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The Zend Avesta, Part I (SBE04), James Darmesteter, tr. [1880], at sacred-texts.com
I (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 Haoma.
V (44-51). The place for corpses; the Dakhmas.
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 Zarathustra!
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 1.
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 2.'
4 (7). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda shall sow or water,
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 Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana 1.'
6 (10). O Maker of the material world, 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 Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
10. (16). 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 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 Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
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 Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
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 Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
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 Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
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 Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
20 (40). 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 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?
21 (44). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Four hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, four hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
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 Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
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 Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
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 Zarathustra! he shall enter the river, and take the dead out of the water; he shall go down into the water
ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, or a man's full depth, till he can reach the dead body 1.'
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 Drug Nasu defile with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?
31 (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 shalt 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
[paragraph continues] Holy One! What part of the water in a well does the Drug 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 1, 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 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.'
36 (74). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of a sheet of snow or hail does the Drug 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
does the Drug 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 times 1, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
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?
40 (85). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra! 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.'
44 (92). O Maker of the material world, thou
[paragraph continues] 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 highest summits 1, where they know there are always corpse-eating dogs and corpse-eating birds, O holy Zarathustra!
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 Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
49 (101). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy-one 2! Whither shall we bring, where shall we lay the bones of the dead, O Ahura Mazda?
50 (102). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The worshippers 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 stay 4.
51 (105). 'Such a building shall they erect, if they can afford it, with stones, mortar, and earth 1; 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.'
66:1 Cf. Farg. VII, 45 seq.
66:2 'To the water which they pour out, to the earth which they plough, to the plants which they sow' (Comm.)
67:1 'If they plough and sow it, one tanâfûhr (see Introd. V, 19); if they pour water on it, one tanâfûhr; if they, plough, sow, and water it, two tanâfûhrs' (Comm.)
67:2 Even when a year's space is past, the ground is not free ipso facto.
70:1 'If he is able to draw out the corpse and does so, it is a pious deed worth a tanâfûhr (that is, one by which a tanâfûhr sin can be cancelled); if he is able to draw it out and does not do so, it is a tanâfûhr sin. Gûgôsasp says, It is a margarzân sin (a capital crime).' (Comm.)
71:1 All the water in the well is unclean, 'as the well has the length and breadth of a man's stature' (Brouillons d‘Anquetil, Vendîdâd, p. 206).
72:1 When three waves have passed.
72:2 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).
73:1 'On the top of a mountain' (Comm.) See Introd. V, 10; cf. VIII, 10.
73:2 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.
73:3 The Dakhma.
73:4 The rain-water that washes away the remains of corpses (V, 16 seq.) must not remain on the Dakhmas (cf. Comm. ad VIII, 7), p. 74 but is brought out through trenches dug, for that purpose (cf. Introd. V,10).
74:1 This word is doubtful.