Shayest Na-Shayest ('Proper and Improper')

Translated by E. W. West, from Sacred Books of the East, volume 5, Oxford University Press, 1880.

PART 3. -- Appendix.

CHAPTER 15.

1.
It is revealed by a passage of the Avesta that Zartosht, seated before Ohrmazd, always wanted information (vac) from him; and he spoke to Ohrmazd thus: 'Thy head, hands, feet, hair, face, and tongue are in my eyes just like those even which are my own, and you have the clothing men have; give me a hand, so that I may grasp thy hand.'
2.
Ohrmazd said thus: 'I am an intangible spirit; it is not possible to grasp my hand.'
3.
Zartosht spoke thus: 'Thou art intangible, and Vohuman, Ardwahisht, Shahrewar, Spandarmad, Hordad, and Amurdad are intangible, and when I depart from thy presence, and do not see thee nor even them -- since of the person whom I see and worship there is something -- should thou and the seven archangels be worshipped by me, or not?'
4.
Ohrmazd said thus: 'They should be; I tell thee, O Zartosht the Spitaman! that each individual of us has produced his own one creation (dayak) for the world, by means of which they may set going in its body, in the world, that activity which they would exercise in the spiritual existence. 5. In the world that which is mine, who am Ohrmazd, is the righteous man, of Vohuman are the cattle, of Ardwahisht is the fire, of Shahrewar is the metal, of Spandarmad are the earth and virtuous woman, of Hordad is the water, and of Amurdad is the vegetation. 6. Whoever has learned the care of all these seven, acts and pleases well, his soul never comes into the possession of Ahriman and the demons; when he has exercised his care of them, he has exercised his care of the seven archangels, and ought to teach all mankind in the world.
7.
'Whoever wishes to propitiate Ohrmazd in the world, wishes to promote the things of Ohrmazd; and whoever he be, with whom Ohrmazd ever is in every place (gas), it is necessary that he should propitiate the righteous man, in whatever has happened and whatever occurs to him, and should act for his happiness, and afford him protection from the vile. 8. Since the righteous man is a counterpart of Ohrmazd the lord, and when the righteous man acts it is caused by him who is Ohrmazd, whoever propitiates the righteous man, his fame and welfare exist a long time in the world, and the splendor of Ohrmazd and pleasure and joy become his own in heaven (Wahisht).
9.
'Whoever wishes to propitiate Vohuman in the world, and wishes to act for his happiness, is he who wishes to promote the things of Vohuman; and it is necessary for him, so that Vohuman may be ever with him, that he should propitiate, at every place (gas) and time, the well-yielding (hudhak) cattle, in whatever has happened and whatever occurs, and should act for their happiness; and in the terrible days and the hurried times (gas) which befall them, he should afford them protection from the oppressive and idle. 10. He should not give them as a bribe to a man who is a wicked tyrant, but should keep them in a pleasant and warm locality and place (gas); and in summer he should provide them a store of straw and corn, so that it be not necessary to keep them on the pastures (charak) in winter; and he should not deliver them up for this purpose, that is, "So that I may give them up to the vile," because it is necessary to give to the good; and he should not drive them apart from their young, and should not put the young apart from their milk. 11. Since they are counterparts of him (Vohuman) himself in the world, the well-yielding cattle, whoever propitiates those which are well-yielding cattle his fame subsists in the world, and the splendor of Ohrmazd becomes his own in the best existence.
12.
'Whoever wishes to propitiate Ardwahisht in the world is he who wishes to promote his things; and it is necessary for him, so that Ardwahisht may be with him at every place (gas) and time, that he should propitiate the fire of Ohrmazd, in whatever has happened and whatever occurs, and should act for its happiness; he should not put upon it wood, incense, and holy-water which are stolen and extorted, and he should not cook at it a ration (bahar) which is violently extorted from men. 13. For it is a counterpart of him (Ardwahisht) himself in the world, the fire of Ohrmazd; and whoever propitiates those which are fires of Ohrmazd his fame subsists in the world, and the splendor of Ohrmazd becomes his own in heaven.
14.
'Whoever wishes to propitiate Shahrewar in the world, and wishes to act for his happiness, is he who wishes to promote the things of Shahrewar; and whoever he be, it is necessary, so that Shahrewar may be with him at every place and time, that he should propitiate melted metal at every place and time. 15. And the propitiation of melted metal is this, that he shall practice habits (aiyino) of the heart so unsullied and pure that, when they shall drop melted metal upon it, it does not burn. 16. And Adarbad Mahraspandan even acted in this priestly fashion (dastobarih), so that the melted metal, when they drop it upon the region (khano) of his pure heart, becomes as pleasant to him as though they were milking milk upon it. 17. When they drop it upon the region of the heart of the wicked and sinners, it burns, and they die. 18. And one should not commit sin with metal, and with its burning; and should not give gold and silver to the vile. 19. For it is a counterpart of Shahrewar himself in the world for him, and since he propitiates those which are melted metals, his fame subsists in the world, and the splendor of Ohrmazd becomes his own in heaven.
20.
'Whoever wishes to propitiate Spandarmad in the world, wishes to promote the things of Spandarmad; and whoever he be, it is necessary, so that Spandarmad may be with him, that he should propitiate, at every place and time, the earth and virtuous woman, in whatever has happened and in whatever occurs, and should act for their happiness. 21. For when he does not spread out (bara la veshet) this earth, and it does not separate one piece from another, his body also will not be always living upon it at every place and time. 22. On account of the lodgment of Spandarmad in the earth, when a robber, violent and worthy of death, and wives who are disrespectful to their husbands walk about in sinfulness in the world, and their husbands are active and virtuous, it becomes much distressed (zanoik). 23. This, too, is declared, that, whenever this earth becomes distressed (zanik), it is most so at the time when sinners worthy of death are most; for it is declared, when sinners worthy of death walk upon it, its pain and uneasiness become as distressing (dushkhvar) to it as the dead son on her bosom to a mother; and the lodgment of Spandarmad in the earth is little in that place whereon sinners worthy of death walk. 24. And her happiness arises from that place when they shall perform tillage and cultivation on it, and a virtuous son is born upon it, and they rear cattle upon it; and it is so one's fame subsists in the world, and the splendor of Ohrmazd becomes one's own in heaven.
25.
'Whoever wishes to propitiate Hordad and Amurdad in the world, whereas that is necessary which promotes their things, whoever he be it is necessary that he should propitiate, at every place and time, the water and vegetation of Hordad and Amurdad, in whatever has happened and in whatever occurs, and should seize upon those who consume and steal water and vegetation. 26. And he should not act oppressively, he should not walk the world in sinfulness, and should not bring bodily refuse (hikhar), dead matter (nasa), or any other pollution to water; he should not destroy vegetation unlawfully, and should not give fruit to the idle and vile. 27. For when he commits sin against water and vegetation, even when it is committed against merely a single twig of it, and he has not atoned for it, when he departs from the world the spirits of all the plants in the world stand up high in front of that man, and do not let him go to heaven. 28. And when he has committed sin against water, even when it is committed against a single drop of it, and he has not atoned for it, that also stands up as high as the plants stood, and does not let him go to heaven. 29. Since they are counterparts of Hordad and Amurdad themselves, the water and vegetation, whoever propitiates those which be water and vegetation, his fame subsists in the world, and a share of the splendor of Ohrmazd becomes his in heaven.'
30.
Ohrmazd said this also to Zartosht, namely: 'My will and pleasure is that the observance and propitiation of these seven archangels shall be as I have told thee; and do thou, too, speak thus unto men, so that they may commit no sin and may not become wicked, and the splendor of Ohrmazd may become their own in heaven.'
31.
Completed in peace, pleasure, and joy.

CHAPTER 16.

0.
In the name of God (yazdan) I write a paragraph (baba) where the sins which are as it were small are mentioned one by one.
1.
The least sin is a Farman; and a Farman is three coins of five annas, some say three coins. 2. An Agerept is, as regards whatever weapon (snesh) men strike with in the world, whenever the weapon is taken in hand; and taken up by any one four finger-breaths from the ground it is the root of an Agerept for him; and the retribution and punishment for an Agerept should be fifty-three dirhams (jugan). 3. When the weapon turns downwards it is the root of an Avoirisht for him, and his sentence (dina) is to be changed; his retribution and punishment should be seventy-three dirhams, which is when anything further occurs. 4. When he shall lay the weapon on any one it is the root of an Aredush for him, and his retribution and punishment are thirty stirs; if the wound thereby made by him be one-fifth of a span (disht) it is no root of an Aredush for him, and his retribution and punishment are the same thirty stirs.
5.
I write the degrees of sin: A Srosho-charanam is three coins and a half, a Farman is a Srosho-charanam, an Agerept is sixteen stirs, an Avoirisht is twenty-five stirs, an Aredush is thirty, a Khor is sixty, a Bazai is ninety, a Yat is a hundred, and eighty, and a Tanapuhr is three hundred.
6.
The good works which are in the ceremonial worship of the sacred beings (yazishn-i yazdan): Consecrating a sacred cake (dron) is a good work of one Tanapuhr; a form of worship (yasht) is a hundred Tanapuhrs; a Visparad is a thousand Tanapuhrs; a Do-homast is ten thousand; a Dvazdah-homast is a hundred thousand, and the merit (kirfak) of every one which is performed with holy-water is said to be a hundred to one; a Hadokht is two thousand Tanapuhrs, and with holy-water it becomes a hundred to one.

CHAPTER 17.

1.
This, too, Zartosht asked of Ohrmazd, that is: 'Which is the time when one must not eat meat?'
2.
Ohrmazd gave a reply thus: 'In a house when a person shall die, until three nights are completed, nothing whatever of meat is to be placed on a sacred cake (dron) therein and in its vicinity; but these, such as milk, cheese, fruit, eggs, and preserves, are to be placed; and nothing whatever of meat is to be eaten by his relations. 3. In all the three days it is necessary to perform the ceremonial (yazishn) of Srosh for this reason, because Srosh will be able to save his soul from the hands of the demons for the three days; and when one constantly performs a ceremonial at every period (gas) in the three days it is as good as though they should celebrate the whole religious ritual (hamak dino) at one time. 4. And after the third night, at dawn, one is to consecrate three sacred cakes (dron), one for Rashn and Ashtad, the second for Vae the good, and the third for the righteous guardian spirit (ardafrawash) and clothing is to be placed upon the sacred cake of the righteous guardian spirit. 5. For the fourth day it is allowable to slaughter a sheep, and the fourth day the ceremonial (yazishn) of the righteous guardian spirit is to be performed; and afterwards are the tenth-day, the monthly, and, then, the annual ceremonies; and the first monthly is exactly on the thirtieth day, and the annual on the particular day. 6. When he shall die at a place distant from that where the information arrives, when the three days' ceremonies (satuih) are celebrated at that place where he shall die it is well, when not, their celebration is to be at this place, and from the time when the information arrives, until three nights are completed, it is necessary to perform the ceremonial of Srosh, and after three days and nights it is necessary to perform the ceremonial of the righteous guardian spirit.'
7.
In one place it is declared that of him whose begetting is owing to the demons, of him who commits sodomy, and of him who performs the religious rites (dino) of apostasy, of none of the three do they restore the dead [i.e. there is no resurrection for them], for this reason, because he whose begetting is owing to the demons is himself a demon, and the soul of him who commits sodomy will become a demon, and the soul of him who performs the religious rites of apostasy will become a darting snake.
8.
This, too, is revealed by the Avesta, that Ohrmazd spoke thus: 'Give ye up the persons of all men, with the submissiveness of worshippers, to that man to whom the whole Avesta and Zand is easy, so that he may make you acquainted with duties and good works; because men go to hell for this reason, when they do not submit their persons to priestly control (aerpatistan), and do not become acquainted with duties and good works.'
9.
Query: There is an action which, according to the Avesta, is not good for a person to do, and the sentence of 'worthy of death' is set upon it; for one's better preservation is one not to do that action, or to accomplish and urge it on, for the advance of religion in a state of uncertainty (var-homandih)? 10. The answer is this, that when they act well for their better preservation there is no fear, on account of acting well, but one is not to forsake that, too, though it be not goodness; a forsaken duty is very bad, for a contempt of it enters into one.
11.
This, too, is declared, that Zartosht inquired of Ohrmazd thus: 'From what place do these people rise again? from that place where they first went into their mothers, or from that place where the mothers have given them birth, or from that place where their bodies happen to be (aufted)?' 12. Ohrmazd gave a reply thus: 'Not from that place where they have gone into their mothers, nor from that place where they have been born from their mothers, nor from that place where their bodies and flesh happen to be, for they rise from that place where the life went out from their bodies.' 13. And this, too, he asked, that is: 'Whence do they raise him again who is suspended from anything, and shall die in the air?' 14. The reply was: 'From that place where his bones and flesh first fall to the ground; hence, except when he shall die on a divan (gas) or a bed (vistarg), before they carry him away, whatever it is, a fragment is to be taken and to be laid across his limbs; for when the usage is not so, they raise him again from that place where his body arrives at the ground.'
15.
Completed in peace, pleasure, and joy.

CHAPTER 18.

1.
It is said in revelation that Eshm rushed into the presence of Ahriman, and exclaimed thus: 'I will not go into the world, because Ohrmazd, the lord, has produced three things in the world, to which it is not possible for me to do anything whatever.'
2.
Ahriman exclaimed thus: 'Say which are those three things.'
3.
Eshm exclaimed thus: 'The season-festival (Gahambar), the sacred feast (myazd), and next-of-kin marriage (khwetodas).'
4.
Ahriman exclaimed thus: 'Enter into the season-festival if one of those present shall steal a single thing the season-festival is violated, and the affair is in accordance with thy wish; enter into the sacred feast! if only one of those present shall chatter the sacred feast is violated, and the affair is in accordance with thy wish; but avoid next-of-kin marriage! because I do not know a remedy for it; for whoever has gone four times near to it will not become parted from the possession of Ohrmazd and the archangels.'

CHAPTER 19.

1.
The Yatha-ahu-vairyo formulas that are necessary in each place, and how they are to be spoken in performing anything.
2.
One by him who goes forth to an assembly, or before grandees and chieftains, or on any business; or when he goes to ask for what he wants (val khvahishno); also when he quits any business; in each of these situations he is to say only one formula, so that his business may proceed more promptly.
3.
That a blessing (afrin) may be more benedictory, for this reason one utters two formulas; for there are two kinds of blessing, one is that which is in the thoughts, and one is that which is in words.
4.
Four are for coming out more thankfully when at a season-festival.
5.
Five by him who goes to atone for sin, in order to expel the fiend; because it is necessary to undergo punishment by the decision (dastobarih) of these five persons, the house-ruler, the village-ruler, the tribe-ruler, the province-ruler, and the supreme Zartosht; and five Ashem-vohus are to be uttered by him at the end.
6.
Six by him who goes to seek power, and to battle, so that he may be more successful.
7.
Seven by him who goes to perform the worship of God (yazdan), so that the archangels may come more forward at the worship.
8.
Eight by him who goes to perform the ceremonial of the righteous guardian spirit.
9.
Nine by him who goes to sow corn; these he utters for this reason, because the corn will ripen (rased) in nine months, and so that the corn may come forward he will make the mischief of the noxious creatures less.
10.
Ten by him who goes to seek a wife, so that the presents may be favorable for the purpose.
11.
Ten by him who wishes to allow the male access to beasts of burden and cattle, so that it may be more procreative.
12.
Eleven by him who goes to the lofty mountains, so that the glory of mountains and hills may bless him and be friendly.
13.
Twelve by him who goes to the low districts, so that the glory of that country and district may bless him and be friendly.
14.
Thirteen by him who shall become pathless; at that same place he shall utter them; or by him who shall pass over a bridge and a river, so that the spirit of that water may bless him; because the Yatha-ahu-vairyo is greater and more successful than everything in the Avesta as to all rivers, all wholesomeness, and all protection.
15.
Religion is as connected with the Yatha-ahu-vairyo as the hair is more connected with the glory of the face; any one, indeed, would dread (samat) to separate hairiness and the glory of the face.

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