1SS 



3IRS. WALTER ^IAC"ND£E, OX ASTRONOMICAL 



of faying the same thing ; for a traveller in the polar regions, 

 moving away from the pole, must move southward, " towards 

 the luminous space " " to meet the sun." 



The Fargard then goes on to tell of the meeting in Iran- Ye^r 

 of the celestial gods, called by Ahura Mazda, and the meeting 

 of the excellent mortals, summoned by Yima the good Shepherd, 

 when Ahura Mazda said : — 



"0 fair Yima, son of Yivanghat ! Upon the material world the 

 fatal winters are going to fall, that shall bring the fierce foul frost ; 

 upon the material world the fatal winters are going to fail, that 

 shall make snow-flakes fall thick, even an aredvi deep on the highest 

 tops of mountains. And all the three sorts of beasts shall perish, 

 those that live in the wilderness, and those that live on the tops of 

 the mountains, and those that live in the bosom of the dale under 

 the shelter of the stables."'' 



To guard against these fatal winters,* Ahura Mazda directed 

 Yim to make a Var or enclosure, known in late mythology as 

 the Yar-(?am-kard, or the ' : Var made by Yim." This Var was 

 to be a square, long as a riding ground on every side, to be 

 an abode for men and a fold for nocks : and to it were 

 brought the seeds of men and women, of the greatest, best 

 and finest kinds, and of cattle and of every kind of tree and 

 fruit. Then " that Var he sealed up with the golden ring, and 

 he made a door, and a window, self-shining within." 



Then : — 



" 0 Maker of the material world, thou Holy One ! \Yhat (lights 

 are there to give light) in the Vara which Yima made ? 



••Ahura Mazda answered: 'There are uncreated lights and 

 created lights. There, the stars, the moon, and the sun are only 

 once (a vear) seen to rise and set, and a vear seems only as 

 a day.' " 



Here is the second great peculiarity of Iran-Ye#, and it is sig- 

 nificant that in the description given in a later source, the 

 Mainyo-i-khard, whose author quoted freely from the Yendidad, 

 there is no mention of this condition of the year and the day 



* The Pahlavi Commentary gives as its version for the word k " v inters,''' 

 " Malkosan,'"' which is the plural of the Aramaic word "Malkos,' rain. 

 This Malkos entered the Iranian mythology and became naturalised 

 there, but being mistaken for a proper name, became that of a demon, 

 who by witchcraft will let loose a furious winter on the earth to destroy 

 it. 



