AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 4. Contracts and offenses. 

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 AVESTA: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 4. Contracts and offenses. 

This digital edition prepared by Joseph H. Peterson, 1995.

Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the
East , American Edition, 1898.)

Compare this chapter with the ancient description given of it in
 the Denkard , Book 8, Chapter 44. 

This Fargard is the only one in the Vendidad that deals strictly
with legal objects.

I a. Classification of the contracts according to the value of
their object (§ 2). -- A contract is cancelled by paying the amount
of the contract higher by one degree (§ 3-4).

Religious responsibility of the family for the breach of a contract
by one of its members (§§ 5-10).

Punishment of the Mihr-Druj (one who breaks a contract), (§§ 11-16).

II a. Definition of the outrages known as agerepta (threatening
attitude), avaoirishta (assault), aredush (blows), (§ 17).

Penalties for menaces -- (§§ 18-21); for assaults (§§ 22-25);
for blows (§ 26-29); for wounds (§§ 30-33); for wounds causing
blood to flow (§§ 34-36); for broken bones (§§
37-39); for manslaughter (§§ 40-43).

III a. Contract of charity to co-religionists (§§ 44-45).

IV a. Heinousness of false oath (§ 46).

III b. Dignity of wealth; of marriage; of physical weal(§§ 47-49a).

IV b. Heinousness of false oath. Ordeal (§§ 49b-55).

Part of this Fargard has been made unduly obscure by the transposition
of § 46) wrongly inserted between the clause on charity
(§§ 44-45) and the corresponding development on the dignity
of material goods. This transposition is found in all known manuscripts
and belonged to the older text from which they are derived.

 FARGARD 4. Contracts and offenses 

 I. 

 Notes: 

1. He that does not restore a loan to the man who lent it, steals
the thing and robs the man 1 .
This he doeth every day, every night, as long as he keep in his
house his neighbour's property, as though it were his own 2 .

 1. He is a thief when he takes a view not to restore; he is
 a robber when, being asked to restore, he answers, I will not"
 (Comm.)

 2. Every moment that he holds it unlawfully, he steals it anew.
 'The basest thing with Persians is to lie; the next to it is to
 be in debt, for this reason among many others, that he who is
 so, must needs sink to lying at last'
 (Herod. I, 139) The debtor
 in question is of course the debtor of bad faith, 'he who says
 to a man, Give me this, I will restore it to thee at the proper
 time, and he says to himself; I will not restore it' (Comm.)

 Ia. 

2. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
One! How many in number are thy contracts, O
Ahura Mazda?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'They are six in number,
O holy Zarathushtra 3 . The first is the word-contract 4 ;
the second is the hand-contract 5 ;
the third is the contract to the amount of a sheep 6 ; the

fourth is the contract to the amount of an ox 7 ; the
fifth is the contract to the amount of a man [person] 8 ; the
sixth is the contract to the amount of a field 9 , a field
in good land, a fruitful one, in good bearing 10 .'

 3. At first view it seems as if the classification were twofold,
 the contracts being defined in the first two clauses by their
 mode of being entered into, and in the last four by their amount.
 Yet it appears from the following clauses that even the word-contract
 and the hand-contract are indicative of a certain amount, which,
 however, the commentators did not, or were unable to, determine.

 4. The word-contract may be a contract of which the object are
 words: the contract of jâdangôi (ukhdhô-vachah), by which one
 offers to speak and intervene for some one's benefit, or the contract
 between master and pupil (for teaching the sacred texts).

 5. The contract for hiring labour (?).

 6. 'Viz. to the amount of 3 istîrs [in weight],' (Comm.) An istîr
 ( stathr ) is as much as 4 dirhems
 ( dracmh ).

 7. 'To the amount of 12 istîrs (=48 dirhems),' (Comm.)

 8. 'To the amount of 500 dirhems.' The exact translation would
 be rather, 'The contract to the amount of a human being' (promise
 of marriage).

 9. 'Upwards of 500 istîrs.'

 10. A sort of gloss added to define more accurately the value of
 the object, and to indicate that it is greater than that of the
 preceding one.

3. The word-contract is fulfilled by words of mouth. It is cancelled
by the hand-contracct; he shall give as damages the amount of
the hand-contract.

4. The hand-contract is cancelled by the sheep-contract; he shall
give as damages the amount of the sheep-contract. The sheep-contract
is cancelled by the ox-contract; he shall give as damages the
amount of the ox-contract. The ox-contract is cancelled by the
man-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the man-contract.
The man-contract is cancelled by the field-contract; he shall
give as damages the amount of the field-contract.

5. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the word-contract, how many are involved in his sin 11 ?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his
Nabanazdishtas 12 answerable for three hundred
(years) 13 .'

 11. Literally, how much is involved? The joint responsibility of
 the family was a principle in the Persian law: 'Leges apud eos
 impendio formidatae, et abominandae aliae, per quas ob noxam unius
 omnis propinquitas perit' (Am. Marcellinus XXIII, 6).

 12. The next of kin to the ninth degree.

 13. See § 11. This passage seems to have puzzled tradition.
 The Commentary says, 'How long, how many years, has one to fear
 for the breach of a word-contract? -- the Nabanazdishtas have to
 fear for three hundred years;' but it does not explain farther
 the nature of that fear; it only tries to reduce the circle of
 that liability to narrower limits: 'only the son born after the
 breach is liable for it; the righteous are not liable for it;
 when the father dies, the son, if righteous, has nothing to fear
 from it.' And finally, the Rivayats leave the kinsmen wholly aside;
 the penalty falling entirely upon the real offender, and the number
 denoting only the duration of his punishment in hell: 'He who
 breaks a word-contract, his soul shall abide for three hundred
 years in hell' ( Gr. Riv. 94).

6. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
One! If a man break the hand-contract, how many
are involved in his sin?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his
Nabanazdishtas answerable for six hundred (years) 14 .'

 14. See § 12. 'His soul shall abide for six hundred years
 in hell' ( Gr. Riv. 1.1.)

7. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
One! If a man break the sheep-contract, how many
are involved in his sin?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas
answerable for seven hundred (years) 15 .'

 15. See § 13. 'His soul shall abide for seven hundred years
 in hell' ( Gr. Riv. 1.1.)

8. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy
One! If a man break the ox-contract, how many
are involved in his sin?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas
answerable for eight hundred (years) 16 .'

 16. See § 14. 'His soul shall abide for eight hundred years
 in hell.'

9. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the man-contract, how many are involved in his sin? Ahura Mazda
answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas answerable for nine
hundred (years) 16 .'

 16. See § 15. 'His soul shall abide for nine hundred years in hell.'

10. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the field-contract, how many are involved in his sin? Ahura Mazda
answered: 'His sin makes his Nabanazdishtas answerable for a thousand
(years) 17 .'

 17. See § 16. 'His soul shall abide for a thousand years in
 hell.'

11. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the word-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
Mazda answered: 'Three hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
three hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana 18 .'

 18. One tanapuhr and a half, that is 1800 dirhems. See Introd.

12. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the hand-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
Mazda answered: 'Six hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, six
hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana 19 .'

 19. Three tanapuhrs, or 3600 dirhems.

13. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the sheep-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
seven hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana 20 .'

 20. Three tanapuhrs and a half or 4200 dirhems.

14. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the ox-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
Mazda answered: 'Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
eight hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana 21 .'

 21. Four tanapuhrs, or 4800 dirhems.

15. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the man-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
Mazda answered: 'Nine hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
Nine hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana 22 .'

 22. Four tanapuhrs and a half, or 5400 dirhems.

16. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break
the field-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura
Mazda answered: 'A thousand stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, a
thousand stripes with the Sraosho-charana 23 .'

 23. Five tanapuhrs, or 6000 dirhems.

 IIa. 

17. If a man rise up with a weapon in his
hand, it is an Agerepta 24 . If he brandish it, it is

an Avaoirishta. If he actually smite
a man with malicious aforethought, it is an Aredush. Upon the
fifth Aredush 25 he becomes a Peshotanu 26 .

 24. In this paragraph are defined the first three of the eight outrages
 with which the rest of the Fargard deals. Only these three are
 defined, because they are designated by technical terms. We subjoin
 the definitions of them found in a Sanskrit translation of a Patet
 (Paris, Bibl. Nat. f. B. 5, 154), in which their etymological
 meanings are better preserved than in the Zend definition itself:--

 Agerepta, 'seizing,' is when a man seizes a weapon with a view to smite
 another.

 Avaoirishta, 'brandishing,' is when a man brandishes, a weapon
 with a view to smite another.

 Aredush is when a man actually smites another with a weapon,
 but without wounding him, or inflicts a wound which is healed
 within three days.

 25. Viz. on the sixth commission of it, as appears from § 28.

 26. He shall receive two hundred stripes, or shall pay 1200 dirhems
 (see Introd.)

18. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He that committeth
an Agerepta, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
'Five stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, five stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the second Agerepta, ten stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ten
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the third, fifteeen stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifteen
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

19. 'On the fourth, thirty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, thirty
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the fifth, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty stripes
with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the sixth, sixty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, sixty stripes
with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the seventh, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

20. If a man commit an Agerepta for the eighth time, without having
atoned for the preceding 27 , what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes
with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

 27. Literally, 'without having undone the preceding.'

21. If a man commit an Agerepta 28 , and refuse
to atone for it 29 , what penalty shall he pay?
Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu:
two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes
with the Sraosho-charana.'

 28. Even though the Agerepta has been committed for the first time.

 29. Literally, 'and does not undo it.' If he do's not offer himself
 to hear the penalty, and does not perform the Patet (see Introd.)

22. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
an Avaoirishta, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
'Ten stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ten stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the second Avaoirishta, fifteen stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
fifteen stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

23. 'On the third, thirty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, thirty
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the fourth, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty stripes
with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the fifth, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the sixth, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety stripes
with the Sraosho-charana.'

24. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
an Avaoirishta for the seventh time, without having atoned for
the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

25. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
an Avaoirishta, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall
he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred
stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

26. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
an Aredush, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifteen
stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifteen stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

27. 'On the second Aredush, thirty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
thirty stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the third, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty stripes
with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the fourth, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'On the fifth, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety stripes
with the Sraosho-charana;

28. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
an Aredush for the sixth time, without having atoned for the preceding,
what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu:
two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes
with the Sraosho-charana.'

29. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit
an Aredush, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall he
pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes
with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

30. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
another and hurt him sorely, what is the penalty that he shall
pay?

31. Ahura Mazda answered: 'Thirty stripes

with the Aspahe-ashtra,
thirty stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'The second time, fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, fifty
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'The third time, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'The fourth time, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

32. If a man commit that deed for the fifth time, without having
atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda
answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

33. If a man commit that deed and refuse to atone for it, what
penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a Peshotanu:
two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred stripes
with the Sraosho-charana.'

34. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
another so that the blood come, what is the penalty that he shall
pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Fifty stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
fifty stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'The second time, seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, seventy
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'The third time, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

35. If a man commit that deed for the fourth time, without having
atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda
answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

36. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
another so that the blood come, and if he refuse to atone for
it, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He is a
Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two hundred
stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

37. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
another so that he break a bone, what is the penalty that he shall
pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Seventy stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
seventy stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

'The second time, ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, ninety
stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

38. If he commit that deed for the third time, without having
atoned for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay? Ahura Mazda
answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

39. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
another so that he break a bone, and if he refuse to atone for
it, what is the penalty he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'He
is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra, two
hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

40. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
another so that he give up the ghost, what is the penalty that
he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered: 'Ninety stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
seventy stripes with the Sraosho-charana;

41. If he commit that deed again, without having atoned for the
preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay? Ahura Mazda
answered: 'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

42. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite
another so that he give up the ghost, and if he refuse to atone
for it, what is the penalty he shall pay? Ahura Mazda answered:
'He is a Peshotanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

43. And they shall thenceforth in their doings walk after the
way of holiness, after the word [manthra] of holiness, after the ordinance
of holiness.

 IIIa 30 . 

44. If men of the same faith, either friends or brothers, come
to an agreement together, that one may obtain from the other,
either goods 31 , or a wife 32 , or knowledge 33 ,
let him who desires goods

have them delivered to him; let him who desires a wife receive
and wed her; let him who desires knowledge be taught the holy
word [manthra spenta],

 30. We return here to contracts; the logical place of §§
 44-45 would be after § 16.

 31. The analysis of the Vendidad in the
 Denkard has here: 'a proof that one
 professes the Religion well is to grant bountifully to
 the brethren in the faith any benefit they may ask for.'

 32. Woman is an object of contract, like cattle or fields: she is
 disposed of by contracts of the fifth sort, being more valuable
 than cattle and less so than fields. She is sold by her father
 or her guardian, often from the cradle. 'Instances are not wanting
 of the betrothal of a boy of three years of age to a girl of two'
 (see Dosabhoy Framjee's work on The Parsees , p. 77; cf. 'A Bill
 to Define and Amend the Law relating to Succession, Inheritance,
 Marriage, &c.,' Bombay, 1864).

 33. On the holiness of the contract between pupil and teacher, see
 Yt10.116 . Cf. above, p.35, n. 4.

45. during the first part of the day and the last, during the
first part of the night and the last, that his mind may be increased
in intelligence and wax strong in holiness. So shall he sit up,
in devotion and prayers, that he may be increased in intelligence:
he shall rest during the middle part of the day, during the middle
part of the night 34 , and thus shall he continue until he can say
all the words which former Aethrapaitis 35 have said.

 34. He sleeps 'the third part of the day and the third part of the
 night' ( Yasna 62.5 ).

 35. A teaching priest (Parsi Herbad).

 IVa. 

46. Before 36 the boiling water publicly prepared,
O Spitama Zarathushtra! let no one make bold to deny having received
[from his neighbour] the ox or the garment in his possession.

 36. This clause is intended against false oaths taken in the so-called
 Var-ordeal (see § 54 n.) It ought to be placed before §
 49 bis, where the penalty for a false oath is given.

 IIIb. 

47 37 . Verily I say it unto thee, O Spitama Zarathushtra! the man
who has a wife is far above him who lives in continence 38 ; he who
keeps a house is far above him who has none; he who has

children is far above the childless man 39 ; he who has riches is far above
him who has none.

 37. §§ 47-49 are a Sort of commentary to the beginning of § 44.

 38. What king Yazdgard found most offensive in Christianity was
 'that the Christians praise death and despise life, set no value
 upon fecundity and extol sterility, so that if their disciples
 would listen to them, they would no longer have any intercourse with women and
 the world would end' (Elisaeus).

 39. 'In Persia there are prizes given by the king to those who have
 most children' (Herod. I, 136). , He who has no child, the bridge
 (of Paradise) shall be barred to him. The first question the angels
 there will ask him is, whether he has left in this world a substitute
 for himself; if the answer be, No, they will pass by and he will
 stay at the head of the bridge, full of grief and sorrow'
 ( Saddar 18 ; Hyde 19). The primitive
 meaning of this belief is explained by Brahmanical doctrine;
 the man without a son falls into hell, because there is nobody
 to pay him the family worship.

48. And of two men, he who fills himself with meat receives in
him Vohu Mano 40 much better than he who does not do so 41 ;
the latter is all but dead; the former is above him by the worth of an
Asperena 42 , by the worth of a sheep, by the worth of
an ox, by the worth of a man 43 .

 40. Vohu Mano is at the same time the god of good thoughts and the
 god of cattle.

 41. 'There are people who strive to pass a day without eating, and
 who abstain from any meat; we strive too and abstain, namely,
 from any sin in deed, thought, or word: ... in other religions,
 they fast from bread; in ours, we fast from sin'
 ( Saddar 83 ). -- '
 The Zoroastrians have no fasting at all. He who fasts commits
 a sin, and must, by way of expiation, give food to a number of
 poor people' (Albiruni, Chronology , p. 217).

 42. A dirhem.

 43. Or: 'is worth an Asperena, worth a sheep, worth an ox, worth
 a man,' which means, according to the Commentary: 'deserves the
 gift of an Asperena, of a sheep's value, an ox's value, a man's
 value.'

49. This man can strive against the onsets
of Asto-vidhotu 44 ; he can strive against the well-darted
arrow; he can strive against the winter

fiend, with thinnest garment on; he can strive against
the wicked tyrant and smite him on the head; he can strive against
the ungodly fasting Ashemaogha 45 .

 44. Asto-vidhotu, the demon of death ( Vd5.8 ).
 The man who eats well has greater vitality.

 45. The Commentary has: 'like Mazdak, son of Bâmdât [Bamdat],'
 the communistic heresiarch who flourished under Kobad (488-531)
 and was put to death under Noshirvan.

 IVb. 

49 (bis). On the very first time when that deed 46 has been done,
without waiting until it is done again,

 46. The taking of a false oath. Cf. § 46.

50. down there 47 the pain for
that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: even as if one
should cut off the limbs from his perishable body with knives
of iron, 47b or still worse;

 47. In hell.

 47b. Dar: brass. -JHP

51. down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any
in this world: even as if one should nail 48 
his perishable body with nails of iron, 48b or still worse;

 48. Doubtful.

 48b. Dar: brass. -JHP

52. down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any
in this world: even as if one should by force throw his perishable
body headlong down a precipice a hundred times the height of a
man, or still worse;

53. down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any
in this world: even as if one should by force impale 49 
his perishable body, or still worse.

 49. Doubtful.

54. Down there the pain for that deed shall
be as hard as any in this world: to wit, the deed of

a man, who knowingly lying, confronts the brimstoned,
golden 50 , truth-knowing water with an
appeal unto Rashnu 51 and a lie unto Mithra 52 .

 50. The water before which the oath is taken contains some incense,
 brimstone, and one danak of molten gold ( Gr. Riv. 101).

 51. The god of truth ( Yt12 ). The formula
 is as follows: 'Before the Amshaspand Vohuman, before the Amshaspand
 Ardwahisht, here lighted up . . . &c., I swear that I have nothing of what
 is thine, N. son of N., neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, nor
 clothes, nor any of the things created by Ohrmazd' (l.l.96). Cf.
 above, § 46.

 52. He is a Mithra-druj, 'one who lies to Mithra.'

55. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He who, knowingly
lying, confronts the brimstoned, golden, truth-knowing water with
an appeal unto Rashnu and a lie unto Mithra, what is the penalty
that he shall pay 53 ? Ahura
Mazda answered: 'Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahe-ashtra,
seven hundred stripes with the Sraosho-charana.'

 53. In this world.

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