810:"How do Zoroastrians view the Vendidad today? And how many of the laws of the Vendidad are still followed? This depends, as so many other Zoroastrian beliefs and practices do, on whether you are a "reformist" or a "traditionalist." The reformists, following the Gathas as their prime guide, judge the Vendidad harshly as being a deviation from the non-prescriptive, abstract teachings of the Gathas. For them, few if any of the laws or practices in the Vendidad are either in the spirit or the letter of the Gathas, and so they are not to be followed. The reformists prefer to regard the Vendidad as a document which has no religious value but is only of historic or anthropological interest. Many Zoroastrians, in Iran, India, and the world diaspora, inspired by reformists, have chosen to dispense with the Vendidad prescriptions entirely or only to follow those which they believe are not against the original spirit of the Gathas."
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Most of the
Zoroastrians continue to use the Vendidad as a valued and fundamental cultural and ethical moral guide, viewing their teachings as essential to Zoroastrian tradition and see it as part of Zoroastrianism original perspectives about the truth of spiritual existence. They argue that it has
802:
The emergent reformist
Zoroastrian movement reject the later writings in the Avesta as being corruptions of Zarathustra's original teachings and thus do not consider the Vendidad as an original Zoroastrian scripture. They argue that it was written nearly 700 years after the death of Zarathustra and
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identified the texts as being linguistically distinct from both the Old
Avestan language texts as well as from the Yashts of the younger Avesta. Today, there is controversy over historical development of the Vendidad. The Vendidad is classified by some as an artificial, young Avestan text. Its
771:
apparent in the
Vendidad, and the diverse rules and regulations are not always expressed as being mystical, absolute, universal or mandatory. The Vendidad is mainly about social laws, mores, customs and culture. In some instances, the description of prescribed behaviour is accompanied by a
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Some consider the
Vendidad a link to ancient early oral traditions, later written as a book of laws for the Zoroastrian community. The writing of the Vendidad began - perhaps substantially - before the formation of the Median and Persian Empires, before the 8th century B.C.E..
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language resembles Old
Avestan. The Vendidad is thought to be a Magi (Magi-influenced) composition. It has also been suggested that the Vendidad belongs to a particular school, but "no linguistic or textual argument allows us to attain any degree of certainty in these matters."
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In addition, as with the Yashts, the date of composition of the final version does not exclude the possibility that some parts of the
Vendidad may consist of very old material. Even in this modern age, Zoroastrians are continually rewriting old spiritual material.
712:. The remaining chapters cover diverse rules and regulations, through the adherence of which evil spirits may be confounded. Broken down by subject, these fargards deal with the following topics (chapters where a topic is covered are in brackets):
672:'s different parts vary widely in character and in age. Although some portions are relatively recent in origin, the subject matter of the greater part is very old. In 1877,
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have been interleaved. These manuscripts were used for liturgical purposes outside the yasna ceremony proper, not accompanied by any ritual activity. The expression
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is an enumeration of various manifestations of evil spirits, and ways to confound them. According to the divisions of the Avesta as described in the
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description of the penances that have to be made to atone for violations thereof. Such penances include:
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observations), it is very rarely performed at the present day. In such an extended service,
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1013:"Importance of Vendidad in the Zarathushti Religion: By Ervad Behramshah Hormusji Bharda"
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interpret the writing as different from the other parts of the Avesta.
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An article by Hannah M. G. Shapero sums up the reformist perspective:
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969:. Vol. 3. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 35–44.
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1040:"Ranghaya, Sixteenth Vendidad Nation & Western Aryan Lands"
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hygiene (in particular care of the dead) and cleansing ;
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praise and care of the bull , the dog , the otter , the
876:) than is normally necessary for the recitation of the
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to turn from the good religion, turns instead towards
614:. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the
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is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual.
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
16:Zoroastrian collection of texts within the Avesta
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982:The significance and philosophy of the Vendidad
995:"Avestan, Iranian & Zoroastrian Languages"
626:The name of the texts is a contraction of the
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872:requires a priest of higher rank (one with a
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719:disease, its origin, and spells against it ;
1027:Significance and Philosophy of the Vendidad
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860:Because of its length and complexity, the
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776:payment in cash or kind to the aggrieved;
640:(Demons)", and as the name suggests, the
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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794:Value of the Vendidad among Zoroastrians
700:). Chapter 19 relates the temptation of
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945:The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism
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1071:The Vendidad. The Law Against Demons
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951:Portions of the book are available
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505:Zoroastrianism in the United States
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943:Zaehner, Richard Charles (1961).
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965:Kellens, Jean (1989). "Avesta".
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535:Criticism of Zoroastrianism
515:Persecution of Zoroastrians
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1094:The Zend-Avesta, Part I (
1088:Müller, Max, ed. (1880).
1073:Retrieved 14 January 2023
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845:1-4 are inserted between
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735:Zam
606:or
602:or
45:by
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1092:.
1042:.
997:.
880:.
128:on
1200:/
1133:e
1126:t
1119:v
1046:.
1015:.
1001:.
955:.
696:(
638:s
584:e
577:t
570:v
112:)
106:(
101:)
97:(
87:·
80:·
73:·
66:·
39:.
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