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CHAPTER II, 97–115.
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the soul sits at the crown of the head of the body. 115. And the fourth day, in the light of dawn-with the co-operation of Srôsh the righteous, Vâê the good, and Vâhrâm the strong?, the opposition of Astô-vidad 3, Vâê the bad 4, Frazistô the demon, and Nizistô the demon", and the evil-designing action of Aeshm®, the evil-doer, the impetuous assailant
Reciting a passage from the Gâthas or sacred hymns (see Hn. II, 4, 5, III, 3, 4, AV. IV, 9-11, XVII, 6, 7).
2 These three angels are personifications of Av. sraosha, listening, obedience,' vaya or vayu, the upper air (uncontaminated by the evil spirit),' and verethraghna, .victorious, triumphant;' the last is more literally demon-smiting,' that is, 'smiting Verethra (the demon),' Sans. vritrahan.
s Av. Astô-vidhôtu, the bone-dislocator,' or demon of death who binds the parting soul (see Vend. V, 25, 31); in later writings, such as the Book of Dâdâr bin Dâd-dukht, he is said to throw a noose over the neck of the soul to drag it to hell, but if its good works have exceeded its sins, it throws off the noose and goes to heaven; and this noose is also mentioned in Bd. III, 22, Dd. XXIII, 3. In Bd. XXVIII, 35 this demon is said to be the same as the bad Vaê, but all other authorities consider them as distinct beings. It may be noted that a different demon of death is usually mentioned when the soul is wicked (see $ 161).
• Av. vaya or vayu, the lower air (vitiated by the evil spirit).' + Just as the wind (vâd) may be either an angel or a demon, accord
ing as its strength makes it a refreshing breeze or a violent hurricane, so may the air be a good or evil being, according as it retains its original purity or has been vitiated by the evil spirit. That the angel Vâê is the upper air appears from its epithet uparô-kairya,
working aloft,' in the Râm Yt.; and that it is only the lower air that is vitiated by the evil spirit is in accordance with the division of the sky into three thirds, of which the uppermost is inaccessible to the evil spirit (see Dd. XXXVII, 24-31). But this distinction between a good and bad Vaê is not made in Vend. V, 25, 31, where we are told that Vayô conveys the soul when bound by Astôvîdhôtu.
o These two demons have not been recognised elsewhere.
6 The demon of wrath, Av. Aêshmô daêva, appears to be the Asmodeus of the Book of Tobit. A [24]
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