"There is no sin upon a man for any Nasu that has been brought by dogs, by birds, by wolves, by winds, or by flies. For were there sin upon a man for any Nasu that might have been brought by dogs, by birds, by wolves, by winds, or by flies, how soon all this material world of mine would be only one Peshôtanu, bent on the destruction of righteousness, and whose soul will cry and wail! so numberless are the beings that die upon the face of the earth."
O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Does water kill?
Ahura Mazda answered:—
"Water kills no man: Astô-vîdhôtu binds him, and, thus bound, Vayu carries him off; and the flood takes him up, the flood takes him down, the flood throws him ashore; then birds feed upon him. When he goes away, it is by the will of Fate he goes."
O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Does fire kill?
Ahura Mazda answered:—
"Fire kills no man: Astô-vîdhôtu binds him, and, thus bound, Vayu carries him off; and the fire burns up life and limb. When he goes away, it is by the will of Fate he goes."
O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the summer is past and the winter has come, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?
Ahura Mazda answered:—