The Bundahi%sn by Domenico Agostini

Author:Domenico Agostini
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2020-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

21

The mythic battle between Sirius and the demon Apōš is discussed briefly in chapter 6. Here in chapter 21, that myth of rainmaking is expanded and rationalized. The roles of the principal actors—the wind, the clouds, Sirius, the Wāzišt fire, and the demons—are described in detail, and the chapter presents a meteorological theory that explains the existence of rain, storms, lightning, rainbows, and other phenomena. The Čišmagian demons associated with storms also appear in Dēnkard 7.2:44–45.

As mentioned in chapter 1, the dualistic opposition between spiritual (mēnōg) and material (gētīg) existence is one of the foundations of the Bundahišn’s theology and ontology, as well as that of other Zoroastrian texts. Here, however, that seemingly clear distinction is challenged. Chapter 21B describes clouds as being both spiritual and material entities. Floating insubstantially between earth and heaven, clouds are depicted as invisible spiritual containers that hold and transport material water through the sky. The chapter explains that their visible manifestations—what are commonly referred to as “clouds”—are, in fact, produced by the water that they contain, like foam spilling over the sides of a boiling pot.

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