Nasks, being strictly religious, required only some ex- planations, with little extended commentary ; because the religion had to be maintained without sensible modifica*- tion. Of the Hadha-mathric Nasks we know but little. But the strictly L^^ Nasks consisted chiefly of the com* mentary which is always necessary to adapt ancient laws to modem ideas.
With regard to the mode of describing the Nasks, adopted in the Dtnkar^, it is evident that the compiler intended, in the first place, to give merely a very short account of the general contents of each Nask, to be followed by a detailed statement of the particular contents of each chapter (see Dk. VIII, Chap. I, 23, 34). But, when he had fully carried out this intention with respect to the first three Nasks, his work came to a premature conclusion, which has deprived us of much valuable information re- garding the rest of the Nasks. The descriptions of these other Nasks vary in extent, but may be roughly classified as follows: — Of the N&^/ar and Vartag there is no de- scription whatever. Of the Dclmd^, Ra^dd^-aitag, Kajkfsrdbd, VLrt^sp-sAstd, Bakdn-yart, and Stdrf-yart the description is very short, averaging 80 Pahlavi words for each. Of the T&g^g, Barij, ATitradA^, Spend, and H&ddkht the description is rather longer, averaging 358 Pahlavi words for each ; but, as such a description is still far too brief to be satisfactory, the compiler must have intended to add a detailed account of each chapter of all these Nasks. On coming to the strictly Legal Nasks, however, he adopted a different plan, by giving a much more voluminous statement of the contents of certain selected chapters ; thus the very long description of the Nik4df(im, Ganabd-sar-niji^u//, Hdsp&ram, and Sak^i^m averages 3670 Pahlavi words for each. This change of plan is somewhat modified in the case of the Vendid^, where the description of 1272 Pahlavi words is only moderately long. While the first three Nasks, the SO^/kar, Var^m&nsar, and Bako, after a very short description averaging 65 Pahlavi words for each, are again described in detail, as already mentioned, to the average extent of 8647 Pahlavi words for each.
Xliv PAHLAVI TEXTS,
From these descriptions, and their connection with certain Avesta texts and Pahlavi writings, it is now possible to form a more or less adequate conception of the contents of Nasks I-IV, X, XIII-XIX, XXI, and also some idea of those of Nasks VI, XII ; but the accounts of the remaining six Nasks, most of which belonged to the Hadha-mSthric or scientific class, are very unsatisfactory.
With reference to the total extent of the Nasks, when they were all extant, it is obvious that the length of de- scriptions, drawn up on the same plan, ought to bear ap- proximately some definite proportion to the lengths of text described ; so that, if the extent of the text of one Nask be known, and the proportion it bears to the length of its description be ascertained, this proportion becomes a rough means of estimating the probable extent of other Nasks, from the length of their descriptions drawn up on the same plan. Three years ago an attempt was made ^ to estimate the total extent of the Nasks in this way, based upon the assumptions that the Nasks still extant were three in number, that the length of the description of the VendtdS^/ was a fair average one for estimating the extent of Pahlavi version in all the lost Nasks, and that the proportion of Avesta text to Pahlavi version in the NlrangistAn was also a fair average for estimating the extent of their Avesta texts. These assumptions were carefully made, as the least liable to objection, and the total extent of the Nasks in Sasanian times, thus estimated, amounted to 133,000 words of Avesta text and 844,000 of Pahlavi version.
Since the completion of the translation of Dk. IX it has, however, become possible to estimate the probable extent of the first three Nasks from the proportion between the actual extent of the first three fargarrfs of the Bako ( Yas. XIX-XXI) and the length of their description. It has also been thought no longer reasonable to n^lect the actual length of the Ntrangist&n as a basis for estimating the extent of the Pahlavi versions of the strictly Legal Nasks XV~
^ In the Sitzimgsberichte der philosophisch-philologischen nnd historischen Classe der k. b. Akademie der Wisienschaiten zu Mimchen, 1888, pp. 441, 44a.
INTRODUCTION.
XVIII ; and the Bakin-yart has been identified with the Yarts still extant^. These additional considerations have led to a new estimate of the probable extent of each Nask separately, based upon the best data available in each case, as stated in detail in the foot-notes to the names of the Nasks in the Extant Fragments (pp. 451-488 of this volume). These estimates are here collected, for the sake of convenient reference, as follows
AyesU.
Pahlavi.
Nask
I. StidkaLT .
4,700 words 10,500
2. Varjtmfinsar
3. Bako
Hi
4. D&mdi(/ .
5. Na^ikr
6. Pl,fag
7. Ra<i5-d&^-a!tag
8. Barif
9. Kajkisrdbd
ij
10. VLrt&sp-sdstd
II. Vaxtag
12. ^trad^ •
13. Spend
14. Bak^-yaxt
nl
15. Nik^i^Vhn .
16. Ganabd-sar-ni^
17. Hiisp&ram
19. VendtdSi/.
ft
20. Hd^idkht .
21. St6</-yajt .
Total extent of 2 1 Na
sks . 34&700
This total is about aj times as great as that of the former estimate, but, as nearly the whole of this increase is in the four strictly Legal Nasks, whose length is well attested by that of the extant NlrangistAn, there is little probability that further investigation will lead to any re-
' This had been doQe, long ago, in a Persian Rivftyat, quoted in 629, fol. 164, which states that the following sixteen YaJts were in the Bay&n-yajt Nask, namely, the Hdrmezd, Ablin, M&h, Ttr, Gdf, Mihir, Sr6sh, Rashn, Frayardtn, Bahii&m, R&m, Din, Ashasang, AstSui, Zamy&</, and Khnnh&Z Yarts.
xlvi PAHLAVI TEXTS.
duction of this estimate. No probable alteration of the estimate of the extent of the Hadha-mSLthric Nasks, which is the most uncertain, would materially affect the total.
Another matter of interest to the readers of translations from the Pahlavi, especially to those who are aware of the ambiguities of the original text, is the d^;ree of confidence they can place in the correctness of the translation. In the case of the Dinkar^ it is fortunately possible to consult manuscripts written in Persia, and descended through only four or five intermediate copies from the work of the original writer, so that the text is remarkably free from copyists' errors. The eighth and ninth books also contain very few of those involved sentences, with long paren- thetical clauses, which, owing to the habitual absence or misplacement of stops, are very perplexing to a translator. The chief difficulties of the text arise from its synoptical character, and the consequent want of connection between its sentences ; there being often too little context to define the meaning of a doubtful word. The number of words of doubtful meaning in Pahlavi is, however, fast diminishing, in proportion to the advancing study of the texts ; and the certainty of a translator, as to the correctness of his work, is increasing in a like proportion. At any rate, the reader may safely rely upon the general accuracy of these trans- lations, even if a few errors should hereafter be discovered.
INTRODUCTION, xlvil
Pahlavi letters. With these alterations the passage may be translated as follows : —
£p. U, ii, 9. 'And there may be a position of the stars, seiiled even by computers of the stars, when they would take that of the sun and moon from the tables of Shatro-ay&r, that of Saturn from the HindA tables, and that of Mars from the tables of Ptolemy, and the position comes out very good, and thty are able to speak ^the maturity of strength undoubtedly brought on. 10. That this is to be seen as an occurrence is a conjunction which is not possible ; because, if the tables of Shatro-ayir be exact, yet, since its Saturn and Mars are not from the tables, the effect is not a good con- figuration ; if the HindQ tables be correct, yet, since its sun, moon, and Mars are not from those tables, the effect is not good ; and if the tables of Ptolemy be correct, yet, since its sun, moon, and Saturn are not from those tables, the effect is not good ; on account of which the conjunction is not correct in any way ; they believe it possible, however, for a firm mind to accomplish this auspicious labour. 11. But they say the just and wise are making the decision that this would be a very good position, because that which is in the tables of Shatro-ayir is truly issuing from him, the great Shatro-aydr; and that of Shatro-ayir, being better through the tables of Ptolemy, remains that employed.'
In conclusion, it is desirable to make some remarks upon the transliteration of Pahlavi, because it is necessary to express not only the various sounds of the letters of a very deficient alphabet^ but also the mode of writing several abbreviated compounds which are quite as essential to the correct orthography of Pahlavi as the forms of the separate letters themselves. For this purpose italics are used to indicate not only a few differences of sound from the usual English pronunciation of consonants, but also different letters having the same sound, and letters abbreviated in the writing of compounds. When the abbreviated letter is already italicised, the preceding short vowel (which is not expressed in Pahlavi writing) is also italicised to indicate the abbreviation, or an apostrophe is introduced between the two consonants when no short vowel sound intervenes. Hyphens are used both to connect the com- ponents of compound words, which are often written
xlviii PAHLAVI TEXTS.
separately, and also to separate words that are written
together in Pahlavi. The application of these rules will
be best understood by reference to the following list of
transliterations which have been found necessary : —
Alphabet.
M a {initial)^ d, h, kh, zd. ^or^3^^+A.
a, a (privative), al, &i ^ s, sh, 3 + i», g-a. {final)y h [final). l^g^-
b. 5 k.
^ ^» t' t /, n, 6, 8, r, A, v.
\g^ K sf. \^ /, r.
^l.r- ^d, 6,g,^,^tf, !, y.
Irregular Compounds.
O* (•*• + ftJ, or i» + ft) oik, ai, ag, ap, av, as, Jf, dg, dk, Jp,
dv, dz, Aaf, Aa^, //ap, Aa?, ^Aef, kh^, khz. ^&n.
y* 3, a/, 4^ (final), tfi (final).
%jiy adiiiy dtdfl (*^//^ *!da).
e» di/, dt/, g!/, s^, so*, sa^, s^^, sip, sp. g)(5 /^, y4f, ydv.
e d^, d-*, ig, ik, gag, gak, gug, tk, tv, tz, yaz, yez. W den (better *6n), yfin.
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS VOLUME.
C37] d
1 PAHLAVI TEXTS.
for Pahlavi ; Piz. for P^zand ; Pers. for Persian ; pp. for pages ; Pt4 for Peshotanji's Yasna MS. with Pahlavi, similar to Mf4 ; Riv. for RivSyat; S.B.E.for Sacred Books of the East; Sd. and Sg. for Sad-dar and ^kand-gdmdnfk Vi^r, as translated in vol. xxiv of this series ; Sir. for Sf rdzah ; Sis. for Shdyast-ld-shftyast, as trans- lated in vol. v of this series; Sp. for Spiegel; Vend, for Vendtdsu/; Vi^. for Vi^irkare/-i Dtntk, ed. Peshotan, Bombay, 1848; Vtsp. for Vtsp^ra//; vol. for volume; W. or Westerg. for Westergaard; Yas. for Yasna ; Yt. for Yart ; ZA. for Zend Avesta ; Zs. for Selections of Za</-sparam, as translated in vol. v of this series.
Contents of the Nasks
As Stated in
The Eighth and Ninth Books
Of the
dInka^a
lftC37]
1. For all divisions into chapters and sections the translator is chiefly responsible, as the stops found in the manuscripts are not used systematically.
2. Italics are used for any English words which are not ex- pressed, or fully understood, in the original text, but are added to complete the sense of the translation.
3. Italics occurring in Oriental words, or names, represent certain peculiar Oriental letters (see the * Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets ' at the end of this volume), or certain abbreviated modes of writing Pahlavi letters, for which see the remarks on Pahlavi transliteration near the end of the Introduction. Italic a, d^ </, e^ /, h, I, /, khy /, ^, r, sh^ u, v, zd indicate no change of pronunciation ; but g should be sounded like j, hv like wh, k like ch in ' church,' s like sh, and A vesta z like French j.
4. In the translation words in parentheses are merely explanatory of those that precede them.
5. For the meaning of the abbreviations, used in the notes, see the explanatory list after the Introduction.
6. The manuscripts used, being the only two independent authorities for the text of the Dinkar^ known to exist, are : —
