Zend Avesta Part 02

SR No.: 007672
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: James Darmesteter
Publisher: Oxford
Publication Year: 1883
Total Pages: 2221
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 41 MB

Page 1922

xxxii
PAHLAVI TEXTS.
56. We must suppose that the millennial chronology, which the Bundahis discontinues in the middle of the tenth millennium, was originally completed to the end of Time, as attempted in this synopsis, in accordance with the statements in Byt. and Dk. But the allusions to future events and denunciations of coming evils were, no doubt, of a mythological or general character, such as those still surviving in Dk. VII, vii, 29–32; viii, 40, 41, 44-46, 48-60; ix-xi. Whenever we meet with seemingly prophetic descriptions and denunciations, which clearly allude to historical events, such as those in Dk. VII, vii, 3–28; viii, 2, 10, 23, 32-36, 42, 43, 47, 61, they must, of course, be treated as interpolations of a later date than the events themselves. And there are several passages that may belong to either class.
57. It has been already shown, in $ 54, that the death of Alexander, which the Bundahis places in A. R. 273, must have occurred in A. R. 308 according to other traditional records. If this error of thirty-five years stood alone, it might be considered accidental; but when we find that the Bundahis supplies only 284 years for the Askânians, to fill up the whole interval of 548 years between Alexander and Ardashîr, son of Pâpak, we must conclude that these two errors were intended for the purpose which they both fulfil, that of postponing the end of the tenth millennium. On the other hand, the Sâsânians who ruled for 425 years, are allowed 460 years in the Bundahis, which just counterbalances the thirty-five years omitted after the time of Hûmâî. This third error may be considered unintentional, as it probably arose from counting the year of each succession twice over, first in the reign of the deceased king, and again in that of his successor.
58. The extent to which the Bundahis chronology is distorted, by these three errors, will be better understood on inspection of the following tabular statement than from any description of the results, merely observing that the year of the religion (A. R.) is given according to Bundahis dates in the first column, and according to real dates in the second. Several intermediate events have been inserted,
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