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SHẤYAST LÂ-SHAYAST.
9. Whoever shall extinguish' a fire, by him ten fires are to be gathered together, by him ten punishments are to be endured, by him ten ants are to be destroyed", and by him holy-water (zôhar) is to be presented to the sacred fire (à tâs-i Vahram).
CHAPTER VIII. 1. Sin which affects accusers : is to be atoned for (vigarisn) among the accusers, and that relating to
Literally, ‘kill. * The ant being a creature of the evil spirit, on account of its carrying away corn.
: Vinâs-i hamêmâlân, sin relating to adversaries.' Sins appear to be divided into two great classes, hamêmål and rübånik. A hamêmâl sin seems to be any secular offence which injures some person or animal who, thereupon, becomes a hamêmål, accuser' (Av. hameretha, 'opponent,' Yas. LVI, X, 10), and who must first be satisfied by atonement, before confession to the high-priest, or renunciation of sin, can be of any avail for removing the sin (compare Matthew v. 23-26). The Rivâyats assert that if a person dies without atoning for a hamêmål sin, his soul will be stopped at the Kinvad bridge (see Bund. XII, 7) on its way to the other world, and kept in a state of torment until the arrival of the accuser,' and after he is satisfied the sinner's soul will be disposed of, in the usual manner, according to the balance of its good and bad actions. It is also probable that only a man of the good religion,' or an animal of the good creation, can be an 'accuser. A râbânik sin, on the other hand, seems to be one which affects only the sinner's own soul, and for which the high-priest can prescribe a sufficient atonement. It is doubtful, however, whether the Parsis nowadays have any very clear notions of the exact distinction between these two classes of sins, although aware of their names, which are mentioned in their Patit, or renunciation of sin. The explanations given in some editions of their Khurdah Avesta, or prayer-book, are confined to mentioning certain special instances of each class of sin ; thus,
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