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222
BAHMAN YAST.
O Zaratūst the Spitâmân! 18. When the star Jupiter comes up to its culminating point (bâlist) and casts Venus down, the sovereignty comes to the prince. 19. Quite innumerable are the champions, furnished with arms and with banners displayed,' some have said from Sagastân, Pârs, and Khurâsân, some have said from the lake of Padashkhvârgar?, some have said from the Hiråtfs 8 and Kôhistân, some have said from Taparistân*; and from those directions 'every supplicant for a child comes into view. 20. It is concerning the displayed banners and very numerous army, which were the armed men, champions, and soldiers from the countries of Iran at Padashkhvârgar-whom I told thee? that they call both Kurd and Karmân-it is declared
its native inhabitants, being Mumbai. The locality mentioned in the text is evidently to be sought on the banks of the Oxus near Bukhårâ; the Oxus having been sometimes considered the upper course of the Arag, and sometimes that of the Veh (see Bund. XX, 22, note 5). It is hardly probable that either Bâmî (Balkh) or Bâmiyan would be changed into Bambo, and the only exact representative of this name appears to be Bamm, a town about 120 miles S. E. of Kirmân; this is quite a different locality from that mentioned in the text, but it is hazardous to set bounds to the want of geographical knowledge displayed by some of the Pahlavi commentators.
1 Compare SZS. IV, 8. Here the triumph of Jupiter over Venus appears to be symbolical of the displacement of the queen dowager by her son.
* That is, from the southern shore of the Caspian.
* Reading Hiriyân, but this is doubtful, as it may be from the citadels (arigano), or defiles (khalakâno), of Köhistân.'
. See Bund. XII, 17, XIII, 15. o That is, every man able to bear arms.
. Reading pavan, 'into,' instead of bara, besides' (see SZS. VIII, 2, note 5).
See $ 10, but as nothing is said there about Kurd or Karmân, it is possible that the writer meant to say, 'of whom I told thee,
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