Translated by E. W. West
"As its name implies the Sad Dar is a treatise
on 'a hundred subjects' connected with the Zoroastrian religion.
The word dar, literally 'door, or gate,' being also applied to the
chapters of a book, and to the 'matters, or subjects,' of which
it treats. This work is not a Pahlavi text, being written in Persian
with an admixture of about four per cent of Arabic words; it is,
however, more quoted than any other work by the Parsi compilers
of the Persian Rivayats, or religious 'traditions,' in the seventeenth
century.
In one of its recensions it is also found written
in Avesta characters, and the Avesta-Persian sentences alternate
with an old Gujarati translation, in imitation of the Pazand-Sanskrit
versions of Pahlavi texts compiled by Neryosang. In consideration
of the existence of this pseudo-Pazand recension, together with
the general acceptance of the work as an important authority, and
its being a convenient summary of many of the religious customs
handed down by Pahlavi writers, this work may be offered as a suitable
appendix to the true Pahlavi texts, connecting them with the Persian
writings that are too modern to be accepted as authorities in religious
matters.
It may ... be concluded that the prose Sad Dar had
the reputation of being a very old work in the early part of the
sixteenth century." (from introduction by E. W. West)
Chapter 0. Introduction
Chapter 1. Necessity
of unwavering faith in the religion
Chapter 2. Sin
not to be committed
Chapter 3. Advantage
of perseverance in industry
Chapter 4. No one
should despair of the mercy of Ohrmazd
Chapter 5. Advantage
of Navazud and Geti-kharid
Chapter 6. The
six indispensable good works
Chapter 7. Why
we should recite certain formulas after sneezing
Chapter 8. Why
high-priests must be obeyed
Chapter 9. The
sin of unnatural intercourse to be punished, by any one, by
death on the spot
Chapter 10. Reasons
for wearing the sacred thread-girdle and tying it with four
knots
Chapter 11. Why a
household fire should be properly maintained
Chapter 12. Why the
clothing of a corpse should be scanty and old, though many people
must follow the bier.
Chapter 13. Why ceremonies
in honour of the souls of the departed should be properly celebrated
Chapter 14. How nail-parings
should be treated, and why
Chapter 15. How we
should salute anything agreeable, and why
Chapter 16. A pregnant
woman and new-born infant require the protection of a fire or
burning lamp, with other precautions
Chapter 17. Why a
toothpick must be cut free from bark
Chapter 18. People
should marry early, to benefit by children's good works; and
a childless man must have an adopted son
Chapter 19. Advantage
of attending to agriculture
Chapter 20. Advantage
of feeding the worthy
Chapter 21. How grace
must be said before and after eating, and why
Chapter 22. Advantage
of performing Jadangoi
Chapter 23. Tethered
animals must be restrained
Chapter 24. Why and
how Hom juice must be given to a new-born child
Chapter 25. Why promises
must not be broken
Chapter 26. Every
man of fifteen years must select a patron spirit and a priestly
guide whom he must obey
Chapter 27. When
it is doubtful whether an action be right or wrong a high-priest
must be consulted
Chapter 28. Why the
Avesta must be properly learnt and remembered
Chapter 29. Why liberality
must extend only to the worthy
Chapter 30. Water
must not be poured away, or drunk, in the dark
Chapter 31. Dogs
must be fed and well-treated
Chapter 32. Why a
hen or cock must not be killed for crowing
Chapter 33. Why search
must be made where a corpse is supposed to be buried
Chapter 34. Animals
must not be often killed, and some never; also certain parts
should be consecrated
Chapter 35. Prayers
to be used when washing the face
Chapter 36. Necessity
of the Barashnom for both men and women
Chapter 37. Why the
ten days of the guardian spirits [farohars] must be celebrated
Chapter 38. We must
not drink from the same cup as those of a different religion,
until it is purified
Chapter 39. The sacred
fire and its attendant must be properly maintained (see Chap.
92)
Chapter 40. Parents
and priests must be obeyed and not vexed
Chapter 41. The care and
prayers necessary for menstruous women
Chapter 42. Why slander
and seduction, sins producing accusers, are specially injurious
Chapter 43. Noxious
creatures must be killed, especially five kinds
Chapter 44. Walking
barefoot is a sin, and why
Chapter 45. How repentance
must be accomplished for every sin
Chapter 46. The proper
age for tying on the sacred thread-girdle (kusti)
Chapter 47. Ceremonies
must be celebrated after the death of a child of seven, to liberate
its soul from those of its parents
Chapter 48. A cooking-pot
must not be more than two-thirds full, for fear of boiling over
Chapter 49. A fire
must be cold before the ashes are removed
Chapter 50. How the
morning ablutions must be performed
Chapter 51. Why it
is necessary to send a child to school
Chapter 52. Why a
sacred cake must be consecrated every year on the day Hordad
of the month Farvardin
Chapter 53. Any one
travelling twelve leagues must have a sacred cake consecrated
before he goes and every Warharan day during his absence
Chapter 54. If a
man's serving wife has a son, he may adopt it; but if only a
daughter, he must adopt a relation's son
Chapter 55. When
a sacred cake cannot be consecrated at a Navazud, bread must
be eaten with the Ohrmazd Baj
Chapter 56. Precautions
and prayers necessary when evacuating water
Chapter 57. A hedgehog
must not be injured, and why
Chapter 58. Advantages
of a ceremony for the living soul
Chapter 59. The only
Niyayesh for women is obedience to their husbands
Chapter 60. Steadfastness
in the religion leads to heaven, and helping others to be steadfast
is the best good work
Chapter 61. Evils
of falsehood
Chapter 62. Advantages
of truth in word and action
Chapter 63. Regarding
the sin of adultery
Chapter 64. Penalties
for theft with and without violence
Chapter 65. Duties
of thanksgiving and doing good
Chapter 66. All women
must have the Dvazdah-homast celebrated
Chapter 67. Why women
must abstain from adultery
Chapter 68. Precautions
to be taken by menstruous women
Chapter 69. Allowing
the sun to shine on a fire, even through holes, is sinful
Chapter 70. Precautions
to be observed in carrying the dead
Chapter 71. Punishment
for eating dead matter as medicine
Chapter 72. Bringing
dead matter to water or fire is a deadly sin
Chapter 73. Any cow,
goat, or fowl that eats dead matter is impure, and its produce
cannot be used, for a year
Chapter 74. Morning
ablutions
Chapter 75. Cultivators
must be careful that irrigation water is not defiled with dead
matter
Chapter 76. Period
of purification after childbirth
Chapter 77. Purification
and precautions after still-birth
Chapter 78. Why meat
must not be eaten for three days after a death in the house
Chapter 79. Advantages
of liberality
Chapter 80. Different
values of Ashem-vohu on different occasions
Chapter 81. Ohrmazd
admonishes Zartosht not to postpone to-day's duties and good
works till tomorrow
Chapter 82. The sacred
thread-girdle must be re-tied when dressing before moving from
the spot
Chapter 83. Proper
fasting is from sin, not from food
Chapter 84. Prayers
before sleeping and when restless
Chapter 85. Advice
must always be asked of the wise and relations
Chapter 86. Water-dogs
must not be killed
Chapter 87. Ceremonies
to be celebrated after a death
Chapter 88. Polluted
wood must not be used or burnt
Chapter 89. Any one
eating dead matter, or polluting another with it must be purified
Chapter 90. Nothing
is to be given to a sinner
Chapter 91. How to
purify articles of various materials when polluted by dead matter
Chapter 92. The sacred fire
must be properly maintained, and attendant provided (see Chap.
39)
Chapter 93. Slander
a sin, and how to atone for it
Chapter 94. Benefits
must be reciprocated
Chapter 95. The merit
of performing the Niyayeshes, and the sin of neglecting them.
Chapter 96. Mourning
for the dead is improper
Chapter 97. Priests'
instructions must be treated with respect
Chapter 98. Priests
must teach the Avesta to laymen correctly
Chapter 99. Pahlavi
must be taught to priests only
Chapter 100. Anyone
molesting a harmless person in this world will be delayed on
his way to the other world.
