“A year long shall the piece of ground lie fallow whereon dogs or men have died, O holy Zarathustra!  A year long shall no worshipper of Mazda sow or water that piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died; he may sow as he likes the rest of the ground; he may water it as he likes.  If within the year they shall sow or water the piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died, they are guilty of the sin of ‘burying the dead’ towards the water, towards the earth, and towards the plants.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!  If worshippers of Mazda shall sow or water, within the year, the piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died, what is the penalty that they shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“They are Peshotanus:  two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-karana.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!  If worshippers of Mazda want to till that piece of ground again, to water it, to sow it, and to plough it, what shall they do?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“They shall look on the ground for any bones, hair, dung, urine, or blood that may be there.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!  If they shall not look on the ground for any bones, hair, dung, urine, or blood that may be there, what is the penalty that they shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“They are Peshotanus:  two hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra, two hundred stripes with the Sraosho-karana.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!  If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the little finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“Thirty stripes with the Aspahe-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraosho-karana.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!  If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the fore-finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“Fifty stripes with the Aspahe-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraosho-karana.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!  If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top joint of the middle finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“Seventy stripes with the Aspahe-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraosho-karana.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!  If a man shall throw on the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as a finger or as a rib, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­