AvestaZoroastrianismAccepted ScriptureAvestanShareVendidad Fargard 2Darmesteter 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 2Vendidad Fargard 2ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1Zarathmtra asked Ahura Mazda: O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who was the first mortal, before myself, Zara¬ thmtra, with whom thou, Ahura Mazda, didst converse 1, whom thou didst teach the law of Ahura, the law of Zarathmtra? 2Ahura Mazda answered: The fair Yima, the great shepherd, O holy Zara¬ thmtra! he was the first mortal, before thee, Zarathmtra, with whom I, Ahura Mazda, did converse, whom I taught the law of Ahura, the law of Zarathmtra. 3Unto him, O Zarathmtra, I, Ahura Mazda, spake, saying: ‘Well, fair Yima, son of Vlvanghat, be thou the preacher and the bearer of my law! ’ And the fair Yima, O Zarathmtra, replied unto me, saying: 4(11). Then I, Ahura Mazda, said thus unto him, O Zarathastra:! Since thou wantest not to be the preacher and the bearer of my law, then make thou my worlds thrive, make my worlds increase: undertake thou to nourish, to rule, and to watch over my world.’ 5And the fair Yima replied unto me, O Zarathastra, saying: ‘Yes! I will make thy worlds thrive, I will make thy worlds increase. Yes! I will nourish, and rule, and watch over thy world. There shall be, while I am king, neither cold wind nor hot wind, neither disease nor death.’ 8Thus, under the sway of Yima, three hundred winters passed away, and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and dogs and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was no more room for flocks, herds, and men. 9Then I warned the fair Yima, saying: ‘ O fair Yima, son of Vlvanghat, the earth has become full of flocks and herds, of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is no more room for flocks, herds, and men.’ 10Then Yima stepped forward, towards the luminous space, southwards, to meet the sun 1, and (afterwards) he pressed the earth with the golden ring, and bored it with the poniard, speaking thus: ‘ O Spe«ta Armaiti 2 * 4 *, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men.’ 11And Yima made the earth grow larger by one-third than it was before, and there came flocks and herds and men, at his will and wish, as many as he wished8. sun is, as is well known, the symbol and source of royalty: Persian kings in particular are ‘ the brothers of the sun.’ 12Thus, under the sway of Yima, six hundred winters passed away, and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and dogs and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was no more room for flocks, herds, and men. 13And I warned the fair Yima, saying: ‘ O fair Yima, son of Vivanghat, the earth has become full of flocks and herds, of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is no more room for flocks, herds, and men.’ 14Then Yima stepped forward, towards the luminous space, southwards, to meet the sun, and (afterwards) he pressed the earth with the golden ring, and bored it with the poniard, speaking thus: ‘ O Spe^ta Armaiti, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men/ 15And Yima made the earth grow larger by two-thirds than it was before, and there came flocks and herds and men, at his will and wish, as many as he wished. 16Thus, under the sway of Yima, nine hundred winters passed away, and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and dogs and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was no more room for flocks, herds, and men. 17And I warned the fair Yima, saying: ‘O fair Yima, son of Vivanghat, the earth has be¬ come full of flocks and herds, of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is no more room for flocks, herds, and men.’ described Ys. IX, 4; Yt. IX, 8 seq.; Yt. XV, 15. In the Shdh N Small he is the founder of civilisation, of social order, of arts and sciences, and the first builder (cf. § 25 seq.) 18Then Yima stepped forward, towards the luminous space, southwards, to meet the sun, and (afterwards) he pressed the earth with the golden ring, and bored it with the poniard, speaking thus: ‘ O Spe^ta Armaiti, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men/ 19And Yima made the earth grow larger by three-thirds than it was before, and there came flocks and herds and men, at his will and wish, as many as he wished. The fair Yima, the good shepherd, of high renown 2 in the Airyana Vae^o, by the good river Daitya, called together a meeting of the excellent mortals 4. To that meeting came Ahura Mazda, of high renown in the Airyana Vaej'o, by the good river Daitya; he came together with the celestial gods. To that meeting came the fair Yima, the good shepherd, of high renown in the Airyana VaejA, by the good river Daitya; he came together with the excellent mortals. 22And Ahura Mazda spake unto Yima, saying: ‘ O fair Yima, son of V Ivanghat! U pon the material i6 world the fatal winters are going to fall, that shall bring the fierce, foul frost; upon the material world the fatal winters 1 are going to fall, that shall make snow-flakes fall thick, even an aredvt deep on the highest tops of mountains 2. 23And all the three sorts of beasts shall perish, those that live in the wilderness, and those that live on the tops of the mountains, and those that live in the bosom of the dale, under the shelter of stables. 24Before that winter, those fields would bear plenty of grass for cattle: now with floods that stream, with snows that melt, it will seem a happy land in the world, the land wherein footprints even of sheep may still be seen 3. 25Therefore make thee a Vara4, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square \ and thither bring the seeds of sheep and oxen, of men, of dogs, of birds, and of red blazing fires. Therefore make thee a Vara, long as a ridingground on every side of the square, to be an abode for men; a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be a fold for flocks. 26There thou shalt make waters flow in a bed a hathra long; there thou shalt settle birds, by the ever-green banks that bear never-failing food. There thou shalt establish dwelling places, con¬ sisting of a house with a balcony, a courtyard, and a gallery1 2. 27Thither thou shalt bring the seeds3 of men and women, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; thither thou shalt bring the seeds of every kind of cattle, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth. 28Thither thou shalt bring the seeds of every kind of tree, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; thither thou shalt bring the seeds of every kind of fruit, the fullest of food and sweetest of odour. All those seeds shalt thou bring, two of every kind, to be kept inexhaustible there, so long as those men shall stay in the Vara, 29There shall be no humpbacked, none bulged forward there; no impotent, no lunatic; no poverty, no lying; no meanness, no jealousy; no i8 decayed tooth, no leprous to be confined1, nor any of the brands wherewith Angra Mainyu stamps the bodies of mortals. 30In the largest part of the place thou shalt make nine streets, six in the middle part, three in the smallest. To the streets of the largest part thou shalt bring a thousand seeds of men and women; to the streets of the middle part, six hun¬ dred; to the streets of the smallest part, three hundred. That Vara thou shalt seal up with the golden ring2, and thou shalt make a door, and a window self-shining within. 31Then Yima said within himself: ‘How shall I manage to make that Vara which Ahura Mazda has commanded me to make?’ And Ahura Mazda said unto Yima: ‘ O fair Yima, son of Vivanghat! Crush the earth with a stamp of thy heel, and then knead it with thy hands, as the potter does when kneading the potter’s clay 3.’ [32. And Yima did as Ahura Mazda wished; he crushed the earth with a stamp of his heel, he kneaded it with his hands, as the potter does when kneading the potter’s clay4.] 33And Yima made a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square. There he brought the seeds of sheep and oxen, of men, of dogs, of birds, and of red blazing fires. He made a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be an abode for men; a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be a fold for flocks. 34There he made waters flow in a bed a hathra long; there he settled birds, by the ever¬ green banks that bear never-failing food. There he established dwelling places, consisting of a house with a balcony, a courtyard, and a gallery. 35There he brought the seeds of men and women, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; there he brought the seeds of every kind of cattle, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth. 36There he brought the seeds of every kind of tree, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; there he brought the seeds of every kind of fruit, the fullest of food and sweetest of odour. All those seeds he brought, two of every kind, to be kept inexhaustible there, so long as those men shall stay in the Vara. 37And there were no humpbacked, none bulged forward there; no impotent, no lunatic; no poverty, no lying; no meanness, no jealousy; no decayed tooth, no leprous to be confined, nor any of the brands wherewith Angra Mainyu stamps the bodies of mortals. 38In the largest part of the place he made nine streets, six in the middle part, three in the smallest. To the streets of the largest part he brought a thousand seeds of men and women; to the streets of the middle part, six hundred; to the streets of the smallest part, three hundred. That c 2 Vara he sealed up with the golden ring, and he made a door, and a window self-shining within. 39O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What [lights are there to give light1] in the Vara which Yima made? 40(131). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘There are uncreated lights and created lights 2. There the stars, the moon, and the sun are only once (a year) seen to rise and set 3, and a year seems only as a day. We give here the description of Inln-ve^ according to a later source, the Mainy6-i-khard (as translated by West): ‘ Hormezd created Ara-v6z better than the remaining places and districts; and its goodness was this, that men’s life is three hundred years; and cattle and sheep, one hundred and fifty years; and their pain and sickness are little, and they do not circulate falsehood, and they make no lamentation and weeping; and the sovereignty of the demon of Avarice, in their body, is little, and in ten men, if they eat one loaf, they are satisfied; and in every forty years, from one woman and one man, one child is born; and their law is goodness, and religion the primeval religion, and when they die, they are righteous (= blessed); and their chief is Gopatshah, and the ruler and king is Srosh’ (XLIV, 24). 42O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is he who brought the law of Mazda into the Vara which Yima made? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ It was the bird Karshipta1, O holy Zarathmtra!’ 43O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the lord and ruler there? Ahura Mazda answered: ‘ Urvatatf-nara2, O Zarathustra! and thyself, Zarathmtra.’ ‹Previous chapterVendidad Fargard 1Next chapterVendidad Fargard 3›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