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Pahlavi Texts, Part V: Marvels of Zoroastrianism (SBE47), E.W. West, tr. [1897], at sacred-texts.com
1. About the marvellousness which is after the end of the millennium of Zaratûst and the arrival of Aûshêdar, until the end of the millennium of Aûshêdar and the arrival of Aûshêdar-mâh; and as to tidings of the same period.
2. The marvellousness of Aûshêdar as to birth 2, glory of person, sayings and actions; the standing of the sun ten days amid the sky 3; the perishing of the fiend of the four-legged race; the production of a three-spring cloudless influence 4 for vegetation; the weakening of superfluity and destitution; the extreme strengthening of alliance; the gratification due to the good friendship of foreigners; the great increase of the wisdom of religion; and the praise
of Aûshêdar's smiting with a serpent-scourge of several kinds in the religion of the Mazda-worshippers.
3. The mightiness of the resources in the fifth century of the same millennium; the manifestation of the wizard Mahrkûs 1 for seven years, in the year which is reported in all the regions which are seven; the coming on and arrival of the winter of Mahrkûs, the perishing of most of mankind and animals within three winters and in the fourth, through the awfulness of those winters and the witchcraft of Mahrkûs; and the dying away of Mahrkûs of scanty progeny (gasûkŏ-zahisnŏ), during the fourth winter, through the Dâhmân Âfrîn 2. 4. The opening of the enclosure made by Yim, the coming of mankind and animals therefrom, and the complete progress of mankind and animals again, arising specially from them.
5. After those winters, the abundant and great increase in the milk of cattle, and the abundant nourishment of mankind by milk; the less distress of body in cattle, the fullness and prosperity of the world, the celebrity of assembled mankind, and the great increase of liberality. 6. Also the feebleness
of poverty among mankind, just like what revelation mentions thus: 'Even so he, O Zaratûst! though he be more unfortunate than he who is accepting from him, is like the creator whose bounty of permanent liberality does thus, in the embodied existence, remain in his dwelling.'
7. And this, too, it says, namely: ‘When that winter passes away, of which it is said that it is boisterous and destructive 1, then a wild beast, black and wide-travelling, walks up to the. Mazda-worshippers, and thus it thinks, that they who worship Mazda will therefore not finally hate us more than him who is their own progeny, the son whom they thus bring up as a Mazda-worshipper here below, in fondness and freedom from malice towards well-yielding cattle.
8. ‘Then Ashavahistô calls out to the Mazda-worshippers from the upper region, and thus he speaks: “You are for the worship of Mazda; let no one of you become such a slaughterer of cattle as the slaughterers you have been before. 9. Recommend increase in gifts, recommend neighbourliness in person; are you worshipping Mazda? do you slaughter cattle? do you slaughter those of them which give you assistance, which speak to you thus: 'On account of your helpfulness one tells you that you are worshipping Mazda and you may eat?' I am in neighbourliness before that, until the time when you exclaim: 'Mine are the serpent and toad.'
10. ‘“And you recommend increase, you recommend neighbourliness, and the Mazda-worshippers slaughter cattle, even those of them who give them
assistance, so that you are worshipping Mazda and you eat; I am in neighbourliness before that, until the time when you exclaim: 'Mine are the serpent and toad.'
11. '"Contentedly the Mazda-worshippers slaughter cattle, contentedly the cattle of the Mazda-worshippers let them butcher 1, and contented are the cattle when they do not butcher them; contentedly the Mazda-worshippers eat cattle, and contented are the cattle when they eat them. 12. And then, when there are spirits, the slaughterers and whatever they slaughter, the butchers and whatever they butcher, and the eaters and whatever they eat are alike watched by them."'
13. And this, too, it says, namely: 'When that century fully elapses, which is the fifth in the second millennium as regards the religion of the Mazda-worshippers, then of all those who are upon the earth, the existences which are both wicked and righteous, two-thirds in the land of Irân are righteous and one-third wicked; and so likewise the Tûrânians and those who are around Irân remain non-Irânian around Irân; the chief increase in dwellings here below, of those in the embodied existence, remains just as now.'
14. And this, too, it says, namely: 'When that millennium has fully elapsed, which is the first of the religion of the Mazda-worshippers, what is the separation after the first century?' 15. And Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'The sun conceals itself.' 16. 'And what is the separation after the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth
century?' 17. And Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'The sun conceals itself.'
18. Then, when thirty winters of the tenth century are unelapsed (arânako), a maiden, who is Shapîr-abû 1, walks up to the water; she that is the mother of that good Aûshêdar-mâh 2, and her former lineage is from Vôhû-rôkô-î Frahânyân 3 in the family of Îsadvâstar, the son of Zaratûst that is brought forth by Arang: 19. Then she sits in that water and drinks it, and she kindles in a high degree those germs which were the second of the last that the righteous Zaratûst was dropping forth originally, and they introduce that son whose name is the Developer of Worship 4 (that is, he augments liberality). 20. Though fifteen years old, the damsel (zihânakŏ) has not before that associated with men; nor yet afterwards, when she becomes pregnant, has she done so before the time when she gives birth 5.
21. When that man becomes thirty years old, the sun stands still in the zenith of the sky for the duration of twenty days and nights 6, and it shines over all the regions which are seven. 22. So, too, the declaration of them themselves is that they know
that the separation of the millennium, which this religion has heard about by listening, is even thus; and of those who do not even then know, that it is something which is different.
23. When that man becomes thirty years old, he confers with the archangels, the good rulers and good providers; on the morrow, in the daylight of the day, it is moreover manifest, when the embodied existence is thus undistressed—without a Kai and without a Karap (that is, not blind and not deaf to the affairs of the sacred beings), and is to be appropriated (that is, has not made its own self apart from the affairs of the sacred beings), and is produced full of life—that it has become extending, and is again great in various places in Aîrân-vêg where the good Dâîtî is.
107:2 See Chap. VIII, 55-57.
107:3 See Chap. VIII, 58.
107:4 Pahl. '3-zaremâê an-avargarîh.'
108:1 Av. Mahrkûsha of Westergaard's Fragment VIII, 2, who is evidently a wizard or fiend; according to Pahl. Vd. II, 49 (Sp.) the evil winter which was foretold to Yim is called the winter of Markûs. In later times this name has been understood as Heb. Malkôs, 'autumnal rain;' so the idea of the fatal freezing winter of Mahrkûs, the intender of death, was abandoned for that of the deluging rain of Malkôs, as in Mkh. XXVII, 28. In Dd. XXXVII, 94, both snow and rain are mentioned as produced by Mahrkûs or Markûs (as it is always written in Pahlavi), and in Sd. IX, 5 only his name is stated. The most complete account of him is given in our text.
108:2 The Âfrîn of the Ameshâspends.
109:1 The Pahlavi version of Av. 'stakhrahê meretô zaya' in Westerg. Frag. VIII, 2.
110:1 Assuming that bûr’zâvand stands for bûrînênd which occurs in § 12.
111:1 'Having a good father,' the Zvâris of Av. Vanghu-fedhri, Yt. XIII, 142.
111:2 See Chap. I, 42.
111:3 See Chap. VIII, 55-57.
111:4 The Pahlavi interpretation of Aûshêdar-mâh which is an imperfect transcript of the Av. Ukhshyad-nemangh of Yt. XIII, 128.
111:5 Compare the summary in Dk. VIII, xiv, 13, as follows:—'The arrival of Aûshêdar-mâh, son of Zaratûst, at the end of the second millennium; information about him and his time, and the destroyers of the organizers who were within the millennium of Aûshêdar.'
111:6 The MS. omits a clause here, which occurs in Chap. VIII, 58, possibly by mistake, as part of it is given In Chap. X, 19.