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Denkard Book 9 DENKARD, Book 9 Details of Nasks 1-3, 21 (The Original Gathic Texts) Translated by Edward William West From Sacred Books of the East, Oxford University Press, 1897. Digitized and converted to HTML 1997 Joseph H. Peterson, avesta.org. Last updated Mar 2, 2021. 1 Foreword The Denkard is a ninth century encyclopedia of the Zoroastrian religion, but with extensive quotes from materials thousands of years older, including (otherwise) lost Avestan texts. It is the single most valuable source of information on this religion aside from the Avesta. This volume contains detailed contents of the Gathic Nasks of the Ancient Canon, much of which is now lost in the original Avesta. Note however, that (as Dr. West says) “it is abundantly clear to the practised translator that Avesta phrases often underlie the Pahlavi passages which seem to be quoted at length from the original Nasks, especially in Dk. 9; but, for some of the details mentioned, there may be no older authority than a Pahlavi commentary, and this should be ever borne in mind by the sceptical critic in search of anachronisms.” I have added some comments in {} and [[]], mainly to facilitate searches. Spelling of technical terms have also been normalized to conform with other texts in this series. Wherever possible I have used the spellings of F.M. Kotwal and J. Boyd, A Guide to the Zoroastrian Religion, Scholars Press, 1982. The original S.B.E. volumes used a system of transliteration which was misleading to the casual reader, and no longer adopted. As an example “chinwad” (bridge) (Kotwal and Boyd) was transliterated in S.B.E. as “Kînvad.” -J.H. Peterson 2 Table of Contents Foreword..............................................................................................2 Introduction (1).............................................................................12 Fargard 1. Use of various repetitions of the Ahunwar, and the division of the Nasks according to its lines (2).............................12 Fargard 2. The Ashem Vohu (3)....................................................13 Fargard 3. Formation, decline, and death of human beings; illiberal opulence (4).....................................................................13 Fargard 4. Utilizers and misusers of life, defects of Zohak; the vices driven away by Yim [Jamshed], what is to be avoided, the distresser and the distressed, and the mode of relieving the latter (5)...................................................................................................13 Fargard 5. Forgetfulness of kinsfolk and unforgetfulness of the Gathic spirit, complaint and power of that spirit (6)....................14 Fargard 6. The five excellences, distribution and acquirement of fortune, grief of an old man, things to be amassed in youth, storeholders of excellence, how one should drink and eat (7)......15 Fargard 7. The four periods in Zartosht’s millennium (8)...........15 Fargard 8. Abstinence from sins due to reverence for the arch- demons, meals, want of a priest, proper times for ceremonials (9) .......................................................................................................16 Fargard 9. Heinous sinfulness of sodomy (10).............................17 Fargard 10. Complaint of fire against people who injure it; (§10) proper and improper fire, its wish to leave the world resisted, attention to it is the best worship, the righteous are to be pleased (11)..................................................................................................17 Fargard 11. Petition of fire for removal to the sky or to EranveJ, the propitious fire Gushnasp; reward of the promoters of fire, and sin of its injurers; (§10) evil of maintaining fire by extortion, and of neglecting it; all good to be consecrated, opposition of the fiend to worship, three grades of ceremonial, sin of not reciting the Gathas, coming of the demon of death, disbelief of the wicked; (§20) mourning the dead prohibited, different desires of body and soul, self-injury of a liar, sin of employing or being an improper Zot, controllers of sin; (§30) wounders to be brought before four priests, promises not to be broken (12).....................19 3 Fargard 12. Advantage of satisfying water, impure recitation, impurity of greed, birds kill snakes, effectual invocation, goodness of archangels and Zartosht, gifts to his disciples (13)..23 Fargard 13. The spirit of the sacred cake attacks demons when the cake is consecrated, men who pray are righteous if not deceitful, a heinous sin no obliterator of other sin (14)..................................24 Fargard 14. The torment of Kersasp’s soul, notwithstanding his heroic deeds, owing to smiting the fire which opposes his soul, though befriended by Goshorun, until Zartosht intercedes (15). 25 Fargard 15. Proceedings of the demon of death, the soul alone sees the events of the spiritual state, treatment of the corpse and misery of its consciousness; (§9) worldly happiness seldom lasts a century, ordainable supplies, the seven immortal rulers in Xwaniratha (16)............................................................................26 Fargard 16. Bridge-Judgment of sinners, merit of certain good works, punishment of certain sinners, Gathas for an ordeal (17)29 Fargard 17. Where seven particular classes of sinners have to go (18)................................................................................................30 Fargard 18. Pregnancy of the fiend due to certain sins; the soul blesses the body when righteous, and curses it when wicked; proper times for reciting the Ahunwar and Ashem, the corruption of the wicked (19)..........................................................................31 Fargard 19. The souls praise a virtuous high-priest, miseries of hell, the Chinwad bridge, promises not to be broken, not even those to a courtesan, in which case the penalty is childlessness in hell (20).........................................................................................32 Fargard 20. Zohak’s oppressiveness, the people’s reproaches contrasting him with Yim [Jamshed], Faridoon’s smiting and binding him; (§11) gradual submission of most of the regions, war with the Mazendarans; (§22) their defeat and slaughter by Faridoon, since which time none of them have entered Xwaniratha, except two men who came to consult Frashostar (21) .......................................................................................................34 Fargard 21. The four best prayers; the Dahman Afrin making a good man infinitely more splendid than the finest woman, horse, ox, or sheep, and a bad man infinitely worse. The reign of Kay-Us, his success and ruin; (§10) his flight followed by the spirit of Kay Khosraw and the angel Neryosang (22).......................................39 Fargard 22. Kay Khosraw riding upon Vae in the form of a camel, his finding Haoisht, Tus, and Kay-Apiveh, his meeting Soshyant, who praises him for his exploits; Kersasp, exhorted by Tus, 4 adopts the religion, and so all the producers of the renovation are united (23)....................................................................................42 Fargard 1. Zartosht relates the incidents of his birth to Maidok- mah; his first three utterances that routed the demons; (§12) his profession of the religion, Ohmazd’s advice and its acceptance, grumbling of the evil spirit, creation by Ohrmazd, reverencing fire, water, and a spirit (24)..........................................................44 Fargard 2. Worthiness of a ruler and high-priest (25).................47 Fargard 3. In praise of righteousness (26)...................................48 Fargard 4. Worship of Ohrmazd and the archangels (27)...........48 Fargard 5. Worthiness of Zartosht and obeisance to the sacred beings, the supreme heaven, praise of Zartosht and Frashostar, assisting others, good works, wisdom of Zartosht (28)...............49 Fargard 6. Complaint and petition of Goshorun, the reason of her creation, her colloquy with Ohrmazd; (§9) nourishment of cattle, punishment of their oppressor, wisdom of Ohrmazd, benefit of the liturgy, goodness of Zartosht (29)...........................................51 Fargard 7. Benefits of worship, advice to man, falsehood of the demon Aresh about the origin of Ohrmazd and Ahriman, their difference of motive and action, the demons’ want of discrimination, their deception of man; (§10) monarchy and religion provided for the creatures who triumph in the end, the producers of the renovation and future existence, the doers of good, advice to man (30)..............................................................54 Fargard 8. Reciting revelation, benefit owing to Ohrmazd and misery to Ahriman, the actions of both spirits; (§6) colloquy of the demon Aresh and Zartosht, power of the liturgy, creation by Ohrmazd, benefits from Vohuman, merit of benefiting cattle, hypocrisy, work of the creator; (§17) complete mindfulness, liberality, the worst ruler, Judges and guardians, conflict of good and evil, apostates; (§24) the three nights, Hordad and Amurdad, the good ruler (31).........................................................................57 Fargard 9. Three deceitful demons and their colloquy with Ohrmazd; (§8) arrival of demons in the world, their evil doings and those of their followers, evil of burying a corpse, its impurity; (§17) evildoers of the ninth and tenth centuries, their evil deeds; (§25) the final punishment in melted metal, at the renovation, is the end of evil (32)........................................................................62
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