# Vendidad — Chapter 19

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> Source: Avesta.org. The Vendidad, Chapter 19, translation: L.H. Mills / J. Darmesteter (Sacred Books of the East, 1880-1887), Avesta.org. License: Public domain (translation predates 1928).
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> AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 19.
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> AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 19.
> 
> This digital edition prepared by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995; updated Jun 14, 2001.
> 
> Translated by James Darmesteter, from Sacred Books of the East,
> American Edition, (New York, The Christian Literature Company, 1898.)
> 
> Comments in [] by JHP.
> 
> Compare this chapter with the ancient description given of it in
> the Denkard, Dk Book 8.74-76:
> 
> (74) About the combat (kushishno) of the evil: spirit with Zartosht,
> the victory of Zartosht therein, and whatever is on the same subject.
> (75) About Zartosht having inquired of Ohrmazd how, and by what means,
> one has to confound the evil spirit and other demons, and his reply.
> (76) About the gratification of Vohuman, the archangel, owing to
> the washing and bringing back to use of polluted clothing; also
> praise unto Ohrmazd for his narrating the care of the clothing.
> 
> Synopsis:
> 
> I (§§ 1-3). Angra Mainyu sends
> the demon Buiti to kill Zarathushtra:
> Zarathushtra sings aloud the Ahunwar, and the demon flies
> away, confounded by the sacred words and by the glory of Zarathushtra.
> 
> Ia (§§ 4-10).
> Angra Mainyu himself attacks him and propounds riddles to be
> solved under pain of death. The Prophet rejects him with heavenly
> stones, given by Ahura, and announces to him that he will destroy his
> creation. The demon promises him the empire of the world if he
> adores him, as his ancestors have done, and abjures the religion of
> Mazda. Zarathushtra rejects his offers scornfully. He announces
> he will destroy him with the arms given by Ahura, namely, the
> sacrificial implements and the sacred words. Then he recites the
> Tat thwa peresa,
> that is to say, the Gatha in which he asks Ahura
> for instruction on all the mysteries of the material and spiritual
> world.
> 
> The rest of the Fargard contains specimens of the several questions
> asked by Zarathushtra and the answers given by Ahura. It is
> an abridgement of the Revelation (cf. Hadokht Nask).
> 
> II (11-17). How to destroy the uncleanness born from a contact
> with the dead? — By invoking the Mazdean Religion. A series of
> invocations taught by Ahura and developed by Zarathushtra
> (15-16)
> 
> III (18-19). How to promote the prosperity of the creation? —
> By the rites of the Baresman [barsom].
> 
> IV (20-25). How to purify man and clothes defiled by the
> dead? — With gomez, water, and perfume.
> 
> V (26-34). On the remuneration of deeds after death; on the
> fate of the wicked and the righteous; the Chinwad bridge.
> 
> IIa (34-42). Another series of invocations.
> 
> VI (43-47). The demons, dismayed by the birth of the Prophet,
> rush back into hell.
> 
> As may be seen from the preceding analysis, the essential part
> of this Fargard are sections I and VI,
> the rest being an indefinite
> development. It appears also from section VI, that the attacks of
> Buiti and Angra Mainyu against Zarathushtra and the attempts to
> seduce him are supposed to take place at the moment when he was
> born, which is confirmed by the testimony of the
> Warsht-mansr Nask (West, Pahlavi Texts, IV, 226 seq.)
> 
> FARGARD 19.
> 
> I.
> 
> 1. From the region of the north, from the regions
> of the north 1, forth rushed Angra Mainyu, the deadly,
> the Daeva of the Daevas 2. And thus spake the
> evil-doer Angra Mainyu, the deadly: 'Druj, rush
> down and kill him,' O holy Zarathushtra! The
> Druj came rushing along, the demon Buiti 3, who
> is deceiving, unseen death 4.
> Notes:
> 
> 1. From hell; cf. II, 10n; III, 7 n; Hadokht Nask 25;
> Bundahishn 15.19.
> 
> 2. 'The fiend of fiends,' the arch-fiend.
> 
> 3. Buiti is identified by the Greater Bundahishn with the Bût, the
> idol, worshipped by Budasp (a corruption of Bodhisativa). Buiti [Buddha]
> would be therefore a personification of Buddhism, which was
> flourishing in Eastern Iran in the two centuries before and after
> Christ. Buidhi (Vd11.9 may be another and more correct
> pronunciation of Bodhi.
> 
> 4. Idolatry (cf. note 3) being the death of the soul.
> 
> 2. Zarathushtra chanted aloud the Ahuna-Vairya 5:
> 
> 'The will of the Lord is the law of righteousness. The gifts of Vohu-mano to
> the deeds done in this world for Mazda. He who relieves the poor
> makes Ahura king.'
> 
> He offered the sacrifice to the good waters of the good
> Daitya 6! He recited the profession of the worshippers of
> Mazda 7!
> 
> The Druj dismayed, rushed away, the demon Buiti, who is
> deceiving, unseen death.
> 
> 5. [i.e. Ahunwar], a prayer in frequent use, and considered of great efficacy.
> It was by reciting it that Ohrmazd in his first conflict with Ahriman drove
> him back to hell (Bund 1).
> 
> 6. The river in Eranwej; see Vd1.3.
> 
> 7. The Fravarane (Y11.16).
> 
> 3. And the Druj said unto Angra Mainyu:
> 'Thou, tormenter, Angra Mainyu! I see no way to
> kill Spitama Zarathushtra, so great is the glory of
> the holy Zarathushtra.'
> 
> Zarathushtra saw (all this) within his soul: 'The
> wicked, the evil-doing Daevas (thought he) take
> counsel together for my death.'
> 
> I a.
> 
> 4. Up started Zarathushtra, forward went Zarathushtra, unabated
> by Akem-mano 8, by the hardness of his malignant riddles 9; he went
> swinging stones in his hand, stones as big as a house 10, which he
> obtained from the Maker, Ahura Mazda, he the holy Zarathushtra.
> 
> 'Whereat on this wide, round earth, whose ends
> lie afar, whereat dost thou swing (those stones),
> thou who standest by the upper bank of the river
> Dareja 11, in the mansion of Pourushaspa 12?'
> 
> 8. See Vd10.10 n.
> 
> 9. This is a fragment of an old legend in which Zarathushtra and
> Angra Mainyu played respectively the parts of Oedipus and the
> Sphinx. Cf. Yt5.81, where the same
> legend is told in nearly
> the same terms of the sorcerer Ahktya and Yavisht i Friyan.
> [See also the Pahlavi Text Yavisht i Friyan.]
> 
> 10. The Commentary has, 'Some say, those stones are the Ahunwar.'
> If one keeps in mind how much the Moslem legend of
> Ibrahim owes to the legend of Zarathushtra, one may easily admit
> that this passage in our text is the origin of the story of how Iblis
> tempted Ibrahim, and was pelted away, whence he was named 'the stoned
> One' (ar-ragîmû).
> 
> 11. 'The Daraja is the chief of the rivers, because the house of
> Zartosht's father stood on its bank and Zartosht was born there'
> (Bund24.15.)
> 
> 12. The father of Zarathushtra.
> 
> 5. Thus Zarathushtra answered Angra Mainyu: 'O evil-doer, Angra
> Mainyu! I will smite the creation of the Daeva; I will smite the
> Nasu, a creature of the Daeva; I will smite the Pairika
> Knathaiti 13, till the victorious Saoshyant come up to life 4 out of
> the lake Kasava [Kasaoya] 15, from the region of the dawn, from the regions
> of the dawn.'
> 
> 13. The incarnation of idolatry; cf. Vd1.9.
> 
> 14. The unborn son of Zarathushtra, who, at the end of time, will
> destroy Ahriman and bring about the resurrection of the dead.
> See Yt13.62; Yt19.92, 94 seq.
> 
> 15. The Zarah sea in Saistan. See Yt19.66.
> 
> 6. Again to him said the Maker of the evil world, Angra Mainyu:
> 'Do not destroy my creatures, O holy Zarathushtra! Thou art the
> son of Pourushaspa;16 by thy mother I was invoked.17 Renounce the
> good Religion of the worshippers of Mazda, and thou shalt gain
> such a boon as Vadhaghna18 gained, the ruler of the nations.'
> 
> 16. 'I know thee' (Comm.)
> 
> 17. The Commentary has, 'Some explain thus: Thy forefathers
> worshipped me: worship me also.' Zarathushtra's forefathers must
> naturally have followed a false religion, since he announces the
> true one.
> 
> 18. Azhi Dahaka or Zohak, who, as a legendary king, is said to
> have ruled the world for a thousand years. See Mx57.24-25:
> "Ahriman shouted to Zartosht thus: "If thou desist from
> this good religion of the Mazda-worshippers, then I will give thee
> a thousand years' dominion of the worldly existence, as was given
> to the Vadakan monarch Dahak [Zohak]." "
> 
> 7. Spitama Zarathushtra said in answer: 'No!
> never will I renounce the good Religion of the worshippers
> of Mazda, either for body or life, though
> they should tear away the breath!'
> 
> 8. Again to him said the Maker of the evil
> world, Angra Mainyu: 'By whose Word wilt thou
> strike, by whose Word wilt thou repel, by whose
> weapon will the good creatures (strike and repel)
> my creation, who am Angra Mainyu?'
> 
> 9. Spitama Zarathushtra said in answer: 'The
> sacred mortar, the sacred cups, the Haoma, the
> Word taught by Mazda, these are my weapons,
> my best weapons! By this Word will I strike,
> by this Word will I repel, by this weapon will the
> good creatures (strike and repel thee), O evil-doer,
> Angra Mainyu! The Good Spirit [Spenta Mainyu -JHP] made the creation 19;
> he made it in the boundless Time. The
> Amesha-Spentas made the creation, the good, the wise Sovereigns.'
> 
> 19. The first duty of every good Mazda-worshipper is to think of
> Ohrmazd as the creator, and of Ahriman as the destroyer
> (Mx2.9).
> 
> 10. Zarathushtra chanted aloud the Ahuna-Vairya.
> 
> The holy Zarathushtra said aloud: 'This I ask thee: teach me
> the truth, O Lord 20! ...'
> 
> 20. This verse is the beginning of the Tat thwa peresa
> Gatha (Yasna 44); see the introduction to this Fargard.
> 
> II.
> 
> 11. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O
> Ahura Mazda, most beneficent spirit, Maker of the
> 
> material world, thou Holy One! [he was sitting by
> the upper bank of the Dareja 21, before Ahura Mazda,
> before the good Vohu-mana, before Asha Vahishta,
> Khshathra Vairya, and Spenta Armaiti;]
> 
> 21. See note 11 above.
> 
> 12. 'How shall I free the world from that
> Druj, from that evil-doer, Angra Mainyu? How
> shall I drive away direct defilement? How indirect
> defilement? How shall I drive the Nasu from the
> house of the worshippers of Mazda? How shall
> I cleanse the faithful man? How shall I cleanse
> the faithful woman?'
> 
> 13. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Invoke, O
> Zarathushtra! the good Religion of Mazda.
> 
> 'Invoke, O Zarathushtra! though thou see them
> not, the Amesha-Spentas who rule over the seven
> Karshvares of the earth 22.
> 
> 'Invoke, O Zarathushtra! the sovereign Heaven,
> the boundless Time 23, and Vayu 24, whose action is
> most high.
> 
> 'Invoke, O Zarathushtra! the powerful Wind,
> made by Mazda; and Spenta [Armaiti]25, the fair
> daughter of Ahura Mazda.
> 
> 22. See verse 39.
> 
> 23. By contradistinction to the duration of the world, which is
> limited to 12,000 years (Bund34.1).
> 
> 24. The Genius of Destiny; see Vd5.9.
> 
> 25. The fourth Amesha-Spenta, who in her spiritual character is
> an incarnation of pious humility and in her material character
> the Genius of the Earth; see Vd2.10.
> 
> 14. 'Invoke, O Zarathushtra! my Fravashi 26,
> who am Ahura Mazda, the greatest, the best, the
> fairest of all beings, the most solid, the most intelligent,
> the best shapen, the highest in holiness, and
> whose soul is the holy Word [manthra spenta]27!
> 
> 'Invoke, O Zarathushtra! this creation of mine, who am Ahura
> Mazda.'
> 
> 26. On the Fravashis, see Yt13.
> 
> 27. See Yasna 1.1.
> 
> 15. Zarathushtra imitated my words from me,
> (and said): 'I invoke the holy creation of Ahura
> Mazda.
> 
> 'I invoke Mithra 28, the lord of the rolling countryside,
> a god armed with beautiful weapons, with the
> most glorious of all weapons, with the most victorious
> of all weapons.
> 
> 'I invoke the holy, well-formed Sraosha 29, who
> wields a club in his hand, to bear upon the heads
> of the fiends 30.
> 
> 28. See Vd3.1 n 6.
> 
> 29. See Vd18.14, note.
> 
> 30. See Vd18.22 ff.;
> Yasna 57.19 ff;
> Yt11.
> 
> 16. 'I invoke the most glorious Holy Word [manthra spenta].
> 
> 'I invoke the sovereign Heaven, the boundless Time, and
> Vayu, whose action is most high.
> 
> 'I invoke the mighty Wind, made by Mazda, and Spenta
> (Armaiti), the fair daughter of Ahura Mazda.
> 
> 'I invoke the good Religion of Mazda, the fiend-destroying
> Law of Zarathushtra.'
> 
> III.
> 
> 17. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the good world,
> Ahura Mazda! With what manner of sacrifice shall I worship, with
> what manner of sacrifice shall I make people worship this
> creation of Ahura Mazda31?'
> 
> 31. The sacrifice intended is a sacrifice to nature. The Baresman,
> as representative of the vegetal nature, receives the zaothra-libations,
> which are representative of the fertilizing rains.
> 
> 18. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Go, O Spitama
> 
> Zarathushtra! towards the high-growing trees 32, and before one of them that is
> beautiful, high-growing, and mighty, say thou these words: "Hail
> to thee! O good, holy tree, made by Mazda! Ashem vohu33!"
> 
> 32. The tree, whatever it is, from which the Baresma is taken.
> 
> 33. See verse 22.
> 
> 19. '[The priest] shall cut off a twig of
> Baresma, long as an aesha, thick as a yava34.
> The faithful one, holding it in his left
> hand, shall keep his eyes upon it without ceasing35, whilst he is
> offering up to Ahura Mazda and to the Amesha-Spentas, the high
> and beautiful golden Haomas, and Good Thought and the good Rata36,
> made by Mazda, holy and excellent.'
> 
> 34. Perhaps: 'long as a ploughshare, thick as a barleycorn.' See
> the English system of measures, in which three barleycorns = one
> inch.—See Nirangistan 90.
> 
> 35. The Parsis are recommended to keep their eyes on the Barsom
> during the sacrifice: 'A man is offering
> the Dron, he has said all the required Avesta, but he has not
> looked at the Barsom: what is the rule? It would have been better if he
> had looked at it; however he may proceed to the meal' (Old Rav. 97 b).
> See Tahmuras Fragments, 30-31.
> 
> 36. Rata impersonates the liberalities done by men to God (as offerings)
> and by God to men (as riches, etc.)
> 
> IV.
> 
> 20. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O thou,
> all-knowing Ahura Mazda! thou art never asleep,
> never intoxicated, thou Ahura Mazda! Vohu-mano37
> 
> gets directly defiled: Vohu-mano gets indirectly
> defiled; the Daevas defile him from the bodies
> smitten by the Daevas38: let Vohu-mano be made
> clean.'
> 
> 37. Vohu-mano is often used as a designation of the faithful one,
> literally, 'the good-minded;' this is the meaning which is given
> to it in this passage by the Commentary, and it certainly belongs
> to it in the second part of verse 24; but in the first part of the
> same clause it is translated 'clothes,' a meaning which is not unlikely
> in itself, as Vohu-mano, being the Amahraspand of cattle, may designate,
> and in fact did designate, the skins of cattle and leather (Comm.
> ad Farg. XVIII, 2). On the whole the description in the text applies
> to the cleansing both of the man and of the clothes, and Vohu-mano
> sometimes means the one, and sometimes the other.—From the first
> meaning is derived the modern use of Vahman, 'Such a one,' 'N.'
> 
> 38. From dead bodies.
> 
> 21. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thou shalt
> take some gomez from a bull ungelded and such as
> the law requires it39. Thou shalt take
> the man who is to be cleansed to the field made by Ahura40, and
> the man that is to cleanse him shall draw the furrows41.
> 
> 39. The so-called Varasiô; 'it must be or a white colour; if a single
> hair on its body be found other than white, the animal
> is rejected as unfit for the purpose' (Sorabji Kavasji Khambata,
> in the Indian Antiquary, VII, 180). On the preparation of the
> gomez, see Wilson, Parsi Religion Unfolded, pp. 434-435.
> 
> 40. The place of the cleansing, the Barashnum-gâh (see
> Vd9.3). [Also see Modi,
> Funeral Ceremonies of the Parsees (Bombay, 1928)]
> 
> 41. See Vd9.10.
> 
> 22. 'He shall recite a hundred Ashem vohu: "Holiness is the best
> of all good: it is also happiness. Happy the man who is holy
> with perfect holiness!"
> 
> 'He shall chant two hundred Ahuna-Vairya: "The will of the
> Lord is the law of righteousness. The gifts of Vohu-mano to the
> deeds done in this world for Mazda! He who relieves the poor
> makes Ahura king."
> 
> 'He shall wash himself four times with the
> 
> gomez from the ox, and twice with the water made
> by Mazda42.
> 
> 42. 'Or better six times with the gomez and thrice with the water'
> (Comm.; see Vd8.37 ff.;
> Vd9.28 ff.)
> 
> 23. 'Thus Vohu-mano shall be made clean, and clean shall be the
> man. The man shall take up Vohu-mano43 with the left arm and the
> right, with the right arm and the left: and thou shalt lay down
> Vohu-mano under the mighty light of the heavens by the light of
> the stars made by the gods, until nine nights have passed away44.
> 
> 43. 'The clothes' (Comm.)
> 
> 44. The clothes of the unclean shall be exposed to the air for nine
> nights, all the time while be himself is confined in the Armesht-gah.
> The rules for the cleansing of clothes that have been worn by
> the dead himself are different (see Vd7.12 ff.)
> 
> 24. 'When nine nights have passed away,
> thou shalt bring libations unto the fire, thou shalt
> bring hard wood unto the fire, thou shalt bring
> incense of Vohu-gaona unto the fire, and thou
> shalt perfume Vohu-mano therewith.
> 
> 25. 'Thus shall Vohu-mano be made clean,
> and clean shall be the man45. He shall take up
> Vohu-mano with the right arm and the left, with
> the left arm and the right, and Vohu-mano46 shall
> say aloud: "Glory be to Ahura Mazda! Glory be
> to the Amesha-Spentas! Glory be to all the other
> holy beings."'
> 
> 45. 'Thus Vohu-mano shall be clean—the clothes; thus the man
> shall be clean—he who wears those clothes' (Comm.)
> 
> 46. The faithful one.
> 
> V.
> 
> 26. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O
> thou all-knowing Ahura Mazda: Should I urge
> 
> upon the godly man, should I urge upon the godly
> woman, should I urge upon the wicked Daeva-worshipper
> who lives in sin, to give the earth
> made by Ahura, the water that runs, the corn
> that grows, and all the rest of their wealth47?'
> 
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thou shouldst, O holy Zarathushtra.'
> 
> 47. See verse 29 end.
> 
> 27. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Where are the
> rewards given? Where does the rewarding take place? Where is
> the rewarding fulfilled? Whereto do men come to take the reward
> that, during their life in the material world, they have won for
> their souls?
> 
> 28. Ahura Mazda answered: 'When the man is dead, when his time
> is over, then the wicked, evil-doing Daevas cut off his eyesight.
> On the third night, when the dawn appears and brightens up, when
> Mithra, the god with beautiful weapons, reaches the all-happy
> mountains, and the sun is rising:
> 
> 29. 'Then the fiend, named Vizaresha48,
> O Spitama Zarathushtra, carries off in bonds49 the
> souls of the wicked Daeva-worshippers who live
> in sin. The soul enters the way made by Time,
> and open both to the wicked and to the righteous.
> At the head of the Chinwad bridge, the holy bridge
> 
> made by Mazda50, they ask for their spirits and souls
> the reward for the worldly goods which they gave
> away here below51.
> 
> 48. The demon Vizaresh is he who, during that struggle of three
> days and three nights with the souls of the departed, carries
> terror on them and beats them: he sits at the gate of hell
> (Bund. 28.18).
> 
> 49. 'Every one has a noose cast around his neck: when a man
> dies, if he has been a righteous man, the noose falls from his neck;
> if a wicked, they drag him with that noose down into hell' (Comm.;
> see Vd5.8).
> 
> 50. The Chinwad bridge extends over hell and leads to Paradise;
> for the souls of the righteous it widens to the length of nine javelins;
> for the souls of the wicked it narrows to a thread, and they fall
> down into hell (see Arda Viraf 5.1;
> Denkard Book 9, chapter 20.3).
> The Chinwad bridge has become the Sirath bridge of the Moslems. Not long
> ago they sang in Yorkshire of 'the Brig o' Dread, na brader than
> a thread' (Thorns, Anecdotes, 89), and even nowadays the peasants
> in Nièvre tells of a little board --
> 
> 'Pas pu longue, pas pu large
> 
> Qu'un ch'veu de la Sainte Viarge,'
> 
> which was put by Saint Jean d'Archange between the earth and
> Paradise:
> 
> 'Ceux qu'saront la raison (=l'oraison?) d'Dieu
> 
> Par dessus passeront.
> 
> Ceux qu'la sauront pas
> 
> Au bout mourront.' (Mélusine, p. 70.)
> 
> 51. See verse 26, and Vd3.34-5;
> Vd18.33 ff.
> 
> 30. 'Then comes the beautiful, well-shapen,
> strong and well-formed maid52, with the dogs at her
> sides53, one who can distinguish54, who has many
> children55, happy, and of high understanding.
> 
> 'She makes the soul of the righteous one go
> up above the Hara-berezaiti56; above the Chinwad
> 
> bridge she places it in the presence of the heavenly gods themselves.
> 
> 52. The soul of the dead, on the fourth day, finds itself in the
> presence of a maid, of divine beauty or fiendish ugliness,
> according as he himself was good or bad, and she leads him into
> heaven or hell: this maid is his own Daena, his Religion [daena also means
> conscience], that is the sum of his religious deeds, good or evil
> (Hadokht Nask, section 2.9).
> [See also Dadestan-i Denig chapter 21.]
> 
> 53. The dogs that keep the Chinwad bridge (see Vd13.9).
> 
> 54. the good from the wicked.
> 
> 55. Doubtful. Those children would he the righteous, as the sons of
> the Druj are the wicked (Vd18.30 ff.)
> 
> 56. The Chinwad bridge rests by one end on the Alborz (Hara-berezaiti)
> and by the other on the Chikad Daitik in Eranwej (Comm. ad 101
> ed. Sp.; Denkard IX, 20, 3).
> 
> 31. 'Up rises Vohu-mano57 from his golden
> seat; Vohu-mano exclaims: "How hast thou come
> to us, thou Holy One, from that decaying world into
> this undecaying one58?"
> 
> 57. The doorkeeper of Paradise; a Zoroastrian Saint-Pierre [St. Peter].
> 
> 58. See Vd7.52;
> Hadhokht Nask, part 2.16.
> 
> 32. 'Gladly pass the souls of the righteous
> to the golden seat of Ahura Mazda, to the golden
> seat of the Amesha-Spentas, to the Garo-nmanem59,
> the abode of Ahura Mazda, the abode of the
> Amesha-Spentas, the abode of all the other holy beings.
> 
> 59. The Garothman of the Parsis; literally, 'the house of songs;'
> it is the highest Paradise.
> 
> 33. 'As to the godly man that has been cleansed60, the wicked
> evil-doing Daevas tremble at the perfume of his soul after death,
> as doth a sheep on which a wolf is pouncing61.
> 
> 60. That has performed the Barashnum.
> 
> 61. Ohrmazd is all perfume, Ahriman is infection and stench
> (Bundahishn 1; Eznig, Refutatio
> Haeresiarum II); the souls of their followers partake of the same
> qualities; and by the performance of the Barashnum both the body
> and the soul are perfumed and sweetened.
> 
> 34. 'The souls of the righteous are gathered together there:
> Nairyo-sangha62 is with them; a messenger of Ahura Mazda is
> Nairyo-sangha.
> 
> 62. See Vd22.7.
> 
> Ila.
> 
> 'Invoke, O Zarathushtra! this very creation of Ahura Mazda.'
> 
> 35. Zarathushtra imitated those words of
> 
> mine: 'I invoke the holy world, made by Ahura Mazda.
> 
> 'I invoke the earth made by Ahura, the water made by Mazda,
> the holy trees.
> 
> 'I invoke the sea Vouru-kasha63.
> 
> 'I invoke the beautiful Heaven64.
> 
> 'I invoke the endless and sovereign Light65.'
> 
> 63. See Vd5.15 ff.
> 
> 64. Asman, the highest heaven, as distinguished from the firmament
> (thwasha) that lies nearer the earth.
> 
> 65. The endless Light is 'the place of Ormazd'
> (Bund. 1); it is
> Infinite Space conceived as luminous.
> 
> 36. 'I invoke the bright, blissful Paradise of the Holy Ones.
> 
> 'I invoke the Garo-nmanem, the abode of Ahura Mazda, the
> abode of the Amesha-Spentas, the abode of all the other holy
> beings.
> 
> 'I invoke the sovereign Place of Eternal Weal66,
> and the Chinwad bridge made by Mazda.
> 
> 66. Misvâna gâtva, another name of the heavenly spaces; it
> designates heaven as the abode and source of all blessings,
> of all savah, or saoka.
> 
> 37. 'I invoke the good Saoka67, who has the good eye.
> 
> 'I invoke the whole creation of weal.
> 
> 'I invoke the mighty Fravashis68 of the righteous.
> 
> 'I invoke Verethraghna69, made by Ahura, who
> wears the Glory made by Mazda70.
> 
> 'I invoke Tishtrya71, the bright and glorious star,
> in the shape of a golden-horned bull72.
> 
> 67. A Genius defined, 'Genius of the good eye,' by opposition to
> 'the bad eye.' Saoka (Sôk) is an auxiliary to Mithra (Mihr);
> she receives first, from above, all the good destined to man,
> and transmits it to the lower sky or firmament. (which is the
> seat of Destiny) through the moon and Ardvisur (Gr. Bund.)
> 
> 68. See Yt13.
> 
> 69. The Genius of Victory (Warharan). See Yt14.
> 
> 70. The hvareno (Khurra or Farr) or light of sovereignty. See verse 39
> and see Yt19.
> 
> 71. Tishtrya (Tir), the star of rain. See Yt8.
> 
> 72. Tishtrya appears successively under three forms, during the month
> named from him (the first month of summer, 21 June-21 July):
> ten days as a man, ten days as a bull, ten days as a horse. 'As
> a bull he is most to be invoked' (Comm.), to prepare his final
> victory over the demon of Drought, Apaosha.
> 
> 38. 'I invoke the holy, beneficent Gathas73,
> who rule over the Ratus74:
> 'I invoke the Ahunavaiti Gatha;
> 'I invoke the Ustavaiti Gatha;
> 'I invoke the Spentamainyush Gatha;
> 'I invoke the Vohukhshathra Gatha;
> 'I invoke the Vahishtoishti Gatha.
> 
> 73. The five collections of hymns
> which form the oldest and holiest part of the
> Yasna and of the Avesta
> (Yasna 28-34;
> Yasna 43-46;
> Yasna 47-50;
> Yasna 51;
> Yasna 53);
> they are named after their initial words.
> 
> 74. The chiefs of creation; 'they rule over the Ratus inasmuch as
> it is by their means that these other Ratus are invoked' (Comm.)
> 
> 39. 'I invoke the Karshvares of Arzahe and Savahe;
> 'I invoke the Karshvares of Fradadhafshu and Vidadhafshu;
> 'I invoke the Karshvares of Vourubaresti and Vouruzaresti;
> 'I invoke the bright Hvaniratha75;
> 'I invoke the bright, glorious Haetumant76;
> 'I invoke the good Ashi77;
> ['I invoke the good Chisti78;]
> 
> 'I invoke the most pure Chista79;
> 'I invoke the Glory of the Aryan regions80;
> 'I invoke the Glory of the bright Yima, the good shepherd81.
> 
> 75. The earth is divided into seven Karshwars
> [(Pah.) (Arezahi, Sawahi, Fradadhafshu, Widadhafshu, Wouru-bareshti,
> Wourujareshti, and Xwaniratha)], of which the central one, Xwaniratha,
> is the finest and contains Iran.
> 
> 76. See Vd1.14.
> 
> 77. Ashi (Ashishvang), the Genius that imparts riches to the righteous:
> see Yt17.
> 
> 78. An angel of religious knowledge.
> 
> 79. Religious knowledge: invoked with Daena (Religion;
> Siroza, 24)
> 
> 80. The light of sovereignty, khwarrah (Phl.) (Av. 'khwarenah') , which
> if secured by the Aryans makes them rule over their enemies
> (see verse 37 and Yt19.56-93).
> 
> 81. See Vd2.2.
> 
> 40. 'Let him be worshipped with sacrifice,
> let him be gladdened, gratified, and satisfied, the
> holy Sraosha, the well-formed, victorious, holy
> Sraosha82.
> 
> 'Bring libations unto the Fire, bring hard wood
> unto the Fire, bring incense of Vohu-gaona unto
> the Fire.
> 
> 'Offer up the sacrifice to the Vazishta fire83, which smites
> the fiend Spenjaghra84: bring unto it the
> cooked meat and full overflowing libations85.
> 
> 82. That he may smite Aeshma and the other fiends.
> 
> 83. The fire of lightning.
> 
> 84. The demon that prevents the fall of rain; a companion in arms
> of Apaosha.
> 
> 85. Doubtful.
> 
> 41. 'Offer up the sacrifice to the holy
> Sraosha, that the holy Sraosha may smite down
> the fiend Kunda86, who is drunken without drinking87,
> and throws down into the Hell of the Druj the
> wicked Daeva-worshippers, who live in sin.
> 
> 86. The same as Kundi; see Vd11.9.
> 
> 87. Whereas Aeshma, the other arch-enemy of Sraosha, borrows part
> of his strength from drunkenness (Yasna 10.8).
> 
> [42. 88 'I invoke the Kara fish
> 89, who lives beneath
> waters in the bottom of the deep lakes.
> 
> 'I invoke the ancient and sovereign Merezu90, the
> most warlike of the creatures of the two Spirits91.
> 
> 'I invoke the seven bright Sru92 ...']
> 
> 88. From the Vendidad Sada. The clause may have belonged to
> the original text; it is preceded by another clause which certainly
> did not belong to it, and part of which is cited in the commentary
> ad Farg. VIII, 103, where it would have been more suitably placed:
> 'When he has been cleansed in the next inhabited place, he may
> then sow and till the pasture fields, as food for the sheep and as
> food for the ox.'
> 
> 89. The Kar-mâhî, the Ratu or chief of the creatures that live in
> water. See Vd20.4, note;
> Yt14.29.
> 
> 90. A apox lecomenon. From its two epithets, 'ancient'
> and 'sovereign,' it appears that it must designate one of the first principles,
> that is to say, some form of Heaven, Light, Space, or Time.
> 
> 91. Doubtful.
> 
> 92. Hapta sravô bâmya....
> [Wolff: "ich rufe herab die strahlenden sieben Hörner [Srû's] [Ebenfalls ein Sternbild?]
> —ihre Kinder ... [pusa-?] werden [?]"
> (I call down the radiating seven horns (Sru)...(also a constellation?)—their children
> ... [pusa-? perhaps 'flock'] become (?))]
> 
> VI.
> 
> 43. 'They cried about, their minds wavered to
> and fro93, Angra Mainyu the deadly, the Daeva of
> the Daevas; Indra the Daeva, Sauru the Daeva,
> Naunghaithya the Daeva, Taurvi and Zairi94;
> Aeshma of the murderous spear95; Akatasha the
> Daeva96; Winter, made by the Daevas; the deceiving,
> unseen Death; Zaurva97, baneful to the
> fathers; Buiti the Daeva98; Driwi99 the Daeva;
> Daiwi100 the Daeva; Kasvi101 the Daeva;
> Paitisha102 the most Daeva-like amongst the Daevas.]
> 
> 93. Up and down, in hope and despair.
> 
> 94. See Vd10.9-10.
> 
> 95. See Vd10.13.
> 
> 96. Vd10.13.
> 
> 97. Old age.
> 
> 98. See above, verse 1 and note 3.
> 
> 99. Malice; see above, Vd2.29.
> 
> 100. Lying; see above, Vd2.29.
> 
> 101. Spite; see above, Vd2.29.
> 
> 102. Opposition, or counter-action, the same as Paityâra; a personification
> of the doings of Ahriman and of his marring power.
> 
> 44. 'And the evil-doing Daeva, Angra
> Mainyu, the deadly, said: &quot'What! let the wicked,
> evil-doing Daevas gather together at the head of
> Arezura103!"
> 
> 103. At the gate of hell; see above, Vd3.7 and note.
> 
> 45. 'They rush away shouting, the wicked,
> evil-doing Daevas; they run away shouting, the
> wicked, evil-doing Daevas; they run away casting
> the Evil Eye, the wicked, evil-doing Daevas: "Let
> us gather together at the head of Arezura!
> 
> 46. '"For he is just born the holy Zarathushtra,
> in the house of Pourushaspa. How can we
> procure his death? He is the weapon that fells the
> fiends: he is a counter-fiend to the fiends; he is
> a Druj to the Druj. Vanished are the Daeva-worshippers,
> the Nasu made by the Daeva, the
> false-speaking Lie!"
> 
> 47. 'They rush away shouting, the wicked,
> evil-doing Daevas, into the depths of the dark,
> raging world of hell.
> 'Ashem vohu: Holiness is the best of all good.'
> 
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> — *Vendidad — Chapter 19 — L.H. Mills / James Darmesteter (1880-1887) (Public domain (Sacred Books of the East, 1880-1887))*