Comparative Analysis of Avestan and Zand Text of Visprad (Kardag 1-8)*

In the Sassanid era, Zoroastrian, Christian, and Buddhist religious texts were translated into Middle Persian. During this period, Zoroastrian priests, after compiling the Avestan texts, translated and interpreted them into Middle Persian. These translation and interpretation of Avesta are called Zand. The method of translating these texts is word for word and hence the translators adhered to the words and syntax of the Avestan language. These translations were literal, that is, the translators chose a word in Pahlavi or Middle Persian for each Avestan word and considered the order of the words in Avestan sentences. In choosing the Pahlavi equivalent of these words, attention has been paid to the appearance of the Avestan terms as well as the derivation that the translator intended for them. The sentence style of the Avestan text is also preserved and they do not have the usual construction sentences of the Pahlavi language (Middle Persian).  In this article, we seek to examine the differences between the important Avestan text of Visprad and Zand, one of the important texts of the Zoroastrian religion.