Introduction
1. 1. THE DINA-I MAINOG-I KHIRAD.
THE Pahlavi phrase Dina-i Mainog-i Khirad, 'Opinions of the Spirit of Wisdom,' is a name applied to sixty-two enquiries, or series of enquiries, on subjects connected with the religion of the Mazda-worshippers, made by an anonymous wise man and answered by the Spirit of Wisdom. But, as this name is only found prefixed to a manuscript, written in A. D. 1569, in which the first part of the work is missing, it is doubtful whether it be the original name of the book, or not, although it is very suitable to the general character of the work.
Regarding the reading of this name, here adopted, it must
be observed that the correct pronunciation of the Pahlavi
word mainog, 'spirit,' is uncertain; the traditional reading
is madonad, which is a possible pronunciation of its letters,
but is otherwise inexplicable; Haug proposed to read
mainivad or minavad, but, in that case, the word ought
to end with d=t, or with nd; some of the present Dasturs
read minoė, but this would be written minoek in Pahlavi:
the Pazand writers have mainyo, but this is evidently an
imitation of Av. mainyavo, and does not correspond with
the Pahlavi letters. As the word is manu or mind in the
Sasanian inscriptions, and minu in Persian, to which words
a final k would be added in Pahlavi, it seems probable that
the final letter of the Pahlavi word is not d or e, but g,
a corruption of k, and that we ought to read minog or
mainog. At the same time it should be noticed that a
very old copy of the Pahlavi Farhang, in the library of
Dastur Jamaspji Minochiharji in Bombay, has the word
written with an extra medial stroke, so that it might be read minavand, as required by Haug's hypothesis, although this copy of the Farhang gives madonend as the traditional reading.
