SIKAND-GÛMÂNÎK VIGÂR

Pahlavi Texts, Part III (SBE24), E.W. West, tr. [1885], at sacred-texts.com

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CHAPTER I.

1. In the name of Aûharmazd, the lord, the greatest and wise, [the all-ruling, all-knowing, and almighty, (2) who is a spirit even among spirits, (3) and from his self-existence, single in unity, was the creation of the faithful. 4. He also created, by his own unrivalled power, the seven supreme archangels ¹,] all the angels of the spiritual and worldly existences, (5) and the seven worldly characteristics ² which are man, animals, fire, metal, earth, water, and plants.

6. And man was created by him, as a control of the creatures, for the advancement of his will. 7. From him likewise came ³ at various times, through

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his own compassion, mercifulness to his own creatures, religion, and a natural desire of the knowledge of purity and contamination. 8. So, also, as to the intellect, understanding, wisdom, knowledge, consciousness, and guardian spirit—which are the appliances of the soul that are seeking information of these spiritual appliances, the five which are the sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, (9) through the five worldly appliances, which are the eye, the ear, the nose, the mouth, and the rubbing surfaces of the whole body—(10) he likewise created man with the accompaniment of these appliances, for the management of the creatures.

11. He also created the religion of omniscience like an immense tree, (12) of which there are one stem, two branches, three boughs, four twigs, and five shoots ¹. 13. And its one stem is agreement. 14. The two branches are performance and abstinence. 15. The three boughs are Humat, Hûkht, and Huvarst, which are good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. 16. The four twigs are the four classes of the religion, by whom the religion and world are prepared, (17) which are priesthood, warriorship, husbandry, and artisanship. 18. The five shoots are the five rulers whose scriptural names are the house-ruler, the village-ruler, the tribe-ruler, the province-ruler, and the supreme Zaratûst. 19. And the one chief of chiefs, who is the king of kings, is the ruler of the world.

20. Likewise, the work manifested by him in the world—which is man—is in the likeness of these four

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classes of the world. 21. As unto ¹ the head is priesthood, (22) unto the hand is warriorship, (23) unto the belly is husbandry, (24) and unto the foot is artisanship.

25. So, also, of the four capabilities (hunarân) that are in man—which are temper, ability, wisdom, and diligence—(26) unto temper (khîm) is priesthood, as the greatest duty of priests is the temper that they do not commit sin on account of shame and fear; (27) unto ability (hunar) is warriorship, that is, the most princely adornment of warriors is the ability which is expended, the manliness which is owing to self-possession (khvadîh); (28) unto husbandmen is the wisdom (khirad) which is strenuous performance of the tillage of the world, and continuance unto the renovation of the universe; (29) and unto artisans is the diligence (tukhshâkîh) which is the greatest advancement of their class.

30. This arrangement ² of every kind is upon one stem, truth and agreement, opposing the fiend and his appliances which are co-existent. 31. These ³, which are recounted by me, are of many kinds and many species, as many are religious and many believing at a period that all are mutually afflicting ⁴,

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co-existent destroyers and injurers, one as regards the other. 32. And with the mutual afflictiveness, destructiveness, and combativeness which are theirs, one towards the other, they ¹ afterwards also contend against the one truth co-operatively and with united strength.

33. The possession of truth is the one power of the faithful, through the singleness of truth. 34. The many kinds of falsehood, which must become confused and mutually afflicting to many, are, in the aggregate, from one source of deceitfulness.

35. As to that, this composition is provided by me, who am Mardân-farukh ² son of Aûharmazd-dâd, as I saw in the age much religiousness and much good consideration of sects (kêshân) of many species; (36) and I have been fervent-mindedly, at all times in my whole youthful career, an enquirer and investigator of the truth of them. 37. For the same reason I have wandered forth also to many realms and ³ the seashore. 38. And of these compendious statements which, owing thereto ⁴, are an enquiry of those desiring the truth, and ⁵ a collection and selection (vigîdanŏ) of

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it, for these memoranda, from the writings and memoranda of the ancient sages and high-priests of the just—and especially those of the glorified Âtûr-pâdîyâvand ¹—the name Sikand-gûmânîk Vigâr ² is appointed by me. 39. As it is very suitable for explaining away the doubts of new learners about the thorough understanding of the truth, the blessedness and truth of the good religion, and the inward dignity of those free from strife.

40. And it is composed and arranged by me not for the wise and talented, but for preceptors (farhangîkân) ³ and those newly qualified. 41. So that, while many become freer from doubt about the miraculousness and blessedness of the statements of the good religion and primitive faith, (42) I am still begging of distinguished sages, (43) that whoever wants to look, should not look ⁴ to the religion of the particular speaker and composer, but to the greatness of the truth, blessedness, and definite statements of the ancient sages. 44. Because I, who am the composer, do not hold the station of teaching, but that of learning.

45. And it seemed to me, through liberal thought, a statement, from that knowledge of the religion, destined and important even for new learners. 46. Because he who distributes to the worthy, out of the little knowledge which is his, is more acceptable than he who knows much and the worthy are without benefit and without help from him.

47. Since those ancient sages decided, (48) that liberality is of three kinds, of thought, of word, and

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of deed. 49. Liberality of thought being that whose wishing of happiness for any others whatever, of a like disposition, is as much as for its own. 50. Liberality in word being that which teaches to the worthy something out of every virtuous knowledge and information which have come to it; (51) just as that which a certain sage said (52) thus: 'I desire that I may understand all information which is advantageous, and I will teach it to friends and acquire the result which is obtainable.' 53. And the liberality which is in deed being that which, out of any benefit whatever that has come to it, is a benefit to the worthy.

54. Again, it is a reminding of the good as to the preservation of the soul; (55) and for the same reason I have arranged that while the wise are kindly observant of me, through their own compassion, they may remember about the immortality of the soul. 56. Since it is said, that the eye of him who observes all good creatures with kind eyes is the eye of the sun; (57) because the sun is, indeed, an observer and beautifier with kind eyes for all creatures.

Footnotes

117:1 The passage in brackets is omitted in several Pahl. MSS., many of which commence at this point, but it is found in K28, BM, and others, and also in the Pâz. MSS. and Sans. version. The first epithet, 'all-ruling,' which it contains is likewise omitted in a few Pâz. MSS., while others add a further laudatory passage at that point, which is evidently a modern interpolation. The seven archangels include Aûharmazd himself (see Bd. I, 26 n).

117:2 So in the Pahl. MSS. and Sans. version, and also in MH 19 and PB3, which latter follows the oldest Pâz. MS. (AK) very closely; but §§ 1-16 have been lost from AK itself. Several other Pâz. MSS. substitute 'creations.'

117:3 So understood by Nêryôsang, but the original Pahlavi could have been translated by 'he likewise sent,' because the Huzvâris yâtûnd, 'came,' and sedrund, 'sent,' are written alike.

118:1 The last two terms were, no doubt, Pahl. sâk and barg-gâh, of which the Pâz. dêsaa and brîsaa are merely misreadings.

119:1 Or 'over.' This comparison of these four parts of the body to the four classes of men is mentioned several times in the Dînkard, especially in the latter part of the fourth book.

119:2 That is, the ordinances of religion (see §§ 11-13).

119:3 The various heterodox religions, here assumed to be appliances of the fiend for misleading mankind, which the author discusses in the course of his arguments hereafter.

119:4 Assuming that Pâz. anbasã stands for Pahl. hanbêshin, as in Mkh. I, 37. It might be hû-bêshin, 'well-afflicting,' but this would not be so easily reconciled with the meaning 'inconsistent' which the word often assumes, as in Chaps. XIII, 145, 147, XV, 77, XVI, 42.

120:1 The heterodox religions.

120:2 As this name has not been found elsewhere, nothing further is known about the author of this work than can be gathered from the few statements he has made in the work itself. He lived probably in the eighth or ninth century of the Christian era, as he mentions the Dînkard edited by Âtûr-frôbag in Chaps. IV, 107, V, 92, IX, 1, 4, X, 57, XII, 1, and also the Rôshan commentary prepared by Âtûr-frôbag's son (see Chaps. X, 53, 54, XI, 213); but he does not allude to the later edition of the Dînkard, prepared by .Âtûr-pâd, son of Hêmîd, who was living in the latter part of the ninth century (see Bd. XXXIII, ix n).

120:3 Sans. 'on.' This statement is very similar to that in Mkh. I, 35.

120:4 Reading agas, instead of the similarly-written afas, 'and of it.'

120:5 Reading afas, instead of agas here.

121:1 See Chap. IV, 106.

121:2 'Doubt-dispelling explanation.'

121:3 Sans. has 'students.'

121:4 Sans. has 'you should not look.'