The Zend Avesta, Part I (SBE04), James Darmesteter, tr. [1880], at sacred-texts.com
I (1-7). The dog of Ormazd and the dog of Ahriman.
(a. 1-4). The dog Vanghâpara ('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.
V (29-38). On 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.
X (50-54). The water dog.
See Introd. IV, 35.
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 (3). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghâpara 1, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka 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 creatures of the evil spirit.
3 (6). 'And whosoever, O Zarathustra! shall kill, the dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghâpara, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka, kills his own soul for nine generations, nor shall he find a way over the Kinvad bridge 3, unless he has, while alive, atoned for his sin by offering up a sacrifice to Sraosha 4.'
4 (10). 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 Vanghâpara, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
5 (13). 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?
6 (15). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘The daêva Zairimyangura 1, which evil-speaking people call the Zairimyâka 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 creatures of the good spirit.
7 (18). ‘And whosoever, O Zarathustra! shall kill the daêva Zairimyangura, which evil-speaking people call the Zairimyâka, 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 shepherd's dog, or a house dog, or a Vohunazga dog 3, or
a trained dog 1, his soul when passing to the other world, shall fly 2 amid louder howling and fiercer pursuing than the sheep does when the wolf rushes upon it in the lofty forest.
9 (24). ‘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 Kinvad bridge 4 help his departing soul through the howls and pursuit in the other world.
10 (26). ‘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 5.
11 (31). '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 goods from the house, without the dog giving any warning, the man shall pay for the lost goods, and he shall pay for the wound of the dog as for wilful wounding.'
12 (36). 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 Aspahê-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
13 (39). 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 Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
14 (42). 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 Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
15 (45). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a young dog 1 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 Aspahê-astra, five hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
16 (48). 'This is the penalty for the murder of a Gazu dog, of a Vîzu dog 2, of a Sukuruna dog 3, of a sharp-toothed Urupi dog 4, of a swift-running Raopi 5 dog; this is the penalty for the murder of any kind of dog but the water dog 6'
17 (49). O 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 Yugyêsti 1 round about the fold, watching for the thief and the wolf.'
18 (51). O 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 Hâthra round about the house, watching for the thief and the wolf.'
19 (53). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the dog that must be called a Vohunazga dog?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the dog who claims none of those talents, and only seeks for his subsistence 2.'
20 (55). O 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.'
21 (57). O 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.'
22 (59). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a Vohunazga 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 priest 1, who should come to his house.'
23 (61). O 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 himself 2.'
24 (63). 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 Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana 3.'
25 (66). 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 Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
26 (69). 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 Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.'
27 (72). O 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 Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.
28 (75). '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 dog 1.'
29 (80). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a mad dog, or one that bites without barking, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?
30 (82). Ahura 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 (86). ‘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 (88). ‘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 (90). ‘If he shalt smite a third sheep or wound a third man, they shall cut off his right foot 4. If he shall smite a fourth sheep or wound a fourth man, they shall cut off his left foot.
34 (92). ‘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.'
35 (97). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a scentless dog, or a mad dog, 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 (100). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If they try to heal him and fail, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?
37 (102). Ahura 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 (102). ‘If they shall not do so, and the scentless 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 Peshôtanus.
39 (106). ‘The dog, O Spitama Zarathustra! 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. I, Ahura 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 anything from his house, without his being warned, the wolf shall be smitten and torn to pieces; he is driven away, he flees away.'
41 (115). O 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 she-dog and of a he-wolf?
Ahura Mazda answered: ‘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 (117). ‘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 the Vohunazga 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 (121). ‘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 (126). ‘He eats broken food, like a priest 1; 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 warrior 3; he goes first out of the house, like a warrior 4; 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 5; 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 shameless
eater, like a thief;. he is an unfaithful keeper, like a thief 1; 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 shameless 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 (153). ‘He sings, like a courtezan; he is intrusive, 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 away 3, like a child; he is full of tongue, like a child; he goes on all fours 4, like a child; in these things he is like unto a child.
49 (163). ‘If those two dogs of mine, the shepherd'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 shepherd's dog and the house dog 5.'
50 (166). O Maker of the material world, thou
[paragraph continues] Holy One! When a dog dies, with marrow and seed 1 dried up, whereto does his ghost go?
51 (167). Ahura 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 (170). 'He who kills a water dog brings about a drought that dries up pastures. Before that time, O Spitama Zarathustra! 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 (171). 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 (172). 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 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 uplifted 1.
56 (174). ['Then sweetness and fatness will come back again to the land and to those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn and grass 2.']
152:1 The hedge-hog. As it struggles from midnight till the dawn, this supposes the existence of a myth, in which the rays of the sun, beginning from midnight to pierce the veil of darkness, were compared to the prickles of a heavenly hedge-hog.
152:2 Duzaka is the popular name of the hedge-hog (Pers. zuzah). The name Vanghâpara must have referred to its mythical qualities. It is not without importance which name is given to it: 'When called by its high name, it is powerful' (Comm.); cf. § 6, and Farg. XVIII, 15. The nature of every being lies partly in its name.
152:3 The bridge leading to paradise; see Farg. XIX, 30.
152:4 Cf. § 54. Aspendiârji translates: 'He cannot atone for it in his life even by performing a sacrifice to Sraosha.'
153:1 The tortoise (Asp.)
153:2 'When not so called it is less strong' (Comm.) Zairimyâka is a lucky name, as it is connected with a word (zairimya) which denotes the freshness of water and verdure; and it seems to designate the tortoise as 'the fresh-water creature' (Asp.); therefore the name is corrected into 'the injurer (?) of fresh water.'
153:3 See § 19 n.
154:1 A hunting dog(?).
154:2 'From paradise' (Comm.)
154:3 Of the Dîvs.
154:4 See Introd. V, 4.
154:5 Baodhô-varsta; see Farg. VII, 38 n.
155:1 A dog not older than four months.
155:2 Unknown. Cf. V, 31, 32.
155:3 A lynx. Cf. V, 3
155:4 A weazel. Cf. V, 33.
155:5 A fox. The fox belongs to the good creation, as he fights against the demon Khava (Bund. XIX; cf. Orm. Ahr. § 228).
155:6 The beaver. 'For the penalty in that case is most heavy' (Comm.) Cf. § 52 seq. and Farg. XIV.
156:1 A measure unknown; it seems to have been the average distance of fourteen houses (see the gloss ad § 17 in the Introd. V, 4, Farg. XV, 45, and Bund. p. 31, 7).
156:2 'He cannot do the same as the shepherd's dog and the house dog do, but he catches Khrafstras and smites the Nasu' (Comm.) It is 'the dog without a master' (gharîb), the vagrant dog; he is held in great esteem (§ 22) and is one of the dogs who can be used for the Sag-dîd (Introd. V, 4).
156:3 Invited as a guest.
157:1 The Vohunazga dog has no domicile, therefore he is not compared with the master of a house; as he smites the Nasu, he is like a holy man, of the wandering class, a sort of begging friar.
157:2 Probably, 'Who has performed the nû-zûd, fifteen years old.' The young dog enters the community of the faithful at the age of four months, when he can smite the Nasu.
157:3 'I also saw the soul of a man, whom demons, just like dogs, ever tear. That man gives bread to the dogs, and they eat it not; p. 158 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? Srôsh the pious and Âtarô 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 householders; or beat and killed them' (Ardai Vîrâf XLVIII, translated by Haug).
158:1 'Whenever one eats bread one must put aside three mouthfuls and give them to the dog . . . for among all the poor there is none poorer than the dog' (Saddar V; Hyde 35).
159:1 A measure of unknown amount. Aspendiârji reads isti, 'a brick' thick.
159:2 By the forepart and the back part of it.
159:3 As there is no essential difference between man and beast, the beast must answer for its guilt. According to Solon's law, the dog who has bitten any one must be delivered to him tied up to a block four cubits long (Plutarchus, Solon 24); the horse who has killed a man is put to death (Eusebius, Prep. Evang. 5).
159:4 'They only cut off a piece of flesh from the foot' (Brouillons d‘Anquetil).
162:1 A wandering priest (see p. 157, n. 1).
162:2 Doubtful.
162:3 'He keeps away the wolf and the thief' (Comm.)
162:4 This clause is, as it seems, repeated here by mistake from § 46.
162:5 When taking the cattle out of the stables.
162:6 When bringing the cattle back to the stables.
162:7 Doubtful.
163:1 'When one trusts him with something, he eats it' (Comm.)
163:2 According to Asp.
163:3 He is fearful.
163:4 Doubtful.
163:5 'But for the dog not a single head of cattle would remain in existence' (Saddar 31; Hyde 35).
164:1 Marrow is the seat of life, the spine is 'the column and the spring of life' (Yt. X, 7 1); the sperm comes from it (Bundahis XVI). The same theory prevailed in India, where the sperm is called maggâ-samudbhava, 'what is born from marrow;' it was followed by Plato (Timaeus 74, 91; cf. Plut. De Plac. Philos. V, 3, 4), and disproved by Aristotle (De Part. Anim. III, 7).
164:2 To the spring of Ardvî Sûra, the goddess of waters.
164:3 There is therefore in a single water dog as much life and holiness as in a thousand dogs. This accounts for the following.
165:1 The zanda ravân, the same sacrifice as is offered up for three days and three nights after the death of a man for the salvation of his soul. Cf. p. 132, n. 4.
165:2 Cf. Farg. IX, 53-57.