The Zend-Avesta, Part I: The Vendîdâd — SBE Vol. 4 (trans. James Darmesteter, 1880)
The translator’s English as printed (James Darmesteter). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
7 «Those who knew how to take care of their own bodies, like
Isfandy4r: some say that no sword could wound him’ (Comm.)
* The Paradhfta or Péshd4d, the kings of the first Iranian dynasty.
® ‘That is to say, who kept sickness in bonds, who kept death in bonds’ (Comm.)
p. 227
the sword and the fire of fever from the bodies of mortals ?’
2 (11). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thrita it was who first of the healers, of the wise, the happy, the wealthy, the glorious, the strong, the Paradhatas, drove back sickness to sickness, drove back death to death, and first turned away the point of the sword and the fire of fever from the bodies of mortals.
3 (12). ‘He asked for a source of remedies; he obtained it from Khshathra-Vairya, to withstand sickness and to withstand death; to withstand pain and to withstand fever; to withstand SA4rana and to withstand Sd4rastya *; to withstand Azana and to withstand Azahva; to withstand Kurugha and to withstand Azivaka; to withstand Duruka and to withstand Astairya; to withstand the evil eye, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu had created against the bodies of mortals.
4 (15). ‘And I Ahura Mazda brought down the healing plants that, by many hundreds, by many thousands, by many myriads, grow up all around the one Gaokerena °.
1 As Khshathra-Vairya presides over metals, it was a knife he received, ‘of which the point and the base were set in gold.’ He was therefore the first who healed with the knife, as well as the first who healed with herbs. As for the healing with the holy word, see §§ 5 and seq.
* Headache and cold fever.
* There are two Haomas: one is the yellow or golden Haoma, which is the earthly Haoma, and which, when prepared for the sacrifice, is the king of healing plants; the other is the white Haoma or Gaokerena, which grows up in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha, where it is surrounded by the ten thousand healing
Q2
- 228 VEND{DAD.
5 (18). ‘All this do we achieve; all this do we order; all these prayers do we utter, for the benefit of the bodies of mortals’;
6. ‘ To withstand sickness and to withstand death ; to withstand pain and to withstand fever; to withstand Sérana and to withstand Sdrastya; to withstand A zana and to withstand A zahva; to withstand Kurugha and to withstand Azivaka; to withstand Duruka and to withstand Astairya; to withstand the evil eye, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu has created against the bodies of mortals.
7 (19). ‘To thee, O Sickness, I say avaunt! to
thee, O Death, I say avaunt! to thee, O Pain,
I say avaunt! to thee, O Fever, I say avaunt!
to thee, O Evil Eye, I say avaunt! to thee, O
S4rana, I say avaunt! and to thee, O S4rastya,
I say avaunt! to thee, O Azana, I say avaunt!
and to thee, O Azahva, I say avaunt! to thee,
O Kurugha, I say avaunt! and to thee, O
Azivaka, I say avaunt! to thee, O Duruka, I say
avaunt! and to thee, O Astairya, I say avaunt!
to thee, O S4rana, I say avaunt! and to thee, O S4rastya, I say avaunt! to thee, O Azana, I say avaunt! and to thee, O Azahva, I say avaunt! to thee, O Kurugha, I say avaunt! and to thee, O Azivaka, I say avaunt! to thee, O Duruka, I say avaunt! and to thee, O Astairya, I say avaunt!
8 (21). ‘Give us, O Ahura, that powerful sovereignty, by the strength of which we may smite down the Drug! By its might may we smite the Drug?!
plants, created by Ormazd in order to oppose so many diseases that had been created by Ahriman (Bundahis IX ; cf. Farg. XXII, 2). A frog goes swimming around the Gaokerena to gnaw it down: but two Kar Mahf (Farg. XIX, 42) keep watch and circle around the tree, so that the head of one of them is continually towards the frog (Bund. XVIII).
' We do all that is necessary for healing; we give, as Dastobar
(Dastfr), the necessary prescriptions; we recite the needed prayers.
—This section is a transition to the spell-medicine.
* This clause is borrowed, with some alteration, from Yasnap. 229 g (23). ‘I drive away Ishiré and I drive away Aghdiré; I drive away Aghra and I drive away Ughra; I drive away sickness and I drive away death ; I drive away pain and I drive away fever; I drive away S4rana and I drive away Sdrastya; I drive away Azana and I drive away Azahva; I drive away Kurugha and I drive away Azivaka; I drive away Duruka and I drive away Astairya; I drive away the evil eye, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu has created against the bodies of mortals.
10 (25). ‘I drive away all manner of sickness and death, all the YAtus and Pairikas!, and all the wicked Gainis 2.
11 (26). ‘A Airyam4 ishyé. May the vow-fulfilling Airyaman® come here, for the men and women of Zarathustra to rejoice, for Vohu-mané to rejoice; with the desirable reward that Religion deserves. I solicit for holiness that boon that is vouchsafed by Ahura!
12 (29). ‘ May the vow-fulfilling Airyaman smite all manner of sickness and death, all the YAatus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.’
(13. Yath4 ahd vairy6 :—The will of the Lord is the law of righteousness.
The gifts of Vohu-mané6 to the deeds done in this world for Mazda. He who relieves the poor makes Ahura king.
XXXI, 4; the original text is, ‘May that strong power come to me, by the might of which we may smite down the Drug !’
See Farg. XI, 9.
* « Gai’ (Comm.), that is Gahi; cf. Farg. XVIII, 62, and Farg. XXII, 2, note.— Clause ro is imitated from clause 12.
® On Airyaman, see Farg. XXII. Clauses 11-12 are borrowed from Yasna LIV, 1, and form the prayer known as Airyamaishyd.
p. 230
Kem-né mazda :—What protector hast thou given unto me, O Mazda! while the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Whom but thy Atar and Vohu-mané, through whose work I keep on the world of Righteousness? Reveal therefore to me thy Religion as thy rule!
p. 230
Kem-né mazda :—What protector hast thou given unto me, O Mazda! while the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Whom but thy Atar and Vohu-mané, through whose work I keep on the world of Righteousness? Reveal therefore to me thy Religion as thy rule!
Ke verethrem-g4:—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-mané6 and help whomsoever thou pleasest, O Mazda!
Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Armaiti Spenta !
Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend!
Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug!
Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to
give unto death the living world of Righteousness" !]
FarRGARD XXI.
I (1). Praise of the holy bull.
II (2-3). Invocation addressed to rain as a healing power.
III a (4-7). Joint invocation addressed to the waters and to the light of the sun.
III b (8-11). Joint invocation addressed to the waters and to the light of the moon.
III c (12-17). Joint invocation addressed to the waters and to the light of the stars.
IV (18-21). Spells against disease.
The largest part of this Fargard is filled with a uniform spell, intended, as it seems, for the protection of lying-in women (§§ 6-7, Io-1I, 14-15), who are under the special care of Ardvi S(ra Anéhita, the great goddess of the waters. That spell is repeated three times, in a joint invocation to the sun, to the moon, and to the stars respectively ; that strange association is perhaps owing to the fact that both the light and the waters spring up from the Hara Berezaiti and return there (see p. 232, note 1).
! See Farg. VIII, 19-20.
p. 231
I.
1. Hail, bounteous bull?! Hail to thee, beneficent bull! Hail to thee, who makest increase! Hail to thee, who makest growth! Hail to thee, who dost bestow his part * upon the righteous faithful, and wilt bestow it on the faithful yet unborn! Hail to thee, whom the Gahi kills’, and the ungodly Ashemaogha, and the wicked tyrant‘.
Il.
2 (3). ‘Come, come on, O clouds, from up above, down on the earth, by thousands of drops, by myriads of drops:’ thus say, O holy Zarathustra! ‘to destroy sickness, to destroy death, to destroy the sickness that kills, to destroy death that kills, to destroy Gadha and Apagadha *.
3 (9). ‘If death come after noon, may healing come at eve!
‘If death come at eve, may healing come at night !
‘If death come at night, may healing come at dawn !
‘And showers shower down new water, new earth, new plants, new healing powers, and new healing.
IIT a.
4 (15). ‘As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering
1 The primeval bull who was created by Ormazd and killed by Ahriman with the help of the Gahi.—Clause 1 is to be recited when one meets an ox or any kind of cattle, Gr. Rav. 386.
* Possibly, ‘who dost kill the Gahi’ (by means of g6méz).
$ His daily food.
* The wicked kills animals, out of mere cruelty, beyond his needs (Yasna XXIX, 1; XXXII, 12, 14; XLVIII, 7).
7 «Those who knew how to take care of their own bodies, like
Isfandy4r: some say that no sword could wound him’ (Comm.)
* The Paradhfta or Péshd4d, the kings of the first Iranian dynasty.
® ‘That is to say, who kept sickness in bonds, who kept death in bonds’ (Comm.)
p. 227
the sword and the fire of fever from the bodies of mortals ?’
2 (11). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Thrita it was who first of the healers, of the wise, the happy, the wealthy, the glorious, the strong, the Paradhatas, drove back sickness to sickness, drove back death to death, and first turned away the point of the sword and the fire of fever from the bodies of mortals.
3 (12). ‘He asked for a source of remedies; he obtained it from Khshathra-Vairya, to withstand sickness and to withstand death; to withstand pain and to withstand fever; to withstand SA4rana and to withstand Sd4rastya *; to withstand Azana and to withstand Azahva; to withstand Kurugha and to withstand Azivaka; to withstand Duruka and to withstand Astairya; to withstand the evil eye, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu had created against the bodies of mortals.
4 (15). ‘And I Ahura Mazda brought down the healing plants that, by many hundreds, by many thousands, by many myriads, grow up all around the one Gaokerena °.
1 As Khshathra-Vairya presides over metals, it was a knife he received, ‘of which the point and the base were set in gold.’ He was therefore the first who healed with the knife, as well as the first who healed with herbs. As for the healing with the holy word, see §§ 5 and seq.
* Headache and cold fever.
* There are two Haomas: one is the yellow or golden Haoma, which is the earthly Haoma, and which, when prepared for the sacrifice, is the king of healing plants; the other is the white Haoma or Gaokerena, which grows up in the middle of the sea Vouru-Kasha, where it is surrounded by the ten thousand healing
Q2
- 228 VEND{DAD.
5 (18). ‘All this do we achieve; all this do we order; all these prayers do we utter, for the benefit of the bodies of mortals’;
6. ‘ To withstand sickness and to withstand death ; to withstand pain and to withstand fever; to withstand Sérana and to withstand Sdrastya; to withstand A zana and to withstand A zahva; to withstand Kurugha and to withstand Azivaka; to withstand Duruka and to withstand Astairya; to withstand the evil eye, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu has created against the bodies of mortals.
7 (19). ‘To you, O Sickness, I say avaunt! to
you, O Death, I say avaunt! to you, O Pain,
I say avaunt! to you, O Fever, I say avaunt!
to you, O Evil Eye, I say avaunt! to you, O
S4rana, I say avaunt! and to you, O S4rastya,
I say avaunt! to you, O Azana, I say avaunt!
and to you, O Azahva, I say avaunt! to you,
O Kurugha, I say avaunt! and to you, O
Azivaka, I say avaunt! to you, O Duruka, I say
avaunt! and to you, O Astairya, I say avaunt!
to you, O S4rana, I say avaunt! and to you, O S4rastya, I say avaunt! to you, O Azana, I say avaunt! and to you, O Azahva, I say avaunt! to you, O Kurugha, I say avaunt! and to you, O Azivaka, I say avaunt! to you, O Duruka, I say avaunt! and to you, O Astairya, I say avaunt!
8 (21). ‘Give us, O Ahura, that powerful sovereignty, by the strength of which we may smite down the Drug! By its might may we smite the Drug?!
plants, created by Ormazd in order to oppose so many diseases that had been created by Ahriman (Bundahis IX ; cf. Farg. XXII, 2). A frog goes swimming around the Gaokerena to gnaw it down: but two Kar Mahf (Farg. XIX, 42) keep watch and circle around the tree, so that the head of one of them is continually towards the frog (Bund. XVIII).
' We do all that is necessary for healing; we give, as Dastobar
(Dastfr), the necessary prescriptions; we recite the needed prayers.
—This section is a transition to the spell-medicine.
* This clause is borrowed, with some alteration, from Yasna
FARGARD XxX. 229
g (23). ‘I drive away Ishiré and I drive away Aghdiré; I drive away Aghra and I drive away Ughra; I drive away sickness and I drive away death ; I drive away pain and I drive away fever; I drive away S4rana and I drive away Sdrastya; I drive away Azana and I drive away Azahva; I drive away Kurugha and I drive away Azivaka; I drive away Duruka and I drive away Astairya; I drive away the evil eye, rottenness, and infection which Angra Mainyu has created against the bodies of mortals.
10 (25). ‘I drive away all manner of sickness and death, all the YAtus and Pairikas!, and all the wicked Gainis 2.
11 (26). ‘A Airyam4 ishyé. May the vow-fulfilling Airyaman® come here, for the men and women of Zarathustra to rejoice, for Vohu-mané to rejoice; with the desirable reward that Religion deserves. I solicit for holiness that boon that is vouchsafed by Ahura!
12 (29). ‘ May the vow-fulfilling Airyaman smite all manner of sickness and death, all the YAatus and Pairikas, and all the wicked Gainis.’
(13. Yath4 ahd vairy6 :—The will of the Lord is the law of righteousness.
The gifts of Vohu-mané6 to the deeds done in this world for Mazda. He who relieves the poor makes Ahura king.
XXXI, 4; the original text is, ‘May that strong power come to me, by the might of which we may smite down the Drug !’
See Farg. XI, 9.
* « Gai’ (Comm.), that is Gahi; cf. Farg. XVIII, 62, and Farg. XXII, 2, note.— Clause ro is imitated from clause 12.
® On Airyaman, see Farg. XXII. Clauses 11-12 are borrowed from Yasna LIV, 1, and form the prayer known as Airyamaishyd.
p. 230
Kem-né mazda :—What protector have you given unto me, O Mazda! while the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Whom but your Atar and Vohu-mané, through whose work I keep on the world of Righteousness? Reveal therefore to me your Religion as your rule!
p. 230
Kem-né mazda :—What protector have you given unto me, O Mazda! while the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Whom but your Atar and Vohu-mané, through whose work I keep on the world of Righteousness? Reveal therefore to me your Religion as your rule!
Ke verethrem-g4:—Who is the victorious who will protect your teaching? Make it clear that I am the guide for both worlds. May Sraosha come with Vohu-mané6 and help whomsoever you pleasest, O Mazda!
Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Armaiti Spenta !
Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend!
Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug!
Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to
give unto death the living world of Righteousness" !]
FarRGARD XXI.
I (1). Praise of the holy bull.
II (2-3). Invocation addressed to rain as a healing power.
III a (4-7). Joint invocation addressed to the waters and to the light of the sun.
III b (8-11). Joint invocation addressed to the waters and to the light of the moon.
III c (12-17). Joint invocation addressed to the waters and to the light of the stars.
IV (18-21). Spells against disease.
The largest part of this Fargard is filled with a uniform spell, intended, as it seems, for the protection of lying-in women (§§ 6-7, Io-1I, 14-15), who are under the special care of Ardvi S(ra Anéhita, the great goddess of the waters. That spell is repeated three times, in a joint invocation to the sun, to the moon, and to the stars respectively ; that strange association is perhaps owing to the fact that both the light and the waters spring up from the Hara Berezaiti and return there (see p. 232, note 1).
! See Farg. VIII, 19-20.
p. 231
I.
1. Hail, bounteous bull?! Hail to you, beneficent bull! Hail to you, who makest increase! Hail to you, who makest growth! Hail to you, who do bestow his part * upon the righteous faithful, and will bestow it on the faithful yet unborn! Hail to you, whom the Gahi kills’, and the ungodly Ashemaogha, and the wicked tyrant‘.
Il.
2 (3). ‘Come, come on, O clouds, from up above, down on the earth, by thousands of drops, by myriads of drops:’ thus say, O holy Zarathustra! ‘to destroy sickness, to destroy death, to destroy the sickness that kills, to destroy death that kills, to destroy Gadha and Apagadha *.
3 (9). ‘If death come after noon, may healing come at eve!
‘If death come at eve, may healing come at night !
‘If death come at night, may healing come at dawn !
‘And showers shower down new water, new earth, new plants, new healing powers, and new healing.
IIT a.
4 (15). ‘As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering
1 The primeval bull who was created by Ormazd and killed by Ahriman with the help of the Gahi.—Clause 1 is to be recited when one meets an ox or any kind of cattle, Gr. Rav. 386.
* Possibly, ‘who do kill the Gahi’ (by means of g6méz).
$ His daily food.
* The wicked kills animals, out of mere cruelty, beyond his needs (Yasna XXIX, 1; XXXII, 12, 14; XLVIII, 7).
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