SearchBrowseAboutContactDonate
Page Preview
Page 973
Loading...
Download File
Download File
Page Text
________________ 1xxii PAHLAVI TEXTS. among the many nations with which the religion of the Avesta has come in contact, both before and since the time of Zaratust. For, notwithstanding the ingenious rhetoric of the expounders of myths, it is still as unsafe, from a scientific point of view, to disbelieve the former existence of Zaratust as it is to doubt that of Moses, or any other practically prehistoric personage, merely because mythic tales have gathered about his name in later times, as they always do about the memory of any individual who has become famous or revered. In many cases the original Pahlavi word is appended, in parentheses, to its English equivalent in the translation. This has been done for the sake of explanation, when the word is technical or rare, or the translation is unusual. For, with regard to technical terms, it has been considered best, in nearly all cases, to translate them by some explanatory phrase, in preference to filling the translation with foreign words which would convey little or no distinct meaning to the general reader. Some of these technical terms have almost exact equivalents in English, such as those translated resurrection' and 'demon,' or can be well expressed by descriptive phrases, such as 'sacred twigs' and 'sacred cakes. Other terms are only approximately rendered by such words as 'archangel' and 'angel ;' others can hardly be expressed at all times by the same English words, but must change according to the context, such as the term variously rendered by 'worship, ceremonial, prayer, or rites.' While the meaning of some few terms is so technical, complicated, or uncertain, that it is safer to use the Pahlavi word itself, such as Tanâpahar, Frasast, Gêtî. kharîd, Dvårdah-hômást, &c. The following is a list of nearly all the technical terms that have been translated, with the English equivalents generally used to express them :-Åfrîn, 'blessing;' a harmôk, 'apostate, heretic;' a harů bě, 'righteous;' a harûbo-dåd, 'alms, almsgiving ;' akdînê, 'infidel;' ameshồspend, archangel;' armêst, 'helpless ;' ast-hômand, material;' au sofrid, 'propitiation, offering ;' baghô-bakhto, divine providence;' baresốm, sacred twigs or twig. bundle;' Digitized by Digitized by Google
SR No.007687
Book TitleSacred Laws of Aryas
Original Sutra AuthorN/A
AuthorGorge Buhler
PublisherOxford
Publication Year1897
Total Pages1979
LanguageEnglish
ClassificationBook_English
File Size36 MB
Copyright © Jain Education International. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy