AvestaZoroastrianismAccepted ScriptureAvestanShareVendidad Fargard 13Darmesteter and Mills / Sacred Books of the East - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableDarmesteter and Mills / Sacred Books of the EastLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Vendidad Fargard 1Vendidad Fargard 2Vendidad Fargard 3Vendidad Fargard 4Vendidad Fargard 5Vendidad Fargard 6Vendidad Fargard 7Vendidad Fargard 8Vendidad Fargard 9Vendidad Fargard 10Vendidad Fargard 11Vendidad Fargard 12Vendidad Fargard 13Vendidad Fargard 14Vendidad Fargard 15Vendidad Fargard 16Vendidad Fargard 17Vendidad Fargard 18Vendidad Fargard 19Vendidad Fargard 20Vendidad Fargard 21Vendidad Fargard 22Sirozah Sirozah 1Yashts KhorshedSirozah Sirozah 2Yashts Ormazd YashtYashts ArdibehioT 1 YashtYashts Khordad YashtYashts Aban YashtYashts Khorshed YashtYashts Mah YashtYashts Tlr YashtYashts G oS YashtYashts Mihir / Mithra YashtYashts Sraosha Yasht HadhoKhtYashts Rashn YashtYashts Bahram YashtYashts Ram YashtYashts Ashi YashtYashts Aytad YashtYashts Zamyad YashtYashts Van Ant YashtYashts Yasht FragmentYashts Vtetasp YashtNyayis Khorshed? NyayiyNyayis Mihir / Mithra NyayiyNyayis Aban NyayiyNyayis Atay NyayisYasna Yasna 28Yasna Yasna 34Yasna Yasna 30Yasna Yasna 31Yasna Yasna 32Yasna Yasna 33Yasna Yasna 43Yasna Yasna 44Yasna Yasna 11Yasna Yasna 45Yasna Yasna 46Yasna Yasna 47Yasna Yasna 48Yasna Yasna 49Yasna Yasna 50Yasna Yasna 51Yasna Yasna 60Yasna Yasna 53Yasna Yasna 1Yasna Yasna 2Yasna Yasna 3Yasna Yasna 4Yasna Yasna 5Yasna Yasna 6Yasna Yasna 7Yasna Yasna 8Yasna Yasna 9Yasna Yasna 10Yasna Yasna 12Yasna Yasna 13Yasna Yasna 22Yasna Yasna 14Yasna Yasna 15Yasna Yasna 16Yasna Yasna 17Yasna Yasna 19Yasna Yasna 18Yasna Yasna 20Yasna Yasna 21Yasna Yasna 29Yasna Yasna 23Yasna Yasna 24Yasna Yasna 25Yasna Yasna 26Yasna Yasna 27Yasna Yasna 35Yasna Yasna 36Yasna Yasna 37Yasna Yasna 38Yasna Yasna 39Yasna Yasna 40Yasna Yasna 41Yasna Yasna 42Yasna Yasna 52Yasna Yasna 54Yasna Yasna 55Yasna Yasna 56Yasna Yasna 57Yasna Yasna 58Yasna Yasna 59Yasna Yasna 61Yasna Yasna 62Yasna Yasna 65Yasna Yasna 66Yasna Yasna 68Yasna Yasna 70Yasna Yasna 71Yasna Yasna 72Visparad Visparad 1Visparad Visparad 2Visparad Visparad 11Visparad Visparad 3Visparad Visparad 4Visparad Visparad 5Visparad Visparad 7Visparad Visparad 8Visparad Visparad 9Visparad Visparad 10Visparad Visparad 12Visparad Visparad 13Visparad Visparad 14Visparad Visparad 15Visparad Visparad 16Visparad Visparad 18Visparad Visparad 19Visparad Visparad 20Visparad Visparad 21Visparad Visparad 23Afrinagan AfrinaganGahs Gah 1Gahs Gah 2Gahs Gah 3Gahs Gah 4Gahs Gah 5Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 1Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 2Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 3Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 4Miscellaneous Fragments Fragment 5Miscellaneous Fragments Miscellaneous FragmentsMiscellaneous Fragments Fragment 9›Vendidad: Fargard 13Vendidad Fargard 13ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1The dog of Ormazd and the dog of Ahriman. (a. 1-4). The dog Vanghapara (‘the hedge-hog’). (b. 4-7). The dog Zairimyangura (‘ the tortoise’). II (8-16). Offences against the dog. III (17-19). On the several duties of the dog. IV (20-28). On the food due to the dog. 5On the mad dog; how he is to be kept, and cured. VI (39-40). On the excellence of the dog. VII (41-43). On the wolf-dog. VIII (44-48). On the virtues and vices of the dog. IX (49-50). Praise of the dog. 1The water dog. See Introd. IV, 35. Ia. 1Which 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? 2Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ The dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghapara \ which evil-speaking people call the Du^aka1 2; this 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 crea¬ tures of the evil spirit. 3‘And whosoever, O Zarathmtra! shall kill the dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghdpara, which evil-speaking people call the Dusaka, kills his own soul for nine generations, nor shall he find a way over the Winvatf bridge 3, unless he has, while alive, atoned for his sin by offering up a sacrifice to Sraosha 4. 4O 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 Vanghipara, which evil-speaking people call the Du^aka, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘A thousand stripes with the Aspahe-artra, a thousand stripes with the S raosh 6-^ara na. ’ Ib. 5Which 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 crea¬ tures of the good spirit? 6Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The daeva Zairimyangura x, which evil-speaking people call the Zairimyaka 2, 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 crea¬ tures of the good spirit. 7‘And whosoever, O Zarathustra! 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. 8(21). ‘Whosoever shall smite either a shep¬ herd’s dog, or a house dog, or a Vohunazga dog3, or vendJdad. a trained dog1, his soul when passing to the other world, shall fly2 amid louder howling and fiercer pursuing than the sheep does when the wolf rushes upon it in the lofty forest. 9‘No soul will come and meet his departing soul and help it through the howls and pursuit 3 in the other world; nor will the dogs that keep the K'mv&d bridge4 help his departing soul through the howls and pursuit 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 lost sheep, and he shall pay for the wound of the dog as for wilful wounding 6. 12O 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 AspaM-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-Aarana.’ Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahe-a.stra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraoshd-iarana.’ 14O 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-a.stra, six hundred stripes with the Sraosho-/£arana.’ Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Five hundred stripes with the Aspahe-a-stra, five hundred stripes with the Sraosho-iarana.’ 16‘ This is the penalty for the murder of a Gash dog, of a Vteu dog2, of a Sukuruna dog3, of a sharp-toothed Urupi dog4, of a swift-running Raopi5 dog; this is the penalty for the murder of any kind of dog but the water dog6.’ against the demon Khava (Bund. XIX; cf. Orm. Ahr. § 228). 17O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the dog that must be called a shepherd’s dog? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It is the dog who goes a Yu^yesti 1 round about the fold, watching for the thief and the wolf.’ 18O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the dog that must be called a house dog? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is the dog who goes a Hathra round about the house, watching for the thief and the wolf.’ Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It is the dog who claims none of those talents, and only seeks for his subsistence 2.’ 20O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a shepherd’s dog, of what sin is he guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of the first rank 3.’ 21O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a house dog, of what sin is he guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of middle rank.’ 22O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to aVohunazga dog, of what sin is he guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a holy man, in the character of a priest1, who should come to his house.’ 23O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a young dog, of what sin is he guilty? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It is the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a young man, born of pious parents, and who can answer for himself2.’ 24O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a shep¬ herd’s dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahd-a^tra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-/£arana 3.’ 25O 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-aitra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshd- A’arana.’ 26O 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-aitra, seventy stripes with the Sraosh6- /£arana.’ 27O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a young dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ Fifty stripes with the Aspahe-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraosho-^arana. 28‘ For it is the dog, of all the creatures of the good spirit, 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 dog1.’ but they ever devour the breast, legs, belly, and thighs of the man. And I asked thus: What sin was committed by this body, whose soul suffers so severe a punishment? Srosh the pious and Ataro the angel said thus: This is the soul of that wicked man who, in the world, kept back the food of the dogs of shepherds and house¬ holders; or beat and killed them’ (Ardai Vir&f XL VIII, translated by Haug). 29O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a wor¬ shipper of Mazda a mad dog, or one that bites without barking, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do? 30Ahura Mazda answered: ‘They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie him to a post, an asti 1 thick if the wood be hard, two astis thick if it be soft. To that post they shall tie him; by the two sides 2 of the collar they shall tie him. 31‘If they shall not do so, and the mad dog, or the dog that bites without barking, smite a sheep or wound a man, the dog shall pay for it as for wilful murder 3. 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. i6o 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 him to the post; by the two sides of the collar they shall tie him. If they shall not do so, and the mad dog, or the dog that bites without /barking, smite a sheep or wound a man, he shall pay for it as for wilful murder.’ Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ They shall attend him to heal him, in the same manner as they would do for one of the faithful.’ 36O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If they try to heal him and fail, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do? 37Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie him to a post, an asti thick if the wood be hard, two astis thick if it be soft. To that post they shall tie him; by the two sides of the collar they shall tie him. 38‘ If they shall not do so, and the scent¬ less dog fall into a hole, or a well, or a precipice, or a river, or a canal, and he be wounded and die thereof, they shall be Peshotanus. 39(106). ‘The dog, O Spitama Zarathmtra! I, Ahura Mazda, have made self-clothed and self-shod, watchful, wakeful, and sharp-toothed, born to take his food from man and to watch over man’s goods. 1Ahura Mazda, have made the dog strong of body against the evil-doer, and watchful over your goods, when he is of sound mind. 40(112). ‘And whosoever shall awake at his voice, neither shall the thief nor the wolf steal any¬ thing from his house, without his being warned; the wolf shall be smitten and torn to pieces; he is driven away, he flees away.’ 41O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which of the two wolves deserves more to be killed, the one that is born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf, or the one that is born of a shedog and of a he-wolf? Ahura Mazda answered: 1 Of these two wolves, the one that is born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf deserves more to be killed than the one that is born of a she-dog and of a he-wolf. 42‘ For there are born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf such dogs as fall on the shepherd’s dog, on the house dog, on theVohunazga dog, on the trained dog, and destroy the folds; such dogs are born as are more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other dogs. 43‘And there are born of a he-dog and of a she-wolf such wolves as 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 born as are more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other wolves. 44(124). ‘A dog has the characters of eight different 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 wild beast, ‘ He has the character of a courtezan, ‘ He has the character of a child. 45‘He eats broken food, like a priest1; he is grateful, like a priest; he is easily satisfied 2, 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 warrior3; he goes first out of the house, like a warrior 4 5; in these things he is like unto a warrior. 46(135). ‘He is watchful and sleeps lightly, like a husbandman; he goes first out of the house, like a husbandman '1; he returns last into the house, like a husbandman 6; in these things he is like unto a husbandman. ‘ He sings like a strolling singer; he is intrusive 7, like a strolling singer; he is meagre, like a strolling singer; he is poor, like a strolling singer; in these things he is like unto a strolling singer. 47(143). ‘He likes darkness, like a thief; he prowls about in darkness, like a thief; he is a shames ‘He keeps away the wolf and the thief’ (Comm.) less eater, like a thief; he is an unfaithful keeper, like a thief1; in these things he is like unto a thief. ‘ He likes darkness, like a wild beast 2; he prowls about in darkness, like a wild beast; he is a shame¬ less eater, like a wild beast; he is an unfaithful keeper, like a wild beast; in these things he is like unto a wild beast. 48‘He sings, like a courtezan; he is in¬ trusive, like a courtezan; he walks about the roads, like a courtezan; he is meagre, like a courtezan; he is poor, like a courtezan; in these things he is like unto a courtezan. ‘ He likes sleeping, like a child; he is apt to run away3, like a child; he is full of tongue, like a child; he goes on all fours4 *, like a child; in these things he is like unto a child. 49‘ If those two dogs of mine, the shep¬ herd’s dog and the house dog, pass by the house of any of my faithful people, 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 shep¬ herd’s dog and the house dog6.’ 50O Maker of the material world, thou existence’ (Saddar 31; Hyde 35). Holy One! When a dog dies, with marrow and seed 1 dried up, whereto does his ghost go? 51Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It passes to the spring of the waters 2, O Spitama Zarathustra! and there out of every thousand dogs and every thousand she-dogs, two water dogs are formed, a water dog and a water she-dog 3. 52‘ He who kills a water dog brings about a drought that dries up pastures. Before that time, O Spitama Zarathustra! sweetness and fat¬ ness 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.’ 53O 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(172). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘Sweet¬ ness 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 com and grass, until the murderer of the water dog has been smitten to death 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 uplifted1 2 3. 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 V] ‹Previous chapterVendidad Fargard 12Next chapterVendidad Fargard 14›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public-domain 1880/1883/1887 English translation