STUDIAIRANICA.

CAHIER25

I R A N

QUESTIONS ET CONNAISSANCES
VOL. I
LA PERIODE ANCIENNE

EXTRAIT
TEXIESREIN'SPAR
PHILIP HUYSE

ASSOCIATIONPOURL'AVANCEMENTDESETUDESIRANIENNES
PARIS 2002
 TABLE DES MATIERES

Avant-propos 5
Table des matieres 7 - 8
Liste d ' abrev iations 9 - 1 0

Langues et textes
Agustl ALEMANY : Where are the monuments of the 'Alanic language' ? 1 3 - 2 8
Carlo CERETI : On Zoroaster's genealogy 2 9 - 4 5
Desmond DURKIN-MEISTERERNST : The uses of baw- in Parthian 4 7 - 6 2
Judith JOSEPHSON : Parallelism in Middle Persian prose 6 3 - 7 6
Maria MACUCH : A Zoroastrian legal term in the Denkard :
pahikar-rad 7 7 - 9 0
Pierre MAZAHERI : Rapports lexicaux irano-slaves : en marge des
influences mazdeennes 9 1 - 1 0 0
Jadwiga PSTRUSIKSKA : On a Celto-Nuristani god 1 0 1 - 1 1 0
Enrico G. RAFFAELLI : Mots et doctrines moyen-perses dans les
textes arabes 1 1 1 - 1 2 0
Shaul SHAKED : Towards a Middle Persian dictionary 1 2 1 - 1 3 4
Werner SUNDERMANN : The Book of the Head and the Book of the
Limbs. A Sogdian word list 1 3 5 - 1 6 1
Philippe SWENNEN : Notes d'onomastique indo-iranienne ancienne 1 6 3 - 1 7 4

Religions et philosophie
Giovanni M. D'ERME : A rationalist form of thought in ancient and
medieval Iran 1 7 7 - 2 0 5
Claudia LEURINI : Hell or hells in Zoroastrian afterlife : the case of
Ara. Wiraz Namag 2 0 7 - 2 2 0
Antonio PANAINO : Quelques reflexions sur le calendrier zoroastrien 2 2 1 - 2 3 2
Eric PHALIPPOU : Les litteratures zoroastrienne et crypto-
zoroastrienne d'expression persane dans l'Inde modeme
(de la revolte des Cipayes a la revolution islamique) 2 3 3 - 2 5 1
Andrea PIRAS : Sur la 'puissante Aurore' dans l'Avesta 2 5 3 - 2 6 0

Histoire et archeologie
Martha CARTER : Notes on two Chinese stone funerary bed bases with
Zoroastrian symbolism 2 6 3 - 2 8 7
Anne-Elizabeth DUNN-VATURI : A propos d'un nouveau jeu de l'Iran
ancien 2 8 9 - 2 9 6
Philip HUYSE : La revendication de territoires achemenides par les
Sassanides : une realite historique ? 2 9 7 - 3 1 1
Etsuko KAGEYAMA : A Chinese way of depicting foreign delegates
discerned in the painting of Afrasiab 3 1 3 - 3 2 7
Karin MOSIG-WALBURG : Zur Westpolitik Sharptirs II. 3 2 9 - 3 4 7
Daniel T. POTTS : Five episodes in the history of Elymais,
145-124 B.C. : new data from the astronomical diaries 3 4 9 - 3 6 2
Nahal TAJADOD : Les premiers traducteurs de saras bouddhiques
en Chine, les Parthes An Shigao et An Xuan 3 6 3 - 3 8 0
 Claudia LEURINI
DIPARTIMENTO DI STORIE E METODI PER LA CONSERVAZIONE DE! BEN! CULTURAL!, RAVENNA

HELL OR HELLS IN ZOROASTRIAN AFTERLIFE:

THE CASE OF ARDA WIRAZ NAMAG

RESUME

Malgre les apparences, la description de l'enfer zoroastrien dans l'Ardd W i t

n'est- pas un amalgame desordonne de peches et pecheurs. A u contraire, une partie
exterieure
a z 1 et\ une
l a partie
m a g interieure de l'enfer y sont clairement distinguees, chacune avec de
differentes categories de pech6s et de pecheurs punis.

Mots-cies : zoroastrisme, au-dela, structure de l'enfer.

ABSTRACT

The Zoroastrian hell, as represented in the Ardei Wiraz Nthnag, is not a simple
muddle of sins and punishments, but displays an organized structure. Hell is actually
divided into an outer and an inner part, where different categories of sins and sinners are
punished.

Key-words : Zoroastrianism, afterlife, hell structure.

1. HELL OR HELLS IN THE KIRDTR INSCRIPTIONS AND PAHLAVI BOOKS

In his inscriptions at Nagg-i-Rustam and Sar Maghad, Kirdir t e l l s us
that he has made a journey into the world of the dead. The description of that

Ph. Gignoux, Les quatre inscriptions du mage K i r d i r, Paris, 1991 ; M . Back, Die
sassanidischen Staatsinschriften (AcIr 18), Teheran/Liege, 1978 ; D. N. MacKenzie,
Kerdir's Inscription, in G. Herrmann, R. Howell Caldecott and D. N. MacKenzie,

CAHIERS DE STUDIA IRANICA 2 5 (2002), pp. 207-220

208 C . LEURINI

place is short and synthetic, and it refers in a general way to hell and heaven.
On the other hand, the Pahlavi books like D e
-
Xrad give more detailed information about afterlife, but they disagree to a
Ilarge
c i e sextent.
t
- In Dadestan I Denig (chap. 33) 2
athree
n , hsublevels,
eI l l aDthe p efirst
p neofaiwhich,
rg s hamerstagan, is the place where the souls
aof people
a n sdwell d in a state of a waiting because of the equivalence of their good
M andwbadedeedso r;nbutl during
Od their lives they had also shown a nasty propensity
gto badness.
s p In al perfect i mirror-like
t way a hamestagan for good people is
believed
u to be situated
p below the two upper parts of heaven, srao§O:earand
andi garodmein, n in thet Pahlavi Rivayat Accompanying the Dadestan I Denig
o
(chap. 65) 3
.du§ox, where demons and torturers live, and drazaskan, situated at the
Tbottom
h u sof the dark existence and home of the chief demon Ahreman.
h In e Meting
l l I Xrad 4
existence,
p ,r o and no distinction between good and bad dispositions of character
pis made.
he a rmHeaven
e s t appears
a as the combination of three skies : the sky of good
g a n good words, and good deeds. But some degree of specialisation is
ithoughts,
nherei found s as well, since hell comprises three sublevels : the place o f bad
D u a n bad
thoughts, d ewords, r and bad deeds. Above the highest sky rises the seat of
dOhrmazd
s e t oandobelow d the lowest level of hell is the abode of Ahreman.
s at
a sn
I a The Sasanian Rock-Reliefs at Nae-i-Rustam, Nae-i-Rustam 6 (Iranische Denk-
D s 'Tidier, i 13), mBerlin, 1989.
e2 pD d XXXIII l e (Pahlavi Texts II) : "1. As to the thirty-second question and reply, that
n , which you ask is thus : In which direction and which land is hell and how is it ? 2.
i n The reply is this, that the place of a soul of the wicked, after the dying off of the
g o body, is i n three districts : one of them is called that of ever-stationary o f the
wicked, and it is a chaos, but the evil is abundantly and considerably more than the
c t good ; and the place is terrible, dark, stinking, grievous with evil. 3. A n d one is
o a that which is called the worst existence, and it is there the first tormentors and
m t demons w have their abode ; it is full of evil and punishment, and there is no comfort
p o and pleasure f whatever. 4. And one is called Drugaskan, and is at the bottom of the
r o igloomyl existence, where the head of the demon rushes ; there is the populous abode
of all darkness and all evil. 5. These three places, collectively, are called hell, which
s d
is northerly, descending, and underneath this earth ...". See also Dd. X X (Pahlavi
e Texts II) : "4. He who is of the wicked falls from the lower end of the bridge, or
s from the middle of the bridge ; he falls head-foremost to hell, and is precipitated
t unto that grade which is suitable for his wickedness".
w3 A . V. Williams, The Pahlavi Rivayat Accompanying the Dadestan I Denig, 2 vols.,
o Copenhagen, 1990.
4 M . X. VII (Pahlavi Texts III).
l
e
v
e
l
s
:
 HELL OR HELLS IN ZOROASTRIAN AFTERLIFE 2 0 9

Arda Wirdz Namag looks very much like a fusion of these two different
structures, as its heaven appears identical to the one described in Mendg
Xrad and hamestagan is simple too and not twofold like i n Dadestan I
Denig. But hell is divided into two, exactly as it is presented in the latter
work (excepting hamestagan, o f course). I n A r d a Wirciz Namag bad
thoughts, bad words, and bad deeds represent just three steps the souls take
when they are about to go into hell 5
.

2. SCHOLARLY INTERPRETATIONS ABOUT HELL IN Arda Wiraz Namag

The Arda Wirdz Namag provides us with the most detailed description of
hell in Middle Persian literature, since eighty-four o f the one hundred and
one chapters are devoted to hell, to the souls dwelling there, to their sins and
destinies. From a mere stylistic point of view, the text is dull and the whole
book looks like a disorganized ensemble o f sins and related punishments
often strongly resembling one another. Actually, this stylistically over-homo-
geneous text disappoints the reader who, in front o f obsessively repeated
formulas, is clearly surprised by the presence of a second introduction to hell
in chapters 53-55 after that of chapter 18. Philippe Gignoux refers to Arda
Wirdz Namag's hell as "un grand desordre apparent" 6 and i n his o w n
translation of the text — compiled by the Dastur Hoshanji Jamasp-Asa and
finished b y Martin Haug and E. W. West — , he considers those three
chapters to be a superfluous repetition 7
. B more
who u t than
i t a century
w aagoshad intuitively realized in the third introductory
essay
p r to e the
c editio
i s eprinceps
l y of the text 8 that a new element appears in the
H a u g
a n d
5 P h . Gignoux, Le livre d'Arda Viraz, Paris, 1984, chap. 17 (henceforth : Gignoux
W 1984).
e s t
6 P h . Gignoux, « L'enfer et le paradis d'apres les sources pehlevies », JA 256, 1968,
238.
7 G i g n o u x 1984, 16 : "La description de l'enfer apparait deux fois, au chapitre 18, qui
introduit la seconde partie du livre consacre a l'enfer, et curieusement au milieu de
cette meme partie, dans les chapitres 53 et 54".
8 T a l k i n g about this second introduction in particular about chapter 53, M. Haug and
E. W. West, The Book o f Arda Viraf, Amsterdam, 1872 [rept% 19711 note :
"Whether this hell is identical with that one already described i n the preceding
chapters, or different from it, does not seem very clear. But i t appears from the
description which is given in the chapter 54, that it was considered as somewhat
different, as may be concluded from the designation 'darkest hell' I n the 'darkest
hell' one expects to find the greatest criminals and sinners ; but the crimes and
offences for which punishments are inflicted are frequently the same, as those which
were inflicted in hell in general ; some are however different" (p. DWI). And further
"Regarding the arrangement of the crimes and offences mentioned, there is nowhere
210 C . LEURINI

second introduction. The place where the 'righteous Wiraz' was about to go
into was perceived as 'the darkest'. The two scholars did not find sufficient
evidence f o r their assertion that Arad Wiraz Namag had a double hell,
however, although they called the first part o f the hellish abode a "general
hell". Michel Tardieu 9 recognizes the existence of two hells in this text and
he thinks that its structure can have been derived from the Apocalypse o f
Paul, where two hells organized in a very similar way to those of the Arda
Wiraz Namag appear ; his view on this point contrasts with those o f Ernst
Kuhn m and Frantz Cumont 11
,calypse
w h o from the Arda Wiraz Neimag.
m a i n t a i n
t h e
3. ANALYSIS THROUGH THEMATIC AND STATISTIC CRITERIA
d e r i v a t i
Starting from a comparison between the two introductions, i t should be
o n
ounderlined that,
f while the _entrance to the external hell i s hypothetically
situated on the bridge o f Cinwad 12
t h e
, t h of
place e punishment
e n t r aisnbelow c e the bridge of Cinwad on the 'Peak of Law', in
A p o
ta greato desert 13 t h e
-
two
s. I f ehellish c levels o seems
n likely.
d This problem needs a solution and the matter
atis hhere
e looked
r en into according
d to 'statistic' and thematic criteria.
ia r ne n e
rt3a. Sins
w o
d i f f
For this purpose I have compiled a list with the descriptions of sins (fig.
e r e n
1). A l l sins contained in the chapters of Arad Wiraz Narnag can actually be
t
e n t
r aany system,
n or plan, perceptible. All are thrown together, the most heinous crimes
c emay be s followed by trifling offences. Several crimes and offences are mentioned
more than once, for instance adultery, infanticide, b u t each time the wording is
t
different as well as the punishment".
o9 M . Tardieu, « L'Arda Viraz Namag et l'eschatologie grecque », Stir 14, 1985, 17-
h 26.
e E. Kuhn, « Ober die Literatur der Himmel und Hollenfahrten », Actes du dixieme
l Congres
l International des Orientalistes, Session de Geneve 1984, Leyde, 1985, 92.
F. Cumont, Lux Perpetua, Paris, 1949, 220-22.
, 12 T h e introduction of the 'outer' hell begins at chapter 17 where it is said u - r n did-iz
t abaz Oeinwadpuhl amad hem "Et je revenais a nouveau vers le pont Cinvad" (tr.
h Gignoux 1984, 171).
e 13 T h e introduction to the 'inner' hell reads : ud pas Srog' ahlaw ud Adur yazd dast
e man
x fraz grift ud man pad eagad I Daiti azer I Ginwad puhl andar wiyabotn-e(w)
burd ud may& I an wiyaban azer I Ginwad puhl andar zamig d u k x nimild "Et
i s
ensuite, So5g le saint et le dieu Adur me prirent la main et m'amenerent au Pic de la
t e sous le pout Cinvad, dans un desert, et au milieu de ce desert, sous le pont
Loi,
n c
Cinvad, ils (me) montrerent l'enfer a l'interieur de la terre" (tr. Gignoux 1984, 190).
e
o
f
 HELL OR HELLS IN ZOROASTRIAN AFTERLIFE 2 1 1

reduced to twenty thematic patterns and the results o f this analysis are o f
great interest : the sins occurring most frequently in the whole hell concern
the sexual sphere of both men and women such as fornication, adultery and
other sins relating to conjugal life. The frequency o f this category o f bad
behaviours amounts to eleven cases and is exceeded only b y that o f an
unspecified category combining a variety o f sins, hence called 'complex
sins' and totalling eighteen recurrences 14
.such
B e h i n d of sins
categories t hasethose
s which
e implicate the damaging of estate and
t w (ten
property o cases), while sins like 'sorcery-heresy-idolatry' show a high
c ol f occurrence
rate a s s as e s
do those connected with children (eight and seven
c o m e
cases, respectively). A high frequency is also shown by sins like 'slander-
lie', 'cruelty towards animals' and those o f 'impurity', all recurring s i x
times. Deviating behaviours such as 'bad administration' occur four times,
while those like 'menstrual contamination' and 'greed-avarice' occur three
times, and 'perversion' a n d ' b a d manners w h i l e eating' t w i c e each.
'Murder', 'envy', 'disrespect to parents', 'immoderate manifestation of grief
because of the loss o f dear people' and 'rebellion against the state' appear
just once.
It is thus easily observable that the text shows a persistent attention
towards particular kinds o f sins, but this interest is not homogeneously
distributed all over. On the assumption that chapters 19 through 52 deal with
the 'outer' hell and chapters 55 through 101 with the 'inner' hell, the most
frequently punished sins in the former group are those against property, i.e.
'theft-fraud' (eight times), while deviations like 'heresy-idolatry-sorcery'
together with those against purity law come next but are only half as
frequent. I n this 'outer' hell sins o f perversion like 'bad manners while
eating', 'murder', 'greed-avarice', 'laziness' and 'bad administration' are
mentioned just once, while 'envy', 'disrespect t o parents', 'immoderate
manifestation of grief' and 'rebellion' do not appear here. In the 'inner' hell,
on the other hand, the most frequently punished sins are those pertaining to
the sexual sphere and conjugal life, while sins against property, for example,
are found just twice. Both in the 'outer' and 'inner' hells sins o f 'heresy-
idolatry-sorcery' amount to the same number o f recurrences as 'menstrual
contamination', 'perversion' and 'bad manners while eating'. In the 'inner'
hell a 100% frequency increase can be observed for the deviations regarding
animals and a 200% augmentation for sins of 'bad administration' must be
pointed out, together with a 80% decrease of the rate for sins against purity
law. Sins like 'envy', 'disrespect to parents', 'seductive manner by means of
14
Complex sins are found in chapters 23f., 38, 45, 62-64, 67, 69-71, 76, 78, 81, 83,
94f., 98.
212 C. LEURINI

make-up', 'immoderate manifestation o f grief because o f the death o f be-

loved people' appear once in the 'inner' hell and do not find any place in the
'outer' hell. In the former o f the two hells the frequency o f complex sins
increases by 300%. Thus it is interesting to observe that the gravity of a sin
depends both on its specific type (e.g., 'fornication' vs. 'theft' or 'seduction'
vs. laziness') and on the combination of different kinds of sins (fig. 1).

3b. Sinners
In a second stage of my analysis I was interested in the sinners. In fact,
the text refers very rarely to 'souls', and sins are usually attributed either to
men or to women or to both (though not always as a couple). Results show
that men get mostly punished in the 'outer' hell, while women are for the
most part subjected to torture in the 'inner' hell : thus, women are considered
to be worse sinners than men. Both categories, 'souls' and 'man+woman',
also appear more frequently in the 'inner' hell and particularly in the last
chapters preceding the meeting with Ahreman. To sum up, in the 'outer' hell
men represent 70,5% of the damned souls, while women total only 17,6%
and 'man+woman' 5,8% like the 'souls'. In the 'inner' hell a sort o f turn-
about can be observed, where the presence of men is reduced to 18,8% while
women total 45,2% and the categories 'man+woman' and 'souls' increase to
15,9% and 20,5%, respectively. Consequently, in the 'inner' hell, besides
women, sins are more often attributed to groups or couples o f people (fig.
2).

3c. Female and male sins

Superposing the list of sins to the one o f sinners also gives interesting
results : sins pertaining to the sexual sphere are for the most part female, like
'menstrual contamination', 'seduction through make-up', 'immoderate mani-
festation o f grief', 'infanticide-abortion' a n d 'heresy-idolatry-sorcery'.
Proper male sins are 'slander-lie', those against purity law, 'bad admini-
stration', 'theft-fraud', 'perversion', 'laziness' and finally 'mistreatment o f
animals'.

3d. Punishments

I have also made a complete list of punishments (fig. 3). The number of
different tortures is quite high, higher than the number of sins in the previous
list. There are fifty-two kinds o f punishment, while the number o f sin
categories amounts to only twenty. Consequently, a complex punitive inter-
vention very often corresponds to a single sin. Some kinds o f punishment
are applied w i t h high frequency and t o a great variety o f sins. T h e
 HELL OR HELLS IN ZOROASTRIAN AFTERLIFE 2 1 3

commonest punishment is of the type 'beasts devouring people' followed by

'ingestion of impurities, human flesh, etc.' appearing eighteen and seventeen
times respectively, followed by 'tongue cut off' (eleven times), 'hanging by
the feet' (nine times), and 'weeping-moaning-crying' (eight times). I n the
'outer' hell thirty different kinds of punishment can be observed, while in the
'inner' hell the number amounts to thirty-nine. I n the former o f the two
hellish abodes the commonest tortures applied are 'ingestion o f impurities,
human flesh, etc.' (ten times) and 'beasts devouring people' (nine times),
followed by 'laceration/dismemberment' (four times), 'carrying mountains'
and 'bodies squashed by stones' (three times), while 'general hanging'
(unspecified), and 'weeping-moaning-crying' occur twice.
In the 'inner' hell 'beasts devouring people' occurs nine times, 'hanging
by the feet' eight times, followed by 'ingestion of impurities, human flesh,
etc.', 'tongue cut o ff ' and 'pricldy objects', recurring seven times each.
Punishments such as 'nail stuck in the flesh' and 'weeping-moaning-crying'
appear six times, while 'blows-lashes' and 'digging mountains' occur four
times and 'hot-cold', 'bum-being burned', 'skinning' and 'stench' three
times. Tw i c e appear 'defecating and eating', 'melted copper', 'beasts
trampling on bodies', 'immersion into impurities', 'impurities spurting from
bodies' and 'eyes gouged out'. Some tortures are found in one o f the two
hells exclusively. Tortures like 'scalping', 'killing own children and/or eating
them', 'vomiting slaver', 'hanging by the breast', 'general hanging', 'lace-
ration/dismemberment', 'wheel', 'man transformed into a snake', 'carrying
mountains or heavy weights', 'loneliness', 'head and beard shaving', etc.
appear only i n the 'outer' hell, while 'melted copper', 'darkness', 'con-
fusion', 'eyes gouged out' and many more occur in the 'inner' hell only.
Complex tortures are composed of a range of punishments and are often
applied to simple sins, so that no correlation between complex sins and
complex punishments can be established ; on the contrary, many 'complex'
sinners are hit by simple tortures. The complexity o f punishments must be
considered as a rule but there is some evidence in favour of the theory on the
existence o f a double-levelled hell i n Arda Wtraz Namag w h i l e double
punishments happen twelve times in the 'outer' hell, they recur on sixteen
occasions in the 'inner' hell. Similarly, complex tortures composed of three
different punishments vary from one case in the 'outer' hell to ten in the
'inner' hell, while fourfold tortures pass from one unity to three from the
first to the second infernal abode. But most striking is the occurrence of two
fivefold punishments in the 'inner' hell only. Thus, like in the case of sins,
the complexity of tortures gradually grows from the 'outer' to the 'inner' hell
(fig. 4).
214 C . LEURINI

It is also interesting to note that punishments named 'general' because of

their connection to very different kinds of sins and because of their occurring
many times in both hells are mainly attributed to men in the 'outer' hell but to
women (e.g., in the case of 'ingestion of impurities, human flesh, etc.') or to
'man+woman' i n the 'inner' hell (as i s the case o f 'beasts devouring
people'). Some of these general punishments are applied to men and are rare
in the 'outer' hell, but when applied to women and/or 'man+woman' in the
'inner' hell they become frequent (such as 'hot-cold', 'weeping-moaning-
crying ' , 'digging mountains' and ' skinning').

3e. Zoroastrian interpretations of sins

Sins hierarchy
Zoroastrian tradition, in particular the commentaries to the sacred texts
used to provide a categorization of sins, gradating from the least to the most
important : framan, agrift, awOirist, ardu§, xwar, beiza-zanignih, yat, and
tanetpuhl 15
either
. A nthrough
y equivalent good deeds or through payment of a set amount of
smoney,
i n but originally corporal punishments were reserved for them ranging
bfrome al minimum of five to a maximum of two-hundred lashes, although for
otandpuhl-sins
n g a variety of different tortures existed. A l l sins o f every cate-
igory
n could
g turn into sins of a higher level when frequently repeated, but any
tof them could be expiated on earth : the reiteration o f tandpuhl-sins fifteen
otimes or more transformed them into margarzein-sins deserving death for
oexpiation. Thus, i f somebody committed two margarzan-sins, only one o f
nthese could be paid for in earthly life with a purifying death, while the other
eone had inevitably to be settled i n hell. I n Archi Wiraz Namag a lot o f
omargarzan-sins occur such as sodomy, sins against nature, breaking-off a
fnext-of-kin marriage, adultery, seduction, dispersion o f male seed, murder,
tabortion, killing o f the water beaver and contamination o f water and fire,
hetc. ; but many bad behaviours belong to the taneipuhl category such as
eaccidental throwing of nails and hair on fire, burial of the dead for more than
stwo years, walking with one shoe, and more. M a n y o f these sins are
etanapuhl just by name, because they occur unavoidably in a reiterative form :
curination
a while standing on one's feet, for example, is comparable to an act
t of idolatry
e and every drop falling at a shorter distance than is allowed in the
gtexts orepresents a tandpuhl-sin. I n consequence every urination while
r standing
i represents a multiple number of tanapuhl-sins and thus maybe also
e s
h15 S e c I and XII (Pahlavi Texts I) ; F. M. P. Kotwal, The Supplementary Texts to the
a Sayest ne Sayest, Copenhagen, 1969, chap. XI.
d
t
o
b
e
e
x
p
i
 HELL OR HELLS IN ZOROASTRIAN AFTERLIFE 2 1 5

of margarzein ones. It follows that the most serious vices and combinations
of them are described in Arda Wiraz Namag's hell.

Self-damaging sins and those hurting other people

Two further categories o f sins can be seen i n the Zoroastrian texts.
Hamemal are sins harming other people, like murder, infanticide, abortion,
mistreatment o f parents, diffusion o f heresies, l i e , avarice, f a l s e
determination o f estate borders, etc. and they can be expiated only after
begging the victim's pardon and confessing the unrighteous action to a priest
in order to obtain the due punishment. Ruwanig 16
those
, o nbadt behaviours
h e oharming
t h ether souls o f people who commit them like
h a menstrual
sodomy, n d , contamination a or f fire eand water, sexual conjunction
during menstruation, illegitimate transportation of corpses, etc. In the 'outer'
hell these two categories are equally frequent, that is twenty-one times, while
in the 'inner' hell hamemal- and ruwanig-sins both occur fifty times.
Upon analysis of complex sins (which are the result o f a combination of
many sins of one or both classes) in the text on the basis of these categories,
an interesting result is obtained : in the external part o f the infernal abode
complex sins occur in only five cases ; there are one double, one threefold
and one fourfold all-ruwanig-sins, while two double all-hamemai-sins can
be observed there. Conversely, in the deepest hell fifteen complex sins are
found, though they are not all either pure hamemal or pure ruwanig-sins, but
mostly a mixture of both with a general clear prevalence of the former kind.
Thus, as far as Zoroastrian categories of sins are concerned, the existence
of two different infernal abodes is confirmed and even i f the two hells in
Arda Wiraz Namag are intended for the most serious vices — since no
further systematic discrimination can be found for them —, it is possible to
establish a sort of classification on the basis of the description of the sins, of
their complexity and of various combinations relating to the victims of those
deeds.

4. CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of what has been pointed out so far — 1. sins pertain mainly
or completely either to the 'outer' or to the 'inner' hell ; 2. sins are attributed
either to men or to women or to both but with clear differences between the
two hells ; 3. punishments in the two infernal abodes have each their specific
character ; 4. there exists a coherent subdivision of hamemal and ruweinig-
sins between the two hellish sites — we cannot maintain with Gignoux 1984

16 S rth' VIII (Pahlavi Texts I).

216 C. LEURINI

and Haug/West 1872 that this text is repetitive and incoherent and that the
work was written with a complete lack o f project, since on the contrary it
shows some specific regularity. Admittedly, there is no guarantee that a
single author worked on this text, since the version o f the Arda Wiraz
Namag as compiled by Haug/West and later by Gignoux is actually the
result o f a collation o f several late manuscripts. B u t even i f one takes
numerous interventions into consideration, some coherence t o a general
project cannot be denied.

Claudia LEUR1NI
Dipartimento di Stone e Metodi per la
Conservazione dei Beni Culturali
Universita di Bologna (Ravenna)
Via degli Ariani 1
I - 48100 Ravenna
Italy

FIG. 1 : LIST OF SINS

S e r i e 2
S e r i e l

C 411.
.
C

/ - /

1 2 3 l

M i l i M E N eE M E M E M E N C E E M E M E M E I M E N E M E M E N E E M E M
E R E M E I R11E I I I I9M E M I N I E W M I L M E E M E I M M U N M E M I I M E M E I N E E M I N L I E M
' 2
1
3
1
4
1
5
l
e
1
7
l
e
1
9
2
0
 HELL OR HELLS IN ZOROASTRIAN AFTERLIFE 2 1 7

1. Fornication, adultery, against marriage II. Sexual perversion

2. Theft and fraud
3. Heresy, idolatry, sorcery
4. Sins affecting children
5. Slander, lie
6. Sins affecting animals
7. Impurity
8. Bad administration of public estate
9. Menstrual contamination
10. Avarice and avidity
12. Bad behaviour while eating
13. Murder
14. Envy
15. Sins affecting parents
16. Laziness
17. Seductive manner by means of make-up
18. Complex sins
19. Exaggerated manifestation of grief
because of beloved people's death
20. Rebellion against the state

FIG. 2 : COMBINATION OF SINS AND SEXES

outer hell inner hell

19 M 37 M/W 56 M/W 74 S 92 S
20 W 38 M 57 M 75 S 93 S
21 M 39 M 58 M 76 W 94 W
22 M 40 M 59 W 77 S 95 W
23 M 41 M 60 M 78 W 96 M
24 W 42 S 61 M/W 79 M 97 M/W
25 M/W 43 M 62 W 80 S 98 M/W
26 W 44 W 63 W 81 W 99 M/W
27 M 45 M 64 W 82 W
28 M 46 M 65 S 83 W
29 M 47 S 66 M/W 84 W
30 M 48 M 67 M 85 W
31 M 49 M 68 M/W 86 W
32 M 50 M 69 W 87 W
33 M 51 M 70 W 88 M
34 W 52 M 71 M 89 S
35 W 72 W 90 S
36 73 W 91 M

a- numbers correspond to the chapters of the text

b M = man W = woman M / W = man+woman S = souls
-c- 'outer' hell : M = 25 W = 6 M / W = 2 S = 2
d- 'inner' hell : M = 9 W = 19 M / W =7 S = 9
218 C. LE0R1N1

FIG. 3 : LIST OF PUNISHMENTS

M W
1. impaled by a snake
WWMMMMMMMM
2. ingestion of impurities
3. scalping M
M M
4. cooking own children, etc
M S
5. hunger/thirst
6. v o m i t i n g slaver M
7. hanging by the breast WWMMMMMMMM
MW
8. 'general' hanging
MAV IMMIVISSSWW
9. hanging by the feet
S
10. hanging by the hips
MMMMM WW M/WM/W WWW M/WMAVM/W M AS
11. beasts devouring people
MM WW WWW MM M/WM/W
12. tongue cut off
13. instrumental measurement M M
14. blows/lashes MM MMM W
15. laceration/dismemberment MMM Vi
16. wheel torture M
17. man transformed into a snake M 0
18. carrying mountains, etc. MM W ,
19. hot/cold/bad weather M WW S
MMM S
20. bodies squashed by stones
SM WWW SSS
21. weeping/moaning/crying
W MM WWWM
22. digging mountains
M M
23. eating brain
24. loneliness M
25. head/beard shaving MS
26. drenched bodies S
MM WWW M S
27. skinning
WWWMMSS
28. prickly objects
29. cauldron M
30. defecating and eating S M/W
WWWWW M
31. cutting own body
WWW
32. burning/being burned
WW
33. melted copper
34. nail stuck in the flesh MIMIM W SS
35. darkness W
36. confusion M
S WW
37. beasts trampling on bodies
M
38. beasts defecating on bodies
S M/W
39. animals squashing people
MW
40. eyes gouged Out
W
41. iron coveting
M
42. masturbation and eating
MMM W SS
43. dragging
W
44. beheading
SM
45. immersion into impurities
WW
46. bodies spurting impurities
47. death penalty M
S
48. struggling
49. bite of a snake S
S
50. walking with low head
51. walking backwards M
52. stench WW S
 HELL OR HELLS IN ZOROASTRIAN AFTERLIFE 2 1 9

H a 4 : PUNISHMENT RECURRENCES

l
i
g
e

311
r
a
r

3E130I1j3 13 i
l
1 22
2 4 , , 2 2 2 2 e
23 2 4 5 88 8 9 e

-
1 2 6 2 9 2
1

FIG. 5 : COMPLEX PUNISHMENTS

Inferno 1
chap. 19 :
chap. 20 :
chap. 21 : 2
2
1
chap. 42 :
chap. 43 : 2
2
1 1 Inferno 2
chap. 56 :
chap. 57 : 2
1 chap. 79 :
chap. 80 :
5
3
chap. 44 : chap. 58 : 2 chap. 81 : 5

,,
chap. 22 : 2 chap. 45 : 1 chap. 59 : 3 1
chap. 82 :
chap. 23 : 4 chap. 46 : 2 chap. 60 : 1 1
chap. 83 :
chap. 24 : 2 chap. 47 : 3 chap. 61 : 1 2
chap. 84 :
chap. 25 : 2 chap. 48 : 1 chap. 62 : 1 2
chap. 85 :

,
chap. 26 : 2 chap. 49 : 3 chap. 63 : 2 1
chap. 86 :
chap. 27 : 2 chap. 50 : 2 chap. 64 : 3 2
chap. 87 :
chap. 28 : 2 chap. 51 : 2 chap. 65 : 3 2
chap. 88 :
chap. 29 : 3 chap. 66 : 2 4
chap. 89 :
chap. 30 : 1

1
chap. 67 : 3 chap. 90 : 2
chap. 31 : 2 chap. 68 : 3 2
chap. 91 :
chap. 32 : 1 chap. 69 : 3 1
chap. 92 :
chap. 33 : 1 chap. 70 : 5 2
chap. 93 :
chap. 34 : 1 chap. 71 : 2 1

3
chap. 94 :
chap. 35 : 1 chap. 72 : 1 2
chap. 95 :
chap. 36 : 1 chap. 73 : 3 4
chap. 96 :
chap. 37 : 2 chap. 74 : 2 1
chap. 97 :
chap. 38 : 1 chap. 75 : 2 1
chap. 98 :
chap. 39 :
chap. 40 :
chap. 41 :
1
2
2 3
chap. 76 :
chap. 77 :
chap. 78 :
3
3
2
chap. 99 : 4

1
1
220 C. LEURINI

FIG. 6 : COMPLEX PUNISHMENTS

• Senel
• Serie2,

0 4

• Se e 12
12 3
• Serie2

FIG. 7 : hamemal AND ruwanig SINS

ESeri