The Vendidad consists of 22 ''fargards'' or chapters containing fragments arranged as discussions between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. This literary technique, however, does not mean it was a composition by one of the prophet's contemporaries.
However, some consider the Vendidad as being linked to ancient early Zoroastrian oral traditions, being only lately written as a book of laws to the community. The term 'youngest' is a comparative term since the writing of the Vendidad preceded - perhaps substantially - the formation of Media and Persia, viz. before the 8th century B.C.E..
In addition, as with the Yashts, the date of composition of the final version does not exclude the possibility that some parts of the Vendidad may consist of very old material. Even in this modern age, Zoroastrians are continually rewriting old spiritual material.
The first chapter is a dualistic creation myth, followed by the description of a destructive winter comparable with the great floods of various other mythologies. The second chapter recounts the legend of ''Yima'' (Jamshid). Chapter 19 relates the temptation of Zoroaster, who, when urged by Angra Mainyu to turn from the good religion, turns instead towards Ahura Mazda. The remaining chapters cover diverse rules and regulations, through the adherence of which evil spirits may be confounded. Broken down by subject, these ''fargard''s deal with the following topics (chapter(s) where a topic is covered are in brackets):
There is a degree of moral relativism apparent in the Vendidad, and the diverse rules and regulations are not always expressed as being mystical, absolute, universal or mandatory. The Vendidad is mainly about social laws, mores, customs and culture. In some instances, the description of prescribed behaviour is accompanied by a description of the penances that have to be made to atone for violations thereof. Such penances include:
The emergent reformist Zoroastrian movement reject the later writings in the Avesta as being corruptions of Zarathustra's original teachings and thus do not consider the Vendidad as an original Zoroastrian scripture. Thet argue that it was written nearly 700 years after the death of Zarathustra and interpret the writing as different from the other parts of the Avesta.
An article by Hannah M. G. Shapero Ushtavaiti sums up the refomist perspective:
"How do Zoroastrians view the Vendidad today? And how many of the laws of the Vendidad are still followed? This depends, as so many other Zoroastrian beliefs and practices do, on whether you are a "reformist" or a "traditionalist." The reformists, following the Gathas as their prime guide, judge the Vendidad harshly as being a deviation from the non-prescriptive, abstract teachings of the Gathas. For them, few if any of the laws or practices in the Vendidad are either in the spirit or the letter of the Gathas, and so they are not to be followed. The reformists prefer to regard the Vendidad as a document which has no religious value but is only of historic or anthropological interest. Many Zoroastrians, in Iran, India, and the world diaspora, inspired by reformists, have chosen to dispense with the Vendidad prescriptions entirely or only to follow those which they believe are not against the original spirit of the Gathas."
The ''Vendidad'' may also be recited on its own, not accompanied by any ritual activity: this ceremony is known as the ''Vendidad Sadé''.
Because of its length and complexity, the ''Vendidad'' is read, rather than recalled from memory as is otherwise necessary for the ''Yasna'' texts. The recitation of the ''Vendidad'' requires a priest of higher rank (one with a ''moti khub'') than is normally necessary for the recitation of the ''Yasna''.
Category:Zoroastrian texts Category:Avesta fa:وندیداد fr:Vendidad ko:벤디다드 no:Videvdad pt:Vendidad sv:Vendidad
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