Note 521 — Chapter I · (continued 3)

According to the Boun Dehesh (Zend-Avesta, t. II. pp. 347-348), Ormuzd will during three thousand years move alone; during three other thousand years, his operations will be blended with those of his adversary; the subsequent three thousand years will belong to Ahriman; and in the last three, completing the period of twelve thousand years, the author of evil shall disappear; and at the resurrection of the dead and the renewal of the bodies—previous to which event are to appear the three posthumous sons of Zoroaster (see note, pp. 281-282)—the world shall be without evil during all ages.

The ultimate fate of Ahriman is stated in the Vendidad Sadé Izeshné and Vispered, as follows (Zend-Avesta, t. I. 2. P. p. 169): “That unjust, that impure being, who is a Div but in his thoughts; that dark king of the Darwands, who understands nothing but evil; he shall, at the resurrection, recite the Avesta, and not only himself practise the law of Ormuzd, but establish it even in the habitations of the Darwands.” Moreover it is said (Zend-Avesta, t. II. pp. 415-416), that Ahriman, that lying serpent, shall at the end of ages be purified by fire, as well as the earth be freed from the dark abode of hell; Ormuzd and Ahriman, accompanied by all the good and evil genii, shall sing the praises of the author of all good.”—A. T.