* That this is the Huzvaris of rdb4n, ‘soul,’ appears from Chap. XV, 3-5, where both words are used indifferently; but it is not given in the Huz.-Paz. Glossary. It is evidently equivalent to Chald. nism 4, and ought probably to have the traditional pronun- ciation nisman, an abbreviation of nismman.
* This seems to be the literal meaning of the sentence, and is confirmel by Chap. XXVIII, 1, but Windischmann and_ Justi understand that the evil spirit formed a youth for Gch out of a toad’s body. The incident in the text may be compared with Milton’s idea of Satan and Sin in Paradise Lost, Book II, 745-765.
Chapter Iii, 6-16. 17
10. Afterwards, the evil spirit, with the confede-
rate demons, went towards the luminaries, and he
saw the sky; and he led them up, fraught with
malicious intentions. 11. He stood upon one-third!
of the inside of the sky, and he sprang, like a snake,
out of the sky down to the earth.
12. Jz the month Fravardin and the day Adhar-
mazd * he rushed in at noon, and thereby the sky was
as shattered and frightened by him, as a sheep by
a wolf. 13. He came on to the water which was
arranged* below the earth, and then the middle
of this earth was pierced azd entered by him.
14. Afterwards, he came to the vegetation, then to
the ox, then to Gayémard, and then he came to
fire‘; so, just like a fly, he rushed out upon the
whole creation; and he made the world quite as
injured and dark*® at midday as though it were in
dark night. 15. And noxious creatures were dif-
fused by him over the earth, biting and venomous,
such as the snake, scorpion, frog (kalvak), and
lizard (vazak), so that not so much as the point
of a needle remained /yee from noxious creatures.
16. And blight® was diffused by him over the
1 Perhaps referring to the proportion of the sky which is over- spread by the darkness of night. The whole sentence is rather obscure.
* The vernal equinox (see Chap. XXV, 7).
Literally, ‘and it was arranged.’
* For the details of these visitations, see Chaps. VI-X.
® Reading khfist t6m; but it may be hangi¢tfim, ‘most turbid, opaque.’
®° The word makh§, ‘ blow, stroke,’ is a Huzvaris logogram not found in the glossaries; M6 has dAr, ‘wood,’ but this may be a misreading, due to the original, from which M6 was copied, being difficult to read.
[5] Cc
18 BUNDAHIs.
vegetation, and it withered away immediately. 17.
And avarice, want, pain, hunger, disease, lust, and
lethargy were diffused by him abroad upon the ox
and Gaydémard.
18. Before és coming to the ox, Adharmazd
ground up the healing fruit!, which some call ‘bindk,’
small in water openly before 7¢s eyes, so that 2¢s
damage and discomfort from the calamity (zanisn)
might be less; and when it became at the same
time lean and ill, as z¢s breath went forth and it
passed away, the ox also spoke thus: ‘The cattle
are to be created, azd their work, labour, and care
are to be appointed.’
19. And before 47s coming to Gayémard, Athar-
mazd brought forth a sweat upon Gaydémard, so
long as he might recite a prayer (vag) of one stanza
(vifast); moreover, Atharmazd formed that sweat
into the youthful body of a man of fifteen years,
radiant avd tall. 20. When Gayémard issued from
the sweat he saw the world dark as night, and the
earth as though not a needle’s point remained /rce
from noxious creatures; the ce/estzal sphere was
in revolution, azd the sun and moon remained in
motion: axzd the world’s struggle, owing to the
clamour of the Mazinikan demons 2, was with the
constellations.
21. And the evil spirit thought that the crea- tures of Atharmazd were all rendered useless except
' The word mivang is an unusual form of mivak, ‘fruit’ It is probably to be traced to an Av. mivangh, which might mean ‘fatness, as Windischmann suggests.
* The Mazainya daéva of the Avesta, and Mazendarain demons, or idolators, of Persian legends.
Chapter Iii, 17-27. 19
eee econ
Gayémard; and Asté-vidad' with a thousand demons,
causers of death, were let forth by him on Gayémard.
22. But his appointed time had not come, avd he
(Asté-vidad) obtained no means of noosing (Avizi-
dan6) fim; as it is said that, when the opposition
of the evil spirit came, the period of the life and
rule of Gayémard was appointed for thirty years.
23. After the coming of the adversary he lived
thirty years, and Gayémard spoke thus: ‘Although
the destroyer Aas come, mankind w// be all of my
race; and this one thing is good, when they perform
duty and good works.’
24. And, afterwards, he (the evil spirit) came to
fire, and he mingled smoke and darkness with it.
25. The planets, with many demons, dashed against
the celestial sphere, and they mixed the constella-
tions; and the whole creation was as disfigured as
though fire disfigured every place and smoke arose
over 74. 26. And ninety days axd nights the
heavenly angels were contending in the world with
the confederate demons of the evil spirit, avd hurled
them confounded to hell; and the rampart of the sky
was formed so that the adversary should not be able
to mingle with it.
27. Hell is in the middle of the earth; there
where the evil spirit pierced the earth * and rushed
in upon it, as all the possessions of the world were
1 The demon of death, Asté-vidhdtu in the Avesta (Vend. IV, 137, V, 25, 31), who is supposed ‘to cast a halter around the necks of the dead to drag them to hell, but if their good works have exceeded their sins they throw off the noose and go to Heaven’ (Haug’s Essays, 2nd ed. p. 321). This name is misread Asti~ vihad by Pazand writers.
2 See § 13.
20 BUNDAHIS.
changing into duality, azd persecution, contention, and mingling of high and low became manifest.
CuaptTer IV.
1. This also is said, that when the primeval ox’
passed away it fell to the right hand, axd Gayémard
afterwards, when he passed away, to the left hand.
2. Gdstirvan?;as the soul of the primeval ox came
out from the body of the ox, stood up before the ox
and cried to Atharmazd, as much as a thousand
men when they sustain a cry at one time, thus:
‘With whom is the guardianship of the creatures
left by thee, when ruin as broken into the earth,
and vegetation is withered, and water is troubled ?
Where is the man® of whom it was said by thee
thus: I wd? produce 4m, so that he may preach
carefulness ?’
3. And Adharmazd spoke thus: ‘ You are made
ill*, O Gésirvan! you have the illness which the
evil spirit brought on; if it were proper to produce
that man in this earth at this time, the evil spirit
would not have been oppressive in it.’
' Literally, ‘the sole-created ox’ from whom all the animals and some plants are supposed to have proceeded (see Chaps. X and XIV), as mankind proceeded from Gayémard. It is the ox of the primitive creation, mentioned in Chap. III, 14, 18.
* The spiritual representative of the primeval ox, called Geus- urva, ‘soul of the bull,’ in the Avesta, of which name Gdsfrvan is a corruption, The complaint of Gdsfrvan is recorded in the Gathas, the oldest part of .the Avesta (see Yas, XXIX).
* Referring to Zaratiist.
* In K2o, ‘ You are ill.’
Chapter Iv, I-—V, I. 21
4. Forth Géstirvan walked to the star station
(payak) and cried in the same manner, and forth to
the moon station azd cried in the same manner, and
forth to the sun station, and then the guardian spirit
of Zarattist was exhibited to her, and Atharmasd
said thus': ‘I will produce for the world 47m who
will preach carefulness.’ 5. Contented became the
spirit Gésirvan, and assented thus: ‘I will nourish
the creatures ;’ that is, she became again consenting
to a worldly creation in the world.
CHAPTER V,
1. Seven chieftains of the planets have come unto
the seven chieftains of the constellations’, as the
planet Mercury (Tir) unto Tistar, the planet Mars
(Vahram) unto Haptdk-ring, the planet Jupiter
(Atdharmazd) unto Vanand, the planet Venus (Ana-
hid) unto Satavés, the planet Saturn (Kévan) unto
the great ove of the middle of the sky, Gééihar *
1 As the text stands in the MSS. it means, ‘and then the guardian spirit of Zaratist demonstrated to her thus;’ but whether it be intended to represent the fravahar as producing the creature is doubtful. The angel Gdés, who is identified with Gésirvan, is usually considered a female, but this is hardly consistent with being the soul of a bull (see Chap. X, 1, 2), though applicable enough to a representative of the earth. In the Selections of Zad-sparam, II, 6, however, this mythological animal is said to have been a female (see Appendix to Bundahis).
2 Five of these are mentioned in Chap. II, 7, 8, to which the sun and moon are here added.
* As this name stands in the MSS. it may be read Girgdar (as in the Paz. MSS.), Gfirtihar, or Dirdihar ; the reading is very un- certain, and Windischmann suggests Gfirg-Aihar, ‘ wolf progeny’ (compare vehrk6-Aithra in Ardabahist Yast 8). A shooting star,
22 BUNDAHIS.
and the thievish (digeun) Maspar?, provided with
tails, unto the sun and moon and stars. 2. The sun
has attached Maspar to its own radiance by mutual
agreement, so that he may be less able to do harm
(vinds).
3. Of Mount Albtirz? it is declared, that around
the world and Mount Térak °, which is the middle of
the world, the revolution of the sun is like a moat 4
around the world; it turns back in a circuit® owing
to the enclosure (var) of Mount Albarz around
Térak. 4. As it is said that z¢ zs the Térak of
Albtrz from behind which my sun and moon azd
stars return again®. 5. For there are a hundred
or meteor, is probably meant (see Chap. XXX, 18, 31), and as it is the special disturber of the moon, it may be Gé-Athar (Av. gao- kithra, ‘of ox-lineage’), a common epithet of the moon; the Pahlavi letter 4 being often written something like the compound rk; and this supposition is confirmed by the Gék-Aihar of TD in Chap. XXVIII, 44.
‘ This is written Mfs-parik in TD in Chap. XXVIII, 44, and seems to be the mds pairika of Yas. XVII, 46, LXVII, 23, as noticed by Windischmann; it is probably meant here for a comet, as it is attached to the sun, The zodiacal light and milky way have too little of the wandering character of planets to be considered planetary opponents of the sun and moon. |
* The hara berezaiti, ‘lofty mountain-range,’ of the Avesta, which is an ideal representative of the loftiest mountains known to the ancient Iranians, the Alburz range in Mazendar4n, south of the Caspian, See Chaps. VIII, 2, XII, 1, 3.
* The Taéra of Yas. XLI, 24, Ram Yt. 7, Zamyad Yt. 6. See Chap. XII, 2, 4.
* The word maya-gir is a Huz. hybrid for &v-gtr, ‘a water- holder, or ditch.’
® The word may be either 4végak or khavigak, with this meaning.
° This appears to be a quotation from the Rashnu Yast, 25. The Huz. word for ‘month’ is here used for the ‘ moon.’
Chapter V, 2-6. 23
and eighty apertures (régin) in the east, and a hun-
dred and eighty in the west, through Albarz; and
the sun, every day, comes in through an aperture,
and goes out through an aperture!; avd the whole
connection and motion of the moon and constel-
lations and planets is with it: every day it always
illumines (or warms) three regions (késhvar)?* and
a half, as is evident to the eyesight. 6. And twice
in every year the day and night are equal, for on the
original attack *, when‘ it (the sun) went forth from
its first degree (khdrdak), the day and night were
equal, it was the season of spring; when it arrives
at the first degree of Kalafang (Cancer) the time of
day is greatest, 7/ 7s the beginning of summer; when
it arrives at the sign (khdrdak) Taragtk (Libra) the
day and night are equal, 7¢ zs the beginning of
autumn; when it arrives at the sign Vahik (Capri-
corn) the night is a maximum, ¢¢ 7s the beginning of
Winter; and when it arrives at Varak (Aries) the
night and day Zave again become equal, as when it
ee —_—
