the war of the religion, in the combat of Spêd-razûr ("the hoary forest "),' some have said it was in Pars; 'and the third when it is the end of thy millennium, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! when all the three, Tûrk, Arab, and Rûman, come to this  place,' some have said the plain of Nîsânak . 10. 'And all those of the countries of Iran, which I, Aûharmazd, created, come from their own place unto Padashkhvârgar , owing to those of the race of Wrath, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! so that a report of something of the cave dwellings, mountain dwellings, and river dwellings of these people will remain at Padashkhvârgar and Pârs; some have said the fire Visnâsp , on the deep Lake Kêkast which has medicinal water opposed to the demons, is there (in Padashkhvârgar?) as it were conspicuous,' some have said 'originating ,' 'so that they may use it anew, and the fire may become shining in these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created. 11. For when one shall be able to save his own life, he has then no recollection of wife, child, and wealth, that they may not live, in that perplexing time, O Zaratûst! yet the day when the hundredth winter becomes the end of thy millennium, which is that of Zaratûst, is so that nothing wicked may go from this millennium into that millennium .'

Zaratûst enquired of Aûharmazd thus: 'O Aûharmazd, propitious spirit! creator of the material world, righteous one! when they are so many in number, by what means will they be able to perish ?'

Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! when the demon with dishevelled hair of the race of Wrath comes into notice in the eastern quarter, first a black token becomes manifest, and Hûshêdar son of Zaratûst is born on Lake Frazdân . 14. It is when he comes to his conference with me , Aûharmazd, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân!' that in the direction of Kînistân , it is said—some have said among the Hindus—'is born a prince (kaî); it is his father, a prince of the Kayân race, approaches the women, and a religious prince is born to him; he calls his name Vâhrâm the Vargâvand ,' some have said Shahpûr. 15. 'That a sign may come to the earth, the night when that prince is born, a star falls from the sky; when that prince is born the star shows a signal.' 16. It is Dâd-Aûharmazd  who said that the month Âvân and day Vâd  is his father's end; ‘they rear him with the damsels of the king, and a woman becomes ruler.
'That prince when he is thirty years old'—some have told the time—'comes with innumerable banners and divers armies, Hindu and Kînî , having uplifted banners—for they set up their banners—having exalted banners, and having exalted weapons; they hasten up with speed  as far as the Vêh river'—some have said the country of Bambŏ —'as far as Bukhâr and the Bukhârans within its bank, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! 18. When the star Jupiter comes up to its culminating point (bâlist)  and casts Venus down, the sovereignty comes to the prince. 19. Quite innumerable are the champions, furnished with arms and with banners displayed,' some have said from Sagastân, Pârs, and Khûrâsân, some have said from the lake of Padashkhvârgar , some have said from the Hirâtîs  and Kôhistân, some have said from Taparistân ; and from those directions ‘every supplicant for a child  comes into  view. 26. It is concerning the displayed banners and very numerous army, which were the armed men, champions, and soldiers from the countries of Iran at Padashkhvârgar—whom I told thee  that they call both Kurd and Karmân—it is declared that they will slay an excessive number, in companionship and under the same banner, for these countries of Iran.

'Those of the race of Wrath and the extensive army  of Shêdâspîh, whose names are the two-legged wolf and the leathern-belted demon on the bank of the Arvand , wage three battles, one in Spêd-razûr  and one in the plain of Nîsânak;' some have said that it was on the lake of the three races, some have said that it was in Marûv  the brilliant, and some have said in Pârs. 22. ‘For the support of the countries of Iran is the innumerable army of the east; its having exalted banners , is that they have a banner of tiger skin (bôpar pôst), and their wind banner is white cotton ; innumerable are the mounted troops, and they ride up to the lurking-holes  of the demons; they will slay so that a thousand women can afterwards see and kiss but one man.

‘When it is the end of the time , O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! those enemies will be as much destroyed as the root of a shrub when it is in the night on which a cold winter arrives, and in this night it sheds its leaves; and they will reinstate these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created .
‘And with speed rushes the evil spirit, with the vilest races of demons and Wrath with infuriate spear , and comes on to the support and assistance of those demon-worshippers and miscreations of wrath, O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! 25. And I, the creator Aûharmazd, send Nêryôsang the angel and Srôsh the righteous  unto Kangdez , which the illustrious Sîyâvakhsh  formed, and to Kîtrô-mîyân  son of Vistâsp, the glory of the Kayâns, the just restorer of the religion, to speak thus: "Walk forth, O illustrious Pêshyôtanû! to these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created; consecrate the fire and waters for the Hâdôkht  and Dvâzdah-hômâst! that is, celebrate them with the fire and waters, and such as is appointed about the fire and waters!"

‘And Nêryôsang proceeds, with Srôsh the righteous, from the good Kakâd-i-Dâîtîk  to Kangdez, which the illustrious Sîyâvakhsh formed, and cries out from it thus: "Walk forth, O illustrious Pêshyôtanû! O Kîtrô-mîyân son of Vistâsp, glory of the Kayâns, just restorer of the religion! walk forth to these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created! restore again the throne of sovereignty of the religion!"

‘Those spirits move on, and they propitiate them; with holy-water the illustrious Pêshyôtanû celebrates the Dvâzdah-hômâst, with a hundred and fifty righteous who are disciples of Pêshyôtanû, in black marten fur, and they have garments as it were of the good spirit. 28. They walk up with the words: "Hûmat, hûkht, hûvarst " and consecrate the fire of the waters; with the illustrious Hâdôkht they bless me, Aûharmazd, with the archangels, and after that it demolishes one-third of the opposition. 29. And the illustrious Pêshyôtanû walks forth, with the hundred and fifty men who wear black marten fur, and they celebrate the rituals (yasnân) of the Gadman-hômand ("glorious") fire, which they call the Rôshanô-kerp ("luminous form") , which is established at the appointed place (dâtô-gâs), the triumphant ritual of the Frôbâ fire, Horvadad, and Amerôdad, and the ceremonial (yazisn) with his priestly co-operation; they arrange and pray over the sacred twigs; and the ritual of Horvadad and Amerôdad, in the chapter of the code of religious formulas (nîrangistân)  demolishes three-thirds of the opposition. 30. Pêshyôtanû son of Vistâsp walks forth, with the assistance of the Frôbâ fire, the fire Gûsnâsp, and the fire Bûrzîn-Mitrô , to the great idol-temples, the abode of the demons ; and the wicked evil spirit, Wrath with infuriate spear , and all demons and fiends, evil races and wizards, arrive at the deepest abyss of hell; and those idol-temples are extirpated by the exertions of the illustrious Pêshyôtanû.

‘And I, the creator Aûharmazd, come to Mount Hûkaîryâd  with the archangels, and I issue orders to the archangels that they should speak to the angels of the spiritual existences thus: "Proceed to the assistance of the illustrious Pêshyôtanû!" 32. Mitrô of the vast cattle-pastures, Srôsh the vigorous, Rashn the just, Vâhrâm  the mighty, Âstâd the victorious, and the glory of the religion of the Mazdayasnians, the stimulator of religious formulas (nîrang), the arranger of the world, proceed  to the assistance of the illustrious Pêshyôtanû, through the order of which I, the creator, have just written .

‘Out of the demons of gloomy race the evil spirit cries to Mitrô of the vast cattle-pastures thus: "Stay above in truth , thou Mitrô of the vast cattle-pastures!"

‘And then Mitrô of the vast cattle-pastures cries thus: "of these nine thousand years’ support, which during its beginning produced Dahâk of evil religion, Frâsîyâv of Tûr, and Alexander  the Rûman, the period of one thousand years of those leathern-belted demons with dishevelled hair is a more than moderate reign to produce ."

‘The wicked evil spirit becomes confounded when he heard this; Mitrô of the vast cattle-pastures will smite Wrath of the infuriate spear with stupefaction; and the wicked evil spirit flees, with the miscreations and evil progeny he flees back to the darkest recess of hell. 36. And Mitrô of the vast cattle-pastures cries to the illustrious Pêshyôtanû thus: "Extirpate and utterly destroy the idol-temples, the abode of the demons! proceed to these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created! restore again the throne of sovereignty of the religion over the wicked! when they see thee they will be terrified."

‘And the illustrious Pêshyôtanû advances, and the fire Frôbâ, the fire Gûsnasp, and the triumphant fire Bûrzîn-Mitrô will smite the fiend of excessive strength; he will extirpate the idol-temples that are the abode of demons; and they celebrate the ceremonial (yazisn), arrange the sacred twigs, solemnize the Dvâzdah-hômâst, and praise me, Aûharmazd, with the archangels; this is what I foretell . 38. The illustrious Pêshyôtanû walks forth to these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created, to the Arvand and Vêh river ; when the wicked see him they will be terrified, those of the progeny of gloom and those not worthy.

'And regarding that Vâhrâm the Vargâvand it is declared that he comes forth in full glory, fixes upon Vandîd-khîm  ("a curbed temper"), and having intrusted him with the seat of mobadship of the mobads , and the seat of true explanation of the religion, he restores again these countries of Iran which I, Aûharmazd, created; and he drives  away from the world covetousness, want, hatred, wrath, lust, envy, and wickedness. 40. And the wolf period goes away, and the sheep period comes on; they establish the fire Frôbâ, the fire Gûsnâsp, and the fire Bûrzîn-Mitrô again at their proper places, and they will properly supply the firewood and incense; and the wicked evil spirit becomes confounded and unconscious, with the demons and the progeny of gloom. 41. And so the illustrious Pêshyôtanû speaks thus: "Let the demon be destroyed, and the witch be destroyed! let the fiendishness and vileness of the demons be destroyed! and let the gloomy progeny of the demons be destroyed! The glory  of the religion of the Mazdayasnians prospers, and let it prosper! let the family  of the liberal and just, who are doers of good deeds, prosper! and let the throne of the religion and sovereignty have a good restorer!" 42. Forth comes the illustrious Pêshyôtanû, forth he comes with a hundred and fifty men of the disciples who wear black marten fur, and they take the throne of their own religion and sovereignty.'

Aûharmazd said to Zaratûst the Spîtâmân: ‘This is what I foretell, when it is the end of thy millennium it is the beginning of that of Hûshêdar .

44. Regarding Hûshêdar it is declared that he will be born in 1600 , and at thirty years of age he comes to a conference with me, Aûharmazd, and receives the religion. 45. When he comes away from the conference he cries to the sun with the swift horse , thus: "Stand still!"

‘The sun with the swift horse stands still ten days and nights; and when this happens all the people of the world abide by the good religion of the Mazdayasnians. 47. Mitrô of the vast cattle-pastures cries to Hûshêdar, son of Zaratûst, thus: "O Hûshêdar, restorer of the true religion! cry to the sun with the swift horse thus: 'Move on!' for it is dark in the regions of Arzâh and Savâh, Fradadafsh and Vîdadafsh, Vôrûbarst and Vôrûgarst, and the illustrious Khvanîras ."

'Hûshêdar son of Zaratûst cries, to the sun he cries, thus: "Move on!" 49. The sun with the swift horse moves on, and Vargâvand  and all mankind fully believe in the good religion of the Mazdayasnians.'

Aûharmazd spoke thus: ‘O Zaratûst the Spîtâmân! this is what I foretell, that this one brings the creatures back to their proper state. 51. When it is near the end of the millennium Pêshyôtanû  son of Vistâsp comes into notice, who is a Kayân that advances triumphantly; and those enemies who relied upon fiendishness, such as the Tûrk, Arab, and Rûman, and the vile ones who control  the Iranian sovereign with insolence and oppression and enmity to the sovereignty, destroy the fire and make the religion weak; and they convey their power and success to him and every one who accepts the law and religion willingly; if he accept it unwillingly the law and religion ever destroy him  till it is the end of the whole millennium.

‘And, afterwards, when the millennium of Hûshêdar-mâh comes, through Hûshêdar-mâh  the creatures become more progressive, and he utterly destroys the fiend of serpent origin ; and Pêshyôtanû son of Vistâsp becomes, in like manner, high-priest and primate (rad) of the world . 53. In that millennium of Hûshêdar-mâh mankind become so versed in medicine, and keep and bring physic and remedies so much in use, that when they are confessedly at the point of death they do not thereupon die, nor when they smite and slay them with the sword and knife .

‘Afterwards, one begs a gift of any description out of the allowance of heretics, and owing to depravity and heresy they do not give it. 55. And Aharman rises through that spite  on to the mountain of Dimâvand , which is the direction of Bêvarâsp, and shouts thus: "Now it is nine thousand years, and Frêdûn is not living; why do you not rise up, although these thy fetters are not removed, when  this world is full of people, and they have brought them from the enclosure which Yim formed ?"

‘After that apostate shouts like this, and because of it, Az-i Dahâk  stands up before him, but, through fear of the likeness of Frêdûn in the body of Frêdûn, he does not first remove those fetters and stake from his trunk until Aharman removes them. 57. And the vigour of Az-i Dahâk increases, the fetters being removed from his trunk, and his impetuosity remains; he swallows down the apostate on the spot , and rushing into the world to perpetrate sin, he commits innumerable grievous sins; he swallows down one-third of mankind, cattle, sheep, and other creatures of Aûharmazd; he smites the water, fire, and vegetation, and commits grievous sin.

‘And, afterwards, the water, fire, and vegetation stand before Aûharmazd the lord in lamentation, and make this complaint: "Make Frêdûn alive again! so that he may destroy Az-i Dahâk; for if thou, O Aûharmazd! dost not do this, we cannot exist in the world; the fire says thus: I will not heat; and the water says thus: I will not flow."

‘And then I, Aûharmazd the creator, say to Srôsh and Nêryôsang the angel: "Shake the body of Keresâsp the Sâmân, till he rises up!"

'Then Srôsh and Nêryôsang the angel go to Keresâsp ; three times they utter a cry, and the fourth time Sâm rises up with triumph, and goes to meet Az-i Dahâk. 61. And  Sâm does not listen to his words, and the triumphant club strikes him on the head, and smites and kills him; afterwards, desolation and adversity depart from this world, while I make a beginning of the millennium . 62. Then Sôshyans  makes the creatures again pure, and the resurrection and future existence occur.'

May the end be in peace, pleasure, and joy, by the will of God (yazdânŏ)! so may it be! even more so may it be!

Footnotes

215:1 The Pâz. MSS. insert, 'and black clothing' here.

215:2 Literally, 'black-marked,' or possibly, 'black standard.'

215:3 The Pâz. MSS. add, 'the leathern-belted Tûrks,' that is, people of Turkistân.

215:4 This fiend appears to be a personification of Christianity or 'ecclesiasticism' (Kilisyâkîh, see Chap. II, 19), and the writer seems to place his appearance some time in the middle ages, probably before the end of the thirteenth century (see the note on § 44). Darmesteter suggests that Shêdâsp may have been intended as a modern counterpart of Bêvarâsp (Az-i Dahâk), the ancient tyrant; and that this Christian invasion may be a reminiscence of the crusades.

215:5 I have formerly read Mûsulmân instead of min Salmân, and hence concluded that the text must have been written long after the Muhammadan conquest of Persia; but this reading is irreconcilable with the context. The position of Salmân (Av. Sairima) is defined by Bund. XX, 12, which places the sources of the Tigris in that country.

216:1 The name. of a commentator, or commentary, often quoted in the Pahlavi Vendidad, and other texts. Mâhvand-dâd is mentioned in the Pahlavi Yasna (see Sls. I, 4).

216:2 The Pâz. MSS. state that 'Mercury and Jupiter beat down the strength of Venus.'

216:3 Here written Arang, Arand, or Arvad, but as it is Arvand in §§ 21, 38, that reading seems preferable, the difference between the two names in Pahlavi being merely a single stroke. The Arvand is the Tigris, and the Arang probably the Araxes (see SZS. VI, 20, Bund. XX, 8)..

216:4 Literally, 'there are and were some who said;' this phrase occurs several times in the latter part of this text.

216:5 The Euphrates.

216:6 Or, 'of strict reckoning,' reading sâkht amâr, but both reading and meaning are very uncertain. As it stands in K26 it may be sâkht gumâl, 'extreme beauty,' or Sâkhtîmâr (the name of a place), or this may stand for sâkht tîmâr, 'severe misfortune;' and other readings are possible.

217:1 It is not quite clear which party will turn the other back.

217:2 Literally, 'extender,' that is, one engaged in extending his own dominions.

217:3 The remainder of this § (except the verb 'remain') is Pâzand written in Persian characters in K20.

217:4 Possibly the Karmak of Chap. II, 49. In § 20 the Kurd and Karmân (or Karms) may refer to the Tûrk and Karm of this §, so it is doubtful whether Tûrk or Kurd is meant.

217:5 Or, 'for the encounter,' pavan ham-rasisnîh.

217:6 See Bund. XXXI, 25, XXXIV, 7. The letters are here joined together, so as to become Kai-gâûs, and this form of the name is often read Kâhûs or Kahôs in Pâzand (see Mkh. VIII, 27, XXVII, 54, LVII, 21). The Pâz. MSS. omit § 9.

218:1 See Bund. XII, 32, 33.

218:2 See Bund. XXIV, 16.

218:3 Perhaps 'one' is meant, as hanâ, 'this,' is sometimes substituted for aê, 'one,' both being read e in Pâzand.

218:4 The reading of this name is quite uncertain.

218:5 See Chap. II, 63. The whole of the final clause of this section, about the fire Visnâsp, is inserted parenthetically at this point in the Pahlavi text.

218:6 Elsewhere called Gûsnasp, Gûsnâsp, or Gûsasp (see SZS. VI, 22).

218:7 The most obvious reading of this word is mâhîk, 'fish,' which can hardly be reconciled with the context. The view here taken is that the writer was translating from an Avesta text, and met with the word kithra, which means both pêdâk, 'clear,' and tôkhmak, 'originating,' but to express the latter meaning he used the synonym mâyakîk, which can be written exactly like mâhîk. Owing to the involved character of this section it is not very clear in English, but it is still more obscure in the Pahlavi text, in which the whole of this clause about the fire is inserted parenthetically after the first mention of Padashkhvârgar.

219:1 This last clause may be read several ways, and it is by no means easy to ascertain clearly the chronological order of the events which are jumbled together in this last chapter. But it would appear that Zaratûst's millennium was to end at a time when the religion was undisturbed, and just before the incursion of the demons or idolators, the details of which have been given in Chap. II, 22-III, 11, and which is the first event of Hûshêdar's millennium (see § 13). Now according to Bund. XXXIV, 7-9, the interval from 'the coming of the religion,' in the reign of Kaî-Vistâsp, to the end of the Sasanian monarchy was 90 + 112 + 30 + 12 + 14 + 14 + 284 + 460 =1016 years. If by 'the coming of the religion' be meant the time when Zaratûst received it, as he was then thirty years old, he must have been born 1046 years before the end of the Sasanian monarchy (A.D. 651), and the end of his millennium must have been in A.D. 605, the sixteenth year of Khûsrô Parvîz, when the Sasanian power was near its maximum, and only a score of years before it began suddenly to collapse. This close coincidence indicates that the writer of the Bahman Yast must have adopted the same incorrect chronology as is found in the Bundahis. If, however, 'the coming of the religion' mean its acceptance by Vistâsp, which occurred in Zaratûst's fortieth or forty-second year, his birth must have been ten or twelve years earlier. and his millennium must have ended A.D. 593-595. But according to the imperfect chronology of Bund. XXXIV the tenth millennium of the world, that of Capricornus, commenced with 'the coming of the religion,' and ended, therefore, in A.D. 635, the fourth year of Yazdakard, the last Sasanian king, when the Muhammadans were just preparing for their first invasion; so the millennium of Aquarius is very nearly coincident with that of Hûshêdar, and may probably be intended to represent it. It appears, therefore, that the millennium of Hûshêdar is altogether past, having extended from A.D. 593-635 to A.D. 1593-1635.

220:1 The Paz. MSS. omit § 12. The writer having detailed the evils of the iron age, now returns to its commencement in order to describe the means adopted for partially counteracting those evils.

220:2 See Bund. XXII, 5, XXXII, 8. The Pâz. MSS. add, 'they bring him up in Zâvulistân and Kâvulistân;' and the Pers. version says, 'on the frontier of Kâbulistân.' With regard to the time of Hûshêdar's birth, see § 44. His name is always written Khûrshêdar in K20.

220:3 The Pâz. and Pers. versions say, 'at thirty years of age,' as in § 44.

220:4 Possibly Samarkand (see Chap. II, 49. note 2).

221:1 Bahrâm the illustrious or splendid (Av. varekanghand, compare Pers. varg), an epithet applied, in the Avesta, to the moon, Tistrya, the scriptures, the royal glory of the Kayânians, the Kayânians themselves, and the hero Thrita. This personage may possibly be an incarnation of the angel Bahrâm, mingled with some reminiscences of the celebrated Persian general Bahrâm Kôpîn; but see §§ 32, 49.

221:2 A commentator who is quoted in the Pahlavi Yas. XI, 22; see also Chap. I, 7.

221:3 The 22nd day of the eighth month of the Parsi year, corresponding to October 7th when the year began at the vernal equinox, as the Bundahis (XXV, 6, 7, 20, 21) describes.

221:4 That is, Bactrian and Samarkandian.

221:5 Or, 'light up with glitter,' according as we read tâgend or tâvend. The Pâz. MSS. omit §§ 17-44, except one or two isolated phrases.

221:6 Spiegel was inclined to identify this name with Bombay, but this is impossible, as the MS. K20 (in which the name occurs) was written some two centuries before the Portuguese invented the name of Bombay. Its original name, by which it is still called by its native inhabitants, being Mumbaî. The locality mentioned in the text is, evidently to be sought on the banks of the Oxus near Bukhârâ; the Oxus having been sometimes considered the upper course of the Arag, and sometimes that of the Veh (see Bund. XX, 22, note 5). It is hardly probable that either Bâmî (Balkh) or Bâmiyân would be changed into Bambŏ, and the only exact representative of this name appears to be Bamm, a town about 120 miles S. E. of Kirmân; this is quite a different locality from that mentioned in the text, but it is hazardous to set bounds to the want of geographical knowledge displayed by some of the Pahlavi commentators.

222:1 Compare SZS. IV, 8. Here the triumph of Jupiter over Venus appears to be symbolical of the displacement of the queen dowager by her son.

222:2 That is, from the southern shore of the Caspian.

222:3 Reading Hiriyân, but this is doubtful, as it may be 'from the citadels (arigânŏ), or defiles (khalakânŏ), of Kôhistân.'

222:4 See Bund. XII, 17, XIII, 15.

222:5 That is, every man able to bear arms.

222:6 Reading pavan, 'into,' instead of barâ, 'besides' (see SZS. VIII, 2, note 5).

222:7 See § 10, but as nothing is said there about Kurd or Karmân, it is possible that the writer meant to say, 'of whom I told thee, and whom they call both Kurd and Karmân.' It is more probable, however, that he is referring to § 7.

223:1 Compare § 7. The 'extensive army' and 'two-legged wolf' are terms borrowed apparently from Yas. IX, 62, 63.

223:2 That is, 'the rapid' (Av. aurvand). The other names of this river, Tigris and Hiddekel, have the same meaning. See §§ 5, 38.

223:3 See § 9, of which this is a recapitulation, but the first of the three battles is here omitted by mistake.

223:4 Marv in the present Turkistân.

223:5 Referring to § 17.

223:6 Supposing that bandôk may be equivalent to Pers. bandak, but the usual Pahlavi term for cotton is pumbak (Pers. punbah).

223:7 Reading grestak as in § 5, but the word can also be read dar dîdak, 'gate watch-tower.' It is possible that the drugŏ geredha, 'pit of the fiend,' of Vend. III, 24, may be here meant; the gate of hell, whence the demons congregate upon the Arezûr ridge (Bund. XII, 8).

224:1 Compare, 'and at the time of the end' (Dan. xi. 40). The writer appears to be here finally passing from a description of the past into speculations as to the future, which he has hitherto only casually indulged in.

224:2 The supernatural means supposed to be employed for the destruction of the wicked and the restoration of the good are detailed in the following paragraphs.

224:3 See Chap. II, 36.

224:4 The two angels who are the special messengers of Aûharmazd to mankind (see Bund. XV, 1, XXX, 29). This message was expected to be sent to Pêshyôtanû near the end of Hûshêdar's millennium (see § 51).

224:5 See Bund. XXIX, 10.

224:6 See Bund. XXXI, 25.

224:7 A title of Pêshyôtanû, written Kitrô-maînô in Bund. XXIX, 5.

224:8 This was the twentieth nask or 'book' of the complete Mazdayasnian literature, according to the Dînkard; but the Dînî-vagarkard and the Rivâyats make it the twenty-first, and say very little about its contents (see Haug's Essays, pp. 133, 134). The Dînkard, in its eighth book, gives the following account of this Nask:—

‘The Hâdôkht as it exists has three divisions among its 133 sections. The first has thirteen (twelve?) sections, treatises upon the nature of the recital of the Ahunavar, which is the spiritual benefit from chanting it aloud, and whatever is on the same subject. Admonition about selecting and keeping a spiritual and worldly high-priest, performing every duty as to the high-priest, and maintaining even those of various high-priests. On the twenty-one chieftainships of the spirits in Aûharmazd, and of the worldly existences in Zaratûst, among which are the worship of God and the management of the devout. On the duty requisite in each of the five different periods of the day and night, and the fate at the celestial bridge of him who shall be zealous in the celebration of the season-festivals; he who does not provide the preparations for the feast of the season-festivals, and who is yet efficient in the other worship of God. On how to consider, and what to do with, a leader of the high-priest class and a man of the inferior classes; he who atones for unimportant sin, and he who does not atone even for that which is important, and whatever is on the same subject. On the apparatus with which ploughed land (?) is prepared. On the manifestation of virtuous manhood, and the merit and advantage from uttering good words for blessing the eating and drinking of food and drink, and rebuking the inward talk of the demons. On the recitations at the five periods of the day, and the ceremonial invocation by name of many angels, each separately, and great information on the same subject; the worthiness of a man restrained by authority the giving of life and body to the angel the good rulers, and their examination and satisfaction; the blessing and winning words which are most successful in carrying off the affliction which proceeds from a fiend. On all-pleasing creativeness and omniscience, and all precedence (?), leadership, foresight(?), worthy liberality, virtue (?), and every proper cause and effect of righteousness; the individuality of righteousness, the opposition to the demons of Aûharmazd's opinion, and also much other information in the same section.

‘The middle division has 102 sections, treatises on spiritual and worldly diligence, the leadership of the diligent, and their mighty means, all former deeds of righteousness; righteousness kindling the resolution is the reward of merit, each for each, and is adapted by it for that of which it is said that it is the Hâdôkht which is the maintaining of righteousness, so that they may make righteousness more abiding in the body of a man.

'The last division has nineteen sections of trusty remedies, that is, remedies whose utterance aloud by the faithful is a chief resource among the creatures of God; also the nature of sayings full of humility, well-favoured, most select, and adapted for that of which it is said that I reverence that chief, the excellent and eminent Hâdôkht, of which they trust in the sustaining strength of every word of Zaratûst. Perfect is the excellence of righteousness (Av. ashem vohû vahistem astî).'

According to tradition three chapters of this Nask are still extant, being the Yast fragments XXI, XXII of Westergaard's edition of the Avesta Texts; but they do not correspond to any part of the description in the Dînkard. For a description of Dvâzdah-hômâst see Chap. II, 59.

226:1 See Bund. XII, 7.

226:2 That is, 'good thoughts, good words, and good deeds,' a formula often uttered when commencing an important action.

227:1 See Bund. XVII, 5, 6. This appears to be an allusion to the removal of the sacred fire by Vistâsp, from the, 'glorious' mountain in Khvârizem to the 'shining' mountain in Kâvulistân.

227:2 See Chap. II, 37.

227:3 Regarding these three manifestations of the sacred fire, see Bund. XVII, 3-9, SZS. XI, 8-10.

227:4 Supplying the word sêdâân, 'the demons,' in accordance with 36, 37; there being clearly some word omitted in K20.

227:5 See Chap. II, 36.

227:6 Hûgar the lofty in Bund. XII, 2, 5.

228:1 The fact that the angel Vâhrâm goes in his spiritual forth to the assistance of Pêshyôtanû, rather militates against the idea that be also goes in the form of Vâhrâm the Vargâvand.

228:2 This verb is omitted by mistake in K20.

228:3 Literally, 'arrive at the writing.'

228:4 Or, 'stand up with honesty.'

228:5 The latter two names are here written Frâsâv and Alasandar.

228:6 From this it appears that the writer expected the evil reign of the unbelievers to last a thousand years, that is, till the end of Hûshêdar's millennium, about A.D. 1593-1635, which corresponds very closely with the reign of the great Shâh ’Abbâs.

229:1 Or, perhaps 'what I said before,' being already narrated in § 29 as performed by Pêshyôtanû before advancing far into Iran.

229:2 The Tigris and the Oxus-Indus (see §§ 5, 21).

229:3 Probably a title of Pêshyôtanû; a more obvious translation would be, 'restrains a curbed temper, and is intrusted,' &c,, but it is hardly probable that the warrior prince Vâhrâm could become a priest. It is Vâhrâm's business to restore the empire, leaving Pêshyôtanû to restore the religion.

230:1 The supreme high-priesthood, or primacy.

230:2 Merely a guess, as the verb varafsêd is difficult to understand.

230:3 K20 has nismô, 'soul,' but the very similarly written gadman, 'glory,' is a more likely reading here (see § 32).

230:4 Reading dûdak instead of rûdak, as in Chap. II, 47.

230:5 The writer having detailed the supernatural means employed for restoring the religion, now returns to the birth of Hûshêdar (§ 13) for the purpose of mentioning some of his actions, and making the chronology of his millennium rather more clear. Nothing is said here about his miraculous birth, the details of which are given in the seventh book of the Dînkard very much as they are found in the Persian Rivâyats. The Dînkard states that thirty years before the end of Zaratûst's millennium a young maiden bathing in certain water, and drinking it, becomes pregnant through the long-preserved seed of Zaratûst (see Bund. XXXII, 8, 9), and subsequently gives birth to Hûshêdar.

231:1 There seems to be no other rational way of understanding this number than by supposing that it represents the date of Hûshêdar's birth, counting from the beginning of Zaratûst's millennium. According to this view Hûshêdar was to be born in the six hundredth year of his own millennium, and not at its beginning, as § 13 seems to imply, nor nearly thirty years earlier, as the Dînkard asserts. As the beginning of his millennium may be fixed about A.D. 593-635 (see note on § 11), the writer must have expected him to be born about A.D. 1193-1235; a time which was probably far in the future when he was writing. And as Vâhrâm the Vargâvand was to be born when Hûshêdar was thirty years of age (compare §§ 14) 44), and was to march into Iran at the age of thirty (§ 17), the great conflict of the nations (§§ 8, 19-22) was expected to begin about A.D. 1253-1295, and to continue till near the end of the millennium, about A.D. 1593-1635, when Pêshyôtanû was expected to appear (§ 51) and to restore the 'good' religion (§§ 26, 37, 42). An enthusiastic Parsi interpreter of prophecy might urge that though this period did not witness any revival of his religion, it did witness a restoration of the Persian empire under Shâh ’Abbâs, and also the first beginning of British power in India, which has been so great a benefit to the scanty, remnant of his fellow-countrymen.

231:2 The usual epithet of the sun in the Avesta.

232:1 The seven regions of the earth (see Bund. XI, 2, 3).

232:2 It is just possible to read, 'the sun with the swift horse, the splendid, moves on, and all mankind fully believe,' &c. But if the reading in the text be correct it effectually disposes of the idea of Vâhrâm being an incarnation of the angel, as an angel would require no miracle to make him believe in the religion.

232:3 See §§ 25-30.

232:4 This verb is doubtful, as most of the word is torn off in K20.

233:1 This appears to be the meaning, but the latter part of the sentence is not very clear.

233:2 See Bund. XXXII, 8. The name is written Khûrshêd-mâh in K20. The Dînkard gives the same account of the miraculous birth of Hûshêdar-mâh as of the first Hûshêdar (see note on § 43); it also repeats the legend of the sun standing still, but for the longer period of twenty days; all which details are also found in the Persian Rivâyats.

233:3 Av. azikithra; such creatures are mentioned in Ardavahist Yt. 8, 10, 11, 15; but Az-i Dahâk, 'the destructive serpent,' is probably meant here (see §§ 56-61).

233:4 As in the previous millennium. According to the chronology deduced from § 44 the millennium of Hûshêdar-mâh, which corresponds to the twelfth and last millennium of Bund. XXXIV, is now near the middle of its third century.

233:5 The sentence is either defective or obscure, but this appears to be its meaning.

233:6 The evil spirit is encouraged by an act of religious toleration, apparently, to recommence his manœuvres for injuring mankind.

234:1 Here written Dimbhâvand (see Bund. XII, 31).

234:2 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which' (see the note on Bund. I, 7).

234:3 The var-i Yim kard (see Bund. XXIX, 14). The men and creatures who are supposed to be preserved in this enclosure are expected to replenish the world whenever it has been desolated by wars and oppression.

234:4 Whose surname is Bêvarâsp (see Bund. XXIX, 9).

234:5 The Pâz. MSS. end here.

235:1 Also called Sâm in this same section; he was lying in a trance in the plain of Pêsyânsaî (see Bund. XXIX, 7-9).

235:2 Reading afas instead of minas (see Chap. II, 4, note 2).

235:3 The thirteenth millennium, or first of the future existence, when Sôshyans appears. The Dînkard and the Persian Rivâyats recount the same legends regarding the miraculous birth of Sôshyans, and of the sun standing still (for thirty days), as they do with regard to Hûshêdar (see note on § 43).

235:4 See Bund. XXXII, 8.

SHÂYAST LÂ-SHÂYAST

OR

THE PROPER AND IMPROPER.

AN OLD

PAHLAVI RIVÂYAT

OR MISCELLANY OF TRADITIONAL MEMORANDA.

OBSERVATIONS.

1-5. (The same as on p. 2.)

Abbreviations used are:—Âf. for Âfrîngân. Av. for Avesta. AV. for the Book of Ardâ-Vîrâf, ed. Hoshangji and Haug. Bund. for Bundahis, as translated in this volume. B. Yt. for Bahman Yast, as translated in this volume. Chald. for Chaldee. Farh. Okh. for Farhang-i Oîm-khadûk, ed. Hoshangji and Haug. Haug's Essays, for Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings, and Religion of the Parsis, by Martin Haug, 2nd edition. Huz. for Huzvâris. Lev. for Leviticus. Mkh. for Mainyô-i-khard, ed. West. Nîr. for Nîrangistân. Pahl. for Pahlavi. Pâz. for Pâzand. Pers. for Persian. Sls. for Shâyast lâ-shâyast, as here translated. SZS. for Selections of Zâd-sparam, as translated in this volume. W. for Westergaard. Vend. for Vendîdâd, ed. Spiegel. Visp. for Visparad, ed. Spiegel. Yas. for Yasna, ed. Spiegel. Yt. for Yast, ed. Westergaard.

The manuscripts mentioned in the notes are:—

B29 (written A.D. 1679), a Rivâyat MS., No. 29 of the University Library at Bombay.

K20 (about 500 years old), No. 20 in the University Library at Kopenhagen.

L7, L15, L22, &c. are MSS. No. 7, 15, 22, &c. in the India Office Library at London.

M5 (written A.D. 1723), No. 5 of the Haug Collection in the State Library at Munich.
M6 (written A.D. 1397), No. 6 of the same Collection, M9 (modern), No. 9 of the same Collection.

TD (written about A.D. 1530), a MS. of the Bundahis belonging to Mobad Tehmuras Dinshawji Anklesaria at Bombay.

SHAYÂST LA-SHAYÂST

PART I.—The Original Treatise.

CHAPTER I.

In the name of God, (yazdân) and the good creation may there be the good health, long life, and abundant wealth of all the good and the right-doers specially for him whose writing I am .

As revealed by the Avesta, it is said in the Vendidad  that these seven degrees (pâyak) of sin are mentioned in revelation, which are Farmân, Âgerept, Avôirîst , Aredûs, Khôr, Bâzâî, Yât, and Tanâpûhar . 2. A Farmân is the weight of four stîrs, and each stîr is four dirhams (gûgan) ; of Âgerept and Avôirîst that which is least is a scourging (tâzânŏ), and the amount of them which was specially that which is most is said to be one dirham ; an Aredûs is thirty stîrs ; a Khôr is sixty stîrs; a Bâzâî is ninety stîrs; a Yât is a hundred and eighty stîrs; and a Tanâpûhar is three hundred stîrs .

In the administration of the primitive faith  there are some who have been of different opinions about it, for Gôgôsasp  spoke otherwise than the teaching  (kâstak) of Âtarô-Aûharmazd , and Sôshyans  otherwise than the teaching of Âtarô-frôbâg Nôsâî , and Mêdôk-mâh  otherwise than the teaching of Gôgôsasp , and Afarg  otherwise than the teaching of Sôshyans. 4. And all those of the primitive faith rely upon these six  teachings, and there are some who rely more weakly and some more strongly upon some of them.

Footnotes

239:1 See the note on B. Yt. I, 0.

239:2 Referring to Vend. IV, 54-114, where seven classes of assault and their respective punishments are detailed. In our text eight classes of sin are named, although only seven degrees are mentioned; the second and third classes being apparently arranged together, as one degree of sin in § 2. Or the inconsistency may have arisen from the addition of the Farmân, a class of sin or crime not mentioned in the Vendidad, unless, indeed, it be the farmân spôkhtanŏ, 'neglect of commandment' (referring probably to priest's commands), of Pahl. Vend. VI, 15. The other seven classes are thus described in Pahl. Vend. IV, 54-57, 79, 85, 93, 99, 106:—

'By the man whose weapon (or blow) is upraised for striking a man, that which is his Âgerept is thus implanted in him. When it has moved forward—that is, he makes it advance—it is thus his Avôirîst, that is, Avôirîst is implanted in him and the Âgerept merges into it, some say that it does not exist. When he comes on to him with thoughts of malice—that is, he places a hand upon him—it is thus his Aredûs, that is, Aredûs is implanted in him and the Avôirîst merges into it, some say that it does not exist. At the fifth Aredûs the man even becomes a Tanâpûhar; things at sunrise (avar-khûrshêdîh) and in the forenoon (kâîtîh = kâstîh) are no more apart. . . . Whoever inflicts the Aredûs blow on a man it is one-fifth of a wound (rêsh). . . . Whoever inflicts that which is a cruel Khôr ('hurt') on a man it is one-fourth of a wound. . . . Whoever inflicts that which is a bleeding Khôr on a man it is one-third of a wound. . . . Whoever shall give a man a bone-breaking Khôr it is half a wound.... Whoever strikes a man the blow which puts him out of consciousness shall give a whole wound.'

This description does not mention Bâzâî and Yât, unless they be the two severer kinds of Khôr; but, Bâzâî occurs in Pahl. Vend. IV, 115, V, 107, XIII, 38, though Yât seems not to be mentioned in the Vendidad. Aredûs occurs again in Pahl. Vend. III, 151, and Khôr in Pahl. Vend. III, 48, XIII, 38, and Yas. LVI, iv, 2.

240:1 Also written avôîrist, avîrist, aîvîrist, avôkîrist, and avakôrist in other places.

240:2 Five of these names are merely slight alterations of the Av. âgerepta, avaoirista, aredus, h**vara, and tanuperetha (peretôtanu or peshôtanu). The last seven degrees are also noticed in a very obscure passage in Farh. Okh. pp. 36, 37 (correcting the text from the old MSS. M6 and K20) as follows:—

'Âgerept, "seized," is that when they shall take up a weapon for smiting an innocent person; Avôirîst, "turning," is that when one turns the weapon upon an innocent person; when through sinfulness one lays the weapon on a sinner the name is Aredûs; for whatever reaches the source of life the name is Khôr; one explains Bâzâî as "smiting," and Yât as "going to," and the soul of man ought to be withstanding, as a counterstroke is the penalty for a Yât when it has been so much away from the abode of life. In like manner Âgerept, Avôirîst, Aredûs, Khôr, Bâzâî, and Yât are also called good works, which are performed in like proportions, and are called by the names of weights and measures in the same manner. Of peshôtanus tanûm pairyêitê the meaning is a Tanâpûhar; as they call a good work of three hundred a Tanâpûhar, on account of the three hundred like proportions of the same kind, the meaning of its name, Tanâpûhar, thereupon enters into sin. . . . A Khôr is just that description of wound from which the blood comes, irrespective of where, how, how much, and wherewith it is inflicted; it is that which is a wound from the beginning, and that which will result therefrom.'

The application of this scale of offences is, however, not confined to these particular forms of assault, but has been extended (since the Avesta was compiled) to all classes of sins, and also to the good works which are supposed to counterbalance them.

241:1 The dirham has been variously estimated, at different times, as a weight of forty-five to sixty-seven grains, but perhaps fifty grains may be taken as the meaning of the text, and the stîr may, therefore, be estimated at 200 grains. The Greeks used both these weights, which they called δραχμή and στατήρ.

241:2 The amounts of these first three degrees of sin are differently stated in other places (see Chaps. XI, 2, XVI, 1-3, 5). It is difficult to understand why the amounts of Âgerept and Avôirîst should here be stated as less than that of Farmân, and some Parsis, therefore, read vîhast (as an irregular form of vîst, 'twenty') instead of vês-ast, 'is most,' so that they may translate the amount as 'twenty dirhams;' but to obtain this result they would have to make further alterations in the Pahlavi text. In a passage quoted by Spiegel (in his Traditionelle Literatur der Parsen, p. 88) from the Rivâyat MS. P12, in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris, it is stated that Farmân is seven stîrs, Âgerept twelve stîrs, and Avôirîst fifteen stîrs. Another Rivâyat makes the Farmân eight stîrs.

241:3 All MSS. have Aredûs sî 30, 'an Aredûs is thirty (30),' leaving it doubtful whether dirhams or stîrs are meant; and the same mode of writing is adopted in Chap. XI, 2.

241:4 All authorities agree about the amounts of the last five degrees of sin. These amounts are the supposed weights of the several sins in the golden scales of the angel Rashnû (see AV. V, 5), when the soul is called to account, for its actions during life, after the third night after death (see Mkh. II, 114-122). Its sins are supposed to be then weighed against its good works, which are estimated by the same scale of degrees (see the passage already quoted from Farh. Okh. in p. 240, note 2), and it is sent direct to heaven, or hell, or an intermediate place, according as the good works or sins preponderate, or are both equal. In the Avesta of the Vendidad, however, whence these degrees are derived, we find them forming merely a graduated scale of assaults, extending from first lifting the hand to smite even unto manslaughter; and for each of these seven degrees of assault a scale of temporal punishments is prescribed, according to the number of times the offence has been committed. These punishments consist of a uniform series of lashes with a horse-whip or scourge, extending from a minimum of five lashes to a maximum of two hundred (see Vend. IV, 58-114); each degree of assault commencing at a different point on the scale of punishments for the first offence, and gradually rising through the scale with each repetition of the offence, so that the more aggravated assaults attain the maximum punishment by means of a smaller number of repetitions. Thus, the punishments prescribed for Âgerepta, from the first to the eighth offence, are 5, 10, 15, 30, 50, 70, 90, and 200 lashes respectively; those for Avaoirista, from the first to the seventh offence, extend on the same scale from 10 to 200 lashes; those for Aredus, from the first to the sixth offence, are from 15 to 200 lashes; those for a bruised hurt (h**vara), from the first to the fifth offence, are from 30 to 200 lashes; those for a bleeding hurt, from the first to the fourth offence, are from 50 to 200 lashes; those for a bone-breaking hurt, from the first to the third offence, are from 70 to 200 lashes; and those for a hurt depriving of consciousness or life, for the first and second offences, are 90 and 200 lashes. The maximum punishment of 200 lashes is prescribed only when the previous offences have not been atoned for, and it is to be inflicted in all such cases, however few or trifling the previous assaults have been.

242:1 In M6 pôryôdkêshîh, but pôryôdkêshân, 'of those of the primitive faith,' in K20; from the Av. paoiryôdkaêsha of Yas. I, 47, III, 65, IV, 53, XXII, 33, Fravardîn Yt. 0, 90, 156, Âf. Rapithwin, 2. It is a term applied to what is considered as the true Mazdayasnian religion in all ages, both before and after the time of Zaratûst.

243:1 One of the old commentators whose opinions are frequently quoted in Pahlavi books, as in Chap. II, 74, 82, 119, Pahl. Vend. III, 48, 138, 151, IV, 35, V, 14, 121, VI, 9, 64, VII, 6, 136, VIII, 64, 236, XV, 35, 48, 56, 67, XVI, 5, XVIII, 98, 124, and thirteen times in the Nîrangistân. His name is sometimes written Gôsasp (as it is here both in M6 and K20) and sometimes Gôgôsôsp.

243:2 Probably a written exposition or commentary is meant.

243:3 This commentator is mentioned once in the Nîrangistân as Âtarô Aûharmazdân.

243:4 This commentator is mentioned in Chaps. II, 56, 74, 80, 118, 119, III, 13, VI, 4, 5; also in Pahl. Vend. III, 64, 69, 151, IV, 6, V, 48, 80, 107, 121, 146, 153, VI, 15, 64, 73, VII, 4, 136, 168, VIII, 28, 59, 303, IX, 184, XIII, 20, XVI, 7, 10, 17, 20-22, 27, XVIII, 98, and forty-six times in the Nîrangistân. He was a name-sake of the last of the future apostles and sons of Zaratûst (see Bund. XXXII, 8), and his name is often written Sôshâns and read Saoshyôs or Sôsyôs by Pâzand writers.

243:5 This commentator is mentioned once in the Nîrangistân, and may probably be the Âtarô-frôbâg of B. Yt. I, 7; compare also Nôsâî Bûrz Mitrô, the name of another commentator, in Chap. VIII, 18.

243:6 This commentator is mentioned in Chaps. II, 1, 11, 12, 89, V, 5, 6; also in Pahl. Vend. III, 151, V, 6, 58, 107, VIII, 48, 110, IX, 132, XIII, 99, XIV, 37, and four times in the Nîrangistân. His name is sometimes written Mêdyôk-mâh or Mâîdôk-mâh, and he was a namesake of Zaratûst's cousin and first disciple (see Bund. XXXII, 2, 3). The Vagarkard-i Dînîk professes to have been compiled by Mêdyôk-mâh, but there appear to have been several priests of this name (see Bund. XXXIII, 1).

243:7 Gôsasp in M6.

243:8 This commentator is mentioned in Chaps. II, 2, 64, 73, 88, 115, V, 5, 6; also in Pahl. Vend. III, 48, 115, V, 6, 14, 22, 58, 146, VI, 9, VII, 6, 61, 93, 136, VIII, 48, 64, 110, 250, IX, 132, XIII, 99, XIV, 14, 37, XIX, 84, Pahl. Yas. LXIV, 37, once in Farh. Okh., and thirty-eight times in the Nîrangistân.

244:1 Both MSS. have 'three,' although four teachings and six commentators are mentioned in the previous section, and a fifth 'teaching' is mentioned in Chap. II, 2. The original reading was more probably 'six' than 'four', as a Pahlavi 'six' requires merely the omission of a cipher to become 'three,' whereas a Pahlavi 'four' must be altered to produce the same blunder.

Several other commentators are mentioned in Pahlavi books, such Âtarô-pâd, son of Dâd-farukh, twice in the Nîrangistân; Âzâd-mard nine times in Nîr.; Barôshand Aûharmazd once in Nîr.; Dâd Aûharmazd in B. Yt. I, 1, 7, III, 16, Pahl. Yas. X, 57, XI, 22; Dâd-farukh in Pahl. Vend. V, 112, VI, 64, and twice in Nîr.; Dâd-i-vêh seventeen times in Nîr.; Farukhŏ thrice in Nîr.; Kîrâtanŏ-bûgêd in Pahl. Vend. V, 80, VI, 15, IX, 184, XIII, 20, he is called the Kirmânîk in Pahl. Vend. IV, 35, and Dastûr Hoshangji thinks his name is merely a variant of the next; Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd in Sls. II, 57, 81, 118, VI, 6, VIII, 17, Pahl. Vend. III, 64, 69, IV, 6, V, 48, VI, 53, 64, 73, VIII, 28, XVI, 17, 21, 22, 27, and twenty-two times in Nîr.; Mâh-Aûharmazd in Pahl. Vend. VII, 82; Mâh-gôsaspŏ, Mâh-gôsôspŏ, Mâh-gôspŏ, or Mâh-vasp in Pahl. Yas. IX, 33, Pahl. Vend. III, 138, and ten times in Nîr.; Mâhvand-dâd or Mâh-vindâd in B. Yt. III, 3, Pahl. Yas. IX, 33, X, 57, XI, 22, XIX, 27; Mard-bûd in Sls. II, 96, and twice in Nîr., where he is called the son of Dâdgun; Nêryôsang in Sls. VIII, 13, Pahl. Vend. V, 22; Nikhshâpûhar, or Nîshapûhar in Pahl. Vend. III, 151, V, 112, VI, 71, VIII, 64, XVI, 10, AV. I, 35, and twenty-four times in Nîr.; Nôsâî Bûrz-Mitrô in Sls. VIII, 18; Parîk or Pîrîk in Pahl. Vend. III, 138, V, 14, 134, VII, 82, 93, VIII, 64, and once in Nîr.; Rôshan or Rôshanô (which, as the Sikand-gûmânî states, was the name of a commentary written by Rôshan son of Âtarô-frôbâg) in Sls. II, 39, 86, 107, B. Yt. III, 3, Pahl. Yas. IX, 5, 14, Pahl. Vend. III, 48, V, 112, 134, 176, VII, 93, XVII, 11, and eleven times in Nîr.; disciples of Vakht-âfrîdŏ (possibly the Bakht-âfrîd of Sls. XX, 11, B. Yt. I, 7) are mentioned once in Nîr.; Vand-Aûharmazd in Sls. II, 2, 6, 44, XIV, 5, Pahl. Vend. VI, 73; and Vêh-dôst once in the Nîrangistân. It must, however, be observed that the reading of some of these names is very uncertain.

CHAPTER II.

For in the third fargard ('chapter) of the Vendidad of Mêdôk-mâh  it is declared that when life is resigned without effort , at the time when the life departs, when a dog is tied to his foot, even then the Nasûs  rushes upon it, and afterwards, when seen by it, the Nasûs is destroyed by it. 2. This is where it is stated which is the dog which destroys the Nasûs , the shepherd's dog, the village-dog, the blood-hound, the slender hound , and the rûkûnîk ; and as to the rûkûnîk there have been divers opinions, as Vand-Aûharmazd  asserted, from the teaching of Afarg, that it does not destroy it. 3. The dog destroys the Nasûs at the time when it sees the flesh, and when it sees the hair or nails it does not destroy it . 4. A blind dog also destroys it at the time when it places a paw  on the corpse; and when it places it upon the hair or nails it does not destroy it . 5. The birds which destroy the Nasûs are three: the mountain kite, the black crow, and the vulture ; the bird, moreover, destroys it at the time when its shadow falls upon it; when it sees it in the water, a mirror, or a looking-glass, it does not destroy it .
Vand-Aûharmazd said, where a pregnant woman is to be carried by two men , both are to be cleansed by the Bareshnûm ceremony , and the head of the corpse, when they carry it away, is to be set towards the Dakhma . 7. And on account of contamination (padvîshak)  two are not to be carried at one time, and two by one person are not proper; one dog and one person are proper . 8. Every one who understands the care of a corpse is proper; two boys of eight years old, who understand the care, are proper; a woman free from menstruation, or free from dead matter , or a man, with a woman or a child of eight years old, is proper.

It is not to be carried all covered up , for that is burying the corpse; to carry it in the rain is worthy of death . 10. When clouds have been around , it is allowable to carry it away from the house; and when rain sets in upon the road it is not allowable to carry it back to the house; but when it is before a veranda (dâhlîz) one should put it down there; that is allowable when he who owns the veranda is apprehensive, and when he does not allow it inside; and, afterwards, it is to be carried away to its place, and when the water stands the height of a javelin (nîzak) inside , one puts it down and brings it away yet again. 11. Mêdôk-mâh  says that there should be a shelter (var)  one should fasten above that place, and it would make it dry below ; one should place the corpse under that shelter, and they may take the shelter and bring it away.

From the fifth fargard of the Vendidad of Mêdôk-mâh  they state thus, that at the place where one's life goes forth, when he shall die upon a cloth, and a hair or a limb remains upon the bed-place and the ground , the ground conveys the pollution, even not originating with itself (ahambûnik), in like manner down unto the water . 13. And when he is on a bedstead, and its legs are not connected with the ground, when a hair or a limb remains behind on the bedstead, it does not convey the pollution down. 14. When he shall die on a plastered floor the plaster is polluted, and when they dig up that plaster, and spread it again afterwards, it is clean. 15. When he shall die on a stone, and the stone is connected with the ground, the stone will become clean, along with the ground, in the length of a year; and when they dig up the place, the stone being polluted is to be washed at the time. 16. When a stone is connected with the ground, or is separated, and one shall die upon it, so much space of the stone as the corpse occupied is polluted  ; when they shall leave it, in the length of a year it will become clean along with the ground; and when they dig it up, the stone is all polluted, and is to be washed at the time; when the stone is not made even with the ground, above the ground the stone is all polluted, and is to be washed at the time.

Dung-fuel and ashes, when the limbs of a menstruous woman come upon them, are both polluted; and the salt and lime for washing her shift (kartak-shûî) are to be treated just like stone .
If one shall die on a terrace roof (bân) , when one of his limbs, or a hair, remains behind at the edge of the roof, the roof is polluted for the size of the body as far as the water; and they should carry down all the sacred twigs (baresôm)  in the house, from the place where the pollution is, until there are thirty steps of three feet  to the sacred twigs, so that the sacred twigs may not be polluted; and when his hair or limb has not come to the eaves (parakân) the roof is polluted to the bottom (tôhîk). 19. And when one shall die on a rîtâ  it is polluted for the size of the body as far as the water; in the length of a year it will become clean along with the ground. 20. A built bridge is liable just like a terrace roof. 21. When one shall die on the terrace roof of a trellised apartment (varam), that is also liable just like a terrace roof. 22. When he shall die in a trellised apartment, when one of his limbs, or a hair, does not remain on the borders (parakân), it does not convey the pollution down, but when any of him remains behind it conveys it down; it is allowable when they dig it up , and one also spreads it again afterwards, and it is clean.

When one shall die by strangulation and a rope in a crowd, when there is no fear of his falling down they should not carry him down; and when there is a fear of his falling down, when that fear is as regards one side of him, they should carry him down on that side; and when he has fallen down they should carry him down in such place as he has fallen. 24. When one is seated upright and shall die, when there is fear of his falling on one side they should carry him down on that one side, and when there is fear on all four sides, then on all four sides; and when he has fallen down they should carry him down in such place as he has fallen .

And when one shall die on a tree, when its bark is green and there is no fear of falling off, they should not carry him down; and when there is fear of it, they should carry down the whole of the body (tanû masâî). 26. And when the bark of the tree is withered, when there is fear of it and when there is no fear of it, they should carry it down. 27. When he shall die on a branch of a tree which is green, when there is no fear of his falling off they should not carry him down. 28. And when there is fear of it, or it is a branch of a withered tree, when also, a hair originating with him, or a limb, remains behind on the particular tree, they should carry down the whole of the body . 29. And when it does not remain behind him on the particular tree, but when there is fear of its falling off, they should not carry it below (vad frôd) .
When a corpse (nasâî-1) , from outside of it, remains behind on a jar (khûmbŏ) in which there may be wine, the jar is polluted, and the wine is clean. 31. And when one shall die inside, in the wine in the jar, if not even a hair or a curl originating with him remains behind on the jar, the wine is polluted and the jar not polluted . 32. When it is a jar in which there is oil , and dead matter (nasâî), from outside of it, remains behind on it, this is even as though it remains inside it, because the oil comes outside and goes back to the inside, and both are polluted, the jar and the oil; and even on making the jar dry  it is not fit to put anything in.

When a serpent (garzak) is in a jar in which there is wine, both are useless and polluted, for it makes them contaminated (padvîshak). 34. And when corn shall be in it, the jar is polluted and the corn clean; and when nothing originating with the serpent inside the jar remains behind on the jar, so much of the corn as includes the serpent, and upon which the touch (mâlisn) of the serpent has gone—because the touch of the serpent's seed might be the death of one—is to be taken out and to be thrown away. 35. And when hair or dead matter, even not originating with the serpent, remains behind on the jar, the jar is polluted, but is serviceable (shâyad) on making it dry .

Brick, earth, and mortar are separated by their own substance (pavan mindavam-i nafsman), and are connected with the ground; being separated by their own substance is this, that so much space as dead matter  comes upon is polluted; being connected with the ground is this, that they would convey the pollution down unto the water. 37. Dung-fuel, ashes, flour, and other powdered things are connected with their own substance, and are separated from the ground; being connected with their own substance is this, that when dead matter comes upon them the whole of them is polluted; and being separated from the ground is this, that when dead matter comes upon them it does not make the ground polluted .

38. At a house in which the sacred ceremony (yazisn) is prepared, and a dog or a person passes  away in it, the first business to be done is this, that the fire is to be preserved from harm; moreover, if it be only possible to carry the fire so that they would carry it away within three steps of the corpse , even then it is to be carried away, and the wall is not to be cut. 39. Rôshan  said that an earthen one is to be cut into, but a mortar one is not to be cut; below and above no account is taken of damaging (bodôzêdîh)  the wall . 40. To bring the fire within  the three steps from the corpse is a Tanâpûhar sin; and when exudation happens to the corpse, it is worthy of death . 41. The prepared food in that house is all useless, and that which is not prepared is usable in the length of nine nights

or a month . 42. Clothing also in like manner, except that which one wears on the body; that, even in that time, is not clean, since it remains in use. 43. And the holy-water (zôhar) , too, which is taken and remains in that place, is to be carried away immediately to the water; also the sacred milk (gîv)  and butter (gum)  in like manner. 44. Of the prayer  clothing Vand-Aûharmazd  said that it is usable in the length of nine nights or a month, the writer  (dapîr) said that it is when they perform the washing of hands, and wash it thoroughly, it will become clean at the time.

If in a house there are three rooms (gungînak), and one shall die in the entrance place (dargâs), if it be so that they may set the door open, and the corpse comes to this side, only this side is polluted; and if the corpse comes to that side, only that side is polluted; when it comes to both sides at once (aêvâk), only the entrance place is polluted alone, both the dwelling-rooms (khânak) are clean.

And the vault of the sacred fires  alone does not become polluted.

If one shall die in a wild spot (vaskar), prepared food which is within three steps is all useless, and beyond four steps it is not polluted. 48. Prepared food is this, such as bread, boiled and roast meat, and prepared broth .

And the ashes (var) of the sacred fire  become in a measure polluted.

Should they carry in the fire into that house in which the length of nine nights or a month is requisite for becoming clean, there is a sin of one Tanâpûhar  through carrying it in, and one Tanâpûhar through kindling it; and every trifling creature (khûr or khûl) which shall die and shall remain causes a sin of one Tanâpûhar. 51. Also through carrying water in, there is a sin of one Farmân; and to pour water on the place where any one's life departs is a sin of one Tanâpûhar, and to pour it on a different place is a sin of one Yât. 52. And to undergo ablution  inside the unclean house is all non-ablution. 53. And whoever goes into it needlessly, his body and clothes are to be every time thoroughly washed, and his sin is one Tanâpûhar ; and when he goes in needfully it is neither good work nor sin .

And this pollution is all in the sharp account (tîkhak amâr) when the life departs ; the only thing which amounts to polluting is contact with the flesh, and even with the hair and nails. 55. Of the contact which is stated in the Avesta , the account is that it is from one side, and it ever cleaves to one; the curse (gazisn)  which is stated in the Avesta advances from all four sides. 56. Sôshyans  said it is, until its exhibition to a dog, just as it becomes at the time when its life departs ; a priest, a warrior, and a husbandman are no use, for merely a dog is stated. 57. Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd  said the account is at the time when its life departs; and that which Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd specially said is, 'when anything is inside it (the place) the pollution is as far as to the place where that thing stands.' 58. When a dog, or a goat, or a pig is requisite (dârvâî)  it is proper, for the pollution does not attack further there; and the pollution of a child in the womb is along with the mother.
The direct pollution of a hedgehog  cleaves to one, and not the indirect pollution. 60. Direct pollution (hamrêd)  is that when the body is in contact with a corpse, and indirect pollution (paîtrêd) is that when  one is in contact with him who touched the corpse and from contact with him who is the eleventh  indirect pollution cleaves to one in the same manner. 61. The indirect pollution of an ape  and a menstruous woman, not acting the same way, remains. 62. The shepherd's dog, and likewise the village-dog, and others also of the like kind carry contamination to eight ; and when they, shall carry the carcase down on the ground the place  is clean immediately; and that, too, which dies on a balcony (âskûp), until they shall carry it down to the bottom, is polluted for the length of a year.

Whoever brings dead matter (nasâî) on any person is worthy of death; he is thrice worthy, of death  at the time when a dog has not seen the corpse (nasâî); and if through negligence of appliances and means (kâr va tûbânŏ) he disturbs it, and disturbs it by touching it, he knows that it is a sin worthy of death; and for a corpse that a dog has seen, and one that a dog has not seen, the accountability is to be understood to be as much , and for the death and sickness  of a feeble man and a powerful one. 64. Afarg has said there is no account of appliances and means , for it is not allowable to commit a sin worthy of death in cases of death and sickness.

When they move a corpse which a dog has not seen with a thousand men, even then the bodies of the whole number are polluted , and are to be washed for them with ceremony (pîsak) . 66. And for that which a dog has seen, except that one only when a man shall move it all  by touching it, his washing is then not to be with ceremony. 67. And when he is in contact and does not move it, he is to be washed with bull's urine and water. 68. And when he shall move with a stake (dâr)  a corpse which a dog has not seen, except that one only when he shall move it all, the washing for him is not to be with ceremony.

And when a man shall move a corpse, which a dog has not seen, by the hand of another man, he who moves it by the hand of a man, and he also whose own hand's strength does it are polluted in the bodies of both; and it is the root of a Tanâpûhar  sin for him himself and of a Tanâpûhar for the other one, for this reason, because his own body and that also of the other are both made polluted through sinfulness. 70. And when there is not in him, nor even originating with him (ahambûnik), the strength of him whose own hand it is, it is just as though, he would move it (the corpse) with a stake ; and he who held it in the way of contact with his hand is to be washed with ceremony; and it is the root of a Tanâpûhar sin for him whose own hand it is, and of a Khôr  for himself. 71. When he shall move a corpse by the hand of a man, and the corpse is of those which a dog has seen—except that one only when he shall move it all —the washing for him is not to be with ceremony.

When one is going by a place at night, and comes back there on the morrow, and a corpse lies there, and he does not know whether the evil (dûs) was there when he came by , or not, it is to be considered by him that it was not there.

Of a flock in which is a sheep by whom dead matter is eaten, of a forest in which is a tree with which dead matter is mingled, and of a firewood-stand (aesamdân) in which is a stick of firewood with which grease is mingled, Afarg said that it is not proper to make the flock and the forest fruitful, and the firewood is useless .

74. About a door on which a corpse impinges; as to the door of a town and city they have been of the same opinion, that it is to be discarded by his comrades (hamkâr) ; as to a door which is mostly closed (badtûm)  they have been of different opinions,

Gôgôsasp  said that discarding it by his comrades is likewise proper, and Sôshyans said that it is not proper; and as to other doors they have been of the same opinion, that it is not proper. 75. The door of one's own chief apartment (shah-gâs) is fit for that of the place for menstruation (dastânistân), and that of the place for menstruation is fit for that of the depository for the dead (khazânŏ) , and that of the depository of the dead is not fit for any purpose whatever ; that of the more pleasant is fit for that of the more grievous.

Any one who, through sinfulness, throws a corpse into the water, is worthy of death on the spot ; when he throws only one it is one sin worthy of death, and when he throws ten at one time it is then one sin worthy of death; when he throws them separately it is a sin worthy of death for each one. 77. Of the water, into which one throws dead matter, the extent of pollution is three steps of three feet in the water advancing, nine steps of three feet in the water passed over, and six steps of three feet in the water alongside ; six steps of three feet in the depth of the water, and three steps of three feet in the water pouring over the dead matter are polluted as regards the depth . 78. When it is thrown into the midst of a great standing water, in like manner, the proportion it comes is ever as much as it goes, and

is the proportion of it they should always carry away with the dead matter .

And when a man comes forth, and a corpse lies in the water, when he is able to bring it out, and it is not an injury to him, it is not allowable to abandon it except when he brings it out . 80. Sôshyans  said that, when it is an injury, it is allowable when  he does not bring it out; and when it is not an injury, and he does not bring it, his sin is a Tanâpûhar . 81. Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd  said that even in case of injury it is not allowable to abandon it, except when he brings it out; when he does not bring it he is worthy of death. 82. And Gôgôsasp  said that it is even in case of injury not allowable, except when he brings it out; and when, in case of injury, he does not bring it out his sin is a Tanâpûhar; and when it is no injury to him, and he does not bring it, he is worthy of death.

And when he shall wish to bring it his clothing is to be laid aside , for it makes the clothing polluted, and whatever he is first able and best able to bring is to be brought out by him. 84. When, too, he is able to bring it out through the breadth of the water, then also it is to be brought out so ; and when he is not able, it is to be brought out through the length of the water; and showing it to a dog and the two men are not to be waited for .

And it is to be carried by him so much away from the neighbourhood of the water that, when he puts it down, the water which comes out dropping from the corpse does not reach back to the water; for when the water which comes out from the corpse reaches continuously back to the water he is worthy of death; and after that (min zak frâg) it is to be shown to a dog, and it is to be carried away by two men. 86. And when he wishes to throw it out from the water, Mard-bûd  said it is allowable to throw it out thus, so that the water of the dripping corpse does not reach continuously back to the water; Rôshan said it would be allowable to throw it out far.

To drag it over the water is allowable, to grasp and relinquish it is not allowable ; and when it is possible to act so that he may convey it from a great water to a small water, when the water is connected it is allowable, and when separated it is not allowable. 88. Afarg  said it is allowable to drag it below through the water, but to drag it over is not allowable, for this has come on the water as a danger , and that has not come on it as a danger. 89. Mêdôk-mâh  said it is allowable to drag it above, but to drag it below is not allowable, for the danger has gone out across the water, and the danger is not now to be brought upon it; and on that which is below, on which the danger has not come, the danger will at last arrive.

When he goes into the water he is to go into it with this idea, that 'should there be many below, then I will even bring all;' for whoever goes in not with this idea, and shall disturb any other one which lies there, will become polluted . 91. And if the corpse be heavy and it is not possible to bring it out by one person; and he goes out with this idea, that 'I will go and prepare means, and bring this corpse out of the water;' and when through sinfulness  he does not go back his body is polluted and worthy of death, and when he is unable to go back he is not polluted.

When the corpse is so decomposed (pûdak), when it is thus necessary to bring it out, that, he must cut off various fragments, even after he cuts them off they are to be brought out; and for every fragment his hands and knife are to be washed with bull's urine (gômêz), and with dust and moisture (nambŏ) they are clean . 93. And they are to be torn off  by him, and for every single fragment which he brings out his good work is one Tanâpûhar.

And when rain is falling the corpse lies in the water; to take it from the water to deposit it in the rain is not  allowable.

Clothing which is useless , this is that in which they should carry a corpse, and that even when very much or altogether useless; of that on which they shall decompose  (barâ vishûpênd), and of that on which the excretions (hîkhar) of the dead come, so much space is to be cut away , and the rest is to be thoroughly washed for the six-months’ period . 96. That which a menstruous woman has in wear (mahmânîh)  is to be discarded in like fashion.

The clothing which is to be washed for the six-months’ period is such as is declared in the Avesta . 98. If the clothing be leathern it is to be thoroughly washed three times with bull's urine (gômêz), every time to be made quite dry with dust, and to be thoroughly washed three times with water, and to be laid out three months in a place to be viewed by the sun ; and then it is proper for an unclean person (armêst)  who has not performed worship, or it is proper for a menstruous woman. 99. Other clothing, when hair is on it , is liable just like woven cloth (tadak); all the washing of wool, floss silk, silk, hair, and camel's hair is just like that of woven cloth; and woven clothing is to be washed six times .

Wool which is connected together, when one part is twisted over another, and a corpse rests  upon it, is all polluted on account of the connection; and when fleece (mêsh) rests upon fleece, then so much space as the corpse rests upon is polluted. 101. When one shall die upon a rich carpet (bûp) when the carpet is on a coarse rug (namad) and is made connected, the rug and carpet are both polluted, and when separated the rug is clean. 102. When several cushions are heaped (nikîd) one upon the other, and are not made connected, and dead matter comes upon them, they have been unanimous that only that one is polluted on which the dead matter came. 103. A cushion together with wool  is liable just like a carpet with a rug . 104. Of several cushions which are tied down together, when dead matter comes to the tie, both are polluted, the cord and the cushions; and when the dead matter comes to a cushion, and does not come to the tie, the cushions are all polluted on account of the connection, and the tie is clean .

A pregnant woman who devours dead matter through sinfulness is polluted and worthy of death, and there is no washing for her ; and as for the child, when it has become acquainted with duties (pîsak-shinâs), ashes  and bull's urine are for its eating and for its washing. 106. As for a child who is born of solitary carriers of the dead , although its father and mother may both have devoured dead matter through sinfulness, that which is born is clean on the spot, for it does not become polluted by birth.

Rôshan  said that every one, who, through sinfulness, has become polluted by means of dead matter, is worthy of death, and his polluted. body never becomes clean; for this one is more wretched than the fox which one throws into the water living, and in the water it will die. 108. One worthy of death never becomes clean; and a solitary carrier of the dead is to be kept at thirty steps from ceremonial ablution (pâdîyâvîh).

Whichsoever of the animal species has eaten their dead matter , its milk, dung, hair, and wool are polluted the length of a year; and if pregnant when it has eaten it, the young one has also eaten it, and the young one is clean after the length of a year from being born of the mother. 110. When a male which has eaten it mounts a female, the female is not polluted. 111. When dead matter is eaten by it, and even while it is not digested it shall die, it is liable just like a leathern bag (anbân) in which is dead matter.

Gold, when dead matter comes upon it, is to be once thoroughly washed with bull's urine (gômêz), to be once made quite dry with dust, and to be once thoroughly washed with water, and it is clean . 113. Silver is to be twice thoroughly washed with bull's urine, and to be made quite dry with dust, and is to be twice thoroughly washed with water, and it is clean . 114. And iron, in like manner, three times, steel four times, and stone six times . 115. Afarg said: 'Should it be quicksilver (âvgînak)  it is liable just like gold, and amber (kahrupâî) just like stone, and all jewels just like iron. 116. The pearl (mûrvârîd) , amber, the ruby (yâkand) gem, the turquoise , the agate (shapak), coral-stone (vasadîn sag), bone, and other substances (gôhar) which are not particularly mentioned, are to be washed just like wood ; and when they are taken into use there is no washing , and when they are not taken their washing is once. 117. Of earthen and horny articles there is no washing; and of other substances which are not taken for use the washing is once, and they are declared out of use.

Firewood, when green, is to be cut off the length of a span (vitast), one by one, as many sticks as there are—and when dry one span and two finger-breadths —and is to be deposited in some place the length of a year, and water is not to be dropped upon it; and it is drawn out after the length of a year; Sôshyans  said that it is proper as firewood for ordinary fires, and Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd  said that it is just as declared in the Avesta: 'The washed one, even then, is proper in dried clothing .' 119. About corn  they have been unanimous that so much space is polluted as the dead matter comes upon; and of that which is lowered into pits , or is wanted to be so, and of that which is scattered (afsîd) at such a place there are different opinions; Sôshyans said: 'Should it be of such a place it is polluted as much as the dead matter has come upon it;' and Gôgôsasp  said: 'Should it be so it is all polluted, and the straw is all polluted.'

A walnut , through its mode of connection, is all polluted, and the washing of both its shell and kernel (pôst va mazg) is just like that of wood. 121. A pomegranate also is of such nature as a walnut. 122. As to the date, when its stalk  is not connected the date is polluted and the stalk and stone (âstak) are clean; the washing of the date is just like that of corn; and when it is touched upon the stalk, when the stalk, stone, and date are connected, the whole is polluted; as to the date when not connected with the stalk, and touched at the stalk, the date is clean, and the washing of the stone is just like that of wood. 123. The pomegranate, citron, quince, apple, pear, and other fruit, when in bearing and the rind (pazâvisnŏ) is perceptible on it, when dead matter comes upon it there is no pollution of it; and when the rind (pazâmisnŏ) is not perceptible on it, its washing is just like that of corn; and rind is ever with the citron . 124. For meat, butter, milk, cheese, and preserves (rîkâr) there is no washing .

Footnotes

245:1 Alluding probably to Mêdôk-mâh's complete commentary on the Vendidad (now no longer extant), as the commentary on Pahl. Vend. III, 48, which treats of Sag-dîd or dog-gaze, does not mention Mêdôk-mâh or any of the details described here in the text; these details, however, are to be found in Pahl. Vend., VII, 4.

245:2 Reading amat barâ zôr gân dâd. This phrase occurs only in M6 (as a marginal note) and in the text of its descendants. Assuming that barâ may be a miswriting of pavan (see p. 176, note 5), we might read amat pavan zôr shûyâd, 'when he shall wash with holy-water.'

245:3 The 'corruption' which is supposed to enter a corpse shortly after death, whence it issues in the form of a fiend and seizes upon any one who touches the corpse, unless it has been destroyed, or driven away, by the gaze of a dog, as mentioned in the text (compare Vend. VIII, 38-48). The carcase of a dog is considered equally contagious with the corpse of a human being, and when the fiend of corruption (Nasûs or Nas of Bund. XXVIII, 29) has seized upon any one, it can be driven out only by a long and troublesome form of purification described in Vend. VIII. 111-228, IX, 4-117.

245:4 This statement is now to be found in Pahl. Vend. VII, 4.

245:5 See Bund. XIV, 19. The Persian Rivâyats of Kâmah Bahrah and Kâûs Kâmân (quoted in B29) describe these dogs as 'the shepherd's dog, the house-dog, the strange or tame (gharîb) dog, and the puppy.'

245:6 Probably the Av. sukuruna of Vend. V, 100, XIII, 48, which is translated by hûkar or hûkûr in the Pahlavi version. This fifth kind of dog is called 'the blind (kûr) dog' in the Persian Rivâyats; but Pahl. Vend. VII, 4 asserts that, 'Sôshâns said the rûkunîk also destroys it,' and then speaks of the blind dog as in § 4.

246:1 See the note on Chap. I, 4.

246:2 This is also stated in Pahl. Vend. III, 138.

246:3 See Pahl. Vend. VII, 4.

246:4 The Persian Rivâyats say this is because the Nasûs is concealed beneath the hair and nails (compare Vend. VII, 70).

246:5 These are the birds 'created for devouring dead matter' (see Bund. XIX, 25). Pahl. Vend. VII, 4 substitutes an eagle (dâlman) for the vulture.

246:6 This sentence is probably defective, as the last clause evidently refers to the dog's gaze (see Pahl. Vend. III, 138), and not to the bird's shadow; the rule, however, is applicable to both. Thus the Persian Rivâyats state that if the bird's shadow falls upon the hair or the nails of the corpse, or if the bird's shadow, or the dog's gaze falls upon a corpse in the water, or upon its reflection in a mirror, the Nasûs is not destroyed. Dastûr Jâmâspji is of opinion that the utility of the bird's shadow is intended to apply only to cases of death in uninhabited places, where a dog is not procurable. As all three birds are such as feed upon corpses, it seems probable that the rule as to their utility was intended to prevent any neglect of corpses found in wild places, where some of these birds would be sure to approach and let their shadows fall upon the dead. after which the finder of the corpse would suppose that the Nasûs was destroyed or driven away, and the corpse safer to approach.

247:1 This is an exceptional case, when not more than two men are available; the usual custom (see Chap. X, 10) is to employ four men and two dogs (double the usual number) in disposing of the corpse of a pregnant woman, on account of the double risk of contamination, owing to the Nasûs, or fiend of corruption, having seized upon two corpses at once. In consequence of the exceptional nature of the case, the mode of purification is also exceptional.

247:2 A long purification ceremony lasting nine nights, and described in Vend. IX, 1-145. Its name, according to Dastûr Hoshangji, is derived from the first word of the instructions for sprinkling the unclean person, which commence (Vend. IX, 48) as follows: Bareshnûm hê vaghdhanem paourum paiti-hin**kôis, 'sprinkle in, front on the top of his head.' As it is usual to quote chapters by their initial words, the initial word of these instructions for the ceremony became a name for the ceremony itself.

247:3 The building in which the dead are finally deposited; here called by its Huzvâris name, khazân. The Dakhmas used by the Parsis in India are like low circular towers in external appearance, and consist of a high wall enclosing a larger or smaller circular space which is open to the sky. The only opening in the wall is a small doorway, closed with an iron door. In the centre of the circular area is a circular well a few feet in depth, and the space around it is paved so as to slope gently downwards from the enclosing wall to the brink of the well. This paved annular area is divided (by shallow gutters grooved into its surface) into spaces, each large enough for one corpse to be laid, upon it, with the head towards the wall and the feet towards the well. These spaces are arranged in two or more concentric rings around the well, and the gutters (which isolate each space on all four sides) drain into the well. After a sufficient time has elapsed the dry bones are said to be thrown into the well, and when the well is full the Dakhma ought to be finally closed, and another one brought into use. These Dakhmas are erected upon some dry and barren spot, remote from habitations and water; upon the summit of a hill, if possible, as prescribed in Vend. VI, 93, and usually more than a mile from the town. In Bombay the town has gradually approached the Dakhmas, and to some extent surrounded them, but has been kept away from their immediate vicinity by the judicious measures of influential Parsis, who have acquired all the neighbouring land, and refrain from building on it. The reason for thus exposing their dead to the sun and carnivorous birds is that the Parsis consider fire, water, and earth too sacred to be defiled by corpses; and they have less consideration for the air. Next to burning, the Parsi mode of disposing of the dead is the most rapid and effectual, as it avoids most of the concentrated evils which must accumulate in crowded cemeteries in the course of time, and which require ages to dissipate. As it is, most of the offensive effluvium in the immediate vicinity of a Dakhma arises not from direct contamination of the air, but indirectly through the ground, which becomes polluted, in the course of time, by impure filtrations.

248:1 Dastûr Jâmâspji prefers reading patôshak, and thinks it means 'necessity,' as in cases where two deaths occur nearly simultaneously in the same house, when both corpses cannot be removed the same day. Such a meaning might suit this passage, but the word occurs again, in § 33 and Chap. IX, 7, where it can refer only to 'contamination,' and the etymology of padvîshak (Av. paiti + vish) is plain enough.

248:2 That is, when two persons cannot be found to carry a corpse, one can do it alone, provided he holds a dog by a string. This course is adopted, Dastûr Jâmâspji says, when a person happens to die in a place where only one Parsi is available.

249:1 In the terms avî-dashtânŏ and avî-nasâî the compound av is written in an obsolete manner, both in M6 and K20. The meaning of the text is that either or both of the corpse-carriers may be any Parsi man, woman, or child who understands the proper precautions. Compare Pahl. Vend. VIII, 28.

249:2 K20 has 'when curved it is not to be carried.'

249:3 That is, it is a mortal sin to allow rain to fall upon a corpse before it is deposited in the Dakhma.

249:4 Or 'withheld,' or 'continuous,' according as we compare hâmûn with Pers. âmûn (âman), amân, or hâmân.

249:5 Inside the Dakhma apparently. The meaning seems to be, that when the Dakhma is flooded the corpse is to be laid down in some dry place in its vicinity until the flood has abated. But according to Pahl. Vend. VIII, 17, it is allowable to throw the corpse in when the Dakhma is full of water.

249:6 See Chaps. I, 3, II, 1. Here, again, the quotation must be from his complete commentary, as it is not extant in the present Pahlavi Vendidad.

249:7 From Av. var, 'to cover, to shelter;' compare Pers. gullah, 'a bower or shed.' Nowadays the Parsis have a permanent shelter near the Dakhma. Pahl. Vend. VIII, 17 says, 'to carry an umbrella (avargash) from behind, or to hold up a shelter, is of no use.'

250:1 Or, 'it would make it very dry,' if we read avîr, 'very,' instead of agîr, 'below;' these two words being written alike in Pahlavi.

250:2 Quoting again from his lost commentary.

250:3 Or, perhaps, 'floor.'

250:4 This translation is somewhat doubtful, but the text seems to imply that the ground is polluted as deep as it contains no water.

250:5 K20 has had, 'the stone is all polluted, and will become clean at the time when they dig it up, the stone is all polluted, in so much space as the corpse occupied it is polluted;' but the additional matter seems to be struck out. Something analogous to the details in this paragraph will be found in Pahl. Vend. VI, 9.

251:1 This section would be more appropriate in Chap. III.

251:2 Or 'an upper floor;' Pahl. Vend. VI, 9 has, 'when he shall die on an upper floor, when nothing of him remains behind at the partitions (pardakân), the floor is polluted as far as the balcony (âskûp) and the balcony alone is clean; when anything of him remains behind at the partitions, the floor is polluted as far as the balcony, the ground is polluted as far as the water, about the balcony alone it is not clear.'

251:3 See note on Chap. III, 32.

251:4 The gâm, 'step,' being 2 feet 7½ inches (see note on Bund. XXVI, 3) these thirty steps are about 79 English feet.

251:5 Meaning uncertain; the word looks like Huzvâris, but it is possible to read rîd-aê instead of rîtâ-1.

252:1 That is, the floor of the apartment; which would probably be formed of earth beaten down, which, in India, is nearly always overspread with diluted cow-dung to hinder cracks in the smooth surface. A better class of floor is spread with lime plaster on a stony surface.

252:2 The object of these rules is evidently to avoid disturbing the corpse more than is absolutely necessary, provided there be no fear of its polluting more of the ground by falling upon it.

253:1 K20 has a portion of § 30 inserted here by mistake.

253:2 The object of these rules is likewise to prevent the risk of the corpse defiling more of the ground than is absolutely necessary by falling upon it, as it might do by the breaking of a dead branch.

253:3 Nasâî (Av. nasu) means not only a corpse or carcase of a human being, dog, or other animal of the good creation, but also any portion of such corpse or carcase; that is, solid 'dead matter' in general, as distinguished from dirt or refuse from the living body, or any liquid exudation from a corpse or carcase, which is called hîkhar (Av. hikhra).

253:4 Pahl. Vend. VI, 9 states, that 'when one shall die on a jar of wine, the jar is useless, and the wine becomes just as though its course (ravisn) had been within three steps of the corpse. And when he shall die in the wine, when nothing of him remains behind on the jar, the jar is proper on making it dry' (or, perhaps, 'the jar is fit for bran-flour').

254:1 Or 'clarified butter;' in this case the 'jar' is probably a globular vessel, or carboy, made of hide, through which the oil, or liquid butter, penetrates so far as to keep the outer surface greasy, which accounts for the remark about the oil passing in and out. Such vessels, called dabar, are commonly used for oil and liquid butter in India.

254:2 Assuming that khûskar stands for khûsk-kar, as it does in Pahl. Vend., VI, 71; otherwise we should have to read thus: 'and the jar is mot even fit to put any bran-flour in.'

254:3 Again assuming as in § 32; otherwise we must read thus: 'but is fit for bran-flour (khûskar).'

255:1 Or 'a corpse;' K20 has 'stands upon.' The meaning is that these substances do not communicate the contamination throughout their own substance, but only downwards to the ground, which conveys it farther down, so far as it contains no water.

255:2 That is, these substances communicate the contamination throughout their own substance, but not down to the ground.

255:3 The verb vidardanŏ (Huz. vabrûntanŏ), 'to cross over, to pass away' (Av, vi + tar, Pers. guDHastan), can only be used when referring to the death of good people or animals; but the verb mûrdanŏ (Huz. yemîtûntanŏ), 'to die, to expire' (Av. mar, Pers. murdan), can be used generally, though usually applied to the wicked and to evil creatures. Pahl. Vend. V, 134 contains nearly the same text as §§ 38, 39.

255:4 Under ordinary circumstances fire must not be brought within thirty steps, or about 79 English feet, of a corpse (see Vend. VIII, 17). But the spirit of the Mazdayasnian law is reasonable, and, although strict, it allows for practical difficulties and chooses the least of two evils in a more judicious manner than might be expected (a fact which it would be well for Parsis and others to observe in doubtful cases). Here, breaking through the wall of a house is considered a greater evil than the possible pollution of the fire by passing at a distance of three steps, or eight English feet, from a corpse.

256:1 The name of a commentator, or commentary, often quoted in Pahlavi translations (see, the note on Chap. I, 4).

256:2 Literally, 'destroying the consciousness,' or 'injuring the existence.' Bôdôzêd or bôdyôzad is a particular kind of sin which appears to consist chiefly of the ill-treatment of animals and injury of useful property. It is mentioned in Pahl. Yas. XXIX, 1b, Pahl. Vend. V, 107, XIII, 38, Farh. Okh. pp. 32, 33; and in some editions of the Khurdah Avesta it is defined as selling stolen men or animals into misery, or one's own domestic cattle to the butcher, also spoiling and tearing up good clothing, or wasting and spoiling good food.

256:3 The meaning is, that if it became necessary to break through the wall in order to remove the fire unpolluted, the sin committed through damaging the wall will not be punished either in this world or the next.

256:4 That is, nearer than three steps, which is considered to be the minimum distance at which any degree of purity can be maintained.

256:5 A marg-argân sin, on committing which the sinner is required to place his life at the disposal of the high-priest (see Chap. VIII, 2, 5, 6, 21). It is usually considered equivalent to fifteen Tanâpûhars (see Chap. I, 1, 2).

257:1 According to the season of the year, the period of uncleanness being nine nights in the five winter months, and a month in the seven summer months (see Vend. V, 129).

257:2 Av. zaothra; this holy-water is consecrated by the priest reciting certain prayers while holding the empty metal cups in his hands, while filling them with water, and after filling them (see Haug's Essays, p. 397).

257:3 The Av. gâus gîvya, 'product of the living cow,' which is kept in a metal saucer during the ceremonies, and used for sprinkling the sacred twigs (baresôm), and for mixing with the holy-water and Hôm-juice in the mortar (see Haug's Essays, pp. 403, 405, 06).

257:4 Compare Pers. kûm, 'fat;' it is the Av. gâus hudhau, 'product of the well-yielding cow,' a small piece of which is placed upon one of the sacred pancakes, or wafers (drôn), during the ceremonies (see Haug's Essays, pp. 396, 407).

257:5 Reading yast; but it may be gast, 'changed.'

257:6 See the note on Chap. I, 4.

257:7 There appear to be, as yet, no means of ascertaining the name of the writer of the Shâyast lâ-shâyast, who gives his own opinion here.

258:1 Literally, 'the vault of the fires of Vâhrâm.' Pahl. Vend. V, 134 says 'the vault of the fires is liable just like an empty house.' Both this section and § 49 seem out of place.

258:2 See Pahl. Vend. V, 134.

258:3 Literally, 'the produce of the fire of Vâhrâm,' a term for 'ashes,' which is used in Pahl. Vend. V, 150 along with the equivalent phrase, 'clothing of the fire' (see Chap. III, 27).

258:4 See Chap. I, 1, 2 for the degrees of sin mentioned in §§ 50, 51, 53.

259:1 That is, the ceremonial ablution (pâdîyâvîh), or 'washing, with water, the hands and arms up to the elbows, the face as far as behind the ears, and the feet up to the ankles,' whilst a certain form of prayer is recited (see AV. p. 148, note).

259:2 Here again, as in § 38, the strict letter of the law is relaxed in case of necessity.

259:3 Meaning, apparently, that any pollution is taken into account, as a sin, in the investigation the soul has to undergo upon entering the other world. Much of this paragraph will be found in Pahl. Vend. V, 107.

259:4 Referring to Vend. V, 82-107, which gives an account of the number of persons through whom the pollution of a corpse or carcase will pass, which is in proportion to the importance of the dead individual. The statement here made is that the infection, passing from one to the other, enters each person only on one side, but the demon of corruption attacks them on all sides.

259:5 Meaning, probably, the Nasûs, or demon of corruption (see § 1 who is said to rush upon all those polluted as detailed in Vend. V, 82-107.

259:6 See Chap. I, 3.

259:7 That is, until seen by the dog the corpse remains pervaded by the demon of corruption and hazardous to approach (see §§ 1-4).

260:1 See Chap. I, 4, note. This name is nearly always written Kushtanŏ-bûgêd in Sls. in K20 and M6; it is not mentioned in Pahl. Vend. II, 107, although the details here quoted are there given in part.

260:2 The meaning is not quite clear, but this sentence is probably to be read in connection with the preceding one, as implying that where such domestic animals are kept they can be used for stopping the infection, as effectually as any inanimate object. The pig is here mentioned as a common domestic animal, but Parsis have long since adopted the prejudices of Hindus and Muhammadans as regards the uncleanness of the pig.

260:3 As Vend. V, 108-112 says the same of the dog urupi, it would seem that the writer of our text considered the urupi to be a hedgehog (zûzak); the Pahlavi translation of the Vendidad renders it by rapuk or rîpûk, which appears to be merely an approximate transcript of the Avesta word; traditionally, this is read raspûk and compared with Pers. râsû, 'ichneumon;' its identification with the hedgehog is certainly doubtful, although it appears to be admitted in Pahl. Vend. V, 112, where the same words are used as in this section.

260:4 The technical terms hamrêd and paîtrêd, for contagion and infection, are merely corruptions of Av. hãm-raêthwayêiti and paiti-raêthwayêiti. The definition of the latter one is omitted in K20 by mistake.

261:1 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which' (see note to Bund. I, 7).

261:2 Vend. V, 86, 87 limits the pollution to the eleventh person infected, in the extreme case of the corpse having been a priest; but Pahl. Vend. V, 107 quotes the opinion of Sôshâns that until a dog has gazed at the corpse the pollution extends to the twelfth, but only the first ten require the ceremonial purification of the bareshnûm, the others being cleansed by ordinary washing with bull's urine and water.

261:3 Pahl. Vend. V, 107 states, however, that 'everything of the ape (kapîk) is just like mankind.' The meaning of § 61 is very uncertain, as the text can be both read and translated several ways, and none of them are very satisfactory.

261:4 That is, in the case of the shepherd's dog (see Vend. V, 92, 93); the carcases of other dogs occasion the indirect pollution of fewer persons, in proportion to their inferior importance; but Pahl. Vend. V, 107 states, with regard to this importance, that when 'in doubt, every man is to be considered as a priest, and every dog as a shepherd's dog,' so as to be on the safe side, by exacting, the maximum amount of purification in all doubtful cases.

261:5 The Pahlavi text leaves it doubtful whether the place, the people, or the carcase becomes clean, but the first is the most probable.

262:1 That is, he has committed a sin equivalent to three mortal sins (marg-argân).

262:2 Reading ves as equivalent to vês.

262:3 Reading râkhtakîh (compare Pers. rakhtah, 'sick, wounded').

262:4 This opinion of Afarg (see Chap. I, 3) is also quoted in Pahl. Vend. III, 48.

262:5 This statement is repeated in Chap. X, 33.

262:6 That is, with the Bareshnûm ceremony.

262:7 This exception (which is repeated in §§ 68, 71) seems to imply that §§ 66, 68, 71 refer to the collection of any fragments of a corpse found in the wilderness, or in water; and the exemption from the troublesome purification ceremony in such cases, is probably intended to encourage people to undertake the disagreeable duty of attending to such fragments.

263:1 The interposition of the stake, or piece of wood, prevents the direct attack of the Nasûs, or demon of corruption, which has not been driven away by a dog. That inanimate objects are supposed to stop the progress of the pollution appears from § 57.

263:2 See Chap. I, 1, 2. A sin is figuratively said to take root in the body, when it has to be eradicated, or figuratively dug up.

263:3 See § 68. If he employs another man to move the corpse merely because he is physically unable to do it himself, he escapes with less pollution than when he is able to do the work himself; but the man employed suffers the same in both cases.

263:4 See Chap. I, 1, 2.

263:5 See § 66.

264:1 Literally, 'when I came by;' the usual Persian idiom in such phrases.

264:2 This statement of Afarg's, so far as it relates to greasy firewood, will be found in Pahl. Vend. V, 14.

264:3 Or, 'by the community.' The same rule is mentioned in Pahl. Vend. V, 14.

264:4 There is some uncertainty about this word. It is not the Pers. badtum, 'worst, vilest,' because that is written vadtûm or vatûm in Pahlavi; besides, the rule must apply to other than the vilest doors, otherwise it would not harmonize with § 75. It is not a miswriting of nîtûm, 'lowest, most debased,' for the same reason, and because it occurs elsewhere. It is not a miswriting of bêtman, a possible variant of bêtâ, 'a house' (although 'a house-door' would suit the context very well), because it occurs also in Pahl. Vend. V, 14, XI, 10, in which latter place it is clearly an adjective partially translating Av. bendvô. And it would be hazardous to connect it with Pers. bîdûn, 'outside,' which seems merely a corruption or misreading of bîrûn. The view taken here is that badtûm stands for bandtûm, 'most shut up,' the nasal being often dropped in Pahlavi, as in sag for sang, 'stone,' &c.

265:1 See Chap. I, 3.

265:2 The Huz. equivalent of Pâz. dakhmak (see § 6).

265:3 See Pahl. Vend. V, 14.

265:4 Compare Pahl. Vend. VII, 66.

265:5 See Vend. VI, 80.

265:6 That is, the pollution extends about eight English feet up-stream and upwards, sixteen feet sideways and downwards, and twenty-four feet down-stream. Some of the latter part of the sentence is omitted in K20 by mistake.

266:1 The sentence is obscure, but this seems to be the meaning; that is, when a corpse or any dead matter is thrown into a pond or tank, the pollution extends sixteen feet from it in all directions; and that quantity of water ought to be drawn off, in order to purify the tank (see Vend. VI, 65-71). As the corpse, in nearly all cases, must be either at the bottom or on the surface, the quantity of polluted water to be drawn off must be a hemispherical mass sixteen feet in radius, or about forty-eight tons of water.

266:2 See Pahl. Vend. VI, 64, where it states that bringing it out is a good work of one Tanâpûhar, and leaving it is a sin of the same amount.

266:3 See Chap. I, 3.

266:4 Reading amat, 'when,' instead of mûn, 'which' (see Bund. I, 7, note).

266:5 See Chap. I, 1, 2.

266:6 See Chap. I, 4, note.

266:7 See Chap. I, 3.

266:8 See Pahl. Vend. VI, 64.

267:1 So that less water may be polluted by the corpse taking the shortest route through it; but if that be impossible it must come out quickly, at any rate.

267:2 That is, the otherwise indispensable dog's gaze and two bearers must be dispensed with, if not at hand, in order to save time, until the corpse is out of the water (see § 85).

267:3 It might be, 'there was a man who said,' but Mard-bûd occurs in the Nîrangistân as the name of a commentator (see Chap. I, 4, note).

267:4 See Pahl. Vend. VI, 64 for this prohibition.

268:1 See Chap. I, 3.

268:2 Or 'fear.' The difference of opinion between the two commentators on this question in casuistry, appears to have arisen from Afarg regarding the water merely as the representative of a spirit, who might be endangered or frightened by the source of impurity becoming more visible when above the water, while Mêdôk-mâh considered the water in its material aspect, and wished to save it from the further pollution consequent upon drawing the corpse through more of it.

268:3 See Pahl. Vend. VI, 64.

268:4 These rules generally distinguish clearly between offences committed 'through sinfulness,' that is, wilfully, and those arising from accidental inability; more stress being laid upon the intention than upon the action.

269:1 See Pahl. Vend. VI, 64 for §§ 92, 93.

269:2 Or 'twisted off;' the Huz. neskhûntanŏ must be traced to Chald. ‏נְסַח‎ 'to pluck out, to tear away,' and seems to have a similar meaning in Pahlavi; its Paz. equivalent vîkhtanŏ (Av. vig) ought to be compared rather with Pers. kîkhtan, 'to bruise or break,' than with bêkhtan or pêkhtan, 'to twist.'

269:3 This negative is omitted in M6 by mistake.

269:4 Compare Pahl. Vend. VII, 32.

269:5 Or 'go to pieces;' that this is the meaning of vishûpênd appears clearly from Pahl. Vend. VII, 123, but a Persian gloss in the modern MS. M9 explains it as 'deposit fragments from the beak of a bird,' meaning, of course, fragments of dead matter dropped by a carrion bird.

269:6 As useless, being incapable of purification; such cuttings are to be buried, according to the Avesta of Vend. VII, 32, though the Pahlavi commentary explains that they are to be thrown away.

270:1 Khshvâs-mâûgôk is merely a corruption of the Av. khshvas maunghô, 'six months,' of Vend. VII, 36, where this form of cleansing is thus described: 'If (the clothing) be woven, they should wash it out six times with bull's urine, they should scour it six times with earth, they should wash it out six times with water, they should fumigate it six months at the window of the house.'

270:2 See Pahl. Vend. VII, 3 2.

270:3 That is; woven clothing, as declared in Vend. VII, 36 (quoted above in note 1).

270:4 See Vend. VII, 35.

270:5 A Persian gloss defines armêst as 'a woman who has brought forth a dead child,' and this is the general opinion; but that seems to be only a particular example of an unclean person who would be included under the general term armêst, for according to Pahl. Vend. IX, 133, 137, 141 a man when only partially purified must remain apart in the place for the armêst (Av. airima, compare Sans. il or rî) for a certain time. Nêryôsang, in his Sanskrit translation of Mkh. (XXXVII, 36, XXXIX, 40, LI, 7), explains armêst as 'lame, crippled, immobility;' it also means 'stagnant,' when applied to water; and its primitive signification was, probably, 'most stationary' an appropriate term for such unclean persons as are required to remain in a particular place apart from all others, as well as for helpless cripples, and insane persons under restraint (see Chap. VI, x). The meaning 'most polluted' would hardly apply to tank water.

271:1 Pahl. Vend. VII, 35 says 'when a single hair is on it.'

271:2 As mentioned in a note on § 95.

271:3 Literally, 'impinges.' Here, as in many other places, 'dead matter' may be read instead of 'corpse,' as nasâî means both or either of them.

271:4 That is, laid upon wool.

271:5 See § 101.

271:6 See Pahl. Vend. VII, 27.

272:1 That is, she cannot be purified.

272:2 Reading var (see note on § 49).

272:3 Carrying a corpse by a single person being prohibited (see §§ 7, 8); but why he is supposed to devour it is not clear.

272:4 See Chap. I, 4, note.

272:5 Compare Pahl. Vend. VII, 192.

273:1 The purification here detailed is prescribed for golden vessels in Vend. VII, 186.

273:2 This is the purification prescribed for silver vessels in Vend. VII, 74 W.; it is found in the Vendidad Sâdah, but is omitted (evidently by mistake) in the Vendidad with Pahlavi translation, and has, therefore, been omitted in Spiegel's edition of the texts. By this accidental omission in the MSS. silver is connected with the purification for stone (see § 114).

273:3 See Vend. VII, 75 W., much of which is omitted in the Vendidad with Pahlavi translation, and in Spiegel's edition (see the preceding note), the sixfold washing of stone being erroneously applied to silver (see Vend. VII, 187 Sp.), owing to this omission of the intervening text. It appears from this section that the AV. haosafna, which has usually been translated as 'copper,' was understood to be pûlâv**d, 'steel,' by the Pahlavi translators.

273:4 Or 'a mirror' (Pers. âbgînah), but the word is evidently used for a metal in SZS. X, 2, and very likely here also.

273:5 Most of the substances mentioned in §§ 115, 116 are detailed in Pahl. Vend. VII, 188, where it is stated that 'as to the pearl there have been different opinions, some say that it is liable just like gold, some say that it is just like the other jewels, and some say that there is no washing for it.'

274:1 This is doubtful; the word can be read pirînak, and has the Pers. gloss pîrûzah, 'turquoise,' in some MSS. If read pilînak it might perhaps be taken for 'ivory.' But in Pahl. Vend. VII, 188 it is vafarinô, 'snowy,' and the reading there seems to be 'jet-black and snow-white stone-coral;' so here the original meaning may have been 'snow-white, and jet-black coral-stone.'

274:2 Vend. VII, 188 says that 'earthen or wooden or porcelain vessels are impure for everlasting.'

274:3 Meaning, apparently, that they cannot be purified for immediate use.

274:4 That is, one-sixth longer than when green, the vitast being twelve finger-breadths, or nine inches (see Bund. XXVI, 3, note). The purification of firewood, here prescribed, is simply drying it for a year in short lengths; but Vend. VII, 72-82 requires it also to be sprinkled once with water, and to be cut into longer pieces.

274:5 See Chap. I, 3.

274:6 See Chap. I, 4, note.

275:1 Something similar is said in Pahl. Vend. VI, 71.

275:2 According to Vend. VII, 83-93 polluted corn and fodder are to be treated like polluted firewood, but to be cut into pieces of about double the length.

275:3 Reading dên gôpân farôstak; the practice of storing corn in dry pits underground is common in the East and in some parts of Europe. In Pahl. Vend. VII, 93 it is den gôpân âvist, 'concealed in pits.'

275:4 See Chap. I, 3.

275:5 Pahl. Vend. VII, 93 classes the almond with the walnut as a connected fruit and the date with the pomegranate as a separated one.

275:6 The word is kûrâpak or kûrâzak, but its meaning is doubtful.

276:1 Pahl. Vend. VII, 9 3 says, 'fruit whose rind (pazâv) exists is also just like that in a pod (kûvak), and for that which does not remain in a rind, when pollution shall come upon it, there is no cleansing whatever. Afarg said that there is ever a rind (pazâvisnŏ) with the citron.'

276:2 Pahl. Vend. VII, 93 says, 'for everything separated there is a washing, except meat and milk.' Articles for which there is no washing cannot be purified.

CHAPTER III.

The clothing of a menstruous woman which they shall take new for her use is polluted, and that which is in use is not polluted . 2. When a bedchamber (shâd-aûrvân) is overspread, and a carpet (bûp) is laid upon it and a cushion on the two , and a woman sits upon it and menstruation occurs, when she puts a foot from the cushion on to the carpet, and from the carpet out into the bed-chamber, the carpet and bed-chamber are both polluted, for they are taken newly for her use, but of the cushion there is no pollution for this reason, because it is in use. 3. And when she sits on the cushion so that she shall have both the carpet and cushion in use, the bed-chamber is polluted by itself; and when all three shall be in use there is no pollution whatever .

Just as she knows that it is menstruation, in the place she is in for the purpose , first the necklace, then the ear-rings, then the head-fillet (kambar), and then the outer garments (gâmak) are to be put off by her. 5. When in the place she remains in for the purpose, even though she may remain a very long time for that purpose, yet then the outer garments are clean, and there is no need of leather covering and leather shoes .

When she knows for certain (aêvar) that it is menstruation, until the complete changing (gûharîdanŏ) of all her garments, and she shall have sat down in the place for menstruation , a prayer is to be retained inwardly . 7. When worship is celebrated a prayer is to be retained  inwardly, and should menstruation occur the prayer is to be spoken out by her. 8. When in speaking out the prayer should menstruation occur, both afterwards, when the time was certain (avîgûmân), and now she is certain . 9. When she retains a prayer inwardly, and a call of nature arises, there is no need for her to speak out the prayer, for the formula for the call is to be spoken by her .

Hands sprinkled in ceremonial ablution (pâdîyâv), when a menstruous woman sees them, become quite unclean (apâdîyâv) by her look , and even when she looks hastily, and does not see the sacred twigs (baresôm), it is the same. 11. And on the subject of a house (khânak-1 babâ), when a menstruous woman is above in it, and the sacred twigs stand right below, if even fully fifteen steps below, even then the sacred twigs are unclean (apâdîyâv) ; but when not right below fifteen steps are plenty.

Prepared food which is within three steps of a menstruous woman is polluted by her, and food which she delivers up (barâ pardazêd) from her morning meal (kâsht) is not fit for the evening meal (sâm), nor that which she delivers up from her evening meal for the morning meal; it is not fit even for the same woman ; and water which is within three steps of her, when they shall put it into a pail (dûbal) or ablution-vessel (pâdîyâvdân), and shall do it without handling (ayadman), is fit for the hands in ceremonial ablution. 13. When she touches the bedding  and garments of any one, Sôshyans  said that so much space is to be washed with-bull's urine (gômêz) and water; her bedding which touches the bedding of any one does not make it polluted.

A menstruous woman who becomes clean in three nights is not to be washed till the fifth day; from the fifth day onwards to the ninth day, whenever she becomes clean, she is to sit down in cleanliness one day for the sake of her depletion (tihîk), and then she is fit for washing; and after nine nights the depletion is no matter .

A woman who has brought forth or miscarried (nasâî), during forty days sees whenever she is polluted; but when she knows for certain that she is free from menstruation she is, thereupon, to be associated with meanwhile (vadas), from the forty days , onward; but when she knows for certain that there is something of it, she is to be considered meanwhile as menstruous.
A menstruous woman when she has sat one month as menstruous, and becomes clean on the thirtieth day, when at the very same time she became quite clean she also becomes again menstruous, her depletion (tîhîk) is from its beginning, and till the fifth day washing is not allowable. 17. And when she is washed from the menstruation, and has sat three days in cleanliness, and again becomes. menstruous as from the beginning, four days are to be watched through by her, and the fifth day is for washing . 18. When she has become free from the second menstruation she is not in cleanliness for nine days and nights,—these days and nights are for watching,—and then she is to be washed; when the nine days and nights are completed, on the same day washing is good .

Of leucorrhœa (kîharak) , when it has quite changed colour, that which comes on before and also that which is after menstruation, the pollution is just like that of menstruation.

When she has become so completely clean from menstruation that her washing may be as usual (dastôbarag hâe), she does not make the sacred twigs (baresôm), nor even other things, polluted when beyond three steps.

On account of severe cold it is allowable for her to sit out towards  the fire; and while she washes a prayer (vâg) is to be taken inwardly by her , and the washing of her hands, except with bull's urine (gômêz), is not proper till then; and when they are washed by her, two hundred noxious creatures are to be destroyed by her as atonement for sin.

A woman who goes beyond the period of menstruation , and, afterwards, sees she is polluted, when her pregnancy is certain—except when her miscarriage (nasâî yehevûntanŏ) is evident—is then to be washed with bull's urine and water; when her pregnancy is not certain she is to be considered as menstruous. 23. Some say , moreover, that when miscarriage is certainly manifest she is, meanwhile, to be considered as menstruous. 24. Some say that when she is doubtful about the miscarriage she is to be washed with ceremony .

And for any one  who comes in contact with a menstruous woman, or with the person whom it is necessary to wash with water and bull's urine, it is the root of a sin of sixty stîrs . 26. And for whomever knowingly has sexual intercourse with a menstruous woman it is the root of a sin of fifteen Tanâpûhars and sixty stîrs .

Of a menstruous woman who sees a fire the sin is one Farmân , and when she goes within three steps it is one Tanâpûhar, and when she puts a hand on the fire itself  it is a sin of fifteen Tanâpûhars; and in like manner as to the ashes  and water goblet . 28. When she looks at water it is a sin of one Farmân; when she sits in water it is a sin of fifteen Tanâpûhars; and when through disobedience she walks out in the rain every single drop is a sin of fifteen Tanâpûhars for her. 29. And the sun and other luminaries are not to be looked at by her, and animals and plants are not to be looked at by her, and conversation with a righteous man is not to be held by her; for a fiend so violent is that fiend of menstruation , that, where another fiend does not smite anything with a look (akhsh), it smites with a look.

30. As to a house  in which is a menstruous woman, the fire of that house is not to be kindled; food which is delivered up from before a menstruous woman is not proper for the same woman . 31. A tray-cloth (khvânŏ gâmak) which stands before her, when it is not in contact with her, is not polluted; a table-napkin (pataskhûr) when apart from her thigh, and contact does not occur, is proper .
    When one , wishes to consecrate the sacred cakes (drôn) , when one holds up the sacred twigs (baresôm)  from the twig-stand (baresôm-dân), and menstruation occurs, and just as it came to one's knowledge one puts down the sacred twigs and goes out, the sacred twigs are not polluted.

And during her menstruation she is to be so seated that, from her body, there are fifteen steps of three feet to water, fifteen steps to fire, fifteen steps to the sacred twigs, and three steps to a righteous man . 34. And her food is to be carried forth in iron or leaden vessels; and the person (valman) who shall carry forth the food stands at three steps away from her . 35. When worship is celebrated, every time at the dedication (shnûmanê)  of the consecration of sacred cakes (drôn yast) it is to be uttered aloud by her; some say the Ithâ and Ashem-vohû .

Footnotes

276:3 Pahl. Vend. XVI, 5 says, 'when in the place she remains in for the purpose, she does not make the clothing she wears on her body polluted, it remains for use within the place.' The meaning is, probably, that clothing already set apart for the purpose docs not become further polluted, so as to be unfit for her use. It appears also (Pahl. Vend. XVI, 5) that on the spot where menstruation first appears, not even the twigs uplifted in the sacred ceremony are polluted, unless the circumstances are abnormal.

276:4 This phrase, about the carpet and cushion, is omitted in K20 by mistake.

277:1 §§ 2, 3 are merely corollaries from § 1.

277:2 Or, possibly, 'on the spot she is in on the occasion;' although it would appear from § 5 that the place referred to is the dashtânistân, or place of retirement for the unclean.

277:3 Reading mask va salmîhâ, but both reading and meaning are doubtful. The first word may be muskŏ, 'musk,' and the other can be read sharmgâh, but, if so, the construction of the sentence is defective, as it stands in the MSS.

277:4 The dashtânistân, a comfortless room or cell provided in every Parsi house for unclean persons to retire to, where they can see neither sun, moon, stars, fire, water, sacred vessels, nor righteous men; it ought to be fifteen steps (39½ feet) from fire, water, and the sacred twigs, and three steps (8 feet) from righteous men (see § 33 and Vend. XVI, 1-10).

278:1 This kind of prayer (Av. vâk, 'a word or phrase,' Pahl. vâg, Pers. bâz) is a short formula, the beginning of which is to be muttered in a kind of whisper, or (according to the Pahlavi idiom) it 'is to be taken' and 'retained' inwardly (as a protection while eating, praying, or performing other necessary acts) by strictly abstaining from all conversation, until the completion of the act, when the prayer or vâg 'is to be spoken out,' that is, the conclusion of the formula is to be uttered aloud, and the person is then free to speak as he likes. Different formulas are used on different occasions.

278:2 K20 has, 'she retains a prayer.' See Pahl. Vend, XVI, 5.

278:3 The meaning is, however, uncertain.

278:4 The Pahlavi text is as follows: Amat vâg yakhsenunêd, pêsînkâr (Pers. pêsyâr) barâ yatûnêd, as vâg gûftanŏ kâr lôît mamanas nask-i pavan kamisn yemalelunisnŏ. Compare Pahl. Vend. XVI, 5.

278:5 See Pahl. Vend. XVI, 10.

279:1 Pahl. Vend. XVI, 10 says, 'everything, when at the right distance, is proper, except only that one case, when uncleanness is above and cleanness also right below; although it be even much below, yet it is not proper.' In such a case the prescribed distance of fifteen steps is not sufficient; therefore, the dashtânistân should be on the ground floor, not over an underground water-tank, nor within fifteen steps of the water in such a tank.

279:2 Or, possibly, ham nêsman may mean 'a companion woman,' when two or more are secluded at the same time. Pahl. Vend. XVI, 17 says, 'food delivered up by a menstruous woman is of no use whatever, it is not proper; in parts free from pollution (gavîd**vasnŏ), in those likewise it is not proper;' the reading gavîd**vasnŏ (proposed by Dastûr Hoshangji) is, however, doubtful.

279:3 Or 'clothing,' vistarg.

279:4 See Chap. I, 3.

280:1 See Pahl. Vend. XVI, 22. The Hebrew law (Lev. xv. 19) prescribes a fixed period of seven days, except in abnormal cases.

280:2 The same period of seclusion as appointed by the Hebrew law, after the birth of a man child (see Lev. xii. 2-4). The Avesta law (Vend. V, 135-159) prescribes only twelve nights’ seclusion, divided into two periods of three and nine nights respectively, as the Hebrew woman's seclusion is divided into periods of seven and thirty-three days.

280:3 The substance of §§ 16, 17 is given in Pahl, Vend. XVI, 22, but in language even more obscure than here. The washing mentioned here is merely for the first menstruation; that for the second one being prescribed in § 18.

281:1 In such abnormal cases the Hebrew law (Lev. xv. 25-28) prescribes seven days’ seclusion after recovery.

281:2 Av. kithra, see explanation of kîharak-hômand (Av. kithravand) in Pahl. Vend. XVI, 1, 34.

281:3 Dastûr Jâmâspji reads val bavan-i âtâsh, 'to the part of the fire.' From what follows it would seem doubtful whether this distant approach to the fire is allowable until she is ready for washing.

281:4 See § 6, note.

281:5 Or, 'goes up from the place of menstruation.'

282:1 Literally, 'there is one who says thus.'

282:2 See Chap. II, 65.

282:3 Reading aîs instead of adînas, 'then for him.'

282:4 That is, the sin is a Khôr (see Chap. I, 2).

282:5 According to the Avesta (Vend. XV, 23, 24) he becomes a peshôtanu (Pahl. tanâpûhar). The Hebrew law (Lev. xv. 24) makes him unclean for seven days.

282:6 See Chap. I, 2. That it was sinful for her to look at fire, even in Avesta times, appears from Vend. XVI, 8.

282:7 Literally, 'on the body of the fire.'

282:8 That libûsyâ means 'ashes' appears from Pahl. Vend. V, 150; literally it is Huzvâris for 'clothing or covering,' and is so used in Pahl. Vend. VI, 106, VII, 122. Metaphorically, ashes are the clothing of the fire.

282:9 Reading dûbalak; but the word is doubtful. Possibly it should be read gôbarak for gâv-bar, 'bull's produce,' referring to the bull's urine which, with ashes, is prescribed (Vend. V, 149) as the first food for a woman after miscarriage.

283:1 The demoness Gêh (see Bund. III, 3-9).

283:2 By khânak, 'house, abode,' must here be understood merely the woman's place of seclusion. K20 inserts âtâs dên after mûn, which renders it possible (by assuming another preposition) to translate as follows: 'As to a house in which is a fire, the fire in that house is not to be kindled by a menstruous woman.'

283:3 See § 12.

283:4 Fit to use again.

283:5 Perhaps we should read 'she' throughout this section, as a woman can perform. these rites among women (see Chap. X, 35).

283:6 The drôn (Av. draona, corrupted into drûn, or darûn by Pâz. writers) is a small round pancake or wafer of unleavened bread, about the size of the palm of the hand. It is made of wheaten flour and water, with a little clarified butter, and is flexible. A drôn is converted into a frasast by marking it on one side, before frying, with nine superficial cuts (in three rows of three each) made with a finger-nail while thrice repeating the words humat hûkht huvarst, 'well-thought, well-said, well-done,' one word to each of the nine cuts. Any drôn or frasast that is torn must not be used in any ceremony. In the drôn ceremony two drôns are placed separately by the priest upon a very low table before him, on its left side, the nearer one having a small piece of butter (gâus hudhau) upon it; two frasasts are similarly placed upon its right-hand side, the farther one having a pomegranate twig (urvarãm) upon it; and between this and the farther drôn an egg is placed. The sacred twig (baresôm) must also be present on their stand to the left of the priest, and a fire or lamp must stand opposite him, on the other side of the table. The priest recites a certain formula of consecration (chiefly Yas. III, 1-VIII, 9), during which he uplifts the sacred twigs, and mentions the name of the angel, or of the guardian spirit of a deceased person, in whose honour the ceremony is performed. After consecration, pieces are broken off the drôns by the officiating priest, and are eaten by himself and those present, beginning with the priests (see Haug's Essays, pp. 396, 407, 408, AV. p. 147).

284:1 The baresôm (Av. baresma) consists of a number of slender rods or tâî (Pahl. tâk), formerly twigs of some particular trees, but now thin metal wires are generally used. The number of these twigs varies according to the nature of the ceremony, but is usually from five to thirty-three. These twigs are laid upon the crescent shaped tops of two adjacent metal stands, each called a mâh-rû, 'moon-face,' and both together forming the baresôm-dân or 'twig-stand.' The baresôm is prepared for the sacred rites by the recital of certain prayers by the officiating priest, during which he washes the twigs with water, and ties them together with a kûstîk or girdle formed of six thread-like ribbons split out of a leaflet of the date-palm and twisted together; this girdle, being passed twice round the twigs, is secured with a right-handed and left-handed knot on one side, and is then passed round a third time and secured with a similar double knot on the other side, exactly as the kûstîk or sacred thread-girdle is secured round the waist of a Parsi man or woman (see Haug's Essays, pp. 396-399).

285:1 See Vend. XVI, 9, 10. All the ceremonial apparatus must be kept as far removed as the sacred twigs.

285:2 See Vend. XVI, 11-14, which states that the food is to be carried forth on iron, lead, or the basest metal.

285:3 This is the time when the name of the angel or spirit is mentioned, in whose honour the cakes are consecrated (see § 32, note on drôn, and Chap. VII, 8).

285:4 The Ithâ is Yas. V (so called from its first word), which forms a part of the drôn yast or formula of consecration (see § 32, note on drôn). The Ashem-vohû is probably that in Yas. VIII, 9, which concludes the consecration. The same details are given in Pahl. Vend. XVI, 17. These prayers also form a portion of all ceremonial worship, including the Yazisn.

CHAPTER IV

A sacred thread-girdle (kûstîk), should it be made of silk (parvand), is not proper; the hair (pashm) of a hairy goat and a hairy camel is proper, and from other hairy creatures (mûyînŏ) it is proper among the lowly (nakhêzîk). 2. The least fulness  necessary for it is exactly three finger-breadths; when it is exactly three finger-breadths altogether  from one side, and when the rest is cut off, it is proper. 3. When one retains the prayer inwardly  and has tied his girdle, and ties it anew once again, he will untie that which he has tied, and it is not proper .
Cloth of thick silk brocade (dîpâkŏ) and figured silk (parnîkânŏ) is not good for girdling  and cloth of hide when the hair is stripped from it of wool, of hair, of cotton, of dyed silk, and of wood  is proper for shirting (sapîkîh). 5. Four finger-breadths of shirt  is the measure of its width away from each side, from the neck to the skirt (parîk); and as to the length before and behind, as much as is proper to cover up is good. 6. So much length and breadth, when it is double or thickened , are not proper; when on the separation (dûrmânak) of the two folds one remains clothed on one side, both when he wears the girdle (kûstîk), and when he does not wear the girdle, even then it is not undress (vishâdakîh) .

When a shirt of one fold is put on, and the skirt has concealed both sides, the girdle is tied over it, and it is proper. 8. When two shirts are put on, and they shall tie the girdle over that which is above, then it is for him a root of the sin owing to  running about uncovered .

By a man and woman, until fifteen years of age, there is no committal of the sin of running about uncovered ; and the sin of unseasonable chatter  arises after fifteen years of age . 10. The sin of running about uncovered, as far as three steps; is a Farmân each step; at the fourth step it is a Tanâpûhar  sin.

A girdle to which there is no fringe is proper; and when they shall tie a woman's ringlet (gurs)  it is not proper.

Walking with one boot  as far as four steps is a Tanâpûhar sin, when with one  movement; and after the fourth step as much as one shall walk is a Tanâpûhar; and when he sits down and walks on the sin is the same that it would be from his starting-point (bûnîh); and there were some who said it is a Tanâpûhar for each league (parasang).

At night, when they lie down, the shirt and girdle are to be worn, for they are more protecting for the body, and good for the soul. 14. When they lie down with the shirt and girdle, before sleep one shall utter one Ashem-vohû , and with every coming and going of the breath (vayô) is a good work of three Srôshô-karanâms ; and if in that sleep decease occurs, his renunciation of sin is accomplished .

Footnotes

286:1 Literally, 'width;' that is, extra width, or slackness round the waist, as the girdle sits very loosely over a loose shirt; or, as the text implies, the slackness ought to admit three fingers together, projecting edgeways from the waist. After tying it so loosely, any unnecessary length of string may be cut off, when the girdle is put on for the first time. The necessary looseness is again mentioned in Chap. X, 1.

286:2 Literally, 'extreme to extreme;' rôêsman-â-rôêsman being Huzvâris for sarâsar.

286:3 That is, has begun the prayer formula (requisite while tying on the girdle) with a bâz or muttered prayer (see Chap. III, 6, note).

286:4 The meaning appears to be that he must not tie the girdle a second time without recommencing the prayer formula.

286:5 This word, ayîbyâêghânîh, is chiefly a transcript from the Avesta name of the kûstîk or girdle, aiwyaunghana. Probably garments in general are meant.

286:6 Perhaps dârîn may mean cloth of bark, hemp, or flax here.

286:7 The sacred shirt, worn by Parsis of both sexes (young children excepted) in India, is a very loose tunic of white muslin, with very short loose sleeves covering part of the upper arm. It is called sadaro (Pers. sudarah) in Gugarâti, and shapîk (Pers. shabî) in Pahlavi.

287:1 Assuming that aîtabarîd stands for astabarîd; the Huz. aît being substituted for the Pâz. ast. The text appears to refer to lined or stuffed shirts, such as would be very suitable for the cold winters of Persia, like the clothing padded with cotton wool used by natives of the cooler parts of India in the cold season.

287:2 That is, the degree of nakedness which is sinful (see §§ 8-10).

287:3 K20 has lâ, 'not,' instead of râî, 'owing to;' this would reverse the meaning of the sentence, but it is not the usual place for the negative particle.

287:4 This sin is called vishâd-dûbârisnîh; it is mentioned in Pahl. Vend. V, 167, VII, 48, but not described there. The usual definition of the sin is 'walking about without the sacred thread-girdle;' and it is generally classed with the two other Parsi sins of 'walking with one boot' and 'making water on foot' (see AV. XXV, 5, 6); sometimes a fourth Parsi sin, 'unseasonable chatter,' is associated with them, as in the text, but this is supposed to be punished in a different manner in hell (see AV. XXIII).

287:5 Indicating that it is not absolutely necessary to wear the sacred thread-girdle till one is fifteen years old (see Chap. X, 13).

288:1 This sin is called drâyân-gûyisnîh, literally, 'eagerness for chattering,' and consists in talking while eating, praying, or at any other time when a prayer (vâg) has been taken inwardly and is not yet spoken out; many details regarding it are given in the next chapter. The sin consists in breaking the spell, or destroying the effect, of the vâg.

288:2 This is modified by Chap. V, 1, 2.

288:3 See Chap. I, 1, 2. These particulars are deduced by the Pahlavi commentator from Vend. XVIII, 115, which refers, however, to a special case of going without girdle and shirt. He says (Pahl. Vend. XVIII, 116), 'so that as far as the fourth step it is not more than (aî) a Srôshô-karanâm, and at the fourth step it amounts to the root of a Tanâpûhar within him; some say that he is within what is allowed him in going three steps. When he walks on very many steps it is also not more than a Tanâpûhar, and when he stops again it is counted from the starting-point' (compare § 112).

288:4 Probably referring to the possibility of tying the girdle over a woman's hair, when hanging loose down to her waist. The present custom among Parsi women in India is to cover up the whole of their hair with a white handkerchief tied closely over the head; but whether this is an ancient custom is uncertain.

288:5 This sin, which is mentioned in Bund. XXVIII, 13, is called aê-mûk-dûbârisnîh or khadû-mûk-dûbârisnîh, literally, 'running in one boot,' and is usually so understood, but how there can be any risk of the committal of so inconvenient an offence is not explained. Dastûr Hoshangji thinks that aê-mûk, 'one boot,' was, formerly written avî-mûk, 'without boots;' and no doubt avî is sometimes written exactly like khadû, 'one,' (indicating, possibly, a phonetic change of avî into agvi). Perhaps, however, the word alludes to the Persian practice of wearing an outer boot (mûk) over an inner one of thinner leather, when walking out of doors; so that the sin of 'running in one pair of boots' would be something equivalent to walking out in one's stockings; and this seems all the more probable from the separate account of-walking 'without boots or stockings,' avîmûgak, given in Chap. X, 12. But whatever may have been the original meaning of the word, Parsis nowadays understand that it forbids their walking without shoes; this should be recollected by any European official in India who fancies that Parsis ought to take of their shoes in his presence, as by insisting on such a practice he is compelling them to commit what they believe to be a serious sin.

289:1 Assuming that hanâ, 'this,' stands for aê, 'one' (see p. 218, note 3). The amount of sinfulness in walking improperly shod appears to be deduced from that 'incurred by walking improperly dressed (see § 10).

289:2 See Bund. XX, 2. The same details are given in Chap. X, 24.

289:3 The Av. sraoshô-karana appears to have been a scourge with which offenders were lashed by the assistant priests (see Vend. III, 125, 129, IV, 38, &c.), and a Srôshô-karanâm was, therefore, originally one lash with a scourge. As the gravity of an offence was measured by the number of lashes administered, when this term was transferred from the temporal to the spiritual gravity of sin, it was considered as the unit of weight by which sins were estimated; and, by a further process of reasoning, the good works necessary for counterbalancing sins were estimated by the same unit of weight. Regarding the amount of a Srôshô-karanâm there is much uncertainty; according to Chap. XVI, 5 and Pahl. Vend. VI, 15 it is the same as a Farmân, and this appears to be the case also from a comparison of § 10 with Pahl. Vend. XVIII, 116 (see note on § 10); but according to Chap. XI, 2 it is half a Farmân, and the Farmân is also probably the degree meant by the frequent mention of three Srôshô-karanâms as the least weight of sin or good works that will turn the scale in which the soul's actions are weighed after death (see Chap. VI, 3). This uncertainty may perhaps have arisen from aê, 'one,' and the cipher 3 being often written alike in Pahlavi. But, besides this uncertainty, there is some discordance between the various accounts of the actual weight of a Srôshô-karanâm, as may be seen in Chaps. X, 24, XI, 2, XVI, 5. As a weight the Srôshô-karanâm is not often mentioned in the Pahlavi Vendidad, for wherever it translates the Av. sraoshô-karana it means 'lashes with a scourge;' but the weight of one Srôshô-karanâm is mentioned in Pahl. Vend. VI, 15, three Srôshô-karanâms in IV, 142, VII, 136, XVII, 11, XVIII, 55, 116, and five Srôshô-karanâms in XVI, 8.

290:1 Patîtîkîh, 'the dropping' or renunciation of sin, is effected by confessing serious offences to a high-priest, and also by the recitation of a particular formula called the Patit, in which every imaginable sin is mentioned with a declaration of repentance of any such sins as the reciter may have committed. The priest ordains such atonement as he thinks necessary, but the remission of the sins depends upon the after performance of the atonement and the effectual determination to avoid such sins in future (see Chap. VIII, 1, 2, 8).

CHAPTER V.

Of unseasonable chatter  that of children of five years of age has no root; and from five years till seven years, when one is under the tuition of his father and innocent , it has no root in him, and when sinful it has root in the father . 2. And from eight years till they are man and woman of fifteen years, if even one is innocent during the performance of the ritual (yastô), but is able to say its Ithâ and Ashem-vohû , and does not say them, it is the root of unseasonable chatter for him ; and when he is able to perform his ritual by heart (narm), and says only the Ithâ and Ashem-vohû, some have said that such is as when his ritual is not performed and there is no offering (yastôfrîd), and some have said that it is not unseasonable chatter.

Unseasonable chatter may occur at every ceremonial (yazisnŏ); for him who has performed the ritual it is a Tanâpûhar sin ; for him who has not performed the ritual it is less, some have said three Srôshô-karanâms . 4. The measure of unseasonable chatter is a Tanâpûhar sin; this is where every ceremony, or every morsel, or every drop of urine is not completed . 5. Of the unseasonable chatter of him who has not performed the ritual Afarg  said this degree is slighter; Mêdôk-mâh  said both are alike, and he spoke further of this, since for him who has not performed the ritual, and does not attend to  saying its Ithâ and Ashem-vohû, it is more severe than for him who has performed the ritual, and does not attend to consecrating its sacred cake (drôn). 6. Mêdôk-mâh said that it (the ceremonial)  does not become Gêtô-kharîd ; Afarg said that it amounts to an offering (yastôfrîd)  for every one, except for that person who knows the ritual by heart, and through sinfulness will not perform it; and it becomes his at the time when, during his life and by his command, it is recited with this intention, namely: 'I wish to do it, my faith (astôbânîh) is in the religion .'
The deaf and dumb when it is not possible for him to say an Ashem does not commit unseasonable chatter ; and when it is possible for him to say an Ashem he shall three times say of it, 'Ashem, ashem, ashem;' and if it be possible for him to say 'ithâ' and 'ashem-vohû' it is well, and when it is only possible for him to say 'ithâ' it matters not .

Footnotes

290:2 See Chap. IV, 9.

291:1 That is, intending no harm, as contrasted with sinful or wilful chatter in defiance of instruction.

291:2 Because the father is supposed to be responsible, in the next world, for the sins of the child, even as he will profit by its good works (see, Chaps. X, 22, XII, 15).

291:3 See Chap. III, 35.

291:4 Inattention to prayers evinced by improper silence is thus put upon the same footing as inattention evinced by improper talking. This portion of the sentence is omitted in K20.

291:5 See Chap. I, 1, 2. It is a greater sin in the officiating priests than in the other persons present at the ceremony.

291:6 Probably a Farmân sin (see Chap. IV, 14, note).

291:7 Referring to the three principal occasions when a prayer (vâg), is taken inwardly and retained until the completion of the action; during which time it is unlawful to say anything but the prescribed prayers (see Chap. III, 6, note).

292:1 See Chap. I, 3.

292:2 Literally, 'believe or trust to.'

292:3 During which unseasonable chatter occurs.

292:4 Generally written Gêtî-kharîd (see Bund. XXX, 28); but, perhaps, we should here read yastôfrîd, 'offering,' though gêtôk-kharîd occurs in Chap. XII, 30.

292:5 The MSS. have merely stôfrîd, which differs from the foregoing gêtô-kharîd only in one Pahlavi letter, so we should probably read the same word in both cases, but which of them it ought to be is uncertain.

292:6 Meaning, apparently, that he can obtain the benefit of any past ceremony, forfeited by wilful negligence, by repentance and a repetition of the ceremony during his lifetime.

292:7 By omitting to say it (see § 2). This clause of the sentence is omitted in K20.

293:1 That is, any one barely able to speak must repeat so much of the indispensable prayers as he is able to pronounce, otherwise he will commit sin.

CHAPTER VI.

The deaf and dumb and helpless (armêst) , though of unblemished conduct and proper disposition, is incapable of doing good works, and from the time when he is born till the time when he shall die, all the duty and good works which they may perform in the world become his property (nafsman) as much as his even by whom they are performed; some say that it is thus: as much as they belong to Zaratûst . 2. Though he does not do the good works not really originating with (ahambûnik) him, and does not commit the sin not really originating with him, it is better than though he were able to do the good works not really originating with him, and should not do them; but should commit the sin not really originating with him; when, afterwards, he passes away, and then also comes to his account as to sin and good works, when the good works not really originating with him are more he is in heaven (vahist), when the sin not really originating with him is more he is in hell , and when both are equal he is among the ever-stationary (hamîstakân) . 3. When the good works are three Srôshô-karanâms  more than the sins he is in heaven (vahist), when the good works are one Tanâpûhar more he attains to the best existence (pâhlûm ahvân) , when his ceremony (yast) is performed . 4. Sôshyans  said that to come into that best existence it is not necessary to perform the ceremony, for when his good works are one  Tanâpûhar more than the sin he attains to the best existence, and no account is taken of performing his ceremony; because in the heavenly existence (garôdmânîkîh) it is not necessary to perform a ceremony, for an excess of good works must attain Garôdmân . 5. As Sôshyans said, in heaven (vahist) he who is below is elevated to him who is above; and it says thus: 'Happy indeed art thou, O man! who art in any way near unto that imperishable existence .'

Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd  said that an infidel (akdînô) , when his good works are one Tanâpûhar more than his sin, is saved from hell.

7. of a pure law (dâd) are we of the good religion, and we are of the primitive faith; of a mixed law are those of the Sînîk congregation ; of a vile law are the Zandîk , the Christian (Tarsâk), the Jew (Yahûd), and others of this sort (sanŏ) .

Footnotes

293:2 That is, any one compelled to remain stationary or secluded, owing to bodily or mental infirmity (see Chap. II, 98); an idiot, or insane person, is probably meant here.

293:3 This comment seems to imply that its writer was translating from an Avesta text, and here met with a word which some persons thought contained a reference to Zaratûst, but which he first translated so as to suit the context; perhaps Av. zarazdâiti may be suggested.

294:1 That is, he is treated, with regard to the actions merely imputed to him, precisely as all others are with regard to their own actions. With reference to the hamîstakân, Ardâ-Vîrâf states (AV. VI, 2, 5-12) that on his journey to the other world he 'saw the souls of several people who remain in the same position,' and he was informed that 'they call this the place of the Hamîstakân ("those ever-stationary"), and these souls remain in this place till the future existence; and they are the souls of those people whose good works and sin were equal. Speak out to the worldlings thus: "Consider not the easier good works with avarice and vexation! for every one whose good works are three Srôshô-karanâms more than his sin is for heaven, they whose sin is more are for hell, they in whom both are equal remain among these Hamîstakân till the future existence." And their punishment is cold or heat from the changing of the atmosphere; and they have no other adversity.'

294:2 Probably equivalent to a Farmân sin (see Chaps, I, 1, 2, IV, 14, note).

294:3 This appears to be another name for Garôdmân, 'the abode of song,' which is the highest heaven, or dwelling of Aûharmazd. The lower heaven is here called Vahist, which is a general term for heaven in general. AV. VII-XXVII, 27, and Mkh. VII, 9-12, 20, 21 describe four grades in heaven and four in hell, besides the intermediate neutral position of the Hamîstakân (AV. VI, Mkh. VII, 18, 19). The four grades of heaven, proceeding upwards, are Hûmat for good thoughts in the station of the stars, Hûkht for good words in the station of the moon, Hûvarst for good deeds in the station of the sun, and Garôdmân where Aûharmazd dwells (Vend. XIX, 12 1). And the four grades of hell, proceeding downwards, are Dûs-hûmat for evil thoughts, Dûs-hûkht for evil words, Dûs-hûvarst for evil deeds, and the darkest hell (Vend. XIX, 147) where the evil spirit dwells. The pâhlûm ahvân of the text is merely the Pahlavi form of Av. vahistem ahûm (Vend. VII, 133, XVIII, 69, XIX, 120, Yas. IX, 64), whence the term vahist (Pers. bahist) is also derived.

295:1 That is, when his surviving relatives have performed the proper religious ceremonies after his death.

295:2 See Chap. I, 3.

295:3 Reading aê, 'one,' and supposing that this Pâz. form has been substituted for an original Huz. khadûk, 'one.' This supposition being necessary to account for the aê preceding its noun, instead of following it; and without it we ought to read 'three' instead of 'one,' which seems, however, hardly reconcilable with the context (but compare Pahl. Vend. VII, 136). This, is an instance of the ambiguity occasioned by aê, 'one,' and the cipher 3 being often written alike in Pahlavi, as already noticed in p. 289, note 3. The word might also be taken as the conditional verbal form aê, 'shall be,' but in that case it is likewise misplaced.

295:4 See note on pâhlûm ahvân in § 3.

295:5 A somewhat similar exclamation to that in Vend. VII, 136.

295:6 See Chap. I, 4, note.

295:7 That is, one of another religion; not an apostate, nor an atheist.

296:1 It is not easy to identify this Sînîk vaskardîh, but Professor J. Darmesteter suggests that the term may have been applied to the Manicheans settled in eastern Turkistân and western China, whence they may have been called Sînîk (the country of the Sênî, Av. Sâini, being identified with Kînîstân or China in Bund. XV, 29, because TSîn is the Arabic name of the latter). This is confirmed, to some extent, by a passage in the Dînkard (see Dastûr Pêshôtan's edition of the Pahlavi text, p. 27), where three foreign religions are mentioned, that of the Jews from Arûm, that of the Messiah from the west, and that of Mânih from Turkistân. Darmesteter further points out the following passages in Barbier de Meynard's French translation of Mas’aûdî, which show that the Manicheans had considerable influence in eastern Turkistân as late as A.D. 944:—

(Meynard, I, 268): '. . . the Turks, the Khuzlug, and the Taghazghaz, who occupy the town of Kûsân, situated between Khurâsân and China, and who are now (A.D. 944) the most valiant, most powerful, and best governed of all the Turkish races and tribes. Their kings bear the title of îrkhân ("sub-khân?"), and they alone, among all these nations, profess the religion of Mânî.'

Again, after stating that the Chinese were at first Samanians (Buddhists), it is added (Meynard, II, 258): 'Their kingdom is contiguous to that of the Taghazghaz, who, as we have said above, are Manicheans, and proclaim the simultaneous existence of the two principles of light and darkness. These people were living in simplicity, and in a faith like that of the Turkish races, when there turned up among them a demon of the dualist sect, who showed them, in tempting language, two opposing principles in everything that exists in the world, such as life and death, health and sickness, riches and poverty, light and darkness, union and separation, connection and severance, rising and setting, existence and non-existence, night and day, &c. Then, he spoke to them of the various ailments which afflict rational beings, animals, children, idiots, and madmen; and he added that God could not be responsible for this evil, which was in distressing contradiction to the excellence which distinguishes his works, and that he was above any such imputation. By these quibbles, and others like them, he carried away their minds, and made them adopt his errors.

The tenets of the Manicheans ought, no doubt, to have been considered by the Zoroastrians as a mixture of truth and error, just as those of the Sînîk congregation are represented to be in our text; but such tenets being an heretical offshoot of Zoroastrianism, it argues unusual liberality in the priests if they preferred Manicheans to Christians, that is, heretics to infidels.

K20 has altered sînîk vaskardîh into nisînîk (or vîdînîk) sikaftîh, which appears to be an attempt to bring the words within the limits of the writer's knowledge, without paying much attention to their collective meaning.

297:1 A sect which (according to its name) probably adhered to a certain heretical interpretation (zand) in preference to the orthodox Avesta and Zand. Nêryôsang, in his Sanskrit version of Mkh. XXXVI, 16, explains a Zandîk as one who 'thinks well of Aharman and the demons.'

297:2 Unless this paragraph be a continuation of the quotation from Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd's commentary, which seems unlikely, its contents have an important bearing upon the age of the Shâyast lâ-shâyast. As it does not mention Muhammadanism by name it could hardly have been written after the fall of the Sasanian dynasty, when that new faith had become much more important, in Persia, than those of the Christians and Jews.

CHAPTER VII.

The morning sun it is necessary to reverence (yastanŏ) till midday, and that of midday it is necessary to reverence till the afternoon time, and that of the afternoon time it is necessary to reverence till night ; whenever one is quite prepared for activity (khvêskârîh), and shall then do reverence, it is proper. 2. And when anything of that happens which indicates when it is not proper to wash the hands, and about this he considers that when he does not reverence the sun it will stop , at the time previous to that in which it occurs the sun is to be fully reverenced by him, and, afterwards, when his hands are washed, it is to be reverenced again; and when he does not reverence it, except when innocent through not reverencing it , then it becomes irreverence (lâ yast) of the sun for him .

3. As to the sun it is better when one reverences it every time at the proper period (pavan gâs-i nafsman); when he does not reverence it for once it is a sin of thirty stîrs . 4. Reverencing the sun is every time a good work of one Tanâpûhar ; and so of the moon and fire in like manner . 5. When on account of cloudiness the sun is not visible (pêdâk), and one shall reverence it, it is proper.

And while one does not reverence the sun, the good works which they do that day are not their own; some say that of the good works which they do within the law (dâd) of the good religion he has no share. 7. While they do not wash dirty hands any good work which they do is not their own, for while one does not utterly destroy corruption (nasûs)  there is no coming of the angels to his body, and when there is no coming of the angels to his body he has no steadfastness in the religion, and when he has no steadfastness in the religion no good work whatever reaches unto him.

When one wishes to perform the propitiation (shnûman)  of fire, it is allowable to perform one 'âthrô' by itself, and, when two and the 'mad vîspaêibyô âterebyô,' these three are thus the propitiation everywhere ; some say that it would be proper to perform it while allowable, except that of the heterodox.

Whoever shall extinguish  a fire, by him ten fires are to be gathered together, by him ten punishments are to be endured, by him ten ants are to be destroyed , and by him holy-water (zôhar) is to be presented to the sacred fire (âtâs-i Vâhrâm).

Footnotes

297:3 Referring to the recitation of the Khûrshêd Nyâyis, or 'salutation of the sun,' which should be performed thrice a day, in the Hâvan, Rapîtvîn, and Aûzêrîn Gâhs, or periods of the day (see Bund. XXV, 9); a few sentences in the Nyâyis, or formula of salutation, are altered to suit the particular Gâh in which it is recited.

298:1 K20 has, 'it will protect it;' having read netrûnêd instead of ketrûnêd in its original. To pray with unwashed hands would be sinful (see Pahl. Vend. XIX, 84).

298:2 That is, except when the omission is to avoid a worse evil, as in the instance just mentioned.

298:3 Or, perhaps, 'it does not become a Khûrshêd Yast ("a formula of praise in honour of the sun") for him.' This Yast forms a part of the Nyâyis.

298:4 That is, an Aredûs sin (see Chap. I, 2). M6 has, 'when he does not reverence if again.'

298:5 That is, a good work sufficient to counterbalance a Tanâpûhar sin, which puts the performance of a Nyâyis on the same footing as the consecration of 9, sacred cake or drôn (see Chap. XVI, 6).

298:6 The moon and fire have each a separate Nyâyis.

299:1 That is, the demon of corruption, who is supposed to enter and reside in all filth of the nature of dead matter, until expelled or destroyed by cleansing.

299:2 A shnûman or khshnûmanŏ (Av. khshnûman) is a short formula of praise, reciting all the usual titles of the spirit intended to be propitiated by it, and is used for dedicating the prayers or ceremony specially to his service (see Chaps. III, 35, X, 2, XIV, 3). The propitiatory formulas for the thirty angels and archangels who preside over the days of the month constitute the Sîrôzah, or form of prayer 'relating to the thirty days.'

299:3 The propitiation of fire (as given in Sîrôz. I, 9, Âtâs Nyâyis 5, 6) consists of five sentences, each beginning with the word âthrô, 'of the fire,' and the last sentence also contains the words mad vîspaêibyô âterebyô, 'with all fires.' The meaning of the text appears to be that it is allowable to use only one of these sentences (probably the last), but if two are used besides the fast they are amply sufficient for practical purposes.

300:1 Literally, 'kill.'

300:2 The ant being a creature of the evil spirit, on account of its carrying away corn.

CHAPTER VIII.

Sin which affects accusers  is to be atoned for (vigârisn) among the accusers, and that relating to the soul is to be atoned for among the high-priests (radân), and when they do whatever the high-priests of the religion command the sin will depart, and the good works which they may thenceforth do will attain completion (avaspôrik). 2. The sin of him who is worthy of death (marg-argân), is to be confessed (garzisnŏ) unto the high-priests, and he is to deliver up his body ; except to the high-priests he is not to deliver up his body.

On account of the dexterity (farhâng) of horsemen it is not their business to hunt (nakhkîr kardanŏ); and it is not allowable for any one else to hunt for game, except for him whose wealth is less than three hundred stîrs .

The ceremonial worship (yazisn) of those worthy of death, which they do not perform by way of renunciation of sin , is the ceremonial which is demon worship; and when the officiating priest (aêrpat) does not know it the merit (kirfak) of the ceremonial goes to the store (gang) of the angels, and they give the enjoyment which arises from that merit in the spiritual existence to the soul of that person who has at once (aêvâk) become righteous in mind.

5 . When the mortal sinner (marg-argânŏ) has delivered his body and wealth at once to the high-priests, and engages mentally in renunciation as to the sin which has occurred, and the high-priests give him their decision (dastôbarîh) as to duty and good works, the duty and good works which were before performed by him come back to him; and when they inflict punishment for three nights , he does not enter hell. 6. And if the high-priest orders the cutting off of his head he is righteous on the spot , and the three nights’ (satûîh) ceremony is to be celebrated for him, and the account of the three nights (satûîh) does not affect him . 7. And if he does not engage in renunciation he is in hell till the future existence; and in his future body they will bring him from hell, and for every mortal sin they will cut off his head once, and the last time they will make him alive again, and will inflict (numâyend) three nights’ severe punishment .

However a man engages in renunciation of sin the duty of his state of renunciation (patîtîh) is to be engaged therein openly and mentally in renunciation; the duty of openness is this, that the sin which he knows has assailed him , is to be specially confessed (barâ gôbisnŏ) by him; and the mental duty is this, that he engages in renunciation with this thought, that 'henceforth I will not commit sin.' 9. And that which occurs before the renunciation, except pious alms, it is well for him not to be overlooked  by him, and not to be kept  secret by him; for when he shall overlook , or shall keep secret, about sin committed, it becomes for him as much, some say, as three Srôshô-karanâms ; some say that when he keeps secret about a sin of three Srôshô-karanâms he is worthy of death; some say much otherwise . 10. Âtarô-pâd son of Zaratûst  had remarked (pedâkînîd) to a disciple, about this duty, thus: 'Conform to the renunciation of sin!' and one  time a secret was kept by him, and he ordered him thus: 'Henceforth be thou never apparent in this duty!' and after that he looked upon the supplication (avakhshîh) and much repentance of that disciple, and even then he did not become the high-priest (dastôbar) over him.

11. The rule is  this, that of those who would be proper for this priestly duty (dastôbarîh), that person is proper who is perfect in (narm) the commentary (zand) of the law, and the punishment of sin is easy for him, and he has controlled himself; some say thus: 'By whom a course of priestly studies (aêrpatastân) is performed.' 12. And the punishment of sin being easy for him, and his having controlled himself are proper; and when, in danger before a menstruous woman, he engages in renunciation it is proper.

Nêryôsang  said thus: 'Thou deemest it most surprising that, of the renunciation of sin with energy, whatever may be its efficacy, they have been so much of the same  opinion, so that whenever they perform renunciation, however they perform it, and before whomever they perform it, whenever a sin is not even mentally originating with one  a renunciation should be performed by him; and when very many mortal sins (marg-argân) are committed by him, and he engages mentally in renunciation of every one separately, he is not on  the way to hell, owing to his renunciation; and if there be one of which he is not in renunciation the way to hell  is not closed to him, for he does not rely upon the beneficence (sûd) of Aûharmazd, and it is allowable to appoint a priestly retribution (rad tôgisn) to fully atone for it, and when thou appointest a priestly retribution for it, and dost not fully atone, it is allowable to inflict it justly and strongly (drûbô).'
When his sin is committed against (dên) accusers  it will be necessary to act so that the head of the family (mîrak) shall not become evil-minded , and shall not divorce the wife from matrimony, and they shall not bring  him on unto him; before his accusers he is to be engaged in renunciation, and when not, he is to be engaged in renunciation of the sin before the high-priests (radân), and it will become debts, and debt does not make a man wicked ; its effect is this, that in the future existence they may quite forsake him, and this becomes a great shame, and they disturb (kâvênd) his enjoyment. 15. As to the sin which affects the accusers, when the female has atoned for it, its stem (pâyak) is atoned for; some say that the stem (pâyakgâhîh) has no root; some say that it is just like a tree whose leaves wither away.

Sin relating to the soul  when one engages in renunciation, stays away from him; when it shall be fully atoned for it is well, and when he does not fully atone they will make him righteous by the three nights’ (satûîh) punishment. 17. Kûshtanŏ-bûgêd  said that even that which affects accusers, when one engages in renunciation, stays away from him.