Vendidad
Encyclopedia
The Vendidad or Videvdat is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta
. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the Vendidad is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual.
Vî-Daêvô-Dāta, "Given Against the Daevas
(Demons)", and as the name suggests, the Vendidad is an enumeration of various manifestations of evil spirits, and ways to confound them. According to the divisions of the Avesta as described in the Denkard
, a 9th century text, the Vendidad includes all of the 19th nask, which is then the only nask that has survived in its entirety.
' s different parts vary widely in character and in age. Although some portions are relatively recent in origin, the subject matter of the greater part is very old. In 1877, Karl Friedrich Geldner
identified the texts as being linguistically distinct from both the Old Avestan language texts and well as from the Yashts of the younger Avesta.
Today, there is a controversy about how really was the historical development of the Vendidad. Vendidad is classified by some as an artificial Younger Avestan text, that is, its language attempts to mimic Old Avestan. In this perspective, the Vendidad is theorized as being a Magi (or Magi-influenced) composition.Portions of the book are available online. It has also been suggested that the Vendidad belongs to a particular liturgical school, but "no linguistic or textual argument allows us to attain any degree of certainty in these matters."
The Vendidad consists of 22 fargards or chapters containing fragments arranged as discussions between Ahura Mazda
and Zoroaster
. This literary technique, however, does not mean it was a composition by one of the prophet's contemporaries.
However, some consider the Vendidad as being linked to ancient early Zoroastrian oral traditions, being only lately written as a book of laws to the community.
The term 'youngest' is a comparative term since the writing of the Vendidad preceded - perhaps substantially - the formation of Media and Persia, viz. before the 8th century B.C.E..
In addition, as with the Yashts, the date of composition of the final version does not exclude the possibility that some parts of the Vendidad may consist of very old material. Even in this modern age, Zoroastrians are continually rewriting old spiritual material.
The first chapter is a dualistic creation myth, followed by the description of a destructive winter comparable with the great floods of various other mythologies. The second chapter recounts the legend of Yima (Jamshid
). Chapter 19 relates the temptation of Zoroaster
, who, when urged by Angra Mainyu
to turn from the good religion, turns instead towards Ahura Mazda
. The remaining chapters cover diverse rules and regulations, through the adherence of which evil spirits may be confounded. Broken down by subject, these fargards deal with the following topics (chapter(s) where a topic is covered are in brackets):
There is a degree of moral relativism
apparent in the Vendidad, and the diverse rules and regulations are not always expressed as being mystical, absolute, universal or mandatory. The Vendidad is mainly about social laws, mores, customs and culture. In some instances, the description of prescribed behaviour is accompanied by a description of the penances that have to be made to atone for violations thereof. Such penances include:
The emergent reformist Zoroastrian movement reject the later writings in the Avesta as being corruptions of Zarathustra's original teachings and thus do not consider the Vendidad as an original Zoroastrian scripture. Thet argue that it was written nearly 700 years after the death of Zarathustra and interpret the writing as different from the other parts of the Avesta.
An article by Hannah M. G. Shapero Ushtavaiti sums up the refomist perspective:
service. Although such extended Yasnas appears to have been frequently performed in the mid-18th century (as noted in Anquetil-Duperron's
observations), it is very rarely performed at the present-day. In such an extended service, Visparad 12 and Vendidad 1-4 are inserted between Yasna 27 and 28. The Vendidad ceremony is always performed between nightfall and dawn, though a normal Yasna is performed between dawn and noon.
The Vendidad may also be recited on its own, not accompanied by any ritual activity: this ceremony is known as the Vendidad Sadé.
Because of its length and complexity, the Vendidad is read, rather than recalled from memory as is otherwise necessary for the Yasna texts. The recitation of the Vendidad requires a priest of higher rank (one with a moti khub) than is normally necessary for the recitation of the Yasna.
Avesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the Vendidad is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual.
Name
The name of the texts is a contraction of the Avestan languageAvestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
Vî-Daêvô-Dāta, "Given Against the Daevas
Daeva
Daeva in Avestan language meaning "a being of shining light", is a term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. Equivalents in Iranian languages include Pashto dêw , Baluchi dêw , Persian dīv , Kurdish dêw...
(Demons)", and as the name suggests, the Vendidad is an enumeration of various manifestations of evil spirits, and ways to confound them. According to the divisions of the Avesta as described in the Denkard
Denkard
The Dēnkard or Dēnkart is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs. The Denkard is to a great extent an "Encyclopedia of Mazdaism" and is a most valuable source of information on the religion...
, a 9th century text, the Vendidad includes all of the 19th nask, which is then the only nask that has survived in its entirety.
Contents
The VendidadKarl Friedrich Geldner
Karl Friedrich Geldner was a German linguist best known for his analysis and synthesis of Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit texts.-Biography:...
identified the texts as being linguistically distinct from both the Old Avestan language texts and well as from the Yashts of the younger Avesta.
Today, there is a controversy about how really was the historical development of the Vendidad. Vendidad is classified by some as an artificial Younger Avestan text, that is, its language attempts to mimic Old Avestan. In this perspective, the Vendidad is theorized as being a Magi (or Magi-influenced) composition.Portions of the book are available online. It has also been suggested that the Vendidad belongs to a particular liturgical school, but "no linguistic or textual argument allows us to attain any degree of certainty in these matters."
The Vendidad consists of 22 fargards or chapters containing fragments arranged as discussions between Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
and Zoroaster
Zoroaster
Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...
. This literary technique, however, does not mean it was a composition by one of the prophet's contemporaries.
However, some consider the Vendidad as being linked to ancient early Zoroastrian oral traditions, being only lately written as a book of laws to the community.
The term 'youngest' is a comparative term since the writing of the Vendidad preceded - perhaps substantially - the formation of Media and Persia, viz. before the 8th century B.C.E..
In addition, as with the Yashts, the date of composition of the final version does not exclude the possibility that some parts of the Vendidad may consist of very old material. Even in this modern age, Zoroastrians are continually rewriting old spiritual material.
The first chapter is a dualistic creation myth, followed by the description of a destructive winter comparable with the great floods of various other mythologies. The second chapter recounts the legend of Yima (Jamshid
Jamshid
Jamshid is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition.In tradition and folklore, Jamshid is described as having been the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian dynasty . This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture Jamshid (Middle-...
). Chapter 19 relates the temptation of Zoroaster
Zoroaster
Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...
, who, when urged by Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.-In Zoroaster's revelation:...
to turn from the good religion, turns instead towards Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
. The remaining chapters cover diverse rules and regulations, through the adherence of which evil spirits may be confounded. Broken down by subject, these fargards deal with the following topics (chapter(s) where a topic is covered are in brackets):
- hygiene (in particular care of the dead) [3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17, 19] and cleansing [9,10];
- disease, its origin, and spells against it [7, 10, 11, 13, 20, 21, 22];
- mourning for the dead [12], the Towers of Silence [6], and the remuneration of deeds after death [19];
- the sanctity of, and invocations to, AtarAtarAtar is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" ....
(fire) [8], ZamZamZam is the Avestan language term for the Zoroastrian concept of "earth", in both the sense of land and soil and in the sense of the world...
(earth) [3,6], ApasAbanApas is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which—in its innumerable aggregate states—is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters....
(water) [6, 8, 21] and the light of the stars [21]; - the dignity of wealth and charity [4], of marriage [4, 15] and of physical effort [4]
- statutes on unacceptable social behaviour [15] such as breach of contract [4] and assault [4];
- on the worthiness of priests [18];
- praise and care of the bull [21], the dog [13, 15], the otter [14], the Sraosha bird [18], and the HaomaHaomaHaoma is the Avestan language name of a plant and its divinity, both of which play a role in Zoroastrian doctrine and in later Persian culture and mythology. The Middle Persian form of the name is hōm, which continues to be the name in Modern Persian and other living Iranian languages.Sacred haoma...
tree [6].
There is a degree of moral relativism
Moral relativism
Moral relativism may be any of several descriptive, meta-ethical, or normative positions. Each of them is concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different people and cultures:...
apparent in the Vendidad, and the diverse rules and regulations are not always expressed as being mystical, absolute, universal or mandatory. The Vendidad is mainly about social laws, mores, customs and culture. In some instances, the description of prescribed behaviour is accompanied by a description of the penances that have to be made to atone for violations thereof. Such penances include:
- payment in cash or kind to the aggrieved;
- corporal punishmentCorporal punishmentCorporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
such as whipping; - repeated recitations of certain parts of the liturgy such as the Ahuna VairyaAhuna VairyaAhuna Vairya is the Avestan language name of the most sacred of the Gathic hymns of the Avesta, the revered texts of Zoroastrianism....
invocation.
Value of the Vendidad among Zoroastrians
Most of the Zoroastrians of Asia continue to use the Vendidad as a valued and fundamental cultural and ethical moral guide, viewing their teachings as essential to Zoroastrian tradition and see it as part of Zoroastrianism original perspectives about the truth of spiritual existence. They argue that it has origins on early oral tradition, being only later written.The emergent reformist Zoroastrian movement reject the later writings in the Avesta as being corruptions of Zarathustra's original teachings and thus do not consider the Vendidad as an original Zoroastrian scripture. Thet argue that it was written nearly 700 years after the death of Zarathustra and interpret the writing as different from the other parts of the Avesta.
An article by Hannah M. G. Shapero Ushtavaiti sums up the refomist perspective:
"How do Zoroastrians view the Vendidad today? And how many of the laws of the Vendidad are still followed? This depends, as so many other Zoroastrian beliefs and practices do, on whether you are a "reformist" or a "traditionalist." The reformists, following the Gathas as their prime guide, judge the Vendidad harshly as being a deviation from the non-prescriptive, abstract teachings of the Gathas. For them, few if any of the laws or practices in the Vendidad are either in the spirit or the letter of the Gathas, and so they are not to be followed. The reformists prefer to regard the Vendidad as a document which has no religious value but is only of historic or anthropological interest. Many Zoroastrians, in Iran, India, and the world diaspora, inspired by reformists, have chosen to dispense with the Vendidad prescriptions entirely or only to follow those which they believe are not against the original spirit of the Gathas."
Liturgical use
Although the Vendidad is not a liturgical manual, a section of it may be recited as part of a greater YasnaYasna
Yasna is the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts of the Avesta as well as the name of the principal Zoroastrian act of worship at which those verses are recited. The Yasna, or Izeshne, is primarily the name of the ceremony in which the entire book is recited and appropriate...
service. Although such extended Yasnas appears to have been frequently performed in the mid-18th century (as noted in Anquetil-Duperron's
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron
Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron was the first professional French scholar of Indian culture. He conceived the institutional framework for the new profession. He inspired the founding of the Ecole francaise d'extreme orient a century after his death and, later still, the founding of the...
observations), it is very rarely performed at the present-day. In such an extended service, Visparad 12 and Vendidad 1-4 are inserted between Yasna 27 and 28. The Vendidad ceremony is always performed between nightfall and dawn, though a normal Yasna is performed between dawn and noon.
The Vendidad may also be recited on its own, not accompanied by any ritual activity: this ceremony is known as the Vendidad Sadé.
Because of its length and complexity, the Vendidad is read, rather than recalled from memory as is otherwise necessary for the Yasna texts. The recitation of the Vendidad requires a priest of higher rank (one with a moti khub) than is normally necessary for the recitation of the Yasna.