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Remarks on the Iranian Xorde Avesta Sāde manuscripts 6135 (YL2-17) and 6187 (MZK6) (Notes on the Xorde Avesta VIII)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2021

GÖTZ KÖNIG
GÖTZ KÖNIG*
Affiliation:
Freie Universität Berlingoetz.koenig@fu-berlin.de
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Abstract

Until 1854, the date of publication of Westergaard's Zendavesta,2 Europe was unacquainted with the Iranian recension of the Xorde Avesta. In his edition Westergaard was able to make use of three Sāde manuscripts for the first time, which he himself acquired during his stay in Persia between 1841 and 1844: 6115 (K36 [= M1]) (IrXA Sāde) from 1724, 6870 (K37 [= M2]) (IrXA Sāde in NP script + Faroxšī) from the 19th century, 3100 (K38 [= M3]) (Faroxšī, very close to 3095 [Suppl.persan1191]) from 1814.3

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , July 2021 , pp. 573 - 590
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Asiatic Society

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Footnotes

A fresh examination of the contents of XA mss. and of mss. related to the XA has brought to light a multitude of texts which are part of it. My list of abbreviations counts about 1000 titles. For practical reasons, I refrain in this article from explaining the used abbreviations. Instead, I point to the forthcoming publication of a database with comprehensive information on all known XA mss. Abbreviations often used in the article: IndXA = Indian Xorde Avesta; IrXA = Iranian Xorde Avesta; AV = Aṣ̌əm Vohu; YAV = Yaϑa Ahu Vairiiō; TXA = Tamām Xorde Avesta.

2

N. L. Westergaard, Zendavesta or the Religious Books of the Zoroastrians. Vol. I: The Zend texts. (Copenhagen, 1852–1854), Neu herausgegeben mit einem Essay über Niels Ludvig Westergaard und seine Avesta-Ausgabe von Rüdiger Schmitt. Vol. I: The Zend texts (Wiesbaden, 1993).

3

A description and analysis of of K36, 37, 38 is given in König, G. ‘Zu den Kopenhagener Avesta-Handschriften K36, K37, K38’, in Iranica (Wiesbaden), forthcoming.

References

4 Westergaard, N. L., Zendavesta or the Religious Books of the Zoroastrians. Vol. I: The Zend texts. (Copenhagen, 1852–1854)Google Scholar, Neu herausgegeben mit einem Essay über Niels Ludvig Westergaard und seine Avesta-Ausgabe von Rüdiger Schmitt. Vol. I: The Zend texts (Wiesbaden, 1993).

5 A description and analysis of of K36, 37, 38 is given in König, G. ‘Zu den Kopenhagener Avesta-Handschriften K36, K37, K38’, in Iranica (Wiesbaden), forthcoming.

6 In the case of the Xorde Avesta I call a manuscript “Iranian” if it fulfils two criteria: a) the contents and their order are those which are typically for mss. produced in Iran; b) the recension of the texts is the typical Iranian one, for example Mayā Yašt instead of Ny 4.

7 Katrak gives the following information: “List of contents in Gujrati, folios 1–32. The text on folio 33, begins with Gāh Ushahin. The Ms. contains: Gāhs, Nyaeshes, Yashts in general use, Afringans, Bajdharnu. The Prayers Chitrem Buyād, Nāme Khavar and Patit Irani, are in Persian characters”, J. C. Katrak, Oriental treasures being a condensed tabular descriptive statement of over a thousand manuscripts and of their colophons written in Iranian and Indian languages and lying in private libraries of Parsis in different centres of Gujarat (Bombay, 1943).

8 Andrés–Toledo, M., ‘Ceremonies in the Xorde Avesta Manscripts: the Drōn Frawardī Yašt’, Estudios Iranios y Turanios 2 (2015), pp. 29–41Google Scholar.

9 The ms. was firstly described by Andrés–Toledo, ‘Ceremonies in the Xorde Avesta Manscripts’, pp. 33–35.

10 plcpt pṯ' ŠRM W šʾtyh W lʾmšn' npšt HWH̱m BYN YWM ʾrtwhšt' MN BYRA ʾmwrdt ŠNT bl 1000 W 70 2 AHL MN ŠNT 20 BRA OL y y yẕdkrt MLKAʾn' MLKA y štrydʾlʾn'. Npšt' prʾc ŠBKWNt' HWEm L y dyn bwndk lwsthm gwštʾsp y yltšyl.

11 BYN ʾstwbʾnyh pṯ' ʾpyck wyhdyn' mẕdysnʾn ʾpl ʾšt<k>yh <y> ʾhlwb' plwʾhl zltwšt' y spytʾmʾn' lʾst' psʾcšnyh ʾtwr'pʾt' y mhr'spndʾn' ʾprynynytʾlyh OL hlwst ʾhw y ʾstʾwmnd W ʾhlʾdyh kʾmkʾn y hwmt' mynytʾlʾn' y hw'ht' gwptʾlʾn' hwwlšt wlcytʾlʾn'. gytygyhʾ pṯ' spwl kʾmk *hwcšmyh (Text hwcʾmyh) y ʾhlwbyh wlcšnyh OL plškrt ptwstʾlyh ptwndʾn'. mynwdyhʾ ʾpyck' lwbʾn' prwʾhl OL ʾpltwm msghyhʾ W bwlcʾwndyh W bwndk' pʾtdʾšn' (W) wndšnyh BYN ZK y ʾsl lwšnyh y hmyškswt' pwlhwʾlyh y *wndynʾnd (Text dynʾnyk). MNW ẔNE dptl pṯ stwlmʾnʾkyh KRYTWNyt' ptš ʾstwbʾn' ʾpygmʾn <W> ZK MNW pcyn' ʾcš YNSḆWNx2 BYN pṯ' plʾlwnyh YHSNNyt hwdynʾnyk.

12 Probably for npk “grandson”.

13 The formulas used in the Iranian colophons give after xūb murwān: hu-jastag, xūb-jastag, xwāstag/anāstag.

14 Above the word the ^ diacritic, which points to a reading hwwldy. Both writings are unsatisfying, at least if they are for “Xworde/Xwurdag”.

15 In other colophons, too, the words ristag yazišnīhā are following the title of the book (of the liturgy), see, e.g., 4040 (Ave1001): Abestāg Yašt Wispred Jud-dēw-dād abāg nīrang ristag yazišnīhā.

16 Here we would expect L / man “I”.

17 šʾykpykwnštwm.

18 Although the oldest known Iranian XA ms. 6095 = MF3(Geldner) (= MF45[Dhabhar], = MF4[Dhabhar 1927]), written by Rostom Goštāsp Erdašīr, shows some irregularities in the textual order (Ny 1+2 are, e.g., not at the beginning of the ms.), its general architecture is parallel to that of the other IrXA Sāde mss. (Farẓiyāt – Xšnūman litanies – Faroxšī). (The folios 1–17 are unnumbered, fol. 18 is numbered “12”; Dhabhar writes “f. 2 and ff. 4–16 seem to be latterly supplied”.) Rostom Goštāsp has enlarged the ms. by the StS (in Pahl.) (part II of the ms.) and by “litanies in the style of the Sīrōzas, with Yazamaide” (Dhabhar) (part III of the ms., a part that has no colophon). For the sequence of Faroxšī and StS cf. YL2-17 and ML15286. Unknown is the date of the later addition of Nērangs by a second scribe (part IV) (1. NerEvilEyeFever; 2. NerAcceptance; 3. NerEvilEye [“Nērang for removing the malignancy of evil eyes”]; 4. NerFulfilmentWishes; 5. NerOpulence, 6. NerDemonsPeris [? “Nērang for removing Daevas, sorcerers and fairies”]) (Concerning the Nērangs of part IV Dhabhar says: “these Avesta pieces are selected from the Gâthâ”; cf. the Nērangs attested in K36 and in some Faroxšī mss.)

19 The foll. 106 v – 107 r were unfortunately not photographed; on fol. 107 v 1–4 we find in accusative (= fe yazemeyde) S 2.10, 2.9, 28, 2.2, 2.5, i.e., the end of 12Months_pad_yazamaide.

20 The folios 108 v + 110 r were unfortunately not photographed.

21 Yt 14 also in: 7305 (MF28) (1706); 6115 (K36) (1724), sec.man. (retranscription); 6185 (MF31) (late 18th c.); 6855 (MF43) (1797); 6870 (K37) (19th c.); 6880 (MF76) (no date); 8060 (Ethé1941) (< 1811); 8515 (MinocherJamaspji10) (no date; Kadmi ms.).

22 Yt 9 also in: 6185 (MF31) (late 18th c.); Katrak131 “old” (Katrak); 6870 (K37) (19th c.); 6880 (MF76) (no date).

23 Yt 4 also in: 6855 (MF43) (1797); 6870 (K37) (19th c.); R25(6875) (no date); 6880 (MF76) (no date); 8060 (Ethé1941) (< 1811); 8515 (MinocherJamaspji10) (no date; Kadmi ms.).

24 Yt 2 also in: IrXA 7305 (MF28) (1706; Rostom Goštāsp Erdašīr); MF31 (Sāde + Faroxšī, late 18th c.).

25 Āsadīn Kākā's PahlXA T12 from the year 1552 ce, the oldest XA ms. with an Iranian translation (older are only the SkrXA mss. K1 [= J9] and H2; the GujXA U63 is from 1555 ce), comprises the two well-known Sīrōzes. It seems that T12 was the source for the spread of these two texts in later Indian Pahlavi mss. (while the later Sanskrit and Gujarati mss. did not adopt the Sīrōze), see G. König, ‘Notizen zum Xorde Avesta VI: Das Avesta-Pahlavi Ms. T12 des Āsadīn Kākā betrachtet im Rahmen der historischen Veränderungen des Xorde Avesta’, forthcoming.

26 The ms. 3080 (MF16) consists of two parts. Part I was written in 1090 Y by Rostom Goštāsp Erdašīr, the starting liturgy, a Yasna with Nērang (Geldner's “Mf1”) (foll. 1–145; 18 ll.), is dedicated to the memory of Rostom's son Bahrām. The following liturgies, among them a Faroxšī, comprise texts that belong to those sections of Iranian XA mss. that follow the Farẓiyāt section: 2. Yt 13 (foll. 146–173); 3. XšnumanXordadFr (fol. 173) (heading: Drōn Hordad Nōk–rōzē); 4. S (foll. 173–174; abbreviated) (heading: nk-gāh rōz rōz); 5. XšnumanGatha (foll. 174–175) (heading: nk–gāh panjag); 6. NamSt (Pahl.) (foll. 175–176); 7. StDen (Pahl.) (foll. 176–177); 8. StMahraspand (Pahl.) (foll. 176–177); 9. StSroš (Pahl.) (foll. 176–177); 10. NamX (NP) (foll. 177–178); 11. CiBu (NP) (foll. 178–179); 12. XšnumanDronRap (Av.) (fol. 179, abbr.); 13. XšnumanDronDenMar (NP) (fol. 179); 14. DronHk (NP) (fol. 179); 15. NerDronSegane (Av.; ritual instructions in Pahl.) (foll. 179–180); 16. XšnumanDronBamCaharom (NP) (fol. 180); 17. DronMGosfand (NP) (fol. 180); 18. XšnumanDronHaftAmšasfand (Av.) (fol. 181); 19. XšnumanDronRah (Av.) (fol. 181); 20. DronYt (= Bāj Dharnu) (Av., abbr., with ritual instructions in Pahl.) (foll. 181–183). Two colophons from the years 1185 and 1195 Y show that the ms. was enlarged by a second scribe, Behmard Dastūr Rustom Dastūr Ğāmāsp: 21. Vr (Av., abbr., with ritual instructions in Pahl.) (foll. 1–44; 21 ll.); 22. S 2 (Av.; incomplete) (foll. 45–48); 23. NerĞašnNouzudi (“Nērang–e Ğašn–e Nouzūdī/Nonābar and Darūn–e Nonābar” = description of the ceremonial preparatory to the Mino–Nāvar Yasna) (Av., NP) (foll. 49–54); 24. DescriptionBaršnum (with plan on the margin) (NP) (fol. 54, incomplete). On fol. 55 a fragment of V 2, written by another hand, is appended.

27 3100 (K38) (= M3 in Westergaard), which is very close to Suppl.persan1191 (a ms. from the beginning of the 19th century), was written about ten years after MZK6 (1814 [1183 Y]) in Yazd by Ebn Dastūr Hūšang Dastūr Mehrbāb ebn Dastūr Bahrām Dastūr Nūšīrwān. As MZK6 it comprises Yt 14 and Yt 9, the Faroxšī and the typical Xšnūman litanies. It ends (as K36) with Nērangs: 1. Yt 14.1–53 (foll. 1–12); 2. Yt 9.0–3 (1 leaf); 3. DronYt (Y 4.2–8.9 [with the Xšnūman for the Frauuaṣ̌is], including Y 26 + 67) (foll. 14–34); 4. Yt 13 (foll. 34–99); 5. S 1+2 (in one text) (foll. 100–103); 6. 12Months_pad_aiiese_yešti; 7. 12Months_pad_yazamaide (12 months on foll. 103–212); 8. 5Gaϑa_pad_aiiese_yešti (“Panǧ Gāh”) (foll. 105–106); 9. 5Gaϑa_pad_yazamaide (both 5Gaϑa texts on foll. 106 v 5 – 110 r 7); 10. G 1 (foll. 106–109); 11. DronHaftAmšasfand (foll. 110–114); 12. NerAfzuniCarpayan (foll. 114–115) (includes FrW 9); 13. Nērang against sick eyes (Y 32.15) (foll. 115 v); 14. Nērang against sickness of animals (Y 32.8–9) (foll. 116 r); 15. Nērang for good eyes (= Y 32.11) (fol. 116 v); 16. NerSorxi (fol. 117 r); 17. NerNewClothes (= FrW 1) (fol. 117 r); 18. NerKawak (= FrW 4) (foll. 117–118); 19. Col. (NP) (fol. 118 v).

28 For this see Dhabhar, B.N., Descriptive Catalogue of all manuscripts in the first Dastur Meherji Rana Library, Navsari (Bombay, 1923), pp. 118–120Google Scholar.

29 On this ms. see Andrés–Toledo 2015, p. 33.

30 The expression dēn-dibīrīh, known from Arabic sources (see A. Tafażżolī, ‘Dabīre, Dabīrī’, in Encyclopedia Iranica VI (1993), pp. 540–541), seems to be attested only once in Pahlavi sources, see ŠĒ 4: pad dēn-dibīrīh pad taxtagīhā <ī> zarrēn kand, which seem to refer to cuneiform script.

31 Dhabhar, E. B. N., Zand-i Khūrtak Avistāk (Bombay, 1927), pp. 288–290Google Scholar.

32 Ibid., p. 33.

33 S. A. Brelvi and B. N. Dhabhar, Supplementary Catalogue of Arabic, Hindustani, Persian and Turkish MSS and Descriptive Catalogue of the Avesta, Pahlavi, Pazend and Persian Mss. In the Mulla Firoz Library (Bombay, 1917), p. 23 [No. 30], and B. N. Dhabhar, Descriptive Catalogue of some manuscripts bearing on Zoroastrianism and pertaining to the different collections in the Mulla Feroze Library (Bombay, 1923), pp. 32f.

34 Jamaspasa, K. M., The Avesta Codex F1 (Niyāyišns and Yašts) (Wiesbaden, 1991)Google Scholar.

35 E. K. Antia, Pâzand Texts, Collected and Collated (Mumbai, 1909).

36 Only D. MR, A, U1 add on the margin.

37 MF40 om.; MF3 (NP) mʾsrhsfnd (?).

38 MR, U2, U3 zwl; D zwhl.

39 YHBWN.

40 Not MR, A, U2, U3.

41 D om. wisp dām.

42 Whether an Indian contamination of MZK6 can be excluded in general is doubtful. In Yt 14.47 the text runs according to the Indian version without the initial phrase pərəsat̰. zaraθuštrō. ahurəm. mazdąm. ahura. mazda. maińiiō. spə̄ništa. dātarə. gaēθanąm.astuuaitinąm. aṣ̌āum. The missing text of the Iranian version is given secundo manum in NP script on the margin.