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The Zend Avesta, Part I (SBE04), James Darmesteter, tr. [1880], at sacred-texts.com
I (1-3). Purification of the house where a man has died.
II (4-13). Funerals.
III (14-22). Purification of the ways along which the corps-has been carried.
IV (23-25). No clothes to be wasted on a corpse.
V (26-32). Unlawful lusts.
VI (33-34). A corpse when dried up does not contaminate.
VII (35-72). Purification of the man defiled by the dead.
VIII (73-80). Purification of the fire defiled by the dead.
IX (81-96). The Bahrâm fire.
X (97-107). Purification in the wilderness.
This chapter, putting aside section V, may be entitled: Funerals and Purification. Logical order may easily be introduced into it, by arranging the sections as follows: I, IV, II, III, VI, VII, X, VIII, IX.
1. 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 1.
3 (8). 'If they find it easier to remove the house than to remove the dead 2, 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 3, or snowing, or blowing 4, or the darkness is coming on, when flocks and men lose their way, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do 4?
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] 1; they shall cover the surface of it with dust of bricks, of stones, or of dry earth 2.
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 1, and they shall call for two men, strong and skilful 2, and those, having stripped their clothes off 3, shall take the body to the building of clay, stones, and mortar 4, 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 5 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 1.'
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 2, to go three times through that way 3. 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 4.
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 1 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 2:--the will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô 3 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 1, 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 2 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 3 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 1?
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?
‘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.
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 1.'
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 1? Who is he that is a Daêva before he dies, and becomes one of the unseen Daêvas after death 2?
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 3.'
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 1. 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 2.'
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 1.
37 (117). ‘If the Nasu has not yet been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds 2, then the worshippers of Mazda shall dig three holes in the ground 3, and he shall thereupon wash his body with gômêz, not with water. They shall then lift and bring my dog 4, they shall bring him (thus shall it be done and not otherwise) in front of the man 5.
38 (121). ‘The worshippers of Mazda shall dig three other holes 6 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 7 even to the last hair on the top of his head.
39 (125). ‘They shall dig three more holes 8 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 1?
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
[paragraph continues] 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
[paragraph continues] 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. 1
'"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 2!"']
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 1. 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 2, a Vîtasti 3 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 1.'
81 (251) O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring a corpse-burning fire
to the Dâityô-gâtu 1, 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 2, 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 3, 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 4, 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 1.'
86 (260). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of the reapers 1, 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 1.'
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 1, 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 2, 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
[paragraph continues] Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire from an encampment 1, 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) 2. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man bring to the Dâityô-gâtu the fire of the field 3, 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
[paragraph continues] Ahura Mazda! who has touched a corpse in a distant place in the fields 1?
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 2.
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 3.
100 (280). ‘Then he shall run a distance of a Hâthra 4. 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 1.'
104 (300). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If he found water on his way, the water requires an atonement 2; 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 3 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 1.'
94:1 'So, when a dog or a man dies, the first thing to do is to take the corpse out (from the house), and to purify the house, inside and outside, with perfumes burnt on the fire' (Comm.) Cf. XI, 4. Urvâsni is the râsan plant, a sort of garlic; Vohu-gaona, Vohu-kereti, and Hadhâ-naêpata are respectively (according to Aspendiârji) benzoin, aloe, and pomegranate.
94:2 If the house is simply a hut or a tent.
94:3 'No corpse must be taken to the Dakhma when rain is falling, or threatening. If one is overtaken by rain on the way, if there be a place to lay it down, they shall lay it down; if there be none, they must go on and take it to the Dakhma, they must not retrace their steps. . . . When arrived at the Dakhma, if they find it full of water, they may nevertheless lay down the corpse' (Comm.)
94:4 If it is the season of rain or snow, Cf. V, 10. seq.
95:1 Vendîdâd Sâdah.
95:2 In the similar case in V, 10, it is prescribed to isolate the corpse in a permanent dead house (the Zâd-marg); the rule prescribed here seems to be older, as it is now obsolete; it was besides less convenient.
96:1 'The master and mistress of the house are carried away through a breach (made in the wall of the house); others through the door' (Comm.) In some parts of Germany the dead must not be carried away through the usual house-door, as the dead and the living must not pass through the same door.
96:2 The corpse-bearers or nasu-kasha. 'The corpse must be carried by two persons (see Farg. III, 13 seq.), no matter who they are; they may be a man and a woman, or two women' (Comm.)
96:3 'As they are exchanged for the special clothes in which they carry corpses' (Comm.), the so-called gâmah-i dakhma, 'the Dakhma clothes.'
96:4 The Dakhma (see Farg. VI, 50 seq.)
96:5 The priest who directs the funerals, 'the chief of the Nasu-kashas' (Comm.)
97:1 When back in the village they perform the regular Barashnûm with consecrated gômêz (Comm.)
97:2 See Introd. V, 4.
97:3 'Afrag says, the dog goes straight along the length of the way. Maidyô-mâh says, he goes across it from side to side' (Comm.)
97:4 Cf. Farg. VII, 3.
98:1 'Three times suffice if the dog goes of his own accord; if he goes by force, it counts as nothing; if he goes but with reluctance, that shall suffice' (Comm. ad § 18).
98:2 A prayer in frequent use, and considered of great efficacy, generally known as the Ahuna Vairya or Honover. It was by reciting it that Ormazd in his first conflict with Ahriman drove him back to hell (Bund. I).
98:3 Of paradise, as Vohu-manô (Good Thought) is the doorkeeper of heaven (cf. Farg. XIX, 31).
99:1 When Ahriman broke into the world he was repelled by Âtar and Vohu-manô (Yasht XIII, 77; cf. Orm. Ahr. § 107).
99:2 Sraosha fights for the soul of the good after death (see p. 87, note 4). Kem nâ mazdâ and ke verethrem gâ are lines taken the Gâthas (Yasna XLVI, 7; XLIV, 16) and diverted from their primitive meaning to suit the present case.
99:3 On the fourth day. For three days and nights after the death it is forbidden to cook meat in the house (Comm.)
100:1 See Farg. V, 60; VII, 20.
101:1 See Farg. III, 38-42, text and notes.
102:1 The text has a Vîspô-daêva, a curious expression which comes from the time when daêva still meant 'a god' (see Introd. IV, 4I). In the time of the Indo-Iranian, nay, as early as the time of the Indo-European religion, it was the custom, beside special invocations to the several gods, to address one to all the gods, for fear of the resentment of those who might have been forgotten or ignored; thus the Greeks never failed to invoke all gods and goddesses (θεοῖς πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις); in the same way the Indian invoked visvê devâs, 'all the gods,' which, in course of time, gave rise to a special class of gods. Hence, in Mazdeism, arose a class of fiends, the vîspê daêva; but tradition lost the meaning of the word, and the vîspô daêva became 'one who is entirely a Daêva by his wickedness' (Comm.)
102:2 Demons are often the restless souls of the wicked, excluded from heaven. The Persian sect of the Mahâbâdians believed that the soul that had not spoken and done good became an Ahriman or gin (Dabistân).
102:3 The guilty may be killed by any one, without an order from the Dastur (see § 74 n.), and by this execution, an ordinary capital crime may be redeemed (Comm. ad VII, 52).
103:1 See Introd. V. This principle still prevails even with Musulman Persians: 'Pour encourir leur immondicité dans l’attouchement des Chretiens et autres idolatres, il est nécessaire que s’ils les touchent, leurs vétements soient mouillés. C’est à cause, disent-ils, qu’étans secs l’immondicité ne s’attache pas; . . . . ce qui est cause que dans les villes où leurs Mullas et Docteurs ont plus d’autorité, ils font par fois défendre par leurs Kans que lorsqu’il pleut, les Chrétiens ne sortent pas de leurs maisons, de crainte que par accident, venans à les heurter, ils ne soient rendus immondes' (G. du Chinon, p. 88 seq.; cf. Chardin).
103:2 See Farg. V, 4.
104:1 If the Sag-dîd has been performed, a simple ghosel is enough (see Introd. V, 16).
104:2 If the Sag-dîd has not been performed, the Barashnûm is necessary (see Introd. V, 16).
104:3 The first three holes, which contain gômêz. For the disposition of the holes, see the following Fargard.
104:4 Three times; every time that the unclean one passes from one hole to another (Comm. ad IX, 32).
104:5 To look at him, or, rather, at the Nasu in him, whilst the priest sings the 'fiend-smiting spells.'
104:6 Containing gômêz too.
104:7 He rubs himself dry with handfuls of dust (see IX, 29 seq.)
104:8 Containing water.
105:1 The Nasu is expelled symmetrically, from limb to limb, from the right side of the body to the left, from the forepart to the back parts, and she flies, thus pursued, downwards from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.
110:1 As in §§ 19, 20.
110:2 From the Vendîdâd Sâdah.
111:1 'He who burns Nasâ (dead matter) must be killed. Burning or roasting Nasâ from the dead is a capital crime. . . . Four men can be put to death by any one without an order from the Dastur: the Nasâ-burner, the highwayman, the Sodomite, and the criminal taken in the deed' (Comm.)
111:2 In a hole dug for that purpose; such is at least the custom nowadays. The ceremony seems to be an imitation of the Barashnûm. The unclean fire, represented by the nine bundles, passes through the nine holes, as the unclean man does (see above, § 37 seq. and Farg. IX, 12 seq.), and leaves at each of them some of the uncleanness it has contracted.
111:3 A span of twelve fingers.
112:1 See Introd. IV, 20-21.
113:1 'The proper abode,' the Bahrâm fire (see Introd. V, 8). The Bahrâm fire is composed of a thousand and one fires belonging to sixteen different classes (ninety-one corpse-burning fires, eighty dyers’ fires, &c.) As the earthly representative of the heavenly fire, it is the sacred centre to which every earthly fire longs to return, in order to be united again, as much as possible, with its native abode. The more it has been defiled by worldly uses, the greater is the merit acquired by freeing it from defilement.
113:2 'The fire of the lac-makers and of the dyers' (Asp. and Gr. Rav. 120).
113:3 'The fire of a bath,' according, to Aspendiârji; but see Introd. V, 8.
113:4 Or, 'from a lime-kiln' (Comm.)
114:1 Doubtful.
115:1 A baker's fire.
115:2 The kitchen-fire.
116:1 Doubtful.
116:2 From the Vendîdâd Sâdah.
116:3 The hunter's fire.
117:1 Where the regular process of purification cannot be performed.
117:2 If the Sag-dîd has been performed, the Sî-shû (thirtyfold washing) is enough. Cf. above, §§ 35, 36.
117:3 If the Sag-dîd has not been performed, he cleanses himself in a summary way till he comes to a place where the Barashnûm can be performed.
118:1 'He may then attend to his business; he may work and till; some say he must abstain from sacrifice (till he has undergone the Barashnûm),' (Comm.)
118:2 As he defiled it by crossing it.
118:3 'Trees fit for the fire' (Comm.) If he touches those trees, the fire to which they are brought becomes unclean by his fault.
119:1 Hell. cf. Farg. XIV, 18.