THE AVESTA

(From about B.C.  Sixth Century)

BY A.V.  WILLIAMS JACKSON

Avesta, or Zend-Avesta, an interesting monument of antiquity, is the Bible of Zoroaster, the sacred book of ancient Iran, and holy scripture of the modern Parsis.  The exact meaning of the name “Avesta” is not certain; it may perhaps signify “law,” “text,” or, more doubtfully, “wisdom,” “revelation.”  The modern familiar designation of the book as Zend-Avesta is not strictly accurate; if used at all, it should rather be Avesta-Zend, like “Bible and Commentary,” as zand signifies “explanation,” “commentary,” and Avesta u Zand is employed in some Persian allusions to the Zoroastrian scriptures as a designation denoting the text of the Avesta accompanied by the Pahlavi version or interpretation.

The story of the recovery of the Avesta, or rather the discovery of the Avesta, by the enthusiastic young French scholar Anquetil du Perron, who was the first to open to the western world the ancient records of Zoroastrianism, reads almost like a romance.  Du Perron’s own account of his departure for India in 1754, of his experiences with the dasturs (or priests) during a seven years’ residence among them, of his various difficulties and annoyances, setbacks and successes, is entertainingly presented in the introductory volume of his work ’Zend-Avesta, Ouvrage de Zoroastre’ (3 Vols., Paris, 1771).  This was the first translation of the ancient Persian books published in a European language.  Its appearance formed one of those epochs which are marked by an addition to the literary, religious, or philosophical wealth of our time; a new contribution was added to the riches of the West from the treasures of the East.  The field thus thrown open, although worked imperfectly at first, has yielded abundant harvests to the hands of later gleaners.

THE ZEND-AVESTA.

Facsimile of a Page of the AVESTA; from the oldest preserved manuscript containing the YACNA.  A. D. 1325.  In the Royal Library at Copenhagen.

The Zend-Avesta—­more properly the Avesta-Zend, i.e., “Text and Commentary” is the “Bible” of the Persians.  The four parts into which it is divided are called Yacna, Vispered, Vendidad, and Khordah-Avesta.

[Illustration]

With the growth of our knowledge of the language of the sacred texts, we have now a clear idea also of the history of Zoroastrian literature and of the changes and chances through which with varying fortunes the scriptures have passed.  The original Zoroastrian Avesta, according to tradition, was in itself a literature of vast dimensions.  Pliny, in his ‘Natural History,’ speaks of two million verses of Zoroaster; to which may be added the Persian assertion that the original copy of the scriptures was written upon twelve thousand parchments, with gold illuminated letters,