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CHAFTER II, 20-32.
253
bark is green and there is no fear of falling off, they should not carry him down; and when there is fear of it, they should carry down the whole of the body (tanu masâî). 26. And when the bark of the tree is withered, when there is fear of it and when there is no fear of it, they should carry it down. 27. When he shall die on a branch of a tree which is green, when there is no fear of his falling off they should not carry him down. 28. And when there is fear of it, or it is a branch of a withered tree, when also, a hair originating with him, or a limb, remains behind on the particular tree, they should carry down the whole of the body'. 29. And when it does not remain behind him on the particular tree, but when there is fear of its falling off, they should not carry it below (vad frôd)2.
30. When a corpse (nasât-1), from outside of it, remains behind on a jar (khumbo) in which there may be wine, the jar is polluted, and the wine is clean. 31. And when one shall die inside, in the wine in the jar, if not even a hair or a curl originating with him remains behind on the jar, the wine is polluted and the jar not polluted. 32. When it is
1 K20 has a portion of § 30 inserted here by mistake.
The object of these rules is likewise to prevent the risk of the corpse defiling more of the ground than is absolutely necessary by falling upon it, as it might do by the breaking of a dead branch.
'Nasâî (Av. nasu) means not only a corpse or carcase of a human being, dog, or other animal of the good creation, but also any portion of such corpse or carcase; that is, solid 'dead matter' in general, as distinguished from dirt or refuse from the living body, or any liquid exudation from a corpse or carcase, which is called hîkhar (Av. hikhra).
Pahl. Vend. VI, 9 states, that when one shall die on a jar of wine, the jar is useless, and the wine becomes just as though its
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