2 Banga is bang or mang, a narcotic made from hempseed; shaeta means literally gold, and must have been some yellow plant or liquor; ghn£na is ‘that which kills [the fruit in the womb];’ fraspata is ‘that which expels [the fruit] so that it perishes’ (Comm.)
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delivered, and she conceives by him, so long shall he support her, until the child is born.
16 (51). ‘ If he shall not support her, so that the child comes to mischief1, 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: ‘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 2.
19(58). ‘ If he shall not support her 3...
‘ 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 bitch4) 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 8 The sentence is left unfinished: Aspendiarji fills it with the words in § 16, ‘ so that the child,’ &c. It seems as if §§ 17, 18 were no part of the original text, and as if § 17 were a mere repetition of § 20, which being wrongly interpreted as referring to a woman would have brought about the repetition of § 15 as an answer.
* The subject is wanting in the:text: it is supplied from the Commentary as the sense requires it.
FARGARD XV. 1 77 his 1 2; 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 sup- porting 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 1 ‘ The bitch is lying on the high road: the man whose house has its door nearest shall take care of her. If she dies, he shall carry her off [to dispose of the body according to the law]. One must support her for at least three nights: if one cannot support her any longer, one intrusts hef to a richer man’ (Comm, and Asp.)
2 ‘In pledge or for rent’ (Asp.; cf. Comm, ad § 42).
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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-wall1, 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 sup- porting 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.’
1 The wall around the house, FARGARD XV.
38 (108). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a bitch be near her time and be lying in the moat1, which is the worshipper of Mazda that shall support her?
39 (no). 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 (1 1 2). ‘ 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 ( 1 1 5). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He who sowed the pasture-field or who holds it, the care of supporting her is his.
43 (t 17)- ‘He shall with kind charity2 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 around3. 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.
1 The moat before the earth-wall.
* Doubtful. * * Probably the distance of one yu^y&rti; cf. Farg. XIII, 17.
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‘ Atar1, the son of Ahura Mazda, watches as well (over a pregnant bitch) as he does over a woman.'
IV.
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 (13 1). ‘They shall first tie up the bitch there, far from children and from the Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda2, and they shall watch by her until a dog comes there from anywhere. They shall after- wards let another dog come near her, and then a third besides3, each being kept apart from the former, lest they should assail one another.
49 (134)4. ‘ 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?
1 The fire: when a woman is in labour, one lights up a great fire in order to protect her and her child from the fiends (Introd. V, 1 3).
2 ‘ From children, lest she shall bite them; from the fire, lest it shall hurt her’ (Comm.)
2 Cf. Justinus III, 4: maturiorem futuram conceptionem rati, si earn singulae per plures viros experirentur.
* The text of this and the following clause is corrupt, and the meaning doubtful.
FARGARD XVI. l8l 51 (137). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Seven hun- dred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraosho-X’arana.’
Fargard XVI.
I (1-11). On the uncleanness of women during their sickness.
II (11-12). How it can be removed.
III (13-18). Sundry laws relating to the same matter. See Introd. V, 12.
I.
i. 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 way1 of the wood there, both in growing trees and in logs -; they shall strew dry dust on the ground11; and they shall erect a building there4, 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 \yorld, 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 1 The way to the Dashtanistan (see Introd. V, 12).
a Lest the wood shall be touched and defiled by the woman on her way to the Dashtanistan.
3 Lest the earth shall be touched and defiled by her. Cf. Farg.
4 The DashtanistSn. 5 See Introd. V, 12.
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paces from the consecrated bundles of baresma, three paces from the faithful.’
5 (n). 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 paces1 * 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 V 7(15). How much food shall he bring to her? How much bread shall he bring?
‘(Only) two danares3 of long bread, and one da- nare of milk pap, lest she should gather strength 4 5.
‘ 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 1 The food is held out to her from a distance in a metal spoon.
Earthen vessels, when defiled, cannot be made clean; but metal vessels can (see Farg. VII, 73 seq.)
3 A danare is, according to Anquetil, as much as four tolas; a tola is from 105 to 175 grains.
4 1 Soshyos says: For three nights cooked meat is not allowed to lier, lest the issue shall grow stronger.’ As the fiend is in her, any strength she may gain accrues to Ahriman.
5 A child whom she suckles. The meaning is, Even a child, if he has touched her, must undergo the rites of cleansing. The general rule is given in the Commentary: ‘ Whoever has touched a Dashtan woman must wash his body and his clothes with gomez and water.’ The ceremony in question is the simple Ghosel, not the Barashnfim, since the woman herself performs the former only (vide infra, § u seq.; cf. Introd.V, 16).
FARGARD XVI. 183 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.
9. ‘ 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.
10. ‘ 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.
11. ‘If she still sec blood after nine nights have passed, this is a work of the Daevas which they have performed for the worship and glorification of the Daevas ‘.
II.
‘The worshippers of Mazda shall clear the way1 2 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 gome/, 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 2 The way to the Baraahnftm-gah, where the cleansing takes place.
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any other sort of the Khrafstras made by Angra Mainyu, if it be winter1.’
III.
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 Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-a^tra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-^arana.’
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 Aspahe-a.rtra, thirty stripes with the Sraosho -Parana; for the second time he comes near unto her, for the second time he lies by her, fifty stripes with the Aspahe- astra, fifty stripes with the Sraosho-^arana; for the third time he comes near unto her, for the third time he lies by her, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshd- /■arana.’
16. 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 1 See Introd. IV, 3^.
FARGARD XVII. 1 85 unclean thigh, but without sexual intercourse, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Ninety stripes with the Aspahe-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraosho- -fcarana.
1 7 (39)" ‘Whosoever shall lie in sexual inter- course 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 naeza1, and drop its fat into the fire 2 3.
18(41). ‘All suph sinners, embodiments of the Dru^, 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 V Fargard XVII.
Hair and Nails.
Anything that has been separated from the body of man is con- sidered dead matter (Inlrod. V, 12), and is accordingly supposed to fall into the possession of the demon and to become the abode of death and uncleanness. Therefore, hair and nails, as soon as cut off, are at once the property of Ahriman, and the demon has to be driven away from them by spells, in the same way as he is from the bodies of the dead. They are withdrawn from his power by 1 A disease (Farg. VII, 58). There is another word naeza, ‘a spear/ so that one may translate also ‘ killed by the spear ’ (Asp.)
2 ‘ Not that the two deeds are equal, but neither is good ' (Comm.) The sin in question is a simple tanafuhr (Farg. XV, 7), and therefore can be atoned for by punishment and repentance, whereas the burning of a corpse is a crime for which there is no atonement (Farg. I, 17; VIII, 73 seq.; Inlrod. V, 8).
3 Literally, ‘is a Peshotanu;' ‘he is a tanaffihr sinner, that is to say, margarzan (worthy of death)/ Comm.
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the recital of certain prayers, and by being deposited in the earth inside consecrated circles, which are drawn around them as an intrenchment against the fiend (see above, p. 122, n. 1).
This chapter, which has gi\Ten full scope to the ironical humour of many, is an invaluable document in the eyes of the mythologist, as he finds in it, if not the origin and explanation, at least the oldest record of world-wide superstitions. Not only in Bombay, but all over the world, people are found who believe that hair and nails are weapons in the hands of the evil one. The Esthonians, on the shores of the Baltic, take the utmost care not to drop the parings of their nails on the ground, lest the devil should pick them up, to make a visor to his cap, which will give him full power to injure men, unless the sign of the cross has been made over them1. The G audios in the Chilian pampas fear to throw their hair to the winds, but deposit it in holes dug in a wall2. In Li<%e good people are advised not to throw away their hair, nor to leave it in the teeth of the comb, lest a witch take hold of it and cast a spell over them I.
I.
1. Zarathurtra 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 Daevas, 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 them4 in a hole or in a crack \ 9 Mdlusine, Recueil de Mythologie populaire, publid par H. Gaidoz et E. Rolland, Paris, 1878; pp. 79, 549, 583. To the same train of ideas seems to belong the Eddie myth of Naglfar, the fatal ship wrought out of the nails of the dead, which is to take the crew of the demon to the shore of the earth when the last day of the world is come (Gylfagiinning, 51).
4 Without performing the requisite^ ceremonies.
6 Doubtful.
FARGARD XVII.
3 (6). ‘ Then for want of the lawful rites being observed, Daevas are produced in the earth; for want of the lawful rites being observed, those Khraf- stras 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 d i.v t i 1 deep if the earth be hard, a vitasti 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 up2.”
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.
II.
7 (19). ‘For the nails, thou shalt dig a hole, out 2 See above, XI, 6; the choice of this line was determined by the presence of the word plants in it: man was considered a microcosm, and every element in him was supposed to come from a similar element in nature, to which it was to return after death, and whence it was to come back again at the time of the resur- rection: his bones from the earth, his blood from the water, his hair from the trees, his life from the fire (Bundahij XXXI, Ulamai Isldm); an old Aryan theory, traces of which are also to be found in India (Rig-veda X, 16, 3), in Greece (Ilias VII, 99; Empedocles, fr. 378; cf. Epicharmus ap. Plut. Consol, ad Apoll. 15), and in Scandinavia (Edda, Grimnismal 40).
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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 holi- ness and good thought V’ 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 Asho-ziuta bird1 2 3! 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 Mdzainya Daevas 10 (29). ‘ If those nails have not been dedicated (to the bird), they shall be in the hands of the Mazainya Daevas so many spears, knives, bows, falcon-winged arrows, and sling stones (against the Mazainya Daevas)4.
1 Yasna XXXIII, 7. There is here only a play upon the word sruye, ‘ is heard/ which chances to be homonymous with the dual of srva, ‘ nails of both hands/ a 4 The owl/ according to modern tradition. The word literally means 4 friend of holiness/ ‘ For the bird Ashozu.rta they recite the Avcsta formula; if they recite it, the fiends tremble and do not take up the nails; but if the nails have had no spell uttered over them, the fiends and wizards use them as arrows against the bird Ashozujta and kill him. Therefore, when the nails have had a spell uttered over them, the bird takes and eats them up, that the fiends may not do any harm by their means ' (Bundahij XIX).
3 See above, p. 137, n. 1. The nails are cut in two and the fragments are put in the hole with the point directed towards the north, that is to say, against the breasts of the Devs (see above, p. 75, n. 2). See Anquetil, Zend-Avesta II, 117; India Office Library, VIII, 80. ' 4 Repeated by mistake from § 10.
FARGARD XVIII.
ii (30). ‘All such sinners, embodiments of the Druf, 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 V Fargard XVIII.
I (1-13). On the unworthy priest and enticers to heresy.
II (14-29). The holiness of the cock.
III (30-60). The four paramours of the Drug'.
IV (61-71). On unlawful lusts.
The text and the Palilavi commentary of this Fargard are trans- lated in Haug’s Essays, 'pp. 243 seq., 364 scq.
I.
I. ‘There is many a one, O holy Zaratlnutra! ’ said Ahura Mazda, ‘who wears a Paitiddna but who has not girded his loins with the law:i; when such a man says, “ I am an Athravan,” he lies; do not call him an Athravan, O holy Zarathuxtra!’ thus said Ahura Mazda.
2 (5). ‘ He holds a Khrafstraghna 1 in his hand, but he has not girded his loins with the law; when he says, “ I am an Athravan,” he lies; do not call him an Athravan, O holy Zaratluutra! ’ thus said Ahura Mazda.
1 See preceding Fargard, § 18.
3 The word translated girded is the word used of the Kostt, the sacred girdle which the Parsi must never part with (see § 54); the full meaning, therefore, is, ‘ girded with the law as with a Kristi ’ (cf. Yasna IX, 26 [81]), that is to say, ‘ never forsaking the law,’ or, as the Commentary expresses it, 4 one whose thought is all on the VENDED.
3 (7). ‘ He holds a twig 1 in his hand, but he has not girded his loins with the law; when he says, “ I am an Athravan,” he lies; do not call him an Athravan, O holy Zarathiwtra! ’ thus said Ahura Mazda.
4 (9). ‘He wields the A.vtra mairya2, but he has not girded his loins with the law; when he says, “ I am an Athravan,” he lies; do not call him an Athravan, O holy Zarathiutra f’ 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 Athravan,” do not call him an Athravan, O holy Zarathiutra! ’ thus said Ahura Mazda.
6 (14). ‘Him thou shalt call an Athravan, O holy Zarathiutra! who throughout the night sits up and demands of the holy Wisdom3, which makes man free from anxiety, with dilated heart, and cheerful at the head of the A'inva^ bridge 4, 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 an- swering what is asked of me; demand of me, that ' The bundles of baresma or the urvaran (see p. 22, n. 2; 3 The Aspah6-ar tra; see Introd. V, 19.
3 That is to say, studies the law and learns from those who know it (cf. Introd. V, 2).
* See Farg. XIX, 30. ‘ It gives him a stout heart, when standing before the A’inva/ bridge ’ (Comm.)
FARGARD XVIII.
thou mayst be the better, that thou mayst be the happier V 8 (21). Zarathuitra 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: 4 It is the man that teaches a wrong law2; it is the man who con- tinues for three years 3 without wearing the sacred girdle4, without chanting the G&thas, without wor- shipping the good waters.
10 (25). ‘And he who should set that man at 1 See Introd. V, 2.
2 ‘The deceiver Ashemaogha* (Comm.); the heretic. Cf. Farg. XV, 2, and Introd. Ill, 10.
3 Doubtful.
3 Doubtful.
4 The Kosti, which must be worn by every Farsi, man or woman, from their fifteenth year of age (see below, § 54 seq.); it is the badge of the faithful, the girdle by which he is united both with Ormazd and with his fellow believers. He who does not wear it must be refused water and bread by the members of the community; he who wears it becomes a participator in the merit of all the good deeds per- formed all over the Zarathustrian world (Saddar 10 and 46; Hyde 10 and 50). The K6sti consists 'of seventy-two interwoven fila- ments, and should three times circumvent the waist...Each of the threads is equal in value to one of the seventy-two Hahs of the Izashne; each of the twelve threads in the six lesser cords is equal in value to the dawazdih hamaist...; each of the lesser cords is equal in value to one of the six Gahanbars; each of the three cir- cumventions of the loins is equal in value to humat,good thought, hukhat, good speech, huaresta, good work; the binding of each of the four knots upon it confers pleasure on each of the four elements, fire, air, water, and the earth 9 (Edal Daru, apud Wilson, The Parsi Religion Unfolded, p. 163). In the Brahmanical system also the faithful are bound to their god by means of a sacred girdle, the Mekhall Another piece of clothing which every Parsi is enjoined to wear is the Sadarah, or sacred shirt, a muslin shirt with short sleeves, that does not reach lower thfern the hips, with a small pocket at the opening in front of the shirt (see § 54 seq.)
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liberty, when bound in prison *, does no better deed than if he should flay a man alive and cut off his head 2 *.
ii (27). ‘ The blessing uttered on a wicked, un- godly 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.
II.
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). Zarathiutra asked Ahura Mazda: ‘Who is the Sraosha-varez 1 of Sraosha 4? the holy, strong Sraosha, who is the incarnate Word, a mighty- speared and lordly god.’
2 Doubtful. The Commentary seems to understand the sentence as follows: ‘ He who should free him from hell would thus perform no less a feat than if he should cut off the head of a man and then make him alive again.’
* ‘Who is he who sets the world in motion?’ (Comm.) See 4 See Introd. IV, 31.
FARGARD XVIII.
15 (34). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is the bird named Parddarr \ which ill-speaking people call Kahrkatfis2, O holy Zarathustra! the bird that lifts up his voice against the mighty dawn: 16(37). ‘“Arise, O men! recite the Ashem ya</ valmtem that smites down the Daevas3. Lo! here is BOshyasta, the long-handed4, 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 6 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 1 ‘ He who foresees’ the coming dawn; the cock.
2 ‘When he is not called so, he is powerful’ (Comm.) Cf.XIII,2,6.
* The cock is called ‘the drum of the world.’ As crowing in the dawn that dazzles away the fiends, he shared with it the honour of the victory, and was believed to crow away the demons: ‘ The cock was created to fight against the fiends and wizards;...he is with the dog an ally of Srosh against demons’ (liundahir XIX).
‘ No demon can enter a house in which there is a cock; and, above all, should this bird come to the residence of a demon, and move his tongue to chaunt the praises of the glorious and exalted Creator, that instant the evil spirit takes to flight ’ (Mirkhond, History of the Early Kings of Persia, translated by Shea, p. 57 5 efi Saddar 3a, Hyde 35, and J. Ovington, A Voyage to Suratt,^i696, p. 371).
4 See Introd. IV, 24. * 0 ‘ To perform thy religious duties ’ (Comm.)
VENdIdAd.
with the clean wood, carried by' thy well-washed hands \ Here comes Azi1 2, made by the Daevas, 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 Azi, made by the Daevas, who is abput to strive against me, and wants to put out my life.”