1. Zarathustra asked Ahura-Mazda: “Ahura-Mazda, Heavenly, Holiest, Creator of the corporeal world, Pure! when a pure man dies, where does his soul dwell during the night?”
2. Then answered Ahura-Mazda: “Near his head it sits itself down, reciting the Gâthâ Ustavaiti, praying happiness for itself: ‘Happiness be to the man who conduces to the happiness of each. May Ahura-Mazda create, ruling after His wish.’ On the night the soul sees as much joyfulness as the whole living world possesses.”
3. “Where does the soul dwell throughout the second night?”
4. Then answered Ahura-Mazda: “Near his head it sits itself,” etc.
5. “Where does his soul stay throughout the third night?”
6. Then answered Ahura-Mazda: “Near his head it sits itself,” etc.
7. “When the lapse of the third night turns itself to light, then the soul of the pure man goes forward, recollecting itself at the perfume of plants. A wind blows to meet it from the mid-day region, a sweet-scented one, more sweet-scented than the other winds.
9. “In that wind there comes to meet him his own law in the figure of a maiden, one beautiful, shining, with shining arms; one powerful, well-grown, slender, with large breasts, praiseworthy body; one noble, with brilliant face, one of fifteen years, as fair in her growth as the fairest creatures.
10. “Then to her (the maiden) speaks the soul of the pure man, asking: ‘What maiden art thou whom I have seen here as the fairest of maidens in body?’
11. “Then replies to him his own law: ‘I am, O youth, thy good thoughts, words, and works, thy good law, thine own law of thine own body—which would be in reference to thee like in greatness, goodness, and beauty, sweet-smelling, victorious, harmless, as thou appearest to me.
12. “ ‘Thou art like me, O well-speaking, well-thinking, well-acting youth, devoted to the good law, so in greatness, goodness, and beauty as I appear to thee.
14. “ ‘Thou hast made the pleasant yet more pleasant to me, the fair yet fairer, the desirable yet more desirable, that sitting in a high place, sitting in a yet higher place, in these Paradises Humata, Hûkhta, Hvarsta (Paradises). . . .
15. “ The soul of the pure man goes the first step and arrives in Humata; the soul of the pure man takes the second step and arrives at Hûkhta; it goes the third step and arrives at Hvarsta; the soul of the pure man takes the fourth step and arrives at the Eternal Lights.”
19. Zarathustra asked Ahura-Mazda: “Ahura-Mazda, Heavenly, Holiest, Creator of the corporeal world, Pure! when a wicked one dies, where does the soul dwell throughout this night?”
20. Then answered Ahura-Mazda, “There, O pure Zarathustra, near the head it runs about whilst it utters the prayer Ké mánm, etc., ‘Which land shall I praise, whither shall I go praying, O Ahura-Mazda?’ In the night the soul sees as much displeasing as the whole living world.
25. “When the lapse of the third night approaches towards the light, O pure Zarathustra, then goes the soul of the wicked man to the impure place, recollecting itself continually by the stench. To it comes a wind blowing from the North Region, an evil-smelling one, more evil-smelling than other winds.
26. “When the soul of the wicked man receives this wind into the nose, it goes (saying), ‘Whence comes this wind which I smell with the nose as the most evil-smelling wind?’
33. “The fourth step takes the soul of the wicked man and it arrives at the darknesses without beginning.”
- Own law-Karma
- Humata -Paradise
