Parsi Or Zoroastrian Religion

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This article was written in 1916 when conditions were different. Even in 1916 its contents related only to Central India and did not claim to be true of all of India. It has been archived for its historical value as well as for the insights it gives into British colonial writing about the various communities of India. Indpaedia neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Readers who wish to add fresh information can create a Part II of this article. The general rule is that if we have nothing nice to say about communities other than our own it is best to say nothing at all. Readers will be able to edit existing articles and post new articles directly on their online archival encyclopædia only after its formal launch. See examples and a tutorial.

From The Tribes And Castes Of The Central Provinces Of India

By R. V. Russell

Of The Indian Civil Service

Superintendent Of Ethnography, Central Provinces

Assisted By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Extra Assistant Commissioner

Macmillan And Co., Limited, London, 1916.

NOTE 1: The 'Central Provinces' have since been renamed Madhya Pradesh.

NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from the original book. Therefore, footnotes have got inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot these footnotes gone astray might like to shift them to their correct place.

Parsi Or Zoroastrian Religion

The numbcr of Parsis in the Central Provinces in 191 i ductory. ^^^g about I 800. Thcy are immigrants from Bombay, and usually reside in large towns, where they are engaged in different branches of trade, especially in the manufacture and vend of liquor and the management of cotton mills and factories.' The word Parsi means a resident of the province of Fars or Pars in Persia, from which the name of the country is also derived.

2. The Also known as Mazdaism, the Zoroastrian religion was Zoroastrian j-j-jj^^ ^f ^^ ancient Magi or fire -worshippers of Persia, mentioned in Scripture. It is supposed that Zoroaster or Spitama Zarathustra, if he was a historical personage, effected

a reformation of this religion and placed it on a new basis at some time about 11 00 B.C. It is suggested by Haug^ that Zarathustra was the designation of the high priests of the cult, and Spitama the proper name of that high priest who carried out its distinctive reformation, and perhaps separated the religion of the Persian from the Indian Aryans. This would account for the fact that the sacred writings, which, according to the testimony of Greek and Roman authors, were of great extent, their compilation probably extending over several centuries, were subsequently all ascribed to one man, or to Zarathustra alone. The Zend- Avesta or sacred book of the Parsis does not mention the fire priests under the name of Magi, but calls them Athravan, the same word as the Sanskrit Atharva-Veda.

The reason for this, M. Reinach suggests, is that the Magi had rebelled against Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, in the sixth century B.C., during his absence in Egypt, and placed a rival creature of their own on the throne. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, overthrew him and re-established the Persian kingdom in 523 B.C., and this may have discredited the Magian priests and caused those of the reformed religion to adopt a new name." It is certain that Cyrus conformed to the precept of the Avesta against the pollution of the sacred element water, when he diverted the course of the river Gyndanes in order to recover the body of a horse which had been drowned in it, and that Darius I. invokes in his inscriptions Ormazd or Ahura Mazda, the deity of the Avesta.^ On the subversion of the Persian empire by Alexander, and the subsequent conquest of Persia by the Arsacid Parthian dynasty, the religion of the fire- worshippers fell into neglect, but was revived on the establish- ment of the Sassanian dynasty of Ardeshir Babegan or Artaxerxes in A.D. 226, and became the state religion, warmly supported by its rulers, until the Arab conquest in A.D. 652. It was at the beginning of this second period of prosperity that the Zend-Avesta as it still exists was collected and reduced to writing, but it is thought that the greater part ot the remains of the ancient texts recovered at the time were again lost during the Arab invasion, as the original literature is believed to have been very extensive.

The i he language of the Zend-Avesta is the ancient east Zend- Iranian or Bactrian dialect, which probably died out finally in the third century B.C., modern Persian being descended from the west Iranian or Median tongue. The Bactrian language of the Zend-Avesta is, Haug states, a genuine sister of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin and Gothic. " The relation- ship of the Avesta language to the most ancient Sanskrit, the so-called Vedic dialect, is as close as that of the different dialects of the Greek language, Aeolic, Ionic, Doric or Attic, to each other.

The languages of the sacred hymns of the Brahmans, and of those of the Parsis, are only the two dialects of two separate tribes of one and the same nation. As the lonians, Dorians, Aetolians, etc., were different tribes of the Greek nation whose general name was Hellenes, so the ancient Brahmans and Parsis were two tribes of the nation which is called Aryas both in the Veda and Zend-Avesta." ^ The sections of the Zend-Avesta which remain are about equal in size to the Bible. They consist of sacrificial hymns, prayers and accounts of the making of the world, in the form of conversations between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. The whole arrangement is, however, very fragmentary and chaotic, and much of the matter is of a trivial character.

It cannot be compared in merit with the Old Testament. 4. The ^ cuneiform inscription discovered in the centre of Asia Zend- Minor at Ptorium proves that about 1400 B.C. certain tribes the Vedas. ^ho had relations with the Hittite empire had for their deities Mitra, Indra, Varuna and the Nasatyas. The first two names are common to the Persian and Indian Aryans, while the last two are found only in India. It appears then that at this time the ancestors of the Hindus and Iranians were not yet separated." Certain important contrasts between the ancient Zoroastrian and Vedic religions have led to the theory that the separation was the result of a religious and political schism. The words Deva and Asura have an exactly opposite significance in the two religions. Deva ^ is the term invariably used for the gods of the Hindus in the whole Vedic and Brahmanical literature. In the Zend-Avesta, on the other hand, Deva (Pers. dh<) is the general name of an evil spirit, a fiend, demon or devil, who 1 Haug, loc. cit. pp. 69, 70. - Oiphhis, pp. 91, 92. •' liaug, pp. 267, 268.

is inimical to all that is good and comes from God. The part of the Avesta called the Vendidad, consisting of a collec- tion of spells and incantations, means vi-daevo-ddta or given against the Devas or demons. The Devas, Dr. Haug states, are the originators of all that is bad, of every impurity, of death ; and are constantly thinking of causing the destruction of the fields and trees, and of the houses of religious men. " Asura, occurring as Ahura in the first part of Ahura-Mazda (Hormazd), is the name of God among the Parsis ; and the Zoroastrian religion is distinctly called the Ahura religion, in strict opposition to the Deva religion. But among the Hindus Asura has assumed a bad meaning, and is applied to the bitterest enemies of their Devas (gods), with whom the Asuras are constantly waging war. This is the case throughout the whole Puranic literature and as far back as the later parts of the Vedas ; but in the older parts of the Rig-Veda Sanhita we find the word Asura used in as good and elevated a sense as in the Zend-Avesta.

The chief gods, such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Savitri, Rudra or Siva, are honoured with the epithet ' Asura,' which means ' living, spiritual,' and signifies the divine in its opposition to human nature.

" In a bad sense we find Asura only twice in the older parts of the Rig-Veda, in which passages the defeat of the 'sons or men of the Asura' is ordered or spoken of; but we find the word more frequently in this sense in the last book of the Rig-Veda (which is only an appendix to the whole made in later times), and in the Atharva - Veda, where the Rishis are said to have frustrated the tricks of the Asuras and to have the power of putting them down. In the Brahmanas or sacrificial books belonging to each of the Vedas we find the Devas always fighting with the Asuras.

The latter are the constant enemies of the Hindu gods, and always make attacks upon the sacrifices offered by devotees. To defeat them, all the craft and cunning of the Devas were required ; and the means of checking them was generally found in a new sacrificial rite." ^ Professor Haug adduces other arguments in this con- nection from resemblance of metres. Again the principal 1 Haug, p. 269. 288 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part Vedic God, Indra, is included in the list of Devas or demons in the Zoroastrian scripture, the Vendidad. Siva and the Nasatyas or Ashvlns, the divine horsemen of the Vedas, are also said to be found in the list of Devas or demons. Others of the Vedic gods as Mitra the sun, Aryaman, either another name for the sun or his constant associate and representative, Vayu the wind, and one or two more are found as Yazatas or angels in the Zend-Avesta.^ 5. Reasons Profcssor Haug's suggestion as to the cause of the for the schism between the Iranian and Indian branches of the schism . . TT 1 • 1 1 between Aryans is very mterestmg. He thmks that the Aryan tribes '^^^^""^1^" after they had left their original home, which was in all Aryans. likclihood a cold country, led mainly a pastoral life, and cultivated only occasionally some patches of land for their own support.

But when they arrived in the tract between the Oxus and Jaxartes rivers, and the highlands of Bactria, which were suitable for permanent settlement, certain of them, who were the ancestors of the Iranian branch, forsook the pastoral life of their ancestors and became agriculturists. Others, the ancestors of the Indian Aryans, retained their nomadic habits, and took to the practice of making predatory incursions into the territories of the settled communities.

Hence arose a bitter hostility between them ; and as the success of the raiders was attributed to their religious spells and incantations, and especially to the consumption of the Soma liquor under the auspices of the God Indra, this part of their joint religion became hateful to the Iranians and led to the founding of the reformed Zoroastrian religion, in which special stress is laid on the virtue obtained from bringing land under cultivation, making enclosures and permanent settlements and protecting agricultural cattle.

This is forcibly expressed in the saying, ' He who cultivates barley cultivates righteousness,' and others." Finally the nomadic tribes left the common residence in the Central Asian highlands and migrated into India. It is not certain that scholars generally accept the above hypothesis. The most prominent feature of the religion of Zarathustra is the dual principle of good and evil and the ' Hauy, pp. 272, 273. - Ureal Kcligioiis of India. I PARS! OA' ZOROylSTRfylN RELRIION 289 conflict between them. Ahura Ma/.da is the supreme deity, 6. riie the creator of the world, and Ahriman or Anf{ro Mainvush 'l"^' f^"' o J ciple and is the evil one, his constant opponent. A perpetual the conflict struggle proceeds between them, extending over the whole ^^j^^T^^d of creation, and will continue for a period of 1 2,000 years, evil. The virtuous lives and prayers and sacrifices of men help the cause of Ahura Mazda, while every bad action and all kinds of ceremonial impurity constitute an assistance rendered by them to Ahriman. Not only virtue, courage, charity humility and kindness to animals, when displayed by men, are held to reinforce Ahura Mazda, but also such useful acts as cleaning a field for cultivation, digging a canal or building a bridge.

The animals are also divided into good and bad, the latter being considered the creation of Ahriman and designated the seed of the serpent. The bad animals include tigers, snakes, cats, wolves, frogs, mice, ants and others, and to kill them is to perform a virtuous act in the cause of Ahura Mazda. Among good animals dogs and agricultural cattle appear to be the chief. The division is very imperfect, and it would seem that the classification does not extend to birds and fish. Most trees are good, but their bark is evil. Hail, snow and all kinds of diseases are believed to be the work of Ahriman and his evil spirits." As all ceremonial impurity renders assistance to the evil one, the Parsis are very careful in such matters, as will be noticed subsequently.

Ahura Mazda is assisted in his struggle for the good by six Amesha-Spentas or good spirits, who are something like archangels. They consist of the spirits of cattle, fire, metals, the earth, health and immortality. With the first four of these some moral quality or attribute as truth, wisdom and the curing of diseases is now associated. Another great spirit Sraosha is the judge of the dead. Similarly Ahriman is assisted by six arch-fiends and a whole host of evil spirits (Deva and Druj) of all kinds, against whom men have to be perpetually on their guard. One of the principal bad spirits is Aeshma Deva, the roaring demon, who appears to be the Asmodeus mentioned in the Apocrypha. At the end of the period of struggle Ahura Mazda will engage in a final contest with Ahriman and will

7. The dual principle derived from the antagon- ism of light and darkness. conquer with the help of the Archangel Sraosha, who will overcome the demon Aeshma. A virgin will then conceive and bring forth the second Zoroaster as a Messiah, who will cause the resurrection of the dead. The good will be separated from the bad, but the punishment of the latter will not be eternal ; and after the purification of the world by a general conflagration all humanity will unite in the adoration of Ahura Mazda.^ Meanwhile after death the souls of all men are weighed and have to pass over a narrow bridge called Chinvad.

The good souls, lightened by the absence of sin, find it a broad and easy path to heaven, while to the bad ones, weighed down with their sins, it becomes narrow as a razor's edge, and they fall over into hell. M. Salomon Reinach points out that their beliefs have several points of resemblance with those of Judaism, but it is not easy to say which religion has borrowed from the other.^ The word paradise, according to Dr. Haug, comes from pairi- daeza in the Zend-Avesta and means a park or beautiful garden protected by a fence. It is noticeable that Ahura Mazda is considered as luminous and good, and Ahriman as gloomy and bad. Ahura Mazda, according to Darmesteter, can be traced back- to Asura, the supreme god of Indo-Iranian times, and is the representative of Varuna, Zeus or Jupiter, that is the sky or heavens.

Similarly Ahura Mazda is described in the Zend-Avesta as righteous, brilliant, glorious, the origin- ator of the spirit of nature, of the luminaries and of the self- shining brightness which is in the luminaries. Again he is the author of all that is bright and shining, good and useful in nature, while Ahriman called into existence all that is dark and apparently noxious. Both are complementary as day and night, and though opposed to each other, are indis- pensable for the preservation of creation.

The beneficent spirit appears in the blazing flame, the presence of the hurt- ful one is marked by the wood converted into charcoal. Ahura Mazda created the light of day and Ahriman the darkness of night ; the former awakens men to their duties and the latter lulls them to sleep. These features of the good and evil spirits .seem to point to the conclusion that ' OrpMus, p. 96. ^ Ibidevt, p. 98.

the original antithesis which is portrayed in the conflict between the principles of good and evil is that of night and day or darkness and light. The light of day and all that belongs to it is good, and the darkness of night and that which belongs to it evil. As already seen, Ahura Mazda is considered to be equivalent to Varuna or Zeus, that is the god of the sky or heavens. Originally it seems likely that this deity also comprised the sun, but afterwards the sun was specialised, so to speak, into a separate god, perhaps in consequence of a clearer recognition of his distinctive attributes and functions in nature.

Thus in the Zoroastrian religion Mithra became the special sun-god, and may be com- pared with Vishnu and Surya in India and Apollo in Greece. In the Avesta the sun is addressed as the king.^ Ahura Mazda speaks of the sun-deity Mithra as follows to Zoroaster : "I created Mithra, who rules over large fields, to be of the same rank and dignity as I myself am (for purposes' of worship)." The only visible emblem of Ahura Mazda worshipped by the Parsis is fire, and it would seem that the earthly fire, which is called Ahura Mazda's son, is venerated as the off- spring and representative of the heavenly fire or the sun.

Thus Ahura Mazda may have been originally an old god of the heavens, and may have become the abstract spirit of light from whom the sun in turn was derived. If, as is now supposed, the orginal home of the Aryan race was somewhere in northern Europe, whence the Iranian and Indian branches migrated to the east, the religious tenets of the Parsis may perhaps have arisen from the memory of this journey.

Their veneration of fire would be more easily understood if it was based on the fact that they owed their lives to this element during their wanderings across the steppes of eastern Europe. The association of cold, darkness and snow with Ahriman or the evil one supports this hypothesis. Similarly among the Indian Aryans the god of fire was one of the greatest Vedic gods, and fire was essential to the preservation of life in the cold hilly regions beyond the north-west of India. But in India itself fire is of far less importance and Agiri has fallen into the background in modern Hinduism, except for the domestic reverence of the 1 Haug, p. 199.

8. The Zoio- astrians in Persia. 9. Their migration to India and settle- ment there. hearth-fire. But Zoroastrianism has preserved the old form of its religion without change. The narrow bridge which spans the gulf leading to heaven and from which the wicked fall into hell, may have originally been suggested by the steep and narrow passes by which their ancestors must have crossed the mountain ranges lying on their long journey, and where, no doubt, large numbers had miserably perished ; while their paradise, as already seen, was the comparatively warm and fertile country to which they had so hardly attained, where they had learnt to grow corn and where they wanted to stay thenceforth and for ever. In Persia itself the Zoroastrian faith is now almost extinct, but small colonies still survive in the towns of Yezd and Kerman.

They are in a miserable and oppressed condition and are subjected to various irritating restrictions, as being forbidden to make wind towers to their houses for coolness, to wear spectacles or to ride horses. In 1904 their number was estimated at 9000 persons.^ The migration of the Parsis to India dates from the Arab conquest of Persia in A.D. 638-641. The refugees at first fled to the hills, and after passing through a period of hardship moved down to the coast and settled in the city of Ormuz. Being again persecuted, a party of them set sail for India and landed in Gujarat. There were probably two migrations, one immediately after the Arab conquest in 641, and the second from Ormuz as described above in A.D, 750. Their first settlement was at Sanjan in Gujarat, and from here they spread to various other cities along the coast. During their period of prosperity at Sanjan they would seem to have converted a large section of the Hindu population near Thana.

The first settlers in Gujarat apparently took to tapping palm trees for toddy, and the Parsis have ever since been closely connected with the liquor traffic. The Portuguese writer Garcia d'Orta (A.D. 1535) notices a curious class of merchants and shopkeepers, who were called Coaris, that is Gaurs, in Bassein, and Esparis or Parsis in Cambay. The Portuguese called them Jews ; but they were no Jews, for they were uncircumcised and ate pork. Besides they came from Persia and had a curious ' Sykes' Persia and its People, p. i8o ; Great Religions of India, p. 173.

written character, strange oaths and many foolish supersti- tions, taking their dead out by a special door and exposing the bodies till they were destroyed. In i 578, at the request of the Emperor Akbar, the Parsis sent learned priests to explain to him the Zoroastrian faith. They found Akbar a ready listener and taught him their peculiar rites and cere- monies. Akbar issued orders that the sacred fire should be made over to the charge of Abul Fazl, and that after the manner of the kings of Persia, in whose temples blazed perpetual fires, Abul Fazl should take care that the sacred fire was never allowed to go out either by night or day, for that it was one of the signs of god and one light from among the many lights of his creation.

Akbar, according to Portuguese accounts, was invested with the sacred shirt and girdle, and in return granted the Gujarat priest Mchcrji Rana an estate near Naosari, v/here his descendants have ever since been chief priests.-^ The Parsis had begun to settle in Bombay under the 10. Their Portuguese (A.D. 1530— 1666). One of them, Dorabji pr^'ogpcrhy. Nanabhai, held a high position in the island before its transfer to the British in the latter year, and before the end of the seventeenth century several more families, of whom the Modis, Pandes, Banajis, Dadiseths and Vadias were among the earliest, settled in the island. To the Gujarat Parsis more than to any class of native merchants was due the development of the trade of Bombay, especially with China.

Though many Parsis came to Bombay, almost all continued to consider Surat or Naosari their home ; and after its transfer to the British in 1759 the Surat Parsis rose greatly in wealth and position. They became the chief merchants of Surat, and their leading men were the English, Portu- guese and Dutch brokers. Shortly afterwards, owing to the great development of the opium and cotton trade with China, the Parsis made large profits in commerce both at Surat and Bombay. After the great fire at Surat in 1857 Bombay became the headquarters of the Parsis, and since then has had as permanent settlers the largest section of the community. The bulk of the native foreign trade fell into their hands, and the very great liberality of some of 1 Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii., Parsis of Gtijaral p. 190.

the leading Parsis has made their name honourable.

They secured a large share of the wealth that was poured into western India by the American War and the making of rail- ways, and have played a leading part in starting and developing the great factory industry of Bombay. Many of the largest and best managed mills belong to Parsis, and numbers of them find highly paid employment as mechanical engineers, and weaving, carding and spinning masters. Broach ranks next to l^ombay in the prosperity of its Parsis ; they deal extensively in cotton, timber, fuel and the manufacture of spirit from the flowers of the mahua tree.^ From the Bombay Presidency the Parsis have spread to other parts of India, following the same avocations ; they are liquor and timber contractors, own and manage weaving mills and ginning factories, and keep shops for retailing European stores, and are the most prosperous and enter- prising section of the native population.

Two Parsis have become members of Parliament, and others have risen to distinction in Government service, business and the pro- fessions. The sea -face road in Bombay in the evening, thronged with the carriages and motor-cars of Parsi men and ladies, is strong testimony to the success which the ability and industry of this race have achieved under the encouragement of peace, the protection of property and the liberty to trade. Though they have a common Aryan ancestry and their religion is so closely connected with Hinduism, the Parsis feel themselves a race alien to the Hindus and probably have no great sympathy with them. Their wealth and position have been mainly obtained under British rule, and the bulk of them are believed to be its warm adherents.

The Parsis now make no proselytes, and no regular provision exists for admitting outsiders to their religion, though it is believed that, in one or two cases, wives taken from outside the community have been ad- mitted. They object strongly to the adoption of any other religion, such as Christianity, by members of their body. The Parsis are notable for the fact that their women are very well educated and appear quite freely in society. This is a comparatively recent reform and may be ascribed to the ' Bombay Gazetteer, ibidem.

English example, though the credit they deserve for having broken through prejudice and tradition is in no way diminished on that account. The total number of Parsis in India in 191 i was just 100,000 persons. Polygamy among the Parsis has been forbidden by the n. Mar- Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1865. The remarriage cus^o^s of widows is allowed but is celebrated at midnight. If a bachelor is to marry a widow, he first goes through a sham rite with the branch of a tree, as among the Hindus.

Similarly before the wedding the bride and bridegroom are rubbed with turmeric, and for the ceremony a marriage- shed is erected. At a feast before the wedding one of the women beats a copper dish and asks the ancestral spirits to attend, calling them by name. Another woman comes running in, barking like a dog. The women drive her away, and with fun and laughing eat all the things they can lay their hands on. Prior to the rite the bride and bride- groom are purified in the same manner as when invested with the sacred shirt and cord.

The bridegroom wears a long white robe reaching to his ankles and a white sash round his waist ; he has a garland of flowers round his neck, a red mark on his forehead, and carries a bunch of flowers and a cocoanut in his right hand. At every street corner on his way to the bride's home a cocoanut is waved round his head, broken and thrown away. He sets his right foot in the house first, and as he enters rice and water are thrown under his feet and an egg and cocoanut are broken. At the wedding the couple throw rice on each other, and it is supposed that whoever is quickest in throwing the rice will rule the other. They are then seated side by side, and two priests stand before them with a witness on each side, holding brass plates full of rice.

The two priests pronounce the marriage blessing in old Persian and Sanskrit, at each sentence throwing rice on the bride's and bridegroom's heads. At intervals in the midst of the blessing the bride- groom and bride are asked in Persian, ' Have you chosen her ? ' and ' Have you chosen him ? ' They answer in Persian, or if they are too young their mothers answer for them, ' I have chosen.' ^ 1 Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii., Parsis of Giijardt, pp. 233, 237.

12. Reli- gion. Worship of fire. 13. The Homa liquor. The religiou.s ritual of the Parsis con.si.sts of the worship of fire. The fire temples are of a single storey and contain three rooms. On reaching the outer hall the worshipper washes his face, hands and feet, and recites a prayer. Then, carrying a piece of sandalwood and some money for the officiating priest, he passes to the inner hall, in which a carpet is spread. He takes off his shoes and rings one of four brass bells hanging at the corners of the room.

The priest also rings one of these bells at each watch when he performs worship. He then proceeds to the threshold of the central fire-room, kneels there, and again standing begins to recite prayers. None may enter the fire- room except the priests. Here the fire is kept always blazing in a silver or copper urn on a solid stone pedestal, and is fed day and night with sandal and other commoner woods.

A priest is always present, dressed in long white robes, his hands covered with white cloths and his face veiled. The worshipper lays down his offering of sandalwood at the entrance, and the priest takes it up with a pair of tongs, and gives him some ashes from the urn in a silver or brass ladle. These the worshipper rubs on his forehead and eyebrows. On concluding his prayers, which are in the Avesta language, he walks backward to where he left his shoes and goes home. A Parsi man never allows his hearth fire to go out, and if he changes his residence he carries it with him to the next place of abode. Like the Hindus, the Iranian ancestors of the Parsis revered the sacred liquor made from the Soma or Homa plant.

It was considered a panacea for all diseases, and many stories about the miraculous effects obtained from drinking the juice are contained in a hymn of the Zend- Avesta compo.sed in its honour. According to Dr. Mitchell ^ the offering of Homa is still made at Parsi temples, though apparently some substitute must have been obtained for the original plant, which does not grow in the plains of India. At any rate the offering and sacrificial drinking of the liquor were probably continued so long as the Parsis remained in Persia. As this is a comparatively cool country, the bad effects of alcohol did not perhaps become apparent to the ' !'• 133-

Parsis as they did to the Hindus in the plains of India, and hence the sanctity attaching to the Hquor underwent no similar decline. From this it perhaps results that the Parsis havq no feeling at all against alcohol, and drink it for pleasure, like Europeans. Both the toddy of the date-palm and mahua spirit are freely consumed at their feasts, while the rich members of the community drink European wines and spirits. As any dealing in alcohol is practically pro- hibited to high-caste Hindus and also to Muhammadans, and low - caste Hindus have hitherto scarcely ever been literate, the Parsis on account of this peculiarity have found a profitable opening in the wholesale liquor trade, and until recently have had very little effective competition to face.

This is perhaps a reason for their special addiction to it, and also for their engaging in the sale of European stores and wines. The Parsi priests form a hereditary caste, and are all 14. Psrsi supposed to be descended from one Shapur Sheheriar, who P'""^^'^- with his sons and grandsons, one of whom translated the Zend-Avesta into Sanskrit, are believed to have been among the first Parsi settlers of the priestly caste at Sanjan in north Thana. The training of a priest consists of learning substantial portions of the Zend-Avesta by heart, and in going through elaborate ceremonies of purification, in which the drinking of nerang and 7ierangdm^ or cow's and bull's urine, being bathed, chewing pomegranate leaves and rubbing the same urine and sand on his body are leading features. Priests always dress in white and wear a full beard. They must never shave the head or face, and never allow the head to be bare nor wear coloured clothes.

If a priest's turban happens to fall off, or if he travels by rail or sea, his state of purity ends, and he must go through the whole ceremony of purification again and pass nine days in retreat at a temple.^ The principal business of a priest, as already seen, is the tending of the sacred fire in the temples, and he also conducts marriage and other ceremonies. Parsi boys and girls are received into the Zoroastrian 15- The faith between the ages of seven and nine. The child is gfji^t ^nd purified by being bathed, sipping bull's urine and chewing a cord. ' Bombay Gazetteei; vol. ix. part ii., rCtrsis of Gujarat, pp. 221-226.

pomegranate leaf, and makes the profession of belief in the faith. He or she is then invested with the sacred shirt, sadra, and the sacred cord or thread called kusti. The shirt is of thin muslin, with short sleeves and falling a little below the hip. The sacred cord is of wool, and can be made only by the wives and daughters of Parsi priests.^ 16. Dis- The Parsi method of exposing the dead in Dakhmas or ti°e dead towcrs of silence to be devoured by vultures has often been described.

It has objectionable features, and the smaller communities in the interior of India do not as a rule erect towers of silence, and are content simply to bury the dead. It seems probable that the original custom was simply to expose the dead on waste land, the towers of silence being a substitute which became necessary when the Parsis began to live in towns. This hypothesis would explain some points in their funeral customs recorded in the Bombay Gazetteer. The dead body is washed, dressed in an old clean cloth and laid on the floor of the house, the space being marked off. If the floor is of earth the surface of this enclosed space is broken up. If the floor is of cement or stone one or two stone slabs are set on it and the body laid on them ; it is never laid on a wooden floor, nor on stone slabs placed on such a floor.

The space where the body was laid is marked off, and is not used for a month if the death occurs between the eighth and twelfth months of the year, and for ten days if the death occurs between the first and seventh months. The last are said to be the hottest months." It would appear that these rules are a reminiscence of the time when the body was simply exposed. It was then naturally always laid on earth or rock, and never on wood, hence the prohibi- tion of a wooden floor. The fact that the spot where the body is now laid in the house is held impure for a shorter period during the summer months may be explained on the ground that all traces of the decaying corpse, after it had been devoured by wild animals and vultures, would have been dried up by the sun more quickly at this time than during the winter months. In the latter period, as the ' Bombay Gazcl/ccr, vol. ix. part ii., Parsis of Gitjarai, p. 231. - Ibidem, pp. 239-242.

process would take longer, the place in the home is similarly held impure for a month, as against ten days in summer, though at present neither the sun nor weather can possibly affect a site inside the house. The fact that when the floor is of earth the site for the corpse is broken up may indicate that it was formerly laid on rough waste ground, and not on a floor beaten smooth, though it might also be simply a means of avoiding contamination of the floor. But if this was the object it would be simpler to avoid letting the body come into contact with the floor at all.

The corpse may still be wrapped in an old cloth because it was originally exposed in .the cloth worn at death. The body is carried to the tower on an iron bier by special bearers ; if the journey is a long one a bullock cart may be used, but in this case the cart must be broken up and the pieces buried near the tower. Before the funeral starts a number of priests attend at the house and recite the prayers for the dead. During the service a dog is brought in to look on the face of the dead.

The mourners follow in the usual manner, and on arrival at the tower the bearers alone take the corpse inside and lay it naked on one of the slabs, which are built in circular terraces in the interior. The mourners must be purified at the tower by pouring a little cow's urine into their hands, and on returning home they wash their face and hands, and recite a prayer before entering the house. They must bathe and have their clothes washed before these are again used. When a married man dies his widow breaks her glass bangles and wears only metal bracelets, and so long as she remains a widow she takes no part in any festal celebrations. Every morning for three days after a death rice is cooked and laid in the veranda for dogs to eat. No other food is cooked in the house of death, the family being supplied by their friends.

During these three days prayers are said for the dead several times a day by priests, and kinsmen pay short visits of condolence. On the third day a meeting is held in the house and prayers are said for the dead ; trays of flowers and burning incense are placed before the spot where the body lay, and a list of charitable gifts made by the family in memory of the dead man is read. On the fourth day a feast is held specially

for priests, and friends are also asked to join in it. A little of the food cooked on this day is sent to all relations and friends, who make a point of eating or at least of tasting it. On the tenth and thirtieth days after death, and on monthly anniversaries for the first year, and subsequently on annual anniversaries, ceremonies in honour of the dead are per- formed.^ 17. Previ- Some of these customs arc peculiar and interesting. It ""sure of ^^^^ been seen that for three days the home is impure, and no the dead, food is cookcd in it except what is given to dogs ; and since i^io'nof o" ^he third day offerings are made on the spot where the souls. body lay, it seems to be supposed that the dead man's spirit is still there.

On the fourth day is the funeral feast, in which all relations and friends join, and after this the house becomes pure, it being presumably held that the dead man's spirit has taken its departure. For these three days food is cooked in the house and given to dogs, and immediately after the man is dead a dog is brought in to look at his face. It has been suggested that the manner of laying out the body recalls the time when it was simply exposed. But when it v.'as exposed the body would have been devoured principally by dogs and vultures, and the customs connected with dogs seem to arise from this. The cooked food given to dogs for three days is perhaps a substitute for the flesh of the dead man which they would have eaten, and the display of the body to a dog is in substitution for its being devoured by these animals, who now that it is exposed in a tower of silence no longer have access to it.

It has further been seen how during the marriage rites, after an invitation has been issued to the ancestors to attend, a woman comes in barking like a dog. The other women drive her away and laughingly eat everything they can lay their hands on, perhaps in imitation of the way dogs devour their food. This custom seems to indicate that the Parsis formerly believed that the spirits of their ancestors went into the dogs which devoured their bodies, a belief which would be quite natural to primitive people. Such a hypothesis would explain the peculiar customs mentioned, and also the great sanctity which the Parsis attach to dogs. On the same analogy they should apparently also have believed ' Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii., Piirsis 0/ Gujarat, pp. 241, 243.

that the spirits of ancestors went into vultures ; but it is not recorded that they show any special veneration for these birds, though it must be almost certain that they do not kill them. The explanation given for the custom of the exposure of the dead is that none of the holy elements, earth, fire or water, can be polluted by receiving dead bodies. But, as already stated, towers of silence cannot be a primitive insti- tution, and the bodies in all probability were previously exposed on the ground.

The custom of exposure probably dates from a period prior to the belief in the extreme sanctity of the earth. It may have been retained in order that the spirits of ancestors might find a fresh home in the animals which devoured their bodies ; and some platform, from which the towers of silence subsequently developed, may have been made to avoid defilement of the earth ; while in after times this necessity of not defiling the earth and other elements might be advanced as a reason justifying the custom of exposure.

Parsi men usually wear a turban of dark cloth spotted 18. with white, folded to stand up straight from the forehead, and ^^ °^j '.^^|j looking somewhat as if it was made of pasteboard. This is ceremonial very unbecoming, and younger men often abandon it and ances. simply wear the now common felt cap. They usually have long coats, white or dark, and white cotton trousers. Well- to-do Parsi women dress very prettily in silks of various colours. The men formerly shaved the head, either entirely, or leaving a scalp-lock and two ear-locks. But now many of them simply cut their hair short like the English. They wear whiskers and moustaches, but with the exception of the priests, not usually beards.

Neither men nor women ever put off the sacred shirt or the thread. They eat the

flesh only of goats and sheep among animals, and also consume fish, fowls and other birds ; but they do not eat a cock after it has begun to crow, holding the bird sacred, because they think that its crowing drives away evil spirits. If Ahura Mazda represented the sun and the light of day, the cock, the herald of the dawn, might be regarded as his sacred bird. Sometimes when a cock or parrot dies the body is wrapped in a sacred shirt or thread and carefully buried. Palm-juice toddy is a favourite drink at almost all meals in Gujarat, and mahua

spirit is also taken. Parsis must never smoke, as this would be derogatory to the sacred element fire.

'HC agrees a poor Parsi earns below Rs 90k a myth

Rosy SequeiraThe Times of India Oct 23 2014 Mumbai:

The Bombay high court has upheld Bombay Parsi Punchayat’s criteria to identify a “poor, needy and deserving Parsi” as one who does not earn more than Rs 90,000 a month or has assets not exceeding Rs 25 lakh. A person not meeting this criteria is not entitled to a flat meant to house the poor, the court said.

While India’s per capita income for 2013-14 was Rs 74,380, only those spending below Rs 816month in rural areas and Rs 1,000month in urban areas came below the poverty line.

The HC recently dismissed Dahanu resident Rohinton Taraporewala’s plea against the non-allotment of a flat in a community housing scheme at Panthaki Baug, Andheri. His petition said in Vangaon, where he resides, there are very basic hospital facilities.

Also, he said he preferred to be in Mumbai as he had high blood pressure, heart and prostate problems and diabetes while his wife suffered from depression and anxiety. The punchayat countered him, saying he was “adequately housed” in a twostorey, 2,000-square-foot bungalow, was not a resident of Mumbai and “on his own showing lived at Dahanu, close to the Gujarat border”.

Further, it pointed out that Taraporewala’s son and daughter were settled in the UK and the US with their families.

The trustees said they had adopted the criteria after the high court in October 2009 allowed them to sell flats in two buildings on an ownership basis. Also, that preference was to be given to those who wanted to settle down after marriage.

In their order, a division bench of Justices S J Vazifdar and Revati Mohiti Dere noted that Taraporewala had an income far in excess of Rs 90,000 as well as assets worth a lot more than Rs 25 lakh. They said his application form for allotment of a flat itself discloses that he owns 17 acres of land outside Mumbai, which he has valued at Rs 51 lakh. “It is, in fact, doubtful if the land is worth only Rs 51 lakh. The fact that it is ancestral land makes no difference. The petitioner admittedly owns the same,’’ the judges wrote.

They also noted that Taraporewala’s income-tax returns indicated a net income of over Rs 11 lakh for 2008-09.

“The petitioner is, therefore, neither poor nor needy nor deserving for the allotment of a flat. The petitioner, therefore, is not entitled to an allotment as per the criteria,” the court ruled.

The judges declined to hear Taraporewalla’s challenge to the trustees’ decision to reserve 26 flats as a transit accommodation for the poor, needy and deserving Parsis whose flats are undergoing repairs. “Even assuming that the same is contrary to an order of the division bench of this court, we are not inclined to exercise our writ jurisdiction at the instance of the petitioner, who admittedly does not fulfill the criteria of a poor, needy and deserving Parsi,’’ the judges concluded.