Husparam nask

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The Husparam nask is the 17th book (nask) of the Sasanian Avesta. It is lost, but scholars know something about it from Book 8 of the Denkard and from the Rivayats. It was part of the legal section of the Avesta, which was divided into 21 nasks in three groups. The Husparam nask dealt with many legal topics and is said to have had either 30 or 60 chapters (fragads), depending on the source. A scholar named Edward William West estimated that it contained about 44,900 words of Avestan text plus roughly 403,600 words of Pahlavi commentary, making it the third-longest nask.

Two texts that survive and are considered to have come from the Husparam nask are Nerangestan and Herbedestan. The Herbedestan mainly concerns the education of Zoroastrian priests (the Herbeds). Following Herbedestan is Nirangestan, which covers ritual matters. Along with the Vendidad, these two surviving texts are the only remnants of the legal nasks, representing the learned tradition of Zoroastrian scholarship, in contrast to the liturgical content that makes up the rest of the Avesta.