Book of Zoroaster (Vendidad)

iconChapter - 6

1How long shall the piece of ground he fallow whereon dogs or men have died? Lord God answered: 'A year long shall the piece of ground he fallow whereon dogs or men have died, O holy Zoroaster!
2'A year long shall no worshipper of God sow or water that piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died; he may sow as hel ikes the rest of the ground; he may water it as he likes.
3'If within the year they shall sow or water the piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died, they are guilty of the sin of "burying the dead" towards the water, towards the earth, and towards the plants.'
4O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of God shall sow or water, within the year, the piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died, what is the penalty that they shall pay?
5The Lord God answered: 'They are Peshotanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-karana.'
6O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of God want to till that piece of ground again, to water it,to sow it, and to plough it, what shall they do?
7The Lord God answered: 'They shall look on the ground for any bones, hair, dung, urine, or blood that may be there.'
8O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If they shall not look on the ground for any bones, hair, dung, urine, or blood that may be there, what is the penalty that they shall pay?
9The Lord God answered: 'They are Peshotanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-karana.'
10O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the little finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
11The Lord God answered: 'Thirty stripes with the Aspahe-astra,thirty stripes with the Sraosho-karana.'
12O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the fore-finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
13The Lord God answered: 'Fifty stripes with the Aspahe-astra,fifty stripes with the Sraosho-karana.'
14O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the middle finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
15The Lord God answered: 'Seventy stripes with the Aspahe-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraosho-karana.'
16O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as a finger or as a rib, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
17The Lord God answered: 'Ninety stripes with the Aspahe-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
18O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as two fingers or as two ribs, and if grease or marrow flow from it on the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
19The Lord God answered: 'He is Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
20O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as an arm-bone or as a thigh-bone, and if grease or marrow flow from it on the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
21The Lord God answered: 'Four hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,four hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
22O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as a man's skull, and if grease or marrow flow from it on the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
23The Lord God answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,six hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
24O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on the ground the whole body of a dead dog, or of a dead man, and if grease or marrow flow from it on the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
25The Lord God answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,a thousand stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
26O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a worshipper of God, walking, or running, or riding, or driving, come upon a corpse in a stream of running water, what shall he do?
27The Lord God answered: 'Taking off his shoes, putting off his clothes, while the others wait, O Zoroaster! he shall enter the river, and take the dead out of the water; he shall go down into the water ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, or a man's full depth, till he can reach the dead body.'
28O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If, however,the body be already falling to pieces and rotting, what shall the worshipper of God do?
29The Lord God answered: 'He shall draw out of the water as much of the corpse as he can grasp with both hands, and he shall lay it down on the dry ground; no sin attaches to him for any bone, hair, grease, dung, urine, or blood that may drop back into the water.'
30O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water in a pond does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption,infection, and pollution?
31The Lord God answered: 'Six steps on each of the four sides. As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall,therefore, take the corpse out of the pond, and lay it down on the dry ground.
32'And of the water they shall draw off the half, or the third,or the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they are able or not; and after the corpse has been taken out and the water has been drawn off, the rest of the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
33O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part ofthe water in a well does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption, infection, and pollution?
34The Lord God answered: 'As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the well, and lay it down on the dry ground.
35'And of the water in the well they shall draw off the half,or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they are able or not; and after the corpse has been taken out and the water has been drawn off, the rest of the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
36O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of a sheet of snow or hail does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption, infection, and pollution?
37The Lord God answered: 'Three steps on each of the four sides.As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall,therefore, take the corpse out of the pond, and lay it down on the dry ground.
38'After the corpse has been taken out, and the snow or the hail has melted, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
39O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water of a running stream does the Druj Nasu defile with corruption,infection, and pollution?
40The Lord God answered: 'Three steps down the stream, nine steps up the stream, six steps across. As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the pond, and lay it down on the dry ground.
41'After the corpse has been taken out and the stream has flowed three times, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before.'
42O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the Haoma that has been touched with Nasu from a dead dog, or from a dead man, be made clean again?
43The Lord God answered: 'It can, O holy Zoroaster! If it has been prepared for the sacrifice, there is to it no corruption,no death, no touch of any Nasu. If it has not been prepared for the sacrifice, [the stem] is defiled the length of four fingers:it shall be laid down on the ground, in the middle of the house,for a year long. When the year is passed, the faithful may drink of its juice at their pleasure, as before.'
44O Maker of the material world, thou holy One! Whither shall we bring, where shall we lay the bodies of the dead, O Lord God?
45The Lord God answered: 'On the highest summits, where they know there are always corpse-eating dogs and corpse-eating birds,O holy Zoroaster!
46'There shall the worshippers of God fasten the corpse, by the feet and by the hair, with brass, stones, or clay, lest the corpse-eating dogs and the corpse-eating birds shall go and carry the bones to the water and to the trees.
47'If they shall not fasten the corpse, so that the corpse-eating dogs and the corpse-eating birds may go and carry the bones to the water and to the trees, what is the penalty that they shall pay?'
48The Lord God answered: 'They shall be Peshotanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'
49O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Whither shall we bring, where shall we lay the bones of the dead, O Lord God?
50The Lord God answered: 'The worshippers of God shall make a receptacle out of the reach of the dog, of the fox, and of the wolf, and wherein rain-water cannot stay.
51'They shall make it, if they can afford it, with stones, plaster,or earth; if they cannot afford it, they shall lay down the dead man on the ground, on his carpet and his pillow, clothed with the light of heaven, and beholding the sun.'