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The Zend Avesta, Part I (SBE04), James Darmesteter, tr. [1880], at sacred-texts.com
This chapter is found only in the Vendîdâd Sâdah; it is missing in the Zend-Pahlavi Vendîdâd. This is owing, as it seems, only to the accidental loss of some folios in the one manuscript from which all the copies as yet known have been derived; and, in fact, even in the most ancient manuscripts the following Fargard is numbered the thirteenth (Westergaard, Zend-Avesta, preface, p. 5).
The directions in the preceding chapter are general, and do not depend on the relationship of the faithful with the deceased person; but those in this Fargard are of a special character, and apply only to the near relatives of the dead. Their object is to determine how long the time of 'staying' (upaman) should last for different relatives. What is meant by this word is not explained; but, as the word upaman is usually employed to indicate the staying of the unclean in the Armêst-gâh, apart from the faithful and from every clean object, it seems to follow that the relatives of a dead person were considered unclean from the mere fact of being related to him, and were, on this account, shut out of the frequented parts of the house. So, besides the general uncleanness arising from actual contact with a corpse, there was another form of uncleanness arising from relationship with the dead. The natural link that connects the members of one and the same family is of such a kind that no one can die without death entering all of them. Whether this is the primitive form of mourning, or only a later form of it, we will not discuss here.
On the other hand, the house is unclean too, at least with regard to the relatives; for the time of 'staying' is followed by a purification of the house, that is not to be confounded with that described in the eighth Fargard, which takes place directly after the death and, as it appears, opens the house again only to those who were not connected with the dead man. Even nowadays, in Persia, the house where a relative has died is unlucky, and is looked upon with even more repugnance than is shown in the Avesta. The son deserts the house where his father has died; he could not live and walk in it, 'the unlucky step,' the bad qadîm is in it; 'every man's house must die with him;' therefore, he lets it fall into ruin, and builds another house farther off 1; a custom to which there seems to be some allusion in the Pahlavi Commentary (ad I, 9).
1. If one's father or mother dies, how long shall they stay 2, the son for the father, the daughter for her mother? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners 3?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay thirty days for the righteous, sixty days for the sinners.'
2 (5). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter 4, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
(9). If one's son or daughter dies, how long shall they stay, the father for his son, the mother for her daughter? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay thirty days for the righteous, sixty days for the sinners.'
4 (13). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
5 (17). If one's brother or sister dies, how long shall they stay, the brother for his brother, the sister for her sister? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay thirty days for the righteous, sixty days for the sinners.'
6 (21). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then
the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
7 (25). If the master of the house 1 dies, or if the mistress of the house dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They 2 shall stay six months for the righteous, a year for the sinners.'
8 (28). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
9 (31). If one's grandfather or grandmother dies, how long shall they stay, the grandson for his grandfather, the granddaughter for her grandmother? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay twenty-five days for the righteous, fifty days for the sinners.'
10 (34). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their
bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
11 (37). If one's grandson or granddaughter dies, how long shall they stay, the grandfather for his grandson, the grandmother for her granddaughter? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay twenty-five days for the righteous, fifty days for the sinners.'
12 (40). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters-may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
13 (43). If one's uncle or aunt dies, how long shall they stay, the nephew for his uncle, the niece for her aunt? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay twenty days for the righteous, forty days for the sinners.'
14 (45). O Maker of the material world, thou
[paragraph continues] Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
15 (48). If one's male cousin or female cousin dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay fifteen days for the righteous, thirty days for the sinners.'
16 (50). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
17 (53). If the son or the daughter of a cousin dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay ten days for the righteous, twenty days for the sinners.'
18 (55). O Maker of the material world, thou
[paragraph continues] Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall, offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
19 (58). If the grandson of a cousin or the granddaughter of a cousin dies, how long shall they stay? How long for the righteous? How long for the sinners?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall stay five days for the righteous, ten days for the sinners.'
20 (60). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I cleanse the house? How shall it be clean again?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall wash their bodies three times, they shall wash their clothes three times, they shall chant the Gâthas three times; they shall offer up a sacrifice to my Fire, they shall offer up the bundles of baresma, they shall bring libations to the good waters; then the house shall be clean, and then the waters may enter, then the fire may enter, and then the Amesha-Spentas may enter, O Spitama Zarathustra!'
21 (63). If a stranger dies who does not profess the true faith, or the true law 1, what part of the
creation of the good spirit does he directly defile (in dying)? What part does he indirectly defile?
22 1 (65). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘No more than a frog does whose venom is dried up, and that has been dead more than a year. Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! that wicked, two-legged ruffian, that ungodly Ashemaogha, directly defiles the creatures of the good spirit, and indirectly defiles them.
23 (70). ‘Whilst alive he smites the water; whilst alive he blows out the fire; Whilst alive he carries off the cow; whilst alive he smites the faithful man with a deadly blow, that parts the soul from the body; not so will he do when dead.
24 (71). 'Whilst alive, indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! that wicked, two-legged ruffian, that ungodly Ashemaogha, never ceases depriving the faithful man of his food, of his clothing, of his house, of his bed, of his vessels; not so will he do when dead.'
145:1 Chardin, Voyages, III, p. 7, 33 (ed. d’Amsterdam, 1711). Cf. Polack, Persien (I, p. 52).
145:2 See the Introd. to the Farg.
145:3 How long if the dead person died in a state of holiness? Now long if in the state of a Peshôtanu?
145:4 All the other objects over which the Amesha-Spentas preside (such as the cow, the metals, &c.)
147:1 The chief of the family, the paterfamilias.
147:2 All the familia, both relatives and servants.
150:1 The case of a stranger (no relative) who professes the true faith is not provided for here, because it has been sufficiently considered in the preceding chapters.
151:1 §§ 22-24 are the same as Farg. V, 36-38.