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The Zend Avesta, Part II (SBE23), James Darmesteter, tr. [1882], at sacred-texts.com
This Yast is a description of the fate that attends the soul of the righteous (§§ 1-18) and the soul of the wicked (§§ 19-37) after death. They spend the first three nights (the sadis or sidôs; cf. Commentaire du Vendîdâd, XIII, 55) amongst the highest enjoyments or pains; they are then met by their own conscience in the shape of a beautiful heavenly maiden (or a fiendish old woman 1), and are brought in four steps up to heaven or down to hell, through the three paradises of Good-Thought, Good-Word, and Good-Deed, or the three hells of Evil-Thought, Evil-Word, and Evil-Deed: there they are praised and glorified by Ahura, or rebuked and insulted by Angra Mainyu, and fed with ambrosia or poison.
Similar developments are to be found in Yast XXIV, 53-65; Ardâ Vîrâf XVII; Minokhired II, 123-194.
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1. Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
'When one of the faithful departs this life, where does his soul abide on that night?'
Ahura Mazda answered:
2. 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ustavaiti Gâtha 2 and proclaiming happiness: "Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the full accomplishment of his wishes!" On that night his soul tastes 3 as much of pleasure as the whole of the living world can taste.'
3. —'On the second night where does his soul abide?
4. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ustavaiti Gâtha and proclaiming happiness: "Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the full accomplishment of his wishes!" On that night his soul tastes as much of pleasure as the whole of the living world can taste.'
5. —'On the third night where does his soul abide?
6. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It takes its seat near the head, singing the Ustavaiti Gâtha and proclaiming happiness: "Happy is he, happy the man, whoever he be, to whom Ahura Mazda gives the full accomplishment of his wishes!" On that night his soul tastes as much of pleasure as the whole of the living world can taste.'
7. At the end 1 of the third night, when the dawn appears, it seems to the soul of the faithful one as if it were brought amidst plants and scents: it seems as if a wind were blowing from the region of the south, from the regions of the south, a sweet-scented wind, sweeter-scented than any other wind in the world.
8. And it seems to the soul of the faithful one as if he were inhaling that wind with the nostrils, and he thinks: 'Whence does that wind blow, the sweetest-scented wind I ever inhaled with my nostrils?
9. And it seems to him as if his own conscience were advancing to him in that wind, in the shape of a maiden fair, bright, white-armed, strong, tall-formed,
high-standing, thick-breasted, beautiful of body, noble, of a glorious seed 1, of the size of a maid in her fifteenth year, as fair as the fairest things in the world.
10. And the soul of the faithful one addressed her, asking: 'What maid art thou, who art the fairest maid I have ever seen?'
11. And she, being his own conscience, answers him: 'O thou youth of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good religion, I am thy own conscience!
'Everybody did love thee for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious strength and freedom from sorrow, in which thou dost appear to me;
12. 'And so thou, O youth of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, of good religion! didst love me for that greatness, goodness, fairness, sweet-scentedness, victorious strength, and freedom from sorrow, in which I appear to thee.
13. 'When thou wouldst see a man making derision 2 and deeds of idolatry, or rejecting 3 (the poor) and shutting his door 4, then thou wouldst sit singing the Gâthas and worshipping the good waters and Âtar, the son of Ahura Mazda, and rejoicing 5 the faithful that would come from near or from afar.
14. 'I was lovely and thou madest me still lovelier; I was fair and thou madest me still fairer; I was desirable and thou madest me still more desirable; I was sitting in a forward place and thou madest me sit in the foremost place, through this good thought, through this good speech, through this good deed of thine; and so henceforth men worship me for my having long sacrificed unto and conversed with Ahura Mazda.
15. 'The first step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Thought 1 Paradise;
'The second step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Word 2 Paradise;
'The third step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Good-Deed 3 Paradise;
'The fourth step that the soul of the faithful man made, placed him in the Endless Lights 4.'
16. Then one of the faithful, who had departed before him, asked him, saying: 'How didst thou depart this life, thou holy man? How didst thou come, thou holy man! from the abodes full of cattle and full of the wishes and enjoyments of love? From the material world into the world of the spirit? From the decaying world into the undecaying one? How long did thy felicity last?'
17. And Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just gone the dreary
way, full of fear and distress, where the body and the soul part from one another.
18. '[Let him eat] of the food brought to him, of the oil of Zaremaya 1: this is the food for the youth of good thoughts, of good words, of good deeds, of good religion, after he has departed this life; this is the food for the holy woman, rich in good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, well-principled and obedient to her husband, after she has departed this life.'
19. Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
'When one of the wicked perishes, where does his soul abide on that night?'
20. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima 2 Gâtha, O holy Zarathustra!
' "To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?"
'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living world can taste.'
21. —'On the second night, where does his soul abide?'
22. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima Gâtha, O holy
[paragraph continues] Zarathustra! "To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?"
'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living world can taste.'
23. —'On the third night, where does his soul abide?'
24. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It rushes and sits near the skull, singing the Kima Gâtha, O holy Zarathustra! "To what land shall I turn, O Ahura Mazda? To whom shall I go with praying?"
'On that night his soul tastes as much of suffering as the whole of the living world can taste.'
25. At the end of the third night, O holy Zarathustra! when the dawn appears, it seems to the soul of the faithless one as if it were brought amidst snow and stench, and as if a wind were blowing from the region of the north, from the regions of the north, a foul-scented wind, the foulest-scented of all the winds in the world.
26-32. And it seems to the soul of the wicked man as if he were inhaling that wind with the nostrils, and he thinks: 'Whence does that wind blow, the foulest-scented wind that I ever inhaled with my nostrils 1?'
33. The first step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Thought Hell;
The second step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Word Hell;
The third step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Evil-Deed Hell;
The fourth step that the soul of the wicked man made laid him in the Endless Darkness.
34. Then one of the wicked who departed before him addressed him, saying: 'How didst thou perish, O wicked man? How didst thou come, O fiend! from the abodes full of cattle and full of the wishes and enjoyments of love? From the material world into the world of the Spirit? From the decaying
world into the undecaying one? How long did thy suffering last?'
35. Angra Mainyu, the lying one, said: 'Ask him not what thou askest him, who has just gone the dreary way, full of fear and distress, where the body and the soul part from one another.
36. 'Let him eat of the food brought unto him, of poison and poisonous stench 1: this is the food, after he has perished, for the youth of evil thoughts, evil words, evil deeds, evil religion after he has perished; this is the food for the fiendish woman, rich in evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds, evil religion, ill-principled, and disobedient to her husband.
37 2. 'We worship the Fravashi of the holy man, whose name is Asmô-hvanvant 3; then I will worship the Fravashis of the other holy Ones who were strong of faith 4.
38 2. 'We worship the memory of Ahura Mazda, to keep the Holy Word.
'We worship the understanding of Ahura Mazda, to study the Holy Word.
'We worship the tongue of Ahura Mazda, to speak forth the Holy Word.
'We worship the mountain that gives understanding, that preserves understanding; [we worship
it] by day and by night, with offerings of libations well-accepted 1.
39 2. 'O Maker! how do the souls of the dead, the Fravashis of the holy Ones, manifest 3 themselves 4?'
40. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They manifest themselves from goodness of spirit and excellence of mind 5.'
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41 6. Then towards the dawning of the dawn 7, that bird Parôdars 8, that bird Karetô-dãsu 9 hears the voice of the Fire.
42. Here the fiendish Bûshyãsta, the long-handed, rushes from the region of the north, from the regions of the north, speaking thus, lying thus: 'Sleep on, O men! Sleep on, O sinners! Sleep on and live in sin.'
314:2 The name of the second Gâtha, which begins with the word usta: the words in the text, 'Happy the man . . . .,' are its opening line (Yasna XLII, 1).
314:3 Literally, sees, perceives.
315:1 Thraosta: in Pahlavi rôisman.
316:1 'That is to say, from the gods' (Pahl. Comm.).
316:2 Of holy things.
316:3 Doubtful. The Pahlavi commentary has the following gloss: 'He would not give his friends what they begged for.'
316:4 To the poor:—Urvarô-straya: urvar babâik kart (Pahl. Comm.): âighshân babâ barâ asrûnast (star, to tie, as in frastaretem baresma). Cf. Yt. XXIV, 37, 59.
316:5 With alms to the poor Mazdayasnians (ashô-dâd).
317:1 The so-called Hûmat Paradise (cf. Yt. III, 3).
317:2 The so-called Hûkht Paradise.
317:3 The so-called Hvarsht Paradise.
317:4 The seat of the Garôthmân.
318:1 Zaremaya is the spring: the word translated oil (raoghna, Persian
) might perhaps be better translated 'butter;' the milk made in the middle of spring was said to be the best (Vispêrad I, 2; Pahl. Comm.; cf. Dâdistân XXXI, 14).
318:2 The Gâtha of lamenting, beginning with the word Kãm (Kãm nemê zãm: 'To what land shall I turn?'); Yasna XLVI (XLV).
319:1 A development similar to that in §§ 9-14 is to be supplied here: in the Ardâ Vîrâf and the Minokhired the soul of the wicked is met by a horrid old woman, who is his own conscience: 'And in that wind he saw his own religion and deeds, as a profligate woman, naked, decayed, gaping, bandy-legged, lean-hipped, and unlimitedly spotted, so that spot was joined to spot, like the most hideous noxious creatures (khrafstar), most filthy and most stinking' (cf. § 9).
Then that wicked soul spoke thus: 'Who art thou? than whom I never saw any one of the creatures of Aûharmazd and Akharman uglier, or filthier or more stinking' (cf. § 10).
To him she spoke thus: 'I am thy bad actions, O youth of evil thoughts, of evil words, of evil deeds, of evil religion! It p. 320 is on account of thy will and actions that I am hideous and vile, iniquitous and diseased, rotten and foul-smelling, unfortunate and distressed, as appears to thee (cf. §§ 11-12).
'When thou sawest any one who performed the Yazishn and Drôn ceremonies, and praise and prayer and the service of God, and preserved and protected water and fire, cattle and trees, and other good creations, thou practisedst the will of Akharman and the demons, and improper actions. And when thou sawest one who provided hospitable reception, and gave something deservedly in gifts and charity, for the advantage of the good and worthy who came from far, and who were from near, thou wast avaricious, and shuttedst up thy door (cf. § 13).
'And though I have been unholy (that is, I have been considered bad), I am made more unholy through thee; and though I have been frightful, I am made more frightful through thee; though I have been tremulous, I am made more tremulous through thee; though I am settled in the northern region of the demons, I am settled further north through thee; through these evil thoughts, through these evil words, and through these evil deeds, which thou practisedst. They curse me, a long time, in the long execration and evil communion of the Evil Spirit (cf. § 14).
'Afterwards that soul of the wicked advanced the first footstep on Dûsh-hûmat (the place of evil thoughts), &c.' (The Book of Ardâ Vîrâf, XVII, 12-27, as translated by Haug).
321:1 Cf. Yasna XXXI, 20: 'He who would deceive the holy One, to him afterwards (will be) a long weeping in the dark place, bad food and words of insult. O wicked! this is the place down which your own conscience will bring you through your own deeds.'
321:2 §§ 37-38, 39-40, 41-42 are separate fragments.
321:3 One of the first disciples of Zoroaster; cf. Yt. XIII, 96.
322:1 § 38 = Yt. I, 31.
322:2 A Pahlavi translation of the following two fragments is found in MS. 33, Paris, Supplément Persan (edited in Études Iraniennes, II).
322:3 Kithra (Paris MS. p. 255).
322:4 'How do they manifest their assistance?' (Pahl. tr. ibid.); that is to say, when do they assist their relations and countrymen? (see Yt. XIII, 49 seq.)
322:5 When men are instinct with good spirit and good thought.
322:6 The Pahlavi translation of this fragment has here §§ 14-16 of the Âtash Nyâyis, then §§ 18-19 of Vendîdâd XVIII. Therefore the whole passage is to be restored as follows:
Âtar looks at the hands of all those who pass by: 'What does the friend bring to his friend . . . .?' (Âtash N. 14.)
And if that passer-by brings him wood holily brought, or bundles of baresma holily tied up . . . ., then Âtar . . . . will bless him thus:
May herds of oxen grow for thee . . . . (Âtash N. 15-16).
In the first part of the night, Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda, calls the master of the house for help, saying:
'Up! arise, thou master of the house . . . .' (Vend. XVIII, 18-19).
'Then towards the dawning of the dawn . . . .' (see the text).
322:7 Cf. Vend. XVIII, 23.
322:8 'He who has knowledge made,' or 'He who has the knowledge of what is made' (kartak dânishn); his other name Parôdars is 'He who foresees.'
322:9 Here again a large passage is omitted: it can only partly be p. 323 supplied from the Pahlavi translation; the words in brackets refer to Zend texts lost to us:
'Then he flaps his wings and lifts up his voice, saying: "Arise, O men! [and also women, grown-up people, and children, &c . . . . Put on well your girdle and shirt, wash your hands, put your girdle around your body, go and give food to the cattle and recite aloud the five holy Gâthas of Spitama Zarathustra."]
'Here the fiendish Bûshyãsta . . . .' (see the text). Then the Pahlavi translation has: 'Never care for the three excellent things, good thoughts, good words, good deeds' (cf. Vend. XVIII, 25).