# Vendidad — Chapter 9

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> Source: Avesta.org. The Vendidad, Chapter 9, 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 9. The Nine Nights' Barashnum.
> 
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> AVESTA: Vendidad: FARGARD 9. The Nine Nights' Barashnum.
> 
> This digital edition prepared by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995.
> 
> Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East,
> American Edition, 1898.)
> 
> On the name Barashnom, see Vd8.40, note 50.
> 
> I a (1-11). Description of the place for cleansing the unclean
> (the Barashnom-gah).
> 
> I b (12-36) Description of the cleansing.
> 
> II (37-44). Fees of the cleanser.
> 
> III (47-57). The false cleanser; his punishment.
> 
> §§ 45, 46 belong better to the following Fargard.
> 
> The ceremony described in this Fargard is known among the Parsis
> as barashnom no shaba, or 'nine nights' Barashnom,' because it
> lasts for nine nights (see § 35). It is the great purification,
> the most efficacious of all; it not only makes the defiled man
> clean, but it opens to him the heavens
> (see Vd19.33). So,
> although it was formerly intended only for the man defiled by
> the dead, it became, during the Parsi period, a pious work which
> might be performed without any corpse having been touched; nay,
> its performance was prescribed, once at least, at the time of
> the Nû zûdî [Navjote -JHP]
> (at the age of fifteen, when the young Parsi becomes
> a member of the community), in order to wash away the natural
> uncleanness that has been contracted in the maternal womb
> (Saddar 36). It must also be undergone by a priest who wants to appear
> before the Warharan fire or perform the Yasna or the Vendidad
> office.
> 
> FARGARD 9. The Nine Nights' Barashnum.
> 
> Ia.
> 
> Notes:
> 
> 1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: O most beneficent Spirit,
> Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! To whom shall they
> apply here below, who want to cleanse their body defiled by the
> dead?'
> 
> 2. Ahura Mazda answered: 'To a pious man1, O Spitama Zarathushtra!
> who knows how to speak, who speaks truth, who has learned the
> Holy Word [manthra], who is pious, and knows best the rites of cleansing
> according to the law of Mazda. That man shall fell the trees off
> the surface of the ground on a space of nine Vibazus2 square;
> 
> 1. A priest.
> 
> 2. Nine ells (?). See Vd7.34.
> 
> 3. 'in that part of the ground where there is least water and
> where there are fewest trees, the part which is the cleanest and
> driest, and the least passed through by sheep and oxen, and by
> the fire of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of Baresma,
> and by the faithful.'
> 4.
> How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from
> the consecrated bundles of Baresma? How far from the faithful?
> 5.
> 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.
> 
> 6. 'Then thou shalt dig a hole3, two fingers deep if the summer
> has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
> 
> 3. Those holes are intended to receive the liquid trickling from
> the body. In summer, the air and the earth being dry the hole
> may be less deep, as it is certain that it will be empty and will
> have room enough for that liquid.
> 
> 7. 'Thou shalt dig a second hole, two fingers deep if the summer
> has come, four fingers deep if the winter end ice have come.
> 
> 'Thou shalt dig a third hole, two fingers deep if the summer has
> come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
> 
> 'Thou shalt dig a fourth hole, two fingers deep if the summer
> has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
> 
> 'Thou shalt dig a fifth hole, two fingers deep if the summer has
> come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.
> 
> 'Thou shalt dig a sixth hole4, two fingers deep if the summer has
> come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come.'
> 
> 4. These six holes contain gomez. 'The holes must be dug from the
> north to the south' (Comm.)
> 
> 8. How far from one another?
> 
> 'One pace.'
> 
> How much is the pace?
> 
> 'As much as three feet.
> 
> 9. 'Then thou shalt dig three holes more5, two fingers deep if
> the summer has come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have
> come.'
> 
> How far from the former six?
> 
> 'Three paces.'
> 
> What sort of paces?
> 
> 'Such as are taken in walking.'
> 
> How much are those (three) paces?
> 
> 'As much as nine feet.
> 
> 5. The three holes to contain water.
> 
> 10. 'Then thou shalt draw a furrow all around with a metal knife.'
> 
> How far from the holes?
> 
> 'Three paces.'
> 
> What sort of paces?
> 
> 'Such as are taken in walking.'
> 
> How much are those (three) paces?
> 
> 'As much as nine feet.
> 
> 11. 'Then thou shalt draw twelve furrows6; three of which thou
> shalt draw to surround and divided [from the rest] (the first)
> three holes; three thou shalt draw to surround and divide (the
> first) six holes; three thou shalt draw to surround and divide
> the nine holes; three thou shalt draw around the [three] inferior
> holes, outside the [six other] holes7. At each of the three times
> nine feet8, thou shalt place stones as steps to the holes; or potsherds,
> or stumps9, or clods, or any hard matter10.'
> 
> 6. 'The furrows must be drawn during the day; they must be drawn
> with a knife; they must be drawn with recitation of spells. While
> drawing the furrows the cleanser recites three
> Ashem vohus ("holiness
> is the best of all good," &c.), the
> Fravarânê ("I declare
> myself a worshipper of Mazda, a follower or Zarathushtra,
> a foe of the fiend," &c.), the
> Khshnuman of Srosh, and the Srosh Baj;
> they must be drawn from the north' (Comm. ad § 32). The furrow,
> or kesh, plays a greater part in the Mazdean liturgy than in any
> other. By means of the furrow, drawn with
> proper spells, and according to the laws of spiritual war, man
> either besieges the fiend or intrenches himself against him
> (See Vd17.5) In the present case the
> Druj, being shut up inside the kesh and thus excluded from the
> world outside, and being driven back, step by step, by the strength
> of the holy water and spells, finds at last no place of refuge but hell.
> 
> 7. 'The three holes for water, the six holes for gomez' (Comm.)
> 
> 8. The nine feet between the holes containing gomez and those containing
> water, the nine feet between the first holes and the furrows;
> and the nine feet between the last hole and the furrows.
> 
> 9. Dâdara.
> 
> 10. That the foot of the unclean one may not touch the earth.
> 
> Ib.
> 
> 12. 'Then the man defiled shall walk to the holes; thou, O Zarathushtra!
> shalt stand outside by the furrow, and thou shalt recite,
> Nemascha ya armaitish izhacha11; and the man defiled shall repeat,
> Nemascha ya armaitish izhacha.
> 
> 11. Yasna 49.10c.
> 
> 13. 'The Druj becomes weaker and weaker at every one of those
> words which are a weapon to smite the fiend Angra Mainyu, to smite
> Aeshma of the murderous spear12, to smite the
> Mazainya fiends13, to smite all the fiends.
> 
> 12. See Vd10.13.
> 
> 13. See Vd10.16.
> 
> 14. 'Then thou shalt take for the gomez a spoon of iron13b or of
> lead. When thou takest a stick with nine knots14,
> O Spitama Zarathushtra! to sprinkle (the gomez) from that spoon,
> thou shalt fasten the spoon to the end of the stick.
> 
> 13b. Dar: brass. -JHP
> 
> 14. So long that the cleanser may take gomez or water from the holes
> and sprinkle the unclean one, without touching him and without going
> inside the furrows.
> 
> 15. 'They shall wash his hands first. If his hands be not washed
> first, he makes his whole body unclean. When he has washed his
> hands three times, after his hands have been washed, thou shalt
> sprinkle the forepart of his skull15; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> in front, between his brows16.
> 
> 15. With gomez at the first six holes, with water at the next three.
> 
> 16. See Vd8.40-71.
> 
> 16. Thou shalt sprinkle him in front between the brows; then the
> Druj Nasu rushes upon the back part of the skull.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the back part of the skull; then the Druj
> Nasu rushes upon the jaws.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the jaws; then the Druj Nasu rushes upon
> the right ear.
> 17.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right ear; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left ear.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left ear; then the Druj Nasu rushes upon
> the right shoulder.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right shoulder; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left shoulder.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left shoulder; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the right arm-pit.
> 18.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right arm-pit; then the Druj Nasu
> rushes upon the left arm-pit.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left arm-pit; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the chest.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the chest; then the Druj Nasu rushes upon
> the back.
> 19.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the back; then the Druj Nasu rushes upon
> the right nipple.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right nipple; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left nipple.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left nipple; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the right rib.
> 20.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right rib; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left rib.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left rib; then the Druj Nasu rushes upon
> the right hip.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right hip; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> 'upon the left hip.
> 21.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left hip; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the sexual parts.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the sexual parts. If the unclean one be a
> man, thou shalt sprinkle him first behind, then before; if the
> unclean one be a woman, thou shalt sprinkle her first before,
> then behind; then the Druj Nasu rushes upon the right thigh.
> 22.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right thigh; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left thigh.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left thigh; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the right knee.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right knee; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left knee.
> 23.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left knee; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the right leg.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right leg; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left leg.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left leg; then the Druj Nasu rushes upon
> the right ankle.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right ankle; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left ankle.
> 24.
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left ankle; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the right instep.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the right instep; then the Druj Nasu rushes
> upon the left instep.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left instep; then the Druj Nasu turns
> round under the sole of the foot; it looks like the wing of a
> fly.
> 25.
> 'He shall press his toes upon the ground and shall raise up
> his heels; thou shalt sprinkle his right sole; then the Druj Nasu
> rushes upon the left sole.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left sole; then the Druj Nasu turns round
> under the toes; it looks like the wing of a fly.
> 26.
> 'He shall press his heels upon the ground and shall raise
> up his toes; thou shalt sprinkle his right toe; then the Druj
> Nasu rushes upon the left toe.
> 
> 'Thou shalt sprinkle the left toe; then the Druj Nasu flies 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.
> 
> 27. 'And thou shalt say these victorious, most healing words:
> '"Yatha ahu vairyo: -
> The will of the Lord is the law of righteousness.
> 
> '"The gifts of Vohu-mano to deeds done in this world for
> Mazda.
> 
> '"He who relieves the poor makes Ahura king.
> 
> '"Kem-na mazda: - What protector hadst thou given unto me,
> O Mazda! while the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Whom, but
> thy Atar and Vohu-mano, through whose work I keep on the world
> of Righteousness? Reveal therefore to me thy Religion as thy rule!
> 
> '"Ke verethrem-ja: - Who is the victorious who will protect
> thy teaching? Make it clear that I am the guide for both worlds.
> May Sraosha come with Vohu-mano and help whomsoever thou pleasest,
> O Mazda!
> 
> '"Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Armaiti Spenta! Perish,
> O fiendish Druj! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world
> of the fiend! Perish away, O Druj! Rush away, O Druj! Perish away,
> O Druj! Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to
> give unto death the living world of Righteousness17"
> 
> 17. See Vd8.19-21.
> 
> 28. 'At the first hole the man becomes freer from the Nasu; then
> thou shalt say those victorious, most healing words: - "Yatha
> ahu vairyo." &c.18
> 
> 'At the second hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou
> shalt say those victorious, most healing words: - "Yatha
> ahu vairyo," &c.
> 
> 'At the third hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt
> say those victorious, most healing words: - "Yatha
> ahu vairyo," &c.
> 
> 'At the fourth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou
> shalt say those victorious, most healing words: -
> "Yatha ahu vairyo," &c.
> 
> 'At the fifth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt
> say those victorious, most healing words: -
> "Yatha ahu vairyo," &c.
> 
> 'At the sixth hole he becomes freer from the Nasu; then thou shalt
> say those victorious, most healing words: - "Yatha ahu vairyo,"
> &c.
> 
> 18. As in preceding clause.
> 
> 29. 'Afterwards the man defiled shall sit down, inside the furrows19,
> outside the furrows of the six holes, four fingers from those
> furrows. There he shall cleanse his body with thick handfuls of
> dust.
> 
> 19. Between the furrows of the six holes containing gomez and
> the furrows of the holes containing water.
> 
> 30. 'Fifteen times shall they take up dust from the ground for
> him to rub his body, and they shall wait there until he is dry
> even to the last hair on his head.
> 31.
> 'When his body is dry with dust, then he shall step over the
> holes (containing water). At the first hole he shall wash his
> body once with water; at the second hole he shall wash his body
> twice with water; at the third hole he shall wash his body thrice
> with water.
> 32.
> 'Then he shall perfume (his body) with Urvasna, or Vohu-gaona,
> or Vohu-kereti, or Hadha-naepata, or any other sweet-smelling
> plant; then he shall put on his clothes, and shall go back to
> his house.
> 
> 33. 'He shall sit down there in the place of infirmity20, inside
> the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall
> not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth,
> nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either
> man or woman. Thus shall he continue until three nights have passed.
> When three nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall
> wash his clothes with gomez and water to make them clean.
> 
> 20. The Armêsht-gah (see Vd5.59, note 70).
> 
> 34. 'Then he shall sit down again in the place of infirmity, inside
> the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall
> not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth,
> nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either
> man or woman. Thus shall he continue until six nights have passed.
> When six nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall
> wash his clothes with gomez and water to make them clean.
> 35.
> 'Then he shall sit down again in the place of infirmity, inside
> the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall
> not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth,
> nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either
> man or woman. Thus shall he continue, until nine nights have passed.
> When nine nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall
> wash his clothes with gomez and water to make them clean.
> 36.
> 'He may thenceforth go near the fire, near the water, near
> the earth, near the cow, near the trees, and near the faithful,
> either man or woman.
> 
> II21
> 
> 37. 'Thou shalt cleanse a priest for a blessing of the just22.
> 
> 'Thou shalt cleanse the lord of a province for the value of a
> camel of high value.
> 
> 'Thou shalt cleanse the lord of a town for the value of a stallion
> of high value.
> 
> 'Thou shalt cleanse the lord of a borough for the value of a bull
> of high value.
> 
> 'Thou shalt cleanse the master of a house for the value of a cow
> three years old.
> 
> 21. Cf. the tariff for the fees or physicians,
> Vd7.41-43.
> 
> 22. See Vd7.41, note 43.
> 
> 38. 'Thou shalt cleanse the wife of the master of a house for
> the value of a ploughing23 cow.
> 
> 'Thou shalt cleanse a menial for the value of a draught cow.
> 
> 'Thou shalt cleanse a young child for the value of a lamb.
> 
> 23. Doubtful.
> 
> 39. 'These are the heads of cattle -- flocks or herds -- that the
> worshippers of Mazda shall give to the man who has cleansed them,
> if they can afford it; if they cannot afford it, they shall give
> him any other value that may make him leave their houses well
> pleased with them, and free from anger.
> 40.
> 'For if the man who has cleansed them leave their houses displeased
> with them, and full of anger, then the Druj Nasu enters them from
> the nose [of the dead], from the eyes, from the tongue, from the
> jaws, from the sexual organs, from the hinder parts.
> 41.
> 'And the Druj Nasu rushes upon them even to the end of the
> nails, and they are unclean thenceforth for ever and ever.
> 
> 'It grieves the sun indeed, O Spitama Zarathushtra! to shine upon
> a man defiled by the dead; it grieves the moon, it grieves the
> stars.
> 42.
> 'That man delights them, O Spitama Zarathushtra! who cleanses
> from the Nasu the man defiled by the dead; he delights the fire,
> he delights the water, he delights the earth, he delights the
> cow, he delights the trees, he delights the faithful, both men
> and women.'
> 43.
> Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the material world,
> thou Holy One! What shall be his reward, after his soul has parted
> from his body, who has cleansed from the Nasu the man defiled
> by the dead?'
> 
> 44. Ahura Mazda answered: 'The welfare24 of Paradise thou canst
> promise to that man, for his reward in the other world.'
> 
> 24. Literally, 'the grease.'
> 
> 4525. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Maker of the material world,
> thou Holy One! How shall I fight against that Druj who from the
> dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Nasu
> who from the dead defiles the living?'
> 
> 25. This clause and the following one as far as 'and the Druj shall
> fly away' are further developed in the following Fargard.
> 
> 46. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Say aloud those words in the Gathas
> that are to be said twice26.
> 
> 'Say aloud those words in the Gathas that are to be said thrice26.
> 
> 'Say aloud those words in the Gathas that are to be said four
> times26.
> 
> 'And the Druj shall fly away like the well-darted arrow, like
> the felt of last year27, like the annual garment28 of the earth.'
> 
> 26. The Bish-âmrûta formulas,
> the Thrish-âmrûta formulas, and
> the Chathrush-âmrûta formulas respectively.
> These are enumerated in
> the following Fargard.
> 
> 27. The felt of an oba made for a season (?).
> See Vd8.1.
> 
> 28. The grass.
> 
> III.
> 
> 47.
> O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man who
> does not know the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda,
> offers to cleanse the unclean, how shall I then fight against
> that Druj who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall
> I fight against that Druj who from the dead defiles the living?
> 
> 48. Ahura Mazda answered : 'Then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the
> Druj Nasu appears to wax stronger than she was before. Stronger
> then are sickness and death and the working of the fiend than
> they were before29.'
> 
> 29. The plague and contagion are stronger than ever.
> 
> 49. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the
> penalty that he shall pay?
> 
> Ahura Mazda answered: 'The worshippers of Mazda shall bind him;
> they shall bind his hands first; then they shall strip him of
> his clothes, they shall cut the head off his neck, and they shall
> give over his corpse unto the greediest of the corpse-eating creatures
> made by the beneficent Spirit, unto the vultures, with these words30:
> -
> 
> '"The man here has repented of all his evil thoughts, words,
> and deeds.
> 
> 30. 'The cleanser who has not performed the cleansing according
> to the rites, shall he taken to a desert place; there they shall
> nail him with four nails, they shall take off the skin from his
> body, and cut off his head. If he has performed Patet for his
> sin, he shall be holy (that is, he shall go to Paradise); if he
> has not performed Patet, he shall stay in hell till the day of
> resurrection' (Fraser Ravâet, p. 398).
> See Vd3.20-21 and note 29.
> 
> 50. '"If he has committed any other evil deed, it is remitted
> by his repentance; if he has committed no other evil deed, he
> is absolved by his repentance for ever and ever31."'
> 
> 31. See Vd3.20 seq.
> 
> 51. Who is he, O Ahura Mazda! who threatens to take away fullness
> and increase from the world, and to bring in sickness and death?
> 
> 52. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the ungodly Ashemaogha32, O Spitama
> Zarathushtra! who in this material world cleanses the unclean
> without knowing the rites of cleansing according to the law of
> Mazda.
> 
> 32. [Ashmogh. -JHP] See Vd5.35.
> 
> 53. 'For until then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! sweetness and fatness
> would flow out from that land and from those fields, with health
> and healing, with fullness and increase and growth, and a growing
> of corn and grass33.'
> 
> 33. See Vd13.52 seq.
> The false cleanser is punished as would be
> a man who would introduce an epidemic. He undergoes the same penalty
> as the êvak-bar, but with none of the mitigation allowed in the
> case of the latter, on account of the sacrilegious character of
> his usurpation.
> 
> 54. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When are sweetness
> and fatness to come back again to that land and to those fields,
> with health and healing, with fullness and increase and growth,
> and a growing of corn and grass?
> 
> 55, 56. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Sweetness and fatness will never come
> back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing,
> with fullness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and
> grass, until that ungodly Ashemaogha has been smitten to death
> on the spot, and the holy Sraosha of that place has been offered
> up a sacrifice34, for three days and three nights, with fire blazing,
> with Baresma tied up, and with Haoma prepared.
> 
> 34. The sadis sacrifice, that is to say, the sacrifice that is offered
> up to Sraosha for three days and three nights after the death
> of a man for the salvation of his soul.
> 
> 57. 'Then sweetness
> and fatness will come back again to that land and to those fields,
> with health and healing, with fullness and increase and growth,
> and a growing of corn and grass.'
> 
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> — *Vendidad — Chapter 9 — L.H. Mills / James Darmesteter (1880-1887) (Public domain (Sacred Books of the East, 1880-1887))*