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Zoroastrianism (Parsi)
Good thoughts, good words, good deeds
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In one minute
Zoroastrianism, known to its followers as the Mazdayasni (Mazda-worshipping) religion, began in ancient Iran with the prophet Zarathushtra. Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, creator of all that is good, and believe every person is free to choose between truth and order (asha) and falsehood (druj). The faith is summed up in three words: Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta, good thoughts, good words, good deeds. In India its followers are the Parsis and the Iranis, small communities whose ancestors came from Iran and who have made the country their home.
In India (Census 2011): 57,264 Parsis (Census 2011)
Origins
As the tradition tells it
Zoroastrians remember that Zarathushtra of the Spitama family, at about thirty years of age, went at dawn to a river to draw water for a ritual and there received a vision of Ahura Mazda, led by Vohu Manah, the Good Mind. He taught that Ahura Mazda alone is to be worshipped and that people must choose the good through their own thoughts, words and deeds. For years he found few followers, until King Vishtaspa accepted his teaching and gave it protection. The Gathas, the hymns in the Avesta, are honoured as Zarathushtra's own words.
As historians describe it
Scholars agree that Zarathushtra lived in eastern Iran or Central Asia, but his dates are much debated: estimates range from about 1500 BCE to about 500 BCE. The language of the Gathas, Old Avestan, is very close to the Sanskrit of the Rigveda, which leads many scholars towards an earlier date. Ahura Mazda is named in the royal inscriptions of the Achaemenid Persian kings from the 6th century BCE, and Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the Sasanian empire (224 to 651 CE), when its sacred texts were written down. After the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century, Islam gradually became the majority faith there, and over the following centuries groups of Zoroastrians settled in western India.
Timeline
- c. 1500 to 500 BCE (scholars' estimates)Life of the prophet Zarathushtra in eastern Iran or Central Asia; he composes the Gathas.
- c. 550 to 330 BCEThe Achaemenid Persian empire; King Darius I and his successors name Ahura Mazda in their inscriptions.
- 224 to 651 CEThe Sasanian empire makes Zoroastrianism its state religion; a special Avestan alphabet is created and the Avesta is written down.
- 7th century CEThe Arab conquest of Iran ends the Sasanian empire; over the following centuries Zoroastrians become a minority in Iran.
- c. 8th to 10th century CE (traditional dates vary)In community tradition, a group of Zoroastrians sails from Iran and lands at Sanjan on the Gujarat coast, where the local ruler grants them refuge; a sacred fire is consecrated there.
- c. 1600 CEThe priest Bahman Kaikobad writes the Qissa-i Sanjan, a Persian verse account of the journey to India as handed down in the community.
- 17th to 18th century CEParsis from Surat, Navsari and other Gujarat towns move to the growing port of Bombay, becoming shipbuilders, merchants and brokers.
- 1742 CEAfter resting in several places, the sacred fire Iranshah is enthroned at Udvada, where it still burns.
- Mid 18th century CESome Parsis adopt the Kadmi calendar, which runs about a month ahead of the Shahenshahi calendar kept by most Parsis.
- 1783 CEThe Dadiseth Atash Behram, the first of Mumbai's four highest-grade fire temples, is consecrated.
- 19th to early 20th century CEZoroastrians from Yazd and Kerman in Iran migrate to India; known as Iranis, many open the well-loved Irani cafes of Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.
Core teachings
Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord
Zoroastrians worship Ahura Mazda, the uncreated, all-wise creator of everything good. Ahura Mazda is served by the Amesha Spentas, the Bounteous Immortals, such as Good Mind (Vohu Manah) and Best Truth (Asha Vahishta), each linked with a part of creation.
Asha: truth and right order
Asha is the truth, order and righteousness that holds the world together; its opposite is druj, the lie. The prayer Ashem Vohu, one of the most often recited, praises asha as the highest good.
Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta
Good thoughts, good words, good deeds: the threefold ethic at the heart of Zoroastrian life, joined with honesty, hard work, cheerfulness and charity.
Free choice and the renewal of the world
Zoroastrians believe each person freely chooses between the good spirit (Spenta Mainyu) and the destructive spirit (Angra Mainyu). After death the soul crosses the Chinvat Bridge, and at the end of time good will triumph in Frashokereti, the renewal of the world.
Fire as a symbol of purity
Zoroastrians pray facing a source of light, most often a sacred fire, which stands for the light, purity and energy of Ahura Mazda. They are sometimes called "fire worshippers", but this is a misunderstanding: they do not worship the fire itself, they honour it as a symbol and pray through it to Ahura Mazda.
Care for creation
Because the world is Ahura Mazda's good creation, Zoroastrians try to keep earth, water and fire pure and unpolluted, and value cleanliness, farming and care for animals.
Navjote: sudreh and kusti
At the Navjote, usually between the ages of seven and fifteen, a child is initiated into the faith and puts on the sudreh, a white cotton vest, and the kusti, a sacred cord of lamb's wool tied around the waist. The kusti is untied and retied with short prayers several times a day.
Sacred books
📖 The Avesta ›
The collection of Zoroastrian sacred texts in the ancient Avestan language, preserved for centuries by priests through memory and written down in Sasanian times. Only part of the original collection survives.
Read now📖 The Gathas
Seventeen hymns in Old Avestan, honoured as the words of Zarathushtra himself. They form the heart of the Yasna and speak of Ahura Mazda, asha and the choice between good and evil.
Reader coming📖 Yasna
The main liturgy of worship, recited by priests in the high ceremony of the same name, which includes the Gathas.
Reader coming📖 Vendidad
A text of laws, mainly about purity and keeping evil away, with accounts of creation; it is recited in a night-long priestly ceremony.
Reader coming📖 Khordeh Avesta ›
The "Little Avesta", the prayer book used by lay Zoroastrians, with daily prayers such as Ashem Vohu and Yatha Ahu Vairyo, the kusti prayers and the Yashts (hymns). Tradition credits its compilation to the Sasanian high priest Adurbad Mahraspand.
Read now📖 Pahlavi texts
Later writings in Middle Persian, such as the Bundahishn (on creation) and the Denkard (an encyclopaedia of the faith), which explain Zoroastrian belief and practice.
Reader comingKey figures
| Asho Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) | The prophet of the faith, called Asho ("righteous") by Zoroastrians, who received the vision of Ahura Mazda and composed the Gathas. |
|---|---|
| King Vishtaspa (Gushtasp) | The ruler who, in Zoroastrian tradition, accepted Zarathushtra's teaching and became its first royal patron. |
| Adurbad Mahraspand | A high priest of the Sasanian period, remembered for strengthening the faith and, in tradition, for arranging the Khordeh Avesta. |
| Dastur Neryosang Dhaval | A Parsi priest scholar in medieval Gujarat who translated Zoroastrian texts, including much of the Yasna, into Sanskrit. |
| Dastur Meherji Rana | A 16th century high priest of Navsari who took part in the religious discussions at Emperor Akbar's court. |
| Kharshedji Rustomji Cama | A 19th century Parsi scholar who encouraged the study of the Avesta and Iranian languages in Bombay; the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute is named after him. |
| Dadabhai Naoroji | A Parsi scholar and public leader (1825 to 1917), remembered as the "Grand Old Man of India", who also wrote on Zoroastrian teaching. |
Schools and communities
Where traditions within this faith differ. Described side by side, with no verdict.
Parsis
Descendants of the Zoroastrians who came to Gujarat from Iran centuries ago, according to community tradition. They speak Gujarati and keep customs that blend Iranian and Gujarati life.
Iranis
Zoroastrians who came from Iran much later, mainly in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many keep links with Dari and Persian and with Iranian customs, while sharing the same faith and fire temples with Parsis.
Shahenshahi and Kadmi
Two groups that keep different religious calendars of 365 days without leap years. Most Parsis follow the Shahenshahi calendar; Kadmis follow one that is about a month ahead, so they celebrate the new year and other days earlier. Both share the same beliefs.
Fasli
Followers of a calendar fixed to the seasons, with leap years, in which the new year always falls at the spring equinox around 21 March. It is the calendar most used by Zoroastrians in Iran.
Priestly families (panthaks)
Parsi priests (mobeds and dasturs) come from hereditary priestly families, organised in groups called panthaks, such as the Sanjanas, who serve the Iranshah at Udvada, and the Bhagarias of Navsari.
Holy places
📍 Iranshah Atash Behram
Udvada, Valsad district, Gujarat
Home since 1742 of the Iranshah, the sacred fire that, in community tradition, was consecrated after the arrival at Sanjan and has burned ever since. It is the holiest Zoroastrian site in India.
📍 Sanjan
Valsad district, Gujarat
The coastal town where, according to the Qissa-i Sanjan, the first Zoroastrian settlers landed. A memorial pillar, the Sanjan Stambh, marks the arrival.
📍 Navsari Atash Behram
Navsari, Gujarat
Navsari has long been a centre of Parsi priestly learning, and its Atash Behram is one of the eight highest-grade fire temples in India.
📍 Atash Behrams of Mumbai
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Mumbai, home to the largest Parsi population, has four Atash Behrams, from the Dadiseth Atash Behram of 1783 onwards, and many smaller fire temples (agiaries).
📍 Yazd Atash Behram
Yazd, Iran
The only Atash Behram in Iran, in a city that has long been a centre of Zoroastrian life.
📍 Pir-e Sabz (Chak Chak)
Near Yazd, Iran
A mountain shrine where water drips from the rock, the most visited of the pilgrimage places around Yazd, with a yearly gathering in June.
Festivals
- Jamshedi Navroz: The spring new year at the equinox, around 21 March, linked in tradition with the legendary King Jamshid; widely celebrated by Iranis and many Parsis.
- Parsi New Year (Navroz) and Pateti: The new year of the Shahenshahi calendar, now in August, when families visit the fire temple, wear new clothes and share festive food. The day before, the last day of the year, is a time for reflection and repentance; in India it is often called Pateti.
- Khordad Sal: The birthday of Asho Zarathushtra, celebrated a few days after the new year with prayers and a thanksgiving ceremony (jashan).
- Muktad (Farvardegan): The last days of the year, when the fravashis, the guardian spirits of the departed, are believed to visit; families remember them with prayers, flowers and fire.
- Gahambars: Six seasonal feasts through the year, celebrating parts of creation, when the community prays and eats together.
- Zarthost no Diso: The day remembering the passing of Asho Zarathushtra, observed with prayers and talks on his teaching.
In India today
The Qissa-i Sanjan, the community's own account, tells that when the Zoroastrian settlers reached Sanjan, the local ruler, Jadi Rana, sent them a bowl filled to the brim with milk to show there was no room; their priest stirred in sugar to show they would sweeten the land without making it overflow, and they were granted refuge on a few conditions, such as adopting the local language and dress. Over the centuries the Parsis lived in Gujarat towns such as Sanjan, Navsari, Surat and Bharuch, and later became central to the growth of Bombay. Parsis have played a large part in India's industry, shipbuilding, science, law, medicine, music and armed forces, and are known for founding hospitals, schools, libraries and housing colonies (baugs). The 2011 Census counted 57,264 Parsis, most of them in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the community has become smaller over recent decades.
Visiting and learning with respect
- Fire temples (agiaries and Atash Behrams) in India are generally open only to Zoroastrians. Please do not try to enter, and respect signs at the gate; heritage areas such as Udvada village and its museum can be visited.
- Avoid calling Zoroastrians "fire worshippers". Fire is honoured as a symbol of purity and of Ahura Mazda's light, not worshipped as a god.
- The sudreh and kusti are sacred garments; do not touch them or ask someone to remove them.
- Funeral grounds such as the Towers of Silence (dakhmas) are private; do not photograph or approach them.
Test what you learned
Who is the prophet of the Zoroastrian faith?
What does "Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta" mean?
Where does the sacred fire Iranshah burn today?
Which hymns are honoured as Zarathushtra's own words?
What does fire represent for Zoroastrians?
What is the Navjote?
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Sources: Census of India 2011 (Office of the Registrar General) · Encyclopaedia Britannica: Zoroastrianism · Encyclopaedia Britannica: Zoroaster · Encyclopaedia Britannica: Parsi · Encyclopaedia Iranica
Corrections from members of every tradition are welcome at support@indiadigital.org. Last checked: .