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340
SHAYAST LA-SHAYAST.
carried away from the fire; and in the Spend Nask1 it is revealed that a fire, when they shall make it quite clean from its chilled charcoal, has as much comfort as a man whose clothing they should make clean.
4. The rule is this, that when any one passes away it is proper to render useless as much as the smallest mouth-veil3, for it says in the Vendidad that 'if even those Mazdayasnians should leave on him who is dead, in parting with him, as much as that which a damsel would leave in parting with the food-bowl (padmânako)—that is, a bag (anbânakŎ-hanâ)—the decree is this, that it is a Tanâ
1 See Chap. X, 4; the passage mentioned was probably in that part of the Nask which described the protection afforded by the fire to the new-born Zaratust.
Probably a negative is omitted, or akârînîdano should be translated to make no use of.'
See Chap. X, 40. K20 has garment.'
6
Always written Vadîk dâd in this second part of Sls., except in Chap. XIII, 7; whereas in the first part it is written in its uncorrupted form Gavîd-dêf-dâd or Gavîd-sêdâ-dâd, 'the law opposed to the demons.' The passage here quoted is Pahl. Vend. V, 171, 172, with one or two verbal variations.
Standing for anbânak-aê, which is corrupted in the Vendidad MSS. into the unintelligible form andanakŏ-1, so that this old quotation throws a rather unexpected light upon a passage in the Vendidad which translators would be almost certain to misunderstand. The allusion is to the bags used by a menstruous woman, when eating, to prevent contamination of the food. The Persian Rivâyats state that three bags (kîsah) are made of two thicknesses of strong linen, one bag to wear on each hand, and the third, which is larger, to hold the metal food-bowl and water-goblet. After thoroughly washing her hands and face, she puts the two bags on her hands, taking care that they do not touch her food, or clothes, or any other part of her body. She then feeds herself with a metal spoon, which must not touch her nose; and when the meal
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