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 B&ucirc;t, 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-rag&icirc;m&ucirc;).

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 Varasi&ocirc;; '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-g&acirc;h (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 Ni&egrave;vre 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.' (M&eacute;lusine, 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. Misv&acirc;na g&acirc;tva, 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 (S&ocirc;k) 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-m&acirc;h&icirc;, 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 srav&ocirc; b&acirc;mya....
[Wolff: "ich rufe herab die strahlenden sieben H&ouml;rner [Sr&ucirc;'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 Paity&acirc;ra; 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))