# Vendidad — Chapter 7

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> Source: Avesta.org. The Vendidad, Chapter 7, 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 7. Purity laws, Avestan medicine.
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> AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 7. Purity Laws, Avestan medicine.
> 
> This digital edition prepared by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995; updated Jun 25, 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 (1-5). How long after death the Druj Nasu takes possession of
> the corpse.
> 
> II (6-9 = V, 27-30). How far the defiling power of the Druj Nasu
> extends.
> 
> III (10-22). Cleansing of clothes defiled by the dead.
> 
> IV (23-24). Eating of Nasu an abomination.
> 
> V (25-27), Bringing Nasu to fire or water an abomination.
> 
> VI (28-35). Cleansing of wood and corn defiled by the dead.
> 
> VII a (36-40). Physicians; their probation.
> 
> VII b (41-44). Their fees.
> 
> VIII (45-59), Purification of the earth, of the Dakhmas. The Dakhmas
> and the Daevas,
> 
> IX (60-72; 66-69 = V, 45-54). Treatment of a woman who has brought
> forth a still-born child.
> 
> X (73-75). Cleansing of vessels defiled by the dead.
> 
> XI (76). Cleansing of the cow.
> 
> XII (78). Unclean libations.
> 
> This chapter would offer tolerable unity, but for a digression
> on medicine, which would be better placed as an introduction to
> the last three chapters. Sections II and IX, parts of which have
> already been found in Fargard V, are more suitably placed here.
> This chapter, as a whole, deals with the action of the Druj Nasu,
> from the moment she takes hold of the corpse, and shows how and
> when the several objects she has defiled become clean, namely,
> clothes, wood, corn, earth, women, vessels, and cows.
> 
> FARGARD 7. Purity laws
> 
> I.
> 
> Notes:
> 
> 1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
> Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When a man
> dies, at what moment does the Druj Nasu rush upon him?'
> 
> 2. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Directly after death, as soon as the
> soul has left the body, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the Druj Nasu
> comes and rushes upon him, from the regions of the north1, in the
> shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, droning
> without end, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras2.
> 
> 1. Hell lies in the north; see Vd2.10 n.;
> Vd3.7 n.; Vd19.1;
> Hadokht Nask, section 3.25;
> Bundahishn 15.19.
> 
> 2. Khrafstra is a general denomination for noxious animals.
> 
> [3. 'On him she stays until the dog has seen the
> corpse3 or eaten it up, or until the flesh-eating birds
> have taken flight towards it4. When the dog has seen it or eaten it up, or when the flesh-eating
> birds have taken flight towards it, then the Druj Nasu rushes
> away to the regions of the north in the shape of a raging fly,
> with knees and tail sticking out, droning without end, and like
> unto the foulest Khrafstras.']
> 
> 3. Until the Sag-did has been performed (see
> Vd8.16 seq.)
> 
> 4. The Sag-did may be performed by birds of prey as well as by dogs.
> The dog smites the Nasu when it brings its muzzle near to the
> dead, the bird (mountain hawk, sparrow (?), or eagle) when its
> shadow passes over the body (Comm. ad § 2; cf. § 29). § 3
> is from the Vendidad Sada.
> 
> 4. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the man has
> been killed by a dog, or by a wolf, or by witchcraft, or by the
> artifices of hatred5, or by falling down a precipice, or by the
> law6, or by calumny7, or by the noose8,
> how long after death does the Druj Nasu come and rush upon the dead?
> 
> 5. 'By poison' (Comm.)
> 
> 6. Literally, 'by men;' that is to say, put to death by the community
> according to law (Comm.)
> 
> 7. If he has been condemned unjustly.
> 
> 8. If he has strangled himself.
> 
> 5. Ahura Mazda answered: 'At the next watch after death9, the Druj
> Nasu comes and rushes upon the dead, from the regions of the north,
> in the shape of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out,
> droning without end, and like unto the foulest Khrafstras.'
> 
> 9. The day is divided into five watches or ratu. If the man dies
> a natural death, the Druj comes directly; if the death be violent
> and unlooked for, the Druj comes later (as the corruption does
> not set in so quickly).
> 
> II10.
> 
> 6. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be a
> number of men resting in the same place, on the same carpet, on
> the same pillows, be there two men near one another, or five,
> or fifty, or a hundred, close by one another; and of those people
> one happens to die; how many of them does the Druj Nasu envelope
> with corruption, infection, and pollution?
> 
> 10. §§ 6-9 = Vd5.27-30.
> 
> 7. Ahura Mazda answered:
> 'If the dead one be a priest, the Druj Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama
> Zarathushtra! she goes as far as the eleventh and defiles the
> ten.
> 
> 'If the dead one he a warrior, the Druj Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama
> Zarathushtra! she goes as far as the tenth and defiles the nine.
> 
> 'If the dead one be a husbandman, the Druj Nasu rushes forth,
> O Spitama Zarathushtra! she goes as far as the ninth and defiles
> the eight.
> 
> 8. 'If it be a shepherd's dog, the Druj Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama
> Zarathushtra! she goes as far as the eighth and defiles the seven.
> 
> 'If it be a house dog, the Druj Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
> she goes as far as the seventh and defiles the six.
> 
> 9. 'If it he a Vohunazga dog, the Druj Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
> she goes as far as the sixth and defiles the five.
> 
> 'If it be a Tauruna dog, the Druj Nasu rushes forth, O Spitama
> Zarathushtra! she goes as far as the fifth and defiles the four11.'
> 
> . . . 'Those clothes shall serve for their coverings and for their
> sheets12.'. . .
> 
> 11. This enumeration is less complete than that in 'the fifth Fargard,
> as it comprises only the first four sorts of dogs; the rest is
> to be supplied as in Farg. V, 31-38.
> 
> 12. This phrase, which forms part of § 19, is wrongly inserted here.
> 
> III.
> 
> 10. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of
> his bedding13 and pillow does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption,
> infection, and pollution?
> 
> 13. The bedding on which he has died.
> 
> 11. Ahura Mazda answered: 'The Druj Nasu defiles with corruption,
> infection, and pollution the upper sheet and the inner garment14.'
> 
> 14. The upper sheet of the bed and the inner garment of the body,
> that is to say, only those clothes which have been in direct
> contact with the dead.
> 
> 12. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can that garment
> be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! that has been touched by the
> carcass of a dog or the corpse of a man?
> 
> 13. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathushtra!'
> 
> How so?
> 
> 'If there be on the garment seed, or blood, or dirt, or vomit,
> the worshippers of Mazda shall rend it to pieces, and bury it
> under the ground15.
> 
> 15. According to the Commentary only that part which has been defiled
> is rent off; the rest may still be used.
> 
> 14. 'But if there be no seed [on the garment], nor blood, nor
> dirt, nor vomit, then the worshippers of Mazda shall wash it with
> gomez.
> 
> 15. 'If it be leather, they shall wash it with gomez three times,
> they shall rub it with earth three times, they shall wash it with
> water three times, and afterwards they shall expose it to the
> air for three months at the window of the house.
> 
> 'If it be woven cloth, they shall wash it with gomez six times16,
> they shall rub it with earth six times, they shall wash it with
> water six times, and afterwards they shall expose it to the air
> for six months at the window of the house.
> 
> 16. See Vd19.21.
> 
> 16. 'The spring named Ardvi Sura, O Spitama Zarathushtra! that
> spring of mine, purifies the seed of males, the womb of females,
> the milk of females17.'
> 
> 17. This clause is a quotation from Yasna 65.5,
> intended to illustrate the cleansing power of water. Ardvi Sura is the goddess
> of the waters. See Vd21.6 notes.
> 
> 1718. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can those clothes,
> when once washed and cleansed, ever be used either by a Zaotar,
> or by a Havanan, or by an Atare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or
> by an Abered, or by an Asnatar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraosha-varez,
> or by any priest, warrior, or husbandman?
> 
> 18. §§ 17-22 = Vd5.57-62.
> 
> 18. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Never can those clothes, even when
> washed and cleansed, be used either by a Zaotar, or by a Havanan,
> or by an Atare-vakhsha, or by a Frabaretar, or by an Abered, or
> by an Asnatar, or by a Rathwiskar, or by a Sraosha-varez, or by
> any priest, warrior, or husbandman.
> 
> 19. 'But if there be in a Mazdean house a woman who is in her
> sickness, or a man who has become unfit for work, and who must
> sit in the place of infirmity, those clothes shall serve for their
> coverings and for their sheets, until they can withdraw their
> hands for prayer.
> 
> 20. 'Ahura Mazda, indeed, does not allow us to waste anything
> of value that we may have, not even so much as an Asperena's weight
> of thread, not even so much as a maid lets fall in spinning.
> 
> 21. 'Whosoever throws any clothing on a dead body, even so much
> as a maid lets fall in spinning, is not a pious man whilst alive,
> nor shall he, when dead, have a place in Paradise.
> 
> 22. 'He makes himself a viaticum unto the world of the wicked,
> into that world, made of darkness, the offspring of darkness,
> which is Darkness' self. To that world, to the world of Hell,
> you are delivered by your own doings, by your own religion, O
> sinners!'
> 
> IV.
> 
> 23. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can he be clean
> again who has eaten of the carcass of a dog or of the corpse of
> a man19?
> 
> 19. The carcase-eater lodges the Nasu in himself; he becomes a Nasu,
> and therefore must be destroyed; cf. below, § 76 seq.
> [Cannibalism. See Vd8.73-74. -JHP]
> 
> 24. Ahura Mazda answered: 'He cannot, O holy Zarathushtra! His
> burrow20 shall be dug out, his heart shall be torn out, his bright
> eyes shall be put out; the Druj Nasu falls upon him, takes hold
> of him even to the end of the nails, and he is unclean thenceforth,
> for ever and ever21.'
> 
> 20. His house, as he is assimilated to a devouring Khrafstra;
> see Vd3.7.
> 
> 21. Till the resurrection. 'It is prescribed in the Vendidad that
> if a man shall eat of a carcase, his house and family shall he
> destroyed, his heart shall be torn out of his body, his eyes shall
> be put out, and his soul shall abide in hell till the resurrection'
> (Saddar 71). 'He who eats of
> a carcase with sinful intent is both unclean and margarzan; Barashnum
> and Nirang are of no avail for him, he must die. If there has been no
> sinful intent, he may wash himself; one may give him the ashes and
> the gomez (Comm.); he is unclean, he is not margarzan' (Old Riv. 115 b).
> 
> V.
> 
> 25. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can he be clean
> again, O holy Ahura Mazda! who has brought a corpse with filth
> into the waters, or unto the fire, and made either unclean?
> 
> 26. Ahura Mazda answered: 'He cannot, O holy Zarathushtra! Those
> wicked ones it is, those Nasu-cutters, that most increase spiders
> and locusts22; those wicked ones it is, those Nasu-cutters, that
> most increase the grass-destroying drought23.
> 
> 22. 'It is said in the Avesta that when there are many gnats and
> locusts it is owing to corpses having been brought to water and
> to fire' (Saddar 72).
> 
> 23. § 26 refers chiefly to the damage produced by the defilement
> of the waters, and § 27 to that produced by the defilement
> of the fire.
> 
> 27. 'Those wicked ones it is, those Nasu-cutters, that increase
> most the power of the winter24, produced by the fiends, the cattle-killing,
> thick- snowing, overflowing, the piercing, fierce, mischievous
> winter25. Upon them comes and rushes the Druj Nasu she takes hold
> of them even to the end of the nails, and they are unclean, thenceforth,
> for ever and ever26.'
> 
> 24. See note 23 above.
> 
> 25. In the same way (by the bringing of corpses to water and to fire),
> winter grows colder, and summer grows warmer'
> (Saddar 72).
> 
> 26. Whoever shall do that deed, shall pay for it in this world
> and in the next; they shall flay his body in the presence of the
> assembly, they shall tear him limb from limb, and his corpse shall
> be thrown away to dogs and ravens, . . . and when his soul comes
> to the other world, he shall suffer tortures from the Devs. If
> he has not made his Patet [confession], his soul shall remain in hell till
> the day of resurrection' (Gr. Riv. p. 123).
> 
> VI.
> 
> 28. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the wood
> be made clean, O holy Ahura Mazda! whereunto Nasu has been brought
> from a dead dog, or from a dead man?
> 
> 29. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathushtra!'
> 
> How so?
> 
> 'If the Nasu has not yet been expelled27 by the corpse-eating dogs,
> or by the corpse-eating birds28, they shall lay down, apart on the
> ground, all the wood on a Vitasti29 a all around, if the wood be
> dry; on a Frarathni30 all around, if it be wet; then they shall
> sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean31.
> 
> 27. That is to say, if the Sag-did has not yet been performed.
> Read: 'If the Nasu has been expelled...' (that, is to say, if
> the Sag-did has been performed). See note 6.
> 
> 28. See above, verse 3, note 3.
> 
> 29. Twelve fingers; a span.
> 
> 30. The Frârâthni is, as it seems, as much as a forearm.
> 
> 31. 'After a year,' according to the Commentary.
> 
> 30. 'But if the Nasu has already been expelled32 by the corpse-eating
> dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart
> on the ground, all the wood on a Frarathni all around, if the
> wood be dry; on a Frabazu33 all around, if it be wet; then they
> shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.
> 
> 32. Read: 'But if the Nasu has not yet been expelled.' It appears
> from the similar passages
> (Vd8.35, 36, and
> 98, 99) and from
> the general principles of uncleanness that the words 'If the Nasu
> has not yet been expelled,' in § 29, have been misplaced there from
> § 30, and that the corresponding words in § 30 belong to
> § 29; because uncleanness spreads less far, when the Sag-did
> has taken place.
> 
> 33. A measure of unknown extent; 'an arm's length,' it would seem.
> 
> 31. 'Thus much of the wood around the dead shall they lay down,
> apart on the ground, according as the wood is dry or wet; as it
> is hard or soft; they shall sprinkle it once over with water,
> and it shall be clean.'
> 
> 32. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the corn
> or the fodder be made clean O holy Ahura Mazda! whereunto Nasu
> has been brought from a dead dog, or from a dead man?
> 
> 33. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It can, O holy Zarathushtra!' How so?
> 
> 'If the Nasu has not yet been expelled34 by the corpse-eating dogs,
> or by the corpse-eating birds they shall lay down, apart on the
> ground, all the corn on a Frarathni all around, if the corn be
> dry on a Frabazu all around, if it be wet; then they shall sprinkle
> it once over with water, and it shall be clean.
> 
> 34. Read: 'If the Nasu has already been expelled . . .' See § 29
> note.
> 
> 34. 'But if the Nasu has already been expelled35 by the corpse-eating
> dogs, or by the corpse-eating birds, they shall lay down, apart
> on the ground, all the corn on a Frabazu all around, if the corn
> be dry; on a Vibazu36 all around, if it be wet then they shall sprinkle
> it once over with water, and it shall be clean.
> 
> 35. Read: 'If the Nasu has already been expelled . . .' See § 30
> note.
> 
> 36. A measure of unknown extent; 'an ell,' it would seem.
> 
> 35. 'Thus much of the corn around the dead shall they lay down,
> apart on the ground, according as the corn is dry or wet; as it
> is sown or not sown; as it is reaped or not reaped; [as it is
> beaten or not beaten]37; as it is winnowed or not winnowed38; [as
> it is ground or not ground]38; as it is kneaded [or not kneaded]39;
> they shall sprinkle it once over with water, and it shall be clean.'
> 
> 37. From the Vendidad Sada.
> 
> 38. Doubtful.
> 
> 39. This is supplied, as it seems to be required by the context
> and by the Pahlavi translation.
> 
> VIIa.
> 
> 36. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a worshipper
> of Mazda want to practice the art of healing, on whom shall he
> first prove his skill? on worshippers of Mazda or on worshippers
> of the Daevas40?
> 
> 40. On Zoroastrians or on idolaters (or, what is tantamount, on
> Iranians or on non-Iranians).
> 
> 37. Ahura Mazda answered: 'On worshippers of the Daevas shall
> he first prove himself, rather than on worshippers of Mazda. If
> he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daevas and he die;
> if he treat with the knife a second worshipper of the Daevas and
> he die; if he treat with the knife for the third time a worshipper
> of the Daevas and he die, he is unfit for ever and ever.
> 
> 38. 'Let him therefore never attend any worshipper of Mazda; let
> him never treat with the knife and worshipper of Mazda, nor wound
> him with the knife. If he shall ever attend any worshipper of
> Mazda, if he shall ever treat with the knife any worshipper of
> Mazda, and wound him with the knife, he shall pay for his wound
> the penalty for willful murder41.
> 
> 41. For baodhô-varshta, literally, 'done with full conscience.'
> 
> 39. 'If he treat with the knife a worshipper of the Daevas and
> he recover; if he treat with the knife a second worshipper of
> the Daevas and he recover; if for the third time he treat with
> the knife a worshipper of the Daevas and he recover; then he is
> fit for ever and ever42.
> 
> 42. 'Some say, One who has been qualified may become disqualified;
> one who has been disqualified shall never become qualified' (Comm.
> ad § 43).
> 
> 40. 'He may henceforth at his will attend worshippers of Mazda;
> he may at his will treat with the knife worshippers of Mazda,
> and heal them with the knife.
> 
> VIIb.
> 
> 41. 'A healer shall heal a priest for a blessing of the just43;
> he shall heal the master of a house for the value of an ox of
> low value; he shall heal the lord of a borough44 for the value of
> an ox of average value; he shall heal the lord of a town for the
> value of an ox of high value; he shall heal the lord of a province
> for the value of a chariot and four45.
> 
> 43. The priest will say to him: Be holy! (that is to say, be one
> of the blest!) 'Thus he will become holy (i.e. be will go to Paradise);
> there is no equivalent in money. Some say, It is given when
> the priest has not 3000 stirs' (Comm.)
> 
> 44. A group of several houses; Aspendiˆrji and Anquetil say,
> 'a street.'
> 
> 45. 'A value of seventy stirs' (Comm.)
> 
> 42. 'He shall heal the wife of the master of a house for the value
> of a she-ass; he shall heal the wife of the lord of a borough
> for the value of a cow; he shall heal the wife of the lord of
> a town for the value of a mare; he shall heal the wife of the
> lord of a province for the value of a she-camel.
> 
> 43. 'He shall heal the heir of a great house for the value of
> an ox of high value; he shall heal an ox of high value for the
> value of an ox of aver- age value; he shall heal an ox of average
> value for the value of an ox of low value; he shall heal an ox
> of low value for the value of a sheep; he shall heal a sheep for
> the value of a piece of meat46.
> 
> 46. Cf. the tariff of fees for the cleanser, Vd9.37 seq.
> 
> 44. 'If several healers offer themselves together, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
> namely, one who heals with the knife, one who heals with herbs,
> and one who heals with the Holy Word [manthra]47, let one apply to the healing
> by the Holy Word: for this one is the best-healing of all healers
> who heals with the Holy Word; he will best drive away sickness
> from the body of the faithful48.'
> 
> 47. 'By spells' (Comm.; cf. Odyssea XIX, 457). This classification
> was not unknown to Asclepios: he relieved the sick 'now with caressing
> spells, now with soothing drink or balsam, now with the knife'
> (Pindaros, Pyth. III, 5 I).
> 
> 48. Cf. Yt3.6. The treatment by the
> Holy Word seems not to consist only in the recitation of spells,
> but the spells must be accompanied by the ceremony of the
> Barashnum (see Vd22).
> 
> VIII.
> 
> 45. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after
> the corpse of a dead man has been laid down on the ground, clothed
> with the light of heaven and beholding the sun, is the ground
> clean again49?
> 
> 49. Restored to the purity of its nature, and fit to till; as it remains
> Nasu till that time.
> 
> 46. Ahura Mazda answered: 'When the corpse of a dead man has lain
> on the ground for a year, clothed with the light of heaven, and
> beholding the sun, then the ground is clean again, O holy Zarathushtra50!'
> 
> 50. See Vd6.1 seq.
> 
> 47. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after
> the corpse of a dead man has been buried in the earth, is the
> earth clean again?
> 
> 48. Ahura Mazda answered: 'When the corpse of a dead man has lain
> buried in the earth for fifty years51, O Spitama Zarathushtra! then
> the earth is clean again52.'
> 
> 51. The time necessary to consume the corpse to its last particle.
> 
> 52. Cf. Vd3.36 seq.
> 
> 49. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How long after
> the corpse of a dead man has been laid down on a Dakhma, is the
> ground, whereon the Dakhma stands, clean again?
> 
> 50. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Not until the dust of the corpse, O
> Spitama Zarathushtra! has mingled with the dust of the earth53.
> Urge every one in the material world, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
> to pull down Dakhmas54.
> 
> 53. A space of time estimated at fifty years (Comm.)
> See Vd3.13.
> 
> 54. See Vd3.9, text and note, and § 13.
> 
> 51. 'He who should pull down Dakhmas, even so much thereof as
> the size of his own body, his sins in thought, word, and deed
> are remitted as they would be by a Patet; his sins in thought,
> word, and deed are undone55.
> 
> 55. 'A tanapuhr sin is remitted thereby' (Comm.)
> 
> 52. 'Not for his soul shall the two spirits wage war with one
> another56; and when he enters Paradise, the stars, the moon, and
> the sun shall rejoice in him; and I, Ahura Mazda, shall rejoice
> in him, saying: " Hail, O man! thou who hast just passed
> from the decaying world into the undecaying one57!"'
> 
> 56. When a man dies, hell and Paradise, fiends and gods struggle
> for the possession of his soul: Astovidhotush, Vizaresha, and the
> bad Vayu drag the souls of the wicked to hell; Mithra, Sraosha,
> Rashnu, and the good Vayu take the souls of the good to Paradise
> (see Vd19.29 seq.;
> Hadhokht Nask;
> Menog-i Khrad 2). The struggle
> lasts for three days and three nights (the sadis), during which
> time the relatives of the dead offer up prayers and sacrifices
> to Sraosha, Rashnu, and Vayu, to assure him their protection
> (See Vd9.56).
> 
> 57. Hadhokht Nask 16 and
> Vd19.31.
> 
> 5558. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Where are there
> Daevas: Where is it they offer worship to the Daevas: What is
> the place whereon troops of Daevas rush together, whereon troops
> of Daevas come rushing along? What is the place whereon they rush
> together to kill their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds
> and their thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands,
> their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads?
> 
> 58. §§ 53, 54 belong to the Commentary; they are composed
> of disconnected quotations, part of which refers to the different
> deeds by which a tanapuhr sin may be redeemed, while the
> other part refers to the rules of what may be called the book-keeping
> of good actions and sins.
> 
> 56. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Those Dakhmas that are built upon the
> face of the earth, O Spitama Zarathushtra! and whereon are laid
> the corpses of dead men, that is the place where there are Daevas,
> that is the place whereon troops of Daevas rush together; whereon
> troops of Daevas come rushing along; whereon they rush together
> to kill their fifties and their hundreds, their hundreds and their
> thousands, their thousands and their tens of thousands, their
> tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.
> 
> 57. 'On those Dakhmas, O Spitama Zarathushtra! those Daevas take
> food and void filth. As you, men, in the material world, you cook
> meal and eat cooked meat, so do they. It is, as it were, the smell
> of their feeding that you smell there, O men!
> 
> 58. 'For thus they go on reveling, until that stench is rooted
> in the Dakhmas. In those Dakhmas arise the infection of diseases,
> itch, hot fever, naeza59, cold fever, rickets, and hair untimely
> white60. On those Dakhmas meet the worst murderers, from the hour
> when the sun is down61.
> 
> 59. Doubtful.
> 
> 60. Albinism was regarded as sent by the demons. When Zâl was
> born with white hair, his father Sâm exposed on the Alburz 'that
> child of Dev, with an old man's head' (Firdausi).
> 
> 61. Cemeteries are the meeting-place of robbers and murderers.
> 
> 59. 'And people of small understanding who do not seek for better
> understanding62, the Jainis63 make those diseases
> grow stronger by a third64, on their thighs, on their hands,
> on their three-plaited hair65.'
> 
> 62. 'Who do not seek for instruction.'
> 
> 63. [i.e. Genie, jinn, djinn -JHP] 'The Jahi' (Comm.)
> The Jaini seems to be the Jahi as 'killing,' as bringing sickness.
> 
> 64. The general meaning of the sentence seems to be that, for want
> of hygiene, diseaes grow worse through the infection from the
> Dakhmas.
> 
> 65. Doubtful.
> 
> IX.
> 
> 6066. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If in the house
> of a worshipper of Mazda there be a woman with child, and if being
> a month gone, or two, or three, or four, or five, or six, or seven,
> or eight, or nine, or ten months gone, she bring forth a still-born
> child, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?
> 
> 66. §§ 60-69 = Vd5.45-54.
> See the Commentary there.
> 
> 61. Ahura Mazda answered: 'The place in that Mazdean house whereof
> the ground is the cleanest and the driest, and the least passed
> through by flocks and herds, by the fire of Ahura Mazda, by the
> consecrated bundles of baresma, and by the faithful;'
> 
> 62. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from
> the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated
> bundles of baresma? How far from the faithful?
> 
> 63. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thirty paces from the fire; thirty
> paces from the water; thirty paces from the consecrated bundles
> of Baresma; three paces from the faithful;-
> 
> 64. 'On that place shall the worshippers of Mazda erect an enclosure,
> and therein shall they establish her with food, therein shall
> they establish her with clothes.'
> 
> 65. O Maker of the material word, thou Holy One! What is the food
> that the woman shall first take?
> 
> 66. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Gomez mixed with ashes, three draughts
> of it, or six, or nine, to send down the Dakhma within her womb.
> 
> 67. 'Afterwards she may drink boiling milk of mares, cows, sheep,
> or goats, with pap or without pap; she may take cooked milk without
> water, meal without water, and wine without water.' 68. O Maker
> of the material world, thou Holy One! How long shall she remain
> so? How long shall she live thus on milk, meal, and wine?
> 
> 69. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Three nights long shall she remain
> so; three nights long shall she live thus on milk, meal, and wine.
> Then, when three nights have passed, she shall wash her body,
> she shall wash her clothes, with gomez and water, by the nine
> holes, and thus shall she be clean.'
> 
> 70. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! But if fever
> befall her unclean body, if these two worst pains, hunger and
> thirst, befall her, may she be allowed to drink water67?
> 
> 67. Before those three days have passed.
> 
> 71. Ahura Mazda answered: 'She may; the first thing for her is
> to have her life saved. From the hands of one of the holy men,
> a holy faithful man, who knows the holy knowledge68, she shall drink
> of the strength-giving water. But you, worshippers of Mazda, fix
> ye the penalty for it. The Ratu being applied to, the Sraosha-varez
> being applied to69, shall prescribe the penalty to be paid70.'
> 
> 68. If there is near her a pious and intelligent man, who recognises
> that her life would be endangered by too strict an adherence to
> the rule, he will let her depart from it.
> 
> 69. See Vd5.25.
> 
> 70. For the water having been defiled.
> 
> 72. What is the penalty to be paid?
> 
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'The deed is that of a Peshotanu: two hundred
> stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana71.'
> 
> 71. A penalty to be undergone by the husband, at least in modern
> practice: 'If through fear of death or of serious illness she
> has drunk water before the appointed time, her husband shall make
> Patet for her fault before the Dastur' (Old Riv. 98 b).
> 
> X.
> 
> 73. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the eating-vessels
> be made clean that have been touched by Nasu from a dog, or Nasu
> from a man?
> 
> 74. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They can, O holy Zarathushtra!'
> 
> How so?
> 
> 'If they be of gold, you shall wash them once with gomez, you
> shall rub them once with earth, you shall wash them once with
> water, and they shall be clean.
> 
> 'If they be of silver, you shall wash them twice with gomez, you
> shall rub them twice with earth, you shall wash them twice with
> water, and they shall be clean.
> 
> [75. 'If they be of iron,71b you shall wash them thrice with gomez,
> you shall rub them thrice with earth, you shall wash them thrice
> with water, and they shall be clean.
> 
> 71b. Dar: brass. -JHP
> 
> 'If they be of steel, you shall wash them four times with gomez,
> you shall rub them four times with earth, you shall wash them
> four times with water, and they shall be clean.
> 
> 'If they be of stone, you shall wash them six times with gomez,
> you shall rub them six times with earth, you shall wash them six
> times with water, and they shall be clean72.]
> 
> 'If they be of earth, of wood, or of clay, they are unclean for
> ever and ever73.'
> 
> 72. From the Vendidad Sada.
> 
> 73. The power of resistance to uncleanness follows the value of
> the materials: gold, silver, iron, steel, stone, earth, wood,
> clay.
> 
> XI.
> 
> 76. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the cow
> be made clean that has eaten of the carcass of a dog, or of the
> corpse of a man?
> 
> 77. Ahura Mazda answered: 'She can, O holy Zarathushtra! The priest
> shall not, within a year, take from her either milk or cheese
> for the libation, nor meat for the libation and the Baresma74. When
> a year has passed, then the faithful may eat of her as before75.'
> 
> 74. [barsom -JHP] The libation waters (Zaothra) are mixed with milk (jîv). The cheese
> (or butter) and the meat are elements of the dron as gôshôdâ.
> 
> 75. 'Whatever comes from her, if dropped, is clean; if taken, unclean.
> If she he big with young [pregnant -JHP], the young is born clean, if conceived
> before her eating of the corpse; if conceived afterwards, it is
> born unclean' (Comm.)
> 
> XII.
> 
> 78. Who is he, O holy Ahura Mazda! who, meaning well and desiring
> righteousness, prevents righteousness? Who is he who, meaning
> well, falls into the ways of the Druj76?
> 
> 76. Possibly, 'works for the Druj.'
> 
> 79. Ahura Mazda answered: 'This one, meaning well and desiring
> righteousness, prevents righteousness; this one, meaning well,
> falls into the ways of the Druj, who offers up water defiled by
> the dead and unfit for libation; or who offers up in the dead
> of the night water unfit for libation77.'
> 
> 77. 'From what hour may sacrifice to the Good Waters be offered? From
> sunrise to sunset. . . He who offers up libations to the Good
> Waters after sunset, before sunrise, does no better deed than
> if he should throw them downright into the jaws of a venomous
> snake' (Nirangistan, § 48).
> 
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> — *Vendidad — Chapter 7 — L.H. Mills / James Darmesteter (1880-1887) (Public domain (Sacred Books of the East, 1880-1887))*