B (written a.d. 1659), a nearly-complete MS. of Books III-IX, brought from Ir&n to Surat in 1783, and now divided between three, or more, owners in Bombay, Nawsiri, and Poona. Of the Qooks here translated two folios are missing, which contained portions of Bk. IX, Chaps. XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXVI, XXXVII.
K (written a.d. 1594 and later), No. 43 in the University Library at Kopenhagen, a miscellaneous MS. containing several fragments of Books III, V, VI, IX. Of the Books here translated it contains the text of Bk. IX, Chaps. I, i-XXXI, 17.
CONTENTS OF THE NASKS.
DInKA;?/?.— BOOK VIII.
Chapter I.
1 . Praise for Adlharma^fl?, and obeisance to the
Magafa-worshipping religion which is the ordinance
of Atihannasr^ opposed to the demons.
2. The eighth book is the present (latamman)
memorandum about a summary of what is in the
Nasks of the Masraia-worshipping religion, each
separately. 3. That which is within the compass
(shi^-a<!lrv4n) of this book, about the account of
the good religion, is a writing for the information of
the many, and an announcement from the com-
mentary (zand) — that which is in explanation of
revelation (d6n6) — ^which, for this simple (pA^fram)
high-priest, is in itself the writing of the voice of
revelation ^.
4. But, before that, is a writing ^ of the usage
about the divisions (ban^i^nS) of the reckoning of
the Masrrfa-worshipping revelation, also the parts
(b^har) of its divisions, and the sections (burlnak6)
of the parts ; and the exposition of the account —
^ The author means that he derives his information about the contents of the Nasks entirely from their Pahlavi versions which, so far as he is concerned, are of equal authority with the Avesta text.
' This introductory chapter.
bInKARD, book VIII.
which, though very condensed, is in its division —
is also condensed in the parts of its division, and
more diffuse in the sections of the parts. 5. The
divisions of the reckoning of the Ma^afa- worshipping
revelation are three : — Gdthas which are the higher
spiritual knowledge and spiritual duty; Law which
is lower ^ worldly knowledge and worldly duty; and
the Hadha-mSthric which are mostly information
and matters about what is between these two K
^ Or * mostly,' if we read (W^irtar, instead of aztrtBX, as is done in the next clause of this sentence.
' The three Pahlavi terms are gdsdno, di^, and hd</ak-mdn- sarik. Of these did evidently means 'law,' because the DS^k Nasks are chiefly devoted to legal matters (see Chaps. XVI-XLI V) ; and gisdno appears to mean ' githas* rather than Verses,' because the first G&s&nfk Nask contained the Gdtha texts (see Chap. XLVI), the next three were commentaries upon the Grdthas (see Chaps. II-IV and Bk. IX, Chaps. II-LXVIII), and the remaining three, so far as we are informed, were devoted to religious matters, but we have no reason to suppose that any of them were metrical, e3(cept the Gdthas themselves. The exact meaning of h&</ak- m&nsartk is less clear; it is derived from Av. hadha-mathra, ' provided with spells, or inspired words,' a term applied to Zara- tftjt in Vtsp. XIII, I and also to the Mathra-spe«ta, or liturgy, in a phrase (see Westerg. Z. A., p. 485) which is appointed to be used in certain parts of the liturgy whenever the Vixtdsp Yart (a rem- nant of the last Hadha-mathric Nask) is recited ; just as another phrase, referring to the Law, is appointed to be used in the same places whenever the Vendidi^ (one of the Di^k Nasks) is recited. In what sense the Hadha-mathric Nasks can be said to be ^ pro- vided with spells' is not clear from the details given in Chaps. V-XI, but, practically, the meaning of the term must be something like * semi-religious,' being applied to philosophy and science which are neither strictly religious nor strictly secular.
The same three terms were applied to the three classes of man- kind, probably the priests, philosophers, and laity; a classification analogous to that of the three professions, the priests, warriors, and husbandmen, but not quite identical with it, as may be gathered from a passage in the sixth book of the Dtnkard. This book is
CHAPTER I, 5-7.
6. And the reason of the triple division of the
teckoning of revelation is the exposition of all know-
ledge and duty, and the kinds of knowledge and
action in the same revelation are these three that
have been written. 7. Also in the Ahunavair\ which
' about an epitome, composed and preserved by those of the primi- tive faith, concerning the statements of the religion of Ma^^- worship;' and its statements are introduced by the following words : — ' Those of the primitive faith, who were the sages of the ancients, considered thus, &c.' Near the middle of the book the following passage occurs : — * And this, too, was considered by them thus, that these are the three species of mankind: — One is the Githic, one the Hadha-mathric, and one the Da^fik. The asso- ciation (hamth) of him who is Gothic is with the sacred beings, tf;2</ ^ severance (v/^i-aitag$h) from the demons a^ fiends ; the extent of his wealth is due to members of the community and religious feasts (ddhm va-sftr), and the punishment for the sin which he may commit is shame and is invisible. The association of him who is Hadha-mathric is with the righteous, and his sever- ance from the wicked ; also the extent of his wealth is that which may be produced virtuously, and the punishment for the sin he shall commit is the goad, or scourge (see Chap. XLIV, 65 n) ; also noxious creatures for the body, and compensating the destitute. And the association of him who is Da^/ik is with Irinians, and his severance from foreigners; also the extent of his wealth is due to afifairs that it is possible to accomplish lawfully, and the punishment for the sin which he shall commit is for the life/rW of a fowl (k^k), the day of a demon/
^ This information seems to be taken from the first fargar</ of the Sfii/kar Nask (see Bk* IX, Chap. II, 19). The Ahunavair (Av. ahuna vairya) is the name of the most sacred formula of the Parsis, derived from its second and third words; it is also called the Yathi-ahfi-vairyd, from its first phrase, and is a declara- tory statement in metre, consisting of one stanza of three lines, containing twenty-one Avesta words, as follows : —
Yathi ah^ vairyd, ath& rator ashd^/-iit</ ha>^,
Vangh^or dazd& mananghd j^yaothananSm angh/or mazddi,
Khshathrem^ ahurdi ^ yim drigubyd dada^Z v&st&rem.
The usual Pahlavi version of this formula explains it as follows: —
DiNKAiJi), BOOK VIII.
is the basis of the reckoning of revelation, are three
metrical lines (g&s) ; the first chiefly indicates the
Gdthic lore, the second the Hadha-mathric lore, and
the third the Law,
8. And there have been twenty-one parts ^ of its
divisions, which are called Nasks : — (9) Seven are
Gothic, because they are composed for the Githas,
* As is the will of the spiritual lord (as is the will of Aftharmasf^ so should be the priestly master (so virtuous should he be) owing to whatsoever are the duties and good works of righteousness (the duties and good works should be as virtuous as the will of Aiihar- tna^rf). Whose is the gift of good thought (that is, the reward and recompense that good thought gives, it gives also unto him) which, among spiritual lords, is the work of Afiharmajs^/ (that is, he would do that which Ai^harma^^f requires) : [there are some who would say thus : Whose gift is for good thought (that is, the reward and recompense which they give for good thought, they give also unto him) ; and there are some who would say thus : Whose gift is through good thought (that is, the reward and recompense which they give up through good thought, they would also give even him); Atftrpi</, son of Zaratftjt, said thus: Owing to the gift of good thought, among spiritual lords, they recognise a doer of deeds]. The dominion for Aiiharma?^ is his (that is, his dominion exists through the advantage that Atiharmas;^ has ihaintained) who gives allotments (vdyagano) to the poor (that is, he would make intercession for them)/
The Avesta text may be translated, according to Haug, as follows : — * As a spiritual lord is desirable, so is a priestly master, for the sake of every righteousness, to be a giver of good thoughts as to the actions of life towards Mazda; and the dominion is for the lord whom he {Mazda) has given as a protector for the |>oor.'
According to Geldner the first two lines refer to Zaratdrt, and, if we assume that yim is a contraction of y6 tm, the Avesta text may be translated somewhat as follows : — ' As he is the desirable spiritual lord, so is he the priestly master with every right, the pro- ducer of the actions of the good thoughts of life towards Mazda. The dominion, however, is for Ahura who has given him as a pro- tector for the poor.'
» See §§ 18, 19.
CHAPTER I, 8-13.
13. In all three divisions all three ^lt^ found; in
the Githic are the Hadha-mathric and Legal, in
the Hadha-mSthric are the Githic and Legal, and
in the Legal are the Githic and Hadha-mSthric.
^ For variants of these names, in the order stated in § 12, see the notes to the first sections of Chaps. II-XVI, XXI, XXVIII, XXXVIII, XLIV-XLVI, which begin the summary description of each of the twenty-one Nasks.
' Referring probably to ' the bestowal of the other Nasks ' men- tioned in Chap. XIV, 5.
■ This is the order* in which the twenty-one words of the Ahu- navair are applied to the twenty-one Nasks, as hinted in § 19 ; and, therefore, the order in which they ought to be enumerated. Representing the three divisions of the Nasks by G, H, L, re- spectively, and the seven Nasks in each division by the ciphers 1-7, the order of enumeration is as follows: — G 2-4; H 1-7; G 5 ; L 6 ; G 7 ; L 7, 1-5 ; G 6, i. More or less fanciful reasons for this dislocation of the divisions are given in §§ 15-17.
8 dInkaiu), book viil
14. In each separately that which is essentially and
specially itself is included, and that which is partly
another and introduced is included ; and the reason
of it is that in spiritual and worldly existences, and iii
worldly and spiritual existences, and in that which is
between the two, there are both existences.
* That is, the placing of G 5 after H 7. *
> That is, the placing of G 6, i after L g. The Vendidi^ appears to be the last of the truly legal Nasks, as the contents of the ^trada^ (see Chap* XIII) appear to have been chiefly historical, and those of the Baldn-yart (see Chap. XV) chiefly religious. These two Nasks are also placed in a sub-class in § 1 1.
' This Dahijn5-i-sti^-dsl(/6 is evidently another name for the DamdS</, or * the creatures produced/ which is placed between G 2-4 and H 2-7.
* Written Htm in P&zand, for Hflm; and referring to the white H6m, mentioned in Pahl. Vend. XX, 17, 21, and its healing pro- perties. It is not absolutely necessary to understand from the text that the twentieth fargar</ was literally the end of the Vendt- dd^ in Sasanian times, because Chap. XLIV, 81 is quite as de- scriptive of the twenty-second as of the twentieth fargar</.
CHAPTER I, 14-21.
is a symbol of the existence of the pure influence of
the G&thic lore upon the first spiritual state — that
which exists likewise at last — and of the rejunction
of the worldly existence to the spiritual, because it
came down from the spiritual to exist at present.
1 8. And the reason of the twenty-one-fold partition
of the three divisions of the reckoning of revelation
is in the distinction which is evident from their com-
position; also in the three metrical lines of the
Ahunavair, which is the basis of the reckoning of
revelation, there are twenty-one words (m4rlk). 19.
As the three metrical lines of the Ahunavair, which
is the basis of the reckoning of revelation, are an
emblem of the triple division of the reckoning of
revelation; so the twenty-one words of the three
lines indicate the twenty-one-fold partition of these
three divisions ; as it is declared that * He who is
the omniscient creator produced a discourse from
every single word/
20. As to the sections of the parts, such as the
HAs and Fargar^s^ in the Nasks, it is known there
were one thousand^, from the testimony and know-
ledge of the religion owing to the teaching of Zara-
tiist — whose guardian spirit is reverenced — in the
country of Irin. 21. And after the devastation
occurred, owing to the evil-destined and raging
villain Alexander, there was not so much of them
* The tenn H& (h4</, Av. h&iti) is applied to the chapters of
the Yasna, and the term Fargar</ (Av. fra+kereta) to the
chapters of the Vendtd&^ and most of the other Nasks.
