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Pahlavi Texts, Part I (SBE05), E.W. West, tr. [1880], at sacred-texts.com
When in like manner, and equally oppressively, as his (Aûharmazd's) creatures were disfigured, then through that same deterioration his own great glory was exhibited; for as he came within the sky 1 he maintains the spirit of the sky, like an intrepid warrior who has put on metal armour 2; and the sky in its fortress 3 spoke these hasty, deceitful words to Aharman, thus: 'Now when thou shalt have come in I will not let thee back;' and it obstructed him until Aûharmazd prepared another rampart, that is stronger, around the sky, which is called 'righteous understanding' (ashôk âkâsîh). 2. And he arranged the guardian spirits 4 of the righteous who are warriors around that rampart, mounted on horses and spear in hand, in such manner as the hair on the head; and they acquired the appearance of prison guards who watch a prison from outside, and would not surrender the outer boundaries to an enemy descended from the inside.
3. Immediately, Aharman endeavours that he may go back to his own complete darkness, but he found no passage; and he recapitulated, with seeming misgiving, his fears of the worthiness which is to arise at the appearance of the renovation of the universe at the end of the nine thousand years.
4. As it is said in the Gâthas, thus 5: 'So also
both those spirits have approached together unto that which was the first creation—that is, both spirits have come to the body of Gâyômard. Whatever is in life is so through this purpose of Aûharmazd, that is: So that I may keep it alive; whatever is in lifelessness is so through this purpose 1 of the evil spirit, that is: So that I may utterly destroy it; and whatever is thus, is so until the last in the world, so that they (both spirits) come also on to the rest of mankind. And on account of the utter depravity of the wicked their destruction is fully seen, and so is the perfect meditation of him who is righteous, the hope of the eternity of Aûharmazd.'
5. And this was the first contest 2, that of the sky with Aharman.
167:1 See Chap. III, 2.
167:2 Compare Bund. VI, 2.
167:3 Or 'zodiacal signs,' for bûrgŏ means both.
167:4 Bund. VI, 3, 4.
167:5 This quotation from the Gâthas is from the Pahlavi Yas. XXX, 4, and agrees with the Pahlavi text, given in Dastûr p. 168 Jâmâspji's old MS. of the Yasna in Bombay, very nearly as closely as Spiegel's edition does. It appears, therefore, that Dâd-sparam used the same Pahlavi translation of the Yasna as the Parsis do at the present day.
168:1 The MS. here omits the words 'through this purpose,' by mistake.
168:2 The word ârdîk, which Dâd-sparam uses instead of the kharah, 'conflict,' of Bund. V, 6, VI, 1, &c., may be connected with Pers. ârd, 'anger.'