PAHLAVI TEXTS
PART I
THE BUNDAHIS-BAHMAN YAST, AND SHÂYAST LÂ-SHÂYAST
TRANSLATED BY
E.W. WEST
Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 5
Oxford University Press
[1880]
Originally scanned at sacred-texts May-November 2001. Proofed and Formatted by John Bruno Hare. Reformatted April 2007. This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published prior to January 1st, 1923. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact in all copies.
This is part I of the Sacred Books of the East Pahlavi Texts translation. It includes a number of crucial medieval Zoroastrian texts: the Bundahis, Selections of Zad-sparam, the Bahman Yast, and the Shayast la-Shayast, as put into writing about the sixth century C.E. The Bundahis is of note because it is a collection of Zoroastrian traditions about the creation of the world. The Shayast la-Shayast deals with matters of ritual impurity, sin, and rituals related to purification, including many cases related to dead bodies. The Bahman Yast is a prophetic text, which details thousands of years of history, including the downfall and rebirth of the Zoroastrian faith. West compares these texts respectively to the Biblical books of Genesis, Leviticus and Revelation.