96 the zurvanit e heres y lightly. Fo r ligh t *pu t i n a door, a window,.. ..' (31 ) The n Yim a thought : 'How shall I make the "var" o f which Ahura Mazda has spoken to me?' Then Ahura Mazda sai d to Yima: 'Fair Yima , son of Vivahvant! Trample this earth asunder wit h your heels, thrust it apart with your hands .. Λ (32) Then Yim a did a s Ahura Mazd a wante d o f him. ... (39 ) 'Creator o f the material world , just! which will be these luminaries, Ο just Ahura Mazda, which will give light there i n th e "*var" whic h Yim a made? ' (40 ) Then Ahur a Mazd a said : 'Self­ governing luminaries, not everlasting. Once (in a year) they are seen setting and rising ­ star s and moon and sun. (41) And those (in the "var") regard a year as a day. After every forty years each human pair will give birth to twins, a female and a male; and so with the animal species. And those men lead the best of lives in the "var" which Yima made.' (42 ) 'Creator of the material world, just! Who shall ther e propagat e th e Mazda­worshippin g religion , i n thi s "var " whic h Yima ha s made? ' The n sai d Ahur a Mazda : 'Th e raven , O Spitam a Zarathushtra'. (43 ) 'Creato r o f the material world , just! Who i s the lord an d judge o f it s inhabitants? ' The n sai d Ahur a Mazda : 'Urvatatnara , O Zarathushtra.'

8 A ZOROASTRIAN HERESY: ZURVANISM

This is the only considerable Zoroastrian heresy, evolved probably by Persian magi in the late fifth century B.C. It was a monism, based on a new exegesis of Y. 30 = 2.2.2.3, whereby Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu were seen as twin sons of Time, Zur van (a minor divinity of late Younger Avestan texts). The earliest reference to it, by the Greek historian Theopompus, shows it linked with a special version of the 'worldyear*. The heresy was, it seems, adopted as the true orthodoxy by the late Achaemenian kings, and was adhered to by their Persian successors, the Sasanians; but its teachings have nevertheless to be pieced together from scattered sources. Because the Zurvanites regarded Ahura Mazda as Creator of all things good, under the remote Zurvan, they were able to worship together with the orthodox in full orthopraxy, using the same liturgies; and this seems to have prevented serious schism. The heresy disappears after the tenth century A.C.

8.1 A CITATION FROM THEOPOMPUS (BORN c. 380 B.C.)

Theopompus say s that, according to the Magians, for three thousand year s alternately the one god will dominate the other and be dominated, and that for another three thousand year s they will fight and make war, until one smashes up the domai n o f th e other . I n th e en d Hade s shal l peris h an d me n shal l b e versions o f th e myt h 9 7 happy; neither shal l they need sustenance nor shall they cast a shadow, while the god who will have brought this about shall have quiet and shall rest, not for a long while indeed for a god, but fo r such time as would b e reasonable for a man who falls asleep. Such is the mythology o f the Magians. (Trans. J. Gwyn Griffiths, Plutarch's D e Iside et Osiride, ch. 46, pp. 193­5.)

8.2 VERSION S OF THE MYTH OF ZURVAN AND HIS TWIN SONS

8.2.1 Fro m an Armenian source This is probably derived from a lost Pahlavi document of the fourth century A.C. (1) Behol d wha t (Zardusht ) sai d concernin g the begetting o f Ormazd an d Ahriman. Whe n nothin g a t al l ye t existed, neither heave n no r earth no r an y other creatur e whic h i s i n heave n o r o n earth , ther e existe d th e grea t go d Zurvan, whose name is to be interpreted as 'fate' or 'fortune'. For one thousand years he offered sacrifice in order that he might perhaps have a son who would be called Ormazd, and wh o would make the heavens and earth an d all which they contain. (2) For one thousand years he offered sacrifice. Then he pondered in hi s heart an d said : 'Shal l I truly hav e profit of these sacrifices, and shal l I have a so n calle d Ormazd ? O r d o I striv e thu s i n vain? ' An d eve n whil e h e reflected in this manner, Ormazd an d Ahriman wer e conceived i n the womb : Ormazd through the offered sacrifice, Ahriman through the doubt. (3) When he became aware of this, Zurvan said: 'Lo, two sons are in the womb. Whichever of them appears swiftly before me, him I shall make king.' Ormazd, being aware of their father' s purposes , reveale d the m t o Ahriman... . (4 ) An d Ahriman , having heard this , pierced the womb and came forth and presented himsel f to his father. And Zurvan, beholding him, knew not who he might be, and asked 'Who are you?' And he said: Ί a m your son.' Zurvan answered him: 'My son is fragrant and bright, and you, you are dark and noisome.' And while they spoke thus, Ormazd , bein g bor n a t th e du e time , brigh t an d fragrant , cam e an d presented himsel f befor e Zurvan. An d Zurvan , beholdin g him, kne w that h e was his son, Ormazd. And taking the rods which he held in his hand, and with which he had offered sacrifice, he gave them to Ormazd and said: 'Until now it is I who have offered sacrifice for you. Henceforth it is you who will offer it for me.' (5 ) An d whil e Zurvan wa s giving the rods to Ormazd an d blessin g him, Ahriman, having drawn near to Zurvan, said to him: 'Have you not made this vow, that whichever of my two sons shall first come before me, him I shall make king?' An d Zurvan, tha t h e should no t violat e hi s oath, sai d t o Ahriman: Ό false and injuriou s one! The kingshi p shall be granted yo u for nine thousan d years; and I shall establish Ormazd as ruler over you. And after nine thousand years Ormazd shall reign and do all that he will wish to do.' (6) Then Ormaz d and Ahriman set to fashioning the creatures. And all that Ormazd created was good and straight, and all that Ahriman made was evil and crooked. (From the 98 the zurvanit e heres y Armenian Christia n apologis t Ezni k o f Kolb; French translatio n b y J. P . d e Menasce, see Zaehner, Zurvan, tex t Fl.)

8.2.2 Fro m a Christian Syriac treatise of the late sixth century A.C. The three additional gods are thought to be hypostases ofAvestan attributes of Zurvan: arshokara, 'who makes virile'; fras ho kara, 'who makes splendid'; *zarokara, 'who makes old'. Zurvan was thus worshipped as a quaternity. Zardusht, the Persian magus, he also founded a school in Persia, at the time of king Bashtasp [i.e . Vishtasp]. He drew many pupils to himself, who, being blind in spirit, readily agree d with hi m in his errors. He taught first of all the existence o f four gods, Ashoqar, Frashoqar, Zaroqa r an d Zarvan; but h e did not sa y wha t wer e their undertakings . The n h e admitte d o f two other gods , Hormizd and Ahriman, saying that both of them had been begotten by Zarvan. Hormizd is wholly good; Ahriman is wholly bad. These are the gods who made this world. The goo d god created the good creatures, and the evil god created the evil creatures. (From the French translation of J. Bidez and F. Cumont, Les mages hellénisés, Vol. II, 100; cf. Zaehner, Zurvan, 439­40. )

8.2.3 Fro m the Second 'Ulema­i Islam, probably twelfth century A.C. A Persian Zoroastrian text, seel. 1.1.17. (1)... Si x hundred years after Yazdegird (III) certain learned men of Islam put severa l questions to one versed in the Religion.... The y asked: 'What do you sa y abou t th e resurrection ? D o yo u believ e i n i t o r not? ' Th e Mobada n mobad replied: 'We believe in the resurrection. The Day of Judgment shall be.' (2) The n th e learne d me n o f Isla m asked : 'Ho w ha s th e worl d bee n created? .. Λ The religious dasturs of the time replied: '... It is thus revealed in the religio n o f Zardusht tha t excep t Time all other things have been created. Time is the Creator. Time has no bound I t has always been and shall ever be. An d n o on e endowe d wit h wisdo m wil l sa y whenc e Tim e ha s come . Ye t despite all its greatness there was none who called it Creator. Why? Because it had no t ye t mad e th e creation . (3 ) Then ξ t create d fire an d water . Whe n i t brought them together, Ohrmazd came into existence. Time was both Creator and Lor d wit h regar d t o the creation i t ha d made . (4 ) Ohrmazd wa s bright, pure, fragrant, beneficent, and He had power over all good things. Then when He looke d int o the lowes t depth, H e saw Ahriman 96,00 0 miles away, black, foul, stinkin g an d maleficent . Ohrmaz d marvelled , fo r thi s wa s a terribl e enemy. Whe n Ohrmazd sa w that enem y He thought, Ί mus t utterl y root ou t this enemy'; and He planned what and how many instruments (wer e needed). Then H e began . Whateve r Ohrmaz d did , H e di d wit h th e help o f Time... . Ohrmazd mad e manifest Time o f Long Dominion, which has the measure of 12,000 years. (5) If someone says, 'Since (Time) possessed all this mastery, why then did it create Ahriman?' w e said in the beginning that bot h Ohrmazd an d Ahriman cam e int o existenc e fro m Time . Ever y grou p speak s o f thi s i n a different way. One party says that it (Time) created Ahriman so that Ohrmazd 'selected precept s o f th e ancien t sages ' 9 9 should know that Time has power over all things.... Another says: 'What pain or pleasure has Time from the evil of Ahriman or the goodness of Ohrmazd?' Another grou p say s that i t (Time) create d Ohrmaz d an d Ahrima n s o that i t might mingl e goo d and evil, in order that thing s of diverse kinds might com e into existence. ' (M . R . Unvala , Rivayat // , 80­2 ; trans . Dhabhar, Rivayats, 449­53, and Zaehner, Zurvan, 409­12. )

9 DOGMATI C PASSAGES FROM NINTH­CENTURY PAHLAVI BOOKS

Dogmatic works of the Islamic period are characterised by the words 'one must be without doubt', and similar phrases, as the writers strove to stiffen their co­religionists against Muslim proselytising and persecution.

9.1 FRO M 'SELECTED PRECEPTS OF THE ANCIENT SAGES9

9.1.1 A brief catechism For the opening words of the catechism proper cf 2.2.9.7. (1) In conformity with the revelation of the religion the ancient sages ­ thos e with first knowledg e o f the faith ­ hav e sai d tha t eac h ma n o r woma n wh o attains the ag e of fifteen should kno w these things: 'Wh o am I ? Whose am I ? From where have I come? To where shall I return? Of what stock and lineage am I? What is my duty on earth, and what my spiritual reward? Am I come from the spiritual world, or was I (simply) of this world? Do I belong to Ohrmazd or to Ahriman? To the yazads or to the devs? To the good or to the bad? Am I a human bein g or a dev ? Ho w man y ar e the paths , an d whic h i s my religion ? Where lies my profit, where my loss? Who is my friend, who my foe? Is there one first principle or are there two? From whom is goodness, from whom badness? From whom light an d from whom darkness? From whom fragrance and from whom stench ? Fro m who m justic e an d fro m who m injustice ? Fro m who m compassion, from whom pitilessness?' (2 ) ... b y the path of wisdom one must know without doubt: Ί a m from the spiritual world, I was not (simply) of this world. I wa s created , I di d no t (simply ) exist . I belon g t o Ohrmazd , no t t o Ahriman. I belong to the yazads, not to the devs, to the good, not to the bad. I am a human being, not a dev, a creature of Ohrmazd, not of Ahriman. My stock and lineag e i s fro m Gayomard . M y mothe r i s Spendarmad , m y fathe r Ohrmazd. M y humanit y i s fro m Mahre an d Mahryane , wh o wer e th e first offspring and see d o f Gayomard. (3 ) An d fulfillin g my duty an d obligation s means t o believ e tha t Ohrmaz d is , was , an d evermor e shal l be , tha t Hi s kingdom i s eternal, an d tha t H e i s infinite and pure; an d tha t Ahrima n wil l TEXTUAL SOURCE S FO R TH E STUD Y O F

Zoroastrianism

edited and translated by Mary Boyce Emeritus Professor of Iranian Studies in the University of London

The Universit y o f Chicago Pres s The University o f Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 Copyright © Mary Boyc e 198 4 All rights reserved . Originally published b y Manchester Universit y Pres s in 1984 . University o f Chicago Press edition 1990 . Printed i n the United State s of America 99 9 8 9 7 9 6 9 5 9 4 9 3 9 2 9 1 9 0 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library o f Congress Cataloging­in­Publication Dat a

Textual sources for the study o f Zoroastrianism / edited an d translated b y Mary Boyce . p. cm . Reprint. Originall y published: Manchester , U.K. ; Dover, N.H., U.S.A . : Manchester Universit y Press. 1984 . (Textual sources for the study o f religion) . Includes bibliographical reference s and index . ISBN 0­226­06930­ 3 (pbk.) 1. Zoroastrianism. I Boyce , Mary . II . Title : Zoroastrianism. III . Series: Textual sources fo r the study o f religion . [BL1571.T44 1990 ] 295—dc20 90­4407 2 CIP © Th e paper use d i n this publication meet s the minimu m requirements o f the American Nationa l Standard fo r Infor­ mation Sciences—Permanenc e o f Paper for Printed Librar y Materials, ANS I Z39.48­198 4 CONTENTS

General introduction pag e vıı Acknowledgements vi n Abbreviations vn i Foreword i x

1 Introductio n 1 1.1 Th e textual sources 1 1.2 Th e religious background to Zoroastrianism 8 1.3 Zarathushtr a and his teachings 1 1 1.4 Som e reasons for diversity in modern studies of Zoroastrianism 1 5 1.5 Th e ancient Iranian world picture 1 7 1.6 Th e seven holy days of obligation 1 8 1.7 Th e Zoroastrian calendar 1 9 1.8 Th e Zoroastrian'world year' 2 0 1.9 Chronologica l background to the texts 2 2

2 Traditio n and doctrine 2 7 2.1 Ancien t materials from the Yashts 2 7 2.2 Verse s from the Gathas 3 4 2.3 Passage s from the Zand oflost Avestan texts 4 5

3 Worship , prayer and confession 5 3 3.1 Selection s from Yasna Haptanhaiti 5 3 3.2 Passage s from the yasna liturgy accompanying the preparation of the haoma offering 5 5 3.3 Th e four great prayers 5 6 3.4 Th e creed (Fravarane) 5 7 3.5 Th e kusti prayers 5 8 3.6 TheHamazo r 5 9 3.7 Th e benediction, or prayer for health (tan­dorosti) 5 9 3.8 Fro m a general confession, Patet ι Khwad 6 0

4 Rule s and observances 6 1 4.1 Th e cult of fire 6 1 4.2 Concernin g human 'nasa' and the proper disposal of the dead 6 4 4.3 On'takin g the baj' 6 6 4.4 Festival s 6 7

5 Th e life and legend of Zarathushtra 7 1 5.1 Passage s from Younger Avestan texts 7 1 5.2 Passage s from the Zand oflost Avestan texts 7 2 vi CONTENT S 5.3 Kav i Vishtaspa and the early wars of the faith 7 7

6 Th e fate of the soul at death, and a vision of heaven and hell 8 0 6.1 Th e fate of the soul, from Younger Avestan texts 8 0 6.2 Th e fate of the soul, from Pahlavi sources 8 2 6.3 A vision of heaven and hell, from Arda VirazNamag 8 4

7 Apocalypti c texts 9 0 7.1 O n the coming of the Saoshy ant, from Yasht 1 9 9 0 7.2 O n the three World Saviours, from the Zand 9 0 7.3 O n the seven ages of the world, and the coming of the Saviours, from the Zand of Vahman Yasht 9 1 7.4 O n Yima's var, from Vendidad 2 9 4

8 A Zoroastrian heresy: Zurvanism 9 6 8.1 A citation from Theopompus 9 6 8.2 Version s of the myth of Zurvan and his twin Sons 9 7

9 Dogmati c passages from ninth­century Pahlavi books 9 9 9.1 Fro m 'Selected Precepts of the Ancient Sages' 9 9 9.2 Fro m Shkand­gumanig Vizar, the 'Doubt­dispelling Exposition' 10 1

10 Historica l texts 10 4 10.1 Fro m the Achaemenian period 10 4 10.2 Fro m the Parthian period 10 8 10.3 Fro m the Sasanian period 10 9 10.4 Passage s concerning the Arab conquest and the early centuries of Islam 11 5 10.5 Concernin g the Irani and Parsi communities, fifteenth to eighteenth centuries A.C. 11 7 10.6 Fro m the reports of Europeans, seventeenth to eighteenth centuries 12 3

11 Th e faith in modern times : the nineteenth and m entieth centuries 13 2 11.1 Fro m nineteenth­century European writings on Zoroastrian dualism 13 2 11.2 Passage s from Parsi theosophical writings 13 5 11.3 Writing s by moderate and radical reformists 13 9 11.4 Traditio n in belief and practice 14 4 11.5 Matter s of controversy 15 3 11.6 Restatemen t and reappraisal 15 7

Bibliography 161 Glossarial index 165