"The name of Yas. XLIV, being the first two words, ad fravakhshya, of that chapter of the Gathas. In the detailed account of the contents of each fargard of the first three Nasks, given in the ninth book of the Dinkard, each fargard is distinguished
I, Legends Relating to Keresasp. 371
Atharmaza@’s showing the terrible state of the soul
of Keresdsp’ to Zaratist; the dismay of Zarattst
owing to that terrible state; the sorrowful speaking
of Keresasp as regards the slaying of multitudes, for
which mankind extol him, whereby abstentions from
sin occurred; and the recognition of him by the
creator, Atharmazd, as extinguishing his fire. The
supplication of Keresdsp for the best existence from
Atharmazd for those exploits when the serpent
(gaz) Srébar? was slain by him, and the violence
of that adversary ; when Gandarep? with the golden
heels was smitten by him, azd the marvellousness |
of that fiend; when the Hunus of Vesk6*, who are
by the name of some section of the Gathas. The names thus em- ployed are composed of the first one, two, or three words of the Yath4-ahf-vairy6, the Ashem-vohfi, the Yénhé-hataém, Yas. XX VIII- XXXIV, the Yasna haptanghaiti, Yas. XLII-L, LII, LI, which supply the twenty-two names required. When the Nask contains twenty-three fargards, as in the case of the Varstmansar, the first fargard remains unnamed. Whether these words were used merely as names, or whether their insertion implies that the fargards of these Nasks used to be recited (somewhat like those of the Ven- didad@) alternately with the sections of the Gathas, can hardly be determined from our present information. It may be noted that the three Nasks (Sfidkar, Varstmansar, and Bak6), whose contents are thus detailed in the Dinkard, all belong to the so-called gasanitk or Gatha class of Nasks ; but whether that term implies that they were metrical, or merely that they were connected in some way with the Gathas, is also uncertain.
1 Written Kerésdspé, or GerésAspé, throughout the Pahlavi text of this paragraph.
? The Srvara of Yas. IX, 34, Zamyad Yt. 40.
® The Gandarewa of Aban Yt. 38, Ram Yt. 28, Zamy4d Yt. 41.
Bb2
342 APPENDIX.
descendants of Nivik and Dastanik’, were slain by
him, avd the grievous harm and disaster owing to
them; azd when the mighty wind? was appeased by
him, and brought back from damaging the world to
benefiting the creatures ; avd for that which appens
when, owing to confinement’, Dahak becomes eager,
rushes on for the destruction of the world, aud
attempts the annihilation of the creatures ; and his
being roused to smite him and to tame that powerful
fiend for the creatures of the world. The opposition
of fire to Keresdsp, through /zs causing distress to it
and keeping away from zt, which were owing to his
seeking hell; the supplication of Zarattst to the fire
to have compassion upon 427, which was owing to
his sin; the compliance of the fire wz¢h that request ;
and the departure of the soul of Keresdsp to the
ever-stationary existence’. Perfect is the excellence
of righteousness ®.’
Although the Sfidkar Nask has long been lost,
the legend contained in this fourteenth fargard still
survives in its Pahlavi form, though probably some-
what abridged, and a Persian paraphrase of this
Pahlavi version is also to be found in the Persian
* The Nivika and Dastayani of Zamyad Yt. 41.
* The wind (v4 d6), though an angel when moderate and useful, is supposed to become a demon in a gale or hurricane ; and is men- tioned as such in Vend. X, 24.
* In the volcano, Mount Dimavand (see Bd. XII, 31, XXIX, 9, Byt. III, 55-61). This exploit is expected to be performed hereafter.
* The hamistik6 ahvand, intermediate between heaven and hell (see Dd. XX, 3).
° ‘The Pahlavi equivalent of the Av. ashem voh(, here translated, follows each summary of the contents of a fargard or Nask in the Dinkard, in the same way as ashem vohfi follows each fargard of
the Vendidad and each section of,the Gathas in the Vendiddd sadah or liturgy.
I. Legends Relating to Keresasp. 373
Rivayats!. The Pahlavi legend is included among
a series of quotations, regarding the importance of
fire, contained in a Pahlavi Rivadyat preceding the
Dadistan-i Dinik in some manuscripts?; and its
close correspondence with the above summary of
the fourteenth fargard of the Sidkar Nask will be
seen from the following translation of it :—
. .. ‘And z¢ is declared that fire is so precious
that Athavmazd spoke unto Zaratist thus: “ Of
whose soul is it ¢#a¢t the actions*, position, con-
sciousness, and guardian spirit seem best when thou
shalt behold 74?”
‘And Zaratist spoke thus: “Of him who is Keresdasp.”’
‘Athayvmazd summoned the soul of Keresdsp,
and the soul of Keresdsp saw‘ Zaratist and, on
account of the misery which it had seen in hell, it
spoke unto Azm thus: “I have been a priest of
Kapdl®, which should be a power in support of me ;
and for the sake of begging life I have ever travelled
through the world, and the world would have become
hideous in my eyes, the world which should have
feared my splendour®.”
* In Bag, fols. 167-169, where it is quoted from a work called the Sad-darband-i Hiish.
? In BK and J; but in K35 this portion of the Rivayat has been lost, with the first 71 folios of that MS.; it also appears to have been similarly lost from the older MS. belonging to Mr. Tehmuras Dinshawji Anklesaria.
* J omits this word. * J] omits the seeing.
® Kabul. One of the three most sacred fires, the Frdbak fire, is said to have been removed by Vistésp from Khvarizem to Kavulistan (see Bd. XVII, 6). The Persian version has ‘would to God (kaské) I were a priest!’ and alters the rest of the sentence to correspond.
® Reading ré-i li; J has roo var,‘a hundred lakes (or ordeals or results)’
374 APPENDIX.
‘And Athavmazd spoke thus: “Stand off, chou
soul of Keresdsp! for thou shouldst be hideous in
my eyes, because the fire, which is my son’, was
extinguished by thee, and no care of z¢ was pro-
vided by thee.”
‘And the soul of Keresdsp spoke thus: “ Forgive
me, O Atthaymezd! and grant me the best exist-
ence! grant me the supreme heaven! ‘The serpent
(azd) Srovbar? is slain outright, which was swallow-
ing horses azd swallowing men, and its teeth were
as long as my arm, its ear was as large as fourteen
blankets (namad36), its eye was as large as a wheel,
and its horn was as much as Dahak* in height. And
I was running as much as half a day on z¢s back, till
tts head was smitten by me at the neck wzth a club
made for my hand, and z¢ was slain outright by me‘.
And if that serpent had not been slain by me, all thy
creatures would have deez completely annihilated by
it, and thou wouldst never have known a remedy /or
Aharman.”
‘Atharmazd spoke thus: “ Stand off! for the fire, which is my son, was extinguished by thee.”
‘Keresasp spoke thus: “Grant me, O Atharvmazd!
that best existence, the supreme heaven! for by
me Gandarep® was slain outright, by whom twelve
1 Fire is often called ‘the son of Ahura-mazda’ in the Avesta, as in Yas. II, 18, Vend. V, 9, &c.
2 The Srvara of Yas. IX, 34, Zamyad Yt. 40. The Persian version has merely azdah4, ‘a dragon.’
* Or it may be shak,‘a bough.’ The Persian version has ‘ eighty cubits.’
* The Persian version adds ‘and as I looked into its mouth, men were still hanging about its teeth;’ which was evidently suggested by what is stated in the account of the next exploit.
’ See-p297t, notes.
I. Legends Relating to Keresasp. 375
* The Persian version says ‘ horses and asses.’
* For this clause the Persian version substitutes ‘the sea was up to his knee, and his head up to the sun.’
* This is merely a guess. The word can also be read kharvarag, ‘thorny, or a thorny brake ;’ but it seems to be the name of some person, being followed by the word dést6, ‘ friend,’ in the next sen- tence. Akhrfira, son of Haosravangh, is mentioned in Fravardin Yt. 137, next after SAma Keresdspa, as ‘ withstanding Hashi-dava (or daéva), the wicked and covetous one destroying the world.’ The Persian version omits from the dragging out of the sea in this sentence to the slaying in the next (p. 376, line 1).
* BK has ‘ by me,’ which must be a blunder.
* J omits these last seven words.
376 APPENDIX.
Enea ener sie eee SS
and Gandarep was taken and slain by me’.. And if
he had not been slain by me, Aharman would have
become predominant over thy creatures.”
‘Attharymazd spoke thus: “ Stand off! for chou art
hideous in my eyes, because the fire, which is my
son, was extinguished by thee.”
‘Keresdsp spoke thus : “ Grant me, O Atthaymazd!
heaven ov the supreme heaven! for I have slain the
highwaymen? who were so big in body that, when
they were walking, people considered in this way,
that ‘below them are the stars and moon, and below
them moves the sun az dawn, and the water of the
sea reaches up to their knees. And I reached up
to their legs, and they were smitten on the legs by
me; they fell, and the hills on the earth were shat-
tered by them’. And if those fallen* highwaymen
had not been slain by me, Aharman would have
become predominant over thy creatures.”
‘Atharmazd spoke thus: “Stand off! for thou
shouldst be hideous in my eyes, because the fire,
which is my son, was extinguished by thee.”
‘Keresdsp spoke thus: “Grant me, O Afthaymazd!
sheaven ov the supreme heaven! When the wind
was weakened (rakht6) and paralysed by me, the
' The Persian version says, ‘I slew him, and as he fell down many villages and places became desolate.’
* The ‘nine highwaymen’ of Zamyad Yt. 41. The Persian version says ‘seven.’ BK has ‘ walked,’ instead of ‘slain.’
* Instead of this sentence the Persian version has ‘through fear of them people could not go on any journey, and every one whom they might see, on the road that he went, they would instantly eat up; and in three years they reckoned three hundred thousand men they had slain and destroyed. And I fought with them and slew all the seven,’
* J omits the word ‘ fallen.’
I. Legends Relating to Keresasp. 377
‘Atthaymazd spoke thus: “Stand off! for thou
shouldst be hideous in my eyes, because the fire,
which is my son, was smitten by thee.”
‘Keresdsp spoke thus: “Grant me, O Athav- mazd@! heaven or the supreme heaven! for z¢ is thus
? The Persian version has ‘and as it arrived near me, it was not able to bear my foot from the spot; and I seized the spirit of the wind, and overthrew him with my own strength, until he made a promise thus: “I w2// go again below the earth.” And I did not keep back my hand from that work less than Aftharmazd and the archangels ordered me.’
378 APPENDIX.
declared by revelation, that, when Dahak has escaped
from confinement!, no one is able to seek azy other
remedy against him but me; on that account grant
me heaven oy the supreme heaven! And if it be
not possible to grant me heaven ov the supreme
heaven, give me again the strength and success
which were mine during life! for when thou shalt
give me again so much strength and success as were
mine when I was produced alive, I will slay Ahar-
man with the demons, I wz// eradicate darkness
from hell, I will complete the beautiful light, and
within its sole existence (tanft-aé)? you shad/ sit
and move?,” |
‘Atharmazd spoke thus: “ This I wzé/ not give
thee, ‘hou soul of Keresdsp! because men shall
commit sin; and until men commit no more sin, it
is not possible to make thee alive again, and thou
wouldst also not be able to make other men alive
again, for they produce the resurrection thus, when
all men become quite innocent. When men shall
die, and their souls are wicked, all comfort shall
forsake them, and all the misery and discomfort
occasioned by them sa// remain.”
“When Keresasp and his exploits were spoken of
in this manner, the angels of the spiritual azd the
angels of the worldly evestences wept aloud, and
* See Byt: III, 55-61. The Persian version substitutes a legend about the gigantic bird Kamak (also mentioned in Mkh. XXVII, 50) which overshadowed the earth, and kept off the rain till the rivers dried up; it also ate up men and animals as if they were grains of corn, until Keresasp killed it by shooting it with arrows continuously for seven days and nights.
