Vdd13

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 28 Sep 2011 14:23 and updated at 28 Sep 2011 14:23

VENDIDAD, The Avestan Text

FARGARDS:- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

CHAPTER 13

The Dog

SUBSECTION 1a dog vanghapara ('the hedgehog')

1. Which is the good creature among the creatures of the Good Spirit that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the Evil Spirit?

2. Ahura Mazda answered: The Dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the Dog Vanghapara which evil speaking people call the Duzaka this is the good creature among the creatures of the Good Spirit Spenta[ Mainyu] that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the Evil Spirit.

3. And whosoever, O Zarathushtra! shall kill the Dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the Dog Vanghapara, which evil speaking people call the Duzaka, kills his own soul for Nine generations, nor shall he find a way over the Chinwad bridge unless he has, while alive, atoned for his Sin

4. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man kill the Dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the Dog Vanghapara, which evil speaking people call the Duzaka, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: A thousand Stripes with the Aspahe Astra, a thousand Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

SUBSECTION 1b dog zairimyangura ('the tortoise')

5. Which is the evil creature among the creatures of the Evil Spirit that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the Good Spirit Spenta[ Mainyu]?

6. Ahura Mazda answered: The daeva Zairimyangura which evil speaking people call the Zairimyaka this is the evil creature among the creatures of the Evil Spirit that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the Good Spirit Spenta[ Mainyu

7. And whosoever, O Zarathushtra! shall kill the daeva Zairimyangura, which evil speaking people call the Zairimyaka, his sins in thought, word, and deed are redeemed as they would be by a Patet his sins in thought, word, and deed are atoned for

SUBSECTION 2 the several kinds of dogs. penalties for the murder of a dog

8. Whosoever shall smite either a shepherd s Dog, or a house Dog, or a Vohunazga Dog or a trained Dog his soul when passing to the other world, shall fly howling louder and more sorely grieved than the Sheep does in the lofty Forest where the Wolf ranges.

9. No soul will come and meet his departing soul and help it, howling and grieved in the other world nor will the Dogs that keep the Chinwad() bridge help his departing soul howling and grieved in the other world.

10. If a man shall smite a shepherd s Dog so that it becomes unfit for work, if he shall cut off its ear or its paw, and thereupon a thief or a Wolf break in and carry away Sheep[] from the fold, without the Dog giving any warning, the man shall pay for the loss, and he shall pay for the wound of the Dog as for wilful wounding

11. If a man shall smite a house Dog so that it becomes unfit for work, if he shall cut off its ear or its paw, and thereupon a thief or a Wolf break in and carry away [anything] from the house, without the Dog giving any warning, the man shall pay for the loss, and he shall pay for the wound of the Dog as for wilful wounding.

12. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a shepherd s Dog, so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: Eight Hundred Stripes with the Aspahe Astra, EightHundred Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

13. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a house Dog so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered Seven Hundred Stripes with the Aspahe astra, Seven Hundred Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

14. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a Vohunazga Dog so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: Six Hundred Stripes with the Aspahe astra, Six Hundred Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

15. O Maker of tlie material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a Tauruna Dog so that it gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: Five Hundred Stripes with the Aspahe astra, Five Hundred Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

16. This is the penalty for the murder of a Jazhu Dog, of a Vizu Dog of a porcupine Dog of a sharptoothed weasel of a swift running Fox this is the penalty for the murder of any of the creatures of the Good Spirit Spenta[ Mainyu] belonging to the Dog kind, except the water Dog

SUBSECTION 3 the duties of the shepherd's dog and the house-dog

17. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the place of the shepherd s Dog? Ahura Mazda answered: He comes and goes a Yujyesti round about the fold, watching for the thief and the Wolf.

18. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the place of the house Dog? Ahura Mazda answered: He comes and goes a Hathra round about the house, watching for the thief and the Wolf.

19. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the place of the Vohunazga Dog?. Ahura Mazda answered: He claims none of those talents, and only seeks for his subsistence

SUBSECTION 4 the food due to the dog

20. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a shepherd s Dog, of what Sin does he make himself guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of the first rank.

21. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a house Dog, of what Sin does he make himself guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of middle rank.

22. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a Vohunazga Dog, of what Sin does he make himself guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a holy man, who should come to his house in the character of a Priest

23. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a Tauruna Dog, of what Sin does he make himself guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a young man, born of pious parents, and who can already answer for his deeds

24. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a shepherd s Dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: He is a Peshotanu: Two Hundred Stripes with the Aspahe Astra, Two Hundred Stripes with the Sraosho Charana

25. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a house Dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: Ninety Stripes with the Aspahe Astra, Ninety Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

26. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a Vohunazga Dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: Seventy Stripes with the Aspahe Astra, Seventy Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

27. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a Tauruna Dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda ansvvered: Fifty Stripes with the Aspahe Astra, Fifty Stripes with the Sraosho Charana.

28. For in this material world, O Spitama Zarathushtra! it is the Dog, of all the creatures of the Good Spirit Spenta[ Mainyu], that most quickly decays into age, while not eating near eating people, and watching goods none of which it receives. Bring ye unto him milk and fat with meat this is the right food for the Dog

SUBSECTION 5 the mad dog and the diseased dog

29. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a mad Dog that bites without barking, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

30. Ahura Mazda answered: They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie thereto a muzzle, an asti thick if the wood be hard, Two astis thick if it be soft. To that collar they shall tie it by the Two sides of the collar they shall tie it.

31. If they shall not do so, and the mad Dog that bites without barking, smite a Sheep or wound a man, the Dog shall pay for the wound of the wounded as for wilful murder

32. If the Dog shall smite a Sheep or wound a man, they shall cut off his right ear. If he shall smite another Sheep or wound another man, they shall cut off his left ear.

33. If he shall smite a third Sheep or wound a third man, they shall make a cut in his right foot If he shall smite a fourth Sheep or wound a fourth man, they shall make a cut in his left foot.

34. If he shall for the fifth time smite a Sheep or wound a man, they shall cut off his tail. Therefore they shall tie a muzzle to the collar by the Two sides of the collar they shall tie it. If they shall not do so, and the mad Dog that bites without barking, smite a Sheep or wound a man, he shall pay for the wound of the wounded as for wilful murder.

35. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a mad Dog, who has no scent, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do? Ahura Mazda answered: They shall attend him to heal him, in the same manner as they would do for one of the faithful.

36. O Maker oi the material world, thou Holy One! If they try to heal him and fail, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

37. Ahura Mazda answered: They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie thereto a muzzle, an asti thick if the wood be hard, Two astis thick if it be soft. To that collar they shall tie it by the Two sides of the collar they shall tie it.

38. If they shall not do so, the scentless Dog may fall into a hole, or a well, or a precipice, or a River, or a canal, and come to grief: if he come to grief so, they shall be therefore Peshotanus.

SUBSECTION 6 the excellence of the dog

39. The Dog, O Spitama Zarathushtra! I, Ahura Mazda, have made self clothed and self shod watchful and wakeful and sharp toothed born to take his food from man and to watch over man s goods. I, Ahura Mazda, have made the Dog strong of body against the evil doer, when sound of mind and watchful over your goods.

40. And whosoever shall awake at his voice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! neither shall the thief nor the Wolf carry anything from his house, without his being warned the Wolf shall be smitten and torn to pieces he is driven away, he melts away like snow

SUBSECTION 7 the wolf-dog

41. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which of the Two Wolves deserves more to be killed, the one that a he Dog begets of a she Wolf, or the one that a he Wolf begets of a she Dog? Ahura Mazda answered: Of these Two Wolves, the one that a he Dog begets of a she Wolf deserves more to be killed than the one that a he Wolf begets of a she Dog.

42. For the Dogs born therefrom fall on the shepherd s Dog, on the house Dog, on the Vohunazga Dog, on the trained Dog, and destroy the folds such Dogs are more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other Dogs

43. And the Wolves born therefrom fall on the shepherd s Dog, on the house Dog, on the Vohunazga Dog, on the trained Dog, and destroy the folds such Wolves are more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other Wolves.

SUBSECTION 8 the virtues and vices of the dog

44. A Dog has the characters of Eight sorts of people: He has the character of a Priest, He has the character of a Warrior, He has the character of a Husbandman, He has the character of a strolling singer, He has the character of a thief, He has the character of a disu, He has the character of a courtezan, He has the character of a child.

45. He eats the refuse, like a Priest he is easily satisfied like a Priest he is patient, like a Priest he wants only a small piece of bread, like a Priest in these things he is like unto a Priest. He marches in front, like a Warrior he fights for the beneficent Cow, like a Warrior he goes first out of the house, like a Warrior in these things he is like unto a Warrior.

46. He is watchful and sleeps lightly, like a Husbandman he goes first out of the house, like a Husbandman he returns last into the house, like a Husbandman in these things he is like unto a Husbandman. He is fond of singing, like a strolling singer he wounds him who gets too near like a strolling singer he is ill trained, like a strolling singer he is changeful, like a strolling singer in these things he is like unto a strolling singer.

47. He is fond of darkness, like a thief he prowls about in darkness, like a thief he is a shameless eater, like a thief he is therefore an unfaithful keeper, like a thief in these things he is like unto a thief. He is fond of darkness, like a disu he prowls about in darkness, like a disu he is a shameless eater, like a disu he is therefore an unfaithful keeper, like a disu in these things he is like unto a disu.

48. He is fond of singing, like a courtezan he wounds him who gets too near, like a courtezan he roams along the roads, like a courtezan he is ill trained, like a courtezan he is changeful, like a courtezan in these things he is like unto a courtezan. He is fond of sleep, like a child he is tender like snow like a child he is full of tongue, like a child he digs the earth with his paws like a child in these things he is like unto a child.

SUBSECTION 9 praise of the dog

49. If those Two Dogs of mine, the shepherd s Dog and the house Dog, pass by any of my houses, let them never be kept away from it. For no house could subsist on the earth made by Ahura, but for those Two Dogs of mine, the shepherd s Dog and the house Dog.

SUBSECTION 10 the water-dog

50. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When a Dog dies, with marrow and seed dried up, whereto does his ghost go?

51. Ahura Mazda answered: It passes to the spring of the waters O Spitama Zarathushtra! and there out of them Two water Dogs are formed: out of every thousand Dogs and every thousand she Dogs, a couple is formed, a water Dog and a water she Dog

52. He who kills a water Dog brings about a drought that dries up pastures. Until then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! sweetness and fatness would flow out from that land and from those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass.

53. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When are sweetness and fatness to come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass?

54,55. Ahura Mazda answered: Sweetness and fatness will never come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass, until the murderer of the water Dog has been smitten to death on the spot, and the holy soul of the Dog has been offered up a sacrifice, for Three days and Three nights, with Fire blazing, with Baresma tied up, and with Haoma prepared

56. Then sweetness and fatness will come back again to that land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass.

Created by: Jijith NadumuriJijith Nadumuri, to promote Avesta and its Comparative Analysis with the Vedas

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