The Holy Vendidad
by Mrs. Pervin J. Mistry
The Holy Vendidad is the most important part of the Divinely Revealed Manthra contained in the Pak Avesta! Yet, due to unfamiliarity with the Avestan scriptures or sheer religious ignorance, many Parsis believe that the Holy Vendidad is not a part of the original revelation of Ahura Mazda through Asho Zarathushtra. Some even believe, albeit falsely, that the Vendidad is a “lowering of Zarathushtrian ideals” and therefore it cannot be viewed as “transcendental”!
………………….. Let us educate ourselves as to what the Din-Dasturs of Iran who were highly learned in our religion, reveal about the Holy Vendidad and that too, in the face of inhumane religious persecution which was still carried on when the Dinkard was written between the 9th and 11th centuries A.C. …………………………….
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THIS WAS THE RESPONSE FROM KERSEE KABRAJI WHO HAS SPENT MANY POST RETIREMENT YEARS IN A DETAILED STUDY OF OUR SCRIPTURES.
Dear Rohinton,
I do not know this Madam Pervin Mistry is.
I have not gone through the whole article.
I stopped when I saw Prof. Traporewalla’s statement which is surely mis-quoted.
Prof. Taraporewalla has evidently referred only to the Western scholars’ translations of Gathas. To generalize it is sheer dis-honesty.
I am attaching herewith with an Extract ‘What is Vendidad’ from Dastoor saheb
Dr. Maneckji Dhalla, Ph.D.,Litt.D who was and is the most enlightened scholar amongst the Parsi Priests.
If you wish you may forward it to Madame Mistry.
best wishes,
Kersee
What is Vendidad ?
Our priests often quote saying that “it is so mentioned in Vendidad”.
It is interesting to note that Vendidad is not our Asho Zarathushtra’s creation.
It is supposed to be composed by Magi, who were the priest class of Medes, whom Cyrus the Great defeated. Thus Vendidad was created nearly 1000 years after Zarathushtra!
The following lines (from page 213) of the Autobiography of the great scholar Dr. Dhalla throws some light on the subject.
“ If we were to express an unbiased opinion about vendidad which is considered the most important book on ceremonials, it can be stated that there is nothing like prayer or ceremony in it. Its 22 chapters contain completely irrelevant topics like the principal cities of Iran, King Jamshed, Agriculture, taxation, systems of disposal of the dead, defilement, purification, bareshnum, physicians dues, social and economic laws, regulations regarding comfort and happiness, punishment ranging from 50 whippings to 10,000, other military crimes, care of dogs, customs of cutting the hair or nails and reciting prayers prior to burying them, pregnancy, menstruation, confinement, narration about Ahriman’s torment of Zarathushtra, mantras to cure illness etc. And yet the community squanders lakhs of rupees every year over these supposedly incomparable prayers of the vendidad.”
Trust my community members will be wiser now.
Kersee Kabraji
April 2013.