III. Bakŏ Nask

Pahlavi Texts, Part IV (SBE37), E.W. West, tr. [1892], at sacred-texts.com

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III. BAKÖ NASK ¹.

Dk. IX, Chaps. X LVII-XLIX, describe the contents of the first three fargards of this Nask, which are still extant in the Avesta text of Yas. XIX—XXI, whose Pahlavi version may be translated as follows:—

Pahl. Yas. XIX = Bakŏ I.

The beginning of the Ahunavair of the Bakân ².

1. Zaratûst enquired of Aûharmazd thus: 'O Aûharmazd, ³ propitious spirit, creator of the world of embodied existences, and righteous ⁴! (2) which were those words, O Aûharmazd! that were spoken by thee for me, (3) before the sky, before the water, before the earth, before the (well-yielding) cattle, before the plants, before the fire which is Aûharmazd's

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son, before the righteous man (Gâyômard), before the demons, (who remain) noxious creatures ¹, and mankind, before, all embodied existence (the creation of sovereignty), and before all the excellence created by Aûharmazd, (which is owing to) the manifestation of righteousness?'

4. And Aûharmazd spoke thus: ‘They were the apportionment of the Ahunavair, O Spîtâmân Zaratûst! (that spirit who would make the religion current, who has formed that religion from the Ahunavair) which was spoken out by me for thee; (5) (that is,) before the sky, (&c., as in § 3).

6. ‘Whoever chants that apportionment of the Ahunavair, O Spîtâmân Zaratûst! without talking (that is, he does not speak out in the middle of any of its difficult Avesta ²) and not without anxiety (that he may slumber), (7) it is like a hundred above any other authority of those of the Gâthas, when one chants them without talking, or not without anxiety ³; (thus it becomes fit for the ceremonial). 8. Whoever chants it while talking, or without anxiety, (thus it becomes fit for the ceremonial,) it is like ten above any other authority of those of the Gâthas.

9. ‘Whoever in that embodied existence of mine, O Spîtâmân Zaratûst! recalls the apportionment of

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the Ahunavair, (that is, seeks for it,) and, further, mutters that which he recalls, (that is, shall accomplish it easily,) and, further, chants that which he mutters, (that is, fully understands its ritual,) and, further, reverences that which is chanted, (that is, shall celebrate the ceremony,) (10) his soul I pass on to the best existence, three times over the Kinvad bridge, I who am Aûharmazd, (that is, on that day in which he shall faithfully  ¹ provide the ceremony, it shall ² lead his soul three times unto the world yonder, and shall ² cause its happiness therein) (11) to the best existence, the best righteousness, and the best light. 12. Also whoever in that embodied existence of mine, O Spîtâmân Zaratûst! mutters the apportionment of the Ahunavair, (that is, shall accomplish it easily,) and drops ³, (that is, cuts off ⁴) (13) either ⁵ as much as a half, or as much as a third, or as much as a fourth, or as much as a fifth, (at a fifth the foundation of the sin is laid, at a half it becomes quite complete, and when he shall cut off the whole it is a Tanâpûhar ⁶ sin,) (14) I twirl ⁷ away the soul of him, I who am Aûharmazd, from the best existence, (that is, I. would put it out;) (15) to such an extent and width is the twirling away as that of this earth, and even so the extent of this earth is as much as its width.’

16. This saying is proclaimed (a revelation) possessing

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an Ahu and possessing a Ratu, (from which this is manifest, namely, the possession of a ruler and high-priest. 17. This, too, is said, that it was) before that sky was created, before the water, before the earth, before the plants, (18) before the creation of the four-legged ox (which was the sole-created ox), (19) before the creation of the two-legged righteous man (who was Gâyômard), (20) and before that sun of definite form (the body of the sun) was created as an acquirement of the archangels. 21. It was (likewise) proclaimed to me by the spirituality of propitiousness, (it likewise became possible for the spirituality of propitiousness to say (22) what was said ¹ to Zaratûst,) concerning the whole material existence of the righteous who are, who have been, and who will arise, (23) as to the progress of work, (that is, while they shall perform for it that which is specified by it, and good works shall arise through them,) that this work, among the living, is for Aûharmazd, (that is, that which they may perform, suitable for Aûharmazd, they shall so perform as is declared by this fargard).

24. This, too, is the most expressive (most in effect) of those statements which were ever spoken forth (till now), or which one speaks forth (at present) ², or shall speak forth ³ (even henceforth); (25) for it is through such a statement (such in effect) as that, if the whole embodied existence (26) learnt it and, having learnt ⁴, (that is, they shall accomplish it easily,) they retain it, (that is, they

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should rely upon it,) abstinence from passing away would be quite masterful, (that is, they become immortal). 27. This, too, is our saying spoken forth, (preserved ¹ among the revelation mentioned n this ² fargard,) which is learnt, (that is, they shall accomplish it easily,) and one recites, (that is, he utters it in a ceremonial,) thus for any one whatever of the beings whose righteousness is best, (that is, should he do it for a ceremonial, he becomes fit for it; it is when he utters this in a ceremonial that his soul becomes immortal).

28. As it is here spoken forth, (that a ruler and high-priest are to be maintained; as these things are so spoken, and as this law is so) (29) even when it gives him an Ahu and a Ratu, (that is, it gives up his person to the priestly assembly,) so it is thereby taught to him that the thought of Aûharmazd is the creature with the first thinking, (that is, the Gâthic lore is set going by him ) (30) whatever teaches ³ this (is the person of him who is king of kings, who) is the greatest (of men) of every description ⁴, (that is, it possesses ³ a person in the king of kings ) and so it is taught that the creatures ⁵ are for him, (where the Gâthic lore is set going by him).

31. Whatever is a good emanation for ³ Aûharmazd, (that is, has an origin in his personality,) is through the word vangheus, (which in the division becomes the beginning of) the third assertion here, whose recital is 'he gives through Vohûman,' (that is, the recitation which he utters properly is accomplished by him,) and, besides, here is that which

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[paragraph continues] Vohûman has taught, (that is, the reward and recompense which they give Vohûman, they attribute also to him;) (32) whatever ¹ is a further indication by Vohûman, (that is, anything which he may accomplish ¹ properly as a token, and is performed by him,) became so through this summing up (that is, its end occurred) in shyaothananãm; (33) here among the existences was the summing up ², (that is, it was its end).

34. What it teaches to the creatures ³ of him who is Aûharmazd, is thus: he who is like him is he who is his own creature ³, (that is, even these people it tells something so, and thus ¹ they attain again, through purity, to the possession of Aûharmazd, just as Aûharmazd produced them through purity). 35. By 'the dominion is for Aûharmazd' it has taught, that he has made Aûharmazd his ruler ⁴, over his own person, (who shall perform that which is revealed by the Avesta ) and this is taught, that through him is the ministration of the poor, (that is, happiness is thereby caused by him,) (36) which is friendship for the Spîtâmân; (and the religion of the Spîtâmân became) these five assertions, (that is, the decrees in it were five,) (37) which were the

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whole enunciation of the saying, and the whole saying was that of Aûharmazd ¹.

38. For the sake of development Aûharmazd, (for cherishing the creatures,) pronounced the Ahunavair, and in its development there was a summing up, (that is, its end occurred). 39. Quickly, when ² destruction arose, (that is ³, the destroyer,) and rushed in, even among the wicked he uttered (as resistance) (40) this interdict:—(41) 'Neither our thoughts, nor ³ teachings, (as I have not taught that which thou hast taught,) nor wisdoms, (for I consider wisdom as virtuousness, and thou considerest it as viciousness,) (42) nor wills, (for my will is a virtuous wish, and thine a vicious one,) nor words, (for I speak that which is virtuous, and thou speakest that which is vicious) nor actions, (for my actions are virtuous, and thine are vicious,) (43) nor religions, (for my religion is the Gâthic lore, and thine is witchcraft,) nor souls are themselves in unison, (for as to those who rely upon my things, and those who rely upon thy things, their souls are not in one place;' he who said this, that even their souls exist, must thus say that they are not souls in unison with ours).

44. Also this saying, which Aûharmazd uttered, has the three degrees, the four classes, (priest, warrior, husbandman, and artisan) the five chieftainships, (house-ruler, village-ruler, tribe-ruler, province-ruler,

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and supreme Zaratûst,) and its summing up is with liberality, (thus it is possible to make it completely for their own, when they deliver themselves up to the priests). 45. Which are the degrees of it? Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds; (they are ¹, indeed, virtuous among the degrees of religion). 46. Which are the classes? The priest, warrior, husbandman, and artisan, (47) who are the whole day and night with a righteous man, who are thinking rightly, speaking rightly, and acting rightly, (48) who have recognised a priestly authority, (that is, possess a high-priest,) who have taught the religion, (that is, have provided a ceremony,) (49) and who, through their actions, are a furtherance of the world of righteousness, (owing to the work they accomplish). 50. Which are the chiefs? The house-ruler, village-ruler, tribe-ruler, province-ruler, and the Zaratûst is the fifth (51) in those provinces which are other than the Ragha ² of Zaratûst; with four chieftainships is the Ragha of Zaratûst. 52. Which are the chiefs of that? The house-ruler, village-ruler, tribe-ruler, and the Zaratûst is the fourth; (that is, when he was in his own province, he also produced its period of prosperity, who arises fourth).

53. How was it when through good thought, (that is, the religion remained in the degree of good thought)? When it arose first in a righteous thinker, (it arose in Gâyômard, and he thought for it). 54. How, when through good words? When it was the bounteous text, (doing good). 55. How,

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when through good deeds? When it was the praise even of righteousness by the first creature, (that is, they shall perform the ceremonial, and also other good works, through the Gâtha lore).

56. Aûharmazd proclaimed; for what was it proclaimed by him? For the righteous spiritual and worldly existence, (for the benefit of the spiritual and worldly existence). 57. Owing to what desire (owing to what necessity) was the said announcement proclaimed ¹ by him? (So that he shall become) the privileged developer, (he who is a resolute ruler). 58. For how many righteous (is it requisite to utter it)? (So that one may become) a developer, (even he who may be) an irresolute ruler ², (to whom they reveal these words. So that the glory of the Kayâns, such as it is with good rulers, should be even so with evil rulers; with good rulers for this purpose, that so they shall produce more benefit; and with evil rulers for this purpose, that so they shall produce less harm) ³.

Pahl. Yas. XX = Bakŏ II.

The beginning of the second subdivision ⁴.

1. It was a proclamation of Aûharmazd, the Ashem vohû vahistem astî ⁵; besides perfect excellence is taught by it to him, (that is, benefit is

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produced by it for him,) who shall make self-progress his own, (that is, shall produce that which is necessary to produce,) through vohû vahistem astî ¹, thus become the summing up of the assertion, (that is, it became its end). 2. Ustâ astî, ustâ ahmâi ² has, besides, taught the righteous of every kind the happy progress which is necessary to arise for the righteous of every kind, (so that ³ happiness may be caused thereby); whatever endurance of man (or diligence) it is necessary for the righteous of every kind to occasion is, besides, taught to the righteous of ⁴ every kind, (so that one's happiness may be caused thereby). 3. Hyad ashâi vahistâi ashem ² has, besides, taught that all (the duty and good works which are revealed in the text are the whole text (for him whose Avesta and Zand are easy, so that, through its Avesta and Zand, he can make manifest all the duty and good works of that whole text) (4) which teaches ⁵ that the dominion is for righteousness ⁶, (so that, one may exercise authority through virtuousness, that is, it should be the opinion that it teaches a dominion through virtuousness, so that one may possess authority through virtuousness ) (5) which also teaches the truth to that righteous invoker, (so that he may make a true decision;) (6) and which also teaches the truth to you that are

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fraught with advantage, (so that it may produce true judgment). These were the three assertions, (that is, three decrees were in it,) (7) and the whole saying was a proclamation, the whole saying was that of Aûharmazd.

8. Aûharmazd proclaimed; (&c., as in Pahl. Yas. XIX, 56-58).

Pahl. Yas. XXI = Bakŏ III.

The beginning of the third subdivision ¹.

1. A saying of the righteous Zaratûst, to be reverenced, was: 'Whoever of those existing is thus in worship as regards the good ²': Here what is taught by it is the worship of Aûharmazd, (that it is that which one should provide for,) which is the law of Aûharmazd, (that is, his virtuous law,) whereby the reverence of existence is taught, (that is, that which he would most occasion, which is the ever-asking for progeny by mankind; and he mentions that thing to them,) through which it is possible for them to live well. 2. Here, besides, the reverence of those males and females of the righteous, through complete devotion ³ who was the first, is taught by it, (3) which is the obeisance for the archangels, (that is, it would occasion the propitiation of the archangels). These were the three assertions, (that is, three decrees were in it,) and it was in every way a saying to be reverenced. Unto whom was the reverence? Unto the archangels in that worship.

4. And Aûharmazd spoke thus: 'Happy is he

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whose happiness is the happiness of any one whatever, (5) and may Aûharmazd grant it, through predominance of will, (through his requirement) ¹.' 6. What reply did he speak through that utterance of words, (what was the thing he spoke about ²)? 7. He spoke the reply of happy progress, the happy progress of the righteous of every kind, who are, who have been, and who will arise. 8. The developer told (that man, as) the development, in reply; and (the reward as) the development that Aûharmazd mentioned in reply was: 'That development ³ (I call) righteous, (which) is a development for the righteous.'

Dk. IX, Chap. XLVII, 11, refers to Pahl. Yas. XIX, 12-15, which is thus quoted in Sls. X, 26, in a shorter and altered form:—'As it says in the Bak thus: "Whoever shall mutter, O Zaratûst! my apportionment of the Ahunavair, (that is, shall softly take it inwardly) and shall let it escape ⁴ again, (that is, shall utter it aloud) so much as a half, or a third, or a fourth, or a fifth, his soul will I shield ⁵, I who am Aûharmazd, from the best existence, (that is, I will keep it away,) by such an extent as the width of this earth."'

Footnotes

453:1 As the detailed account of the first three fargards of this Nask, in Dk. IX, contains about 840 Pahlavi words, and represents about 730 words of the original Avesta text in Yas. XIX—XXI, with 1630 in its Pahlavi version, it may be assumed that the detailed account of the whole Nask, extending to nearly 11,000 words, indicates about 9,500 words of Avesta text and 21,200 of Pahlavi version as the total extent of this Nask.

453:2 The heading of this first hâ is given in 32, Pt4, Mf4 which have been consulted by the translator in addition to Spiegel's text representing K5. The division into sections is that adopted by Spiegel, and the passages in parentheses have no equivalents in the Avesta text.

453:3 Sp., J2 insert 'good and.'

453:4 J2 adds '(this is, Aûharmazd the creator is righteous; the rest is through the praise which says the creator is righteous);' compare Pahl. Vend. II, 1.

454:1 Assuming that the khrafstardŏ, or khrafôstardŏ, of Pt4, Mf4, stands for khrafstarânŏ, as required by the Avesta text. Sp., J2 have 'who were confounded by wisdom.'

454:2 So in Pt4, Mf4; but Sp., J2 may mean 'he strictly does not speak out in the middle of its Avesta.'

454:3 All the MSS. have 'while talking, or without anxiety,' as in § 8; but this does not correspond with the Avesta text. The repetition of the parenthetical clause, about the ceremonial, which also occurs in § 8, is likewise suspicious.

455:1 Pt4, Mf4 vâvar; Sp., J2 have va-aêvar, 'and certainly.'

455:2 So in Pt4, Mf4; Sp., J2 have 'I would,' which may be right.

455:3 Pt4, Mf4 aparôdînêd; Sp., J2 have barâ âpahlûkinêd, 'puts quite aside.'

455:4 Pahl. barâ yangêd (Pers. yangad).

455:5 Only in J2.

455:6 See Dk. VIII, Chap. XX, 65.

455:7 Pahl. tanôm (Pers. tanam).

456:1 J2 omits gûftŏ, 'what was said.'

456:2 Pahl. avŏ kevan in Pt4.

456:3 'Or is spoken forth' in Pt4, Mf4.

456:4 'Have learnt that which they should have learnt' in Pt4, Mf4.

457:1 J2 has 'given.'

457:2 Pt4, Mf4 insert 'very.'

457:3 So in J2, Pt4, Mf4.

457:4 Pt4, Mf4, 'the greatest of all men.'

457:5 See p. 458, n. ³.

458:1 So in J2, Pt4, Mf4.

458:2 Sp., J2 add 'of the sacred beings.'

458:3 Only here, and in § 30, dâhm, 'a member of the community,' is substituted for the usual dâm, 'a creature.' Either meaning might suit the context, but the Avesta text clearly has 'creature,' and would require more alteration, to suit it to the Pahlavi version, than vice versa. Dk. IX, Chap. XLVII, affords no assistance, as it does not allude to this passage.

458:4 The Pahlavi version of the Av. tad mazdâ tavâ khshathrem quoted in Dk. IX, Chap. XLVII, 17.

459:1 As the Pahlavi text of the foregoing interpretation is a commentary upon an Avesta commentary on an obscure Avesta text, it must be expected to be difficult to translate with certainty.

459:2 Pt4, Mf4 omit 'when;' but the speaker of the interdict is Aûharmazd in Pahl. Yas. XLIV, 2 c-e.

459:3 So in J2, Pt4, Mf4.

460:1 J2, Pt4, Mf4 indicate hômant (= aît).

460:2 The ancient city of Raî which stood not far from Teheran.

461:1 Pt4, Mf4 have frâz gûftŏ, as in Pahl. Yas. XX, 9.

461:2 Quoted in Dk. IX, Chap. LXIX, 45.

461:3 §§ 56-58 are repeated at the end of Pahl. Yas. XX, with reference to the Ashem.

461:4 So in Pt4, Mf4.

461:5 This Avesta is quoted as part of the Pahlavi version, and is translated, in Pt4, Mf4, by the usual Pahlavi for 'righteousness is perfect excellence.'

462:1 So in Pt4, Mf4; J2 has 'through one vohû vahistem; and vahistem astî.'

462:2 This phrase of the Ashem, which begins the Avesta of this section, must also be understood as beginning its Pahlavi version.

462:3 Only Sp. adds 'one's' here.

462:4 Only Sp. has 'the righteous of,' but it is in the Avesta text.

462:5 So in Pt4, Mf4.

462:6 Just as the Ahunavair states that 'the dominion is for Aûharmazd' (see Pahl. Yas. XIX, 35).

463:1 So in Pt4, Mf4.

463:2 The beginning of the YêNhê-hâtãm (see Dk. IX, Chap. IV, 1 n).

463:3 The archangel Ârmaiti, or Spendarmad.

464:1 Quoted from Pahl. Yas. XLII, 1 a, b.

464:2 Pt4, Mf4 have madam in place of maman.

464:3 So in Pt4, Mf4.

464:4 Pahl. rahôînêd, or rânînêd, 'reject.' It is the alteration in this verb that changes the meaning of the original text; as the preceding and following verbs, vakhdûnêd and gôyêd, do not differ in Pahlavi writing from the vadîdûnêd and yangêd of Pahl. Yas. XIX, 12.

464:5 Pahl. netrûnam.