’ See Pahl. Vend. XVI, 22. The Hebrew law (Lev. xv. 19) pre- scribes a fixed period of seven days, except in abnormal cases.
* The same period of seclusion as appointed by the Hebrew law, after the birth of a man child (see Lev. xii. 2-4). The Avesta law (Vend. V, 135-159) prescribes only twelve nights’ seclusion, divided into two periods of three and nine nights respectively, as the Hebrew woman’s seclusion is divided into periods of seven and thirty-three days.
* The substance of §§ 16, 17 is given in Pahl. Vend. XVI, 22, but in language even more obscure than here. The washing men- tioned here is merely for the first menstruation ; that for the second one being prescribed in § 18.
Chapter Iii, 15-22. 281
from the second menstruation she is not in cleanli-
ness for nine days and nights,—these days and
nights are for watching,—azd then she is to be
washed; when the nine days azd nights are com-
pleted, on the same day washing is good '.
19. Of leucorrhcea (4iharak)*, when it Aas quite
changed colour, that which comes on before and
also that which is after menstruation, the pollution
is just like ¢4a¢ of menstruation.
20. When she /as become so completely clean
from menstruation that her washing may be as
usual (dastébarag hae), she does not make the
sacred twigs (baresém), zor even other things,
polluted wex beyond three steps.
21. On account of severe cold it is allowable for
her to sit out towards® the fire; and while she
washes a prayer (vAg) is to be taken ‘nwardly by
her‘, and the washing of her hands, except with
bull's urine (géméz), is not proper till ‘Aen; and
when ¢hey are washed by her, two hundred noxious
creatures are to be destroyed by her as atonement
for sin.
22. A woman who goes beyond the period of
menstruation °, and, afterwards, sees she is polluted,
when her pregnancy is certain—except when her
1 In such abnormal cases the Hebrew law (Lev. xv. 25-28) prescribes seven days’ seclusion after recovery.
2 Ay. dithra, see explanation of siharak-hémand (Avy. 4ithra- vand) in Pahl. Vend. XVI, 1, 34.
> Dastiir Jamaspji reads val bavan-i 4tash, ‘to the part of the fire. From what follows it would seem doubtful whether this distant approach to the fire is Wlowable until she is ready for washing.
4 See § 6, note.
° Or, ‘goes up from the place of menstruation.’
282 SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
miscarriage (nasAi yehevtintand) is evident—is
then to be washed with bull’s. urine and water;
when her pregnancy is not certain she is to be con-
sidered as menstruous. 23. Some say’, moreover,
that when miscarriage is certainly manifest she 1s,
meanwhile, to be considered as menstruous. 24.
Some say that when she is doubtful about the mis-
carriage she is to be washed with ceremony *.
25. And for any one* who comes in contact with a
menstruous woman, or with the person whom it is
necessary to wash with water and bull’s urine, z¢ is
the root of a sin of sixty stirs‘. 26. And for whom-
ever knowingly has sexual intercourse with a men-
struous woman ?7¢ is the root of a sin of fifteen
Tanapthars and sixty stirs °.
27. Of a menstruous woman who sees a fire the
sin is one Farman ®, and when she goes within three
steps 2/4 is one Tanapthar, and when she puts a
hand on the fire itself? z¢ is a sin of fifteen Tana-
pihars; and zz like manner as /o the ashes® and
water goblet®. 28. When she looks at water z¢ is a
’ Literally, ‘there is one who says thus.’
* See Chap. II, 65.
* Reading ais instead of adfnas, ‘then for him.’
That is, the sin is a Khdér (see Chap. I, 2).
According to the Avesta (Vend. XV, 23, 24) he becomes a
peshétanu (Pahl. tanfpfhar). The Hebrew law (Lev. xv. 24)
makes him unclean for seven days.
* See Chap. I, 2. That it was sinful for her to look at fire, even in Avesta times, appears from Vend. XVI, 8.
* Literally, ‘on the body of the fire.’
* That libiisy4 means ‘ashes’ appears from Pahl. Vend. V, rg0; literally it is Huzvaris for ‘clothing or covering,’ and is so used in Pahl. Vend. VI, 106, VII, 122. Metaphorically, ashes are the clothing of the fire.
* Reading dibalak; but the word is doubtful. Possibly it
Chapter Iii, 23-32. 283
sin of one Farman; when she sits in water 7/ is a sin
of fifteen Tanapthars; and when through disobe-
dience she walks out in the rain every single drop
is a sin of fifteen Tandpthars for her. 29. And the
sun and other luminaries are not to be looked at by
her, and animals and plants are not to be looked at
by her, and conversation with a righteous man is
not to be held by her; for a fiend so violent is that
fiend of menstruation', /Aa/, where another fiend
does not smite anything with a look (akhsh), it
smites with a look.
30. As to a house? in which is a menstruous
woman, the fire of that house is not to be kindled;
food which is delivered up from before a men-
struous woman is not proper for the same woman *.
31. A tray-cloth (khvand gamak) which stands
before Aer, when it is not in contact with her, is not
polluted; a table-napkin (pataskhdr) when apart
from fer thigh, axd contact does not occur, is
proper *.
32. When one® wishes to consecrate the sacred cakes (drén)*, when ove holds up the sacred twigs
should be read gSbarak for gav-bar, ‘bull’s produce,’ referring to the bull's urine which, with ashes, is prescribed (Vend. V, 148) as the first food for a woman after miscarriage.
? The demoness Géh (see Bund. III, 3-9).
® By khanak, ‘house, abode,’ must here be understood merely the woman’s place of seclusion. Kzo inserts atas dén after miin, which renders it possible (by assuming another preposition) to translate as follows: ‘As “ a house in which is a fire, the fire in that house is not to be kindled by a menstruous woman.’
* See § 22.
* Fit to use again.
> Perhaps we should read ‘she’ throughout this section, as a woman can perform these rites among women (see Chap. X, 35).
® The drén (Av. draona, corrupted into drain or darfin by
284 SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
(baresOm)! from the twig-stand (baresém-dan),
and menstruation occurs, and just as it came to
one’s knowledge oxe puts down the sacred twigs and
goes out, the sacred twigs are not polluted.
Paz. writers) is a small round pancake or wafer of unleavened bread, about the size of the palm of the hand. It is made of wheaten flour and water, with a little clarified butter, and is flexible. A drén is converted into a frasast by marking it on one side, before frying, with nine superficial cuts (in three rows of three each) made with a finger-nail while thrice repeating the words humat hakht huvarst, ‘ well-thought, well-said, well-done,’ one word to each of the nine cuts. Any drén or frasast that is torn must not be used in any ceremony. In the drén ceremony two dréns are placed separately by the priest upon a very low table before him, on its left side, the nearer one having a small piece of butter (gus hudhau) upon it; two frasasts are similarly placed upon its right-hand side, the farther one having a pomegranate twig (urvaraim) upon it; and between this and the farther drén an egg is placed. The sacred twigs (bareséOm) must also be present on their stand to the left of the priest, and a fire or lamp must stand opposite him, on the other side of the table. The priest recites a certain formula of consecration (chiefly Yas. III, 1-VIII, 9), during which he uplifts the sacred twigs, and mentions the name of the angel, or of the guardian spirit of a deceased person, in whose honour the ceremony is performed. After con- secration, pieces are broken off the dréns by the officiating priest, and are eaten by himself and those present, beginning with the priests (see Haug’s Essays, pp. 396, 407, 408, AV. p. 147).
' The baresém (Av. baresma) consists of a number of slender rods or tai (Pahl. tak), formerly twigs of some particular trees, but now thin metal wires are generally used. The number of these twigs varies according to the nature of the ceremony, but is usually from five to thirty-three. These twigs are laid upon the crescent- shaped tops of two adjacent metal stands, each called a ma&h-rf, ‘moon-face,’ and both together forming the bareséOm-dén or ‘twig-stand.’ ‘The baresém is prepared for the sacred rites by the recital of certain prayers by the officiating priest, during which he washes the twigs with water, and ties them together with a kastik or girdle formed of six thread-like ribbons split out of a leaflet of the date-palm and twisted together; this girdle, being
Chapter Iii, 33-Iv, I. 285
33. And during her menstruation she is to be so
seated that, from her body, ¢here are fifteen steps of
three feet to water, fifteen steps to fire, fifteen steps
to the sacred twigs, and three steps to a righteous
man‘, 34. And her food is to be carried forth in
iron or leaden vesse/s; and the person (valman)
who shall carry forth the food stands at three steps
away from her*. 35. When worship is celebrated,
every time at the dedication (shnimané)® of the
consecration of sacred cakes (drén yast) 7/ is to
be uttered aloud dy her; some say the Itha and
Ashem-vohti +.
CHAPTER IV.
1. A sacred thread-girdle (kdstik), should it be
made of silk (parvand), is not proper; the hair
(pashm) of a hairy goat and a hairy camel is
passed twice round the twigs, is secured with a right-handed and left-handed knot on one side, and is then passed round a third time and secured with a similar double knot on the other side, exactly as the kfistik or sacred thread-girdle is secured round the waist of a Parsi man or woman (see Haug’s Essays, pp. 396-399).
' See Vend. XVI, 9, 10. All the ceremonial apparatus must be kept as far removed as the sacred twigs.
2 See Vend. XVI, 11-14, which states that the food is to be carried forth on iron, lead, or the basest metal.
’ This is the time when the name of the angel or spirit is men- tioned, in whose honour the cakes are consecrated (see § 32, note on drén, and Chap. VII, 8).
* The Itha is Yas. V (so called from its first word), which forms a part of the drén yast or formula of consecration (see § 32, note on drén). The Ashem-vohi is probably that in Yas, VIII, 9, which concludes the consecration. The same details are given in Pahl. Vend. XVI, 17. These prayers also form a portion of all ceremonial worship, including the Yazisn.
286 SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
4. Cloth of thick silk brocade (dipak6) and
figured silk (parnikan6) is not good for girdling®;
and cloth of hide when the hair is stripped from it,
of wool, of hair, of cotton, of dyed silk, and of wood®
is proper for shirting (sapikih). 5. Four finger-
breadths of shirt’ is the measure of z¢s width away
1 Literally, ‘width ;’ that is, ex/ra width, or slackness round the waist, as the girdle sits very loosely over a loose shirt; or, as the text implies, the slackness ought to admit three fingers together, projecting edgeways from the waist. After tying it so loosely, any unnecessary length of string may be cut off, when the girdle is put on for the first time. The necessary looseness is again men- tioned in Chap. X, 1.
* Literally, ‘extreme to extreme ;’ r6ésman-4-rédésman being Huzvaris for sardsar.
* That‘is, has begun the prayer formula (requisite while tying on the girdle) with a b&z or muttered prayer (see Chap. III, 6, note).
* The meaning appears to be that he must not tie the girdle a second time without recommencing the prayer formula.
® This word, ayfiby&ég,hanfh, is chiefly a transcript from the Avesta name of the kdstfk or girdle, aiwyaunghana. Probably garments in general are meant.
* Perhaps darin may mean cloth of bark, hemp, or flax here.
* The sacred shirt, worn by Parsis of both sexes (young children excepted) in India, is a very loose tunic of white muslin, with very short loose sleeves covering part of the upper arm. It is called sadaro (Pers. sudarah) in Gugarati, and shapfk (Pers. shabf) in Pahlavi.
Chapter Iv, 2-9. 287
from each side, from the neck to the skirt (parik);
and as fo the length before and behind, as much as
is proper to covér up is good. 6. So much length
and breadth, when it is double or thickened ', are
not proper; when on the separation (dfirmdnak) of
the two folds ove remains clothed on one side, both
when he wears the girdle (kistik), avd when he
does not wear the girdle, even then it is not undress
(vishadakih)*.
7. When a shirt of one fold is put on, and the
skirt has concealed both sides, the girdle is tied over
it, avd it is proper. 8. When two shirts are put on,
and they shall tie the girdle over that which is
above, then 7¢ is for him a root of the sin owing
to*® running about uncovered +,
9. By a man and woman, uutil fifteen years of
age, ¢here is no committal of ¢he sin of running
about uncovered*®; and the sin of unseasonable
