Table of Contents
2 Yima Prepares for the Flood
21 (42) 1. Ahura Mazda, of high renown 2 in the Airyana Vaêgô, by the good river Dâitya 3, called together a meeting of the celestial gods.
The fair Yima, the good shepherd, of high renown 2 in the Airyana Vaêgô, by the good river Dâitya, called together a meeting of the excellent mortals.
22 (46). (to Yima): ‘O fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat! Upon the material world the fatal winters are going to fall, that shall bring the fierce, foul frost; upon the material world the fatal winters are going to fall, that shall make snow-flakes fall thick, even an aredvî deep on the highest tops of mountains.
23 (52). And all the 3 sorts of beasts shall perish:
- Those that live in the wilderness
- Those that live on the tops of the mountains
- Those that live in the bosom of the dale, under the shelter of stables
24 (57). Before that winter, those fields would bear plenty of grass for cattle. Now with floods that stream, with snows that melt, it will seem a happy land in the world, the land wherein footprints even of sheep may still be seen.
25 (61). Therefore make a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square.
- Bring into it the seeds of sheep and oxen, of men, of dogs, of birds, and of red blazing fires.
- Make it habitable for men and flocks.
26 (65). There, make waters flow in a bed 1 hâthra long.
Settle birds there, by the ever-green banks that bear never-failing food.
Establish dwelling places there, consisting of a house with a balcony, a courtyard, and a gallery.
27 (70). Bring there the seeds of:
- men and women, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth
- every kind of cattle, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth
- 28 (74) every kind of tree, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth
- every kind of fruit, the fullest of food and sweetest of odour
All those seeds shalt thou bring, two of ever), kind, to be kept inexhaustible there, so long as those men shall stay in the Vara.
29 (80). There shall be no humpbacked, none bulged forward there; no impotent, no lunatic; no poverty, no lying; no meanness, no jealousy; no decayed tooth, no leprous to be confined, nor any of the brands wherewith Angra Mainyu stamps the bodies of mortals.
30 (87). In the largest part of the place thou shalt make nine streets, six in the middle part, three in the smallest.
To the streets of the largest part thou shalt bring a thousand seeds of men and women; to the streets of the middle part, six hundred; to the streets of the smallest part, three hundred. That Vara thou shalt seal up with the golden ring 2, and thou shalt make a door, and a window self-shining within.’
- Yima did as Ahura Mazda wished. He crushed the earth with a stamp of his heel, he kneaded it with his hands, as the potter does when kneading the potter’s clay.
33 (97). Yima made a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square.
There he brought the seeds of sheep and oxen, of men, of dogs, of birds, and of red blazing fires. He made Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be an abode for men; a Vara, long as a riding-ground on every side of the square, to be a fold for flocks.
34 (101). There he made waters flow in a bed a hâthra long; there he settled birds, by the evergreen banks that bear never-failing food. There he established dwelling places, consisting of a house with a balcony, a courtyard, and a gallery.
35 (106). There he brought the seeds of men and women, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; there he brought the seeds of every kind of cattle, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth.
36 (110). There he brought the seeds of every kind of tree, of the greatest, best, and finest kinds on this earth; there he brought the seeds of every kind of fruit, the fullest of food and sweetest of odour. All those seeds he brought, two of every kind, to be kept inexhaustible there, so long as those men shall stay in the Vara.
37 (116) There were no humpbacked, none bulged forward there; no impotent, no lunatic; no poverty, no lying; no meanness, no jealousy; no decayed tooth, no leprous to be confined, nor any of the brands wherewith Angra Mainyu stamps the bodies of mortals.
38 (123). In the largest part of the place he made 9 streets, 6 in the middle part, 3 in the smallest.
- To the streets of the largest part he brought 1,000 seeds of men and women.
- To the streets of the middle part, 600
- To the streets of the smallest part, 300
That Vara he sealed up with the golden ring, and he made a door, and a window self-shining within.
40 (131). There are uncreated lights and created lights. There the stars, the moon, and the sun are only once (a year) seen to rise and set 3, and a year seems only as a day.
41 (33). ‘Every fortieth year, to every couple two are born, a male and a female 4. And thus it is for every sort of cattle. And the men in the Vara which Yima made live the happiest life.’
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