? Assuming that aftabarid stands for astabarid; the Huz. aft being substituted for the Paz. ast. The text appears to refer to lined or stuffed shirts, such as would be very suitable for the cold winters of Persia, like the clothing padded with cotton wool used by natives of the cooler parts of India in the cold season.
* That is, the degree of nakedness which is sinful (see §§ 8-ro).
$’ Kz2o has 14, ‘not,’ instead of rA?, ‘owing to;’ this would reverse the meaning of the sentence, but it is not the usual place for the negative particle.
* This sin is called vish4d-dfibarisnth ; it is mentioned in Pahl. Vend. V, 167, VII, 48, but not described there. The usual definition of the sin is ‘walking about without the sacred thread- girdle;’ and it is generally classed with the two other Parsi sins of ‘walking with one boot’ and ‘making water on foot’ (see AV. XXV, 5, 6); sometimes a fourth Parsi sin, ‘ unseasonable chatter,’ is associated with them, as in the text, but this is supposed to be punished in a different manner in hell (see AV. XXIII).
5 Indicating that it is not absolutely necessary to wear the sacred thread-girdle till one is fifteen years old (see Chap. X, 13).
288 SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
chatter! arises after fifteen years of age*. 10. The
sin of running about uncovered, as far as three
steps, is a Farman each step; at the fourth step 2/
is a Tanapdhar ° sen.
11. A girdle to which ¢here is no fringe is proper ;
and when they shall tie a woman’s ringlet (gurs)* z¢
is not proper.
12. Walking with one boot? as far as four steps is
‘ This sin is called drayan-gfyisnih, literally, ‘eagerness for chattering,’ and consists in talking while eating, praying, or at any other time when a prayer (v4g) has been taken inwardly and is not yet spoken out; many details regarding it are given in the next chapter. The sin consists in breaking the spell, or destroying the effect, of the vag.
* This is modified by Chap. V, 1, 2.
* See Chap. I, 1, 2. These particulars are deduced by the Pahlavi commentator from Vend. XVIII, 115, which refers, how- . ever, to a special case of going without girdle and shirt. He says (Pahl. Vend. XVIII, 116), ‘so that as far as the fourth step it is not more than (ai) a Srdshé-darandm, and at the fourth step it amounts to the root of a Tanapfhar within him; some say that he is within what is allowed him in going three s/eps. When he walks on very many steps it is also not more than a Tanapdhar, and when he stops again 7/ 7s counted from the starting-point’ (com- pare § 12).
* Probably referring to the possibility of tying the girdle over a woman’s hair, when hanging loose down to her waist. The present custom among Parsi women in India is to cover up the whole of their hair with a white handkerchief tied closely over the head; but whether this is an ancient custom is uncertain.
® This sin, which is mentioned in Bund. XXVIII, 13, is called aé-mfk-dib4risnih or khadQ-mfik-dfb4risnth, literally, ‘run- ning in one boot,’ and is usually so understood, but how there can be any risk of the committal of so inconvenient an offence is not explained. Dastir Hoshangji thinks that aé-mfk, ‘one boot,’ was formerly written avi-mfik, ‘ without boots ;’ and no doubt avi is sometimes written exactly like khad@, ‘one,’ (indicating, possibly, a phonetic change of ayiinto agvi). Perhaps, however, the word alludes to the Persian practice of wearing an outer boot
Chapter Iv, Io—14. 289
rer
a Tanapdhar sez, when with one! movement; and
after the fourth step as much as one shall walk is a
Tandpdihar; and when he sits down and walks on
the sin is the same that z¢ wou/d de from his starting-
point (bdnth); and ¢here were some who said 7¢ is a
Tanapthar for each league (parasang).
13. At night, when they lie down, the shirt and
girdle are to be worn, for ‘ey are more protecting
for the body, and good for the soul. 14. When
they lie down with the shirt and girdle, before sleep
one shall utter one Ashem-vohii*, and with every
coming and going of the breath (vay6) is a good
work of three Sréshé-sarandms?; and if in that
(mk) over an inner one of thinner leather, when walking out of doors ; so that the sin of ‘running in one pair of boots’ would be something equivalent to walking out in one’s stockings; and this seems all the more probable from the separate account of walking ‘without boots or stockings,’ avimdgak, given in Chap. X, r2. But whatever may have been the original meaning of the word, Parsis nowadays understand that it forbids their walking without shoes; this should be recollected by any European official in India who fancies that Parsis ought to take off their shoes in his presence, as by insisting on such a practice he is compelling them to commit what they believe to be a serious sin.
1 Assuming that han4, ‘ this,’ stands for a@, ‘one’ (see p. 218, note 3). The amount of sinfulness in walking improperly shod appears to be deduced from that incurred by walking improperly dressed (see § 10).
2? See Bund. XX, 2. The same details are given in Chap. X, 24.
8 The Av. sraoshé6-farana appears to have been a scourge with which offenders were lashed by the assistant priests (see Vend. III, 125, 129, IV, 38, &c.), and a Sréshé-A4aranam was, therefore, originally one lash with a scourge. As the gravity of an offence was measured by the number of lashes administered, when this term was transferred from the temporal to the spiritual gravity of sin, it was considered as the unit of weight by which sins were estimated ; and, by a further process of reasoning, the good works
290 SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
sleep decease occurs, his renunciation of sz Is accomplished 1.
CHAPTER V.
1. Of unseasonable chatter? that of children of
five years of age has no root; and from five years
till seven years, when ove is under the tuition of his
* Patitikih, ‘the dropping’ or renunciation of sin, is effected by confessing serious offences to a high-priest, and also by the recitation of a particular formula called the Patit, in which every imaginable sin is mentioned with a declaration of repentance of any such sins as the reciter may have committed. The priest ordains such atonement as he thinks necessary, but the remission of the sins depends upon the after performance of the atone- ment and the effectual determination to avoid such sins in future (see Chap. VIII, 1, 2, 8).
* See Chap. IV, 9.
Chapter V, I-5. 291
father and innocent!, it has no root zz him, and
when sinful it has root zz the father*. 2. And from
eight years till ¢ey ave man and woman of fifteen
years, if even ove is innocent during the performance
of the ritual (yast6), but is able to say its Itha and
Ashem-vohti*, and does not say them, zt is the root
of unseasonable chatter for him‘; and when Ze is
able to perform zs ritual by heart (narm), and says
only the Itha axd Ashem-voht, some /ave said that
such is as when his ritual is not performed and there
is no offering (yastéfrid), and some ave said that
it is not unseasonable chatter.
3. Unseasonable chatter may occur at every cere-
monial (yazisnd); for him who has performed the
ritual 2¢ is a Tanapdhar szz°; for him who has not
performed the ritual z¢ is less, some Aave said three
Sréshé-4arandms*®. 4. The measure of unseasonable
chatter is a Tandpthar s¢z; this is where every
ceremony, or every morsel, or every drop of urine is
not completed’. 5. Of the unseasonable chatter of
1 That is, intending no harm, as contrasted with sinful or wilful chatter in defiance of instruction.
* Because the father is supposed to be responsible, in the next world, for the sins of the child, even as he will profit by its good works (see Chaps. X, 22, XII, 15).
* See Chap. III, 35.
* Inattention to prayers evinced by improper silence is thus put upon the same footing as inattention evinced by improper talking. This portion of the sentence is omitted in K2o.
5 See Chap. I, 1, 2. It is a greater sin in the officiating priests than in the other persons present at the ceremony.
® Probably a Farman sin (see Chap. IV, 14, note).
7 Referring to the three principal occasions when a prayer (vag) is taken inwardly and retained until the completion of the action ; during which time it is unlawful to say anything but the prescribed prayers (see Chap. III, 6, note).
292 SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
7. The deaf and dumb when it is not possible for
him to say an Ashem does not commit unseasonable
chatter’; and when it is possible for him to say an
Ashem he shall three times say of it, ‘Ashem,
ashem, ashem;’ and if it be possible for him to say
® Literally, ‘ believe or trust to.’
* During which unseasonable chatter occurs.
* Generally written Géti-kharid (see Bund. XXX, 28); but, per- haps, we should here read yast6frfd, ‘offering,’ though gét6k- kharid occurs in Chap. XII, 30.
’ The MSS. have merely st6frtd, which differs from the fore- going gét6-kharid only in one Pahlavi letter, so we should probably read the same word in both cases, but which of them it ought to be is uncertain.
* Meaning, apparently, that he can obtain the benefit of any past ceremony, forfeited by wilful negligence, by repentance and a repetition of the ceremony during his lifetime.
" By omitting to say it (see § 2). This clause of the sentence is omitted in Kao.
Chapter V, 6—Vi, 2. 293
‘itha’ and ‘ashem-vohti’ it is well, and when it is only possible for him to say ‘itha’ it matters not’,
Cuapter VI,
1 That is, any one barely able to speak must repeat so much of the indispensable prayers as he is able to pronounce, otherwise he will commit sin.
2 That is, any one compelled to remain stationary or secluded, owing to bodily or mental infirmity (see Chap. II, 98); an idiot, or insane person, is.probably meant here.
8 This comment seems to imply that its writer was translating from an Avesta text, and here met with a word which some persons thought contained a reference to Zara‘ust, but which he first trans- lated so as to suit the context; perhaps Av. zarazdaiti may be suggested.
294 SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
not really originating with 427 is more he zs in hell,
and when both are equal 4e zs among the ever-
stationary (hamistak4n)'. 3. When the good works
are three Sréshé-£arandms? more than the sins he
zs in heaven (vahist), when the good works are one
Tandpthar more he attains to the best existence
(pahladm ahvan)’, when his ceremony (yast) is per-
' That is, he is treated, with regard to the actions merely imputed to him, precisely as all others are with regard to their own actions. With reference to the hamistak4an, Arda-Viraf states (AV.VI, 2, 5-12) that on his journey to the other world he * saw the souls of several people who remain in the same position,’ and he was informed that ‘they call this the place of the Hamis- takan (“those ever-stationary”), and these souls remain 77 this place till the future existence; and /Aey are the souls of those people whose good works and sin were equal. Speak out to the worldlings thus: ‘Consider not the easier good works with avarice and vexation! for every one whose good works are three Srdéshé- karanims more than //s sin is for heaven, ‘hey whose sin is more are for hell, they 7 whom both are equal remain among these Hamistakan till the future existence.” And their punishment is cold or heat from the changing of the atmosphere ; and they have no other adversity.’
* Probably equivalent to a Farman sin (see Chaps, I, 1, 2, IV, 14, note).
