‘ If it be a Vlzu dog, the Dru^ 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 dog1 *, 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 V 35 (ri3)- O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the dead one be a wicked, two- footed ruffian, an ungodly Ashemaogha 3, 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 year4. Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zarathuitra! that wicked, two- 1 A weasel. The weasel is one of the creatures of Ahura, for ‘it has been created to fight against the serpent garza and the other khrafstras that live-in holes’ (Bund. 47, 8).
* Not that the unclean one cannot be cleansed, but that his uncleanness does not pass from him to another.
3 See Introd. IV, xo; V, 11.
4 The frog is a creature of Ahriman’s, and one of the most hateful; for, in the sea Vouru-kasha, it goes swimming around the white Horn, the tree of everlasting life, and would gnaw it down, but for the godlike fish Kar-mahi, that keeps watch and guards the tree wherever the frog would slip in (Bund. XVIII; cf. Orm.
6o vendIdad.
legged ruffian, that ungodly Ashemaogha, directly defiles the creatures of the good spirit, and indi- rectly defiles them.
37(119). ‘Whilst alive he smites the water1 2 3; whilst alive he blows out the fire 9; whilst alive he carries off the cow 9; whilst alive he smites the faithful man with a deadly blow, that parts the soul from the body4 *; not so will he do when dead.
38 ( 1 20). ‘ Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zara- thiutra! that wicked, two-legged ruffian, that un- godly Ashemaogha, never ceases depriving the faithful man of his food, of his clothing, of his house, of his bed, of his vessels6; not so will he do when dead.’
VII.
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 Zarathmtra! shall they take the fire, the baresma, the cups, the Haoma, and the mortar; they shall take the dead one out to the proper place7 whereto, according to the law, corpses must be brought, to be devoured there.’
41 (128). O Maker of the material world, thou 1 By defiling it (a capital crime; see Introd. V, 8, and Farg.
2 He extinguishes the Bahr&m fire (a capital crime; Introd. V, 8).
3 As a cattle-lifter. 4 As an assassin.
6 By defiling or by stealing them.
6 In order to perform a sacrifice. 1 The Dakhma.
FARGARD V. 6 1 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 sum- mer, and then they shall bring back the fire to the house wherein the man has died.’
43(131). 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 Peshotanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe- astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-X’arana.’
VIII.
45 (135) 0 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 wor- shippers of Mazda do?
4^ (I39)* 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?
62 vendIdAd.
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 placd 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 gAmez I 2 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 boiling3 milk of mares, cows, sheep, or goats, with pap or without pap4; she may take cooked meat without water, bread without water, 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 I The Armert-gdh (cf. Farg. Ill, ig seq., and Introd. V, 15).
* Urine of the ox: it destroys the Nasu in her womb (Introd. V, 5). The ashes work to the same end, as they are taken from the Bahram fire (Comm.), the earthly representative of the fire of lightning, and the most powerful destroyer of fiends (see Introd. V, 8, and Farg. VIII, 80 seq.) ‘Three cups, or six, or nine, according to her strength ’ (Asp.)
3 Doubtful. * Doubtful.
II See Introd. V, 13. ‘The water would be defiled;’ cf. Farg. VII, 70 seq.
FARGARD V.
63 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 g6m£z and water, by the nine holes1, 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 gomez and water2.’
57 (160)3. 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 Hdvanan, or by an Atare-vakhsha, or by a Fra- baretar, or by an Abereaf, or by an Asndtar, or by a 1 She shall perform the nine nights' Barashnfim, for the details of which see Farg. IX.
4 The modern custom is somewhat different: ‘If a woman brings forth a still-born child, after a pregnancy of one month to ten months, the first food she shall take is nirang (=gdmez)...fire and ashes; and she is not allowed until the fourth day to take water or salt, or any food that is cooked with water or salt: on the fourth day they give her nirang, that she may cleanse herself and wash her clothes with it, and she is not allowed to wash herself and her clothes with water until the forty-first day’ (Gr. Rav. 568).
64 vendJdAd.
Rathwiskar, or by a Sraoshd-varez \ or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman 2?
58(162). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Never can those clothes, even when washed and cleansed, be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Havanan, or by an Atare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Aberer/, or by an Asndtar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraosha-varez, or by any priest, warrior, or husband- man.
59 (164). 1 But if there be in a Mazdean house a woman who is in her sickness, or a man who has become unfit for work3, and who must sit in the place of infirmity4, those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their sheets 5, until they can with- draw and move their hands 6.
1 These are the names of the different priests who were engaged in the sacrifices. The Havanan strains the Haoma; the Atare- vakhsha kindles the fire; the Frabaretar brings all that is necessary for the sacrifice (Anquetil); the Aberc d brings the water (Anquetil and Zand-Pahlavi Glossary, 21); the Asnatar cleanses the vessels. Those are the priests who are entrusted with the preparatory or accessory proceedings; the essential duties are performed by the Zaotar and the Rathwukar, the former chanting the hymns and saying the prayers, the latter performing the various operations during the sacrifice. Nowadays there are only two priests, the Zaotar (Zfiti) and the Ralhwijkar (Raspi), the latter performing all the accessory services formerly performed by several priests. As to the Sraosha-varez, see above, § 25, note 2.
2 In short, by any of the faithful, when in state of purity.
3 An ArmeJt; literally, ‘an infirm person/ that is to say, one who is unclean, during the time of his uncleanness (Farg. IX, 33 seq.), when all work is forbidden to him (cf. Introd.V, 15).
B The clothing defiled by the dead can only serve for Dasht&n women, even after it has been washed and exposed for six months to the light of the sun and of the moon (Saddar 91; cf. Farg. VII, 6 Until they are clean. The unclean must have their hands FARGARD V.
65 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’s1 weight of thread, not even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning.
61 (171). ‘Whosoever throws any clothing on a dead body2, 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:i.
62 (174). ‘ He shall go away into the world of the fiends, into that dark world4, made of darkness, the offspring of darkness 6. To that world, to the wrapped in an old piece of linen, lest they should touch and defile anything clean.
1 See Farg. IV, 48, note 4.
2 Cf. Farg. VIII, 23 scq. It appears from ihosc passages that the dead must lie on the mountain naked, or * clothed only with the light of heaven’ (Farg. VI, 31). The modern custom is to clothe them with old clothing (l)adabhai Naoroji, Manners and Customs of the Parsis, p. 15). ‘ When a man dies and receives the order (to depart), the older the shroud they make for him, the better. It must be old, worn out, but well washed: they must not lay anything new on the dead. For it is said in the Zend Vcndidad, I f they put on the dead even so much as a thread from the distaff more than is necessary, every thread shall become in the other world a black snake clinging to the heart of him who made that shroud, and even the dead shall rise against him and seize him by the skirt, and say, That shroud which thou madcst for me has become food for worms and vermin ' (Saddar 1 2). The Greeks entertained quite different ideas, and dressed the dead in their gayest attire, as if for a feast. Yet the difference is only in appear- ance; for, after the fourth day, when the soul is in heaven, then ' rich garments arc offered up to it, which it will wear in its celestial life (Saddar 87, Hyde 64).
8 The Behesht or paradise.
4 ‘ Where darkness can be seized with the hand * (Comm.; cf. Aogemaid6 28); something more than the ‘visible darkness/ 6 The Commentary has, ‘the place of those who impregnate 66 vendIdAd.
dismal realm, you are delivered by your own doings, by your own souls, O sinners! ’ Fargard VI.
1 (1-9). How long the earth remains unclean, when defiled by the dead.
II (10-25). Penalties for defiling- the ground with dead matter.
III (26-41). Purification of the different sorts of water, when defiled by the dead.
IV (42-43). Purification of the ITaoma.
V (44-51). The place for corpses; the Dakhmas.
1.
1. 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 Zarathuitra!
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 V 4 (7). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda shall sow or water, darkness, for the Dru^ who conceives seed from the sinner comes from that place’ (cf. Farg. XVIII, 30 seq.)
1 Cf. Farg. VII, 45 seq.
a ‘To the water which they pour out, to the earth which they plough, to the plants which they sow ’ (Comm.)
FARGARD VI.
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 Pesho- tanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-Z’arana V 6 (10). O Maker of the material worid, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda want to make the ground fit to be tilled again 2, 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 Peshd- tanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-a^tra, two hundred stripes with the S r aosho-zDar ana. ’ II.
10 (16). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One 1 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 Aspahe-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraosho-ztarana.’
1 ‘If they plough and sow it, one tanfifuhr (see Introd. V, 19); if they pour water on it, one tanafuhr; if they plough, sow, and water it, two tanafuhrs ’ (Comm.)
2 Even when a year’s space is past, the ground is not free ipso facto.
68 VENDIDAD.
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 Aspahe-artra, fifty stripes with the Sraosho- Z’arana.’
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 Aspahe-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraosho-^arana.’
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 Aspahe-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraosho-^arana.’
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 Pesh6- tanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-artra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshd-ziarana.’
FARGARD VI.
69 20 (40). 0 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?
2 1 (44). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ Four hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, four hundred stripes with the Sraosho-^arana.’
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 Aspahe-aJtra, six hundred stripes with the Sraosho-^arana.’
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 Aspahe-artra, a thousand stripes with the Sraosho-^arana.’
III.
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 Zara- thiutra! he shall enter the river, and take the dead out of the water; he shall go down into the water 70 vendIdAd.
ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, or a man’s full depth, till he can reach the dead body V 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 Druf Nasu defile with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?
3 [ (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 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.’
33 (72). O Maker of the material world, thou * ‘ If he is able to draw out the corpse and does so, it is a pious deed worth a taqSfflhr (that is, one by which a tanafOhr sin can be cancelled); if he is able to draw it out and does not do so, it is a tantfflhr sin. GftgSrasp says, It is a margarzan sin (a capital crime),’ (Comm.)
FARGARD VI.
71 Holy One! What part of the water in a well does the Driyf 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 arc 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 Driif 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 1 All the water in the well is unclean, c as the well has the length and breadth of a man’s stature’ (Brouillons d’Anquetil, Vended, vendJdAd.
stream does the Druf 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 times1, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.’
IV.
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?
43(85). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It can, O holy Zarathuytra! If it has been strained for the sacrifice, no corpse that has been brought unto it, makes corruption or death enter it 2. 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.’
V.
44 (92). O Maker of the material world, thou 1 When three waves have passed.
2 Because the Haoma is the plant of life; when strained for the sacrifice, it is the king of healing plants (Bund. XXIV); the dead shall become immortal by tasting of the white Haoma (ib.XXXI).
FARGARD VI.
73 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 high- est summits \ where they know there arc always corpse-eating dogs and corpse-eating birds, O holy Zarathujtra!
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 Peshotanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho- Atrana.’
49 (101). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One1 2! Whither shall we bring, where shall we lay the bones of the dead, O Ahura Mazda?
50(102). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The wor- shippers of Mazda shall erect a building 3 out of the reach of the dog, of the fox, and of the wolf, and wherein rain-water cannot stay4.
1 ‘On the top of a mountain’ (Comm.) See Introd. V, 10; cf. VIII, xo.
2 The foregoing clauses (§§ 44-47) refer to the place where the corpse must be laid; the following (49-51) refer to the building, which must be erected on that place, if possible, to receive the corpse.
9 The Dakhma.
4 The rain-water that washes away the remains of corpses (V, 16 seq.) must not remain on the Dakhmas (cf. Comm, ad VIII, 7), 74 vendidAd.
5 1 (105). ‘Such a building shall they erect, if they can afford it, with stones, mortar, and earth1; 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.’
Fargard VII.
I (1-5). IIow long after death the Nasu falls upon the dead.
II (6-9). How far the defiling power of the Nasu extends.
III (To-22). Cleansing of clothes defiled by the dead.
IV (23-24). Eating of corpses an abomination.
V (25-27). Bringing corpses to fire or water an abomination.
VI (28-35). Cleansing of wood and com defiled by the dead.
VII a (36-40). Physicians; their probation.
VII b (40-44). Their fees.
VIII (45-59). Purification of the earth, of the Dakhmas. The Dakhmas and the Daevas.
IX (60-72). Treatment of a woman who has brought forth a still-born child.
X (73-75). Cleansing of vessels defiled by the dead.
XI (76). Cleansing of the cow.
XII (77). Unclean libations.
This chapter would offer tolerable unity, but for a digression on medicine, which would be better placed as an introduction to the last three chapters. Sections II and IX, parts of which have already been found in Fargard V, arc more suitably placed here. This chapter, as a whole, deals with the action of the Dru^ Nasu, from the moment she takes hold of the corpse, and shows how and when the several objects she has defiled become clean, namely, clothes, wood, corn, earth, women, vessels, and cows.
I.
I. Zarathiutra asked Aluira Mazda: ‘ O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material but is brought out through trenches dug for that purpose (cf. Introd. V, 10).
1 This word is doubtful.
FARGARD VII.
75 world, thou Holy One! When a man dies, at what moment does the Dru^ Nasu rush upon him 1? ’ 2 (3). Ahura Mazda anSwered: ‘ Directly after death, as soon as the soul has left the body, O Spitama Zarathustra! the Dru^ Nasu comes and rushes upon him, from the regions of the north a, in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras 3.
(3. ‘On him she stays until the dog has seen the corpse 4 or eaten it up, or until the flesh-eating birds have taken flight towards it6. When the dog has seen it or eaten it up, or when the flesh-eating birds have taken flight towards it, then the I)ru^ 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,J, or by falling down a precipice, or by the law 7, or by a murderer, or by the noose 8, how long after death docs the Drue- Nasu come and rush upon the dead?
1 See Introd. V, 3.
- Hell lies in the north; cf. XIX, 1; Yt.XXII, 25; Bundahir 36, 1 2.
4 Until the Sag-did lias been performed (sec Introd. V, 4).
5 The Sag-did may be performed by birds of prey as well as by dogs (see Introd. V, 4). The dog smites the Nasu when it brings its muzzle near to the dead, the bird (mountain hawk, sparrow (?), or eagle) when its shadow passes over the body (Comm, ad § 2; cf. § 29). § 3 is from the Vendidad Sadah.
* ‘ By poison ’ (Comm.)
7 Literally, ‘by men;’ that is to say, pul to death by the com- munity according to law (Comm.)
s If he has strangled himself. Or possibly, ‘ by want.'
76 VEND} DAD.
5 (6). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ At the next watch after death the Druf 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 Dru^ Nasu envelope with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?
7(11). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘If the dead one be a priest, the Dru^ Nasu rushes forth, () Spitama Zaratluutra! she falls on the eleventh and defiles the ten.
‘ If the dead one be a warrior, the Dru^ Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zaratluutra! she falls on the tenth and defiles the nine.
‘ If the dead one be a husbandman, the Driy Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zaratluutra! she falls on the ninth and defiles the eight.
8(17). ‘If it be a shepherd’s dog, the Dru^ Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zaratluutra! she falls on the eighth and defiles the seven.
1 The day is divided into five watches or ratu. If the man dies a natural death, the Dru^ comes directly; if the death be violent and unlooked for, the Dru# is taken unawares, and it requires time for her to be warned of it and to come.
FARGARD VII.
77 ‘If it be a house dog, the Dru<r Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathiwtra! she falls on the seventh and defiles the six.
9(21). ‘If it be a Vohunazga dog, the Dru^ Nasu rushes forth, 0 Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the sixth and defiles the five.
‘If it be a young dog, the Dni'r Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the fifth and defiles the four V...‘ those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their sheets1 2.’...III.
10 (26). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of his bedding2 and pillow does the Dru«‘ Nasu defile with infection, unclean- ness, and pollution?
11(27). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The Dru^ Nasu defiles with infection, uncleanness, and pollu- tion the upper sheet and the inner garment V 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 Zarathiutra! ’ . How so?
1 This enumeration is less complete than that in the fifth Fargard, as it comprises only the first four sorts of dogs, viz. only those that can perform the Sag-did (Comm, ad § 2).
2 This phrase, which forms part of § 19, is wrongly inserted here.
The bedding on which he has died.
* That is to say, only those clothes which have been in direct « contact with the dead.
78 VENdIdAd.
‘ 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 gdmez.
1 5 (35). ‘ If it be leather, they shall wash it with gomez 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.