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I (1-5). How long after death the Nasu falls upon the dead.
II (6-9). How far the defiling power of the Nasu extends.
III (10-22). Cleansing of clothes defiled by the dead.
IV (23-24). Eating of corpses an abomination.
V (25-27). Bringing corpses to fire or water an abomination.
VI (28-35). Cleansing of wood and corn defiled by the dead.
VII a (36-40). Physicians; their probation.
VII b (40-44). Their fees.
VIII (45-59). Purification of the earth, of the Dakhmas. The Dakhmas and the Daêvas.
IX (60-72). Treatment of a woman who has brought forth a still-born child.
X (73-75). Cleansing of vessels defiled by the dead.
XI (76). Cleansing of the cow.
XII (77). Unclean libations.
This chapter would offer tolerable unity, but for a digression on medicine, which would be better placed as an introduction to the last three chapters, Sections II and IX, parts of which have already been found in Fargard V, are more suitably placed here. This chapter, as a whole, deals with the action of the Drug Nasu, from the moment she takes hold of the corpse, and shows how and when the several objects she has defiled become clean, namely, clothes, wood, corn, earth, women, vessels, and cows.
1. Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material
[1. This word is doubtful.]
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world, thou Holy One! When a man dies, at what moment does the Drug Nasu rush upon him[1]?'
2 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Directly after death, as soon as the soul has left the body, O Spitama Zarathustra! the Drug Nasu comes and rushes upon him, from the regions of the north[2], in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, all stained with stains, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras[3].
[3. 'On him she stays until the dog has seen the corpse[4] or eaten it up, or until the flesh-eating birds have taken flight towards it[5]. When the dog has seen it or eaten it up, or when the flesh-eating birds have taken flight towards it, then the Drug Nasu rushes 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 (5). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the man has been killed by a dog, or by a wolf, or by witchcraft, or by the artifices of hatred[6], or by falling down a precipice, or by the law[7], or by a murderer, or by the noose[8], how long after death does the Drug Nasu come and rush upon the dead?
[1. See Introd. V, 3.
2. Hell lies in the north; cf. XIX, 1; Yt. XXII, 25; Bundahis 36, 12.
3. See Introd. V, 3.
4. Until the Sag-dîd has been performed (see Introd. V, 4).
5. The Sag-dîd may be performed by birds of prey as well as by dogs (see Introd. V, 4). The dog smites the Nasu when it brings its muzzle near to the dead, the bird (mountain hawk, sparrow or eagle) when its shadow passes over the body (Comm. ad § 2; Cf. § 29). § 3 is from the Vendîdâd Sâdah.
6. 'By poison' (Comm.).
7. Literally, 'by men;' that is to say, put to death by the community according to law (Comm.)
8. If he has strangled himself. Or possibly, 'by want.']
{p. 76}
5 (6). Ahura Mazda answered: 'At the next watch after death[1], the Drug Nasu comes and rushes upon the dead, from 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.'
6 (7). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be a number of men resting in the same place, on adjoining carpets, on adjoining pillows, be there two men near one another, or five, or fifty, or a hundred, close by one another; and of those people one happens to die; how many of them does the Drug Nasu envelope with infection, pollution, and uncleanness?
7 (11). Ahura Mazda answered If the dead one be a priest, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the eleventh and defiles the ten.
'If the dead one be a warrior, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the tenth and defiles the nine.
'If the dead one be a husbandman, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the ninth and defiles the eight.
8 (17). 'If it be a shepherd's dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the eighth and defiles the seven.
[1. The day is divided into five watches or ratu. If the man dies a natural death, the Drug comes directly; if the death be violent and unlocked for, the Drug is taken unawares, and it requires time for her to be warned of it and to come.
2. §§ 6-9 = Farg. V, 27-30.]
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If it be a house dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the seventh and defiles the six.
9 (21). 'If it be a Vohunazga dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the sixth and defiles the five.
If it be a young dog, the Drug Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathustra! she falls on the fifth and defiles the four[1].'
. . . 'those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their sheets[2].' . . .
10 (26). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of his bedding[3] and pillow does the Drug Nasu defile with infection, uncleanness, and pollution?
11 (27). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The Drug Nasu defiles with infection, uncleanness, and pollution the upper sheet and the inner garment[4].'
12 (28). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can that garment be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! that has been touched by the carcase of a dog or the corpse of a man?
13 (29). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra!'
How so?
[1. This enumeration is less complete than that in the fifth Fargard, as it comprises only the first four sorts of dogs, viz. only those that can perform the Sag-dîd (Comm. ad § 2).
2. This phrase, which forms part of § 19, is wrongly inserted here.
3. The bedding on which he has died.
4. That is to say, only those clothes which have been in direct contact with the dead.]
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'If, indeed, the garment has been defiled with seed, or sweat, or dirt, or vomit, the worshippers of Mazda shall rend it to pieces, and bury it under the ground[1].
14 (33). 'But if it has not been defiled with seed, or sweat, or dirt, or vomit, then the worshippers of Mazda shall wash it with gômêz.
15 (35). 'If it be leather, they shall wash it with gômêz three times, they shall rub it with earth three times, they shall wash it with water three times, and afterwards they shall expose it to the air for three months at the window of the house.
'If it be woven cloth, they shall wash it with gômêz six times[2], they shall rub it with earth six times, they shall wash it with water six times, and afterwards they shall expose it to the air for six months at the window of the house.
16 (37). 'The spring named Ardvî Sûra, O Spitama Zarathustra! that spring of mine, purifies the seed in man, the fruit in a woman's womb, the milk in a woman's breast[3].'
17[4] (41). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can those clothes, when once washed and cleansed, ever be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Hâvanan, or by an Âtare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Âbered, or by an Âsnâtar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraoshâ-varez, or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman?
[1. According to the Commentary only that part which has been defiled is rent off; the rest may still be used.
2. See Introd. V, 16.
3. This clause is a quotation from Yasna LXV, 5, intended {to} illustrate the cleansing power of water. Ardvî Sûra is the Goddess of the waters.
4. §§ 17-22 = Farg. V, 57-62.]
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18 (43). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Never can those clothes, even when washed and cleansed, be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Hâvanan, or by an Âtare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Âbered, or by an Âsnâtar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraoshâ-varez, or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman.
19 (45). 'But if there be in a Mazdean house a woman who is in her sickness, or a man who has become unfit for work, and who must sit in the place of infirmity, those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their sheets, until they can withdraw and move their hands.
20 (49). 'Ahura Mazda, indeed, does not allow us to waste anything of value that we may have, not even so much as an Asperena's weight of thread, not even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning.
21 (52). 'Whosoever throws any clothing on a dead body, even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning, is not a pious man whilst alive, nor shall he, when dead, have a place in the happy realm.
22 (55). 'He shall go away into the world of the fiends, into that dark world, made of darkness, the offspring of darkness. To that world, to the dismal realm, you are delivered by your own doings, by your own souls, O sinners!'
2 (59). O 'Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can he be clean again who has eaten of the carcase of a dog or of the carcase of a man[1]?
[1. The carcase-eater lodges the Nasu in himself; he becomes a Nasu, and therefore must be destroyed; cf. infra § 76 seq.]
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24 (60). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He cannot, O holy Zarathustra! His burrow[1] shall be dug out, his life shall be torn out, his bright eyes shall be put out; the Drug Nasu falls upon him, takes hold of him even to the end of the nails, and he is unclean, thenceforth, for ever and ever[2].'
25 (65). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can he be clean again, O holy Ahura Mazda! who has brought a corpse with filth into the waters, or unto the fire, and made either unclean?
26 (66). Ahura Mazda answered: 'He cannot, O holy Zarathustra! Those wicked ones it is, those men turned to Nasus[3], that most increase gnats and locusts,; those wicked ones it is, those men turned to Nasus, that most increase the grass-destroying drought.
27 (69). 'Those wicked ones it is, those men turned to Nasus, that increase most the power of the winter, produced by the fiends, the cattle-killing, thick-snowing, overflowing, the piercing,
[1. His house, as he is assimilated to a devouring Khrafstra.
2 Till the resurrection. 'It is prescribed in the Vendîdâd that if a man shall eat of a carcase, his house and family shall be destroyed, his heart shall be torn out of his body, his eyes shall be put out, and his soul shall abide in hell till the resurrection' (Saddar 71, Hyde 7 9). 'He who eats of a carcase with sinful intent is both unclean and margarzân; Barashnûm and Nîreng are of no avail for him, he must die. If there has been no sinful intent, he may wash himself; one may give him the ashes and the gômêz (Comm.); he is unclean, he is not margarzân' (Old Rav. 115 b).
3. Doubtful; possibly, 'those Nasu-makers.'
4. 'It is said in the Avesta that when there are many gnats and locusts it is owing to corpses having been brought to water and to fire' (Saddar 72, Hyde 80).]
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fierce, mischievous winter[1]. Upon them comes and rushes the Drug Nasu, she takes hold of them even to the end of the nails, and they are unclean, thenceforth, for ever and ever[2].
28 (72). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the wood be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! whereunto dead matter has been brought from a dead dog, or from a dead man?
29 (73). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra!'
How so?
'If the Nasu has not yet been smitten[3] by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds[4], they shall lay down, apart on the (,round, the wood on the length of a Vîtasti[5] all around the dead matter, if the wood be dry; on the length of a Frârâthni[6] all around, if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean[7].
[1. 'In the same way (by the bringing of corpses to water and to fire), winter grows colder, and summer grows warmer' (Saddar 72, Hyde 80).
2 Whoever shall do that deed, shall pay for it in this world and in the next; they shall flay his body in the presence of the assembly, they shall tear him limb from limb, and his corpse shall be thrown away to dogs and ravens, . . . and when his soul comes to the other world, he shall suffer tortures from the dêvs (Gr. Rav. p. 123).
3. That is to say, if the Sag-dîd has not yet been performed.
4. See above, p. 75, n. 5.
5. Twelve fingers.
6. The Frârâthni is, as it seems, as much. as one foot (fourteen fingers, Vd. II, 22, Comm.)
7. 'After a year,' according to the Commentary.]
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30 (78). 'But if the Nasu has already been smitten[1] by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart on the ground, the wood on the length of a Frârâthni all around the dead matter, if the wood be dry; on the length of a Frâbâzu[2] all around, if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.
31 (81). 'This is the quantity of wood around the dead matter, that they shall lay down, apart on the ground, according as the wood is dry or wet; according as it is hard or soft; they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.'
32 (83). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the corn or the fodder be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! whereunto dead matter has been brought from a dead dog, or from a dead man?
33 (84). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathustra!'
How so?
'If the Nasu has not yet been smitten by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart on the ground, the corn on the length of a Frârâthni all around the dead matter, if the corn be dry; on the length of a Frâbâzu all
[1. It appears from the similar passages (VIII, 35, 36, and 98, 99) and from the general principles of uncleanness (see Introd. V, 16) that the words 'If the Nasu has not yet been smitten,' in § 29, have been misplaced there from § 30, and that the corresponding words in § 30 belong to § 29; because uncleanness spreads less far, when the Sag-dîd has taken place.
2 A measure of unknown extent; 'an arm's length,' it would seem.]
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around if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.
34 (89). 'But if the Nasu has already been smitten[1] by the corpse-eating dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart on the ground, the corn on the length of a Frâbâzu all around the dead matter, if the corn be dry; on the length of a Vîbâzu[2] all around, if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.
35 (92). 'This is the quantity of corn around the dead matter, that they shall lay down, apart on the ground, according as the corn is dry or wet; according as it is sown or not sown; according as it is reaped or not reaped; according as it is ground or not ground[3]; according as it is (kneaded)[4] or not kneaded; they shall sprinkle it once over with water, And it shall be clean.'
36 (94). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a worshipper of Mazda want to practice the art of healing, on whom shall he first his skill? on worshippers of Mazda or on worshippers of the Daêvas?
37 (96). Ahura Mazda answered: 'On worshippers of the Daêvas shall he first prove himself,
[1. The same observation applies to the first words of §§ 33, 34, as was observed of §§ 29, 30.
2. A measure of unknown extent; 'an ell,' it would seem.
3. This clause is preceded and followed, in the Vendîdâd Sâdah, by clauses which seem to refer to the process of grinding being more or less advanced.
4. This word is supplied, as it appears, from the context, and from the Pahlavi translation, to be wanting.]
{p. 84}
rather than on worshippers of Mazda. If he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daêvas and he die; if he treat with the knife a second worshipper of the Daêvas and he die; if he treat with the knife for the third time a worshipper of the Daêvas and he die, he is unfit to practise the art of healing for ever and ever.
38 (99). 'Let him therefore never attend any worshipper of Mazda; let him never treat with the knife any worshipper of Mazda, nor wound him with the knife. If he shall ever attend any worshipper of Mazda, if he shall ever treat with the knife any worshipper of Mazda, and wound him with the knife, he shall pay for it the same penalty as is paid for wilful murder[1].
39 (102). 'If he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daêvas and he recover; if he treat with the knife a second worshipper of the Daêvas and he recover; if for the third time he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daêvas and he recover; then he is fit to practise the art of healing for ever and ever[2].
40 (104). 'He may henceforth at his will, attend worshippers of Mazda; he may at his will treat with the knife worshippers of Mazda, and heal them with the knife.
41 (105). 'A healer shall heal a priest for a holy
[1. For baodhô-varsta, which word is wrongly understood by the Parsis as the designation of a penalty, consisting in the amputation of six fingers (Asp.)
2. 'Some say, One who has been qualified may become disqualified; one who has been disqualified shall never become qualified' (Comm. ad § 43).]
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blessing[1]; he shall heal the master of a house for the value of an ox of low value; he shall heal the lord of a borough[2] for the value of an ox of average value; he shall heal the lord of a town for the value of an ox of high value; he shall heal the lord of a province for the value of a chariot and four[3].
42 (110). 'He shall heal the wife of the master of a house for the value of a she-ass; he shall heal the wife of the lord of a borough for the value of a cow; he shall heal the wife of the lord of a town for the value of a mare; he shall heal the wife of the lord of a province for the value of a she-camel.
43 (114) 'He shall heal the son of the lord of a borough for the value of an ox of high value; he shall heal an ox of high value for the value of an ox of average value; he shall heal an ox of average value for that of an ox of low value; he shall heal an ox of low value for the value of a sheep; he shall heal a sheep for the value of a meal of meat[4].
44 (118). 'If several healers offer themselves together, O Spitama Zarathustra! namely, one who heals with the knife, one who heals with herbs, and one who heals with the holy word[5], it is this one
[1. 'Thus he will become holy (i.e. he will go to paradise); there no equivalent in money. Some say, It is given when the priest has not 3000 stîrs' (Comm.)
2. A group of several houses; Aspendiârji and Anquetil say, 'a street.'
3. 'A value of seventy stîrs' (Comm.)
4. Cf. the tariff of fees for the. cleanser, Farg. IX, 37 seq.
5. 'By spells' (Comm.; cf. Odyssea XIX, 457). This classification was not unknown to Asclepios: he relieved the sick 'now with caressing spells, now with soothing drink or balsam, now with the knife' (Pindaros, Pyth. III, 51).]
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who will best drive away sickness from the body of the faithful[1].'
45 (122). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after the corpse of a dead man has been laid down on the ground, clothed with the light of heaven and beholding the sun, Is the ground itself again[2]?
46 (123). Ahura Mazda answered: 'When the corpse of a dead man has lain on the ground for a year, clothed with the light of heaven, and beholding the sun, then the ground is itself again, O holy Zarathustra[3]!'
47 (124). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after the corpse of a dead man has been buried in the earth, is the earth itself again?
48 (125). Ahura Mazda answered: 'When the corpse of a dead man has lain buried in the earth for fifty years, O Spitama Zarathustra! then the earth is itself again[4].'
49 (126). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after the corpse of a dead
[1. 'It may be that he may not relieve, but he will not harm' (Comm.) The Vendîdâd Sâdah, instead of 'it is this one,' &c, reads as follows: 'Let them address themselves to the one who heals with the holy word; for he is the best healer among all healers, who heals by the holy word; this one it is who will drive away sickness from the body of the faithful.' The treatment by the holy word seems not to consist only in the recitation of spells, but the spells must be accompanied by the ceremony of the Barashnûm (see Farg. XXII and Introd. V, 14).
2. Restored to the purity of its nature, and fit to till; as it remains Nasu till that time.
3. See Farg. VI, 1 seq.
4. Cf. Farg. III, 36 seq.]
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man has been laid down on a Dakhma, is the ground, whereon the Dakhma stands, itself again?
50 (127). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Not until the dust of the corpse, O Spitama Zarathustra! has mingled with the dust of the earth'. Urge every one in the material world, O Spitama Zarathustra! to pull down Dakhmas[2].
51 (129). 'He who should pull down Dakhmas, even so much thereof as the size of his own body, his sins in thought, word, and deed are remitted as they would be by a Patet; his sins in thought, word, and deed are atoned for[3]
52 (132). 'Not for his soul shall the two spirits ,wage war with one another[4]; and when he enters the blissful world, the stars, the moon, and the sun shall rejoice in him; and I, Ahura Mazda, shall rejoice in him, saying: "Hail, O man! thou who hast just passed from the decaying world into the undecaying one!"'
55[5] (137). O Maker of the material world, thou
[1. A space of time estimated at fifty years (Comm.) Cf. Farg. III, 13.
2. Cf. Farg. III, 9, text and note, and § 13.
3. 'A tanâfûhr sin is remitted thereby' (Comm.)
4 When a man dies, hell and paradise, fiends and gods struggle for the possession of his soul: Astôvîdhôtus, Vîzaresha, and the bad Vayu drag the souls of the wicked to hell; Mithra, Sraosha, Rashnu, and the good Vayu take the souls of the good to paradise (see Farg. XIX, 29 seq.; Yt. XXII; Mainyô-i-khard II). The struggle lasts for three days and three nights (the sadis), during which time the relatives of the dead offer up prayers and sacrifices to Sraosha, Rashnu, and Vayu, to assure him their protection (cf. IX, 56).
5. §§ 53, 54 belong to the Commentary; they are composed of disconnected quotations, part of which refers to the different deeds by which a tanâfûhr sin may be redeemed, while the other part refers to the rules of what may be called the book-keeping of good actions and sins.]
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Holy One! Where are the fiends? Where are the worshippers of the fiends? What is the place whereon the troops of fiends rush together? What is the place whereon the troops of fiends come rushing along? What is the place whereon they rush together to kill their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads?
56 (138). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Those Dakhmas that are built upon the face of the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! and whereon are laid the corpses Of dead men, that is the place where the fiends are, that is the place whereon the troops of fiends rush together, that is the place whereon the troops of fiends come rushing along, that is the place whereon they rush together to kill their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.
57 (140). 'On those Dakhmas, O Spitama Zarathustra! those fiends take food and void filth, (eating up corpses) in the same way as you, men, in the material world, eat cooked meal and cooked meat. It is, as it were, the smell of their feeding that you smell there, O men!
58 (143). 'Thus the fiends revel on there, until that stench is rooted in the Dakhmas. Thus from the Dakhmas arise the infection of diseases, itch, hot fever, humours[1], cold fever, rickets, and hair untimely white. There death has most power on man, from the hour when the sun is down.
[1. Doubtful (naêza).]
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59 (148). 'And if there be people of evil spirit who do not seek for better spirit, the Gainis[1] make those diseases grow stronger by a third[2], on their thighs, on their hands, on their plaited hair[3].'
60[4] (151). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If in the house of a worshipper of Mazda there be a woman with child, and if being a month gone, or two, or three, or four, or five, or six, or seven, or eight, or nine, or ten months gone, she bring forth a still-born child, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?
61 (155). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The place in that Mazdean 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;'--
62 (158). 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?
63 (159). 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;'--
[1. 'The Gahi' (Comm.) The Gaini seems to be the Gahi as bringing sickness (cf. Farg. XXI, 2).
2. The general meaning of the sentence is that the Dakhmas are seats of infection, of which the action becomes worse and stronger when people live in impiety and vices.
3 Doubtful.
4. §§ 60-69 = Farg. V, 45-54.]
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64 (160). 'On that place shall the worshippers of Mazda erect an enclosure, and therein shall they establish her with food, therein shall they establish her with clothes.'
65 (162). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the food that the woman shall first take?
66 (163). Ahura Mazda answered: 'She shall drink gômêz mixed with ashes, three cups of it, or six, or nine, to wash over the grave in her womb.
67 (166). 'Afterwards she may drink boiling milk of mares, cows, sheep, or goats, with pap or without pap; she may take cooked meat without water, bread without water, and wine without water.'
68 (169). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long shall she remain so? How long shall she live only on that sort of meat, bread, and wine?
69 (170). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three nights long shall she remain so; three nights long shall she live on that sort of meat, bread, and wine. Then, when three nights have passed, she shall wash her body, she shall wash her clothes, with gômêz and water, by the nine holes, and thus shall she be clean.'
70 O 72). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! But if fever befall her unclean body, if that twofold plague, hunger and thirst, befall her, may she be allowed to drink water?
71 (175). Ahura Mazda answered: 'She may; the first thing for her is to have her life saved. Having been allowed by one of the holy men, by a holy faithful man, who knows the holy
{p. 91}
knowledge[1], she shall drink of the strength-giving water. But you, worshippers of Mazda, fix ye the penalty for it. The Ratu being applied to, the Sraoshâ-varez being applied to[2], shall prescribe the penalty to be paid[3].'
72 (181). What is the penalty to be paid?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'The deed is that of a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana[4].'
73 (183). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the eating vessels be made clean that have been touched by the carcase of a dog, or by the corpse of a man?
74 (184). Ahura Mazda answered: 'They can, O holy Zarathustra!'
How so?
'If they be of gold, you shall wash them once with gômêz, you shall rub them once with earth, you shall wash them once with water, and they shall be clean.
'If they be of silver, you shall wash them twice with gômêz, you shall rub them twice with earth, you shall wash them twice with water, and they shall be clean.
[75. 'If they be of brass, you shall wash them thrice with gômêz, you shall rub them thrice with
[1. The Dastur.
2. See Farg. V, 25.
3. For the water having been defiled.
4. A penalty to be undergone by the husband, at least in modern practice: 'If through fear of death or of serious illness she has drunk water before the appointed time, her husband shall make Patet for her fault before the Dastur' (Old Rav. 98 b).]
{p. 92}
earth, you shall wash them thrice with water, and they shall be clean.
'If they be of steel, you shall wash them four times with gômêz, you shall rub them four times with earth, you shall wash them four times with water, and they shall be clean.
'If they be of stone, you shall wash them six times with gômêz, you shall rub them six times with earth, you shall wash them six times with water, and they shall be clean[1].]
'If they be of earth, of wood, or of clay, they are unclean for ever and ever[2].'
76 (189). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the cow be made clean that has eaten of the carcase of a dog, or of the corpse of a mail?
77 (190). Ahura Mazda answered: 'She can, O holy Zarathustra! The priest shall not, within a year, take from her to the baresma neither the milk and cheese that accompany the libation, nor the meat that accompanies the libation[3]. When a year has passed, then the faithful may eat of her as before[4].'
78 (193), Who is he, O holy Ahura Mazda! who,
[1. From the Vendîdâd Sâdah.
2 See Introd. V, 16.
3. The offering of the libation waters (Zaothra) is accompanied with offerings of milk, cheese, and meat, which the priest eats holding the baresma in his hand.
4. 'Whatever comes from her, if dropped, is clean; if taken, unclean. If she be big with young, the young is born clean, if conceived before her eating of the corpse; if conceived afterwards, it is born unclean' (Comm.)]
{P. 93}
with a godly intent, with a godly wish, goes astray from the ways of God? Who is he who, with a godly intent, falls into the ways of the Drug[1]?
79 (194). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The one who, with a godly intent, with a godly wish, goes astray from the ways of God; the one who with a godly intent falls into the ways of the Drug, is he who offers up for libation water defiled by the dead; or who 'Offers up libations in the dead of the night[2].'
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?
[1. Possibly, works for the Drug.
2. 'From what hour may the good waters be offered up? From sunrise to sunset. He who offers up the good waters after sunset, before sunrise, does no better deed than if he should shed them downright into the jaws of the venomous snake' (Nîrangistân, in the Zand-Pahlavi Glossary, p. 76).]
{p. 94}
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]?
[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.
2. If the house is simply a hut or a tent.
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.)
4. If it is the season of rain or snow, Cf. V, 10. seq.]
{p. 95}
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
[1. Vendîdâd Sâdah.
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.]
{p. 96}
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
[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.
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.)
3. 'As they are exchanged for the special clothes in which they carry corpses' (Comm.), the so-called gâmah-i dakhma, 'the Dakhma clothes.'
4. The Dakhma (see Farg. VI, 50 seq.)
5. The priest who directs the funerals, the chief of the Nasu-kashas' (Comm.)]
{p. 97}
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
[1. When back in the village they perform the regular Barashnûm with consecrated gômêz (Comm.)
2. See Introd. V, 4.
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.)
4. Cf. Farg. VII, 3.]
{p. 98}
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
[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).
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).
3. Of paradise, as Vohu-manô (Good Thought) is the doorkeeper of heaven (cf. Farg. XIX, 31).]
{p. 99}
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
[1. When Ahriman broke into the world he was repelled by Âtar and Vohu-manô (Yasht XIII, 77; cf. Orm. Ahr. § 107).
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.
3. On the fourth day. For three days and nights after the death it is forbidden to cook meat in the house (Comm.)]
{p. 100}
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?
[1. See Farg. V, 60; VII, 2 0.]
{p. 101}
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?
[1. See Farg. III, 38-42, text and notes.]
{p. 102} 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].'
[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 ({Greek ðeoi^s pa^si kai` pa'sais}); 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.)
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).
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).]
{p. 103}
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,
[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).
2. See Farg. V, 4.]
{p. 104}
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
[1. If the Sag-dîd has been performed, a simple ghosel is enough (see Introd. V, 16).
2. If the Sag-dîd has not been performed, the Barashnûm is necessary (see Introd. V, 16).
3. The first three holes, which contain gômêz. For the disposition of the holes, see the following Fargard.
4. Three times; every time that the unclean one passes from one hole to another (Comm. ad IX, 32).
5. To look at him, or, rather, at the Nasu in him, whilst the priest sings the 'fiend-smiting spells.'
6. Containing gômêz too.
7. He rubs himself dry with handfuls of dust (see IX, 29 seq.)
8. Containing water.]
{p. 105}
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?
[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.]
{p. 106}
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
{p. 107}
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
{p. 108}
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
{p. 109}
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
{p. 110}
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
[1. As in §§ 19, 20. From the Vendîdâd Sâdah.]
{p. 111}
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.
[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.)
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.
3. A span of twelve fingers.]
{p. 112}
'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
[1. See Introd. IV, 20-21.]
{p. 113}
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
[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.
2. 'The fire of the lac-makers and of the dyers' (Asp. and Gr. Rav. 120).
3. 'The fire of a bath,' according, to Aspendiârji; but see Introd. V, 8.
4. Or, 'from a lime-kiln' (Comm.)]
{p. 114}
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?
[1. Doubtful.]
{p. 115}
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.'
go (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
[1. A baker's fire.
2. The kitchen-fire.]
{p. 116}
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 (270) O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can a man be made clean, O holy
[1. Doubtful.
2. From the Vendîdâd Sâdah.
3. The hunter's fire.]
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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
[1. Where the regular process of purification cannot be performed.
2. If the Sag-dîd has been performed, the Sî-shû (thirtyfold washing) is enough. Cf. above, ff. 35, 36.
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.
4. See p. 17, n. 1.]
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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.
[1. 'He may then attend to his business; be may work and till; some say he must abstain from sacrifice (till he has undergone the Barashnûm),' (Comm.)
2. As he defiled it by crossing it.
3. 'Trees fit for the fire' (Comm.) If he touches those trees, the fire to which they are brought becomes unclean by his fault.]
{p. 119}
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].'
I a (1-11). Description of the place for cleansing the unclean (the Barashnûm-gâh).
I b (12-36). Description of the cleansing.
II (37-44). Fees of the cleanser.
III (47-57). The false cleanser; his punishment.
§§ 45, 46 belong better to the following Fargard.
The ceremony described in this Fargard is known among the Parsis as Barashnûm nû shaba, or 'nine nights' Barashnûm, because it lasts for nine nights (see § 35)[2]. It is the great purification, the most efficacious of all; it not only makes the defiled man clean, but it opens to him the heavens (see Farg. XIX, 33; cf. Introd. V, 16). So, although it was formerly intended only for the man defiled by the dead, it became, during the Parsi period, a pious work which might be performed without any corpse having been touched; nay, its performance was prescribed, once at least, at the time of the Nû zûdî (at the age of fifteen, when the young Parsi becomes a member of the community), in order to wash away the natural uncleanness that has been contracted in the maternal womb (Saddar 36, Hyde 40)[3].
1. Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O most
[1. Hell. cf. Farg. XIV, 18.
2. As to the word Barashnûm, it seems not to refer to the ceremony itself, and to be nothing more than the Zend word bareshnûm, 'the top of the head, the skull,' the part of the body that is first to be washed (§ 15).
3. For the plan of the Barashnûm-gâh, see Anquetil II, p. 450.]
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beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall they manage here below; who want to cleanse the body of one defiled by the dead?'
2 (4). Ahura Mazda answered: 'A godly man, O Spitama Zarathustra! who speaks truth, who learns the Holy Word, and who knows best the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda[1], such a man shall fell the trees off the surface of the ground on a space of nine Vîbâzus[2] square.
3 (9). 'It should be the part of the ground where there is least water and where there are fewest trees, the part which is the cleanest and driest, and the least passed through by sheep and oxen, and by Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful.'
4 (11). How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?
5 (12). 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.
6 (13). 'Then thou shalt dig a hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come[3].
7 (14). 'Thou shalt dig a second hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
'Thou shalt dig a third hole, two fingers deep if
[1. A priest.
2. The Vîbâzu seems to have been as much as ten paces. See Introd. V, 16.]
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the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
'Thou shalt dig a fourth hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
'Thou shalt dig a fifth hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
'Thou shalt dig a sixth hole[1], two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.'
8 (14). How far from one another?
'One pace.'
How much is the pace?
'As much as three feet.
9 (16). 'Then thou shalt dig three holes more[2], two fingers deep if the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.'
How far from the former six?
'Three paces.'
What sort of paces?
'Such as are taken in walking.'
How much are those (three) paces?
'As much as nine feet.
10 (22). 'Then thou shalt draw a furrow all around with a metal knife.'
How far from the holes?
'Three paces.'
What sort of paces?
'Such as are taken in walking.'
[1. These six holes contain gômêz. 'The holes must be dug from the north to the south' (Comm.)
2. The three holes to contain water.]
{p. 122}
How much are those (three) paces?
9 As much as nine feet.
11 (24). 'Thou shalt draw twelve furrows[1]; three of which thou shalt draw around (the first) three holes; three thou shalt draw around (the first) six holes; three thou shalt draw around the nine holes; three thou shalt draw around the three holes, outside the six holes[2] . At each of the three times nine feet[3], thou shalt place stones as steps to the holes; or potsherds, or stumps, or clods, or any hard matter[4].'
12 (31). 'Then the unclean one shall walk to the holes; thou, O Zarathustra! shalt stand outside by the furrow, and thou shalt recite, Nemaskâ yâ
[1. 'The furrows must be drawn during the day; they must be drawn with a knife; they must be drawn with recitation of spells. While drawing the furrows the cleanser recites three Ashem-vohus ("holiness is the best of all good," &c.), the Fravarânê ("I declare myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower of Zarathustra, a foe of the fiend," &c.), the Khshnûman of Serosh, and the Big of Serosh; they must be drawn from the north' (Comm. ad § 32). The furrow, or kesh, plays a greater part in the Mazdean liturgy than in any other. By means of the furrow, drawn with proper spells, and according to the laws of spiritual war, man either besieges the fiend or intrenches himself against him (cf. Farg. XVII, 5). In the present case the Drug, being shut up inside the kesh and thus excluded from the world outside, and being driven back, step by step, by the strength of the holy water and spells, finds at last no place of refuge but hell, and the world is freed from her presence.
2. 'The three holes for water, the six holes for gômêz' (Comm.)
3. The nine feet between the holes containing gômêz and those containing water, the nine feet between the first holes and the furrows, and the nine feet between the last hole and the furrows.
4. That the foot of the unclean one may not touch the earth (see Introd. V, 10).]
{p. 123}
ârmaitis îzâkâ[1]; and the unclean one shall repeat, Nemaskâ yâ ârmaitis îzâkâ.
13 (35). 'The Drug becomes weaker and weaker at every one of those words which are to smite the fiend Angra Mainyu, to smite Aêshma of the bloody spear[2], to smite the Mâzainya fiends[3], to smite all the fiends.
14 (40). 'Then thou shalt sprinkle him with gômêz from a spoon of brass or of lead; thou shalt take a stick with nine knots[4], O Spitama Zarathustra! and thou shalt fasten the leaden spoon to the upper part of the stick.
15 (43). 'They shall wash his hands first. If his hands be not washed first, he makes his whole body unclean. When he has washed his hands three times, after his hands have been washed, thou shalt sprinkle the forepart of his skull; then the Drug Nasu rushes in front, between his brows[5].
16 (50). 'Thou shalt sprinkle him in front between the brows; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the back part of the skull.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the back part of the skull; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the jaws.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the jaws; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right ear.
17 (56). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right ear; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left ear.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left ear; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right shoulder.
[1. Yasna XLIX, 10.
2. See Introd. IV, 22.
3. See Introd. IV, 23.
4. So long that the cleanser may take gômêz or water from the holes, and sprinkle the unclean one, without touching him and without going inside the furrows.
5. Cf. Farg. VIII, 40-71.]
{p. 124}
'Thou shalt sprinkle the right shoulder; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left shoulder.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left shoulder; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right arm-pit.
18 (64). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right armpit; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left arm-pit.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left arm-pit; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the chest.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the chest; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the back.
19 (70). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the back; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right nipple.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the right nipple; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left nipple.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left nipple; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right rib.
20 (76). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right rib; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left rib.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left rib; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right hip.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the right hip; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left hip.
21 (82). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left hip; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the sexual parts.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the sexual parts. 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; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right thigh.
22 (88). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right thigh; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left thigh.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left thigh; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right knee.
{p. 125}
Thou shalt sprinkle the right knee; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left knee.
23 (94). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left knee; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right leg.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the right leg; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left leg.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left leg; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right ankle.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the right ankle; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left ankle.
24 (102). 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left ankle; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right instep.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the right instep; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left instep.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left instep; then the Drug Nasu is driven to the sole of the foot, where what is seen of her is like the wing of a fly.
25 (108). 'He shall press his toes upon the ground and shall raise up his heels; thou shalt sprinkle his right sole; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left sole.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left sole; then the Drug Nasu is driven to the toes, where what is seen of her is like the wing of a fly.
26 (113). 'He shall press his heels upon the ground And shall raise up his toes; thou shalt sprinkle his right toe; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left toe.
'Thou shalt sprinkle the left toe; 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.
{p. 126}
27 (118). 'And thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--
'"Yathâ ahû vairyô:--The will of the Lord is the law of holiness; the riches of Vohu-manô 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.
'"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, 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 may come with Vohu-manô and help whomsoever thou pleasest.
'"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[1]!"
28 (119). 'At the first hole the man becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.[2]
'At the second hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.
[1. Cf. Farg. VIII, 19-21.
2. As in preceding clause.]
{p. 127}
'At the third hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.
'At the fourth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.
'At the fifth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.
'At the sixth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt say those fiend-smiting and most-healing words:--"Yathâ ahû vairyô," &c.
29 (120). 'Afterwards the unclean one shall sit down, inside the furrows[1], outside the furrows of the six holes, four fingers from those furrows. There he shall cleanse his body with thick handfuls of dust.
30 (123). 'Fifteen times shall they take up dust from the ground for him to rub his body, and they shall wait there until he is dry even to the last hair on his head.
31 (125). 'When his body is dry, then he shall step over the holes (containing water). At the first hole he shall wash his body once with water; at the second hole he shall wash his body twice with water; at the third hole he shall wash his body thrice with water.
32 (130). 'Then he shall perfume (his body)[2] with perfumes from Urvâsna, or Vohu-gaona, or Vohu-kereti, or Hadhâ-naêpata, or from any sweet-smelling
[1. Between the furrows of the six holes containing gômêz and the furrows of the holes containing water.
2. Or, possibly, 'his clothes' (see Farg. XIX, 24).]
{p. 128}
plant; then he shall put on his clothes, and shall go back to his house.
33 (133). 'He shall sit down there in the place of infirmity[1], inside the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either man or woman. Thus shall he continue until three nights have passed. When three nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean.
34 (137). 'Then he shall sit down again in the place of infirmity, inside the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either man or woman. Thus shall he continue until six nights have passed. When six nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean.
35 (141). 'Then he shall sit down again in the place of infirmity, inside the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either man or woman. Thus shall he continue, until nine nights have passed. When nine nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean.
36 (145). 'He may thenceforth go near the fire, near the water, near the earth, near the cow, near
[1. The Armêst-gâh (see Introd. V, 15).]
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the trees, and near the faithful, either man or woman.
37 (146). 'Thou shalt cleanse a priest for a holy blessing[2]; thou shalt cleanse the lord of a province for the value of a camel of high value; thou shalt cleanse the lord of a town for the value of a stallion; thou shalt cleanse the lord of a borough for the value of a bull; thou shalt cleanse the master of a house for the value of a cow three years old.
38 (150). 'Thou shalt cleanse the wife of the master of a house for the value of a ploughing[3] cow; thou shalt cleanse a menial for the value of a draught cow[4]; thou shalt cleanse a young child for the value of a lamb.
39 (154). 'These are the different cattle that the worshippers of Mazda shall give to him who has cleansed them, if they can afford it; if they cannot afford it, they shall give him any other reward that may make him leave their houses well-pleased with them, and free from anger.
40 (157). 'For if the man who has cleansed them leave their houses displeased with them, and full of anger, then the Drug Nasu enters them by the nose, by the eyes, by the tongue, by the jaws, by the sexual organs, by the hinder parts.
41 (159). 'And the Drug Nasu rushes upon them even to the end of the nails, and they are unclean thenceforth for ever and ever.
'It grieves the sun indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra!
[1. Cf. the tariff for the fees of physicians, Farg. VII, 41-43.
2. See Farg. VII, 41, note.
3. Doubtful.
4. Doubtful.]
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to shine upon a man defiled by the dead; it grieves the moon, it grieves the stars.
42 (162). 'That man delights them, O Spitama Zarathustra! who cleanses from the Nasu those whom she has defiled; he delights the fire, he delights the water, he delights the earth, he delights the cow, he delights the trees, he delights the faithful, both men and women.'
43 (164). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What shall be his reward, after his soul has parted from his body, who has cleansed from the Nasu any one defiled by her?'
44 (166). Ahura Mazda answered: 'The welfare of the blessed abode thou canst promise to that man, for his reward in the other world.'
45[1] (167). Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Nasu who from the dead defiles the living?'
46 (169). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice; say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times; and the Drug shall fade away like the self-moving arrow[2], like the carpet of the earth[3] when the year is over like its garment[3] which lasts a season.'
[1. This clause and the following one as far as 'and the Drug' are further developed in the following Fargard.
2. See Introd. IV, 26.
3. The grass.]
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47 (172). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man who does not know the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda, offers to cleanse the unclean, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do? How shall I then fight against that Drug who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead defiles the living?'
48 (175). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Then, O Spitama Zarathustra! the Drug Nasu waxes stronger than she was before. Stronger then are sickness and death and the working of the fiend than they were before.'
49 (177). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the penalty that he shall pay?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'The worshippers of Mazda shall bind him; they shall bind his hands first; then they shall strip him of his clothes, they shall flay him alive, they shall cut off his head, and they shall give over his corpse unto the greediest of the birds of the beneficent spirit, unto the corpse-eating birds, unto the ravens, with these words[1]:--
'"The man here has repented of all his evil thoughts, words, and deeds.
50 (183). '"If he has committed any other evil
[1. 'The cleanser who has not performed the cleansing according to the rites, shall be taken to a desert place; there they shall nail him with four nails, they shall take off the skin from his body, and cut off his head. If he has performed Patet for his sin, he shall be holy (that is, he shall go to paradise); if he has not performed Patet, he shall stay in hell till the day of resurrection' (Fraser Ravaet, p. 398). Cf. Farg. III, 20 seq.]
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deed it is remitted by his repentance; if he has committed no other evil deed, he is absolved by his repentance for ever and ever[1]."'
51 (18 7). Who is he, O Ahura Mazda! who threatens to take away fulness and increase from the world, and to bring in sickness and death?
52 (188). Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the ungodly Ashemaogha[2], O Spitama Zarathustra! who in this material world cleanses the unclean without knowing the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda.
53 (190). 'For until then, O Spitama Zarathustra! sweetness and fatness would flow out from that land and from those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass[3].'
54 (191). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When are sweetness and fatness to come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass?
55, 56 (192, 193). Ahura Mazda answered: 'Sweetness and fatness will never come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass, until that ungodly Ashemaogha has been put to death, and the holy Sraosha has been in that place, offered up a sacrifice[4], for three
[1. See Farg. III, 20 seq., and Introd. V.
2. See Introd. IV.
3. Cf. XIII, 52 seq.
4. The so-called zanda ravân, 'the sacrifice that makes the soul living,' that is to say, that makes it enter heaven. It is probably to be performed only in case the sinner has performed the Patet (see the note to § 49).]
{p. 133}
days and three nights, with fire blazing, with baresma tied up, and with Haoma uplifted.
57 (196). 'Then sweetness and fatness will come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass.'
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