AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 13. The dog.

This digital edition pepared by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995; updated Mar 27, 2011.

Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.)

I (1-7). The dog of Ohrmazd and the dog of Ahriman.

(a. 1-4). Holiness of the dog Vanghapara ('the hedgehog').

(b. 5-7). Hatefulness of the dog Zairimyangura ('the tortoise').

II (8-16). The several kinds of dogs. Penalties for the murder of a dog.

III (17-19) On the duties of the shepherd's dog and the house-dog.

IV (20-38). On the food due to the dog.

V (29-38). On the mad dog and the dog diseased; how they are 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 (51-54). The water-dog.

This Fargard is the only complete fragment, still in existence, of a large canine literature: a whole section of the Ganba-sar-nijat Nask [Duwasrud Nask] was dedicated to the dog (the so-called Fargard Pasush-haurvastan; West, Denkard (Pahlavi Texts, IV), VIII, 23; 24, 5; 33, &c.)

FARGARD 13. The dog.

Ia.

 Notes:
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. Ahura Mazda answered: 'The dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghapara1, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka2; this is the good creature among the creatures of the Good Spirit [Spenta Mainyu -JHP] that from midnight till the sun is up goes and kills thousands of the creatures of the Evil Spirit. 1. The hedgehog. 'The hedgehog, according to the Bund. 19.28, is created in opposition to the ant that carries off grain, as it says that the hedgehog, every time that it voids urine into an ant's nest, will destroy a thousand ants, (Bund. 19.28; cf. Saddar 57). When the Arabs conquered Saistan, the inhabitants submitted on the condition that hedgehogs should not be killed nor hunted for, as they got rid of the vipers which swarm in that country. Every house had its hedgehog (Yaqout, Dictionnaire de la Perse, p. 303). Plutarch counts the hedgehog amongst the animals sacred to the Magi (Quaestiones Conviviales, IV, 5, 2)

2. Dusaka is the popular name of the hedgehog (Pers. zuza). It is not without importance which name is given to a being: 'When called by its high name, it is powerful' (Comm.); cf. § 6, and Vd18.15.

3. 'And whosoever, O Zarathushtra! shall kill the dog with the prickly back, with the long and thin muzzle, the dog Vanghapara, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka, kills his own soul for nine generations, nor shall he find a way over the Chinwad bridge3, unless he has, while alive, atoned for his sin4.' 3. The bridge leading to Paradise; see Vd19.30.

4. Cf. § 54. Framji translates: 'He cannot atone for it in his life even by performing a sacrifice to Sraosha' (cf. Vd9.56, text and note).

4. 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 Vanghapara, which evil-speaking people call the Duzaka, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahe-astra, a thousand stripes with the Sraosho-charana.

Ib.

5. 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 [Spenta Mainyu -JHP]?

6. Ahura Mazda answered: 'The daeva Zairimyangura5, which evil-speaking people call the Zairimyaka6, 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 [Spenta Mainyu -JHP]. 5. The tortoise (Framji and Rivayats [218]).

6. 'When not so called it is less strong' (Comm.) Zairimyâka is a lucky name, and means, as it seems, who lives in verdure; Zairimyangura seems to mean 'the verdure-devourer.'

7. 'And whosoever, O Zarathushtra! 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 for7. 7. See Vd14.5

II.

8. 'Whosoever shall smite either a shepherd's dog, or a house-dog, or a Vohunazga dog8, or a trained dog9, his soul when passing to the other world, shall fly10 howling louder and more sorely grieved than the sheep does in the lofty forest where the wolf ranges. 8. See § 19, note.

9. A hunting-dog.

10. 'From Paradise' (Comm.)

9. 'No soul will come and meet his departing soul and help it, howling and grieved in the other world; nor will the dogs that keep the [Chinwad] bridge11 help his departing soul howling and grieved in the other world. 11. See Vd19.30.
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 loss, and he shall pay for the wound of the dog as for wilful wounding12. 12. Baodhô-varshta; see Vd7.38 n.
11. '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 [anything] from the house, without the dog giving any warning, the man shall pay for the loss, and he shall pay for the wound of the dog as for wilful wounding.'

12. 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 Aspahe-astra, eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

13. 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 Aspahe-astra, seven hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

14. 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 Aspahe-astra, six hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

15. O Maker of tlie material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall smite a Tauruna dog13 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 Aspahe-astra, five hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

13. Tauruna seems to be another name of the trained or hunting-dog (cf. § 8 compared with §§ 12-15), though tradition translates it 'a dog not older than four months.'
16. 'This is the penalty for the murder of a Jazhu dog, of a Vizu dog14, of a porcupine dog15, of a sharptoothed weasel16, of a swift-running fox; this is the penalty for the murder of any of the creatures of the Good Spirit [Spenta Mainyu] belonging to the dog kind, except the water-dog17.' 14. Unknown. See Vd5.31, 32.

15. A porcupine. See Vd5.31.

16. A weasel. See Vd5.33.

17. The otter. 'For the penalty in that case is most heavy' (Comm.) See § 52 seq. and Vd14.

III.

17. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the place of the shepherd's dog?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He comes and goes a Yujyesti18 round about the fold, watching for the thief and the wolf.'

18. A distance of sixteen Hathras (16,000 paces).
18. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the place of the house-dog?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He comes and goes a Hathra round about the house, watching for the thief and the wolf.'

19. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the place of the Vohunazga dog?.

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He claims none of those talents, and only seeks for his subsistence19.'

19. '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 or the dogs which can be used for the Sag-did.

IV.

20. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a shepherd's dog, of what sin does he make himself guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of the first rank.'

21. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a house-dog, of what sin does he make himself guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a master of a house of middle rank.'

22. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a Vohunazga dog, of what sin does he make himself guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a holy man, who should come to his house in the character of a priest20.'

20. The Vohunazga dog has no domicile, therefore he is not compared with the master of a house, but with a wandering friar, who lives on charity.
23. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man give bad food to a Tauruna dog, of what sin does he make himself guilty?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He makes himself guilty of the same guilt as though he should serve bad food to a young man, born of pious parents, and who can already answer for his deeds21.'

21. Probably, 'Who has performed the nu-zud [navjote -JHP], fifteen years old.' The young dog enters the community of the faithful at the age of four months, when he is fit for the Sag-did and can expel the Nasu.
24. 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 Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana22.'

22. '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; 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 Atar 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' (Arda Viraf 48, translated by Haug).
25. 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 Aspahe-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

26. 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 Aspahe-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

27. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall give bad food to a Tauruna dog, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda ansvvered: 'Fifty stripes with the Aspahe-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraosho-charana.

28. 'For in this material world, O Spitama Zarathushtra! it is the dog, of all the creatures of the Good Spirit [Spenta Mainyu], 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 meat23; this is the right food for the dog24.' 23. The same food as recommended for the dog by Columella (Ordacea farina cum sero, VII, 12; cf. Virgil, Pasce sero pingui, Georg. III, 406).

24. '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 31).

V.

29. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a mad dog that bites without barking, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

30. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie thereto a muzzle, an asti25 thick if the wood be hard, two astis thick if it be soft. To that collar they shall tie it; by the two sides26 of the collar they shall tie it. 25. A measure of unknown amount. Framji reads ishti, 'a brick' thick.

26. By the left and the right side of it.

31. 'If they shall not do so, and the mad dog that bites without barking, smite a sheep or wound a man, the dog shall pay for the wound of the wounded as for wilful murder27. 27. According to Solon's law, the dog who had bitten a man was to be delivered to him tied up to a block four cubits long (Plutarchus, Solon 24). The Book of Deuteronomy orders the ox who has killed a man to be put to death.
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.

33. 'If he shall smite a third sheep or wound a third man, they shall make a cut in his right foot28. If he shall smite a fourth sheep or wound a fourth man, they shall make a cut in his left foot. 28. 'They only cut off a piece of flesh from the foot' (Brouillons d'Anquetil).
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 a muzzle to the collar; by the two sides of the collar they shall tie it. If they shall not do so, and the mad dog that bites without barking, smite a sheep or wound a man, he shall pay for the wound of the wounded as for wilful murder.'

35. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If there be in the house of a worshipper of Mazda a mad dog, who has no scent, 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. O Maker oi the material world, thou Holy One! If they try to heal him and fail, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?

37. Ahura Mazda answered: 'They shall put a wooden collar around his neck, and they shall tie thereto a muzzle, an asti thick if the wood be hard, two astis thick if it be soft. To that collar they shall tie it; by the two sides of the collar they shall tie it.

38. 'If they shall not do so, the scentless dog may fall into a hole, or a well, or a precipice, or a river, or a canal, and come to grief: if he come to grief so, they shall be therefore Peshotanus.

VI.

39. 'The dog, O Spitama Zarathushtra! I, Ahura Mazda, have made self-clothed and self-shod; watchful and 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, when sound of mind and watchful over your goods.

40. 'And whosoever shall awake at his voice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! neither shall the thief nor the wolf carry anything from his house, without his being warned; the wolf shall be smitten and torn to pieces; he is driven away, he melts away like snow29.' 29. Doubtful.

VII.

41. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which of the two wolves deserves more to be killed, the one that a he-dog begets of a she-wolf, or the one that a he-wolf begets of a she-dog?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'Of these two wolves, the one that a he-dog begets of a she-wolf deserves more to be killed than the one that a he-wolf begets of a she-dog.

42. 'For the dogs born therefrom fall on the shepherd's dog, on the house-dog, on the Vohu-nazga dog, on the trained dog, and destroy the folds; such dogs are more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other dogs30. 30. 'Ultroque gravis succedere tigrim
Aura canis, majore tulit de sanguine foetum.
Sed praeceps virtus ipsa venabitur aula:
Ille tibi et pecudum multo cum sanguine crescet.' - Gratius Faliscus, Cyneg. 165 seq.
43. 'And the wolves born therefrom 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 more murderous, more mischievous, more destructive to the folds than any other wolves.

VIII.

44. 'A dog has the characters of eight 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 disu,

'He has the character of a courtezan,

'He has the character of a child.

45. 'He eats the refuse, like a priest31; he is easily satisfied32, like a priest; he is patient, 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 warrior33; he goes first out of the house, like a warrior34; in these things he is like unto a warrior.

31. A wandering priest (see above, note 20).

32. 'Good treatment makes him joyous' (Comm.)

33. 'He keeps away the wolf and the thief' (Comm.)

34. This clause is, as it seems, repeated here by mistake from § 46.

46. 'He is watchful and sleeps lightly, like a husbandman; he goes first out of the house, like a husbandman35; he returns last into the house, like a husbandman36; in these things he is like unto a husbandman.

'He is fond of singing, like a strolling singer37; he wounds him who gets too near38, like a strolling singer; he is ill-trained, like a strolling singer; he is changeful, like a strolling singer; in these things he is like unto a strolling singer.

35. When taking the cattle out of the stables.

36. When bringing the cattle back to the stables.

37. The so-called Looris of nowadays.

38. He insults or robs the passer by, like a Loori.-' The Looris wander in the world, seeking their life, bed-fellows and fellow-travelers of the dogs and the wolves, ever on the roads to rob day and night' (Firdausi).

47. 'He is fond of darkness, like a thief; he prowls about in darkness, like a thief; he is a shameless eater, like a thief; he is therefore an unfaithful keeper, like a thief39; in these things he is like unto a thief.

'He is fond of darkness, like a disu40; he prowls about in darkness, like a disu; he is a shameless eater, like a disu; he is therefore an unfaithful keeper, like a disu; in these things he is like unto a disu.

39. 'When one trusts him with something, he eats it up' (Comm.)

40. According to Framji, 'a wild beast.'

48. 'He is fond of singing, like a courtezan; he wounds him who gets too near, like a courtezan; he roams along the roads, like a courtezan; he is ill-trained, like a courtezan; he is changeful, like a courtezan41; in these things he is like unto a courtezan.

'He is fond of sleep, like a child; he is tender like snow42, like a child; he is full of tongue, like a child; he digs the earth with his paws42, like a child; in these things he is like unto a child.

41. The description of the courtesan follows closely that of the singer: in the East a public songstress is generally a prostitute. Loori means both a singer and a prostitute.

42. Doubtful.

IX.

49. 'If those two dogs of mine, the shepherd's dog and the house-dog, pass by any of my houses, 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-dog43.'

43. 'But for the dog not a single head of cattle would remain in existence' (Saddar 31).

X.

50. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When a dog dies, with marrow and seed44 dried up, whereto does his ghost go? 44. Marrow is the seat of life, the spine is 'the column and the spring of life' (Yt10.71); the sperm comes from it (Bundahishn 16). The same theory prevailed in India, where the sperm is called majjâ-samudbhava, 'what is born from marrow;' it was followed by Plato (Timaeus 74, 91; cf. Censorinus, De die natali, 5), and disproved by Aristotle (De Part. Anim. III, 7).
51. Ahura Mazda answered: 'It passes to the spring of the waters45, O Spitama Zarathushtra! and there out of them two water-dogs are formed: out of every thousand dogs and every thousand she-dogs, a couple is formed, a water-dog and a water she-dog46. 45. To the spring of Ardvi Sura, the goddess of waters.

46. There is therefore in a single water-dog as much life and holiness as in a thousand dogs. This accounts for the following. -- The water-dog (udra upâpa; Persian sag-îâbî) is the otter.

52. 'He who kills a water-dog brings about a drought that dries up pastures.

'Until then, O Spitama Zarathushtra! 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. 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. 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 on the spot, 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 prepared47. 47. See Vd9.55, 56, note 34.
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 grass48.'] 48. See Vd9.53-57.