# Vendidad — Chapter 6

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Avesta.org. The Vendidad, Chapter 6, 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 6
> 
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> AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 6. Purity Laws.
> 
> This digital edition prepared by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995. Updated Jun 23, 2001.
> 
> Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East,
> American Edition, New York, The Christian Literature Company, 1898.)
> 
> Compare this chapter with the ancient description given of it in
> the Denkard, Book 8, Chapter 44.
> 
> I (1-9). How long the earth remains unclean, when defiled by the
> dead.
> 
> II (10-25). Penalties for defiling the ground with dead matter.
> 
> III (26-41). Purification of the different sorts of water, when
> defiled by the dead.
> 
> IV (42-43). Purification of the Haoma.
> 
> V (44-51). The place for corpses; the Dakhmas.
> 
> FARGARD 6. Purity laws
> 
> I.
> 
> 1. How long shall the piece of ground he fallow whereon dogs
> or men have died? Ahura Mazda answered: 'A year long shall the
> piece of ground he fallow whereon dogs or men have died, O holy
> Zarathustra!
> 
> Notes:
> 
> 2. 'A year long shall no worshipper of Mazda sow or water that
> piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died; he may sow as he
> likes the rest of the ground; he may water it as he likes1.
> 
> 1. Cf. Vd7.45 seq.
> 
> 3. 'If within the year they shall sow or water the piece of ground
> whereon dogs or men have died, they are guilty of the sin of "burying
> the dead" towards the water, towards the earth, and towards
> the plants2.'
> 
> 2. 'To the water which they pour out, to the earth which they plough.
> to the plants which they sow' (Comm.)
> 
> 4. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers
> of Mazda shall sow or water, within the year, the piece of ground
> whereon dogs or men have died, what is the penalty that they shall
> pay?
> 
> 5. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They are Peshotanus: two hundred stripes
> with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana3.'
> 
> 3. 'If they plough and sow it, one tanapuhr (see Introd. V, 19);
> if they pour water on it, one tanapuhr; if they plough, sow, and
> water it, two tanapuhrs' (Comm.)
> 
> 6. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers
> of Mazda want to till that piece of ground again4, to water it,
> to sow it, and to plough it, what shall they do?
> 
> 4. Even when a year's space is past, the ground is not free ipso
> facto.
> 
> 7. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall look on the ground for any
> bones, hair, dung, urine, or blood that may be there.'
> 
> 8. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If they shall
> not look on the ground for any bones, hair, dung, urine, or blood
> that may be there, what is the penalty that they shall pay?
> 
> 9. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They are Peshotanus: two hundred stripes
> with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> II.
> 
> 10. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as
> large as the top joint of the little finger, and if grease or
> marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 11. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thirty stripes with the Aspahe-astra,
> thirty stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 12. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as
> large as the top joint of the fore-finger, and if grease or marrow
> flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 13. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifty stripes with the Aspahe-astra,
> fifty stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 14. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as
> large as the top joint of the middle finger, and if grease or
> marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 15. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seventy stripes with the Aspahe-astra,
> seventy stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 16. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as
> large as a finger or as a rib, and if grease or marrow flow from
> it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 17. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ninety stripes with the Aspahe-astra,
> ninety stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 18. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as
> large as two fingers or as two ribs, and if grease or marrow flow
> from it on the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 19. Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is Peshotanu: two hundred stripes
> with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 20. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as
> large as an arm-bone or as a thigh-bone, and if grease or marrow
> flow from it on the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 21. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Four hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> four hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 22. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as
> large as a man's skull, and if grease or marrow flow from it on
> the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 23. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> six hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 24. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall
> throw on the ground the whole body of a dead dog, or of a dead
> man, and if grease or marrow flow from it on the ground, what
> penalty shall he pay?
> 
> 25. Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
> a thousand stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> III.
> 
> 26. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a worshipper
> of Mazda, walking, or running, or riding, or driving, come upon
> a corpse in a stream of running water, what shall he do?
> 
> 27. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Taking off his shoes, putting off his
> clothes, while the others wait5, O Zarathushtra! he shall enter
> the river, and take the dead out of the water; he shall go down
> into the water ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, or a man's full
> depth, till he can reach the dead body6.'
> 
> 5. Ready to help him in case of need.
> 
> 6. 'If he is able to draw out the corpse and does so, it is a pious
> deed worth a tanapuhr (that is, one by which a tanapuhr
> sin can be cancelled); if he is able to draw it out and does not
> do so, it is a tanapuhr sin. Gugoshasp says, It is a margarzan
> sin (a capital crime)' (Comm.)
> 
> 28. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If, however,
> the body be already falling to pieces and rotting, what shall
> the worshipper of Mazda do?
> 
> 29. Ahura Mazda answered: 'He shall draw out of the water as much
> of the corpse as he can grasp with both hands, and he shall lay
> it down on the dry ground; no sin attaches to him for any bone,
> hair, grease, dung, urine, or blood that may drop back into the
> water.'
> 
> 30. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of
> the water in a pond does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption,
> infection, and pollution?
> 
> 31. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Six steps on each of the four sides.
> As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so
> long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall,
> therefore, take the corpse out of the pond, and lay it down on
> the dry ground.
> 
> 32. 'And of the water they shall draw off the half, or the third,
> or the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they are able or
> not; and after the corpse has been taken out and the water has
> been drawn off, the rest of the water is clean, and both cattle
> and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
> 
> 33. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of
> the water in a well does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption,
> infection, and pollution?
> 
> 34. Ahura Mazda answered: 'As long as the corpse has not been
> taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and
> unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of
> the well, and lay it down on the dry ground.
> 
> 35. 'And of the water in the well they shall draw off the half,
> or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they
> are able or not; and after the corpse has been taken out and the
> water has been drawn off, the rest of the water is clean, and
> both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
> 
> 36. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of
> a sheet of snow or hail does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption,
> infection, and pollution?
> 
> 37. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three steps7
> on each of the four sides.
> As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so
> long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall,
> therefore, take the corpse out of the pond, and lay it down on
> the dry ground.
> 
> 7. Nine feet on the four sides.
> 
> 38. 'After the corpse has been taken out, and the snow or the
> hail has melted, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may
> drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
> 
> 39. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of
> the water of a running stream does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption,
> infection, and pollution?
> 
> 40. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three steps down the stream, nine steps
> up the stream, six steps across. As long as the corpse has not
> been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean
> and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out
> of the pond, and lay it down on the dry ground.
> 
> 41. 'After the corpse has been taken out and
> the stream has flowed three times8, the water is
> clean, and both cattle and men may drink
> of it at their pleasure, as before.'
> 
> 8. Three times the measure up the stream (that is nine feet).
> 
> IV.
> 
> 42. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the Haoma
> that has been touched with Nasu from a dead dog, or from a dead
> man, be made clean again?
> 
> 43. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathushtra! If it
> has been prepared for the
> 
> sacrifice9, there is to it no corruption, no death, no
> touch of any Nasu10. If it has not been prepared
> for the sacrifice, [the stem] is defiled the length of
> four fingers11: it12 shall be laid down on13 the ground,
> in the middle of the house, for a year long. When
> the year is passed, the faithful may drink of its juice
> at their pleasure, as before.'
> 
> 9. Pounded and strained.
> 
> 10. Because the Haoma is the plant of life; when strained for the
> sacrifice, it is the king of healing plants
> (Bund. 24); the
> dead shall become immortal by tasting of the white Haoma
> (ibid. Bund. 31).
> 
> 11. Four fingers from the point touched by the Nasau. That part of
> the stem shall be cut off (Framji): the rest can be made clean.
> 
> 12. What is left of the stem.
> 
> V.
> 
> 44. O Maker of the material world, thou holy One! Whither shall
> we bring, where shall we lay the bodies of the dead13, O Ahura Mazda?
> 
> 13. In places where there are no Dakhmas; for instance, in the
> country.
> 
> 45. Ahura Mazda answered: 'On the highest summits14, where they
> know there are always corpse-eating dogs and corpse-eating birds,
> O holy Zarathushtra!
> 
> 14. 'On the top of a mountain' (Comm.) Cf. Vd8.10.
> 
> 46. 'There shall the worshippers of Mazda fasten the corpse, by
> the feet and by the hair, with iron,14b stones, or clay, lest the
> corpse-eating dogs and the corpse-eating birds shall go and carry
> the bones to the water and to the trees.
> 
> 14b. Dar: brass. -JHP
> 
> 47. 'If they shall not fasten the corpse, so that the corpse-eating
> dogs and the corpse-eating birds may go and carry the bones to
> the water and to the trees, what is the penalty that they shall
> pay?'
> 
> 48. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall be Peshotanus: two hundred
> stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
> 
> 49. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Whither shall
> we bring, where shall we lay the bones15 of the dead, O Ahura Mazda?
> 
> 15. When the flesh has been stripped off the bones, thay may be.
> collected in a stone ossuary. See following note.
> 
> 50. Ahura Mazda answered: 'The worshippers
> of Mazda shall make a receptacle16 out of
> the reach of the dog, of the fox, and of the
> wolf, and wherein rain-water cannot stay.
> 
> 16. "When the corpse-eating birds have eaten the fat, that
> fat which, when it is not possible to eat it, becomes rotten,
> offensive, and fraught with noxious creatures, then men shall
> properly convey the bones away to the bonne-receptacle (astôdân),
> which one is to elevate so from the ground, and over
> which a roof so stands, that in no way does the rain fall upon
> the dead matter, nor the water reach up to it therein, nor are
> the dog and fox able to go to it, and for the sake of light
> coming to it a hole is made therein"
> (Dadistan 18.3; tr. West).
> 
> 51. 'They shall make it, if they can afford
> it, with stones, plaster, or earth17; if they cannot
> afford it, they shall lay down the dead man on the
> ground, on his carpet and his pillow, clothed with
> the light of heaven, and beholding the sun18.'
> 
> 17. Such stone ossuaries have been found at Bushir, by Mr. Malcolm;
> earth ossuaries, found at Susa, were brought to the Louvre by
> M. Dieulafoy.
> 
> 18. The dead must see the sun: that is why the astodan has holes
> for letting the light in (see note 16 above).
> 
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> — *Vendidad — Chapter 6 — L.H. Mills / James Darmesteter (1880-1887) (Public domain (Sacred Books of the East, 1880-1887))*