# Vendidad — Chapter 4

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> Source: Avesta.org. The Vendidad, Chapter 4, 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 4. Contracts and offenses.
> 
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> AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 4. Contracts and offenses.
> 
> This digital edition prepared by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995.
> 
> Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the
> East, American Edition, 1898.)
> 
> Compare this chapter with the ancient description given of it in
> the Denkard, Book 8, Chapter 44.
> 
> This Fargard is the only one in the Vendidad that deals strictly
> with legal objects.
> 
> I a. Classification of the contracts according to the value of
> their object (§ 2). -- A contract is cancelled by paying the amount
> of the contract higher by one degree (§ 3-4).
> 
> Religious responsibility of the family for the breach of a contract
> by one of its members (§§ 5-10).
> 
> Punishment of the Mihr-Druj (one who breaks a contract), (§§ 11-16).
> 
> II a. Definition of the outrages known as agerepta (threatening
> attitude), avaoirishta (assault), aredush (blows), (§ 17).
> 
> Penalties for menaces -- (§§ 18-21); for assaults (§§ 22-25);
> for blows (§ 26-29); for wounds (§§ 30-33); for wounds causing
> blood to flow (§§ 34-36); for broken bones (§§
> 37-39); for manslaughter (§§ 40-43).
> 
> III a. Contract of charity to co-religionists (§§ 44-45).
> 
> IV a. Heinousness of false oath (§ 46).
> 
> III b. Dignity of wealth; of marriage; of physical weal(§§ 47-49a).
> 
> IV b. Heinousness of false oath. Ordeal (§§ 49b-55).
> 
> Part of this Fargard has been made unduly obscure by the transposition
> of § 46) wrongly inserted between the clause on charity
> (§§ 44-45) and the corresponding development on the dignity
> of material goods. This transposition is found in all known manuscripts
> and belonged to the older text from which they are derived.
> 
> FARGARD 4. Contracts and offenses
> 
> I.
> 
> Notes:
> 
> 1. He that does not restore a loan to the man who lent it, steals
> the thing and robs the man1.
> This he doeth every day, every night, as long as he keep in his
> house his neighbour's property, as though it were his own2.
> 
> 1. He is a thief when he takes a view not to restore; he is
> a robber when, being asked to restore, he answers, I will not"
> (Comm.)
> 
> 2. Every moment that he holds it unlawfully, he steals it anew.
> 'The basest thing with Persians is to lie; the next to it is to
> be in debt, for this reason among many others, that he who is
> so, must needs sink to lying at last'
> (Herod. I, 139) The debtor
> in question is of course the debtor of bad faith, 'he who says
> to a man, Give me this, I will restore it to thee at the proper
> time, and he says to himself; I will not restore it' (Comm.)
> 
> Ia.
> 
> 2. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
> One! How many in number are thy contracts, O
> Ahura Mazda?
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'They are six in number,
> O holy Zarathushtra3. The first is the word-contract4;
> the second is the hand-contract5;
> the third is the contract to the amount of a sheep6; the
> 
> fourth is the contract to the amount of an ox7; the
> fifth is the contract to the amount of a man [person]8; the
> sixth is the contract to the amount of a field9, a field
> in good land, a fruitful one, in good bearing10.'
> 
> 3. At first view it seems as if the classification were twofold,
> the contracts being defined in the first two clauses by their
> mode of being entered into, and in the last four by their amount.
> Yet it appears from the following clauses that even the word-contract
> and the hand-contract are indicative of a certain amount, which,
> however, the commentators did not, or were unable to, determine.
> 
> 4. The word-contract may be a contract of which the object are
> words: the contract of jâdangôi (ukhdhô-vachah), by which one
> offers to speak and intervene for some one's benefit, or the contract
> between master and pupil (for teaching the sacred texts).
> 
> 5. The contract for hiring labour (?).
> 
> 6. 'Viz. to the amount of 3 istîrs [in weight],' (Comm.) An istîr
> (stathr) is as much as 4 dirhems
> (dracmh).
> 
> 7. 'To the amount of 12 istîrs (=48 dirhems),' (Comm.)
> 
> 8. 'To the amount of 500 dirhems.' The exact translation would
> be rather, 'The contract to the amount of a human being' (promise
> of marriage).
> 
> 9. 'Upwards of 500 istîrs.'
> 
> 10. A sort of gloss added to define more accurately the value of
> the object, and to indicate that it is greater than that of the
> preceding one.
> 
> 3. The word-contract is fulfilled by words of mouth. It is cancelled
> by the hand-contracct; he shall give as damages the amount of
> the hand-contract.
> 
> 4. The hand-contract is cancelled by the sheep-contract; he shall
> give as damages the amount of the sheep-contract. The sheep-contract
> is cancelled by the ox-contract; he shall give as damages the
> amount of the ox-contract. The ox-contract is cancelled by the
> man-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the man-contract.
> The man-contract is cancelled by the field-contract; he shall
> give as damages the amount of the field-contract.
> 
> 5. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the word-contract, how many are involved in his sin11?
> 
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his
> Nabanazdishtas12 answerable for three hundred
> (years)13.'
> 
> 11. Literally, how much is involved? The joint responsibility of
> the family was a principle in the Persian law: 'Leges apud eos
> impendio formidatae, et abominandae aliae, per quas ob noxam unius
> omnis propinquitas perit' (Am. Marcellinus XXIII, 6).
> 
> 12. The next of kin to the ninth degree.
> 
> 13. See § 11. This passage seems to have puzzled tradition.
> The Commentary says, 'How long, how many years, has one to fear
> for the breach of a word-contract? -- the Nabanazdishtas have to
> fear for three hundred years;' but it does not explain farther
> the nature of that fear; it only tries to reduce the circle of
> that liability to narrower limits: 'only the son born after the
> breach is liable for it; the righteous are not liable for it;
> when the father dies, the son, if righteous, has nothing to fear
> from it.' And finally, the Rivayats leave the kinsmen wholly aside;
> the penalty falling entirely upon the real offender, and the number
> denoting only the duration of his punishment in hell: 'He who
> breaks a word-contract, his soul shall abide for three hundred
> years in hell' (Gr. Riv. 94).
> 
> 6. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
> One! If a man break the hand-contract, how many
> are involved in his sin?
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his
> Nabanazdishtas answerable for six hundred (years)14.'
> 
> 14. See § 12. 'His soul shall abide for six hundred years
> in hell' (Gr. Riv. 1.1.)
> 
> 7. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
> One! If a man break the sheep-contract, how many
> are involved in his sin?
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas
> answerable for seven hundred (years)15.'
> 
> 15. See § 13. 'His soul shall abide for seven hundred years
> in hell' (Gr. Riv. 1.1.)
> 
> 8. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
> One! If a man break the ox-contract, how many
> are involved in his sin?
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas
> answerable for eight hundred (years)16.'
> 
> 16. See § 14. 'His soul shall abide for eight hundred years
> in hell.'
> 
> 9. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the man-contract, how many are involved in his sin? Ahura Mazda
> answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas answerable for nine
> hundred (years)16.'
> 
> 16. See § 15. 'His soul shall abide for nine hundred years in hell.'
> 
> 10. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the field-contract, how many are involved in his sin? Ahura Mazda
> answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas answerable for a thousand
> (years)17.'
> 
> 17. See § 16. 'His soul shall abide for a thousand years in
> hell.'
> 
> 11. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the word-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
> Mazda answered: 'Three hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> three hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana18.'
> 
> 18. One tanapuhr and a half, that is 1800 dirhems. See Introd.
> 
> 12. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the hand-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
> Mazda answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, six
> hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana19.'
> 
> 19. Three tanapuhrs, or 3600 dirhems.
> 
> 13. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the sheep-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
> Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> seven hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana20.'
> 
> 20. Three tanapuhrs and a half or 4200 dirhems.
> 
> 14. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the ox-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
> Mazda answered: 'Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana21.'
> 
> 21. Four tanapuhrs, or 4800 dirhems.
> 
> 15. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the man-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
> Mazda answered: 'Nine hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> Nine hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana22.'
> 
> 22. Four tanapuhrs and a half, or 5400 dirhems.
> 
> 16. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
> the field-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
> Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, a
> thousand stripes with the Sraosho-charana23.'
> 
> 23. Five tanapuhrs, or 6000 dirhems.
> 
> IIa.
> 
> 17. If a man rise up with a weapon in his
> hand, it is an Agerepta24. If he brandish it, it is
> 
> an Avaoirishta. If he actually smite
> a man with malicious aforethought, it is an Aredush. Upon the
> fifth Aredush25 he becomes a Peshotanu26.
> 
> 24. In this paragraph are defined the first three of the eight outrages
> with which the rest of the Fargard deals. Only these three are
> defined, because they are designated by technical terms. We subjoin
> the definitions of them found in a Sanskrit translation of a Patet
> (Paris, Bibl. Nat. f. B. 5, 154), in which their etymological
> meanings are better preserved than in the Zend definition itself:--
> 
> Agerepta, 'seizing,' is when a man seizes a weapon with a view to smite
> another.
> 
> Avaoirishta, 'brandishing,' is when a man brandishes, a weapon
> with a view to smite another.
> 
> Aredush is when a man actually smites another with a weapon,
> but without wounding him, or inflicts a wound which is healed
> within three days.
> 
> 25. Viz. on the sixth commission of it, as appears from § 28.
> 
> 26. He shall receive two hundred stripes, or shall pay 1200 dirhems
> (see Introd.)
> 
> 18. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He that committeth
> an Agerepta, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
> 'Five stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, five stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the second Agerepta, ten stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ten
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the third, fifteeen stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifteen
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 19. 'On the fourth, thirty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, thirty
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the fifth, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the sixth, sixty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, sixty stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the seventh, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 20. If a man commit an Agerepta for the eighth time, without having
> atoned for the preceding27, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes
> with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 27. Literally, 'without having undone the preceding.'
> 
> 21. If a man commit an Agerepta28, and refuse
> to atone for it29, what penalty shall he pay?
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu:
> two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 28. Even though the Agerepta has been committed for the first time.
> 
> 29. Literally, 'and does not undo it.' If he do's not offer himself
> to hear the penalty, and does not perform the Patet (see Introd.)
> 
> 22. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
> an Avaoirishta, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
> 'Ten stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ten stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the second Avaoirishta, fifteen stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> fifteen stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 23. 'On the third, thirty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, thirty
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the fourth, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the fifth, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the sixth, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 24. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
> an Avaoirishta for the seventh time, without having atoned for
> the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
> 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 25. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
> an Avaoirishta, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall
> he pay?
> 
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred
> stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 26. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
> an Aredush, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifteen
> stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifteen stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 27. 'On the second Aredush, thirty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> thirty stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the third, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the fourth, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'On the fifth, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 28. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
> an Aredush for the sixth time, without having atoned for the preceding,
> what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu:
> two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 29. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
> an Aredush, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall he
> pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes
> with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 30. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
> another and hurt him sorely, what is the penalty that he shall
> pay?
> 
> 31. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thirty stripes
> 
> with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> thirty stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'The second time, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'The third time, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'The fourth time, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 32. If a man commit that deed for the fifth time, without having
> atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda
> answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 33. If a man commit that deed and refuse to atone for it, what
> penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu:
> two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes
> with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 34. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
> another so that the blood come, what is the penalty that he shall
> pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> fifty stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'The second time, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'The third time, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 35. If a man commit that deed for the fourth time, without having
> atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda
> answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 36. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
> another so that the blood come, and if he refuse to atone for
> it, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a
> Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 37. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
> another so that he break a bone, what is the penalty that he shall
> pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> seventy stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 'The second time, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
> stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 38. If he commit that deed for the third time, without having
> atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda
> answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 39. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
> another so that he break a bone, and if he refuse to atone for
> it, what is the penalty he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He
> is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two
> hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 40. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
> another so that he give up the ghost, what is the penalty that
> he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> seventy stripes with the Sraosho-charana;
> 
> 41. If he commit that deed again, without having atoned for the
> preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda
> answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 42. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
> another so that he give up the ghost, and if he refuse to atone
> for it, what is the penalty he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
> 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 43. And they shall thenceforth in their doings walk after the
> way of holiness, after the word [manthra] of holiness, after the ordinance
> of holiness.
> 
> IIIa30.
> 
> 44. If men of the same faith, either friends or brothers, come
> to an agreement together, that one may obtain from the other,
> either goods31, or a wife32, or knowledge33,
> let him who desires goods
> 
> have them delivered to him; let him who desires a wife receive
> and wed her; let him who desires knowledge be taught the holy
> word [manthra spenta],
> 
> 30. We return here to contracts; the logical place of §§
> 44-45 would be after § 16.
> 
> 31. The analysis of the Vendidad in the
> Denkard has here: 'a proof that one
> professes the Religion well is to grant bountifully to
> the brethren in the faith any benefit they may ask for.'
> 
> 32. Woman is an object of contract, like cattle or fields: she is
> disposed of by contracts of the fifth sort, being more valuable
> than cattle and less so than fields. She is sold by her father
> or her guardian, often from the cradle. 'Instances are not wanting
> of the betrothal of a boy of three years of age to a girl of two'
> (see Dosabhoy Framjee's work on The Parsees, p. 77; cf. 'A Bill
> to Define and Amend the Law relating to Succession, Inheritance,
> Marriage, &c.,' Bombay, 1864).
> 
> 33. On the holiness of the contract between pupil and teacher, see
> Yt10.116. Cf. above, p.35, n. 4.
> 
> 45. during the first part of the day and the last, during the
> first part of the night and the last, that his mind may be increased
> in intelligence and wax strong in holiness. So shall he sit up,
> in devotion and prayers, that he may be increased in intelligence:
> he shall rest during the middle part of the day, during the middle
> part of the night34, and thus shall he continue until he can say
> all the words which former Aethrapaitis35 have said.
> 
> 34. He sleeps 'the third part of the day and the third part of the
> night' (Yasna 62.5).
> 
> 35. A teaching priest (Parsi Herbad).
> 
> IVa.
> 
> 46. Before36 the boiling water publicly prepared,
> O Spitama Zarathushtra! let no one make bold to deny having received
> [from his neighbour] the ox or the garment in his possession.
> 
> 36. This clause is intended against false oaths taken in the so-called
> Var-ordeal (see § 54 n.) It ought to be placed before §
> 49 bis, where the penalty for a false oath is given.
> 
> IIIb.
> 
> 4737. Verily I say it unto thee, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the man
> who has a wife is far above him who lives in continence38; he who
> keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has
> 
> children is far above the childless man39; he who has riches is far above
> him who has none.
> 
> 37. §§ 47-49 are a Sort of commentary to the beginning of § 44.
> 
> 38. What king Yazdgard found most offensive in Christianity was
> 'that the Christians praise death and despise life, set no value
> upon fecundity and extol sterility, so that if their disciples
> would listen to them, they would no longer have any intercourse with women and
> the world would end' (Elisaeus).
> 
> 39. 'In Persia there are prizes given by the king to those who have
> most children' (Herod. I, 136). , He who has no child, the bridge
> (of Paradise) shall be barred to him. The first question the angels
> there will ask him is, whether he has left in this world a substitute
> for himself; if the answer be, No, they will pass by and he will
> stay at the head of the bridge, full of grief and sorrow'
> (Saddar 18; Hyde 19). The primitive
> meaning of this belief is explained by Brahmanical doctrine;
> the man without a son falls into hell, because there is nobody
> to pay him the family worship.
> 
> 48. And of two men, he who fills himself with meat receives in
> him Vohu Mano40 much better than he who does not do so41;
> the latter is all but dead; the former is above him by the worth of an
> Asperena42, by the worth of a sheep, by the worth of
> an ox, by the worth of a man43.
> 
> 40. Vohu Mano is at the same time the god of good thoughts and the
> god of cattle.
> 
> 41. 'There are people who strive to pass a day without eating, and
> who abstain from any meat; we strive too and abstain, namely,
> from any sin in deed, thought, or word: ... in other religions,
> they fast from bread; in ours, we fast from sin'
> (Saddar 83). -- '
> The Zoroastrians have no fasting at all. He who fasts commits
> a sin, and must, by way of expiation, give food to a number of
> poor people' (Albiruni, Chronology, p. 217).
> 
> 42. A dirhem.
> 
> 43. Or: 'is worth an Asperena, worth a sheep, worth an ox, worth
> a man,' which means, according to the Commentary: 'deserves the
> gift of an Asperena, of a sheep's value, an ox's value, a man's
> value.'
> 
> 49. This man can strive against the onsets
> of Asto-vidhotu44; he can strive against the well-darted
> arrow; he can strive against the winter
> 
> fiend, with thinnest garment on; he can strive against
> the wicked tyrant and smite him on the head; he can strive against
> the ungodly fasting Ashemaogha45.
> 
> 44. Asto-vidhotu, the demon of death (Vd5.8).
> The man who eats well has greater vitality.
> 
> 45. The Commentary has: 'like Mazdak, son of Bâmdât [Bamdat],'
> the communistic heresiarch who flourished under Kobad (488-531)
> and was put to death under Noshirvan.
> 
> IVb.
> 
> 49 (bis). On the very first time when that deed46 has been done,
> without waiting until it is done again,
> 
> 46. The taking of a false oath. Cf. § 46.
> 
> 50. down there47 the pain for
> that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: even as if one
> should cut off the limbs from his perishable body with knives
> of iron,47b or still worse;
> 
> 47. In hell.
> 
> 47b. Dar: brass. -JHP
> 
> 51. down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any
> in this world: even as if one should nail48
> his perishable body with nails of iron,48b or still worse;
> 
> 48. Doubtful.
> 
> 48b. Dar: brass. -JHP
> 
> 52. down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any
> in this world: even as if one should by force throw his perishable
> body headlong down a precipice a hundred times the height of a
> man, or still worse;
> 
> 53. down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any
> in this world: even as if one should by force impale49
> his perishable body, or still worse.
> 
> 49. Doubtful.
> 
> 54. Down there the pain for that deed shall
> be as hard as any in this world: to wit, the deed of
> 
> a man, who knowingly lying, confronts the brimstoned,
> golden50, truth-knowing water with an
> appeal unto Rashnu51 and a lie unto Mithra52.
> 
> 50. The water before which the oath is taken contains some incense,
> brimstone, and one danak of molten gold (Gr. Riv. 101).
> 
> 51. The god of truth (Yt12). The formula
> is as follows: 'Before the Amshaspand Vohuman, before the Amshaspand
> Ardwahisht, here lighted up . . . &c., I swear that I have nothing of what
> is thine, N. son of N., neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, nor
> clothes, nor any of the things created by Ohrmazd' (l.l.96). Cf.
> above, § 46.
> 
> 52. He is a Mithra-druj, 'one who lies to Mithra.'
> 
> 55. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He who, knowingly
> lying, confronts the brimstoned, golden, truth-knowing water with
> an appeal unto Rashnu and a lie unto Mithra, what is the penalty
> that he shall pay53? Ahura
> Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> seven hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 53. In this world.
> 
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> — *Vendidad — Chapter 4 — L.H. Mills / James Darmesteter (1880-1887) (Public domain (Sacred Books of the East, 1880-1887))*