________________
150
DÂDISTÂN-Î DÎNÍK.
mode begged a livelihood' and is not capable of earning it-so that something even of the righteous gifts of clothing is begged by him—to live in idleness is not the way to be assisted; but he who has not himself requested, and is wise, is to beg a suit of clothes (rakht-hana).
20. They give to the good provider of gifts much praise, and for the preservation of the perfect giver are many religious friends, and the position of the upholders of religion *; so it is necessary to give, and to consider it as provided for the great female whom revelation greatly celebrates ", that patron spirit (aha) connected with religion, as it is said that in the opinion of Hamân®, the high-priest, the propitious religion is, as it were, the way of saving their souls?.
1 M14 has zivisno, and K35 has zivandân.
• Charitable donations given to the priesthood and poor for the purpose of acquiring religious merit on certain solemn occasions; they often consist of clothing, and are then supposed to furnish the giver, or the person in whose name they are given, with garments in the other world after the resurrection (see Bd. XXX, 28).
The angels who assist his soul after death, such as Srôsh, Mitro, Rashna, Aståd, and the good Vae (see Chaps. XIV, 3, 4, XXX, 2-4).
• That is, he will occupy the same grade in heaven as the priesthood.
6 Referring to the maiden spirit supposed to meet the good soul after death and to conduct it over the K'invad bridge to heaven (see Chaps. XXIV, 5, XXXVII, 117). She is described in Vend. XIX, 98-101, and more fully in Hn. II, 22-32 and the later Pahlavi works. Her beauty is said to be proportional to the religious merit of the soul, and she is here identified with the ahu or patron spirit.
Probably some one nearly contemporary with the author, such as Atūr-pad son of Hemid (see Bd. XXXIII, 11), who is called ha-manô, well-meaning,' and styled 'the leader of the people of the good religion in the Dinkard (III, ccccxiii).
7 The maiden spirit, being developed by religious actions, is
Digitized by Google