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Pahlavi Texts, Part V: Marvels of Zoroastrianism (SBE47), E.W. West, tr. [1897], at sacred-texts.com
1. On the completion of revelation, that is, at the end of the ten years, Mêdyômâh, son of Arâstâî, became faithful to Zaratûst.
2. Afterwards, on having obtained his requests 1, he came back to the conference of Aûharmazd, and he spoke thus: 'In ten years only one man has been attracted by me.' 3. And Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'There will be days when so few are not attracted by you, who are themselves the occasion of the resurrection of the world; when, apart from Dahâk 2, the beneficence of the formation of the renovation of the universe attracts every one besides, and the impenitence of Dahâk is destroyed.'
4. When he came out from the presence of Aûharmazd, with the same paradox, he thereby indicated his religion as complete to Spendarmad through his intelligence.
5. In the two years after that 3, the Kavîgs and
[paragraph continues] Karaps of Vistâsp, in the manner of opponents (hamêstarânîh), propounded thirty-three enquiries (khvâstakŏ) 1 to him, so that by command of Vistâsp he became the explainer of those thirty-three enquiries. 6. Of the thirty-three habits 2 of iniquity, come for opposition to the religion of the sacred beings; of the declaration, by revelation, of those thirty-three indications of fetters 3; and of the restraint of the thirty-three iniquitous practices by the thirty-three best good works, there are statements in revelation. 7. Including the acceptance of the religion by Vistâsp from Zaratûst, after the redemonstration of its judicially multiform prophecy and spiritual character, which are looked into through the evidence of three speakers about them, the archangels who, with worldly manifestation, have become apparent unto Vistâsp and his councillors and mighty ones; they are Vohûmanô, Ardavahistô, and the Bûrzîn-Mitrô fire 4.
8. About the reward which existed before the beneficence of Zaratûst, and its being seen how, through guidance by Aûharmazd, it is demonstrated by him to those of the world, so that Mêdyômâh is attracted in the tenth year in the forest of reedy hollows (kanyâstânŏ 5 vêsakŏ) which is the haunt of swine of the wild-boar species (khazûrâ-î varâzŏ gâs); in the twentieth year the Kavîg who is son
of Kûndah 1 is attracted; in the thirtieth year the Khyôns 2 arrive, who make an incursion (vardakŏ) into the countries of Irân, owing to the Kavîgs, those who are more of their own race; and in the fortieth year Vohûnêm, son of Avarôstar 3, is born.
9. In the forty-seventh year Zaratûst passes away, who attains seventy-seven years and forty days in the month Ardavahistô, on the day Khûr 4; and for eight rectified (vêhikakŏ) months, till the month Dadvô and day Khûr, he should be brought forward as to be reverenced.
10. In the same month Ardavahistô, in the sixty-third 5 year, Frashôstar 6 passed away, and in the sixty-fourth year Gâmâsp 7, the same as became the priest of priests after Zaratûst; in the seventy-third year Hangâûrûsh, son of Gâmâsp 8; in the eightieth year Asmôk-khanvatô 9, and also in the eightieth
year Kabed-ûs-spâê 1, who is called also Akht the wizard, is killed.
11. Of the six great upholders of the religion there are the two daughters of Zaratûst, whose names are Frênŏ and Srîtŏ 2, with Aharûbŏ-stôtô, son of Mêdyômâh 3, and another three, who are renowned for their religion for a hundred years, who are Vohûnêm 4 that is born in the fortieth year of the religion, Sênô 5 is afterwards born and passes away in the two-hundredth year, and as to his hundred-discipledom 6, it exists day and night till the three-hundredth year. 12. Afterwards the religion is disturbed and the monarchy is contested (gangî-aîtŏ).
13. About the three customs (dâdŏ) which Zaratûst prescribed as the best:—The first of them is this: 'Do not go without others, except with magisterial authority (apatkâr radîhâ);' the second is: 'Though they shall proceed unlawfully as to you, consider your actions lawfully beforehand;' and the third is: 'Next-of-kin marriage, for the
sake of the pure progress of your race, is the best of the actions of the living, which are provided for the proper begetting of children 1.'
163:1 That is, the replies of the archangels to his enquiries.
163:2 See Dk. VII, i, 26. He was chained by Frêdûn in Mount Dimâvand, to escape in the latter days, to he slain by Keresâsp, and to be specially punished at the resurrection (Bd. XII, 31; XXX, 16; Byt. III, 55-61).
163:3 See Dk. VII, iv, 2.
164:1 See Dk. VII, iv, 67.
164:2 Reading sôn = Pers. sân; but the MSS. have dênô, 'religions.' The thirty sins and thirty-three good works, detailed in Mkh.. XXXVI, XXXVII, are certainly referred to at the end of this section.
164:3 Compare Chap. XII, 5, and Dk. VII, iv, 67.
164:4 See Dk. VII, iv, 74.
164:5 Hybrid Zvâris of Pers. nayistân.
165:1 Or Kûnîh which is the name of a demon (see Sg. XVI, 13, 16, 18, 19); but such an identification is uncertain.
165:2 Av. Hvyaona of Yt. IX, 30, 31; XVII, 50, 51. Compare Dk. VII, iv, 77, 83, 84, 87-90; V, 7.
165:3 Av. gen. 'Vohu-nemang,hô Avâraostrôis' of Yt. XIII, 104.
165:4 The eleventh day of the second month.
165:5 T has 43d, and the date is lost in the other MS. authority. But 43d is highly improbable for two reasons: first, it would make this date the only one out of chronological order in the series here given; secondly, it would render it inconsistent with the statement, in Dk. VII, vi, 12, that two priests came, from other regions, to ask Frashôstar about the religion, fifty-seven years after it had been accepted by Zaratûst. By substituting 63d (the Pahlavi cipher most likely to be corrupted into 43d) both these inconsistencies are removed.
165:6 See Dk. VII, vi, 12; V, ii, 12.
165:7 See Dk. V, ii, 12; iii, 4.
165:8 Av. gen. 'Hang,haurushô Gâmâspanahê' of Yt. XIII, 104.
165:9 Av. gen. 'Asmô-hvanvatô' of Yt. XIII, 96, and Westergaard's Yt. XXII, 37.
166:1 As kabed is Zvâris for 'many,' we may assume that kabed-ûs =Av. nom. pourus which usually becomes pouru in compounds; so that the compound name, or title, in the text, probably represents Av. Pouruspâdha (Yt. X, 109, 111), 'having many troops,' a suitable title for Akht the wizard (Av. Akhtya of Yt. V, 82) who is said, in Gf. I, 2, to have invaded a district with an army of seven myriads. He was killed, in Zoroastrian fashion, by the recital of a religious formula.
166:2 There was a third daughter, Pôrukîst (see Bd. XXXII, 5), but she may not have survived her father.
166:3 Av. gen. 'Ashastvô Maidhyôi-maung,hôis' of Yt. XIII, 106.
166:4 See § 8.
166:5 He was born in the tooth year; see Dk. VII, vii, 6.
166:6 This seems to be the sixth upholder of the religion, the third of those lasting about a century.