InMandaeism,kḏ azil bhira dakia (Classical Mandaic:ࡗ ࡀࡆࡉࡋ ࡁࡄࡉࡓࡀ ࡃࡀࡊࡉࡀ,lit. 'when the chosen, pure one went') is a group of 25Mandaean prayers in theQulasta.[1] The prayers are commonly recited duringMandaean priest initiation ceremonies,[2]wedding ceremonies,[3] and other religious functions. Three prayers in Book 15 of theRight Ginza also begin withkḏ azil bhira dakia as their opening line.[1]
The prayers all begin with the opening line, "When/where the chosen pure one went" (kḏ azil bhira dakia) "to the place where the Perfected Ones dwell" (l-atra ḏ-iatbia tušlimia).[1] Each word ofkḏ azil bhira dakia can be translated as follows.
The 'chosen' or 'pure' one refers to aMandaean priest orNasoraean as he joins his fellowuthras (i.e., other Mandaean priests, who are considered to be uthras onearth) in theWorld of Light.[2]
Except for prayers 244, 247, 254, and 255, all of thekḏ azil bhira dakia prayers contain the following refrain in the middle.[3]
| Mandaic transliteration[3] | English translation[4] |
|---|---|
|
|
InE. S. Drower'sCanonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans (1959) (henceforth abbreviatedCP), they are numbered as prayer numbers 205 and 233–256, with prayers 233–256 also duplicated as prayers 261–284. In Drower (1959), prayers 233–256 make up a total of 24 prayers (excluding duplicates); together with prayer 205, they make up a total of 25 prayers.[4] A revised English translation of the prayers can be found in the Qulasta (2025) byCarlos Gelbert and Mark J. Lofts.[1]
Thekḏ azil bhira dakia prayers are also duplicated in Part 3 ofThe Wedding of the Great Shishlam (MS DC 38, published in Drower 1950). Drower (1950) provides a full transliteration and English translation of the entire text.[3]
Part 3 of theOxford Collection inMark Lidzbarski'sMandäische Liturgien (1920) contains selected portions of thekḏ azil bhira dakia prayers, which are organized into 19 separate prayers.[5] They correspond to various parts (typically the middle and/or bottom portions) ofCP 233–240, 243–246, 250–251, 253, and 255–256 in Drower (1959), but notCP 241–242, 247–249, 252, and 254.
All of thekḏ azil bhira dakia prayers have been published using typesetted Mandaic byMajid Fandi Al-Mubaraki inKtaba ḏ-Qabin (Book of Marriage), which makes up Part 2 in Volume 2 of Al-Mubaraki's Qulasta set (initially published in 1999 and subsequently revised in 2010).[6]
Corresponding prayers between Lidzbarski (1920)[5] and Drower (1959)[4] are as follows.
| Oxford[5] | CP[4] | CP duplicate[4] |
|---|---|---|
| 2.32 | 205 (middle part) | – |
| 2.33 | 205 (bottom part) | – |
| 3.1 | 233 (bottom part) | 261 |
| 3.2 | 234 (bottom part) | 262 |
| 3.3 | 235 (bottom part) | 263 |
| 3.4 | 236 (bottom part) | 264 |
| 3.5 | 237 (middle part) | 265 |
| 3.6 | 237 (bottom part) | 265 |
| 3.7 | 238 (bottom part) | 266 |
| 3.8 | 239 (bottom part) | 267 |
| 3.9 | 240 (middle part) | 268 |
| 3.10 | 243 (middle part) | 271 |
| 3.11 | 244 (middle part) | 272 |
| 3.12 | 244 (bottom part) | 272 |
| 3.13 | 245 (bottom part) | 273 |
| 3.14 | 246 (middle part) | 274 |
| 3.15 | 250 (middle part) | 278 |
| 3.16 | 251 (middle part) | 279 |
| 3.17 | 253 (middle part) | 281 |
| 3.18 | 253 (bottom part) | 281 |
| 3.19 | 255, 256 (bottom parts) | 283, 284 |
In theRight Ginza, hymns 15.15 (i.e., Hymn 15 in Book 15), 15.16, and 15.17 all begin with the phrasekḏ azil bhira dakia, although 15.15 and 15.16 do not have the following phrase "to the place where the Perfected Ones dwell" (l-atra ḏ-iatbia tušlimia). Right Ginza 15.17 is not inMark Lidzbarski's 1925 German translation of the Ginza Rabba.[7]
