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CHAPTER III, 6-16.
10. Afterwards, the evil spirit, with the confederate demons, went towards the luminaries, and he saw the sky; and he led them up, fraught with malicious intentions. 11. He stood upon one-third? of the inside of the sky, and he sprang, like a snake, out of the sky down to the earth.
12. In the month Fravardin and the day Adharmazd ? he rushed in at noon, and thereby the sky was as shattered and frightened by him, as a sheep by a wolf. 13. He came on to the water which was arranged 3 below the earth, and then the middle of this earth was pierced and entered by him. 14. Afterwards, he came to the vegetation, then to the ox, then to Gâyômard, and then he came to fire 4; so, just like a fly, he rushed out upon the whole creation; and he made the world quite as injured and dark o at midday as though it were in dark night. 15. And noxious creatures were diffused by him over the earth, biting and venomous, such as the snake, scorpion, frog (kalvâk), and lizard (vazak), so that not so much as the point of a needle remained free from noxious creatures. 16. And blight 6 was diffused by him over the
1 Perhaps referring to the proportion of the sky which is overspread by the darkness of night. The whole sentence is rather obscure. : The vernal equinox (see Chap. XXV, 7).
Literally, and it was arranged.' • For the details of these visitations, see Chaps. VI-X.
Reading khûst tôm; but it may be hangidtâm, 'most turbid, opaque.
• The word makhâ, 'blow, stroke,' is a Huzvâris logogram not found in the glossaries; M6 has dâr, 'wood, but this may be a misreading, due to the original, from which M6 was copied, being difficult to read.
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