“Belonging to Jamaspi”

Regarding your report on the Jamaspig’s launch at the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute ("Belonging to Jamaspi,” Books, Parsiana, January 21, 2015), right-to-left Avestan, as read worldwide, utilizes 53 characters — 16 vowels to deploy betwixt 37 consonants. The full alphabet was devised in the fifth century CE by scholar priests concerned that proper pronunciation of the hitherto orally transmitted precious texts would otherwise deteriorate. The precisely valued Avestan characters were developed from the sparse Pahlavi formed out of the 22-letter Imperial Aramaic.
Ervad (Dr) Rooyintan Peer’s use of "literary holocaust” to account for Alexander’s crimes is as far-fetched as his imaginative presumption that written religious and secular texts existed in Achemenian times. Unless, of course, he actually believes the myths spun by foreign authors about gold illuminated two million verses spread over 12,000 parchment scrolls. It would, therefore, be interesting to know which texts are referred to in the rock inscriptions, and just how Alexander and his vandals managed to destroy or make off with them. (Such knowledge of the sage Zarathushtra’s teachings as reached the early Greek philosophers — and ultimately the West — was orally passed on to them by itinerant sixth and fifth century BCE Magians in the western reaches of Cyrus II’s and Darius I’s vast empire.)
And Persepolis/Parsa, whose ruins proudly stand on the extensive raised terraces, was never buried under 90+ feet of earth — several columns remained upright throughout the centuries for visitors and passersby to marvel at. The magnificent stone staircases with their abundant reliefs and left-to-right cuneiform inscriptions are still there, as are the richly ornamented doorways.
As regards early Sasanian religious history, such oral literature as could be garnered from the provinces was initially the work of the Zoroastrian Parthian Valakhsh V-VI in the late second century CE. Thereafter the founding dynast Ardashir I appointed the learned Tosar/Tansar to sift through this uncoordinated mass and establish some sort of coherence. Under Shahpuhr II and his minister for worship, Adarbad-i Mahraspandan, further selections and classifications were made. A potted history is recorded in Denkard IV.
The last great effort, resulting in the 21-nask categorizations, was effected under the supervision of the illustrious high prelate Weh-Shahpuhr in the reign of the justly famed Khosro I Anushirwan. Tragically, this extensive work was to be again ruined by the barbarous Arab invaders of Iranshahr and quite an amount disappeared through priestly indifference and ignorance.
In the matter of the Jamaspig’s renditions, Raham Asha translated the book from Pahlavi, Pazand and Persian. Similarly Jivanji Modi did his Gujarati and English translations from Pahlavi and Pazand. Who was Peer’s "distinct” Neryosang?
The evidence backed truth of the transmission of our great religion is far grander than what is peddled by those too indolent to responsibly look into its wonderful history — future generations will not thank us for these.
FARROKH VAJIFDAR
London
f.vajifdar@btinternet.com

Ervad (Dr) Rooyintan Peer responds:
The report of my speech at the event under reference, held in July 2014, was published in Parsiana of January 21, 2015 in about two-and-a-half pages. It is only because the need has arisen from your side for me to comment on the matter arising out of the same that I state that the said reporting was ambiguous and presented without proper context, thereby resulting in several anomalies having been precisely picked up for criticism in the letter. This is the case even after I was called over personally to your office for the purpose of editing certain portions of the said report.