© The mountainous country south of the Caspian, said to be’ full of demons, the M4zainya daéva of the Avesta (see Bd. III, 20, XV, 28). These demons were, no doubt, merely idolators.
94 DADISTAN-? DINIK.
and venom, and the mischief originally in the lower-
most third of the sky}, issue upwards, astute in evil,
into the middle third, in which are the agreeable?
creatures which Atthaymazd created.
46. And he smote the ox’, he made Gayémard
mortal, and he shook the earth; and the land was
shattered, creation became dark, and the demons
rushed below, above, azd on all sides, and they
mounted even to the uppermost third of the sky *.
47. And there the barricade (band) and rampart
fortifying (vakhshiksd) the spiritual world is
approached, for which the safeguard (nigas) of all
barricades 5, that is itself the great glory of the pure
religion, solving doubts—which is the safeguard of
all barricades—is arrayed. 48. And the splendid,
belt-bearing Pleiades *, like the star-studded girdle
of the spirit-fashioned, good religion of the Mazda-
worshippers, are so arrayed as luminaries of the
fully-glorious ozes. 49. And there was no possibility
(aitokih) of any demon oy fiend, nor yet even of
1 See § 28.
2 By omitting a stroke nds, ‘agreeable,’ would become véh,
‘ood.’
* The sole-created, or primeval ox, whence all animals are said to have sprung. For an account of this incursion of the fiend, see Bdo Til, 12-20, VIE, ty Ze, Y=
* Mrq4 and J have ‘even to the upper sky of the middle third,’ which means the same thing, as the author’s words imply that the demons did not enter the upper third, but only reached its borders (see § 49).
* M14 and J conclude the sentence as follows : ‘the pure religion, solving doubts, is arrayed.’
* Reading vandvar Pérvak6. The author seems to have been thinking of Yas. IX, 81: ‘ Mazda brought to thee the star-studded, spirit-fashioned girdle (the belt of Orion) leading the Pleiades; the good Mazda-worshipping religion’ (Haug’s Essays, p. 182).
Chapter Xxxvii, 46-52. 95
the demon of demons, the mightiest (mazvantm)
in valour, rushing up across that boundary; they
are beaten back now, when ¢hey have not reached
zt from the gloom, at once and finally (yak-vay6
akhar).
50. And the fiend of gloomy race, accustomed to
destruction (adsh-Aayin), changed into causes of
death the position (g4s) of the brilliant, supreme
heaven of the pure, heavenly angels—which he
ordained through the power of! Mitékht (‘false-
hood’)—and the triumph of the glory of the world’s
creatures, as ordained through two decrees (zik6):—
one, the destruction of the living by the power? of
death; and one causing the manacling of souls by
a course of wickedness. 51. And he made as lead-
ers therein that ove astute in evil who is already
named’, and Asté-vidad* who is explained as ‘the
disintegration of material beings ;’ he also intrusted
the demon Bfshasp (‘lethargy’)* with the weakening
of the breath, the demon Tap (‘fever’)® with
stupefying and disordering the understanding, and
the demon Az (' greediness')® with suggesting
cravings and causing drinking before Aavzng the
thirst of a dog’ 52. Also the demon Zarman
(‘decrepitude’)* for injuring the body and abstract-
1 Or, zOharak6 may mean ‘venomous. Mitdkht was the first demon produced by the evil spirit (see Bd. I, 24, XXVIII, 14, 16) who is supposed to be as much ‘the fa.’ er of lies’ as his counter- part, the devil of the Christians.
* Or, zOhar may mean ‘venom.’
* Mitdkht. * See § 44.
5 See Chap. XXIII, 3. ® See Bd. XXVIII, 27.
7 Reading pés tisn6-i sagak nésdninidand, but we might
read pés tisndg sedkfinisninidand,‘ causing gnawing before
being thirsty.’
* See § 44 for this demon and the next two.
ee
96 DADISTAN-{ DINIK.
ing the strength; the bad’ Vaé’s tearing away the
life by stupefying the body; the demon Aéshn
(‘wrath’) for occasioning trouble by contests, azd
causing an increase of slaughter; the noxicus
creatures of gloomy P/aces for producing stinging
and causing injury; the demon Zairi£1 for poisoning
eatables and producing causes of death; with Niyaz
(‘want’)? the stealthily-moving and dreading the
light®, the fearfulness of Nihiv (‘terror’) chilling
the warmth, and many injurious powers and demons
of the destroyers were made by him constant assist-
ants of Asté6-vidad in causing death.
53. Also, for rendering wicked azd muking ft for
hell those whose souls are under the sway of* false-
hood (kadb4), which in religious language is called
Mitékht—since it is said in revelation that that is
as much an evil as all the demons with the demons
of demons— ¢here is Akémané (‘evil thought’)®, who
is with the evil spirit owing to the speaking of
Mitdkht (‘falsehood’)*®. 54. And for his doctrine
(dindih) of falsehood, and winning the creatures,
slander the deceiver, lust the selfish, hatred, and
envy, besides the overpowering progress of disgrace
(nang), the improper desires of the creatures,
indolence in seeking wisdom, quarrelling about that
* One of the seven arch-fiends, the Av. Zairi#a, which probably means ‘decay,’ but from the resemblance of his name to zahar, ‘poison,’ he is called ‘the maker of poison’ (see Bd. I, 24, XXVIII, 11).
3 See Bd. XAV ITT ao;
® Reading gadman bim, but it may be yadman bfm, ‘ dread-
ing the hand;’ and it is doubtful whether the epithet be applied to
Niyaz, or to Nihiv,
* Reading i instead of the va, ‘and,’ of the MSS.
Tomes $d. See § Bo.
Chapter Xxxvii, 53-57. 97
which is no indication of learning, disputing (sitéz)
about the nature of a righteous ove, and many other
seductive powers azd demons helping to win, were
made auxiliary to the doctrine of falsehood in
deceiving the creatures.
55. Also, to turn his disturbance! to creatures
of even other kinds, ¢#eve are demons and fiends
of further descriptions (freh-aitan); and for the
assistance of those combatants he established also
those afflictions (nivakan) of many, the witches of
natures for gloomy. f/aces, whose vesture is the
radiance of the lights? that fall, azd rush, and turn
below the luminaries which have to soar (vazisni-
kan6) in stopping the way of axy little conceal-
ment of the spirits azd worldly dengs*. 56. And
they (the witches) overspread the light and glory
of those /wminarzes, of whose bestowal of glory and
their own diminution of z¢, moreover, for seizing
the creatures, consist the pain, death, and original
evil of the abode for the demon of demons +.
57. And those demons avd original fiends, who
are the heads and mighty ozes of the demons,
injudiciously, prematurely moving, prematurely
speaking, not for their own disciplined advantage,
1 Reading paitiy4rak6, but K35 and J have paitazaraké, which, if it be a real word, would have nearly the same meaning.
2 Shooting stars, meteors, and comets, the last of which are apparently intended by the term Mfspar (Av. Mfis pairika, ‘ the Miis witch’) of Bd. V, 1, XXVIII, 44.
* That is, the luminaries which have to prevent these beings from becoming obscured by the darkness produced by the evil spirits.
‘ By the omission of one loop the MSS. have yazdan6,
‘angels,’ instead of shéd4nd, ‘demons;’ the difference between
the two words being very slight in Pahlavi characters,
98 DADISTAN-? DINIK.
but with unbecoming hatred; lawless manner’, envy,
and spears exposing the body’, undesirably struggle
together—a perplexing contention of troublers—
about the destruction of the luminaries. 58. The
army of angels, judiciously and leisurely fighting
for the good creatures of the sacred beings, not with
premature hatred and forward spears (pés-nizahih),
but by keeping harm away from themselves—the
champions’ customary mode?® of wounding —valiantly,
strongly, properly, and completely triumphantly
struggle for a victory triumphantly fought. 59. For
Aharman the demons are procurers (vashikan6) of
success zz the contests till the end, when the fiend
becomes invisible azd the creatures become pure.
60. Since worldly Jdezugs observe, explain, and
declare among worldly dezzgs the work of the spirits
and knowledge of customs (ristak6), by true observa-
tion, through wisdom, /¢a¢ that life (zik) is proper
when z¢ zs in the similitude of the true power of
wisdom, avd the visible life is undiscerning of that
which is to come azd that which is provided, so
also the evidence of a knowledge of the end of the
contention is certain avd clearly visible. 61. And
tokens are discernible and signs apparent which, to
the wisdom of the ancients—if it extended, indeed,
to a knowledge about this pre-eminent subject—
were hidden by the fiends, who are concealers of
them from the perception (hazisnd) of. worldly
beings, and also from they coming to the perception
of worldly deci.
" Reading an-dyin gun, but this is uncertain.
* Reading Aihar-tana nizah; the last word is usually spelt nizak, but occurs in § 58 in the same form as here.
* Reading nivikan mank gfn, but this is uncertain.
Chapter Xxxvii, 58-65. 99
62. The learned high-priests who were founders
(pAyinikAn6) of the religion knew zt (the evidence),
and those portions of it weve transmitted by them
to the ancients which the successive realisers of it,
for the ages before me (levinam), ave possessed.
63. The deceivers! of the transmitters, who have
existed a/ various times, even among those who are
blessed ?, Zave remained a mass of knowledge for
me, by dezwg my reminder of the mature azd proper
duty of those truly wise (hi-4irag4nikS), through
the directions issuable by even worldly decision, and
of so manv of which I have a remembrance, for
the writing of which ¢here would be no end.
64. Then the manifest power of the fiend among
us below, and the way provided by the creator for
his becoming invisible axd his impotence are clear;
so also the full power of the creator of the army of
angels, assuredly the procurers of success zz the end,
and * the accomplishment all-powerfully—which is
his own advantage—of the completely-happy
progress, for ever, of all creations which are his
creatures, are thereby visible azd manifest; and
many tokens and signs thereof are manifestly clear.
65. One is this, that the creator is zz his own predestined (bagd4dak6) abode, and the fiend is
? ‘The unorthodox, or those holding erroneous views regarding the traditions handed down by them.
? Reading 4frinid6, which K 35 has converted into afgénéd6, ‘ casts,’ by inverting the order of the two central characters.
* Mr4 and J omit the words from ‘through’ to ‘remembrance.’ The author means that he has acquired much information on the subject even from the opinions of the unorthodox judiciously studied.
* M14 has merely the words: ‘and the completely-happy progress,’ &c.
100 DADISTAN-1 DINIK.
advancing anzd has rushed in, and his advancing is for the subjugation of the creation}.
66. One, that the creatures of Athaymazd are
spiritual azd also worldly, and that is no world of
the fiend, but he gathers an evil spiritual state into
the world; azd as among so many the greed of suc-
cess is ov/y in one®, so the triumph is manifest of the
good spirits azd worldly beings over the evil spirits.
67. One is this, that Azs defeat in tne end is
manifest from his contention and aggression (pés-
zadarith); for the fiend is an aggressor z# an
unlawful struggle, and leaving the armv of Athar-
mazd—subsequently the lawful defender (lakhvar-
zadar)—the fiend of violence is a cause of power
among those wholly unrequiting the creator zz the
world*®. 68. If, also, every time that he smites the
creatures he is equally azd lawfully beaten once
again, it is assuredly evident therefrom that, when
their beating azd being beaten are ow an equality
together, a¢ first he whose hand was foremost was
the smiter, and the backward fighter was beaten ; dz¢
at last that backward fighter is the smiter, and the
foremost fighter becomes beaten'; for when he is
? Reading Aigin dén havandith &tr 4z dén khadtikd. The drift of these two first reasons seems to be that the fiend, being an invader and outnumbered, must be vanquished in the end.
* Reading zak-f zor driigé dén-i dadar bara-atégigané-i stis vahano-i nirfiké-hémandih. This phrase seems to have been generally misunderstood by copyists, as both M14 and ] have altered it into something like: ‘when the violence of the fiend is in the hand of the creator, yet even if the motive of the army is so much power.’
* M14 and J omit this clause, from ‘dw?’ to ‘ beaten.’
CHAPTER XXXVII, 66-~71. fey
beaten zz the former combat, ¢here is then a combat again, and his enemy is beaten.
1 The term zén6 afzar evidently refers here to the warrior’s stock of arrows and other missiles which were to be expended in battle, so that it is analogous to the modern term ‘ammunition.’
* Mrq4 has yeheviinéd, ‘becomes, instead of danosté, ‘known.’
* M14 and J omit these last four words.
