Zoroastrianism

The Zend Avesta, Part I

Historical translation

Part one of the Zend Avesta, containing the Vendidad and other Zoroastrian texts.

Author: Attributed to Zarathustra and later priests
Translator: James Darmesteter
Edition: Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 4
Year: 1880
In the library: 1340 passages

Vendidad, Fargard I

Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathustra, saying:

I have made every land dear to its dwellers, even though it had no charms whatever in it: had I not made every land dear to its dwellers, even though it had no charms whatever in it, then the whole living world would have invaded the Airyana Vaêgô.

3 (5). The first of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Airyana Vaêgô, by the good river Dâitya.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the serpent in the river and winter, a work of the Daêvas.

4 (9). There are ten winter months there, two summer months; and those are cold for the waters, cold for the earth, cold for the trees. Winter falls there, with the worst of its plagues.

5 (13). The second of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the plains in Sughdha.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the fly Skaitya, which brings death to the cattle.

6 (17). The third of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the strong, holy Môuru.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft sinful lusts.

7 (21). The fourth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the beautiful Bâkhdhi with high-lifted banners.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the Bravara.

8 (25). The fifth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Nisâya, that lies between Môuru and Bâkhdhi.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the sin of unbelief.

9 (29). The sixth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Harôyu with its lake.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the stained mosquito.

10 (33). The seventh of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Vaêkereta, of the evil shadows.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the Pairika Knãthaiti, who clave unto Keresâspa.

11 (37). The eighth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Urva of the rich pastures.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the sin of pride.

12 (41). The ninth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda) created, was Khnenta in Vehrkâna.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft a sin for which there is no atonement, the unnatural sin.

13 (45). The tenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda created, was the beautiful Harahvaiti.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft a sin for which there is no atonement, the burying of the dead.

14 (49). The eleventh of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the bright, glorious Haêtumant.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the evil witchcraft of the Yâtus.

15 (53). And this is how the Yâtu's nature shows itself: it shows itself by the look; and then, whenever the wizard goes and howls forth his spells, most deadly works of witchcraft go forth.

16 (59). The twelfth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Ragha of the three races.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft the sin of utter unbelief.

17 (63). The thirteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the strong, holy Kakhra.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft a sin for which there is no atonement, the burning of corpses.

18 (67). The fourteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the four-cornered Varena, for which was born Thraêtaona, who smote Azis Dahâka.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft abnormal issues in women and the oppression of foreign rulers.

19 (72). The fifteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Seven Rivers.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft abnormal issues in women and excessive heat.

20 (76). The sixteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the land by the floods of the Rangha, where people live without a head.

Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created by his witchcraft winter, a work of the Daêvas.

21 (81). There are still other lands and countries, beautiful and deep, desirable and bright, and thriving.

Vendidad, Fargard II

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda:

O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!

Who was the first mortal, before myself, Zarathustra, with whom thou, Ahura Mazda, didst converse, whom thou didst teach the law of Ahura, the law of Zarathustra?

2 (4). Ahura Mazda answered:

The fair Yima, the great shepherd, O holy Zarathustra! he was the first mortal, before thee, Zarathustra, with whom I, Ahura Mazda, did converse, whom I taught the law of Ahura, the law of Zarathustra.

3 (7) Unto him, O Zarathustra, I, Ahura Mazda, spake, saying: 'Well, fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat, be thou the preacher and the bearer of my law!'

And the fair Yima, O Zarathustra, replied unto me, saying: 'I was not born, I was not taught to be the preacher and the bearer of thy law.'

4 (11). Then I, Ahura Mazda, said thus unto him, O Zarathustra:

'Since thou wantest not to be the preacher and the bearer of my law, then make thou my worlds thrive, make my worlds increase: undertake thou to nourish, to rule, and to watch over my world.'

5 (14). And the fair Yima replied unto me, O Zarathustra, saying:

'Yes! I will make thy worlds thrive, I will make thy worlds increase. Yes! I will nourish, and rule, and watch over thy world. There shall be, while I am king, neither cold wind nor hot wind, neither disease nor death.'

7 (17). Then I, Ahura Mazda, brought two implements unto him: a golden ring and a poniard inlaid with gold. Behold, here Yima bears the royal sway!

8 (20). Thus, under the sway of Yima, three hundred winters passed away, and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and dogs and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was no more room for flocks, herds, and men.

Then I warned the fair Yima, saying: 'O fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat, the earth has become full of flocks and herds, of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is no more room for flocks, herds, and men.'

Then Yima stepped forward, towards the luminous space, southwards, to meet the sun, and (afterwards) he pressed the earth with the golden ring, and bored it with the poniard, speaking thus:

'O Spenta Ârmaiti, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men.'

And Yima made the earth grow larger by one-third than it was before, and there came flocks and herds and men, at his will and wish, as many as he wished.

12 (23). Thus, under the sway of Yima, six hundred winters passed away, and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and dogs and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was no more room for flocks, herds, and men.

And I warned the fair Yima, saying: 'O fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat, the earth has become full of flocks and herds, of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is no more room for flocks, herds, and men.'

Then Yima stepped forward, towards the luminous space, southwards, to meet the sun, and (afterwards) he pressed the earth with the golden ring, and bored it with the poniard, speaking thus:

'O Spenta Ârmaiti, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men.'

And Yima made the earth grow larger by two-thirds than it was before, and there came flocks and herds and men, at his will and wish, as many as he wished.

16 (26). Thus, under the sway of Yima, nine hundred winters passed away, and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and dogs and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was no more room for flocks, herds, and men.

17 (28). And I warned the fair Yima, saying: 'O fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat, the earth has become full of flocks and, herds, of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is no more room for flocks, herds, and men.'

18 (31). Then Yima stepped forward, towards the luminous space, southwards, to meet the sun, and (afterwards) he pressed the earth with the golden ring, and bored it with the poniard, speaking thus:

'O Spenta Ârmaiti, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men.'

19 (37). And Yima made the earth grow larger by three-thirds than it was before, and there came flocks and herds and men, at his will and wish, as many as he wished.

21 (42). The Maker, Ahura Mazda, of high renown in the Airyana Vaêgô, by the good river Dâitya, called together a meeting of the celestial gods.

The fair Yima, the good shepherd, of high renown in the Airyana Vaêgô, by the good river Dâitya, called together a meeting of the excellent mortals.

To that meeting came Ahura Mazda, of high renown in the Airyana Vaêgô, by the good river Dâitya; he came together with the celestial gods.

To that meeting came, the fair Yima, the good shepherd, of high renown in the Airyana Vaêgô, by the good river Dâitya; he came together with the excellent mortals.

22 (46). And Ahura Mazda spake unto Yima, saying:

'O fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat! Upon the material world the fatal winters are going to fall, that shall bring the fierce, foul frost; upon the material world the fatal winters are going to fall, that shall make snow-flakes fall thick, even an aredvî deep on the highest tops of mountains.

23 (52). And all the three sorts of beasts shall perish, those that live in the wilderness, and those that live on the tops of the mountains, and those that live in the bosom of the dale, under the shelter of stables.

24 (57). Before that winter, those fields would bear plenty of grass for cattle: now with floods that stream, with snows that melt, it will seem a happy land in the world, the land wherein footprints even of sheep may still be seen.

25 (61). Therefore make thee a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, and thither bring the seeds of sheep and oxen, of men, of dogs, of birds, and of red blazing fires.

Therefore make thee a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be an abode for men; a Vara, long. as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be a fold for flocks.

26 (65). There thou shalt make waters flow in a bed a hâthra long; there thou shalt settle birds, by the ever-green banks that bear never-failing food. There thou shalt establish dwelling places, consisting of a house with a balcony, a courtyard, and a gallery.

27 (70). Thither thou shalt bring the seeds of men and women, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; thither thou shalt bring the seeds of every kind of cattle, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth.

28 (74). Thither thou shalt bring the seeds of every kind of tree, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; thither thou shalt bring the seeds of every kind of fruit, the fullest of food and sweetest of odour. All those seeds shalt thou bring, two of ever), kind, to be kept inexhaustible there, so long as those men shall stay in the Vara.

29 (80). There shall be no humpbacked, none bulged forward there; no impotent, no lunatic; no poverty, no lying; no meanness, no jealousy; no decayed tooth, no leprous to be confined, nor any of the brands wherewith Angra Mainyu stamps the bodies of mortals.

30 (87). In the largest part of the place thou shalt make nine streets, six in the middle part, three in the smallest. To the streets of the largest part thou shalt bring a thousand seeds of men and women; to the streets of the middle part, six hundred; to the streets of the smallest part, three hundred. That Vara thou shalt seal up with the golden ring, and thou shalt make a door, and a window self-shining within.'

31 (93). Then Yima said within himself: 'How shall I manage to make that Vara which Ahura Mazda has commanded me to make?'

And Ahura Mazda said unto Yima: 'O fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat! Crush the earth with a stamp of thy heel, and then knead it with thy hands, as the potter does when kneading the potter's clay.'

And Yima did as Ahura Mazda wished; he crushed the earth with a stamp of his heel, he kneaded it with his hands, as the potter does when kneading the potter's clay.

33 (97). And Yima made a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square. There he brought the seeds of sheep and oxen, of men, of dogs, of birds, and of red blazing fires. He made Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be an abode for men; a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be a fold for flocks.

34 (101). There he made waters flow in a bed a hâthra long; there he settled birds, by the evergreen banks that bear never-failing food. There he established dwelling places, consisting of a house with a balcony, a courtyard, and a gallery.

35 (106). There he brought the seeds of men and women, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; there he brought the seeds of every kind of cattle, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth.

36 (110). There he brought the seeds of every kind of tree, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; there he brought the seeds of every kind of fruit, the fullest of food and sweetest of odour. All those seeds he brought, two of every kind, to be kept inexhaustible there, so long as those men shall stay in the Vara.

37 (116) And there were no humpbacked, none bulged forward there; no impotent, no lunatic; no poverty, no lying; no meanness, no jealousy; no decayed tooth, no leprous to be confined, nor any of the brands wherewith Angra Mainyu stamps the bodies of mortals.

38 (123). In the largest part of the place he made nine streets, six in the middle part, three in the smallest. To the streets of the largest part he brought a thousand seeds of men and women; to the streets of the middle part, six hundred; to the streets of the smallest part, three hundred. That Vara he sealed up with the golden ring, and he made a door, and a window self-shining within.

39 (129). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What lights are there to give light in the Vara which Yima made?

40 (131). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘There are uncreated lights and created lights. There the stars, the moon, and the sun are only once (a year) seen to rise and set, and a year seems only as a day.

41 (33). 'Every fortieth year, to every couple two are born, a male and a female. And thus it is for every sort of cattle. And the men in the Vara which Yima made live the happiest life.'

42 (137). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is he who brought the law of Mazda into the Vara which Yima made?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It was the bird Karshipta, O holy Zarathustra!'

43 (140). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the lord and ruler there?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Urvatad-nara, O Zarathustra! and thyself, Zarathustra.'

Vendidad, Fargard III

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the first place where the Earth feels most happy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place whereon one of the faithful steps forward, O Spitama Zarathustra! with the holy wood in his hand, the baresma in his hand, the holy meat in his hand, the holy mortar in his hand, fulfilling the law with love, and beseeching aloud Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, and Râma Hvâstra.'

2, 3 (6-10). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the second place where the Earth feels most happy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place whereon one of the faithful erects a house with a priest within, with cattle, with a wife, with children, and good herds within; and wherein afterwards the cattle go on thriving, holiness is thriving, fodder is thriving, the dog is thriving, the wife is thriving, the child is thriving, the fire is thriving, and every blessing of life is thriving.'

4 (11). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the third place where the Earth feels most happy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place where one of the faithful cultivates most corn, grass, and fruit, O Spitama Zarathustra! where he waters ground that is dry, or dries ground that is too wet.'

5 (15). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the fourth place where the Earth feels most happy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place where there is most increase of flocks and herds.'

6 (18). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the fifth place where the Earth feels most happy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place where flocks and herds yield most dung.'

7 (21). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the first place where the Earth feels sorest grief?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the neck of Arezûra, whereon the hosts of fiends rush forth from the burrow of the Drug.'

8 (25). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the second place where the Earth feels sorest grief?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place wherein most corpses of dogs and of men lie buried.'

9 (28). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the third place where the Earth feels sorest grief?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place whereon stand most of those Dakhmas on which corpses of men are deposited.'

(31). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the fourth place where the Earth feels sorest grief?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place wherein are most burrows of the creatures of Angra Mainyu.'

11 (34). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the fifth place where the Earth feels sorest grief?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place whereon the wife and children of one of the faithful, O Spitama Zarathustra! are driven along the way of captivity, the dry, the dusty way, and lift up a voice of wailing.'

12 (38). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the first that rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is he who digs out of it most corpses of dogs and men.'

13 (41). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the second that rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is he who pulls down most of those Dakhmas on which corpses of men are deposited.'

14 (44). Let no man alone by himself carry a corpse. If a man alone by himself carry a corpse, the Nasu rushes upon him, to defile him, from the nose of the dead, from the eye, from the tongue, from the jaws, from the sexual organ, from the hinder parts. This Drug, this Nasu, falls upon him, stains him even to the end of the nails, and he is unclean, thenceforth, for ever and ever.

15 (49). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What shall be the place of that man who has carried a corpse alone?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It shall be the place on this earth wherein is least water and fewest plants, whereof the ground is the cleanest and the driest and the least passed through by flocks and herds, by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful.'

6 (55). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?

17 (5 7). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thirty paces from the fire, thirty paces from the water, thirty paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma, three paces from the faithful.

18, 19 (58-63). ‘There, on that place, shall the Worshippers of Mazda erect an enclosure, and therein shall they establish him with food, therein shall they establish him with clothes, with the coarsest food and with the most worn-out clothes. That food he shall live on, those clothes he shall wear, and thus shall they let him live, until he has grown to the age of a Hana, or of a Zaurura, or of a Pairista-khshudra.

20, 21 (64-71). 'And when he has grown to the age of a Hana, or of a Zaurura, or of a Pairista-khshudra, then the worshippers of Mazda shall order a man strong, vigorous, and skilful, to flay the skin off his body and cut the head off his neck, on the top of the mountain: and they shall deliver his corpse unto the greediest of the corpse-eating creatures made by Ahura Mazda, to the greedy ravens, with these words: "The man here has repented of all his evil thoughts, words, and deeds. If he has committed any other evil deed, it is remitted by his repentance: if he has committed no other evil deed, he is absolved by his repentance, for ever and ever."'

22 (72). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the third that rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is he who fills up most burrows of the creatures of Angra Mainyu.'

23 (75). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the fourth that rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is he who cultivates most corn, grass, and fruit, O Spitama Zarathustra! who waters ground that is dry, or dries ground that is too wet.

24 (79). ‘Unhappy is the land that has long lain unsown with the seed of the sower and wants a good husbandman, like a well-shapen maiden who has long gone childless and wants a good husband.

25 (84). ‘He who would till the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, unto him will she bring forth plenty, like a loving bride on her bed, unto her beloved; the bride will bring forth children, the earth will bring forth plenty of fruit.

26, 27 (87-90). ‘He who would till the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, unto him thus says the Earth: "O thou man! who dost till me with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left hither shall people ever come and beg (for bread), here shall I ever go on bearing, bringing forth all manner of food, bringing forth profusion of corn."

28, 29 (91-95). 'He who does not till the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, unto him thus says the Earth: "O thou man I who dost not till me with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, ever shalt thou stand at the door of the stranger, among those who beg for bread; ever shalt thou wait there for the refuse that is brought unto thee, brought by those who have profusion of wealth."'

30 (96). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the food that fills the law of Mazda?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is sowing corn again and again, O Spitama Zarathustra!

31 (99). ‘He who sows corn, sows holiness: he makes the law of Mazda grow higher and higher: he makes the law of Mazda as fat as he can with a hundred acts of adoration, a thousand oblations, ten thousand sacrifices.

32 (105). ‘When barley is coming forth, the Daêvas start up; when the corn is growing rank, then faint the Daêvas hearts; when the corn is being ground, the Daêvas groan; when wheat is coming forth, the Daêvas are destroyed. In that house they can no longer stay, from that house they are beaten away, wherein wheat is thus coming forth. It is as though red hot iron were turned about in their throats, when there is plenty of corn.

33 (111). 'Then let (the priest) teach people this holy saying: "No one who does not eat, has strength to do works of holiness, strength to do works of husbandry, strength to beget children. By eating every material creature lives, by not eating it dies away."'

34 (116). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the fifth that rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘[It is he who tilling the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! kindly and piously gives to one of the faithful.]

35 (118). 'He who tilling the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! would not kindly and piously give to one of the faithful, he shall fall down into the darkness of Spenta Ârmaiti, down into the world of woe, the dismal realm, down into the house of hell.'

36 (122). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within half a year, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Five hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, five hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

37 (126). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within a year, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

38 (130). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within the second year, what is the penalty for it? What is the atonement for it? What is the cleansing from it?

39 (135). Ahura Mazda answered: 'For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, for ever and ever.'

40 (137). When is it so?

‘It is so, if the sinner be a professor of the law of Mazda, or one who has been taught in it. But if he be not a professor of the law of Mazda, nor one who has been taught in it, then this law of Mazda takes his sin from him, if he confesses it and resolves never to commit again such forbidden deeds.

41 (142). ‘The law of Mazda indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! takes away from him who confesses it the bonds of his sin; it takes away (the sin of) breach of trust; it takes away (the sin of) murdering one of the faithful; it takes away (the sin of) burying a corpse; it takes away (the sin of) deeds for which, there is no atonement; it takes away the heaviest penalties of sin; it takes away any sin that may be sinned.

42 (149). ‘In the same way the law of Mazda, O Spitama Zarathustra! cleanses the faithful from every evil thought, word, and deed, as a swift-rushing mighty wind cleanses the plain.

'So let all the deeds thou doest be henceforth good, O Zarathustra! a full atonement for thy sin is effected by means of the law of Mazda.'

Vendidad, Fargard IV

He that does not restore (a thing lent), when it is asked for back again, steals the thing; he robs the man. So he does every day, every night, as long as he keeps in his house his neighbour's property, as. though it were his own.

2 (4). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How many in number are thy contracts, O Ahura Mazda?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They are six in number. The first is the word-contract; the second is the hand-contract; the third is the contract to the amount of a sheep; the fourth is the contract to the amount of an ox the fifth is the contract to the amount of a man the sixth is the contract to the amount of a field, a field in good land, a fruitful one, in good bearing.'

3 (13). If a man make the word-contract a mere word, it shall be redeemed by the hand-contract; he shall give in pledge the amount of the hand-contract.

4 (16). The hand-contract shall be redeemed by the sheep-contract; he shall give in pledge the amount of the sheep-contract. The sheep-contract shall be redeemed by the ox-contract; he shall give in pledge the amount of the ox-contract. The ox-contract shall be redeemed by the man-contract; he shall give in pledge the amount of the man-contract. The man-contract shall be redeemed by the field-contract; he shall give in pledge the amount of the field-contract.

5 (24). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the word-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes, his Nabânazdistas answerable for the three hundred-fold atonement.'

6 (26). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the hand-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for the six hundred-fold atonement.'

7 (28). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the sheep-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for the seven hundred-fold atonement!'

8 (30). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the ox-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for the eight hundred-fold atonement.'

9 (32). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the man-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for the nine hundred-fold atonement.'

10 (34). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the field-contract, how many are involved in his sin?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for the thousand-fold atonement.'

11 (36). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the word-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, three hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

12 (39). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One If a man break the hand-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

13 (42). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the sheep-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

14 (45). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the ox-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

15 (48). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the man-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Nine hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, nine hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

16 (51). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the field-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

17 (54). If a man rise up to smite a man, it is an Âgerepta. If a man come upon a man to smite him, it is an Avaoirista. If a man actually smite a man with evil aforethought, it is an Aredus. Upon the fifth Aredus he becomes a Peshôtanu.

18 (58). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He that committeth an Âgerepta, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Five stripes with the Aspahê-astra, five stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the second Âgerepta, ten stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ten stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the third, fifteen stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifteen stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

19 (63). 'On the fourth, thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the fifth, fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the sixth, sixty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, sixty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the seventh, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

20 (67). If a man commit an Âgerepta for the eighth time, without having atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

21 (70). If a man commit an Âgerepta and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

22 (73). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Avaoirista, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Ten stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ten stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the second Avaoirista, fifteen stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifteen stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

23 (75). 'On the third, thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the fourth, fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the fifth, seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the sixth, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

24 (76). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Avaoirista for the seventh time, without having atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

25 (77). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Avaoirista, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

26 (79). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Aredus, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Fifteen stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifteen stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

27 (81). 'On the second Aredus, thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the third, fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the fourth, seventy stripes, with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the fifth, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Aredus for the sixth time, without having atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

29 (82). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Aredus, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

30 (85). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another and hurt him sorely, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

31 (87). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the second time, fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the third time, seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the fourth time, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

32 (89). If a man commit that deed for the fifth time, without having atoned for the preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

33 (90). If a man commit that deed and refuse to atone for it, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

34 (93). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so that the blood comes, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the second time, seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the third time, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

35 (95). If he commit that deed for the fourth time, without having atoned for the preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

36 (96). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so that the blood comes, and if he refuse to atone for it, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

57 (99). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so that he breaks a bone, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the second time, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

38 (102). If he commit that deed for the third time, without having atoned for the preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

39 (104). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so that he breaks a bone, and if he refuse to atone for it, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

40 (106). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so that he gives up the ghost, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

41 (109). If he commit that deed again, without having atoned for the preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

42 (112). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so that he gives up the ghost, and if he refuse to atone for it, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

43 (115). And they shall thenceforth in their doings walk after the way of holiness, after the word of holiness, after the ordinance of holiness.

44 (118). If men of the same faith, either friends or brothers, come to an agreement together, that one may obtain from the other, either goods, or a wife, or knowledge, let him who wants to have goods have them delivered to him; let him who wants to have a wife receive and wed her; let him who wants to have knowledge be taught the holy word.

45 (123). He shall learn on, during the first part of the day and the last, during the first part of the night and the last, that his mind may be increased in knowledge and wax strong in holiness: so shall he sit up, giving thanks and praying to the gods, that he may be increased in knowledge: he shall rest during the middle part of the day, during the middle part of the night, and thus shall he continue until he can say all the words which former Aêthrapaitis have said.

46 (128). Before the water and the blazing fire, O Spitama Zarathustra! let no one make bold to deny having received from his neighbour the ox or the garment (he has received from him).

47 (130).... Verily I say it unto thee, O Spitama Zarathustra! the man who has a wife is far above him who begets no sons; he who keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the childless man; he who has riches is far above him who has none.

48 (134). And of two men, he who fills himself with meat is filled with the good spirit much more than he who does not do so; the latter is all but dead; the former is above him by the worth of an Asperena, by the worth of a sheep, by the worth of an ox, by the worth of a man.

49 (137). It is this man that can strive against the onsets of Astô-vîdhôtu; that can strive against the self-moving arrow; that can strive against the winter fiend, with thinnest garment on; that can strive against the wicked tyrant and smite him on the head; it is this man that can strive against the ungodly Ashemaogha who does not eat.

49 (bis).... The very first time when that deed has been done, without waiting until it is done again.

50 (143). Down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: should one cut off the limbs from his perishable body with knives of brass, yet still worse shall it be.

51 (146). Down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: should one nail his perishable body with nails of brass, yet still worse shall it be.

52 (149). Down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: should one by force throw his perishable body headlong down a precipice a hundred times the height of a man, yet still worse shall it be.

53 052). Down there the pain or that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: should one by force impale his perishable body, yet still worse shall it be.

54 (154). Down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: to wit, that deed which is done, when a man, knowingly lying, confronts the brimstoned, golden, truth-knowing water with an appeal unto Rashnu and a lie unto Mithra.

55 (156). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He who, knowingly lying, confronts the brimstoned, golden, truth-knowing water with an appeal unto Rashnu and a lie unto Mithra, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

Vendidad, Fargard V

There dies a man in the depths of the vale: a bird takes flight from the top of the mountain down into the depths of the vale, and it eats up the corpse of the dead man there: then, up it flies from the depths of the vale to the top of the mountain: it flies to some one of the trees there, of the hard-wooded or the soft-wooded, and upon that tree it vomits, it deposits dung, it drops pieces from the corpse.

2 (7). Now, lo! here is a man coming up from the depths of the vale to the top of the mountain; he comes to the tree whereon the bird is sitting; from that tree he wants to take wood for the fire. He fells the tree, he hews the tree, he splits it into logs, and then he lights it in the fire, the son of Ahura Mazda. What is the penalty that he shall pay?

3 (11). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘There is no sin upon a man for any dead matter that has been brought by dogs, by birds, by wolves, by winds, or by flies.

4 (12). 'For were there sin upon a man for any dead matter that might have been brought by dogs, by birds, by wolves, by winds, or by flies, how soon this material world of mine would have in it only Peshôtanus, shut out from the way of holiness, whose souls will cry and wail! so numberless are the beings that die upon the face of the earth.'

5 (15). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Here is a man watering a corn field. The water streams down the field; it streams again; it streams a third time; and the fourth time, a dog, a fox, or a wolf carries a corpse into the bed of the stream: what is the penalty that the man shall pay?

6 (19). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘There is no sin upon a man for any dead matter that has been brought by dogs, by birds, by wolves, by winds, or by flies.

7 (20). 'For were there sin upon a man for any dead matter that might have been brought by dogs, by birds, by wolves, by winds, or by flies, how soon this material world of mine would have in it only Peshôtanus, shut out from the way of, holiness, whose souls will cry and wail! so numberless are the beings that die upon the face of the earth.'

8 (23). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Does water kill?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Water kills no man: Astô-vîdhôtu ties the noose around his neck, and, thus tied, Vaya carries him off: then the flood takes him up, the flood takes him down, the flood throws him ashore; then birds feed upon him, and chance brings him here, or brings him there.'

9 (29). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Does fire kill?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fire kills no man: Astô-vîdhôtu ties the noose around his neck, and, thus tied, Vaya carries him off. The fire burns up life and limb, and then chance brings him here, or brings him there.'

10 (34). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the summer is past and the winter has come, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'In every house? in every borough, they shall raise three small houses for the dead.'

11 (37). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How large shall be those houses for the dead?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Large enough not to strike the skull, or the feet, or the hands of the man, if he should stand erect, and hold out his feet, and stretch out his hands: such shall be, according to the law, the houses for the dead.

12 (41). ‘And they shall let the lifeless body lie there, for two nights, or for three nights, or a month long, until the birds-begin to fly, the plants to grow, the floods to flow, and the wind to dry up the waters from off the earth.

13 (44). ‘And as soon as the birds begin to fly, the plants to grow, the floods to flow, and the wind to dry up the waters from off the earth, then the worshippers of Mazda shall lay down the dead (on the Dakhma) his eyes towards the sun.

14 (46). 'If the worshippers of Mazda have not, within a year, laid down the dead (on the Dakhma), his eyes towards the sun, thou shalt prescribe for that trespass the same penalty as for the murder of one of the faithful. And there shall it lie until the corpse has been rained on, until the Dakhma has been rained on, until the unclean remains have been rained on, until the birds have eaten up the corpse.'

15 (49). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Is it true that thou, Ahura Mazda, sendest the waters from the sea Vouru-kasha down with the wind and with the clouds?

16 (51). That thou, Ahura Mazda, makest them flow down to the corpses? that thou, Ahura Mazda, makest them flow down to the Dakhmas? that thou, Ahura Mazda, makest them flow down to the unclean remains? that thou, Ahura Mazda, makest them flow down to the bones? and that then thou, Ahura Mazda, makest them flow back unseen? that thou, Ahura Mazda, makest them flow back to the sea Pûitika?

17 (53). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is even so as thou hast said, O righteous Zarathustra! I, Ahura Mazda, send the waters from the sea Vouru-kasha down with the wind and with the clouds.

18 (55). ‘I, Ahura Mazda, make them stream down to the corpses; I, Ahura Mazda, make them stream down to the Dakhmas; I, Ahura Mazda, make them stream down to the unclean remains; I, Ahura Mazda, make them stream down to the bones; then I, Ahura Mazda, make them flow back unseen; I, Ahura Mazda, make them flow back to the sea Pûitika.

19 (56). ‘The waters stand there boiling, boiling up in the heart of the sea Pûitika, and, when cleansed there, they run back again from the sea Pûitika to the sea Vouru-kasha, towards the well-watered tree, whereon grow the seeds of my plants of every kind by hundreds, by thousands, by hundreds of thousands.

20(60). 'Those plants, I, Ahura Mazda, rain down upon the earth, to bring food to the faithful, and fodder to the beneficent cow; to bring food to my people that they may live on it, and fodder to the beneficent cow.'

21 (63). 'This is the best of all things, this is the fairest of all things, even as thou hast said, O righteous Zarathustra!'

With these words the holy Ahura Mazda rejoiced the holy Zarathustra: 'Purity is for man, next to life, the greatest good, that purity that is procured by the law of Mazda to him who cleanses his own self with good thoughts, words, and deeds.'

22 (68). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! This law, this fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra, by what greatness, goodness, and fairness is it great, good, and fair above all other utterances?

23 (69). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘As much above all other floods as is the sea Vouru-kasha, so much above all other utterances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this law, this fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra.

24 (70). ‘As much as a great stream flows swifter than a slender rivulet, so much above all other utterances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this law, this fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra.

‘As high as the great tree stands above the small plants it overshadows, so high above all other utterances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this law, this fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra.

25, 26 (73-81). ‘As high as heaven is above the earth that it compasses around, so high above all other utterances is this law, this fiend-destroying law of Mazda.

'Therefore, when the Ratu has been applied to when the Sraoshâ-varez has been applied to; whether for a draona-service that has been undertaken, or for one that has not been undertaken; whether for a draona that has been offered up, or for one that has not been offered up; whether for a draona that has been shared, or for one that has not been shared; the Ratu has power to remit him one-third of the penalty he had to pay: if he has committed any other evil deed, it is remitted by his repentance; if he has committed, no other evil deed, he is absolved by his repentance for ever and ever.'

27 (82). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be a number of men resting in the same place, on adjoining carpets, on adjoining pillows, be there two men near one another, or five, or fifty, or a hundred, close by one another; and of those people one happens to die; how many of them does the Drug Nasu envelope with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?

28 (86). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘If the dead one be a priest, the Drug-Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the eleventh and defiles the ten.

‘If the dead one be a warrior, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the tenth and defiles the nine.

‘If the dead one be a husbandman, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the ninth and defiles the eight.

29 (92). ‘If it be a shepherd's dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the eighth and defiles the seven.

‘If it be a house dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the seventh and defiles the six.

30 (96). ‘If it be a Vohunazga dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the sixth and defiles the five.

‘If it be a young dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the fifth and defiles the four.

31 (100). ‘If it be a Sukuruna dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the fourth and defiles the three.

‘If it be a Gazu dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the third and defiles the two.

32 (104). ‘If it be an Aiwizu dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the second and defiles the next.

'If it be a Vîzu dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the next, she defiles the next.'

33 (108). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If it be an Urupi dog, how many of the creatures of the good spirit does it directly defile, how many does it indirectly defile in dying?

34 (110). Ahura Mazda answered: 'An Urupi dog does neither directly nor indirectly defile any of the creatures of the good spirit, but him who smites and kills it; to him the uncleanness clings for ever and ever.'

35 (113). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the dead one be a wicked, two-footed ruffian, an ungodly Ashemaogha how many of the creatures of the good spirit does he directly defile, how many does he indirectly defile in dying?

36 (115). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘No more than a frog does whose venom is dried up, and that has been dead more than a year. Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! that wicked, two-legged ruffian, that ungodly Ashemaogha, directly defiles the creatures of the good spirit, and indirectly defiles them.

37 (119). ‘Whilst alive he smites the water; whilst alive he blows out the fire; whilst alive he carries off the cow; whilst alive he smites the faithful man with a deadly blow, that parts the soul from the body; not so will he do when dead.

38 (120). 'Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! that wicked, two-legged ruffian, that ungodly Ashemaogha, never ceases depriving the faithful man of his food, of his clothing, of his house, of his bed, of his vessels; not so will he do when dead.'

39 (122). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When into our houses here below we have brought the fire, the baresma, the cups, the Haoma, and the mortar, O holy Ahura Mazda! if it come to pass that either a dog or a man dies there, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

40 (125). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Out of the house, O Spitama Zarathustra! shall they take the fire, the baresma, the cups, the Haoma, and the mortar; they shall take the dead one out to the proper place whereto, according to the law, corpses must be brought, to be devoured there.'

41 (128). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When shall they bring back the fire into the house wherein the man has died?

42 (129). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wait for nine nights in winter, for a month in summer, and then they shall bring back the fire to the house wherein the man has died.'

43 030. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! And if they shall bring back the fire to the house wherein the man has died, within the nine nights, or within the month, what penalty shall they pay?

44 (134). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall be Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

45 (135). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If in the house of a worshipper of Mazda there be a woman with child, and if being a month gone, or two, or three, or four, or five, or six, or seven, or eight, or nine, or ten months gone, she bring forth a still-born child, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

40 (139). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The place in that Mazdean house whereof the ground is the cleanest and the driest, and the least passed through by flocks and herds, by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful;'--

47 (143). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?

48 (144). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thirty paces from the fire; thirty paces from the water; thirty paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma; three paces from the faithful;--

49 (145). 'On that place shall the worshippers of Mazda erect an enclosure, and therein shall they establish her with food, therein shall they establish her with clothes.'

50 (147). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the food that the woman shall first take?

51 (148). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘She shall drink gômêz mixed with ashes, three cups of it, or six, or nine, to wash over the grave within her womb.

52 (151). 'Afterwards she may drink boiling milk of mares, cows, sheep, or goats, with pap or without pap; she may take cooked meat without water, bread without wafer, and wine without water.'

53 (154). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long shall she remain so? How long shall she live only on that sort of meat, bread, and wine?

54 (155). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three nights long shall she remain so; three nights long shall she live on that sort of meat, bread, and wine. Then, when three nights have passed, she shall wash her body, she shall wash her clothes, with gômêz and water, by the nine holes, and thus shall she be clean.'

55 (157). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long shall she remain so? How long, after the three nights have gone, shall she sit confined, and live separated from the rest of the worshippers of Mazda, as to her seat, her food, and her clothing?

56 (158). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Nine nights long shall she remain so: nine nights long, after the three nights have gone, shall she sit confined, and live separated from the rest of the worshippers of Mazda, as to her seat, her food, and her clothing. Then, when the nine nights have gone, she shall wash her body, and cleanse her clothes with gômêz and water.'

57 (160). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can those clothes, when once washed and cleansed, ever be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Hâvanan, or by an Âtare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Âbered, or by an Âsnâtar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraoshâ-varez, or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman?

58 (162). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Never can those clothes, even when washed and cleansed, be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Hâvanan, or by an Âtare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Âbered, or by an Âsnâtar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraoshâ-varez, or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman.

59 (164). ‘But if there be in a Mazdean house a woman who is in her sickness, or a man who has become unfit for work, and who must sit in the place of infirmity, those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their sheets, until they can withdraw and move their hands.

60 (168). ‘Ahura Mazda, indeed, does not allow us to waste anything of value that we may have, not even so much as an Asperena's weight of thread, not even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning.

61 (170). ‘Whosoever throws any clothing on a dead body, even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning, is not a pious man whilst alive, nor shall he, when dead, have a place in the happy realm.

62 (174). 'He shall go away into the world of the fiends, into that dark world, made of darkness, the offspring of darkness. To that world, to the dismal realm, you are delivered by your own doings, by your own souls, O sinners!'

Vendidad, Fargard VI

How long shall the ground lie fallow whereon dogs or men have died?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘A year long shall the ground lie fallow whereon dogs or men have died, O holy Zarathustra!

2 (3). ‘A year long shall no worshipper of Mazda sow or water that part of the ground whereon dogs or men have died; he may sow as he likes the rest of the ground; he may water it as he likes.

3 (5). 'If within the year they shall sow or water the ground whereon dogs or men have died, the sin is the same as if they had brought dead matter to the water, to the earth, and to the plants.'

4 (7). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda shall sow or water, within the year, the ground whereon dogs or men have died, what is the penalty that they shall pay?

5 (9). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They are Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

6 (10). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda want to make the ground fit to be tilled again, that they may water it, sow it, and plough it, what shall they do?

7 (12). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall look on the ground for any bones, hair, flesh, dung, or blood that may be there.'

8 (13). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If they shall not look on the ground for any bones, hair, flesh, dung, or blood that may be there, what is the penalty that they shall pay?

9 (15). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They are Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

(16). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the little finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

11 (18). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

12 (20). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the fore-finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

13 (24). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

14 (25). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the middle finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

15 (29). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

16 (30). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as a finger or as a rib, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

17 (34). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

18 (35). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as two fingers or as two ribs, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

19 (39). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

20 (40). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as an arm-bone or as a thigh-bone, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

21 (44). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Four hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, four hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

22 (45). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as a man's skull, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

23 (49). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

24 (50). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground the whole body of a dead dog, or of a dead man, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

25 (53). Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

26 (54). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a worshipper of Mazda, walking, or running, or riding, or driving, come upon a corpse in a stream of running water, what shall he do?

27 (56). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Taking off his shoes, putting off his clothes, boldly, O Zarathustra! he shall enter the river, and take the dead out of the water; he shall go down into the water ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, or a man's full depth, till he can reach the dead body.'

28 (61). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If, however, the body be already falling to pieces and rotting, what shall the worshipper of Mazda do?

29 (63). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He shall draw out of the water as much of the corpse as he can grasp with both hands, and he shall lay it down on the dry ground; no sin attaches to him for any bone, hair, grease, flesh, dung, or blood that may drop back into the water.'

30 (65). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water in a pond does the Drug Nasu defile with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?

31 (66). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Six steps on each of the four sides. As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the pond, and lay it down on the dry ground.

32 (69). 'And of the water they shalt draw off the half, or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they are able; and after the corpse has been taken out and the water has been drawn off, the rest of the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'

33 (72). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water in a well does the Drug Nasu defile with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?

34 (73). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the well, and lay it down on the dry ground.

35 (73). 'And of the water in the well they shall draw off the half, or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they are able; and after the corpse has been taken out and the water has been drawn off, the rest of the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'

36 (74). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of a sheet of snow or hail does the Drug Nasu defile with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?

37 (75). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Three steps on each of the four sides. As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the water, and lay it down on the dry ground.

38 (78). 'After the corpse has been taken out, and the snow or the hail has melted, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'

39 (79). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water of a running does the Drug Nasu defile with infection pollution, and uncleanness?

40 (80). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Three steps down the stream, nine steps up the stream, six steps across. As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall the water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the water, and lay it down on the dry ground.

41 (83). 'After the corpse has been taken out and the stream has flowed three times, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'

42 (84). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the Haoma that has been touched by the corpse of a dead dog, or the corpse of a dead man, be made clean again?

40 (85). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra! If it has been strained for the Sacrifice, no corpse that has been brought unto it, makes corruption or death enter it. If it has not been strained for the sacrifice, the stem is defiled the length of four fingers. That length of stem shall be buried in the ground, in the middle of the house, for a year long. When the year is passed, the faithful may drink of its juice at their pleasure, as before.'

44 (92). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Whither shall we bring, where shall we lay the bodies of the dead, O Ahura Mazda?

45 (93). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘On the highest summits, where they know there are always corpse-eating dogs and corpse-eating birds, O holy Zarathustra!

46 (95). ‘There shall the worshippers of Mazda fasten the corpse, by the feet and by the hair, with brass, stones, or lead, lest the corpse-eating dogs and the corpse-eating birds shall go and carry the bones to the water and to the trees.

47 (98). 'If they shall not fasten the corpse, so that the corpse-eating dogs and the corpse-eating birds may go and carry the bones to the water and to the trees, what is the penalty that they shall pay?'

48 (100). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall be Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

49 (101). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy-one! Whither shall we bring, where shall we lay the bones of the dead, O Ahura Mazda?

50 (102). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The worshippers of Mazda shall erect a building out of the reach of the dog, of the fox, and of the wolf, and wherein rain-water cannot stay.

51 (105). 'Such a building shall they erect, if they can afford it, with stones, mortar, and earth; if they cannot afford it, they shall lay down the dead man on the ground, on his carpet and his pillow, clothed with the light of heaven, and beholding the sun.'

Vendidad, Fargard VII

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When a man dies, at what moment does the Drug Nasu rush upon him?'

2 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Directly after death, as soon as the soul has left the body, O Spitama Zarathustra! the Drug Nasu comes and rushes upon him, from the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.

[3. 'On him she stays until the dog has seen the corpse or eaten it up, or until the flesh-eating birds have taken flight towards it. When the dog has seen it or eaten it up, or when the flesh-eating birds have taken flight towards it, then the Drug Nasu rushes away to the regions of the north in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.']

4 (5). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the man has been killed by a dog, or by a wolf, or by witchcraft, or by the artifices of hatred, or by falling down a precipice, or by the law, or by a murderer, or by the noose, how long after death does the Drug Nasu come and rush upon the dead?

5 (6). Ahura Mazda answered: 'At the next watch after death, the Drug Nasu comes and rushes upon the dead, from the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.'

6 (7). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be a number of men resting in the same place, on adjoining carpets, on adjoining pillows, be there two men near one another, or five, or fifty, or a hundred, close by one another; and of those people one happens to die; how many of them does the Drug Nasu envelope with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?

7 (11). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘If the dead one be a priest, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the eleventh and defiles the ten.

‘If the dead one be a warrior, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the tenth and defiles the nine.

‘If the dead one be a husbandman, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the ninth and defiles the eight.

8 (17). ‘If it be a shepherd's dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the eighth and defiles the seven.

‘If it be a house dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the seventh and defiles the six.

9 (21). ‘If it be a Vohunazga dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the sixth and defiles the five.

'If it be a young dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the fifth and defiles the four.'

... 'those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their sheets.'...

10 (26). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of his bedding and pillow does the Drug Nasu defile with infection, uncleanness, and pollution?

11 (27). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The Drug Nasu defiles with infection, uncleanness, and pollution the upper sheet and the inner garment.'

12 (28). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can that garment be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! that has been touched by the carcase of a dog or the corpse of a man?

13 (29). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra!'

How so?

‘If, indeed, the garment has been defiled with seed, or sweat, or dirt, or vomit, the worshippers of Mazda shall rend it to pieces, and bury it under the ground.

14 (33). ‘But if it has not been defiled with seed, or sweat, or dirt, or vomit, then the worshippers of Mazda shall wash it with gômêz.

15 (35). ‘If it be leather, they shall wash it with gômêz three times, they shall rub it with earth three times, they shall wash it with water three times, and afterwards they shall expose it to the air for three months at the window of the house.

‘If it be woven cloth, they shall wash it with gômêz six times, they shall rub it with earth six times, they shall wash it with water six times, and afterwards they shall expose it to the air for six months at the window of the house.

16 (37). 'The spring named Ardvî Sûra, O Spitama Zarathustra! that spring of mine, purifies the seed in man, the fruit in a woman's womb, the milk in a woman's breast.'

17 (41). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can those clothes, when once washed and cleansed, ever be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Hâvanan, or by an Âtare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Âbered, or by an Âsnâtar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraoshâ-varez, or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman?

18 (43). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Never can those clothes, even when washed and cleansed, be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Hâvanan, or by an Âtare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Âbered, or by an Âsnâtar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraoshâ-varez, or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman.

19 (45). ‘But if there be in a Mazdean house a woman who is in her sickness, or a man who has become unfit for work, and who must sit in the place of infirmity, those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their sheets, until they can withdraw and move their hands.

20 (49). ‘Ahura Mazda, indeed, does not allow us to waste anything of value that we may have, not even so much as an Asperena's weight of thread, not even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning.

21 (52). ‘Whosoever throws any clothing on a dead body, even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning, is not a pious man whilst alive, nor shall he, when dead, have a place in the happy realm.

22 (55). 'He shall go away into the world of the fiends, into that dark world, made of darkness, the offspring of darkness. To that world, to the dismal realm, you are delivered by your own doings, by your own souls, O sinners!'

23 (59). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can he be clean again who has eaten of the carcase of a dog or of the carcase of a man?

24 (60). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He cannot, O holy Zarathustra! His burrow shall be dug out, his life shall be torn out, his bright eyes shall be put out; the Drug Nasu falls upon him, takes hold of him even to the end of the nails, and he is unclean, thenceforth, for ever and ever.'

25 (65). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can he be clean again, O holy Ahura Mazda! who has brought a corpse with filth into the waters, or unto the fire, and made either unclean?

26 (66). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He cannot, O holy Zarathustra! Those wicked ones it is, those men turned to Nasus, that most increase gnats and locusts; those wicked ones it is, those men turned to Nasus, that most increase the grass-destroying drought.

27 (69). 'Those wicked ones it is, those men turned to Nasus, that increase most the power of the winter, produced by the fiends, the cattle-killing, thick-snowing, overflowing, the piercing, fierce, mischievous winter. Upon them comes and rushes the Drug Nasu, she takes hold of them even to the end of the nails, and they are unclean, thenceforth, for ever and ever.'

28 (72). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the wood be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! whereunto dead matter has been brought from a dead dog, or from a dead man?

29 (73). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra!'

How so?

‘If the Nasu has not yet been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart on the ground, the wood on the length of a Vîtasti all around the dead matter, if the wood be dry; on the length of a Frârâthni all around, if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.

30 (78). ‘But if the Nasu has already been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart on the ground, the wood on the length of a Frârâthni all around the dead matter, if the wood be dry; on the length of a Frâbâzu all around, if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.

31 (81). 'This is the quantity of wood around the dead matter, that they shall lay down, apart on the ground, according as the wood is dry or wet; according as it is hard or soft; they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.'

32 (83). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the corn or the fodder be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! whereunto dead matter has been brought from a dead dog, or from a dead man?

33 (84). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra!'

How so?

‘If the Nasu has not yet been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart on the ground, the corn on the length of a Frârâthni all around the dead matter, if the corn be dry; on the length of a Frâbâzu all around if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.

34 (89). ‘But if the Nasu has already been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart on the ground, the corn on the length of a Frâbâzu all around the dead matter, if the corn be dry; on the length of a Vîbâzu all around, if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.

35 (92). 'This is the quantity of corn around the dead matter, that they shall lay down, apart on the ground, according as the corn is dry or wet; according as it is sown or not sown; according as it is reaped or not reaped; according as it is ground or not ground; according as it is (kneaded) or not kneaded; they shall sprinkle it once over with water, And it shall be clean.'

36 (94). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a worshipper of Mazda want to practice the art of healing, on whom shall he first his skill? on worshippers of Mazda or on worshippers of the Daêvas?

37 (96). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘On worshippers of the Daêvas shall he first prove himself, rather than on worshippers of Mazda. If he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daêvas and he die; if he treat with the knife a second worshipper of the Daêvas and he die; if he treat with the knife for the third time a worshipper of the Daêvas and he die, he is unfit to practise the art of healing for ever and ever.

38 (99). ‘Let him therefore never attend any worshipper of Mazda; let him never treat with the knife any worshipper of Mazda, nor wound him with the knife. If he shall ever attend any worshipper of Mazda, if he shall ever treat with the knife any worshipper of Mazda, and wound him with the knife, he shall pay for it the same penalty as is paid for wilful murder.

39 (102). ‘If he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daêvas and he recover; if he treat with the knife a second worshipper of the Daêvas and he recover; if for the third time he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daêvas and he recover; then he is fit to practise the art of healing for ever and ever.

40 (104). ‘He may henceforth at his will, attend worshippers of Mazda; he may at his will treat with the knife worshippers of Mazda, and heal them with the knife.

41 (105). ‘A healer shall heal a priest for a holy blessing; he shall heal the master of a house for the value of an ox of low value; he shall heal the lord of a borough for the value of an ox of average value; he shall heal the lord of a town for the value of an ox of high value; he shall heal the lord of a province for the value of a chariot and four.

42 (110). ‘He shall heal the wife of the master of a house for the value of a she-ass; he shall heal the wife of the lord of a borough for the value of a cow; he shall heal the wife of the lord of a town for the value of a mare; he shall heal the wife of the lord of a province for the value of a she-camel.

43 (114) ‘He shall heal the son of the lord of a borough for the value of an ox of high value; he shall heal an ox of high value for the value of an ox of average value; he shall heal an ox of average value for that of an ox of low value; he shall heal an ox of low value for the value of a sheep; he shall heal a sheep for the value of a meal of meat.

44 (118). 'If several healers offer themselves together, O Spitama Zarathustra! namely, one who heals with the knife, one who heals with herbs, and one who heals with the holy word, it is this one who will best drive away sickness from the body of the faithful.'

45 (122). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after the corpse of a dead man has been laid down on the ground, clothed with the light of heaven and beholding the sun, is the ground itself again?

46 (123). Ahura Mazda answered: 'When the corpse of a dead man has lain on the ground for a year, clothed with the light of heaven, and beholding the sun, then the ground is itself again, O holy Zarathustra!'

47 (124). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after the corpse of a dead man has been buried in the earth, is the earth itself again?

48 (125). Ahura Mazda answered: 'When the corpse of a dead man has lain buried in the earth for fifty years, O Spitama Zarathustra! then the earth is itself again.'

49 (126). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after the corpse of a dead man has been laid down on a Dakhma, is the ground, whereon the Dakhma stands, itself again?

50 (127). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Not until the dust of the corpse, O Spitama Zarathustra! has mingled with the dust of the earth. Urge every one in the material world, O Spitama Zarathustra! to pull down Dakhmas.

51 (129). ‘He who should pull down Dakhmas, even so much thereof as the size of his own body, his sins in thought, word, and deed are remitted as they would be by a Patet; his sins in thought, word, and deed are atoned for

52 (132). 'Not for his soul shall the two spirits wage war with one another; and when he enters the blissful world, the stars, the moon, and the sun shall rejoice in him; and I, Ahura Mazda, shall rejoice in him, saying: "Hail, O man! thou who hast just passed from the decaying world into the undecaying one!"'

55 (137). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Where are the fiends? Where are the worshippers of the fiends? What is the place whereon the troops of fiends rush together? What is the place whereon the troops of fiends come rushing along? What is the place whereon they rush together to kill their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads?

56 (138). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Those Dakhmas that are built upon the face of the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! and whereon are laid the corpses Of dead men, that is the place where the fiends are, that is the place whereon the troops of fiends rush together, that is the place whereon the troops of fiends come rushing along, that is the place whereon they rush together to kill their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.

57 (140). ‘On those Dakhmas, O Spitama Zarathustra! those fiends take food and void filth, (eating up corpses) in the same way as you, men, in the material world, eat cooked meal and cooked meat. It is, as it were, the smell of their feeding that you smell there, O men!

58 (143). ‘Thus the fiends revel on there, until that stench is rooted in the Dakhmas. Thus from the Dakhmas arise the infection of diseases, itch, hot fever, humours, cold fever, rickets, and hair untimely white. There death has most power on man, from the hour when the sun is down.

59 (148). 'And if there be people of evil spirit who do not seek for better spirit, the Gainis make those diseases grow stronger by a third, on their thighs, on their hands, on their plaited hair.'

60 (151). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If in the house of a worshipper of Mazda there be a woman with child, and if being a month gone, or two, or three, or four, or five, or six, or seven, or eight, or nine, or ten months gone, she bring forth a still-born child, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

61 (155). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The place in that Mazdean house whereof the ground is the cleanest and the driest, and the least passed through by flocks and herds, by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful;'--

62 (158). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?

63 (159). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thirty paces from the fire; thirty paces from the water; thirty paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma three paces from the faithful;'-- 64 (160). 'On that place shall the worshippers of Mazda erect an enclosure, and therein shall they establish her with food, therein shall they establish her with clothes.'

65 (162). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the food that the woman shall first take?

66 (163). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘She shall drink gômêz mixed with ashes, three cups of it, or six, or nine, to wash over the grave in her womb.

67 (166). 'Afterwards she may drink boiling milk of mares, cows, sheep, or goats, with pap or without pap; she may take cooked meat without water, bread without water, and wine without water.'

68 (169). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long shall she remain so? How long shall she live only on that sort of meat, bread, and wine?

69 (170). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three nights long shall she remain so; three nights long shall she live on that sort of meat, bread, and wine. Then, when three nights have passed, she shall wash her body, she shall wash her clothes, with gômêz and water, by the nine holes, and thus shall she be clean.'

70 O 72). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! But if fever befall her unclean body, if that twofold plague, hunger and thirst, befall her, may she be allowed to drink water?

71 (175). Ahura Mazda answered: 'She may; the first thing for her is to have her life saved. Having been allowed by one of the holy men, by a holy faithful man, who knows the holy knowledge, she shall drink of the strength-giving water. But you, worshippers of Mazda, fix ye the penalty for it. The Ratu being applied to, the Sraoshâ-varez being applied to, shall prescribe the penalty to be paid.'

72 (181). What is the penalty to be paid?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'The deed is that of a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

73 (183). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the eating vessels be made clean that have been touched by the carcase of a dog, or by the corpse of a man?

74 (184). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They can, O holy Zarathustra!'

How so?

‘If they be of gold, you shall wash them once with gômêz, you shall rub them once with earth, you shall wash them once with water, and they shall be clean.

‘If they be of silver, you shall wash them twice with gômêz, you shall rub them twice with earth, you shall wash them twice with water, and they shall be clean.

‘If they be of brass, you shall wash them thrice with gômêz, you shall rub them thrice with earth, you shall wash them thrice with water, and they shall be clean.

‘If they be of steel, you shall wash them four times with gômêz, you shall rub them four times with earth, you shall wash them four times with water, and they shall be clean.

‘If they be of stone, you shall wash them six times with gômêz, you shall rub them six times with earth, you shall wash them six times with water, and they shall be clean.

'If they be of earth, of wood, or of clay, they are unclean for ever and ever.'

76 (189). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the cow be made clean that has eaten of the carcase of a dog, or of the corpse of a man?

77 (190). Ahura Mazda answered: 'She can, O holy Zarathustra! The priest shall not, within a year, take from her to the baresma neither the milk and cheese that accompany the libation, nor the meat that accompanies the libation. When a year has passed, then the faithful may eat of her as before.'

78 (193), Who is he, O holy Ahura Mazda! who, with a godly intent, with a godly wish, goes astray from the ways of God? Who is he who, with a godly intent, falls into the ways of the Drug?

79 (194). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The one who, with a godly intent, with a godly wish, goes astray from the ways of God; the one who with a godly intent falls into the ways of the Drug, is he who offers up for libation water defiled by the dead; or who offers up libations in the dead of the night.'

Vendidad, Fargard VIII

If a dog or a man die under the timber-work of a house or the wattlings of a hut, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

2 (4). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘They shall look for a Dakhma, they shall look for a Dakhma all around. If they find it easier, to remove the dead than to remove the house, they shall take out the dead, they shall let the house stand, and shall perfume it with Urvâsni, or Vohu-gaona, or Vohu-kereti, or Hadhâ-naêpata, or any other sweet-smelling plant.

3 (8). 'If they find it easier to remove the house than to remove the dead, they shall take away the house, they shall let the dead lie on the spot, and shall perfume the house with Urvâsni, or Vohu-gaona, or Vohu-kereti, or Hadhâ-naêpata, or any other sweet-smelling plant.'

4 (11). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a dog or a man happens to die, and it is raining, or snowing, or blowing, or the darkness is coming on, when flocks and men lose their way, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

5 (14). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The place in that house whereof the ground is the cleanest and the driest, and the least passed through by flocks and herds, by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful;'--

6 (16). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?

7 (17). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thirty paces from the fire; thirty paces from the water; thirty paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma; three paces from the faithful;--

8 (18). ‘On that place they shall dig a grave, half a foot deep if the earth be hard, half the height of a man if it be soft; [they shall cover the surface of the grave with ashes or cowdung]; they shall cover the surface of it with dust of bricks, of stones, or of dry earth.

9 (21). ‘And they shall let the lifeless body lie there, for two nights, or three nights, or a month long, until the birds begin to fly, the plants to grow, the floods to flow, and the wind to dry up the waters from off the earth.

10 (23). ‘And when the birds begin to fly, the plants to grow, the floods to flow, and the wind to dry up the waters from off the earth, then the worshippers of Mazda shall make a breach in the wall of the house, and they shall call for two men, strong and skilful, and those, having stripped their clothes off, shall take the body to the building of clay, stones, and mortar, raised on a place where they know there are always corpse-eating dogs and corpse-eating birds.

11 (29). 'Afterwards the corpse-bearers shall sit down, three paces from the dead; then the holy Ratu shall proclaim to the worshippers of Mazda thus: "Let the worshippers of Mazda here bring the urine wherewith the corpse-bearers there shall wash their hair and their bodies!"'

12 (32). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the urine wherewith the corpse-bearers shall wash their hair and their bodies? Is it of sheep or of oxen? Is it of man or of woman?

13 (35). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is of sheep or of oxen; not of man nor of woman, except these two: the nearest kinsman (of the dead) or his nearest kinswoman. The worshippers of Mazda shall therefore procure the urine wherewith the corpse-bearers shall wash their hair and their bodies.'

14 (38). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the way, whereon the carcases of dogs or corpses of men have been carried, be passed through again by flocks and herds, by men and women, by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful?

15 (40). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It cannot be passed through again by flocks and herds, nor by men and women, nor by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, nor by the consecrated bundles of baresma, nor by the faithful.

16 (41). ‘You shall therefore cause the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears, to go three times through that way. When either the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears, is brought there, then the Drug Nasu flies away to the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.

17 (45). ‘If the dog goes unwillingly, they shall use the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears: to go six times through that way. When either the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears, is brought there, then the Drug Nasu flies away to the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.

18 (47). ‘If the dog goes unwillingly, they shall cause the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears, to go nine times through that way. When either the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears, has been brought there, then the Drug Nasu flies away to the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.

19 (49). ‘An Âthravan shall first go along the way and shall say aloud these fiend-smiting words: "Yathâ ahû vairyô:--the will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô shall be given to him who works in this world for Mazda, and wields according to the will of Ahura the power he gave to him to relieve the poor.

20 (52). ‘“Kem nâ mazdâ:--whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me? Whom but thy Âtar and Vohu-manô, by whose work the holy world goes on? Reveal to me the rules of thy law!

‘“Ke verethrem gâ:--who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances? Teach me clearly thy rules for this world and for the next, that Sraosha may come with Vohu-manô and help whomsoever thou pleasest.

21 (60). ‘"Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug! Rush away, O Drug! Perish away, O Drug! Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!"

22.(63). ‘Then the worshippers of Mazda may at their will bring by those ways sheep and oxen, men and women, and Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, the consecrated bundles of baresma, and the faithful.

'The worshippers of Mazda may afterwards prepare meals with meat and wine in that house; it shall be clean, and there will be no sin, as before.'

23 (65). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw clothes, either of skin or woven, upon a dead body, enough to cover the feet, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Four hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, four hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

24 (68). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw clothes, either of skin or woven, upon a dead body, enough to cover both legs, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

25 (71). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw clothes, either of skin or woven, upon a dead body, enough to cover the whole body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

26 (74). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man involuntarily emits his seed, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

27 (77). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man voluntarily emits his seed, what is the penalty for it? What is the atonement for it? What is the cleansing from it?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, for ever and ever.'

28 (83). When is it so?

29 (88). ‘The law of Mazda indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! takes away from him who confesses it the bonds of his sin; it takes away (the sin of) breach of trust; it takes away (the sin of) murdering one of the faithful; it takes away (the sin of) burying a corpse; it takes away (the sin of) deeds for which there is no atonement; it takes away the heaviest penalties of sin; it takes away any sin that may be sinned.

30 (95). ‘In the same way the law of Mazda, O Spitama Zarathustra! cleanses the faithful from every evil thought, word, and deed, as a swift-rushing mighty wind cleanses the plain.

'So let all the deeds thou doest be henceforth good, O Zarathustra! a full atonement for thy sin is effected by means of the law of Mazda.'

31 (98). O Maker of the material world, thou only One! Who is the man that is a Daêva? Who is he that is a worshipper of the Daêva? that is a male paramour of the Daêvas? that is a female paramour of the Daêvas? that is a she-Daêva?

that is in his inmost self a Daêva? that is in his whole being a Daêva? Who is he that is a Daêva before he dies, and becomes one of the unseen Daêvas after death?

32 (102). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The man that lies with mankind as man lies with womankind, or as woman lies with mankind, is the man that is a Daêva; this one is the man that is a worshipper of the Daêvas, that is a male paramour of the Daêvas, that is a female paramour of the Daêva, that is a she-Daêva; this is the man that is in his inmost self a Daêva, that is in his whole being a Daêva; this is the man that is a Daêva before he dies, and becomes one of the unseen Daêvas after death: so is he, whether he has lain with mankind as mankind, or as womankind.'

33 (107). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Shall the man be clean who has touched a corpse that has been dried up and dead more than a year?

34 (108). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He shall. The dry mingles not with the dry. Should the dry mingle with the dry, how soon this material world of mine would have in it only Peshôtanus, shut out from the way of holiness, and whose souls will cry and wail! so numberless are the beings that die upon the face of the earth.'

35 (111). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the man be made clean that is touched the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man?

36 (113). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He can, O holy Zarathustra!'

How so?

‘If the Nasu has already been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, he shall cleanse his body with gômêz and water, and he shall be clean.

37 (117). ‘If the Nasu has not yet been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, then the worshippers of Mazda shall dig three holes in the ground, and he shall thereupon wash his body with gômêz, not with water. They shall then lift and bring my dog, they shall bring him (thus shall it be done and not otherwise) in front of the man.

38 (121). ‘The worshippers of Mazda shall dig three other holes in the ground, and he shall thereupon, wash his body with gômêz, not with water. They shall then lift and bring my dog, they shall bring him (thus shall it be done and not otherwise) in front of the man. Then they shall wait until he is dried even to the last hair on the top of his head.

39 (125). ‘They shall dig three more holes in the ground, and he shall thereupon wash his body with water, not with gômêz.

40 (127). 'He shall first wash his hands; if his hands be not first washed, he makes the whole of his body unclean. When he has washed his hands three times, after his hands have been washed, thou shalt sprinkle with water the forepart of his skull.'

41 (131). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the forepart of the skull, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'In front, between the brows, the Drug Nasu rushes.'

42 (134). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach in front between the brows, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'On the back part of the skull the Drug Nasu rushes.'

43 (13 7). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the back part of the skull, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'In front, on the jaws, the Drug Nasu rushes.'

44 (140). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach in front, on the jaws, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right ear the Drug Nasu rushes.'

45 (143). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right ear, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left ear the Drug Nasu rushes.'

46 (146). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left ear, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right shoulder the Drug Nasu rushes.'

47 (149). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right shoulder, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left shoulder the Drug Nasu rushes.'

48 (152). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left shoulder, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right arm-pit the Drug Nasu rushes.'

49 (155). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right arm-pit, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left arm-pit the Drug Nasu rushes.'

50 (158). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left arm-pit, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'In front, upon the chest, the Drug Nasu rushes.'

51 (161). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the chest in front, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the back the Drug Nasu rushes.'

52 (164). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the back, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right nipple the Drug Nasu rushes.'

53 (167). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right nipple, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?'

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left nipple the Drug Nasu rushes.'

54 (170). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left nipple, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right rib the Drug Nasu rushes.'

55 (173). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right rib, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left rib the Drug Nasu rushes.'

56 (176). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left rib, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right hip the Drug Nasu rushes.'

57 (179). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right hip, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left hip the Drug Nasu rushes.'

58 (182). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left hip, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the sexual parts the Drug Nasu rushes. If the unclean one be a man, thou shalt sprinkle him first behind, then before; if the unclean one be a woman, thou shalt sprinkle her first before, then behind.'

59 (187). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the sexual parts, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right thigh the Drug Nasu rushes.'

60 (190). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right thigh, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left thigh the Drug Nasu rushes.'

61 (193). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left thigh, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right knee the Drug Nasu rushes.'

62 (196). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right knee, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left knee the Drug Nasu rushes.'

63 (199). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left knee, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right leg the Drug Nasu rushes.'

64 (202). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right leg, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left leg the Drug Nasu rushes.'

65 (205). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left leg, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right ankle the Drug Nasu rushes.'

66 (208). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right ankle, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left ankle the Drug Nasu rushes.'

67 (211). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left ankle, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the right instep the Drug Nasu rushes.'

68 (214). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the right instep, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Upon the left instep the Drug Nasu rushes.'

69 (217). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When the good waters reach the left instep, whereon does the Drug Nasu rush?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'She is driven to the sole of the foot, where what is seen of her is like the wing of a fly.

70 (220). ‘He shall press his toes upon the ground, and shall raise up his heels; thou shalt sprinkle his right sole with water; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left sole. Thou shalt sprinkle the left sole with water; then the Drug Nasu is driven to the toes, where what is seen of her is like the wing of a fly.

71 (225). ‘He shall press his heels upon the ground and shall raise up his toes; thou shalt sprinkle his right toe with water; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left toe. Thou shalt sprinkle the left toe with water; then the Drug Nasu flies away to the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.

[72. ‘And thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting and most-healing words:

‘"The will of the Lord is the law of holiness," &c.

‘"Whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me?" &c.

‘"Who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances?" &c.

'"Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug! Rush away, O Drug! Perish away, O Drug! Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!"']

73 (229). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda, walking, or running, or riding, or driving, come upon a corpse-burning fire, whereon a corpse is being cooked or roasted, what shall they do?

74(233). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘They shall kill the man that burns the corpse; surely they shall kill him. They shall take off the cauldron, they shall take off the tripod.

75 (237). ‘Then they shall kindle wood from that fire; either wood of those trees that have the seed of fire in them, or bundles of the very wood that was prepared for that fire; and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

76 (242). ‘Thus they shall lay a first bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

77 (245). ‘They shall lay down, a second bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

‘They shall lay down a third bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

‘They shall lay down a fourth bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

‘They shall lay down a fifth bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

‘They shall lay down a sixth bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

‘They shall lay down a seventh bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

‘They shall lay down an eighth bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

78 (245). ‘They shall lay down a ninth bundle on the ground, a Vîtasti away from the corpse-burning fire, and they shall separate and disperse it, that it may die out the sooner.

79, 80 (246). 'If a man shall then piously bring unto the fire, O Spitama Zarathustra! wood of Urvâsna, or Vohu-gaona, or Vohu-kereti, or Hadhâ-naêpata, or any other sweet-smelling wood, wheresoever the wind shall bring the perfume of the fire, thereunto Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, shall go and kill thousands of unseen Daêvas, thousands of fiends, the brood of darkness, thousands of couples of Yâtus and Pairikas.'

81 (251) O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring a corpse-burning fire to the Dâityô-gâtu, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought ten thousand fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

82 (254). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire wherein excrement has been burnt, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought a thousand fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

83 (257). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire wherein cowdung has been burnt, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought five hundred fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

84 (258). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire from the kiln of a brick-maker, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought four hundred fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu'

85 (259). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire from a potter's kiln, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought to the Dâityô-gâtu as many fire-brands as there were pots baked in that fire.'

86 (260). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of the reapers, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought to the Dâityô-gâtu as many fire-brands as there were plants in the crop.'

87 (261). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of a goldsmith, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought a hundred fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

88 (262). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of a silversmith, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought ninety fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

89 (263). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of a worker in brass, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought eighty fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

90 (264). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of a blacksmith, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought seventy fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

91 (265). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of an oven, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted from his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought sixty fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

92 (266). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire from under a cauldron, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought fifty fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

93 (267). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire from an encampment, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought forty fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

94 (268). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring a herdsman's fire to the Dâityô-gâtu, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as it he had, here below, brought thirty fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

95 (269). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of the field, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought twenty fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

96 (270). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of his own hearth, what shall be his reward when his soul has parted with his body?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His reward shall be the same as if he had, here below, brought ten fire-brands to the Dâityô-gâtu.'

97 (271) O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can a man be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! who has touched a corpse in a distant place in the fields?

98 (272). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He can, O holy Zarathustra.'

How so?

‘If the Nasu has already been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs or the corpse-eating birds, he shall wash his body with gômêz; he shall wash it thirty times, he shall rub it dry with the hand thirty times, beginning every time with the head.

99 (278). ‘If the Nasu has not yet been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs or the corpse-eating birds, he shall wash his body with gômêz; he shall wash it fifteen times, he shall rub it dry with the hand fifteen times.

100 (280). ‘Then he shall run a distance of a Hâthra. He shall run until he meets some man on his way, then he shall cry out aloud: "Here am I, one who has touched the corpse of a man, without any wilful sin of mind, tongue, or hand, and who wishes to be made clean." Thus shall he run until he overtakes the man. If the man will not cleanse him, he takes upon his own head the third of his trespass.

101 (287). ‘Then he shall run another Hâthra, he shall run off again until he overtakes a man; if the man will not cleanse him, he takes upon his own head the half of his trespass.

102 (291). ‘Then he shall run a third Hâthra, he shall run off a third time until he overtakes a man; if the man will not cleanse him, he takes upon his own head the whole of his trespass.

103 (294). 'Thus shall he run forwards until he comes near a house, a borough, a town, an inhabited district, and he shall cry out with a loud voice: "Here am I, one who has touched the corpse of a man, without any wilful sin of mind, tongue, or hand, and who wishes to be made clean." If they will not cleanse him, he shall cleanse his body with gômêz and water; thus shall he be clean.'

104 (300). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If he found water on his way, the water requires an atonement; what is the penalty that he shall pay?

105 (303). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Four hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, four hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

106 (304). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If he found trees on his way, the fire requires an atonement; what is the penalty he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Four hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, four hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

107 (308). 'This is the penalty, this is the atonement, which saves him who submits to it; he who does not submit to it, shall surely be an inhabitant in the mansion of the Drug.'

Vendidad, Fargard IX

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall they manage here below; who want to cleanse the body of one defiled by the dead?'

2 (4). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘A godly man, O Spitama Zarathustra! who speaks truth, who learns the Holy Word, and who knows best the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda, such a man shall fell the trees off the surface of the ground on a space of nine Vîbâzus square.

3 (9). 'It should be the part of the ground where there is least water and where there are fewest trees, the part which is the cleanest and driest, and the least passed through by sheep and oxen, and by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful.'

4 (11). How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?

5 (12). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thirty paces from the fire, thirty paces from the water, thirty paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma, three paces from the faithful.

6 (13). ‘Then thou shalt dig a hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.

7 (14). ‘Thou shalt dig a second hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.

‘Thou shalt dig a third hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.

‘Thou shalt dig a fourth hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.

‘Thou shalt dig a fifth hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.

'Thou shalt dig a sixth hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.'

8 (14). How far from one another?

'One pace.'

How much is the pace?

‘As much as three feet.

9 (16). 'Then thou shalt dig three holes more, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.'

How far from the former six?

'Three paces.'

What sort of paces?

'Such as are taken in walking.'

How much are those (three) paces?

‘As much as nine feet.

10 (22). 'Then thou shalt draw a furrow all around with a metal knife.'

How far from the holes?

'Three paces.'

What sort of paces?

'Such as are taken in walking.'

How much are those (three) paces?

‘As much as nine feet.

11 (24). 'Thou shalt draw twelve furrows; three of which thou shalt draw around (the first) three holes; three thou shalt draw around (the first) six holes; three thou shalt draw around the nine holes; three thou shalt draw around the three holes, outside the six holes. At each of the three times nine feet, thou shalt place stones as steps to the holes; or potsherds, or stumps, or clods, or any hard matter.'

12 (31). 'Then the unclean one shall walk to the holes; thou, O Zarathustra! shalt stand outside by the furrow, and thou shalt recite, Nemaskâ yâ ârmaitis îzâkâ; and the unclean one shall repeat, Nemaskâ yâ ârmaitis îzâkâ.

13 (35). ‘The Drug becomes weaker and weaker at every one of those words which are to smite the fiend Angra Mainyu, to smite Aêshma of the bloody spear, to smite the Mâzainya fiends, to smite all the fiends.

14 (40). ‘Then thou shalt sprinkle him with gômêz from a spoon of brass or of lead; thou shalt take a stick with nine knots, O Spitama Zarathustra! and thou shalt fasten the leaden spoon to the upper part of the stick.

15 (43). ‘They shall wash his hands first. If his hands be not washed first, he makes his whole body unclean. When he has washed his hands three times, after his hands have been washed, thou shalt sprinkle the forepart of his skull; then the Drug Nasu rushes in front, between his brows.

16 (50). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle him in front between the brows; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the back part of the skull.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the back part of the skull; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the jaws.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the jaws; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right ear.

17 (56). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right ear; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left ear.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left ear; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right shoulder.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right shoulder; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left shoulder.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left shoulder; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right arm-pit.

18 (64). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right armpit; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left arm-pit.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left arm-pit; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the chest.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the chest; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the back.

19 (70). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the back; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right nipple.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right nipple; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left nipple.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left nipple; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right rib.

20 (76). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right rib; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left rib.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left rib; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right hip.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right hip; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left hip.

21 (82). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left hip; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the sexual parts.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the sexual parts. If the unclean one be a man, thou shalt sprinkle him first behind, then before; if the unclean one be a woman, thou shalt sprinkle her first before, then behind; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right thigh.

22 (88). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right thigh; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left thigh.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left thigh; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right knee.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right knee; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left knee.

23 (94). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left knee; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right leg.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right leg; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left leg.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left leg; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right ankle.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right ankle; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left ankle.

24 (102). ‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left ankle; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right instep.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the right instep; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left instep.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left instep; then the Drug Nasu is driven to the sole of the foot, where what is seen of her is like the wing of a fly.

25 (108). ‘He shall press his toes upon the ground and shall raise up his heels; thou shalt sprinkle his right sole; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left sole.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left sole; then the Drug Nasu is driven to the toes, where what is seen of her is like the wing of a fly.

26 (113). ‘He shall press his heels upon the ground And shall raise up his toes; thou shalt sprinkle his right toe; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left toe.

‘Thou shalt sprinkle the left toe; then the Drug Nasu flies away to the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.

27 (118). ‘And thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--

‘“Yathâ ahû vairyô:--The will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô shall be given to him who works in this world for Mazda, and wields according to the will of Ahura the power he gave to him to relieve the poor.

‘“Kem nâ mazdâ:--Whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me? Whom, but thy Âtar and Vohu-manô, by whose work the holy world goes on? Reveal to me the rules of thy law!

‘“Ke verethrem gâ:--Who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances.? Teach me clearly thy rules for this world and for the next, that Sraosha may come with Vohu-manô and help whomsoever thou pleasest.

‘"Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug! Rush away, O Drug! Perish away, O Drug! Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!"

28 (119). ‘At the first hole the man becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.

‘At the second hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.

‘At the third hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.

‘At the fourth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.

‘At the fifth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.

‘At the sixth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.

29 (120). ‘Afterwards the unclean one shall sit down, inside the furrows, outside the furrows of the six holes, four fingers from those furrows. There he shall cleanse his body with thick handfuls of dust.

30 (123). ‘Fifteen times shall they take up dust from the ground for him to rub his body, and they shall wait there until he is dry even to the last hair on his head.

31 (125). ‘When his body is dry, then he shall step over the holes (containing water). At the first hole he shall wash his body once with water; at the second hole he shall wash his body twice with water; at the third hole he shall wash his body thrice with water.

32 (130). ‘Then he shall perfume (his body) with perfumes from Urvâsna, or Vohu-gaona, or Vohu-kereti, or Hadhâ-naêpata, or from any sweet-smelling plant; then he shall put on his clothes, and shall go back to his house.

33 (133). ‘He shall sit down there in the place of infirmity, inside the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either man or woman. Thus shall he continue until three nights have passed. When three nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean.

34 (137). ‘Then he shall sit down again in the place of infirmity, inside the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either man or woman. Thus shall he continue until six nights have passed. When six nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean.

35 (141). ‘Then he shall sit down again in the place of infirmity, inside the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either man or woman. Thus shall he continue, until nine nights have passed. When nine nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean.

36 (145). ‘He may thenceforth go near the fire, near the water, near the earth, near the cow, near the trees, and near the faithful, either man or woman.

37 (146). ‘Thou shalt cleanse a priest for a holy blessing; thou shalt cleanse the lord of a province for the value of a camel of high value; thou shalt cleanse the lord of a town for the value of a stallion; thou shalt cleanse the lord of a borough for the value of a bull; thou shalt cleanse the master of a house for the value of a cow three years old.

38 (150). ‘Thou shalt cleanse the wife of the master of a house for the value of a ploughing cow; thou shalt cleanse a menial for the value of a draught cow; thou shalt cleanse a young child for the value of a lamb.

39 (154). ‘These are the different cattle that the worshippers of Mazda shall give to him who has cleansed them, if they can afford it; if they cannot afford it, they shall give him any other reward that may make him leave their houses well-pleased with them, and free from anger.

40 (157). ‘For if the man who has cleansed them leave their houses displeased with them, and full of anger, then the Drug Nasu enters them by the nose, by the eyes, by the tongue, by the jaws, by the sexual organs, by the hinder parts.

41 (159). ‘And the Drug Nasu rushes upon them even to the end of the nails, and they are unclean thenceforth for ever and ever.

‘It grieves the sun indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra!

to shine upon a man defiled by the dead; it grieves the moon, it grieves the stars.

42 (162). 'That man delights them, O Spitama Zarathustra! who cleanses from the Nasu those whom she has defiled; he delights the fire, he delights the water, he delights the earth, he delights the cow, he delights the trees, he delights the faithful, both men and women.'

43 (164). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What shall be his reward, after his soul has parted from his body, who has cleansed from the Nasu any one defiled by her?'

44 (166). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The welfare of the blessed abode thou canst promise to that man, for his reward in the other world.'

45 (167). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Nasu who from the dead defiles the living?'

46 (169). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times; and the Drug shall fade away like the self-moving arrow, like the carpet of the earth when the year is over like its garment which lasts a season.'

47 (172). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man who does not know the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda, offers to cleanse the unclean, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do? How shall I then fight against that Drug who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead defiles the living?'

48 (175). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Then, O Spitama Zarathustra! the Drug Nasu waxes stronger than she was before. Stronger then are sickness and death and the working of the fiend than they were before.'

49 (177). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'The worshippers of Mazda shall bind him; they shall bind his hands first; then they shall strip him of his clothes, they shall flay him alive, they shall cut off his head, and they shall give over his corpse unto the greediest of the birds of the beneficent spirit, unto the corpse-eating birds, unto the ravens, with these words:--

‘“The man here has repented of all his evil thoughts, words, and deeds.

50 (183). '"If he has committed any other evil deed it is remitted by his repentance; if he has committed no other evil deed, he is absolved by his repentance for ever and ever."'

51 (18 7). Who is he, O Ahura Mazda! who threatens to take away fulness and increase from the world, and to bring in sickness and death?

52 (188). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is the ungodly Ashemaogha, O Spitama Zarathustra! who in this material world cleanses the unclean without knowing the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda.

53 (190). 'For until then, O Spitama Zarathustra! sweetness and fatness would flow out from that land and from those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass.'

54 (191). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When are sweetness and fatness to come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass?

55, 56 (192, 193). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Sweetness and fatness will never come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass, until that ungodly Ashemaogha has been put to death, and the holy Sraosha has been in that place, offered up a sacrifice, for three days and three nights, with fire blazing, with baresma tied up, and with Haoma uplifted.

57 (196). 'Then sweetness and fatness will come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass.'

Vendidad, Fargard X

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda! most beneficent spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead defiles the living?'

2 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times.'

3 (7). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which are those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice?

4 (10). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice, and thou shalt twice say them aloud:--

ahyâ yâsâ... urvânem (Yasna XXVIII, 2), humatenãm... mahî (Yas. XXXV, 2), ashahyâ âad sairê... ahubyâ (Yas. XXXV, 8), yathâ tû î... ahurâ (Yas. XXXIX, 4), humâim thwâ... hudaustemâ (Yas. XLI, 3), thwôi staotaraskâ... ahurâ (Yas. XLI, 5), ustâ ahmâi... mananghô (Yas. XLIII, 1), spentâ mainyû... ahurô (Yas. XLVII, 1), vohu khshathrem... vareshânê (Yas. LI, 1), vahistâ îstis... skyaothanâkâ (Yas. LIII, 1).

humatenãm... mahî (Yas. XXXV, 2), ashahyâ âad sairê... ahubyâ (Yas. XXXV, 8), yathâ tû î... ahurâ (Yas. XXXIX, 4), humâim thwâ... hudaustemâ (Yas. XLI, 3), thwôi staotaraskâ... ahurâ (Yas. XLI, 5), ustâ ahmâi... mananghô (Yas. XLIII, 1), spentâ mainyû... ahurô (Yas. XLVII, 1), vohu khshathrem... vareshânê (Yas. LI, 1), vahistâ îstis... skyaothanâkâ (Yas. LIII, 1).

5 (10). ‘And after thou hast twice said those words, thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--

‘“I drive away Angra Mainyu from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.

6 (12). '"I drive away the Nasu, I drive away direct defilement, I drive away indirect defilement, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world."'

7 (13). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which are those words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice?

8 (16). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice, and thou shalt thrice say them aloud:--

ashem vohu... (Yas. XXVII, 14), ye sevistô... paitî (Yas. XXXIII, 11), hukhshathrôtemâi... vahistâi (Yas. XXXV, 5), duzvarenâis... vahyô (Yas. LIII, 9).

ye sevistô... paitî (Yas. XXXIII, 11), hukhshathrôtemâi... vahistâi (Yas. XXXV, 5), duzvarenâis... vahyô (Yas. LIII, 9).

9 (16). ‘After thou hast thrice said those words, thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--

‘“I drive away Indra, I drive away Sauru, I drive away the daêva Naunghaithya, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.

10 (18). '"I drive away Tauru, I drive away Zairi, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world."'

11 (19). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which are those words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times?

12 (22). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times, and thou shalt four times say them aloud:--

yathâ ahû vairyô... (Yas. XXVII, 13), mazdâ ad môi... dau ahûm (Yas. XXXIV, 15), â airyamâ ishyô... masatâ mazdau (Yas. LIV, 1).

mazdâ ad môi... dau ahûm (Yas. XXXIV, 15),

â airyamâ ishyô... masatâ mazdau (Yas. LIV, 1).

13 (22). ‘After thou hast said those words four times, thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--

‘“I drive away Aêshma, the fiend of the wounding spear, I drive away the daêva Akatasha, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.

14 (24). ‘"I drive away the Varenya daêvas, I drive away the wind-daêva, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world."

15 (25). ‘These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice; these are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice; these are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times.

16 (26). ‘These are the words that smite down Angra Mainyu; these are the words that smite down Aêshma, the fiend of the wounding spear; these are the words that smite down the Mâzainya daêvas; these are the words that smite down all the daêvas.

17 (30). ‘These are the words that stand against that Drug, against that Nasu, who from the dead rushes upon the living, who from the dead defiles the living.

18 (32). ‘Therefore, O Zarathustra! thou shalt dig nine holes in the part of the ground where there is least water and where there are fewest trees; where there is nothing that may be food either for man or beast; for purity, is for man, next to life, the greatest good; that purity that is procured by the law of Mazda for him who cleanses himself with good thoughts, words, and deeds.

19 (38). ‘Make thyself pure, O righteous man! any one in the world here below can win purity for himself, namely, when he cleanses himself with good thoughts, words, and deeds.

'The will of the Lord is the law of holiness,' &c.

'Whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me?' &c.

'Who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances?' &c.

'Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug!... Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!'

Vendidad, Fargard XI

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda! most beneficent spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? how the fire? how the water? how the earth? how the cow? how the tree? how the faithful man and the faithful woman? how the stars? how the moon? how the sun? how the boundless light?

how all good things, made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle?'

2 (4). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thou shalt chant the cleansing words, and the house shall be clean; clean shall be the fire, clean the water, clean the earth, clean the cow, clean the tree, clean the faithful man. and the faithful woman, clean the stars, clean the moon, clean the sun, clean the boundless light, clean all good things, made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle.

3 (7). ‘So thou shalt say these fiend-smiting and most-healing words; thou shalt chant the Ahuna-Vairya five times: "The will of the Lord is the law of holiness," &c.

‘The Ahuna-Vairya preserves the person of man: "The will of the Lord is the law of holiness," &c.

‘"Whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me?" &c.

‘"Who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances?" &c.

‘"Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta!" &c.

4 (9). ‘If thou wantest to cleanse the house, say these words aloud: "He is my greatest support as long as lasts this dreary world."

‘If thou wantest to cleanse the fire, say these words aloud: "Thy fire, first of all, do we approach with worship, O Ahura Mazda!"

5 (13). ‘If thou wantest to cleanse the water, say these words aloud: "Waters we worship, the waters in the tree, the waters in the stream, the waters in the rain."

‘If thou wantest to cleanse the earth, say these words aloud: "This earth we worship, this earth with the women, this earth which bears us and those women who are thine, O Ahura!"

6 (17). ‘If thou wantest to cleanse the cow, say these words aloud: "For the cow we order thee to do these most excellent deeds, that she may have a resting place and fodder."

‘If thou wantest to cleanse the trees, say these words aloud: "Out of him, through his holiness Mazda made the plants grow up."

7 (21). ‘If thou wantest to cleanse the faithful man or the faithful woman, say these words aloud: "May the beloved Airyaman come hither, for the men and women of Zarathustra to rejoice, for the faithful to rejoice; with the desirable reward that is won by means of the law, and with that boon for holiness that is vouchsafed by Ahura!"

8 (25). ‘Then thou shalt say these fiend-smiting and most-healing words. Thou shalt chant the Ahuna-Vairya eight times:--

‘"The will of the Lord is the law of holiness," &c.

‘"Whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda?" &c.

‘"Who is he who will smite the fiend?" &c.

"‘Keep us from our hater, O Mazda!" &c.

9 (26). ‘I drive away Aêshma, I drive away the Nasu, I drive away direct defilement, I drive away indirect defilement.

[I drive away Khrû, I drive away Khrûighni; I drive away Bûidhi, I drive away Bûidhiza; I drive away Kundi, I drive away Kundiza.]

'I drive away the yellow Bûshyãsta, I drive away the long-handed Bûshyãsta; [I drive away Mûidhi, I drive away Kapasti.]

‘I drive away the Pairika that comes upon the fire, upon the water, upon the earth, upon the cow, upon the tree. I drive away the demon of uncleanness that comes upon the fire, upon the water, upon the earth, upon the cow, upon the tree.

10 (32). ‘I drive thee away, O mischievous Angra Mainyu! from the fire, from the water, from the earth, from the cow, from the tree, from the faithful man and from the faithful woman, from the stars, from the moon, from the sun, from the boundless light, from all good things, made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle.

11 (33). ‘Then thou shalt say these fiend-smiting and most-healing -words; thou shalt chant four Ahuna-Vairyas:--

‘"The will of the Lord is the law of holiness," &c.

‘"Whom hast thou placed to protect me?" &c.

‘"Who is he who will smite the fiend?" &c.

‘"Keep us from our hater, O Mazda!" &c.

12 (34). ‘Away is Aêshma driven; away is the Nasu driven; away is direct defilement; away is indirect defilement driven.

‘Away is Khrû, away is Khrûighni driven; away is Bûidhi, away is Bûidhiza driven; away is Kundi, away is Kundiza driven.

‘Away is Bûshyãsta driven, the yellow; away is Bûshyãsta driven, the long-handed; away is Mûidhi, away is Kapasti driven.

‘Away is the Pairika driven that comes upon the fire, upon the water, upon the earth, upon the cow, upon the tree. Away is the demon of uncleanness driven that comes upon the fire, upon the water, upon the earth, upon the cow, upon the tree.

13 (40). ‘Away art thou driven, O mischievous Angra Mainyu! from the fire, from the water, from the earth, from the cow, from the tree, from the faithful man and from the faithful woman, from the stars, from the moon, from the sun, from the boundless light, from all good things, made by Mazda, the offspring of the holy principle.

14 (41). ‘Then thou shalt say these fiend-smiting and most-healing words; thou shalt chant "Mazdâ ad môi" four times: "O Mazda! teach me excellent words and excellent works, that through the good thought and the holiness of him who offers thee due praise, thou mayest, O Lord! make the world thrive for ever and ever, at thy will, under thy sovereign rule."

'I drive away Aêshma, I drive away the Nasu,' &c.

'I drive thee away, O mischievous Angra Mainyu! from the fire, from the water,' &c.

'Then thou shalt say these fiend-smiting and most-healing words; thou shalt chant the Airyama-ishyô four times: "May the beloved Airyaman come hither!" &c.

'Away is Aêshma driven; away is the Nasu driven,' &c.

'Away art thou driven, O mischievous Angra Mainyu! from the fire, from the water,' &c.

‘Then thou shalt say these fiend-smiting and most-healing words; thou shalt chant five Ahuna-Vairyas:--

‘"The will of the Lord is the law of holiness," &c.

‘"Whom hast thou placed to protect me?" &c.

‘"Who is he who will smite the fiend?" &c.

Vendidad, Fargard XII

If one's father or mother dies, how long shall they stay, the son for the father, the daughter for her mother? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay thirty days for the righteous, sixty days for the sinners.'

2 (5). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'

(9). If one's son or daughter dies, how long shall they stay, the father for his son, the mother for her daughter? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay thirty days for the righteous, sixty days for the sinners.'

4 (13). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

5 (17). If one's brother or sister dies, how long shall they stay, the brother for his brother, the sister for her sister? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay thirty days for the righteous, sixty days for the sinners.'

6 (21). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

7 (25). If the master of the house dies, or if the mistress of the house dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay six months for the righteous, a year for the sinners.'

8 (28). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

9 (31). If one's grandfather or grandmother dies, how long shall they stay, the grandson for his grandfather, the granddaughter for her grandmother? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay twenty-five days for the righteous, fifty days for the sinners.'

10 (34). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

11 (37). If one's grandson or granddaughter dies, how long shall they stay, the grandfather for his grandson, the grandmother for her granddaughter? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay twenty-five days for the righteous, fifty days for the sinners.'

12 (40). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters-may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'

13 (43). If one's uncle or aunt dies, how long shall they stay, the nephew for his uncle, the niece for her aunt? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay twenty days for the righteous, forty days for the sinners.'

14 (45). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

15 (48). If one's male cousin or female cousin dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay fifteen days for the righteous, thirty days for the sinners.'

16 (50). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

17 (53). If the son or the daughter of a cousin dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay ten days for the righteous, twenty days for the sinners.'

18 (55). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall, offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'

19 (58). If the grandson of a cousin or the granddaughter of a cousin dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay five days for the righteous, ten days for the sinners.'

20 (60). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?

21 (63). If a stranger dies who does not profess the true faith, or the true law, what part of the creation of the good spirit does he directly defile (in dying)? What part does he indirectly defile?

22 (65). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘No more than a frog does whose venom is dried up, and that has been dead more than a year. Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! that wicked, two-legged ruffian, that ungodly Ashemaogha, directly defiles the creatures of the good spirit, and indirectly defiles them.

23 (70). ‘Whilst alive he smites the water; whilst alive he blows out the fire; Whilst alive he carries off the cow; whilst alive he smites the faithful man with a deadly blow, that parts the soul from the body; not so will he do when dead.

24 (71). 'Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! that wicked, two-legged ruffian, that ungodly Ashemaogha, never ceases depriving the faithful man of his food, of his clothing, of his house, of his bed, of his vessels; not so will he do when dead.'

Vendidad, Fargard XIII

Which is the good creature among the creatures of the good spirit that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the evil spirit?

2 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghâpara, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka; this is the good creature among the creatures of the good spirit that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the evil spirit.

3 (6). 'And whosoever, O Zarathustra! shall kill, the dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghâpara, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka, kills his own soul for nine generations, nor shall he find a way over the Kinvad bridge, unless he has, while alive, atoned for his sin by offering up a sacrifice to Sraosha.'

4 (10). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man kill the dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghâpara, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

5 (13). Which is the evil creature among the creatures of the evil spirit that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the good spirit?

6 (15). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The daêva Zairimyangura, which evil-speaking people call the Zairimyâka, this is the evil creature among the creatures of the evil spirit that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the good spirit.

7 (18). ‘And whosoever, O Zarathustra! shall kill the daêva Zairimyangura, which evil-speaking people call the Zairimyâka, his sins in thought, word, and deed are redeemed as they would be by a Patet; his sins in thought, word, and deed are atoned for.

8 (21). ‘Whosoever shall smite either a shepherd's dog, or a house dog, or a Vohunazga dog, or a trained dog, his soul when passing to the other world, shall fly amid louder howling and fiercer pursuing than the sheep does when the wolf rushes upon it in the lofty forest.

9 (24). ‘No soul will come and meet his departing soul and help it through the howls and pursuit in the other world; nor will the dogs that keep the Kinvad bridge help his departing soul through the howls and pursuit in the other world.

10 (26). ‘If a man shall smite a shepherd's dog so that it becomes unfit for work, if he shall cut off its ear or its paw, and thereupon a thief or a wolf break in and carry away sheep from the fold, without the dog giving any warning, the man shall pay for the lost sheep, and he shall pay for the wound of the dog as for wilful wounding.

11 (31). 'If a man shall smite a house dog so that it becomes unfit for work, if he shall cut off its ear or its paw, and thereupon a thief or a wolf break in and carry away goods from the house, without the dog giving any warning, the man shall pay for the lost goods, and he shall pay for the wound of the dog as for wilful wounding.'

12 (36). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a shepherd's dog. so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

13 (39). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a house dog so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

14 (42). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a Vohunazga dog so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

15 (45). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a young dog so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Five hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, five hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

16 (48). 'This is the penalty for the murder of a Gazu dog, of a Vîzu dog, of a Sukuruna dog, of a sharp-toothed Urupi dog, of a swift-running Raopi dog; this is the penalty for the murder of any kind of dog but the water dog' 17 (49). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the dog that must be called a shepherd's dog?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the dog who goes a Yugyêsti round about the fold, watching for the thief and the wolf.'

18 (51). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the dog that must be called a house dog?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the dog who goes a Hâthra round about the house, watching for the thief and the wolf.'

19 (53). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the dog that must be called a Vohunazga dog?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the dog who claims none of those talents, and only seeks for his subsistence.'

20 (55). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a shepherd's dog, of what sin is he guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of the first rank.'

21 (57). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a house dog, of what sin is he guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of middle rank.'

22 (59). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a Vohunazga dog, of what sin is he guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a holy man, in the character of a priest, who should come to his house.'

23 (61). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a young dog, of what sin is he guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a young man, born of pious parents, and who can answer for himself.'

24 (63). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a shepherd's dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

25 (66). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a house dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

26 (69). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a Vohunazga dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

27 (72). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a young dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

28 (75). 'For it is the dog, of all the creatures of the good spirit, that most quickly decays into age, while not eating near eating people, and watching goods none of which it receives. Bring ye unto him milk and fat with meat; this is the right food for the dog.'

29 (80). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a mad dog, or one that bites without barking, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

30 (82). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie him to a post, an asti thick if the wood be hard, two astis thick if it be soft. To that post they shall tie him; by the two sides of the collar they shall tie him.

31 (86). ‘If they shall not do so, and the mad dog, or the dog that bites without barking, smite a sheep or wound a man, the dog shall pay for it as for wilful murder.

32 (88). ‘If the dog shall smite a sheep or wound a man, they shall cut off his right ear. If he shall smite another sheep or wound another man, they shall cut off his left ear.

33 (90). ‘If he shalt smite a third sheep or wound a third man, they shall cut off his right foot. If he shall smite a fourth sheep or wound a fourth man, they shall cut off his left foot.

34 (92). ‘If he shall for the fifth time smite a sheep or wound a man, they shall cut off his tail.

'Therefore they shall tie him to the post; by the two sides of the collar they shall tie him. If they shall not do so, and the mad dog, or the dog that bites without barking, smite a sheep or wound a man, he shall pay for it as for wilful murder.'

35 (97). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a scentless dog, or a mad dog, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall attend him to heal him, in the same manner as they would do for one of the faithful.'

36 (100). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If they try to heal him and fail, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

37 (102). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie him to a post, an asti thick if the wood be hard, two astis thick if it be soft. To that post they shall tie him; by the two sides of the collar they shall tie him.

38 (102). ‘If they shall not do so, and the scentless dog fall into a hole, or a well, or a precipice, or a river, or a canal, and he be wounded and die thereof, they shall be Peshôtanus.

39 (106). ‘The dog, O Spitama Zarathustra! I, Ahura Mazda, have made self-clothed and self-shod, watchful, wakeful, and sharp-toothed, born to take his food from man and to watch over man's goods. I, Ahura Mazda, have made the dog strong of body against the evil-doer, and watchful over your goods, when he is of sound mind.

40 (112). 'And whosoever shall awake at his voice, neither shall the thief nor the wolf steal anything from his house, without his being warned, the wolf shall be smitten and torn to pieces; he is driven away, he flees away.'

41 (115). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which, of the two wolves deserves more to be killed, the one that is born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf, or the one that is born of a she-dog and of a he-wolf?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Of these two wolves, the one that is born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf deserves more to be killed than the one that is born of a she-dog and of a he-wolf.

42 (117). ‘For there are born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf such dogs as fall on the shepherd's dog, on the house dog, on the Vohunazga dog, on the trained dog, and destroy the folds; such dogs are born as are more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other dogs.

43 (121). ‘And there are born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf such wolves as fall on the shepherd's dog, on the house dog, on the Vohunazga dog, on the trained dog, and destroy the folds; such wolves are born as are more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other wolves.

44 (124). ‘A dog has the characters of eight different sorts of people:--

‘He has the character of a priest, ‘He has the character of a warrior,

‘He has the character of a husbandman,

‘He has the character of a strolling singer,

‘He has the character of a thief,

‘He has the character of a wild beast,

‘He has the character of a courtezan,

‘He has the character of a child.

45 (126). ‘He eats broken food, like a priest; he is grateful, like a priest; he is easily satisfied, like a priest; he wants only a small piece of bread, like a priest; in these things he is like unto a priest.

‘He marches in front, like a warrior; he fights for the beneficent cow, like a warrior; he goes first out of the house, like a warrior; in these things he is like unto a warrior.

46 (135). ‘He is watchful and sleeps lightly, like a husbandman; he goes first out of the house, like a husbandman; he returns last into the house, like a husbandman; in these things he is like unto a husbandman.

‘He sings like a strolling singer; he is intrusive, like a strolling singer; he is meagre, like a strolling singer; he is poor, like a strolling singer; in these things he is like unto a strolling singer.

47 (143). ‘He likes darkness, like a thief; he prowls about in darkness, like a thief; he is a shameless eater, like a thief;. he is an unfaithful keeper, like a thief; in these things he is like unto a thief

‘He likes darkness, like a wild beast; he prowls about in darkness, like a wild beast; he is a shameless eater, like a wild beast; he is an unfaithful keeper, like a wild beast; in these things he is like unto a wild beast.

48 (153). ‘He sings, like a courtezan; he is intrusive, like a courtezan; he walks about the roads, like a courtezan; he is meagre, like a courtezan; he is poor, like a courtezan; in these things he is like unto a courtezan.

‘He likes sleeping, like a child; he is apt to run away, like a child; he is full of tongue, like a child; he goes on all fours, like a child; in these things he is like unto a child.

49 (163). ‘If those two dogs of mine, the shepherd's dog and the house dog, pass by the house of any of my faithful people, let them never be kept away from it.

'For no house could subsist on the earth made by Ahura, but for those two dogs of mine, the shepherd's dog and the house dog.'

50 (166). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When a dog dies, with marrow and seed dried up, whereto does his ghost go?

51 (167). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It passes to the spring of the waters, O Spitama Zarathustra! and there out of every thousand dogs and every thousand she-dogs, two water dogs are formed, a water dog and a water she-dog.

52 (170). 'He who kills a water dog brings about a drought that dries up pastures. Before that time, O Spitama Zarathustra! sweetness and fatness would flow out from that land and from those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass.'

53 (171). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When are sweetness and fatness to come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass?

54, 55 (172). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Sweetness and fatness will never come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass, until the murderer of the water dog has been smitten to death and the holy soul of the dog has been offered up a sacrifice, for three days and three nights with fire blazing, with baresma tied up, and with Haoma uplifted.

56 (174). ['Then sweetness and fatness will come back again to the land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass.']

Vendidad, Fargard XIV

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He who smites one of those water dogs that are born one from a thousand dogs and a thousand she-dogs, so that he gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?'

2 (4). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He shall pay ten thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ten thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

‘He shall godly and piously bring unto the fire of Ahura Mazda ten thousand loads of hard, well dried, well examined wood, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).

3 (6). ‘He shall godly and piously bring unto the fire of Ahura Mazda ten thousand loads of soft wood, of Urvâsna, Vohu-gaona, Vohu-kereti, Hadhâ-naêpata, or any sweet-scented plant, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).

4 (7). ‘He shall godly and piously tie and consecrate ten thousand bundles of baresma; he shall offer up to the good waters ten thousand Zaothra libations with the Haoma and the sacred meat, cleanly prepared and well strained, cleanly prepared and well strained by a pious man, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).

5 (9). ‘He shall kill ten thousand snakes of those that go upon the belly; he shall kill ten thousand snakes of those that have the shape of a dog; he shall kill ten thousand tortoises; he shall kill ten thousand land frogs; he shall kill ten thousand water frogs; he shall kill ten thousand corn-carrying ants; he shall kill ten thousand ants of those that bite and dig holes and work mischief.

6 (16). ‘He shall kill ten thousand earth worms; he shall kill ten thousand horrid flies.

‘He shall fill up ten thousand holes for the unclean.

‘He shall godly and piously give to godly men twice seven sets of implements for the fire, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog), namely:

7 (20). ‘Two (loads of the) proper materials for fire; a broom; a pair of tongs; a pair of round bellows extended at the bottom, contracted at the top; an adze with a sharp edge and a sharp-pointed handle, a saw with sharp teeth and a sharp-pointed handle, by means of which the worshippers of Mazda procure wood for the fire of Ahura Mazda.

8 (26). ‘He shall godly and piously give to godly men a set of the priestly instruments of which the priests make use, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog), namely: The Astra, the meat-vessel, the Paitidâna, the Khrafstraghna, the Sraoshô-karana, the cup for the Myazda, the cups for the juice, the mortar made according to the rules, the Haoma cups, and the baresma.

9 (32). ‘He shall godly and piously give to godly men a set of all the war implements of which the warriors make use, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog); the first being a javelin, the second a knife, the third a club, the fourth a bow, the fifth a quiver with shoulder-belt and thirty brass-headed arrows, the sixth a sling with arm-string and with thirty sling stones, the seventh a cuirass, the eighth a hauberk, the ninth a tunic, the tenth a helmet, the eleventh a girdle, the twelfth a pair of greaves.

10 (41). ‘He shall godly and piously give to godly men a set of all the implements of which the husbandmen make use, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog), namely: A plough with share and yoke, an ox whip, a mortar of stone, a hand-mill for grinding corn,

11 (48). 'A spade for digging and tilling; one measure of silver and one measure of gold.'

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How much silver?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'The price of a stallion:'

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How much gold?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The price of a camel.

12 (54). 'He shall godly and piously procure a rill of running water for godly husbandmen, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).'

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How large is the rill?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The depth of a dog, and the breadth of a dog.

13 (57). 'He shall godly and piously give a piece of arable land to godly men, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).'

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How large is the piece of land?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘As much as can be watered with such a rill on both sides.

14 (60). 'He shall godly and piously procure for godly men a house with ox-stalls, with nine hâthras and nine nematas, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).'

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One I How large is the house?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Twelve Vîtâras in the largest part of the house, nine Vîtâras in the middle part, six Vîtâras in the smallest part.

‘He shall godly and piously give to godly men godly beds with cushions, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog),

15 (64). 'He shall godly and piously give to a godly man a virgin maid, whom no man has known, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).'

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What maid?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘A sister or a daughter of his, at the age of puberty, with ear-rings in her ears, and past her fifteenth year.

16 (67). ‘He shall godly and piously give to holy men twice seven head of small cattle, as an atonement unto the soul (of the water dog).

‘He shall bring up twice seven whelps.

‘He shall throw twice seven bridges over canals.

17 (70). ‘He shall put into repair twice nine stables that are out of repair.

‘He shall cleanse twice nine dogs from skin humours, hair wax, vermin, and all the diseases that are produced on the body of a dog.

‘He shall treat twice nine godly men to their fill of meat, bread, strong, drink, and wine.

18 (73). ‘This is the atonement, this is the penalty that he shall undergo to atone for the deed that he has done.

'If he shall undergo it, he shall enter the world of the holy ones: if he shall not undergo it, he shall fall down into the world of the wicked, into that dark world, made of darkness, the offspring of darkness.'

How many are the sins that men commit and that, being committed and not confessed, nor atoned for, make their committer a Peshôtanu?

2 (4). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘There are five such sins, O holy Zarathustra! It is the first of these sins that men commit when a man teaches one of the faithful a foreign, wrong creed, a foreign wrong law, and he does so with a full knowledge and conscience of the sin: this is a sin that makes him a Peshôtanu.

3 (9). ‘It is the second of these sins that men commit when a man gives too hard bones or too hot food to a shepherd's dog or to a house dog;

4 (11). ‘If the bones stick in the dog's teeth or stop in his throat, or if the hot food burn his mouth or his tongue, so that mischief follows therefrom, and the dog dies, this is a sin that makes the man a Peshôtanu.

5 (16). ‘It is the third of these sins that men commit when a man smites a bitch big with young or affrights her by running after her, with shouting or with clapping of hands;

6 (18). ‘If the bitch fall into a hole, or a well, or a precipice, or a river, or a canal, so that mischief follows therefrom, and she dies, this is a sin that makes the man a Peshôtanu.

7 (22). ‘It is the fourth of these sins that men commit when a man has intercourse with a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period: this is a sin that makes him a Peshôtanu.

8 (25). ‘It is the fifth of these sins that men commit when a man has intercourse with a woman quick with child, whether the milk has already come to her breasts or has not yet come: if mischief follow therefrom, and she die, this is a sin that makes the man a Peshôtanu.

9 (30). ‘If a man come near unto a damsel, either dependent on the chief of the family or not dependent, either delivered unto a husband or not delivered, and she conceives by him, let her not, from dread of the people, produce in herself the menses, against the course of nature, by means of water and plants.

10 (34). ‘And if the damsel, from dread of the people, shall produce in herself the menses against the course of nature, by means of water and plants, there is a sin upon her head.

11 (36). ‘If a man come near unto a damsel, either dependent on the chief of the family or not dependent, either delivered unto a husband or not delivered, and she conceives by him, let her not, from dread of the people, destroy the fruit in her womb.

12 (38). ‘And if the damsel, from dread of the people, shall destroy the fruit in her womb, the sin is on both the father and herself, the murder is on both the father and herself; both the father and herself shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.

13 (40). ‘If a man come near unto a damsel, either dependent on the chief of the family or not dependent, either delivered unto a husband or not delivered, and she conceives by him, and she says, "I have conceived by thee;" and he replies, "Go then to the old woman and apply to her that she may procure thee miscarriage;"

14 (43). ‘And the damsel goes to the old woman and applies to her that she may procure her miscarriage; and the old woman brings her some Banga, or Shaêta, or Ghnâna, or Fraspâta, or some other of the drugs that produce miscarriage and the man says, "Cause thy fruit to perish!" and she causes her fruit to perish; the sin is on the head of all three, the man, the damsel, and the old woman.

15 (49). ‘If a man come near unto a damsel, either dependent on the chief of the family or not dependent, either delivered unto a husband or not delivered, and she conceives by him, so long shall he support her, until the child is born.

16 (54). 'If he shall not support her, so that the child comes to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

17 (54). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If she be near her time and be lying on the high road, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

18 (56). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It a man come near unto a damsel, either dependent on the chief of the family or not dependent, either delivered unto a husband or not delivered, and she conceives by him, so long shall he support her, until the child is born.

19 (58). ‘If he shall not support her....

'It lies with the faithful to look in the same way after every pregnant female, either two-footed or four-footed, either woman or bitch.'

20 (61). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If (a bitch) be near her time and be lying on the high road, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

21 (63). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He whose house stands-nearest, the care of supporting her is his; so long shall he support her until the whelps are born.

22 (65). 'If he shall not support her, so that the whelps come to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

23 (68). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying in a camel-stall, which is the worshipper of Mazda. that shall support her?

24 (70) Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who built the camel-stall or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his; so long shall he support her, until the whelps are born.

25 (76). 'If he shall not support her, so that the whelps come to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

26 (77). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying in a horse-stall, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

27 (78). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who built the horse-stall or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his; so long shall he support her, until the whelps are born.

28 (81). 'If he shall not support her, so that the whelps come to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

29 (84). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying in an ox-stall, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

30 (86). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who built the ox-stall or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his; so long shall he support her, until the whelps are born.

31 (89). 'If he shall not support her, so that the whelps come to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

32 (92). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying in a sheep-fold, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

33 (94). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who built the sheep-fold or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his; so long shall he support her, until the whelps are born.

34 (97). 'If he shall not support her so that the whelps come to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

35 (100). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying on the earth-wall, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

36 (102). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who erected the wall or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his; so long shall he support her, until the whelps are born.

37 (105). 'If he shall not support her, so that the whelps come to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

38 (108). O Maker of the Material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying in the moat, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

39 (110). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who dug the moat or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his; so long shall he support her, until the whelps are born.

40 (112). 'If he shall not support her, so that the whelps come to mischief, for want of proper support, he shall pay the penalty for wilful murder.'

41 (113). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying in the middle of a pasture-field, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?

42 (115). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who sowed the pasture-field or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his.

413 (117). 'He shall with kind charity take her to rest upon a litter of any foliage fit for a litter; so long shall he support her, until the young dogs are capable of self-defence and self-subsistence.'

44 (122). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When are the dogs capable of self-defence and self-subsistence?

45 (123). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘When they are able to run about in a circuit of twice seven houses around. Then they may be let loose, whether it be winter or summer.

‘Young dogs ought to be supported for six months, children for seven years.

'Âtar, the son of Ahura Mazda, watches as well (over a pregnant bitch) as he does over a woman.'

46 (127). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda want to have a bitch so covered that the offspring shall be one of a strong nature, what shall they do?

47 (129). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘They shall dig a hole in the earth, in the middle of the fold, half a foot deep if the earth be hard, half the height of a man if the earth be soft.

48 (131). ‘They shall first tie up the bitch there, far from children and from the Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, and they shall watch by her until a dog comes there from anywhere. They shall afterwards let another dog come near her, and then a third besides, each being kept apart from the former, lest they should assail one another.

49 (134). 'The bitch being thus covered by three dogs, grows big with young, and the milk comes to her teats and she brings forth a young one that is born from (three) dogs.'

50 (135). He who smites a bitch who has been covered by three dogs, and who has already milk, and who shall bring forth a young one born from (three) dogs, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

51 (137). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

Vendidad, Fargard XVI

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

2 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall clear the way of the wood there, both in growing trees and in logs; they shall strew dry dust on the ground; and they shall erect a building there, higher than the house by a half, or a third, or a fourth, or a fifth part, lest her look should fall upon the fire.'

3 (9). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?

4 (10). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifteen paces from the fire, fifteen paces from the water, fifteen paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma, three paces from the faithful.'

5 (11). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from her shall he stay, who brings food to a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period?

6 (12). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three paces from her shall he stay, who brings food to a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period.'

In what kind of vessels shall he bring the food? In what kind of vessels shall he bring the bread?

'In vessels of brass, or of lead, or of any common metal.'

7 (15). How much food shall he bring to her? How much bread shall he bring?

‘(Only) two danares of long bread, and one danare of milk pap, lest she should gather strength.

‘If a child has just touched her, they shall first wash his hands and then his body.

8 (21). ‘If she still see blood after three nights have passed, she shall sit in the place of infirmity until four nights have passed.

‘If she still see blood after four nights have passed, she shall sit in the place of infirmity until five nights, have passed.

‘If she still see blood after five nights have passed, she shall sit in the place of infirmity until six nights have passed.

‘If she still see blood after six nights have passed, she shall sit in the place of infirmity until seven nights have passed.

‘If she still see blood after seven nights have passed, she shall sit in the place of infirmity until eight nights have passed.

‘If she still see, blood after, eight nights have passed, she shall sit in the place of infirmity until nine nights have passed.

'If she still see blood after nine nights have passed, this is a work of the Daêvas which they have performed for the worship and glorification of the Daêvas.'

‘The worshippers of Mazda shall clear the way of the wood there, both in growing trees and in logs;

12 (26). ‘They shall dig three holes in the earth, and they shall wash the woman with gômêz by two of those holes and with water by the third.

'They shall kill Khrafstras, to wit: two hundred corn-carrying ants, if it be summer; two hundred of any other sort of the Khrafstras made by Angra Mainyu, if it be winter.'

13 (30). If a worshipper of Mazda shall suppress the issue of a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

14 (33). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall again and again wilfully touch the body of a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period, so that the ordinary issue turns to the dye of the unusual one, or the unusual issue to the dye of the ordinary one, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

15 (36). Ahura Mazda answered: 'For the first time he comes near unto her, for the first time he lies by her, thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; for the second time he comes near unto her, for the second time he lies by her, fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; for the third time he comes near unto her, for the third time he lies by her, seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'

For the fourth time he comes near unto her, for the fourth time he lies by her, if he shall press the body under her clothes, if he shall press the unclean thigh, but without sexual intercourse) what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

17 (39). ‘Whosoever shall lie in sexual intercourse with a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period, does no better deed than if he should burn the corpse of his own son, born of his own body and dead of naêza, and drop its fat into the fire.

18 (41). 'All such sinners, embodiments of the Drug, are scorners of the law: all scorners of the law are rebels against the Lord; all rebels against the Lord are ungodly men; and any ungodly man shall pay for it with his life.'

Vendidad, Fargard XVII

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the most deadly deed whereby a man increases most the baleful strength of the Daêvas, as he would do by offering them a sacrifice?'

2 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is when a man here below combing his hair or shaving it off, or paring off his nails drops them in a hole or in a crack.

3 (6). ‘Then for want of the lawful rites being observed, Daêvas are produced in the earth; for want of the lawful rites being observed, those Khrafstras are produced in the earth which men call lice, and which eat up the corn in the corn-field and the clothes in the wardrobe.

4 (10). ‘Therefore, O Zarathustra! whenever here below thou shalt comb thy hair or shave it off, or pare off thy nails, thou shalt take them away ten paces from the faithful, twenty paces from the fire, thirty paces from the water, fifty paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma.

5 (13). ‘Then thou shalt dig a hole, a disti deep if the earth be hard, a vîtasti deep if it be soft; thou shalt take the hair down there and thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting words: "Out of him by his piety Mazda made the plants grow up."

6 (17). ‘Thereupon thou shalt draw three furrows with a knife of metal around the hole, or six furrows or nine, and thou shall chant the Ahuna-Vairya three times, or six, or nine.

7 (19). ‘For the nails, thou shalt dig a hole, out of the house, as deep as the top joint of the little finger; thou shalt take the nails down there and thou shalt say aloud these fiend-smiting words: "The words that are heard from the pious in holiness and good thought."

8 (24). ‘Then thou shalt draw three furrows with a knife of metal around the hole, or six furrows or nine, and thou shalt chant the Ahuna-Vairya three times, or six, or nine.

9 (26). ‘And then: "Look here, O Ashô-zusta bird! here are the nails for thee: look at the nails here! May they be for thee so many spears, knives, bows, falcon-winged arrows, and sling-stones against the Mâzainya Daêvas!"

10 (29). ‘If those nails have not been dedicated (to the bird), they shall be in the hands of the Mâzainya Daêva so many spears, knives, bows, falcon-winged arrows, and sling stones (against the Mâzainya Daêvas).

11 (30). 'All such sinners, embodiments of the Drug, are scorners of the law: all scorners of the law are rebels against the Lord: all rebels against the Lord are ungodly men; and any ungodly man shall pay for it with his life.'

Vendidad, Fargard XVIII

'There is many a one, O holy Zarathustra!' said Ahura Mazda, 'who wears a Paitidâna but who has not girded his loins with the law; when such a man says, "I am an Âthravan," he lies; do not call him an Âthravan, O holy Zarathustra!' thus said Ahura Mazda.

2 (5). 'He holds a Khrafstraghna in his hand, but he has not girded his loins with the law; when he says, "I am an Âthravan," he lies; do not call him an Âthravan, O holy Zarathustra!' thus said Ahura Mazda.

3 (7). 'He holds a twig in his hand, but he has not girded his loins with the law; when he says, "I am an Âthravan," he lies; do not call him an Âthravan, O holy Zarathustra!' thus said Ahura Mazda.

4 (9). 'He wields the Astra mairya, but he has not girded his loins with the law; when he says, "I am an Âthravan," he lies; do not call him an Âthravan, O holy Zarathustra!' thus said Ahura Mazda.

5 (11). 'He who sleeps on throughout the night, who does not perform the Yasna nor chant the hymns, who does not worship by word or by deed, who does neither learn nor teach, with a longing for (everlasting) life, he lies when he says, "I am an Âthravan," do not call him an Âthravan, O holy Zarathustra!' thus said Ahura Mazda.

6 (14). ‘Him thou shalt call an Âthravan, O holy Zarathustra! who throughout the night sits up and demands of the holy Wisdom, which makes man free from anxiety, with dilated heart, and cheerful at the head of the Kinvat bridge, and which makes him reach that world, that holy world, that excellent world, the world of paradise.

7 (18). '(Therefore) demand of me, thou upright one! of me, who am the Maker, the best of all beings, the most knowing, the most pleased in answering what is asked of me; demand of me, that thou mayst be the better, that thou mayst be the happier.'

8 (21). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is it that makes the unseen power of Death increase?'

9 (22). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is the man that teaches a wrong law; it is the man who continues for three years without wearing the sacred girdle, without chanting the Gâthas, without worshipping the good waters.

10 (25). ‘And he who should set that man at liberty, when bound in prison, does no better deed than if he should flay a man alive and cut off his head.

11 (27). ‘The blessing uttered on a wicked, ungodly Ashemaogha does not go past the mouth (of the blesser); the blessing for two Ashemaoghas does not go past his tongue; the blessing for three is no word at all; the blessing for four is a curse against himself.

12 (29). ‘Whosoever should give some Haoma juice to a wicked, ungodly Ashemaogha, or some Myazda consecrated with blessings, does no better deed than if he should lead a thousand horse against the cities of the worshippers of Mazda, and should slaughter the men thereof, and drive off the cattle as plunder.

13 (32). 'Demand of me, thou upright one! of me, who am the Maker, the best of all beings, the most knowing, the most pleased in answering what is asked of me; demand of me, that thou mayst be the better, that thou mayst be the happier.'

14 (33). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Who is the Sraosha-varez of Sraosha? the holy, strong Sraosha, who is the incarnate Word, a mighty-speared and lordly god.'

15 (34). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is the bird named Parôdars, which ill-speaking people call Kahrkatâs, O holy Zarathustra! the bird that lifts up his voice against the mighty dawn:

16 (37). ‘“Arise, O men! recite the Ashem yad vahistem that smites down the Daêvas. Lo! here is Bûshyãsta, the long-handed, coming upon you, who lulls to sleep again the whole living world, as soon as it has awoke: ‘Sleep!’ she says, ‘sleep on, O man! the time is not yet come.’”

17 (41). ‘For the three excellent things be never slack, namely, good thoughts, good words, and good deeds; for the three abominable things be ever slack, namely, bad thoughts, bad words, and bad deeds.”

18 (43). ‘In the first part of the night, Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, calls the master of the house for help, saying:

19 (43). ‘"Up! arise, thou master of the house! put on thy girdle on thy clothes, wash thy hands, take wood, bring it unto me, and let me burn bright with the clean wood, carried by thy well-washed hands. Here comes Âzi, made by the Daêvas, who is about to strive against me, and wants to put out my life."

20 (46). ‘In the second part of the night, Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, calls the husbandman for help, saying:

21 (46). ‘"Up! arise, thou husbandman! Put on thy girdle on thy clothes, wash thy hands, take wood, bring it unto me, and let me burn bright with the clean wood, carried by thy well-washed hands. Here comes Âzi, made by the Daêvas, who is about to strive against me, and wants to put out my life."

22 (48). ‘In the third part of the night, Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, calls the holy Sraosha for help, saying: "Come thou, holy, tall-formed Sraosha, then he brings unto me some clean wood with his well-washed hands: here comes Âzi, made by the Daêvas, who is about to strive against me, and wants to put out my life."

23 (50). ‘And then the holy Sraosha wakes up the bird named Parôdars, which ill-speaking people call Kahrkatâs, and the bird lifts up his voice against the mighty dawn:

24 (52). ‘“Arise, O men! recite the Ashem yad vahistem that smites down the Daêvas. Lo! here is Bûshyãsta, the long-handed, coming upon you, who lulls to sleep again the whole living world as soon as it has awoke: ‘Sleep!’ she says, ‘sleep on, O man! the time is not yet come.’”

25 (52). ‘"For the three excellent things be never slack, namely, good thoughts, good words, and good deeds; for the three abominable things be ever slack, namely, bad thoughts, bad words, and bad deeds."

26 (53). ‘And then bed-fellows address one another: "Rise up, here is the cock calling me up." Whichever of the two first gets up shall first enter paradise: whichever of the two shall first, with well-washed hands, bring clean wood unto the Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, the Fire, well pleased with him and not angry, and fed as it required, will thus bless him:

27 (58). ‘"May herds of oxen grow for thee, and increase of sons: may thy mind be master of its vow, may thy soul be master of its vow, and mayst thou live on in the joy of the soul all the nights of thy life."

‘This is the blessing which the Fire speaks unto him who brings him dry wood, well examined by the light of the day, well cleansed with godly intent.

28 (64). ‘And whosoever will kindly and piously present one of the faithful with a pair of these my Parôdars birds, a male and a female, it is as though he had given a house with a hundred columns, a thousand beams, ten thousand large windows, ten thousand small windows.

29 (67). 'And whosoever shall give to my Parôdars bird his fill of meat, I, Ahura Mazda, need not interrogate him any longer; he shall directly go to paradise.'

30 (70). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! Thou then, alone in the material world, dost bear offspring without any male coming unto thee?'

31 (74). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! It is not so, nor do I, alone in the material world, bear offspring without any male coming unto me.

32 (77). ‘There are four males who are mine.

'And they make me conceive progeny as other males make their females.'

33 (78). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! Who is the first of those males of thine?'

34 (79). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! He is the first of my males who, being entreated by one of the faithful, does not give him anything, be it ever so little, of the riches he has treasured up.

35 (82). 'That man makes me conceive progeny as other males make their females.'

36 (83). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! What is the thing that can counteract that?'

37 (84). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! This is the thing that counteracts it, namely, when a man unasked, kindly and piously, gives to one of the faithful something, be it ever so little, of the riches he has treasured up.

38 (87). 'He does thereby as thoroughly destroy the fruit of my womb as a four-footed wolf does, who tears the child out of a mother's womb.'

39 (88). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! Who is the second of those males of thine?'

40 (89). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! He is the second of my males who, making water, lets it fall along the upper forepart of his foot.

41 (92). 'That man makes me conceive progeny as other males make their females.'

42 (93). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! What is the thing that can counteract that?'

43 (94). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! This is the thing that counteracts it, namely, when the man rising up and stepping three steps further off, shall say three Ahuna-Vairya, two humatanãm, three hukhshathrôtemãm, and then chant the Ahuna-Vairya and offer up one Yênhê hâtãm.

44 (98). 'He does thereby as thoroughly destroy the fruit of my womb as a four-footed wolf does, who tears the child out of a mother's womb.'

45 (99). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! Who is the third of those males of thine?'

46 (100). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! He is the third of my males who during his sleep emits seed.

47 (102). 'That man makes me conceive progeny as other males make their females.'

48 (103). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! What is the thing that can counteract that?'

49 (104). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! this is the thing that counteracts it, namely, if the man, when he has risen from sleep, shall say three Ahuna-Vairya, two humatanãm, three hukhshathrôtemãm, and then chant the Ahuna-Vairya and offer up one Yênhê hâtãm.

50 (107). 'He does thereby as thoroughly destroy the fruit of my womb as a four-footed wolf does who tears the child out of a mother's womb.'

51 (108). Then he shall speak unto Spenta Ârmaiti, saying: ‘O Spenta Ârmaiti, this man do I deliver unto thee; this man deliver thou back unto me, against the mighty day of resurrection; deliver him back as one who knows the Gâthas, who knows the Yasna, and the revealed law, a wise and clever man, who is the Word incarnate.

52 (112). 'Then thou shalt call his name "Fire-creature, Fire-seed, Fire-offspring, Fire-land," or any name wherein is the word Fire.'

53 (113). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug! Who is the fourth of those males of thine?'

54 (114). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! This one is my fourth male who, either man or woman, being more than fifteen years of age, walks without wearing the sacred girdle and the sacred shirt.

55 (115). 'At the fourth step we Daêvas, at once, wither him even to the tongue and the marrow, and he goes thenceforth with power to destroy the world of the holy spirit, and he destroys it like the Yâtus and the Zandas.'

56 (117). The holy Sraosha asked the Drug, with his club uplifted against her: 'O thou wretched and wicked Drug, what is the thing that can counteract that?'

57 (118). Then the Drug demon, the guileful one, answered: ‘O holy, tall-formed Sraosha! There is no means of counteracting it; 58 (120). ‘When a man or a woman, being more than fifteen years of age, walks without wearing the sacred girdle or the sacred shirt.

59 (120). 'At the fourth step we Daêvas, at once, wither him even to the tongue and the marrow, and he goes thenceforth with power to destroy the world of the holy spirit, and he destroys it like the Yâtus and the Zandas.'

60 (122). Demand of me, thou upright one! of me who am the Maker, the best of all beings, the most knowing, the most pleased in answering what is asked of me; demand of me that thou mayst be the better, that thou mayst be the happier.

61 (123). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Who grieves thee with the sorest grief? Who pains thee with the sorest pain?'

62 (124). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is the Gahi, O Spitama Zarathustra! who goes a-whoring after the faithful and the unfaithful, after the worshippers of Mazda and the worshippers of the Daêvas, after the wicked and the righteous.

6 3 (12 5). ‘Her look dries up one third of the mighty floods that run from the mountains; her look withers one third of the beautiful, golden hued, growing plants;

64 (12 7). ‘Her look withers one third of the grass wherewith Spenta Ârmaiti is clad, and her touch withers in the faithful one third of his good thoughts, of his good words, of his good deeds, one third of his strength, of his fiend-killing power, and of his holiness.

65 (129). 'Verily I say unto thee, O Spitama Zarathustra! such creatures ought to be killed even more than gliding snakes, than howling wolves, than the wild she-wolf that falls upon the fold, or than the she-frog that falls upon the waters with her thousandfold brood.'

66 (133). Demand of me, thou upright one! of me who am the Maker, the best of all beings, the most knowing, the most pleased in answering what is asked of me; demand of me that thou mayst be the better, that thou mayst be the happier.

67-68 (133). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'If a man shall come unto a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period, and he does so wittingly and knowingly, and she allows it wilfully, wittingly, and knowingly, what is the atonement for it, what is the penalty that he shall pay to atone for the deed they have done?'

69 (136). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘If a man shall come unto a woman who has an issue of blood, either out of the ordinary course or at the usual period, and he does so wittingly and knowingly, and she allows it wilfully, wittingly, and knowingly;

70 (137). ‘He shall slay a thousand head of small cattle; he shall godly and piously offer up to the fire the entrails thereof together with Zaothra-libations; he shall bring the shoulder bones to the good waters.

71 (140). ‘He shall godly and piously bring unto the fire a thousand loads of soft wood, of Urvâsna, Vohu-gaona, Vohu-kereti, Hadhâ-naêpata, or of any sweet-scented plant.

72 (142). ‘He shall tie and consecrate a thousand bundles of baresma; he shall godly and piously offer up to the good waters a thousand Zaothra-libations, together with the Haoma and the meat, cleanly prepared and well strained by a pious man, together with the roots of the tree known as Hadhâ-naêpata.

73 (144). ‘He shall kill a thousand snakes of those that go upon the belly, two thousand of the other kind: he shall kill a thousand land frogs and two thousand water frogs; he shall kill a thousand corn-carrying ants and two thousand of the other kind.

74 (147). ‘He shall throw thirty bridges over canals; he shall undergo a thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.

75 (149). ‘This is the atonement, this is the penalty that he shall pay to atone for the deed that he has done.

76 (150). 'If he shall pay it, he shall enter the world of the holy ones; if he shall not pay it, he shall fall down into the world of the wicked, into that dark world, made of darkness, the offspring of darkness.'

Vendidad, Fargard XIX

From the region of the north, from the regions of the north, forth rushed Angra Mainyu, the deadly, the Daêva of the Daêvas. And thus spake the guileful one, he the evil-doer Angra Mainyu, the deadly: 'Drug, rush down upon him! destroy the holy Zarathustra!' The Drug came rushing along, the demon Bûiti, the unseen death, the hell-born.

2 (5). Zarathustra chanted aloud the Ahuna-Vairya: 'The will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô shall be given to him who works in this world for Mazda, and wields according to the will of Ahura the power he gave to him to relieve the poor.'

(He added): ‘Offer up prayers to the good waters of the good Dâitya!

'Profess the law of the worshippers of Mazda!'

The Drug dismayed, rushed away, the demon Bûiti, the unseen death, the hell-born.

3 (7). And the Drug, the guileful one, said unto Angra Mainyu: 'O baneful Angra Mainyu! I see no way to kill him, so great is the glory of the holy Zarathustra.'

Zarathustra saw (all this) from within his soul: 'The evil-doing Daêvas and Drvants (thought he) take counsel together for my death.'

4 (11). Up started Zarathustra, forward went Zarathustra, unshaken by the evil spirit, by the hardness of his malignant riddles, swinging stones in his hand, stones as big as a house, which he obtained from the Maker, Ahura Mazda, he the holy Zarathustra.

'At what on this wide, round earth, whose ends lie afar, at what dost thou swing (those stones), thou who standest by the river Darega, upon the mountains, in the mansion of Pourusaspa?'

5 (16). Thus Zarathustra answered Angra Mainyu: 'O evil-doer, Angra Mainyu! I will smite the creation of the Daêva; I will smite the Nasu, a creature of the Daêva; I will smite the Pairika Knãthaiti, till the fiend-smiter Saoshyant come up to life out of the lake Kãsava, from the region of the dawn, from the regions of the dawn.'

6 (20). Again to him said the guileful one, the Maker of the evil world, Angra Mainyu: 'Do not destroy my creatures, O holy Zarathustra! Thou art the son of Pourusaspa, just born of thy mother. Renounce the good law of the worshippers of Mazda, and thou shalt gain such a boon as the murderer gained, the ruler of the nations.'

7 (24). Thus in answer to him said Spitama Zarathustra: 'No! never will I renounce the good law of the worshippers of Mazda, though my body, my life, my soul should burst!'

8 (27). Again to him said the guileful one, the Maker of the evil world, Angra Mainyu: 'By whose Word wilt thou strike, by whose Word wilt thou repel, by whose weapon will the good creatures (strike and repel) my creation who am Angra Mainyu?'

9 (29). Thus in answer to him said Spitama Zarathustra: 'The sacred mortar, the sacred cup, the Haoma, the Words taught by Mazda, these are my weapons, my best weapons! By this Word will I strike, by this Word will I repel, by this weapon the good creatures (will strike and repel thee), O evil-doer, Angra Mainyu! To me Spenta Mainyu gave it, he gave it to me in the boundless Time; to me the Amesha Spentas, the all-ruling, the all-beneficent, gave it.'

10 (35). Zarathustra chanted aloud the Ahuna-Vairya. The holy Zarathustra said aloud 'This I ask thee: teach me the truth, O Lord!...'

11 (37). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: ‘O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! [he was sitting by the Darega, on the mountain, praying to Ahura Mazda, to the good Vohu-manô, to Asha Vahista, Khshathra Vairya, and Spenta. Ârmaiti;]

12 (39). 'How shall I make the world free from that Drug, from the evil-doer Angra Mainyu? How shall I drive away direct defilement? How indirect defilement? How shall I drive the Nasu from the house of the worshippers of Mazda? How shall I cleanse the faithful man? How shall I cleanse the faithful woman?'

13 (42). Ahura Mazda answered. ‘Invoke, O Zarathustra! the good law of Mazda.

‘Invoke, O Zarathustra! the Amesha Spentas who rule over the seven Karshvares of the earth.

‘Invoke, O Zarathustra! the sovereign Heaven, the boundless Time, and Vayu, whose action is most high.

‘Invoke, O Zarathustra! the powerful Wind, made by Mazda, and Spenta Ârmaiti, the fair daughter of Ahura Mazda.

14 (46). ‘Invoke, O Zarathustra! my Fravashi, who am Ahura Mazda, the greatest, the best, the fairest of all beings, the most solid, the most intelligent, the best shapen, the highest in holiness, and whose soul is the holy Word!

'Invoke, O Zarathustra! this creation of mine, who am Ahura Mazda.'

15 (50). Zarathustra took those words from me, (and said): ‘I invoke the holy creation of Ahura Mazda.

‘I invoke Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, a god armed with beautiful weapons, with the most glorious of all weapons, with the most fiend-smiting of all weapons.

‘I invoke the holy, tall-formed Sraosha, who wields a club in his hand, to bear upon the heads of the fiends.

16 (54). ‘I invoke the most glorious holy Word.

‘I invoke the sovereign Heaven, the boundless Time, and Vayu, whose action is most high.

‘I invoke the mighty Wind, made by Mazda, and Spenta (Ârmaiti), the fair daughter of Ahura Mazda.

'I invoke the good law of Mazda, the fiend-destroying law of Zarathustra.'

17 (58). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the good world, Ahura Mazda! With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship, with what manner of sacrifice shall I worship and forward this creation of Ahura Mazda?'

18 (60). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Go, O Spitama Zarathustra! towards that tree that is beautiful, high-growing, and mighty amongst the high-growing trees, and say thou these words: "Hail to thee! O good, holy tree, made by Mazda! Ashem, vohu!"

19 (63). 'Let the faithful man cut off a twig of baresma, long as a ploughshare, thick as a barley-corn. The faithful one, holding it in his left hand, shall not leave off keeping his eyes upon it, whilst he is offering up the sacrifice to Ahura Mazda and to the Amesha-Spentas, and to the high and beautiful golden Haomas, and to Vohu-manô and to the good Râta, made by Mazda, holy and excellent.'

20 (67). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O thou, all-knowing Ahura Mazda! thou art never asleep, never intoxicated, thou Ahura Mazda! Vohu-manô gets directly defiled: Vohu-manô gets indirectly defiled; the Daêvas defile him from the bodies smitten by the Daêvas: let Vohu-manô be made clean.'

21 (70). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thou shalt take some gômêz from a bull ungelded and such as the law requires it; thou shalt take the man who is to be cleansed to the field made by Ahura, and the man that is to cleanse him shall draw the furrows.

22 (73). ‘He shall recite a hundred Ashem vohu: "Holiness is the best of all good. Happy, happy the man who is holy with perfect holiness!"

‘He shall chant two hundred Ahuna-Vairya: "The will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô shall be given to him who works in this world for Mazda, and wields according to the will of Ahura the power he gave to him to relieve the poor."

‘He shall wash Vohu-manô four times with the gômêz from the ox, and twice with the water made by Mazda.

23 (76). ‘Thus Vohu-manô shall be made clean, and clean shall be the man. Then he shall take up Vohu-manô with his left arm and his right, with his right arm and his left: and thou shalt lay down Vohu-manô under the mighty structure of the bright heavens, by the light of the stars made by the gods, until nine nights have passed away.

24 (80). ‘When nine nights have passed away, thou shalt bring libations unto the fire, thou shalt bring hard wood unto the fire, thou shalt bring incense of Vohu-gaona unto the fire, and thou shalt perfume Vohu-manô therewith.

25 (82). 'Thus shall Vohu-manô become clean, thus shall the man be clean: he shall take up Vohu-manô with the right arm and the left, with the left arm and the right, and Vohu-manô shall say aloud: "Glory be to Ahura Mazda! Glory be to the Amesha-Spentas! Glory be to all the other holy beings."'

26 (85). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O thou all-knowing Ahura Mazda: Should I urge upon the godly man, should I urge upon the godly woman, should I urge upon the wicked Daêva-worshipper who lives in sin, that they have once to leave behind them the earth made by Ahura, that they have to leave the water that runs, the corn that grows, and all the rest of their wealth?'

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thou shouldst, O holy Zarathustra.'

27 (89). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Where are the rewards given? Where does the rewarding take place? Where is the rewarding fulfilled? Whereto do men come to take the reward that, in their life in the material world, they have won for their souls?

28 (90). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘When the man is dead, when his time is over, then the hellish, evil-doing Daêvas assail him; and when the third night is gone, when the dawn appears and brightens up, and makes Mithra, the god with beautiful weapons, reach the all-happy mountains, and the sun is rising:

29 (94). ‘Then the fiend, named Vîzaresha, carries off in bonds the souls of the wicked Daêva-worshippers who live in sin. The soul enters the way made by Time, and open both to the wicked and to the righteous. At the head of the Kinvad bridge, the holy bridge made by Mazda, they ask for their spirits and souls the reward for the worldly goods which they gave away here below.

30 (98) ‘Then comes the well-shapen, strong and tall formed maid, with the dogs at her sides, one who can distinguish, who is graceful, who does what she wants, and is of high understanding.

‘She makes the soul of the righteous one go up above the Hara-berezati; above the Kinvad bridge she places it in the presence of the heavenly gods themselves.

31 (102). ‘Up rises Vohu-manô from his golden seat: Vohu-manô exclaims: "How hast thou come to us, thou holy one, from that decaying world into this undecaying one?"

32 (105). ‘Gladly pass the souls of the righteous to the golden seat of Ahura Mazda, to the golden seat of the Amesha-Spentas, to the Garô-nmânem, the abode of Ahura Mazda, the abode of the Amesha-Spentas, the abode of all the other holy beings.

33 (108). ‘As to the godly man that has been cleansed, the wicked evil-doing Daêvas tremble in the perfume of his soul after death, as a sheep does on which a wolf is falling.

34 (110). ‘The souls of the righteous are gathered together there: Nairyô-sangha is with them; a friend of Ahura Mazda is Nairyô-sangha.

'Do thou thyself invoke, O Zarathustra! this world of Ahura Mazda.'

35 (114). Zarathustra took those words from Ahura Mazda: ‘I invoke the holy world, made by Ahura Mazda.

‘I invoke the earth made by Ahura, the water made by Mazda, the holy trees.

‘I invoke the sea Vouru-kasha,

‘I invoke the shining sky.

‘I invoke the eternal and sovereign luminous space.

36 (120). ‘I invoke the bright, all glorious, blissful abode of the holy ones.

‘I invoke the Garô-nmânem, the abode of Ahura Mazda, the abode invoke of the Amesha-Spentas, the abode of all the other holy beings.

‘I invoke the sovereign place of eternal weal, and the Kinvad bridge made by Mazda.

37 (123) ‘I invoke the good Saoka, whose looks go far and wide.

‘I invoke the mighty Fravashis of the righteous.

‘I invoke the whole creation of weal.

‘I invoke Verethraghna, made by Ahura, who, wears the glory made by Mazda.

‘I invoke Tistrya, the bright and glorious star, in the shape of a golden-horned bull.

38 (127). ‘I invoke the holy, beneficent Gâthas, who rule over the ratus:

‘I invoke the Ahunavaiti Gâtha;

‘I invoke the Ustavaiti Gâtha;

‘I invoke the Spenta-mainyu Gâtha;

‘I invoke the Vohu-khshathra Gâtha; ‘I invoke the Vahistôisti Gâtha.

39 (129). ‘I invoke the Karshvares of Arzahê and Savahê;

‘I invoke the Karshvares of Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu;

‘I invoke the Karshvares of Vourubaresti and Vouruzaresti;

‘I invoke the bright Hvaniratha;

‘I invoke the bright, glorious Haêtumant;

‘I invoke the good Ashi;

[‘I invoke the good Kisti]

‘I invoke the most right Kista;

‘I invoke the glory of the Aryan regions;

‘I invoke the glory of the bright Yima, the great shepherd.

40 (133). ‘Let him be worshipped with sacrifice, let him be gladdened, gratified, and satisfied, the holy Sraosha, the tall-formed, fiend-smiting, holy Sraosha.

‘Bring libations unto the Fire, bring hard wood unto the Fire, bring incense of Vohu-gaona unto the Fire.

‘Offer up the sacrifice to the Vâzista fire, which smites the fiend Spengaghra: bring unto it the cooked meat and the offerings of boiling milk.

41 (137). ‘Offer up the sacrifice to the holy Sraosha, that the holy Sraosha may smite down the fiend Kunda, who is drunken without drinking. He will fall upon the men of the Drug, the slothful ones, the wicked, Daêva-worshippers, who live in sin.

[42. ‘I invoke the Kara fish, who lives beneath waters in the bottom of the deep lakes.

‘I invoke the ancient and sovereign Merezu, the greatest seat of battle in the creation of the two spirits.

‘I invoke the seven bright Sravah with their sons and their flocks.

‘They run about to and fro, their minds waver to and fro, Angra Mainyu the deadly, the Daêva of the Daêvas; Indra the Daêva, Sâuru the Daêva, Naunghaithya the Daêva, Taurvi and Zairi, Aêshma of the wounding spear, Akatasha the Daêva, Zaurva, baneful to the fathers, Bûiti the Daêva, Driwi the Daêva, Daiwi the Daêva, Kasvi the Daêva, Paitisha the most Daêva-like amongst the Daêvas.]

44 (140). ‘And he said, the guileful, the evildoing Daêva, Angra Mainyu the deadly: "What! let the wicked, evil-doing Daêvas gather together at the head of Arezûra."

45 (141). ‘They rush, they run away, the wicked, evil-doing Daêvas; they run away with shouts, the wicked, evil-doing Daêvas; they run away casting the evil eye, the wicked, evil-doing Daêvas: “Let us gather together at the head of Arezûra!

46 (143). ‘"For he is just born the holy Zarathustra, in the house of Pourushaspa. How can we procure his death? He is the stroke that fells the fiends: he is a counter-fiend to the fiends; he is a Drug to the Drug. Down are the Daêva-worshippers, the Nasu made by the Daêva, the false-speaking Lie!"

47 (147). ‘They run away, they rush away, the wicked, evil-doing Daêvas, into the depths of the dark, horrid world of hell.

'Ashem vohu: Holiness is the best of all good.'

Vendidad, Fargard XX

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who was he who first of the healthful, the wise, the happy, the wealthy, the glorious, the strong men of yore, drove back sickness to sickness, drove back death to death, and first turned away the point of the poniard and the fire of fever from the bodies of mortals.'

2 (11). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thrita it was who first of the healthful, the wise, the happy, the wealthy, the glorious, the strong man of yore, drove back sickness to sickness, drove back death to death, and first turned away the point of the poniard and the fire of fever from the bodies of mortals.

3 (12). ‘He asked for a source of remedies; he obtained it from Khshathra-Vairya, to withstand sickness and to withstand death, to withstand pain and fever, to withstand the disease, rottenness and infection which Angra Mainyu had created witchcraft against the bodies of mortals.

4 (15). ‘And I Ahura Mazda brought down the healing plants that, by many hundreds, by many thousands, by many myriads, grow up all around the one Gaokerena.

5 (18). ‘All this (health) do we call by our blessing-spells, by our prayers, by our praises, upon the bodies of mortals.

7 (19). ‘To thee, O Sickness, I say avaunt! to thee, O Death, I say avaunt! to thee, O Pain, I say avaunt! to thee, O Fever, I say avaunt! to thee, O Disease, I say avaunt!

8 (21). ‘By their might may we smite down the Drug! By their might may we smite the Drug! May they give to us strength and power, O Ahura!

9 (23). ‘I drive away sickness, I drive away death, I drive away pain and fever, I drive away the disease, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu has created by his witchcraft against the bodies of mortals.

10 (25). ‘I drive away all manner of diseases and deaths, all the Yâtus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.

11 (26). ‘May the much-desired Airyaman; come here, for the men and women of Zarathustra to rejoice, for the faithful to rejoice; with the desirable reward that is won by means of the law, and with that boon for holiness that is vouchsafed by Ahura!

12 (29). 'May the much-desired Airyaman smite all manner of diseases and deaths, all the Yâtus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.'

[13. Yathâ ahû vairyô:--the will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô shall be given to him who works in this world for Mazda, and wields according to the will of Ahura the power he gave to him to relieve the poor.

Kem nâ mazdâ:--whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me? Whom but thy Atar and Vohu-manô, by whose work the holy world goes on? Reveal to me the rules of thy law!

Ke verethrem gâ:--who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances? Teach me clearly thy rules for this world and for the next, that Sraosha may come with Vohu-manô and help whomsoever thou pleasest.

Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug! Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!]

Vendidad, Fargard XXI

Hail, holy bull! Hail to thee, beneficent bull! Hail to thee, who makest increase! Hail to thee, who makest growth! Hail to thee, who dost bestow thy gifts upon the excellent faithful, and who wilt bestow them on the faithful yet unborn! Hail to thee, whom the Gahi kills, and the ungodly Ashemaogha, and the wicked tyrant.

2 (3). 'Come, come on, O clouds, along the sky, through the air, down on the earth, by thousands of drops, by myriads of drops:' thus say, O holy Zarathustra! ‘to destroy sickness altogether, to destroy death altogether, to destroy altogether the sickness made by the Gaini, to destroy altogether the death made by the Gaini, to destroy altogether Gadha and Apagadha.

3 (9). ‘If death come at eve, may healing come at daybreak!

‘If death come at daybreak, may healing come at night!

‘If death come at night, may healing come at dawn!

‘Let showers shower down new waters, new earth, new trees, new health, and new healing powers.

4 (15). ‘As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering place of waters, rise up, go up the aerial way and go down on the earth; go down on the earth and go up the aerial way. Rise up and roll along! thou in whose rising and growing Ahura Mazda made the aerial way.

5 (20). ‘Up! rise up and roll along! thou swift-horsed sun, above Hara Berezaiti, and produce light for the world (and mayst thou O man! rise up there, if thou art to abide in Garô-nmânem), along the path made by Mazda, along the way made by the gods, the watery way they opened.

6 (23). ‘And thou shalt keep away the evil by this holy spell: Of thee O child! I will cleanse the birth and growth; of thee O woman! I will make the body and the strength pure; I make thee a woman rich in children and rich in milk;

7 (27). ‘A woman rich in seed, in milk, in fat, in marrow, and in offspring. I shall make for thee a thousand springs flow and run towards the pastures that will give food to the child.

8 (30). ‘As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering place of waters, rise up, go up the aerial way, and go down on the earth; go down on the earth and go up the aerial way, Rise up and roll along! thou in whose rising and growing Ahura Mazda made the earth.

9 (31). ‘Up! rise up, thou moon, that dost keep in thee the seed of the bull, rise up above Hara Berezaiti, and produce light for the world (and mayst thou O man! rise up there, if thou art to abide in Garô-nmânem), along the path made by Mazda, along the way made by the gods, the watery way they opened.

10 (32). ‘And thou shalt keep away the evil by this holy spell: Of thee O child! I will cleanse the birth and growth; of thee O woman! I will make the body and the strength pure; I make thee a woman rich in children and rich in milk;

11 (32). ‘A woman rich in seed, in milk, in fat, in marrow, and in offspring. I shall make for thee a thousand springs flow and run towards the pastures that will give food to the child.

12 (32). ‘As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering place of waters, rise up, go up the aerial way, and go down on the earth; go down on the earth and go up the aerial way. Rise up and roll along! thou in whose rising and growing Ahura Mazda made everything grow.

13 (33). ‘Up! rise up, ye stars, that have in you the seed of waters, rise up above Hara Berezaiti, and produce light for the world (and mayst thou O man! rise up there, if thou art to abide in Garô-nmânem), along the path made by Mazda, along the way made by the gods, the watery way they opened.

14 (34). ‘And thou shalt keep away the evil by this holy spell: Of thee O child! I will cleanse the birth and growth; of thee O woman! I will make the body and the strength pure; I make thee a woman rich in children and rich in milk;

15 (34). ‘A woman rich in seed, in milk, in fat, in marrow, and in offspring. I shall make for thee a thousand springs flow and run towards the pastures that will give food to the child.

16(34). ‘As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering place of waters, rise up and gather together, go up the aerial way and go down on the earth; go down on the earth and go up the aerial way. Rise up and roll along!

17 (35). ‘Up! rise up! away will the Kahvuzi fly and cry, away will Ayêhi fly and cry, away will the Gahi, who is addicted to the Yâtu, fly and cry.

[‘I drive away Ishirê, I drive away Aghûirê, I drive away Aghra, I drive away Ughra; I drive away sickness, I drive away death, I drive away pain and fever; I drive away Sârana, I drive away Sârasti, I drive away Azana, I drive away Azahva, I drive away Kurugha, I drive away Azivâka, I drive away Duruka, I drive away Astairya; I drive away the disease, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu has created by his witchcraft against the bodies of mortals.

‘I drive away all manner of diseases and deaths, all the Yâtus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.

‘May the much-desired Airyaman come here, for the men and women of Zarathustra to rejoice, for the faithful to rejoice; with the desirable reward that is won by means of the law, and with that boon for holiness that is vouchsafed by Ahura!

‘May the much-desired Airyaman smite all manner of diseases and deaths, all the Yâtus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.

‘Yathâ ahû vairyô:--the will of the Lord....

‘Kem nâ mazdâ:--whom hast thou placed to protect me...?

‘Ke verethrem gâ:--who is he who will smite the fiend...?

'Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug! Perish, away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!']

Vendidad, Fargard XXII

[1. Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathustra, saying: ‘I, Ahura Mazda, the Maker of all good things, when I made this mansion, the beautiful, the shining, seen afar (there may I go up, there may I pass!)

2 (5). ‘Then the ruffian looked at me; the ruffian Angra Mainyu, the deadly, wrought by his witchcraft nine diseases, and ninety, and nine hundred, and nine thousand, and nine times ten thousand diseases. So mayst thou heal me, O Mãthra Spenta, thou most glorious one!

3 (8). ‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand fleet, swift-running steeds; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand fleet, high-humped camels; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

4 (12). ‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand brown oxen that do not push; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand young of all species of small cattle; offer them up as a sacrifice unto Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

5 (16). ‘And I will bless thee with the fair, holy blessing-spell, the friendly, holy blessing-spell, that makes the empty swell to fulness and the full to overflowing, that comes to help him who was sickening, and makes the sick man sound again.

6 (20). 'Mãthra Spenta, the all-glorious, replied unto me: "How shall I heal thee? How shall I drive away from thee those nine diseases, and those ninety, those nine hundred, those nine thousand, and those nine times ten thousand diseases?"'

7 (22). The Maker Ahura Mazda called for Nairyô-sangha: Go thou, Nairyô-sangha, the herald, and drive towards the mansion of Airyaman, and speak thus unto him:

8 (23). Thus speaks Ahura Mazda, the Holy One, unto thee: ‘I, Ahura Mazda, the Maker of all good things when I made this mansion, the beautiful, the shining, seen afar (there may I go up, there may I pass!)

9 (24). ‘Then the ruffian looked at me; the ruffian Angra Mainyu, the deadly, wrought by his witchcraft nine diseases, and ninety, and nine hundred, and nine thousand, and nine times ten thousand diseases. So mayst thou heal me, O Airyaman, the much-desired!

10 (26). ‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand fleet, swift-running steeds; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand fleet, high-humped camels; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

11 (30). ‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand brown oxen that do not push; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand young of all species of small cattle; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

12 (34). 'And I will bless thee with the fair, holy blessing-spell, the friendly, holy blessing-spell, that makes the empty swell to fulness and the full to overflowing, that comes to help him who was sickening, and makes the sick man sound again.'

13 (38). In obedience to Ahura's words he went, Nairyô-sangha, the herald; he drove towards the mansion of Airyaman, he spake unto Airyaman, saying: 14 (38). Thus speaks Ahura Mazda, the Holy One, unto thee: ‘I, Ahura Mazda, the Maker of all good things, when I made this mansion, the beautiful, the shining, seen afar (there may I go up, there may I pass!)

15 (39). ‘Then the ruffian looked at me; the ruffian Angra Mainyu the deadly, wrought by his witchcraft nine diseases, and ninety, and nine hundred, and nine thousand, and nine times ten thousand diseases. So mayst thou heal me, O Airyaman, the much-desired!

16 (40). ‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand fleet, swift-running steeds; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand fleet, high-humped camels; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

17 (44). ‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand brown oxen that do not push; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

‘Unto thee will I give in return a thousand young of all species of small cattle; offer them up as a sacrifice unto the good Saoka, made by Mazda and holy.

18 (48). 'And I will bless thee with the fair, holy blessing-spell, the friendly, holy blessing-spell, that makes the empty swell to fulness and the full to overflowing, that comes to help him who was sickening, and makes the sick man sound again.'

19 (52). Quickly was it done, nor was it long, eagerly set off the much-desired Airyaman, towards the mountain of the holy questions, towards the forest of the holy questions.

20 (54). Nine stallions brought he with him, the much-desired Airyaman.

Nine camels brought he with him, the much desired Airyaman.

Nine bulls brought he with him, the much desired Airyaman.

Nine head of small cattle brought he with him, the much-desired Airyaman.

He brought with him the nine twigs; he drew along nine furrows.

[21. ‘I drive away Ishirê!, I drive away Aghûirê, I drive away Aghra, I drive away Ughra; I drive away sickness, I drive away death, I drive away pain and fever; I drive away Sârana, I drive away Sârastya, I drive away Azana, I drive away Azahva, I drive away Kurugha, I drive away Azivâka, I drive away Duruka, I drive away Astairya; I drive away the disease, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu has created by his witchcraft against the bodies of mortals.

‘I drive away all manner of diseases and deaths, all the Yâtus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.

‘May the much-desired Airyaman come here for the men and women of Zarathustra to rejoice, for the faithful to rejoice; with the desirable reward that is won by means of the law, and with that boon for holiness that is vouchsafed by Ahura.

‘May the much-desired Airyaman smite all manner of diseases and deaths, all the Yâtus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.

‘Yathâ ahû vairyô:--the will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô shall be given to him who works in this world for Mazda, and wields according to the will of Ahura the power he gave him to relieve the poor.

‘Kem nâ mazdâ:--whom hast thou placed to protect me, O Mazda! while the hate of the fiend is grasping me? Whom but thy Âtar and Vohu-manô, by whose work the holy world goes on? Reveal to me the rules of thy law!

‘Ke verethrem gâ:--who is he who will smite the fiend in order to maintain thy ordinances? Teach me clearly thy rules for this world and for the next, that Sraosha may come with Vohu-manô and help whomsoever thou pleasest.

'Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Ârmaiti Spenta! Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug! Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of the holy spirit!']