Sacred Texts Zoroastrianism Index Previous Next
Buy this Book at Amazon.com
Pahlavi Texts, Part II (SBE18), E.W. West, tr. [1882], at sacred-texts.com
1. As to the forty-second question and reply, that which you ask is thus: Regarding a man who is consecrating a sacred cake 3, and the fire is his household attendant (khavag-î mânô) from afar, when he sees it, at how many steps is it improper? 2. When they consecrate a sacred cake by light of a lamp, why do they not say the words 'tava âthrô (for thee, the fire),' as by another fire? 3. And of the propitiatory dedications (shnûmanŏihâ) 4 to the period of the day (gâh), the day, and the month of the consecration of the sacred cake, which is that
which when earlier or later is also then not proper, and which is that which is proper? 4. When they shall accomplish the consecration of a sacred cake with one more dedication than those of the thirty days of the months in the year, how is it necessary to act so that it may not enter too early; and which is the one more dedication which, when they shall make it, is proper, which is that which is not proper, and which is that which is earlier and later?
5. The reply is this, that at forty-eight 1 feet from the sacred twigs 2 to the fire--which would be about nine reeds, if of a medium man--even though one
sees the fire and does not say 'tava âthrô 1,' it is proper. 6. And a lamp also has the same contingency (ham-brâh) as a fire; and by our teaching they do not consecrate a sacred cake at a lamp on which there is no burning of firewood, but they should cause a burning of firewood on that at which they consecrate a sacred cake, and they say 'tava âthrô 2.'
7. And there is a propitiatory dedication for each separate consecration of a sacred cake, and not again from the first to the last 3; and the first is the nearest to the first day, Aûharmazd, just as Âtûr ('fire') and Âvân ('waters') are other days in the series; and the last is the day Anîrân, because in the same series the day Anîrân is the latest 4. 8. When the seven
archangels are in the propitiatory dedication it is proper to put the seven archangels first in their own order, then the period of the day 1, then the day, then the month of the consecration, and, afterwards, the other dedications in such order as they are written.
9. And as to the earlier which they should put later, one is when they shall put a dedication before the seven archangels, one is that when they shall put the day before the period of the day, one is when they shall put the month before the day, and one is that when a dedication, distinct from the seven archangels, the period of the day, the day, and the month, on account of being before the archangels, or before the period of the day, or before the day, or before the month, is accounted as improper a dedication
as that of yesterday, or the day before, is for this day.
10. So that when it is the propitiatory dedication for the day Khûr of the month of consecration Âvân 1, the day and month are such that their order and the Âtûr ('fire') and Âvân ('waters') succeeding them are thereby set in reverse order to the proper sequence 2. 11. Then, too, when in the same month 3 its propitiatory dedication for the day and month becomes alike for day and month 4, it is recited as regards both the month and the 'waters' (âvân), because they are not connected together and have again become non-inclusive; and then one is to consider them as proper.
141:3 See Chap. XXX, I.
141:4 See Chap. XXIX, I.
142:1 K35 has 'forty-seven.' Taking the foot at 10½ English inches (see Bd. XXVI, 3 n) the 48 feet would be 42 English feet, and the nâî or reed would be 4 feet 8 inches.
142:2 The baresôm (Av. baresma), or bundle of sacred twigs, is an indispensable part of the ceremonial apparatus; it is held in the hand of the officiating priest while reciting many parts of the liturgy, and is frequently washed with water and sprinkled with milk. It consists of a number of slender rods, varying with the nature of the ceremony, but usually from five to thirty-three. These rods were formerly twigs cut from some particular trees, but now thin metal wires are generally used; and when not in the hand of the priest they are laid upon the crescent-shaped tops of two adjacent metal stands, each called a mâh-rû, 'moon-face,' and both together forming the baresôm-din or 'twig-stand.' The baresôm is prepared for the sacred rites by the officiating priest while reciting certain prayers (see Haug's Essays, pp. 396--399), during which he washes the twigs with water, and ties them together with a kûstîk, or girdle, formed of six thread-like ribbons split out of a leaflet of the date-palm and twisted together. This girdle, being passed twice round the middle of the bundle of twigs, is secured with a right-handed and left-handed knot on one side of the bundle, and is then passed round a third time and secured with a similar double knot on the other side, exactly as the kûstîk or sacred thread-girdle is secured round the waist of a Parsi man or woman (see Chap. XXXIX, 1).
143:1 These Avesta words, meaning 'for thee, the fire,' are used when addressing the fire, or presenting anything to it, such as fire-wood and incense (see Yas. III, 52, VII, 3, XXII, 10, 22, &C.); they are not to be used, however, when the fire is so far off, or so feeble, that its light cannot be seen by the speaker (see Sls. X, 37).
143:2 Meaning that in his opinion a lamp is no proper substitute for a sacred fire unless a little firewood is burnt in it.
143:3 In the liturgy for the consecration of the sacred cakes, which consists chiefly of Yas. III, 1--VIII, 9 (see Haug's Essays, p. 408), the portion contained in Yas. III, IV, VI, VII is filled with propitiatory formulas, some of which are fixed, but others vary according to the hour, day, and month of the service. Some of the variable propitiatory dedications for the day and month are, however, identical with some of the fixed ones, such as those for fire, waters, &c. And in case of the day or month requiring the use of a variable dedication of this description, the object of the text is to prohibit the use of the corresponding, fixed dedication, which would be an unnecessary repetition of the same words. This appears to he the meaning of the words va akhar min zak-î levînŏ val akhar lâ translated in the text; but it would be hardly possible to express so simple a meaning in a more obscure fashion.
143:4 The series of propitiatory dedications for the thirty days of the p. 144 month (which are also used for months of the same names) constitute the Sirôzah, which is given in two forms, one in which the names and titles are in the, genitive case, and the other in which they are in the accusative. From the first form of the Sirôzah the proper dedications for the actual day and month are taken and substituted for Yas. III, 50, 51, IV, 40, 41, VII, 41, 42 (which passages, as they stand, are correct only for the first day, Aûharmazd, of the first month, Fravardîn); and from the second form of the Sirôzah they are similarly taken and substituted for Yas. VI, 37, 38; somewhat in the same way as the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for the day are taken from the complete series of such writings, and inserted in the Communion service of the Church of England. The first day is Aûharmazd, the ninth day and ninth month are Âtûr, the tenth day and eighth month are. Âvân, and the last day is Anîrân. Following these variable dedications for the day and month are the fixed dedications for Âtûr, 'fire,' and Âvân, 'waters,' unless they have been already recited for the day or month.
144:1 The dedication for the gâh or period of the day occupies the place of Yas. III, 21-37 (in which the formulas for all five gâhs are given); so that when the archangels are to be propitiated the dedications for them must precede Yas. III, 21.
145:1 The eleventh day of the eighth month.
145:2 The meaning is that in such a case the dedications for the day and month, and the fire and waters (Yas. III, 52, 53) which follow, will stand in the following order:--Khûr, Âvân, Âtûr (the second Âvân being omitted as directed by § 7), which is precisely the reverse order of those names among the days of the month.
145:3 The eighth month, Âvân.
145:4 That is, on the tenth day of the eighth month, when both day and month are Âvân, in which case there would be three Âvân dedications, but only two are to he used as here directed.