means, all former deeds of righteousness ; righteousness kindling the resolution is the reward of merit, each for each, and is adapted by it for that of which it is said that 2/ 7s the Haddkht which is the maintaining of righteousness, so that they may make righteous- ness more abiding in the body of a man.
‘ The last division has nineteen sections of trusty remedies, that is, remedies whose utterance aloud by the faithful is a chief resource among the creatures of God; also the nature of sayings full of humility, well-favoured, most select, avd adapted for that of which it is said that I reverence that chief, the excellent and eminent Had6kht, of which they trust in the sustaining strength of every word of Zaratiyt. Perfect is the excellence of righteousness (Av. ashem voh@a vahistem astt?).’
According to tradition three chapters of this Nask are still extant, being the Yast fragments XXI, XXII of Westergaard’s edition of the Avesta Texts; but they do not correspond to any part of the description in the Dinkard. For a description of Dvazdah-hémast see Chap. II, 59.
’ See Bund. XII, 7.
* That is, ‘good thoughts, good words, and good deeds,’ a formula often uttered when commencing an important action.
CHAPTER Ill, 26-31. 227
A =r
the fire of the waters; w7¢k the illustrious HAdékht
they bless me, Adharmazd, with the archangels;
and after that it demolishes one-third of the opposi-
tion. 29. And the illustrious Péshyétani walks
forth, with the hundred and fifty men who wear
black marten fur, and they celebrate the rituals
(yasnan) of the Gadman-hémand (“ glorious’’) fire,
which they call the Rdshanéd-kerp (“luminous
form ”)', which is established at the appointed place
(dat6-g4s), the triumphant ritual of the Frdba fire,
Horvadad, and Amerédad, and the ceremonial (ya-
zisn) with his priestly co-operation; they arrange
and pray over the sacred twigs; and the ritual of
Horvadad and Amerddad, in the chapter of the
code of religious formulas (nirangistan)* demo-
lishes three-thirds of the opposition. 30. Péshyé-
tani son of Vistasp walks forth, with the assistance
of the Fréba fre, the fire Giasnasp, and the fire
Buarzin-Mitré °, to the great idol-temples, the abode
of ¢he demons*; and the wicked evil spirit, Wrath
with infuriate spear’, and all demons and fiends,
evil races and wizards, arrive at the deepest aéyss
of hell; azd those idol-temples are extirpated by the
exertions of the illustrious Péshydtant.
31. ‘And I, the creator Atharmazd, come to Mount Hikairydd® with the archangels, and I issue
1 See Bund. XVII, 5, 6. This appears to be an allusion to the removal of the sacred fire by Vistasp, from the ‘ glorious ’ moun- tain in Khvarizem to the ‘ shining’ mountain in KAvulistan.
2 See Chap. II, 37.
* Regarding these three manifestations of the sacred fire, see Bund. XVII, 3-9, SZS. XI, 8-10.
* Supplying the word s€d4an; ‘the demons,’ in accordance with §§ 36, 37; there being clearly some word omitted in K2o0.
5 See Chap. II, 36. ® Hagar the lofty in Bund. XII, 2, 5.
228 BAHMAN YAST.
orders to the archangels that they should speak to
the angels of the spiritual existences thus: “ Proceed
to the assistance of the illustrious Péshyétani!” 32.
Mitré of the vast cattle-pastures, Srésh the vigorous,
Rashn the just, Vahram?! the mighty, AstAd the vic-
torious, azd the glory of the religion of the Mazda-
yasnians, the stimulator of vefzgious formulas (ni-
rang), the arranger of the world, proceed? to the
assistance of the illustrious Péshyétand, through the
order of which I, the creator, have just written *.
33. ‘Out of the demons of gloomy race the evil
spirit cries to Mitré of the vast cattle-pastures thus:
“Stay above in truth *, thou Mitré of the vast cattle-
pastures !”
34. ‘And then Mitré of the vast cattle-pastures
cries thus: “ Of these nine thousand years’ support,
which during its beginning produced Dahak of evil
religion, Frasiyav of Tar, ard Alexander® the Rd-
man, the period of one thousand years of those
leathern-belted demons with dishevelled hair is a
more than moderate reign to produce °,”
35. ‘The wicked evil spirit becomes confounded
when he heard this; Mitré of the vast cattle-pas-
tures will smite Wrath of the infuriate spear with
’ The fact that the angel Vahrém goes in his spiritual form to the assistance of PéshyStanf, rather militates against the idea that he also goes in the form of Vaéhram the Varg4vand.
* This verb is omitted by mistake in K2o,
* Literally, ‘arrive at the writing.’
* Or, ‘stand up with honesty |’
® The latter two names are here written Fras4v and Alasandar.
* From this it appears that the writer expected the evil reign of the unbelievers to last a thousand years, that is, till fhe end of Hashédar’s millennium, about a. p. 1593-1635, which corresponds very closely with the reign of the great Shah ’Abbas.
CHAPTER III, 32-39. 229
stupefaction; ad the wicked evil spirit flees, with
the miscreations and evil progeny he flees back to
the darkest recess of hell. 36. And Mitr6é of the
vast cattle-pastures cries to the illustrious Péshy6d-
tani thus: “ Extirpate avd utterly destroy the idol-
temples, the abode of the demons! proceed to these
countries of Iran which I, Atharmazd, created!
restore again the throne of sovereignty of the
religion over the wicked! when they see thee they
will be terrified.”
37. ‘And the illustrious Péshyétani advances, and
the fire Fréba, the fire Gdsnasp, and the triumphant
fire Bdrzin-Mitré will smite the fiend of excessive
strength ; he will extirpate the idol-temples that are
the abode of demons; and they celebrate the cere-
monial (yazisn), arrange the sacred twigs, solemnize
the Dvazdah-hémiast, and praise me, Adharmazd,
with the archangels; this is what I foretell". 38,
The illustrious Péshyédtani walks forth to these
countries of Iran which I, Adharmazd, created, to
the Arvand and Véh river*; when the wicked see
him they will be terrified, those of the progeny of
gloom and those not worthy.
39. ‘And regarding that Vahram the Vargavand it
is declared that he comes forth in full glory, fixes
upon Vandid-khim * (“a curbed temper”), and having
intrusted Az with the seat of mobadship of the
1 Or, perhaps, ‘what I said before,’ being already narrated in § 29 as performed by Péshyétanfi before advancing far into Iran.
* The Tigris and the Oxus— Indus (see §§ 5, 21).
* Probably a title of Péshyétani; a more obvious translation would be, ‘restrains a curbed temper, and is intrusted,’ &c., but it is hardly probable that the warrior prince Vahram could become a priest. It is Vahraém’s business to restore the empire, leaving Péshydtanf to restore the religion.
230 BAHMAN YAST.
mobads!, and the seat of true explanation of the
religion, he restores again these countries of Iran
which I, Adharmazd, created; and he drives? away
from the world covetousness, want, hatred, wrath,
lust, envy, and wickedness. 40. And the wolf
period goes away, and the sheep period comes on ;
they establish the fire Fr6ba, the fire Gisnasp, and
the fire Bairzin-Mitré again at their proper places,
and they will properly supply the firewood and
incense; and the wicked evil spirit becomes con-
founded and unconscious, with the demons and the
progeny of gloom. 41. And so the illustrious Péshy6-
tani speaks thus: “ Let the demon be destroyed,
and the witch be destroyed! let the fiendishness
and vileness of the demons be destroyed! and let
the gloomy progeny of the demons be destroyed!
The glory® of the religion of the Mazdayasnians
prospers, and let it prosper! let the family* of the
liberal and just, who are doers of good deeds,
prosper! and let the throne of the religion and
sovereignty have a good restorer!” 42. Forth
comes the illustrious Péshydtand, forth he comes
with a hundred and fifty men of the disciples who
wear black marten fur, and they take the throne of
their own religion and sovereignty.’
43. Atharmazd said to Zaratist the Spitaman:
‘This is what I foretell, when it is the end of thy
millennium it is the beginning of ¢Aa¢ of Hishédar °.
' The supreme high-priesthood, or primacy.
* Merely a guess, as the verb varafséd is difficult to understand.
* Kao has nism6, ‘soul,’ but the very-similarly written gadman, ‘glory,’ is a more likely reading here (see § 32).
* Reading dii/ak instead of rfidak, as in Chap. II, 47.
* The writer having detailed the supernatural means employed for restoring the religion, now returns to the birth of Hashédar
Chapter Iii, 40-46. 231
44. Regarding Hishédar it is declared that he will
be born in 16001, and at thirty years of age he
comes to a conference with me, Aftharmazd, axd
receives the religion. 45. When he comes away
from the conference he cries to the sun with the
swift horse?, thus: “Stand still!”
46. ‘The sun with the swift horse stands still ten
(§ 13) for the purpose of mentioning some of his actions, and making the chronology of his millennium rather more clear. Nothing is said here about his miraculous birth, the details of which are given in the seventh book of the Dinkard very much as they are found in the Persian Rivayats. The Dinkard states that thirty years before the end of Zaratist’s millennium a young maiden bathing in certain water, and drinking it, becomes preg- nant through the long-preserved seed of Zaratfst (see Bund. XXXII, 8, 9), and subsequently gives birth to Hishédar.
1 There seems to be no other rational way of understanding this number than by supposing that it represents the date of Hadshé- dar’s birth, counting from the beginning of Zaratist’s millennium. According to this view Hfshédar was to be born in the six hun- dredth year of his own millennium, and not at its beginning, as § 13 seems to imply, nor nearly thirty years earlier, as the Dinkard asserts. As the beginning of his millennium may be fixed about A.D. 593-635 (see note on § 11), the writer must have expected him to be born about A.D, 1193-1235; a time which was probably far in the future when he was writing. And as Vahram the Var- gavand was to be born when Hashédar was thirty years of age (compare §§ 14, 44), and was to march into Iran at the age of thirty (§ 17), the great conflict of the nations (§§ 8, 19-22) was expected to begin about a.p. 1253-1295, and to continue till near the end of the millennium, about a.p. 1593-1635, when Péshyé- tani was expected to appear (§ 51) and to restore the ‘good’ religion (§§ 26, 37, 42). An enthusiastic Parsi interpreter of prophecy might urge that though this period did not witness any revival of his religion, it did witness a restoration of the Persian empire under Shah ’Abbas, and also the first beginning of British power in India, which has been so great a benefit to the scanty remnant of his fellow-countrymen.
? The usual epithet of the sun in the Avesta.
232 BAHMAN YAST.
days and nights; and when this happens all the
people of the world abide by the good religion of
the Mazdayasnians. 47. Mitrd of the vast cattle-
pastures cries to Hishédar, sow of Zarattist, thus:
“O Hashéaar, restorer of the true religion! cry to
the sun with the swift horse thus: ‘ Move on!’ for it
is dark in the regions of Arzdh and Savah, Frada-
dafsh and Vidadafsh, Vérdbarst and Vorigarst, and
the illustrious Khvaniras '.”
48. ‘Hashédar son of Zaratist cries, to the sun he
cries, thus: “Move on!” 49. The sun with the swift
horse moves on, azd Vargavand? and all mankind
fully believe in the good religion of the Mazda-
yasnians.’
50. Attharmazd spoke thus: ‘O Zaratdst the
Spitaman! this is what I foretell, that this one
brings the creatures back to their proper state.
51. When it is near the end of the millennium
Péshyétani® son of Vistasp comes into notice, who
is a Kayan that advances triumphantly; and those
enemies who relied upon fiendishness, such as the
Tark, Arab, and Raman, and the vile ones who
control* the Iranian sovereign with insolence and
oppression and enmity to the sovereignty, destroy
the fire and make the religion weak; and they con-
vey ¢heiy power and success to him and every one
who accepts the law and religion willingly; if he
' The seven regions of the earth (see Bund. XI, 2, 3).
* It is just possible to read, ‘the sun with the swift horse, the splendid, moves on, and all mankind fully believe, &c. But if the reading in the text be correct it effectually disposes of the idea of Vahram being an incarnation of the angel, as an angel would require no miracle to make him believe in the religion,
* See §§ 25-30.
* This verb is doubtful, as most of the word is torn off in K2o,
