Vendidad

Vendidad, also written Vidēdād or Videvdat, is a core text of Zoroastrian scripture traditionally considered part of the Avesta, the sacred collection of texts of Zoroastrianism. The name literally means law against the demon, reflecting its central preoccupation with ritual purity, defilement, and the avoidance of evil beings (daevas).

The Vendidad comprises a miscellany of prose and myth, including a codex of purity laws, lists of unclean things and places, rules for the care of water and fire, and procedures for purifications and funerary customs. It also contains demonological material, moral exempla, and mythic narratives about the creation, the struggle between order and disorder, and the workings of impurity. A substantial portion presents legal prescriptions and penalties for offenses related to ritual contamination and social conduct. The text is organized into sections known as Fargards, among other subdivisions.

In terms of language and transmission, the Vendidad is primarily in Avestan, with later Middle Persian (Pahlavi) glosses and commentaries attached in manuscript traditions. The surviving manuscripts date from the medieval period, and the core material is believed to have been composed in antiquity or the early centuries CE, with later redactions shaping its current form. It is usually studied together with other Avesta texts and has been translated by scholars such as James Darmesteter in the early 20th century.

Today, the Vendidad is valued as a primary source for understanding Zoroastrian ritual purity, law, and demonology, as well as a window into ancient Iranian religion and social practice. It remains a subject of ongoing scholarly study and comment.