1. 0 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 Zara- thuitra! with the holy wood in his hand l, the baresma2 in his hand, the holy meat in his hand, 1 The wood for the fire altar.
2 The baresma (now called barsom) is a bundle of sacred twigs which the priest holds in his hand while reciting the prayers. They were formerly twigs of the pomegranate, date, or tamarind tree, or of any tree that had no thorns, and were plucked with particular ceremonies, which alone made them fit to be used for liturgic purposes (cf. Farg. XIX, 18 seq.) The Parsis in India found it convenient to replace them by brass wires, which, when once consecrated, can be used for an indefinite period. It is the baresma which is alluded to by Strabo, when speaking of the bundle of thin twigs of heath, which the Magi hold in their hand FARGARD III.
23 the holy mortar 1 in his hand, fulfilling the law with love, and beseeching aloud Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, and Rcima Hvk stra2.’
2, 3 (6-10). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One 1 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 3, 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 Zaratluutra! 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.’
while reciting their hymns (ray mafias 7roiovvrai tto\vp 1 The Havana or mortar used in crushing the Haoma or Horn (see Introd. IV, 28).
2 The god that gives good folds and good pastures to cattle (see Introd. IV, 16).
3 By the performance of worship.
VENDiDAD.
'H 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.’
II.
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 Arc- zflra1, whereon the hosts of fiends rush forth from the burrow of the Druf V 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 3.
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 deposited4.’
10 (31). O Maker of the material world, thou 1 The neck of Arezflra (A r e z u r a h e griva) is ‘a mount at the gate of hell, whence the demons rush forth ’ (Bund. 22, 16); it is also called ‘ the head of Arezflra’ (Farg. XIX, 45), or ‘ the back of Arezflra ’ (Bund. 21,17). Arezfira was first the name of a fiend who was killed by Gayotnarr/ (Mainyo-i-khard XXVII, 15); and mount Arezflra was most likely the mountain to which he was bound, as Azi Dahaka was to Demavend (see Introd. IV, 18).
4 With regard to Dakhmas, see Introd. V, ro. ‘ Nor is the Earth happy at that place whereon stands a Dakhma with corpses upon it; for that patch of ground will never be clean again till the day of FARGARD III.
25 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 V 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 2, O Spitama Zaratlnutra! are driven along the way of captivity, the dry, the dusty way, and lift up a voice of wailing.’
III.
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 V 13 (41). O Maker of the material world, thou resurrection’ (Gr. Rav. 435, 437). Although the erection of Dakh- mas is enjoined by the law, yet the Dakhma in itself is as unclean as any spot on the earth can be, since it is always in contact with the dead (cf. Farg.VII, 55). The impurity which would otherwise be scattered over the whole world, is thus brought together to one and the same spot. Yet even that spot, in spite of the Ravaet, is not to lie defiled for ever, as every fifty years the Dakhmas ought to be pulled down, so that their sites may be restored to their natural purity (V. i. Farg. VII, 49 seq. and this Farg. § 13).
1 ‘Where there are most Khrafstras’ (Comm.); cf. Introd. V, xi.
9 Killed by an enemy.
9 There is no counterpart give!! to the first grief (§ 7), because, as the Commentary naively expresses it, ‘ it is not possible so to dig out hell, which will be done at the end of the world’ (Bund. XXXI, sub fin.)
26 YEN D{ DAD.
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 l. If a man alone by himself carry a corpse, the Nasu 2 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 Dru^, 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 3 4?
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 con- secrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful.’
1 No ceremony in general can be performed by one man alone.
Two Mobeds are wanted to perform the Vendid&d service, two priests for the Barash num, two persons for the Sag-did (Anquctil, II, 584 n.) It is never good that the faithful should be alone, as the fiend is always lurking about, ready to take advantage of any moment of inattention. If the faithful be alone, there is no one to make up for any negligence and to prevent mischief arising from it. Never is the danger greater than in the present case, when the fiend is close at hand, and in direct contact with the faithful.
4 See Introd. V, 3.
8 As the Nasu has taken hold of him, he has become a Nasu incarnate, aud must no longer be allowed to come into contact with men, whom he would defile.
FARGARD III.
27 16 (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 (57). 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 l, 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 Paimta-khshudra 2 *.
20, 21 (64-71). ‘And when he has grown to the age of a 1 lana, or of a Zaurura, or of a Pairbta- 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 4, 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 re- pented of all his evil thoughts, words, and deeds.
1 The Armert-g&h, the place for the unclean; scclntrod. V, 15.
2 Hana means, literally, ‘an old man;’ Zaurura, ‘a man broken down by age;’ Pairirta-khshudra, ‘one whose seed is dried up.’ These words seem to have acquired the technical meanings of ‘ fifty, sixty, and seventy years old.’
* ‘ Trained to operations of that sort’ (Comm.); a headsman.
4 Cf. Farg. IX, 49, text and note.
28 vendIdAd.
If he has committed any other evil deed, it is re- mitted by his repentance 1: if he has committed no other evil deed, he is absolved by his repentance, for ever and ever2.”’
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.’
2 3 (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 Zarathiutra! who waters ground that is dry, or dries ground that is too wet 3.
24 (79). ‘ Unhappy is the land that has long lain unsown with the seed of the sower and wants a good husbandman, like a Avell-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 1 The performance of the Patet. See Introd. V, 22.
2 It seems as if the law had formerly directed that he should be immediately put to death; but that afterwards, when the rigour of the law had abated, the object which had previously been fulfilled by his death, was then attained by his confinement. He was allowed to live in confinement till he was old and all but dead, and he was put to death by the law, just before he would have died in the usual course of nature (see §§ 19, 20). Certain Ravaets put the ‘carrier alone' among the number of the margarz&n (East India Office Library, Zend MSS. VIII, 144); he is not only to be punished in this world, but in the other too; he is condemned to feed in hell on corpses of men (Ar<& Viraf XXXVIII).
FARGARD III.
29 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 Zarathu^tra! 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 bread1)], here shall I ever go on bearing, bringing forth all manner of food, bringing forth profusion of corn2.”
28, 29 (91-95). ‘He who does not till the earth, O Spitama Zarathu-stra! 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 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 3, 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 Mazda4?
Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It is sowing corn again and again, O Spitama Zarathurtra!
31 (99). ‘He who sows corn, sows holiness: he 1 From the Vendidad Sadah.
4 Or ‘ bearing corn first for thee.’ ‘ When something good grows up, it will grow up for thee first ’ (Comm.)
3 ‘They take for themselves what is good and send to thee what is bad’ (Comm.)
* Literally, ‘ What is the stomach of the law?’
30 vendIdAd.
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 Daevas start up1 2; when the corn is growing rank 3> then faint the Daevas’ hearts; when the corn is being ground 4, the Dafivas groan; when wheat is coming forth, the Daevas 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 (1 1 1). ‘ 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 34(116). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the fifth that rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?
1 The translation ‘acts of adoration’ and ‘oblations’ is doubt- ful: the words in the text are <hrn£ \ey6/i(va, which arc traditionally translated ‘ feet’ and ‘ breasts.’ The Commentary has as follows: ‘ He makes the law of Mazda as fat as a child could be made by means of a hundred feet, that is to say, of fifty servants walking to rock him; of a thousand breasts, that is, of five hundred nurses; of ten thousand sacrifices performed for his weal.’
8 John Barleycorn got up again, And sore surpris’d them all.
8 Doubtful; possibly, * When sudhus (a sort of grain) is coming forth.’
4 Doubtful; possibly, ‘When pirtra (a sort of grain) is coming forth.’
8 Doubtful.
* See Farg. IV, 47.
FARGARD III.
31 Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ [It is he who tilling the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! kindly and piously gives1 to one of the faithful.]
35 (118). ‘ He who tilling the -earth, 0 Spitama Zarathuitra! would not kindly and piously give to one of the faithful, he shall fall down into the dark- ness of Spewta Armaiti 2, down into the world of woe, the dismal realm, down into the house of hell.’
IV.
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 Aspahe-astra 3, five hundred stripes with the Sraosh6-/£’arana.'
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 Aspahe-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraosho-^arana.’
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 1 The Asho-d&d or alms. The bracketed clause is from the Vendid&d S&dah.
* The earth.
32 vendIdad.
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.’
‘ It is so, if the sinner be a professor of the law of Mazda, or one who has been taught in it 1. But if he be not a professor of the law of Mazda, nor one who has been taught in it 2 3, then this law of Mazda takes his sin from him, if he confesses it 2 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 4; it takes away (the sin of) breach of trust 5 6; it takes away (the sin of) mur- dering one of the faithful0; it takes away (the sin of) burying a corpse7; it takes away (the sin of) 1 As he must have known that he was committing sin.
9 If he did not know that he was committing sin.
3 If he makes Patet (see Introd. V, 22), and says to himself, ‘I will never henceforth sin again’ (Comm.)
4 If not knowingly committed; see § 40 and the following notes.
* Draosha: refusing to give back a deposit (Comm, ad IV, 1): ‘ He knows that it is forbidden to steal, but he fancies that robbing the rich to give to the poor is a pious deed’ (Comm.)
6 Or better, ‘ a Mazdean,’ but one who has committed a capital crime; ‘ lie knows that it is allowed to kill the margarzan, but he does not know that it is not allowed to do so without an order from the judge.' Cf. VIII, 74 note.
7 ‘He knows that it is forbidden to bury a corpse; but he fancies that if one manages so that dogs or foxes may not take it to the fire and to the water, he behaves piously ’ (Comm.) See Introd. V, 9.
FARGARD IV.
deeds for which there is no atonement; it takes away the heaviest penalties of sin 1; it takes away any sin that may be sinned.
42 (149). ‘ In the same way the law of Mazda, O Spitama Zaratlnwtra! 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.’
Fargard IV.
Contracts and Outrages.
2. Classification of contracts; 3-4. Damages for breach of contract; 5-10. Kinsmen responsible; II- 16. Penalties for breach of contract.
18- 21. Menaces; 22-25. Assaults; 30-33. Wounds; 34-36. Wounds causing blood to flow; 37-39/ Broken bones; 40-43. Manslaughter; Clauses 44-45 refer to contracts, and ought to be placed after § 16. Clauses 47-49, which are in praise of physical weal, have been probably misplaced here from the preceding Fargard (see Farg. Ill, 33). The right order of this chapter would, therefore, seem to be as follows: 1-16; 44-45; 17—43 5 46; 49(bis)-55.
1 Or, possibly, * the sin of usury.’ ‘ He knows that it is lawful to take high interest, but he docs not know that it is not lawful to do so from the faithful ’ (Comm.)
34 vendIdad.
I.
i. He that does not restore (a thing lent), when it is asked for back again, steals the thing; he robs the man1. So he does every day, every night, as long as he keeps in his house his neighbour s pro- perty, as though it were his own 2.
II a.
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 arc six in num- ber 3. The first is the word-contract 4; the second 1 4 1 Te is a thief when he takes with a view not to restore; he is a robber when, being asked to restore, he answers, I will not' (Comm.)
2 Every moment that he holds it unlawfully, he steals it anew. ‘ The basest thing with Persians is to lie; the next to it is to be in debt, for this reason among many others, that he who is so, must needs sink to lying at last’ (Herod. I, 183). The debtor in ques- tion is of course the debtor of bad faith, ‘ he who says to a man, Give me this, I will restore it to thee at the proper time, and he says to himself, I will not restore it' (Comm.)
The following classification is in fact twofold, the contracts being defined in the first two clauses by their mode of being entered into, and in the last four by their amount. Yet it appears from the following clauses that even the word-contract and the hand-contract became at last, or were misunderstood as, indicative of a certain amount. The commentators, however, were unable to determine that amount, or, at least, they do not state how much it was, which they do with regard to the last four.
4 The contract entered into by simple word of mouth. * The immortal Zartujt Isfitam&n asked of the good, beneficent Hormazd, “ Which is the worst of the sins that men commit? ” The good, beneficent Hormazd answered, “There is no sin worse than when a man, having given his word to another, there being no witness but myself, Hormazd, one of them breaks his word and says, I don't know anything about it...there is no sin worse than this ” ' FARGARD IV.
35 is the hand-contract 1; the third is the contract to the amount of a sheep 2; the fourth is the contract to the amount of an ox 3; the fifth is the contract to the amount of a man4; the sixth is the contract to the amount of a field5 6 7, a field in good land, a fruitful one, in good bearing0/ II b.
II b.
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 8 the amount of the hand- contract.
4 (16).. The hand-contract 9 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 1 ‘When they strike hand in hand and make then agreement by word* (Gr. Rav. 1. 1.) It would be of interest to know whether word and hand are to be taken in the strict meaning or if they allude to certain formulas and gestures like those in the Roman stipulatio.
2 ‘Viz. to the amount of 3 istirs [in weight]/ (Comm.) An istir {(TTaTTjp) is as much as 4 dirhems (dpaxw). On the value of the dirhem, see Introd. V, 22.
3 ‘To the amount of 12 istirs (=48 dirhems),' (Comm.)
4 ‘ To the amount of 500 istirs (=2000 dirhems)/ The exact translation would be rather, ‘The contract to the amount of a human being/ as the term is applied to promises of marriage and to the contract between teacher and pupil.
6 A sort of gloss added to define more accurately the value of the object and to indicate that it is greater than that of the pre- ceding one.
7 If he fail to fulfil it. 8 Or, ‘ as damages (?)/ 9 The breach of the hand-contract.
36 VENDIDAD.
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.
lie.
5 (24). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the word-contract, how many are involved in his sin1?
Ahura Mazda answered: ‘His sin makes his Nabdnazdwtas* answerable for the3 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 N abanazdi.s'tas answerable for the six hundred-fold atonement V 1 Literally, how much is involved? The joint responsibility of the family was a principle in the Persian law, as it was in the old German law, which agrees with the statement in Am. Marccllinus: * Leges apud eos impendio formidatae, et abominandac aliac, per quas ob noxam unius omnis propinquitas periL^ (XX11I, 6).
2 The next of kin to the ninth degree.
8 See § 11. This passage seems to have puzzled tradition. The Commentary says, ‘ How long, how many years, has one to fear for the breach of a word-contract? — the Nabanazdirtas have to fear for three hundred years;’ but it does not explain farther the nature of that fear; it only tries to reduce the circle of that liability to narrower limits: ‘ only the son born after the breach is liable for it; the righteous arc not liable for it; when the father dies, the son, if righteous, has nothing to fear from it/ And finally, the Ravaets leave the kinsmen wholly aside; the penalty falling entirely upon the real offender, and the number denoting only the duration of his punishment in hell: ‘ He who breaks a word-contract, his soul shall abide for three hundred years in hell' 4 See § 12. c His soul shall abide for six hundred years in heir FARGARD IV.
37 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 NabS.nazdi.ytas answerable for the seven hundred- fold atonement1 2 * 4/ 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 Nabanazdbtas answerable for the eight hundred- fold atonement V 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 NabSnazdutas answerable for the nine hundred-fold atonement V 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 Nabanazdii'tas answerable for the thousand-fold atonement V II d.
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 1 See§ 13. ‘Ilis soul shall abide for seven hundred years in 2 See § 14. ‘ His soul shall abide for eight hundred years in hell.’
8 See § 15. ‘ His soul shall abide for nine hundred years in hell.’
4 See § 16. ‘ His soul shall abide for a thousand years in hell.’
38 VEND? DAD.
with the Aspahe-ai'tra, three hundred stripes with the Sraosho-Z’arana V 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 Aspahe-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraosho-z&arana V 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 Aspahe-artra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraosho-X’arana V 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 Aspahe-ajtra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-Z’arana V 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 Aspahe-ajtra, nine hundred stripes with the S raosh o-/’a ran a R.’
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?
1 One tanafuhr and a half, that is 1800 dirhems.
2 Three tanaffihrs, or 3600 dirhems.
2 Three tanaffihrs and a half, or 4200 dirhems. • 4 Four tanaffihrs, or 4800 dirhems.
6 Four tanaffihrs and a half, or 5400 dirhems.
FARGARD IV.
39 Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ A thousand stripes with the Aspahe-aitra, a thousand stripes with the Sraosho-^arana V III a.
17(54). If a man rise up to smite a man, it is an Agerepta 1 2. If a man. come upon a man to smite him, it is an Avaoimta. If a man actually smite a man with evil aforethought, it is an A red us. Upon the fifth Aredus3 he becomes a Peshotanu4.
18 (58). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He that committeth an Agerepta, what penalty shall he pay?
Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ Five stripes with the Aspahe-astra, five stripes with the Sraosho-Z’arana; on the second Agerepta, ten stripes with the Aspahe-astra, ten stripes with the Sraoshd-iarana; on the third, fifteen stripes with the Aspahe-aitra, fifteen stripes with the Sraosho-ztarana.
19 (63). ‘ On the fourth, thirty stripes with the 1 Five tanaffthrs, or Cooo dirhems.
3 In this paragraph are defined the first three of the eight out- rages with which the rest of the Fargard deals. Only these three are defined, because they are designated by technical terms. We subjoin the definitions of them found in a Sanskrit translation of a Patet (Paris, Bibl. Nat. f. B. 5, 154), in which their etymological meanings arc better preserved than in the Zend definition itself: — Agerepta, ‘ seizing,’ is when a man seizes a weapon with a view to smite another.
Avaoirirta, ‘brandishing,’ is when a man brandishes a weapon with a view to smite another.
Aredur is when a man actually smites another with a weapon, but without wounding him, or inflicts a wound which is healed within three days.
3 Viz. on the sixth commission of it, as appears from § 28.
4 He shall receive two hundred stripes, or shall pay 1200 dir- hems (see Introd. V, 19).
40 VENDiDAD.
Aspahe-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraosho-^arana; on the fifth, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraosho-^arana; on the sixth, sixty stripes with the Aspahe-a.ctra, sixty stripes with the SraoshcV/'arana; on the seventh, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraosho- A’arana.’
20 (67). If a man commit an Agerepta for the eighth time, without having atoned for the pre- ceding, what penalty shall he pay?
Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He is a Peshdtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-aitra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-£arana.’
21 (70). If a man commit an Agerepta1 * 3 and refuse to atone for it -, what penalty shall he pay?
Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-/’arana.’
22 (73). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an AvaoirLsta, what penalty shall he pay?