[493] Yasht is not found among the names of the Nosks enumerated in the [note], pp. 272-275.—A. T.
[494] Every city and village must have the tree called Aderán, or Aderán Sháh, or “the chief of fires.” Ader is the Pá-zend of Ateré, which signifies fire; which word, in Parsee writings, means the several fires which showed themselves to mankind under different forms, and also their presiding genii; whilst Atesh signifies the common fire. When a kitchen fire has been used three times, the Parsees are bound to take it to the Aderán: the other fires must be taken thither on the expiration of seven days, on the day of Ader and those of his co-operating genii. The fire Aderán itself is taken once every year, or at least every three years, to the fire Behram, which is the result of one thousand and one fires, taken from fifteen different kinds of fire. In strictness there should be an Ader Behrám in every province, and according to some Dustúrs, in every city. On the expiration of a certain period, they take the ashes of the Behrám, Aderán, and other fires into the fields, and strew them over the cultivated grounds. It requires a ceremonial of thirty days to prepare the Behrám fire (Zend-Avesta, t. II. p. 531).—D. S.
[495] The Parsees use for their purifications seven things: plain water; Padiav water; water of power, or ab-í-zúr (according to Hyde, golden water) Yeshtí water; earth; Noreng gomez, or ox’s urine; and Noreng gomez yeshtá. They must take care to have the plain water and the earth free from all kind of impurity.—D. S.
[496] Padiav means “what renders or is rendered (pure) like water.” To impart this quality to water, the officiating priest puts it in a large vase, out of which he fills a smaller vessel; he afterwards pours out some of the water three times from the smaller into the larger vessel, accompanying each act with certain forms of prayer, on which the water becomes Padiav.—D. S.
[498] According to Anquetil Du Perron, Khushnuman signifies one who is pleased or favorable: this name is given to a short prayer, or collect, which contains the principal attributes of the being to whom it is addressed: there are two kinds of it, the greater and the less: in the former, after every attribute they repeat: “I offer thee Izechné,” or “I praise and magnify thee;” in the latter form this is only repeated after the enumeration of all the attributes.—D. S.
[499] See [note], p. 315, Hyde translates Darún yeshtén, by “expiatory banquet:” but according to Anquetil (Zend-Avesta, t. I. 2. P. p. 237) the Darún Yeshté is a Parsi office, which begins thus:
“With the Barsom raised over the Zúr, I address in prayer the great Ormuzd, brilliant in light and glory; also the Amshaspands; and thee, O Fire! son of Ormuzd!
I address in prayer the wood and the perfumes!
. . . . thee, O Fire, son of Ormuzd!