- Denkard or Denkart is a ninth century voluminous encyclopaedic work on religious, philosophical, historical and other subjects in the Pahlavi language. The word Denkard literally means “Acts or Knowledge of the Religion”.
- Originally it was compiled in nine books, but the first two books and the initial portion of the third book have now been lost. Among other things, the book includes the life-story of prophet Zarathushtra, admonitions and teachingsand most importantly, a list of the contents of 19 of the 21 AvestaNasks, in the eighth book.
- The work of compiling the Denkard was started in the Sasanian dynasty by Aturfarnbag son of Farrokhzat and was completed by Aturpat i Emit in ninth century AC.
- The Denkard has extensive quotes from materials thousands of years older, including hitherto lost Avestan texts. It is the single most valuable source of information on the Zoroastrian religion after the Avesta.
- Dasturji Dr. Peshotan Byramjee Sanjana, started the work of editing and translating the Denkard in 1876, which was later continued by his son Darab. Presently the full work is compiled in 18 volumes.
Ramiyar Karanjia 