Barish nask

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The Barish nask is the eighth nask (volume) of the Sasanian Avesta. The work itself is lost and no texts in the extant Avesta can be clearly identified as having belonged to it. Its content, however, can be reconstructed to some degree from references in Book 8 of the Denkard and the Rivayats. [1]

Contents

Sources

The nask itself is no longer extant. Some information on its content are given in Book 8 of the Denkard, a 9th-10th century compendium of Zoroastrianism. [2] In addition, the Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, give a short overview on the content of the Barish nask. [3]

In the Sasanian Avesta

The Sasanian Avesta was organized into 21 nasks, i.e., volumes, which were grouped into 3 divisions; the Gāhānīg (Gathic nasks), Hada Mānsrīg (manthras connected with the ritual), and Dādīg (legal nasks). [4] Within this scheme, the Barish nask was part of the ritual nasks and its content has been described as concerning ethical and moral topics. [5]

According to the Rivayats, it consisted of 60 chapters, only 12 of which having survied the alleged destruction of the Avesta by Alexander the Great. [6] Edward William West estimates, that the Barish nask consisted of ca. 4.400 words of Avestan text accompanied by ca. 14.600 words of commentary in Pahlavi. [7]

In the extant Avesta

Owing to the short description given in the sources, a recontruction of its content is difficult and no text in the extant Avestan has been identified by modern scholarship as having originally belonged to the Barish nask. [8] According to James Darmesteter, some of the description from the Denkard are similar to the Mēnōy ī xrad, the Tahmuras fragments and some of the Middle Persian commentary of the Vendidad. [9] In addition, some parts of Book 6 of the Denkard may be based on this nask. [10]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Skjærvø 1988.
  2. ↑ Gignoux 1994.
  3. ↑ Dhabhar 1932.
  4. ↑ Kellens 1987, "The Sasanian collection of the Avesta and its commentary (zand) is described in chap. 8 of the Dēnkard; it was probably composed of three books of seven chapters [...]".
  5. ↑ de Menasce 1983, p. 1180.
  6. ↑ Skjærvø 1988, "According to the Persian Rivāyats,this nask contained originally sixty kardas,but only twelve were recovered after the time of Alexander".
  7. ↑ West 1892, chap. Introduction.
  8. ↑ Skjærvø 1988, " No extant Avestan texts or fragments have been identified as belonging to the Bariš nask.".
  9. ↑ Shapira 1998, p. 16: "However, it was perhaps one of the sources of Mēnōy ī xrad, and some of the Tahmuras Fragments and Avestan quotations in the Pahlavi Vendidad could be taken from this Nask".
  10. ↑ de Menasce 1983, p. 1160: "Part of the gnomic sixth book of the Pahlavi Denkard appears to have an Avestan origin in the lost Baris Nask [...]".

Bibliography

  • Dhabhar, Bamanji Nasarvanji (1932). The Persian Rivayats of Hormazyar Framarz and Others. Their Version with Introduction and Notes. Bombay: K. R. Cama Oriental Institute.
  • Gignoux, Philippe (1994). "DĒNKARD". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VII. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 284–289.
  • Kellens, Jean (1987). "AVESTA i. Survey of the history and contents of the book". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 35–44.
  • de Menasce, Jean (1983). "Zoroastrian Pahlavi Writings". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-24693-4.
  • Shapira, Dan (1998). Studies in Zoroastrian Exegesis - Zand (PhD thesis). Jerusalem.
  • Sanjana, Peshotan Behramji; Sanjana, Darab Peshotan (1926). The Dinkard: The original Pahlavi text. Bombay: Jamsedji Jijibhai Translation Fund.
  • Skjærvø, Prods O. (1988). "BARIŠ NASK". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 799–800.
  • West, Edward William (1892). Müller, Friedrich Max (ed.). Pahlavi Texts IV: Contents of the Nasks. The Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 37. Oxford university press. ISBN   1-139-41083-0.
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