Vendidad 14

Fargard XIV

Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda: 'O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He who smites one of those water-dogs that are born one from a thousand dogs and a thousand she-dogs, so that he gives up the ghost and the soul parts from the body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?'

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He shall pay ten thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ten thousand stripes with the Sraoshô-karana. 'He shall godly and piously bring unto the fire of Ahura Mazda ten thousand loads of hard, well dried, well examined wood, to redeem his own soul.

He shall godly and piously bring unto the fire of Ahura Mazda ten thousand loads of soft wood, of Urvâsna, Voht-gaona, Vohû-kereti, Hadhâ-naêpata, or any sweet-scented plant, to redeem his own soul.

'He shall godly and piously tie ten thousand bundles of Baresma, to redeem his own soul. 'He shall offer up to the Good Waters ten thousand Zaothra libations with the Haoma and the milk, cleanly prepared and well strained, cleanly prepared and well strained by a pious man, and mixed with the roots of the tree known as Hadhâ-naêpata, to redeem his own soul.

He shall kill ten thousand snakes of those that go upon the belly. He shall kill ten thousand Kahrpus, who are snakes with the shape of a dog. He shall kill ten thousand tortoises. He shall kill ten thousand land-frogs; he shall kill ten thousand water-frogs. He shall kill ten thousand corn-carrying ants; he shall kill ten thousand ants of the small, venomous mischievous kind.

He shall kill ten thousand worms of those that live on dirt; he shall kill ten thousand raging flies. He shall fill up ten thousand holes for the unclean. 'He shall godly and piously give to godly men twice the set of seven implements for the fire, to redeem his own soul, namely:-

'The two answering implements for fire; a broom; a pair of tongs; a pair of round bellows extended at the bottom, contracted at the top; a sharp-edged sharp-pointed adze; a sharp-toothed sharp-pointed saw; by means of which the worshippers of Mazda procure wood for the fire of Ahura Mazda.

'He shall godly and piously give to godly men a set of the priestly instruments of which the priests make use, to redeem his own soul, namely: The Astra; the meat-vessel; the Paitidâna; the Khrafstraghna; the Sraoshô-karana; the cup for the Myazda; the cups for mixing and dividing‘; the regular mortar; the Haoma cups; and the Baresma.

He shall godly and piously give to godly men a set of all the war implements of which the warriors make use, to redeem his own soul; 'The first being a javelin, the second a sword, the third a club, the fourth a bow, the fifth a saddle with a quiver and thirty brass-headed arrows, the sixth a sling with arm-string and with thirty sling stones; The seventh a cuirass, the eighth a hauberk, the ninth a tunic, the tenth a helmet, the eleventh a girdle, the twelfth a pair of greaves.

'He shall godly and piously give to godly men a set of all the implements of which the husbandmen make use, to redeem his own soul, namely: A plough with yoke and...1; a goad for ox; a mortar of stone; a round-headed hand-mill for grinding corn;

A spade for digging and tilling; one measure of silver and one measure of gold.' O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How much silver? Ahura Mazda answered: 'The price of a stallion.' O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How much gold? Ahura Mazda answered: 'The price of a he-camel.

He shall godly and piously procure a rill of running water for godly husbandmen, to redeem his own soul.' O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How large is the rill? Ahura Mazda answered: 'The depth of a dog, and the breadth of a dog.

'He shall godly and piously give a piece of arable land to godly men, to redeem his own soul.' O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How large is the piece of land? Ahura Mazda answered: 'As much as can be watered with such a rill divided into two canals.

He shall godly and piously procure for godly men a stable for oxen, with nine hâthras and nine nematas, to redeem his own soul.' O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How large is the stable? Ahura Mazda answered: 'It shall have twelve alleys in the largest part of the house, nine alleys in the middle part, six alleys in the smallest part. 'He shall godly and piously give to godly men goodly beds with sheets and cushions, to redeem his own soul.

He shall godly and piously give in marriage to a godly man a virgin maid, whom no man has known, to redeem his own soul.' O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What sort of maid? Ahura Mazda answered: 'A sister or a daughter of his, at the age of puberty, with ear-rings in her ears, and past her fifteenth year.

'He shall godly and piously give to holy men twice seven head of small cattle, to redeem his own soul. 'He shall bring up twice seven whelps. 'He shall throw twice seven bridges over canals.

He shall put into repair twice nine stables that are out of repair. 'He shall cleanse twice nine dogs from stipti, anâiriti, and vyangura, and all the diseases that are produced on the body of a dog. 'He shall treat twice nine godly men to their fill of meat, bread, strong drink, and wine.

'This is the penalty, this is the atonement which saves the faithful man who submits to it, not him who does not submit to it. Such a one shall surely be an inhabitant in the mansion of the Drug'