Spand nask
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The Spand or Spend nask was one of the Gathic nasks (volumes) of the Sasanian Avesta. The work is lost but based on later descriptions it contained the details of the life of Zarathustra[1] and is considered to be the source of later biographies.[2]
Sources
The Spand nask itself is no longer extant but references can be found in later Zoroastrian writings. First, the 8th book of the Denkard provides in chapter 14 a description of its content.[3] In addition, the Rivayats, a series of exchanges from the 15th - 17th century, give a short overview.[4]
Structure
The Spand nask belonged to the so called, Gathic nasks, one of the three divisions of the Sasanian Avesta.[5] Both the Denkard and the Rivayats agree that it was of 13th nask and according to the Rivayats it consisted of 60 sections.[6] Edward William West estimates, that it consisted of ca. 9,900 words of Avestan text accompanied by ca. 20,500 words of translation and commentary in Pahlavi.[7]
Content
Based on the descriptions in later sources, it is clear that the Spand nask contained a detailed description of the life of Zarathustra.[1] As such, it is considered to be a major source for later texts that covered this topic.[2] For example, it is considered to be the main source for Book 7 of the Denkard.[8] Likewise, the meeting of Zarathustra and Vohu Manah in the Wizidagiha-i Zadspram may be taken from the Spand nask.[9] Another text is Book of Arda Viraf, whose description of hell may have been based on this work.[10]
References
Citations
- ^ a b de Menasce 1983, p. 1172: "The life of Zoroaster, within the framework of cosmic history, was contained in its entirety in the Spand Nask".
- ^ a b Grenet 2015, p. 23: "[T]he lost Spand Nask which is the direct or indirect source of all the legendary biographies of Zarathustra".
- ^ Gignoux 1994.
- ^ Dhabhar 1932.
- ^ Kellens 1987, "The Sasanian collection of the Avesta and its commentary (zand) is described in chap. 8 of the Dēnkard; it was probably composed of three books of seven chapters [...]".
- ^ West 1892, p. 31.
- ^ West 1892, chap. Introduction.
- ^ Cereti 2015, p. 264: "The brief summaries contained in the 8th book of the Dēnkard allow us to infer that the Spand Nask was probably the main source of the writer of the 7th book of the Dēnkard".
- ^ Grenet 2015, p. 23: "Wizidagiha-i Zadspram (which also drew from the Spand Nask) describe how Zarathustra had the vision of Vohu Manah".
- ^ Kellens 1987, "[M]uch of the Spand was probably incorporated into [...] the description of hell in the Ardā Wirāz-nāmag".
Bibliography
- Cereti, Carlo G. (2015). "Myths, Legends, Eschatologies". In Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan S.-D.; Tessmann, Anna (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 9781118785539.
- Dhabhar, Bahmanji Nusserwanji (1932). The Persian Rivayats of Hormazyar Framarz and Others. Their Version with Introduction and Notes. Bombay: K. R. Cama Oriental Institute.
- Gignoux, Philippe (1994). "DĒNKARD". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VII. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 284–289.
- Grenet, Frantz (2015). "Zarathustra's Time and Homeland Geographical Perspectives". In Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan S.-D.; Tessmann, Anna (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 9781118785539.
- Kellens, Jean (1987). "AVESTA i. Survey of the history and contents of the book". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 35–44.
- de Menasce, Jean (1983). "Zoroastrian Pahlavi Writings". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24693-4.
- Shapira, Dan (1998). Studies in Zoroastrian Exegesis - Zand (PhD thesis). Jerusalem.
- West, Edward William (1892). Müller, Friedrich Max (ed.). Pahlavi Texts IV: Contents of the Nasks. The Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 37. Oxford university press. ISBN 1-139-41083-0.
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External links
- Summary of the Spand nask according to Book 8 of the Denkard by Edward William West
- Summary of the Spand nask in the Rivayats by Ervad Bamanji Nusserwanji Dhabhar
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