—
,
;
EASLT RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA Other
Conversions
;
Spread of
the Gospel
;
81
Early Religious
Propaganda. .^Outside of the immediate circle of the king, con-
The way no doubt had already been paved among the people, and Vishtaspa's own example and versions begin rapidly to follow.
his enthusiastic zeal could but exercise wide-spread influence.
With
all
the spirit and
fire
of a
new
convert he
name
when he comes
to Vishtaspa's
(Yt. 13. 99-100), breaks out into a eulogy '
untiring in
The unknown
his efforts for the establishment of the Faith.
author of the Farvadin Yasht,
is
:
—
was this righteous and bold warrior, The hero of redoubtable weapon, The very incarnation of the Law It
And
devoted to the Lord was he, who, with advancing weapon, Sought out a broad path of Righteousness, And, with advancing weapon.
It
Found the broad path He,
And the
was,
of Righteousness.
who became
the support of the Religion
it
arm
Of Zarathushtra, of Ahura; He, who dragged from her chains the Religion That was bound in fetters and unable to stir And made her take a place In the midst (of the nations). Exalted with power, advancing and hallowed.'
We can but regret the loss of the eleventh Avestan Nasb, Xwhich dealt particularly with the promulgation of the Faith. The Pahlavi
treatise Din-Vijirkart tells us of its missing con-
tents as follows
:
'
In this Nask
is
the topic of the sovereignty
and Zaratiisht the Spitaman, having brought the religion from Aiiharmazd, King Gushtasp accepted it, and made it current in the wo rld,'^ and the Persian Rivayat of Gushtasp,
of
the
Kamah Bahrah gives the same testimony.^ Bahman Yasht reserves till a generation
It is true that later the
accom-
plishment of the task of making the religion current in the '
whole world, which '
1
Dvj. § 11,
o
tr.
is finally
brought about by the Kayanian
West, SBE. xxxvii. 442.
2
Riy.
n. tr. West, 8BE. xxxvii. 424.