TheDēnkardorDēnkart(Middle Persian:𐭣𐭩𐭭𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭲 "Acts of Religion" ) is a 10th-century compendium ofZoroastrianbeliefs and customs during the time. The Denkard is to a great extent considered an "Encyclopedia of Mazdaism"[1]and is a valuable source ofZoroastrian literatureespecially during itsMiddle Persianiteration. TheDenkardis not considered asacred textby a majority of Zoroastrians, but is still considered worthy of study.
Name
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The name traditionally given to the compendium reflects a phrase from thecolophons,which speaks of thekart/kard,fromAvestankardameaning "acts" (also in the sense of "chapters" ), anddēn,from Avestandaena,literally "insight" or "revelation", but more commonly translated as "religion." Accordingly,dēn-kartmeans "religious acts" or "acts of religion." The ambiguity of-kartor-kardin the title reflects the orthography ofPahlavi writing,in which the letter⟨t⟩may sometimes denote /d/.
Date and authorship
editThe individual chapters vary in age, style and authorship. Authorship of the first three books is attributed by thecolophonsto 9th-century priestAdurfarnbag-i Farrokhzadan,as identified in the last chapter of book 3. Of these three books, only a larger portion of the third has survived. The historianJean de Menasceproposes[citation needed]that this survival was the result of transmission through other persons.[according to whom?]The first three books were edited and in fact partially reconstructed,[2]circa 1020, by a certain Ādurbād Ēmēdān ofBaghdad,[2]who is also the author of the remaining six books.[citation needed]The manuscript 'B' (ms. 'B 55', B for Bombay) that is the basis for most surviving copies and translations is dated 1659. Only fragments survive of any other copies.
TheDenkardis roughly contemporary with the main texts of theBundahishn.
Structure and content
editTheDenkardoriginally contained nine books or volumes, callednasks,and the first two and part of the third have not survived. However, theDenkarditself contains summaries of nasks from other compilations, such asChihrdadfrom theAvesta,which are otherwise lost.
The natural divisions of the books are as follows: Books 3-5 are devoted to rationalapologetics,book 4 to moral wisdom, and books 7–9 toexegeticaltheology.[2]
Book 3
editBook 3, with 420 chapters, represents almost half of the surviving texts.Jean de Menasceobserves[citation needed]that there must have been several different authors at work, as the style and language of the collection is not uniform. The authors are however united in their polemic against the "bad religions", which they do not fail to identify by name (the prudent avoidance of any mention ofIslambeing an exception).
The majority of the chapters in book 3 are short, of two or three pages apiece. The topics covered in detail, though rare, frequently also identify issues for which the Zoroastrians of the period were severely criticized, such as marriage to next-of-kin (chapter 80). Although on first sight there appears to be no systematic organization of the texts in book 3, the chapter that deals with the principles of Zoroastriancosmogony(Ch. 123) is the central theme around which the other chapters are topically arranged.[citation needed]
The last chapter of book 3 mentions two legends: one in whichAlexanderdestroys a copy of theAvesta,and another in which theGreekstranslate the Avesta into their own language.[2]
Book 4
editBook 4, the shortest (and most haphazardly organized) volume in the collection, deals primarily with the arts and sciences. Texts on those topics are interspersed by chapters explaining philosophical and theological concepts such as that of theAmesha Spentas,while other chapters deal with history and the religious contributions ofAchaemenidandSassanidmonarchs.
Book 4 also contains an enumeration of works fromGreeceandIndia,and "reveals foreign influence from the 3rd century onward."[2]The last chapter of Book 4 ends with a chapter explaining the necessity for practicing good thoughts, words and deeds, and the influences these have on one's afterlife.
Book 5
editBook 5 deals specifically with queries from adherents of other faiths.
The first half of Book 5, titled the "Book of Daylamite", is addressed to a Muslim, Yaqub bin Khaled, who apparently requested information on Zoroastrianism. A large part of this section is summary of the history (from the Zoroastrian point of view) of the world up to the advent ofZoroasterand the impact of his revelations. The history is then followed by a summary of the tenets of the faith. According toPhilippe Gignoux,the section "clearlynationalistand Persian in orientation, expressing the hope of a Mazdean restoration in the face of Islam and its Arab supporters. "[2]
The second half of Book 5 is a series of 33 responses to questions posed by a certain Bōxt-Mārā, aChristian.Thirteen responses address objections raised by Boxt-Mara on issues ofritual purity.The bulk of the remaining material deals withfree willand the efficacy of good thoughts, words and deeds as a means to battle evil.
Book 6
editBook 6 is a compilation ofandarz(a literary genre, lit: "advice", "counsel" ), anecdotes and aphorisms that embody a general truth or astute observation. Most of the compositions in book 6 are shortdidacticsentences that deal with morality and personal ethics.
Structurally, the book is divided into sections that are distinguished from one another by their introductory formulae. In the thematic divisions identified by Shaul Shaked,[3]the first part is devoted to religious subjects, with a stress on devotion and piety. The second and third are related to ethical principles, with the third possibly revealingAristotelianvalues. The fourth part may be roughly divided into sections with each addressing a particular human quality or activity. The fifth part includes a summary of twenty-five functions or conditions of human life, organized in five categories: destiny, action, custom, substance and inheritance. The fifth part also includes an enumeration of the names of authors that may have once been the last part of the book. In its extant form the book has a sixth part that, like the first part, addresses religious subjects.
Book 7
editBook 7 deals the "legend of Zoroaster", but which extends beyond the life of the prophet. The legend of Zoroaster as it appears in the Denkard is differs slightly from similar legends (such as those presented in the contemporaneous "Selections of Zadspram" and the laterZardosht-nama) in that it presents the story of the prophet as an analogy of theYasnaceremony.
The thematic and structural divisions[1]: 64 are as follows:
- The span of human history beginning withKayomars,in Zoroastrian tradition identified as the first king and the first man, and ending with theKayaniddynasty. This section of book 7 is essentially the same as that summarized in the first part of book 5, but additionally presents Zoroaster as the manifest representation ofkhwarrah(Avestan:kavaēm kharēno,"[divine] [royal] glory" ) that has accumulated during that time.
- Zoroaster's parents and his conception.
- Zoroaster's infancy and the vain attempts to kill him, through to Zoroaster's first communication withOhrmuzdand the meeting with Good Thought, theAmesha SpentaBahman (Avestan:Vohu Manah).
- Zoroaster's revelation as received during his seven conversations with Ohrmuzd; the subsequent miracles against thedaevas;the revival of the horse ofVishtasp(Avestan:Vistaspa) and the king's subsequent conversion; the vision of Zoroaster.
- The life of Zoroaster from Vistasp's conversion up to Zoroaster's death, including his revelations on science and medicine.
- The miracles that followed Zoroaster's death
- The history of Persia until the Islamic conquest, with an emphasis on several historical or legendary figures.
- Prophecies and predictions up to the end of themillenniumof Zoroaster (that ends one thousand years after his birth), including the coming of the first savior and his son Ushetar.
- The miracles of the thousand years of Ushetar until the coming of Ushetarmah.
- The miracles of the thousand years of Ushetarmah until the coming of theSaoshyant.
- The miracles of the fifty-seven years of the Saoshyant until thefrashgird,the final renovation of the world.
Book 8
editBook 8 is a commentary on the various texts of theAvesta,or rather, on the Sassanid archetype of the Avesta. Book 8 is of particular interest to scholars of Zoroastrianism because portions of the canon have been lost and the Denkard at least makes it possible to determine which portions are missing and what those portions might have contained. The Denkard also includes an enumeration of the divisions of the Avesta, and which once served as the basis for a speculation that only one quarter of the texts had survived. In the 20th century it was determined that the Denkard's divisions also took Sassanid-era translations and commentaries into account; these were however not considered to be a part of the Avesta.
Book 9
editBook 9 is a commentary on theGathicprayers ofYasna27 andYasna54. Together, these make up Zoroastrianism's four most sacred invocations: theahuna vairya(Y 27.13), theAshem Vohu(Y 27.14), theyenghe hatam(Y 27.15) and theairyaman ishya(Y 54.1).
Bibliography
edit- ^abJean de Menasce(1958).Une encyclopédie mazdéenne: le Dēnkart. Quatre conférences données à l'Université de Paris sous les auspices de la fondation Ratanbai Katrak.Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
- ^abcdefPhilippe Gignoux (1996). "Dēnkard".Encyclopedia Iranica.Vol. 7. Costa Mesa: Mazda Pub.
- ^Shaked, Shaul (1995).From Zoroastrian Iran to Islam: Studies in Religious History and Intercultural Contacts1.Brookfield: Ashgate.
Further reading
edit
- TheDēnkardin English
- Kassock, Zeke, (2012),Facsimile Of The Complete Text Of The Pahlavi Dinkard: Volume I: Books III - V,ISBN978-1469927565