Yasht i Visperad abag Videvdad

In the scholarly literature, there is no clear distinction between the text and the ceremony in which this text is used. Both are variously referred to as Videvdad, Vendidad or Juddewdad,^[3] all of which are assumed to derive from an unattested Avestan 𐬬𐬍𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬬𐬋𐬛𐬁𐬙𐬀, (vī-daēvō-dāta).^[4][5] In the Zoroastrian manuscripts, however, the ceremony is referred to in Middle Persian as Yasht Visperad Juddevdad^[6] or Yasht i Visperad abag Videvdad.^[2] This means that it is a Yasht i Visperad ceremony in which the text of the Videvdad is used.

Like all variants of the Long Liturgy, the Videvdad liturgy consists of its core text and a number of variations depending on the details of the performance.^[7] The text itself has been transmitted in two types of manuscripts: exegetical and liturgical ones. Of those two, only the liturgical manuscripts present the core text as it is performed in the liturgy.^[8] The are called Sade, pure, since they do not contain a translation. Instead, they contain liturgical instructions, describing the priestly rituals performed during the ceremony. In 2012, a comprehensive list of all available Videwdad manuscripts was provided by Andrés-Toledo and Cantera.^[9] In addition, the Rivayats, a series of epistles from the 15th - 17th century, provide information on the historical performance of the liturgy.^[10]

The core of the Videvdad ceremony consits of a Visperad ceremony into which the text of the Vendidad is intercalated during its central part, i.e., the Staota Yesnya. Based on the descriptions in the Denkard, the Vendidad can be identified with the Juddewdad nask (Middle Persian for Videvdad), one of the volumes of the Sasanian Avesta.^[11] While most volumes of the Sasanian Avesta are either fragementary or lost, the Juddewdad is considered to be the only one which has survived completely.

The classic view is that the Videvdad liturgy was created relatively late by simply expanding the Visperad liturgy through inserting the chapters of the Vendidad.^[12] Hintze for example states that this intercalation is a purely mechanical process, without any regards for the actual content of the texts into which it is inserted.^[13] Moreover, Malandra states that the ceremony was a late "innovation of the Islamic period".^[14]

This opinion has been challenged more recently. On the one hand, Skjaervo has argued that the corruptions of the Vendidad are not necessarily the result of a late redaction, but occurred during the process of oral transmission. In addition, he demonstrated that at least the beginning and end of the Vendidad shows a connection to the Staota Yesnya into which they are inserted.^[15] In 2016, Cantera expanded these results and presents how also the overall structure of the text may correspond to the Staota Yesnya.^[16] This indicates that they were indeed composed as insertions. Furthermore, Cantera has shown that the performative variations of the Videvdad liturgy are in proper Avestan, indicating that the Videvdad ritual was created at a time when Avestan was still a living language.

Textual evidence for performance of the liturgy is provided by the liturgical manuscripts. They demonstrate how it was performed in India and Iran from the 14th century onwards. Based on these mansucripts, and the liturgical instructions therein, it is clear that only minor variations have occurred in the last centuries. The 20th century, however, has shown a marked decline. In Iran, the liturgy has been completely discontinued and it is currently only performed in India.^[17]

The Videvdad liturgy is one of the variants of the Long Liturgy, the main ritual of Zoroastrianism. Among its variants, the Videvdad liturgy is classfied as an intercalation ceremony. This means it is based on the Visperad liturgy into which a number of chapters, called fragards, are intercalated into the central part of the liturgy. In case of the Videvdad liturgy, these intercalations are the 22 fragards of the Vendidad text.

In addition to these substantial textual changes, the Videvdad liturgy is also characterized by a number of minor variations, which announce the performative details of the liturgy. During a performance of a Long Liturgy like the Videvdad, time is specified according to the period of the day as well as the day and month.^[19] Since the Videvdad is always performed from midnight to dawn, the period of the day is always ushanin. Furthermore, since it is an occasion-specific liturgy, it may be performed on any day and month, which is then indicated during performance. Another performative variatation is the dedication or shnuman. During the Videvdad, the most typical dedication is to Sraosha, due to his connection with repelling the daevas. The Iranian manuscripts also contain dedications to Ahura Mazda, whereas the Revayats specify that, in principal, a dedication to any Yazata is possible.^[20] Finally, there is a so called celebatory marker which announces that the Venidad belongs to the so called dadig, i.e., the group of legal texts in the Sasanian Avesta.^[21]