Page Text
________________
xxxii
'10. Through the awful displeasure (or defect) and ruin (or injury) that happened to Zaratust, son of Atûr-farnbag, who became the leader of the orthodox, even those archives came to devastation, that scripture to dilapidation and dispersion, and the statements (vakîh) also to obsoleteness, perversion, and corruption.
II. And, after that, I, Âtârpâd, son of Hêmêd and leader of the orthodox, have likewise written, from their fragments (sûbâragâno), a new means of giving assistance to the Masda-worshipping religion, with much prayer, investigation, and trouble. 12. From whatever was recovered from those dilapidated (visândako), decayed, worn out, and dust-mingled (khâk-âmêg) archives-and these, too, brought back by taking away, carrying off, and seizing -it is selected, owing to the assistance of the counselling wisdom of the mighty spirit, for the rediffusion of the words and deeds of the ancients, and of the evidence of the Avesta, for those of the primitive faith. 13. And the increase of knowledge from the good religion, arranged and prescribed in its chapters, is a lustre from encountering that splendour from the enlightenment of the original light primarily composed for the exposition of the good religion, and this which is named is a resemblance by adoption of the thousand chapters of that great original Dînkard2. 14. It is perfected by the sacred beings, and transmits the powerful effect which has come upon even that which is the perfect religion of the sufferers in this age, and also the coming of the assistance of the soul to the knowledge of the orthodox; and even reunion with the rest of Irân is acquaintance with the exposition of the Mazda-worshipping religion, and the reproviding of more resources of a like origin, which will be also due to those whom the Supreme has provided, the disciples of Aûshêdar, son of Zaratust, for asking again a declaration of the good religion from Aûshêdar.'
4
PAHLAVI TEXTS.
From this statement it appears that the compilation of the Dinkard was commenced by Atûr-farnbag, son of Farukho-zâd, one of the leaders or supreme high-priests of the Mazda-worshippers, and was revised and completed
1 Assuming that m stands for min.
Both MSS. have zak rabâ bûn Dênô-kardo.
K has dên8-1 bûrdârân.
SB has and the reunited selection for.' See Dk. VIII, Chap. XIV, 12.
*B has 'arising."
TB omits 'a declaration of.'
Digitized by Google
| SR No. | 007682 |
| Book Title | Questions of King Milinda Part 02 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | T W Rhys Davids |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1894 |
| Total Pages | 2240 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 38 MB |