SELECTIONS OF ZÂD-SPARAM 1.

Pahlavi Texts, Part V: Marvels of Zoroastrianism (SBE47), E.W. West, tr. [1897], at sacred-texts.com

p. 131 p. 132 p. 133

CHAPTER XII.

1. About the coming of the religion at a given time being a resemblance such-like as the birth of a child through two united powers, which are the reception of semen by females in procreation, and delivering it back to the fathers, and a period of struggling and intermingling, especially by two means: a monarchy with ² religion of the same tenets (ham-vâk-dênôîh), and the existence of similar tenets to those of the monarchy in the custom of the religion. 2. The religion of the Mazda-worshippers, when the period of material

p. 134

organization is being converted again into a spiritual nature, became manifest on the earth, first through Spendarmad ¹ and afterwards through Aûharmazd, like the reception of a child by mothers and delivering it back to the fathers.

3. The manifestation of the religion through Spendarmad was at that time when Frâsiyâv ² kept back the water from the country of Irân, and brought the water again; in damsel form she was a speaker for its manifestation, in reply to foreigners, at the house of Mânûskîhar ³, the monarch of the country of Irân. 4. She was also dressed, and wore radiant clothing which shone out on all sides for the length of a Hâsar ⁴, which is a distance, like a Parasang; and, tied on her waist, she wore a golden sacred girdle which was the religion of the Mazda-worshippers itself.

5. As to the belt of the religion, it is that to which are connected the thirty-three fetters upon the thirty-three sins ⁵, according to which all sin is divided; so that (kû) the damsels, by whom the tied sacred girdle of Spendarmad was seen, have become impetuous (taftîgŏ) after that for a tied girdle, on account of its seeming beautiful.

6. And this was the motherhood which is supplied through Spendarmad, as a gift, in the year 528

p. 135

before Zaratûst came out to his conference ¹, which is one of their statements from the annals of the religion in a manuscript of the ancients.

7. The name of Zaratûst is also cited on the earth at 300 years before his conference ². 8. For Irân, at the supplication even of the priests in the land, and for the sake of the pacification of a dispute arisen, Aûharmazd produced a great ox, by whom the boundary of Irân next to Tûrân was intimated by pawing with his hoofs, and he was kept in a jungle. 9. Whenever contention arose, the boundary was fully made known by that ox, until it was the wish of Kai-Ûs to take, fully covetously, a portion of the land of Tûrân back into Irân, and he saw that the ox is about to act very ill-naturedly, because it was not besought with forms which were prescribed for it, where a boundary was. intimated by it ³.

10. There were seven brothers, and he who was

p. 136

the seventh was called Srîtô ¹ the Seventh, the largest in body and chief in strength, belonging to those instructed in many subjects for Kaî-Ûs, and he was among his princes. 11. Kaî-Ûs summoned him into his presence and ordered him thus: 'Go and kill that ox in the jungle!'

12. Sritô went, and the ox whom he wished to kill expostulated with him, in human words, thus: 'Do not kill me! for though thou canst kill me, he whose guardian spirit is in the Hôm, the death-dispeller, will also become manifest on the earth, he whose name is Zaratûst of the Spîtâmas ², and will proclaim thy bad action in the world. 13. And the distress in thy soul becomes such as is declared in revelation thus: "As it occurs to him, so it does to Vadak ³, when they mention his iniquity," and thy death becomes the like and, owing to death, it is mixed up with hers (that is, owing even to hers is the death of Srîtô).'

14. When those words were heard by him, Srîtô turned back, and went again to Kaî-Ûs; also by his manner, and even apart from this, he stated ⁴ what the ox had spoken with awfulness, and also thus:

p. 137

[paragraph continues] 'I am more desirous than any one who is in the earth created by righteousness, that you should now order destruction for the ox.'

15. And Kaî-Ûs uttered his will, with the conviction of superior wisdom, thus: 'It is not certain whether he whose guardian spirit is in the Hôm,' the death-dispeller, is himself, or not; and if he be, and be born ¹, whether he will become manifest, or not;' and he commanded with severity, thus: 'Go and kill it! '

16. And Srîtô spoke thus: 'It is not that I am without strength to kill, because its reprieval by me was owing to its remonstrance, mentioned to me, that a high-priest is to arise ².'

17. So it is declared thus, in another revelation (dênô zagâî) ³, when the Tûrânians were backward in heart, Kaî-Ûs spoke thus: 'Go out to a certain jungle, in which dwell many chiefs of the witches, and they will cut thee up without any striving of heart.'

18. And Srîtô went up to the jungle, where many witches saw him, who kept their jaws open, and they spoke about the handsome man thus: 'Slay and do not spare!' 19. And compassion having gone out of his heart, he went back to the other jungle and, with his fist, he broke the back of the ox in three places; and the ox, awfully convulsed (skîftŏ barhamakŏ), kept up an outcry.

20. After the slaughter of the ox, owing to its convulsed state which was heard by him, the

p. 138

remembrance of it then became grievous to Srîtô; and he went back to Kaî-Ûs, and informed him how it was, and begged him that he should finish off by slaying him ¹, because his life was not desirable.

21. Kai-Ûs spoke thus: 'Shall I slay thee, for it was not designed by thee?'

22. And Srîtô spoke thus: 'If thou wilt not slay me, then I shall slay thee.'

23. Again Kai-Ûs spoke thus: 'Do not thou slay me, for I am the monarch of the world.'

24. Srîtô continued his discontent, until Kaî-Ûs ordered him thus: 'Go out to a certain jungle; because a witch in the shape of a dog is in it, and she will slay thee.'

25. Then Srîtô went out to that jungle, and that witch in the shape of a dog was seen by him; after he smote the witch, she became two; and he constantly smote them till they became a thousand, and the host (girdŏ) of them slew Srîtô on the spot.

Footnotes

133:1 Zâd-sparam was Dastûr of Sîrkân, about thirty parasangs south of Kirmân, in A.D. 881. At a later date, probably about A. D. 900, he compiled three series of Selections, from religious texts then extant, and these have been preserved by the Parsis in the same MSS. as contain the Dâdistân-î Dînîk (see the Introduction). The first eleven chapters of this first series of Selections have been already translated in S.B.E., vol. v, pp. 155-186, as they refer to some of the subjects detailed in the Bundahis. The remaining chapters are here translated, except the last which refers to the Nasks and Gâthas, and will be found in S.B.E., vol. xxxvii, pp. 401-405. The MS. authorities for the text are K35 and T (see p. 2 and Introduction).

133:2 T has 'devoid of.'

134:1 The female archangel who has special charge of the earth and virtuous women (see Dk. VII, ii, 19 n).

134:2 See Dk. VII, i, 31; and regarding his irrigation canals, see Bd. XX, 17, 34; XXI, 6.

134:3 See Dk. VII, i, 29.

134:4 A thousand steps of the two feet, or Roman mile; see Bd. XXVI, r.

134:5 Thirty sins are detailed in Mkh. XXXVI, and thirty-three good works in XXXVII (see S.B.E., vol. xxiv, pp. 71-75).

135:1 If this coming to conference with the spirits be 'the coming of the religion,' in the thirtieth year of Vistâsp's reign, then, according to Bundahis chronology, these 528 years will carry us back to twenty-eight years before the accession of Mânûskîhar. As any alteration in the date of Mânûskîhar's accession would disturb the millennial arrangement of Bd. XXXIV, it is probable that some copyist has miswritten the ciphers, and we ought to read 428. This legend appears not to occur elsewhere.

135:2 According to Bd. XXXIV, 7, Kaî-Ûs reigned from 360 to 210 years before 'the coming of the religion.' At this point a dislocation of the text occurs in all existing MSS., owing to the misplacement of a loose folio in some unknown copy written before 1530; the contents of this folio, §§ 8-16, are found in the existing MSS. three folios further on (after Chap. XIV, 14), and are here restored to their original position, as determined by the meaning of the text.

135:3 T has 'by that ox.' This legend is also told in Dk. VII. ii. 62-66.

136:1 Srîtô, the seventh son (compare Dk. VII, ii, 64), is not easy to identify. He could not have been Thrita the father of Keresâspa, because this Thrita the Sâmân is said to have been a third son in Pahl. Yas. IX, 30 (Sp.). He may have been Srîtô of the Vîsraps, whose soul visited Vistâsp in the latter part of his reign, about 350 years later, regarding which a legend is related in Dk. VII, vi, 2-11, and again mentioned in Dk. V, iii, 2; but there is a want of corresponding details for identification.

136:2 This is the citation of his name mentioned in § 7.

136:3 The mother of Dahâk, whose iniquity is considered as equal to that of the evil spirit, see Dd. LXXII, 5; Dk. IX, x, 3.

136:4 T has 'also by his manner he intimated and separately stated.'

137:1 T omits 'and be born.'

137:2 The misplaced folio, which begins with § 8, ends here, but it is not quite certain that a few lines of text are not still missing.

137:3 T has 'at another time (bên zagâî).'

138:1 T has 'that he should command the slaying of him.'