Page 511 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

292 SAMAGRA TILAK.- 2 • THE ARCTIC HOME

admitted that a reconsideration of the A vestic tradition from
the new standpoint is a necessity and that we should not be
deterred from undertaking the task by the recent verdict of
Zend scholars against the views of Bunsen and Haug regarding
the historical character of the first two Fargards of the Vendidad.
The first Fargard of the Vendidad is devoted to the enumera-
tion of sixteen lands created by Ahura Mazda, the Supreme
God of the Iranians. As soon as each land was created Angra
Mainyu, the evil spirit of the Avesta, created different evils and
plagues to invade the land and made it unfit for human habita-
tiop. There were thus sixteen creations of Ahura Mazda, and
sixteen counter-creations of Angra Mainyu; and the first Far-
gard of the Vendidad contains a description of all these crea-
tions, and counter-creations, stating in detail how each good
land was created by Ahura Mazda and how Angra Mainyu
rendered it unfit for human residence by creating some evil or
plague therein. The Fargard is too long to be quoted here in
full; and I, therefore, borrow Muir's abstract of the same pre.
pared from the versions of Spiegel and Haug, inserting in some
places Darmesteter renderings with the aid of his translation
of the Vendidad in the Sacred Books of the East Series. The
paragraphs are marked first according to Darmesteter, and then
according to Spiegel by figures within brackets.
1, 2, ( 1 -4 ) :- "Ahura Mazda spake to the holy Zara-
thustra : ' I formed into an agreeable region that which before
was nowhere habitable. Had I not done this, all living things
woulc! .dave poured forth after Airyana Vaejo. "
3, 4, ( 5-9 ) :- " I, Ahura Mazda, created as the first best
region, Airyana Va~jo, of the good creatiom (or, accordihg to
Darmesteter, by the good river Daitya ). Then Angra Mainyu
the destroyer, formed in opposition to it a great serpent and
winter ( or snow ), the creation of the Da~vas. There are these
ten months of winter, and two of summer."
5, ( 13, 14) :- "I, Ahura Mazda, created as the second
best region, Gau ( plains ), in which Sughdha is situated There-
upon in opposition to it, Angra Mainyu, the death-dealing,
created a wasp which is death to cattle and fields. "
6, ( 17, 18) :- "I, etc., created as the third best region,
Mouru, the mighty, the holy."