Hinduism and Zoroastrianism

The term Zoroastrianism, coined in the 19th migrated to other parts of the world, and in the
century in a colonial context, is inspired by a postcolonial age, especially since the 1960s, this
Greek pseudo-etymological rendering (Zoro- movement has intensified, so that the so-called
astres, where the second element is reminiscent diaspora is becoming the key factor for the future
of the word for star) of the ancient Iranian name development of the religion (Stausberg, 2002b;
Zarautra (etymology unclear apart from the sec- Hinnells, 2005). Given their tiny numbers, their
ond element, utra [camel]). This modern name non-proselytization and their constructive con-
of the religion reflects the emphasis on Zarathus- tributions to Indian society (e.g. example through
tra (Zoroaster) as its (presumed) founding figure their various charitable contributions [Hinnells,
or prophet. 2000]), and their commitments to the army and
Zoroastrianism and Hinduism share a remote other Indian institutions, which are routinely
common original ancestry, but their historical celebrated in community publications, the Parsis
trajectories over the millennia have been notably and their religion have so far not drawn forth any
distinct. Just like Hinduism claims and maintains negative social response in India.
a particular relationship to the spatial entity know Being offshoots of older Indo-European and
as India, Zoroastrianism has conceived itself as Indo-Iranian poetic traditions, the oldest tex-
the religion of the Iranians and of Iran (Staus- tual sources of Iranian and Indic religious tradi-
berg, 2011). In the aftermath of the Arab/Mus- tions, namely the Avestan and the oldest vedic
lim conquest of Iran in the mid-7th century ce, textual corpora (the Rgveda), share a series of
however, Zoroastrianism lost its claim to religious grammatical and lexical similarities (so much so
supremacy (which had already been challenged that Avestan can often be easily retranslated
by Christianity) and over the centuries became a into Vedic and has been interpreted on the basis
merely tolerated religious minority in Iran. Yet, of Vedic grammar and lexicon/semantics). A
the Zoroastrians continue to consider themselves Vedicizing reading of the Avestan texts, how-
the remnants of pre-Islamic Iran; for example, ever, risks disconnecting the Avestan texts from
their religious calendar reckons the years accord- the later developments in Zoroastrianism and
ing to the reign of the last emperor of Iran, Yazd- the later Zoroastrian exegesis, hermeneutics,
gird III (reportedly crowned in 631 ce). and interpretive history attested mainly in Mid-
Given extant trading networks, the coastal area dle Persian treatises dating from the 9th or 10th
of southern Gujarat has served as a refuge for century ce (but often continuing and quoting
Zoroastrian groups permanently settling there much older materials). Interestingly, as shown by
since an unknown period before the 10th century Y.S.-D. Vevaina (2010), this Zoroastrian exege-
ce. There are also records of Zoroastrian settle- sis employs strategies of cosmological homolo-
ments in North India, but these communities gies similar to those employed by the ancient
have disappeared over the course of time. Reflect- Indian Brhmanas (see Vedas and Brhmanas).
ing their Persian origins, the Zoroastrians of west- (Note that the extent of Avestan textual corpus
ern India are known as the Parsis. In demographic and the later religious literature of the Iranians
terms, Zoroastrians currently count no more than [Zoroastrians]are much smaller than their Indian
some 120 to 130 thousand, around half of them counterparts.)
residing in India, the homeland of contemporary The present entry will address main points of
Zoroastrianism where one finds most of its rich- contact between Hinduism and Zoroastrianism
est of social and religious institutions. Since the diachronically. The timeline goes from the 2nd
19th century, Bombay (Mumbai) has emerged as millennium bce to the present.
the main center of the Parsis, an overwhelmingly
urban community. Since Independence, partly
caused by emigration and partly by changes in The Rgveda and the Avesta
family structures and general values, the Parsi
population of India (and Pakistan) has seen a Similar source-critical problems surround the
sharp decline. Since colonial times, Parsis have vedic and the Avestan texts. To begin with, their
606 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism
historical contexts remain a matter of specula- deity Ahura Mazd (Lord Wisdom), where the
tion; in a circular operation, their societal context deity answers Zarathustras queries on a variety
can only be extrapolated from the texts them- of issues, so that these texts constitute Ahura
selves. Scant geographical information contained Mazds revelatory speech. Zarathustra and Ahura
in the Avestan texts points to an origin of at least Mazd also feature in the Old Avestan texts, in
some of these texts in Afghanistan and the regions particular in the enigmatic five Gs (Songs),
around the IranianPakistani borderland (in which are often interpreted as compositions by
todays political geography) that is, west of the Zarathustra but whose historicity is denied by
rgvedic texts. There is no archaeological evidence some scholars. Be that as it may, in the Gs,
for the Avestan texts, but these texts have some- Zarathustra appears as the poet-performer/
times been read into archaeological findings. sacrificer (Skjrv, 2003) and the intimate inter-
Like the vedic hymns, the Avestan texts were locutor of Ahura Mazd and other divine figures
transmitted orally. Sometime, probably in the 4th including the fashioner of the cow and some
or 6th century ce, a special alphabet (the Avestan divine agents-cum-abstract entities and ethical
alphabet) was devised to commit the Avestan qualities, most prominently aa (truth or order)
texts to writing in a phonetically correct man- and vohu manah (good thought). The former is
ner, but the oldest extant manuscript only dates etymologically and semantically related to Vedic
from the 13th century. Already relatively early, r t (and both are intimately linked with the fire),
partly because of migration and the spread of but r t does not appear as a personal agent in
the religion and partly due to ordinary linguistic the Rgveda (Oberlies, 2012, 67). The opposition
change, the Avestan texts were recited by priests between aa and druj (lie; Ved. drh) is of fun-
who no longer spoke the Avestan language. One damental importance for the Gs and so is
can assume the existence of oral vernacular trans- the opposition between the executors of truth
lations (and possible commentaries), but, with (auuan) and the executors of lie (drguuan t)
the exception of a Sogdian fragment, the Middle and between the gods and the dauua, which,
Iranian/Persian translations and commentaries contrary to their Vedic cognates (deva), appear
are all that is left. In these manuscripts, text and as antigods/demons; Aema (Fury) is a leading
translation-cum-commentary (known as zand) dauua. The human and superhuman world of the
were largely transmitted together. The Avesta is Gs is torn by conflicts. On the human level, the
not a uniform text, and its different strands (parts) community apparently saw itself threatened by
have been transmitted independently. As a mate- others, hostile enemies who are characterized as
rial reality, the Avesta first made its appearance as non-herdsman (Yasna 31.10) non-cattle breed-
a result of European orientalist publications in the ers among cattle-breeders (Yasna 49.4); most of
18th and 19th centuries. all, however, their rituals are wrong. Humans face
Linguistically, the Avestan corpus contains a the need to make the right decisions by engaging
somewhat more archaic stratum (the so-called in the right form of ritual interactions; the con-
Old Avestan texts), which is not a direct ances- sequences of the wrong choices are dramatic and
tor of the apparently later materials (the so-called extend into the postmortal state.
Young Avestan texts) that make up for by far its The Gs are referred to a mra (word
largest part. The later texts seem to represent a lin- or formula, corresponding to Ved. mantra) in
guistic stage of development similar to the inscrip- Gh 1.6. The poetry of the Gs is impregnated by
tions by the Achaemenian (Persian) kings from features well known from the Rgveda and other
the 5th and 4th centuries bce, but this does not Indo-European literatures. Examples include cultic
provide any sort of absolute chronology. It would vocabulary such as phrases of pleading (Oberlies,
be wrong to assume that the Rgveda necessarily is 2012, 45), the vocabulary of the chariot race (Hintze,
the older model compared to the Avestan texts; in 2009, 1416), the poets complaints (Skjrv, 2001),
fact, one finds linguistic and religious innovations and blame and praise poetry (Skjrv, 2002).
on both sides, and one should not interpret the Among the most significant differences is the
Avestan corpus as a reformed Rgveda. Almost all prominence of Zarathustra in the poetry of the
extant Avestan texts are used in rituals, and that is Gs. When 1st person singular speech is found
how they came to be transmitted. in the Rig Veda, it is a characteristic of gods, not
Several of the Young Avestan texts are framed poets, in sharp contrast with the Gths (Jami-
as dialogues between Zarathustra and the supreme son, 2007, 35). The Gs are characterized by an
 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism 607
insistent monotony of 1st singular poet/2nd disputed (see e.g. Skjrv, 2004, and Schwartz,
singular divinity that traps the two into a claus- 2006, for different interpretations). Compared
trophobic dialogue which. . .is one of the with the Rgveda, the Avestan Haoma is of less
features that gives the Gths their peculiar importance for the order of society and the legiti-
intimate power. (Jamison, 2007, 95) mation of power of the ruler (Oberlies, 2012,
3133); in the Avestan texts, this function was
Compared with the Rgveda, in the Gs, the absorbed by the xvarnah (charisma or fortune),
relations between man and god are depicted as an elusive agent empowering those who manage
more direct, immediate, and mutual (Jamison, to capture it; originally residing in the mythical
2007, 31). In the (later) Young Avestan texts, sea, it is distributed over the earth for the benefit
however, the figure of Zarathustra becomes more of the living by the (deity of ) the sun.
schematic by being turned into a kind of role The offering or consecration of sacrificial meat
model and prototype for humanity (Stausberg, in the Yasna was abolished at an unknown date
2002a, 3140); he becomes the central figure of (maybe as late as in the early 19th cent., possibly
a historical vision leading from the prototypical as an adaptation to a Hindu environment). In
living being to the heroes of the future (eschato- some priestly ceremonies, the Yasna is recited
logical) renovation of the world (see below). Later in combination with two further Avestan texts,
literary traditions in Middle and New Persian namely the Visperad (a collection of praise texts)
unfold biographical narratives on Zarathus- and the Vdvdd (The Law Keeping Demons
tras life and mission with a focus on his birth, his Away). With the exception of some chapters
childhood, and his visions of and conversations (including the first two, describing the different
with the deities (incl. Ahura Mazd), culminating places of the earth put in order by Ahura Mazd
in Zarathustra making the king Witasp accept [ch. 1] and the myth of Yima and the great winter
his religion (Stausberg, 2002a, 4068). [ch. 2]), the Vdvdd is a legal text, framed as
The Old Avestan texts are the compositional a dialogue between Ahura Mazd and Zarathus-
center of the Yasna (Worship or Sacrifice), a tra and mainly concerned with issues of pollution
text consisting of 72 divisions (where the Old and ways to get rid of the pollutants (e.g. demons,
Avest. sections can be found in chs. 28 to 54) witches, sorcerers). The text praises agriculture
recited in the priestly ritual of the same name. as the preferred mode of subsistence (Vdvdd
(The word corresponds to the Ved. yaja.) The 3.4). Like in Hinduism, pollution and purity are
Old Avestan section comprises some manthric a main concern in Zoroastrianism (see Choksy,
formula, the Gs, and the Yasna Haptahiti 1989; de Jong, 1999; Stausberg, 2004). Main forms
(Worship in Seven Chapters; see Hintze, 2007) of pollution discussed in the Vdvdd include
a recitation prose in praise of Ahura Mazd and evil-created animals such as snakes and spiders,
his creations, centering on the (ritual) fire in dead bodily matters (such as hair and nails once
chapter 36, the kernel of the concentric structure of they are cut off ) and bodily excrement, and, most
the Yasna. The Young Avestan parts of the Yasna of all, menstrual blood and corpses. Menstruation
placed around the Old Avestan core assemble a and the disposal of corpses (and the purification
variety of materials declaring the praise of a series of people and things contaminated by menstrual
of material and divine entities including the fire, blood and corpses) require extensive ritual elabo-
the waters, and Haoma, the Avestan counterpart ration and have over the millennia remained key
of the vedic Soma. modes of self-identification, but traditional modes
Haoma is at the same time a deity, a substance of practices have undergone severe change in the
(originally probably bot. Peganum harmala [Flat- modern period, in particular in Iran (somewhat
tery & Schwartz, 1989] but later in ritual practice less so in India), where the religious system has
replaced by ephedra), and a liquid prepared by been simplified with an emphasis on ethics, his-
the priests by reciting texts in honor of Haoma tory, and beliefs (Stausberg, 2004; 2012).
and other divine agents, mixing the ephedra twigs For the disposal of corpses, the Vdvdd pre-
(with pomegranate twigs, consecrated water, and scribes the removal of the dead bodies on dry,
goats milk), pounding them, and filtering the high, and deserted places, where the flesh is
mixture in the early first part of the yasna ritual then removed from the bones by dogs and birds
and its preparatory service (where it is not mixed of prey; in a second, optional, step, the bones
with milk). The status of Haoma in the Gs is may then be gathered and preserved in special
608 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism
receptacles (ossuaries). Note that this mode of from hell, and the general resurrection and the
procedure does not require the erection of any establishment of a future body for mankind. The
massive structures. Although propagated rigor- struggles for the renovation of the cosmos will
ously in the Vdvdd and described by foreign be heralded by Zarathustras posthumous sons.
observers, this was not the only funerary practice Returning to the earlier sources, among the
in ancient Iran; burial was also practiced. It was other texts making up the Avestan corpus, there
probably only in the Islamic period that funerary are two lists of deities linked to the 30 days of the
structures surrounded by walls became the norm. calendar, and there is a collection of 21 hymns
Given the different climatic conditions in India, (yats) to individual deities (and the seven ama
the Parsis have developed a refined model (which spn tas), including the (deities of ) sun, moon, and
includes a filtering system for water entering the earth. The collection starts with Ahura Mazd; this
interior and a hole serving as a main receptacle for hymn (Yat 1) contains a list of 54 names of Ahura
the bones in the middle) for the daxmahs (known Mazd, which emphasize, among other aspects,
as towers of silence since the colonial period). In his righteousness and founding activities; his
recent decades, since the large-scale (9799%) benevolence and protection; his wisdom, insight,
decline of vultures in India caused by the anti- and omniscience; and his majesty and lordship
inflammatory drug Diclofenac, the natural func- (Panaino, 2002). The other deities deserve praise
tioning of this funerary system has been seriously in their own right insofar as they are affiliated with
compromised; so far the system has been retained Ahura Mazd by subordination and/or by mutual
with some modifications (the establishment of support, for example by worshipping each other
solar panels serving to dehydrate the corpses), or sacrificing for each other. Among the deities
because it is considered essential for the preserva- praised by the yats, two names also occur in the
tion of the religion and for the progress of the soul Rgveda: Mira (Mitra) and Vaiiu (Vyu), and in
of the deceased to the other world, which requires both corpora, they have domains and functions
the sun to shine on the bones. (The soul travels in common, probably inherited from earlier his-
to the other world along the rays of the sun.) In torical layers. The Avestan Mira shares some epi-
many Indian cities, in Iran, and in most diaspora thets (strong arms and carrying a club) with the
countries, Zoroastrians use burial or (to a lesser vedic Indra (Oberlies, 2012, 69), the Smasher of
extent) cremation. The main argument against Obstacles (Vr trahn); in Iran, the corresponding
burial and cremation is the pollution of the earth word Vrthrajan is used as an epithet of some dei-
and fire, which are both held to be inherently ties (Ahura Mazd, Sraoa, and Haoma), prayers
divine creations and material indices of two dei- (Yasna 54.2), the heroes of the great eschatologi-
ties that form a group of the seven innermost dei- cal battles (Yasna 19.89, 95), and the dragon slayer
ties of the Zoroastrian pantheon the so-called rataona (Yasna 19.35f.); in addition, there is
beneficial immortals (ama spntas), who act in a separate deity of that name (Vrthragna) in
accordance with Ahura Mazd and embody vir- Zoroastrianism (see also Greenebaum, 1974).
tues and the different parts of the cosmos. In total, there are a dozen or so nominally
In addition to the eschatological fate of the identical deities (among the 90 or so attested
individual (see Stausberg, 2009, for the concept of Zoroastrian divine figures), mostly of inferior
hell), Zoroastrianism has developed a cosmologi- importance, in the vedic and the Avestan texts.
cal narrative, most fully elaborated in the Middle The list includes, by way of examples, the water-
Persian literature. This narrative starts from the deity Apm Napt, the deity of hospitality Airi-
origin of the world, with the emergence of the iaman (Aryaman), the messenger-deity Nairii.
conflict between Ahura Mazd and his adversary, saha (Naram sa), the deity of healing rita
resulting in the creation of the world and the state (Trita), the goddess of dawn Uah (Usas), and the
of mixture of good and evil. Humans are expected wind-god Vta. In addition, there are similar or
to fight with Ahura Mazd and his good creation partly identical mythical motives such as that of
(including the deities) against the adversary and the dragon slayers (Watkins, 1995), and there are
his counter creations (including the demons, deities who share cognate functions and respon-
which strive to enter the human bodies). The sibilities such as tar and Agni, the deities of fire,
narrative ends with the violent clashes at the end or Arduu Sr Anhit and Sarasvat, who both
of limited time, the renovation of the cosmos, confer rain, fertility, and eloquence to their wor-
the final cleansing of sinners and their release shippers (Oberlies, 2012, 78).
 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism 609
Some Zoroastrian deities, most importantly point onward, Hindu India was clearly within the
the Wise Lord (Ahura Mazd), are quali- field of vision of Zoroastrian authors. A Middle
fied as ahura, but there has probably been no Persian work of unknown date and miscella-
cult of a class of ahuras (corresponding to the neous content describes different kinds of people
vedic asuras) in pre-Zoroastrian Iran (Narten, and countries. For India, the text emphasizes the
1996). Several scholars have noted the similari- complexity of the country: there are different cli-
ties between Ahura Mazd and Varuna, whereas matic zones, different diets, different ways of life,
Zoroastrian conceptions of the divine with their and different funerary traditions; for religion,
emphasis on law, morality, order, and regular- the text states that some belong to Ahura Mazd
ity and consonant with the negative semantics and others to his adversary, since they practice
of the word dauua (Ved. deva) leave no space witchcraft (Aytgr mspik 8.4 [Messina,
for a character like Indra, who is in fact castigated 1939]). In the 9th century ce, the Zoroastrian
as a dauua (demon) in some Zoroastrian texts theologian Mardnfarrox, son of Ohrmazddd,
starting with the Avestan Vdvdd (10.9; 19.43). writes about his religious quest that has taken him
In these texts, Indra appears at or near the top of abroad, namely to India (kand Gumng Wizr
lists of demons that are to be annihilated. Interest- 10.44). Moreover, outlining the early history of
ingly, it is Ardwahit, the Middle Persian variety of the (Zoroastrian) religion, he notes that some of
the Avestan Good Order (Aa Vahita), who is its early protagonists carried the religion all the
assigned that task (starting with the Middle Pers. way to Rome and India (10.68), which thereby
translation of the Gs [ Yasna 48.1]). A Middle becomes a potential Zoroastrian territory. In the
Persian text states that Indar (this being the Mid- 13th century, a New Persian text from Iran enti-
dle Pers. form) freezes the minds of the creatures tled the Cangranghcah-Nmah recounts the fic-
from practicing righteousness (Great Bundahin tive story of the Brahman sage Cangranghcah,
27.7; Andrs-Toledo, 2009, 220), and another who at the time of Zarathustra had come to Iran
one (Dnkard 9.32.3) gives an attribute for Indar, and the court of Zarathustras patron; entering
namely Kdr (Fighter or Slayer). This fits a debate, he was refuted by Zarathustra at every
the name of the demon following Indar on all these point, and, acknowledging his defeat, he accepted
lists namely, Saura (traditionally interpreted as Zarathustras religion, which he subsequently
Saurva, i.e. Ved. arv), probably meaning arrow/ spread in India and adjacent countries (Scott,
spear but maybe already appearing here as a 1988, 107; Jackson, 1899, 86). Interestingly, this
personified demon (Andrs-Toledo, 2009, 224). text came about at a time when the Zoroastrians
Together with Saura and sometimes also together had already become a minority in Iran and some
with the third demon from these lists, Nhaiiia of their coreligionists had established themselves
(another name with a Ved. background, for the in India.
Ved. Nsatya is an epithet of vinu), the Middle
Persian Indar prevents people from wearing the
undershirt and belt/cord that all Zoroastrians Iconographical Convergence in
are supposed to have on their bodies (Dnkard Central Asia
9.9.1). In a new Persian text (Sad Dar-i Bondehe
2.1316), however, Indra/Indar (now appearing Very few iconographical representations of Zoro-
as Andar) plays a malign role in individual escha- astrian deities are available from ancient Iran,
tology by causing anguish to the departed and and the ones that we find are almost exclusively
carrying the sinners to hell and inflicting punish- part of royal propaganda such as coins, seals, and
ments on their souls. At least from the time of the reliefs. In the 3rd century ce, for example, Ahura
Middle Persian texts, but maybe already for the Mazd is presented as the almost exact counter-
hearers of the Avestan Vdvdd, the identifica- part of King Ardaxr; god and king face each other
tion of Indra/Indar/Andar as an Indian god was either standing or sitting on horses. The Zoroas-
probably imperceptible, and he simply appeared trian scriptures the Avesta and the Pahlavi lit-
as a powerful arch demon. erature in Middle Persian do not describe visual
Indo-Iranian cultural encounters, exchanges, manifestations such as images or statues of dei-
and translations are witnessed in astrology / ties. The Pahlavi texts even contain a negative
astronomy and games (see e.g. Panaino, 1999). terminology for idol, idolater, and idola-
Given this intercultural awareness, from a certain try. (Boyce, 1975, interprets this as evidence for
610 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism
an iconoclastic purification movement.) Among of no fewer than 23 Zoroastrian deities, which is
contemporary Zoroastrians, one finds various a major part of the main pantheon. Many images
iconographical representations of Zarathustra, of were found in Panjikent, east of Samarkand, both
Zoroastrian heroes and places, and of fire altars, in houses and in temples. Some representations
but there are no cultic representations of deities still echo Greek models, while others are indige-
(such as consecrated images, busts, or statues of nous creations, but some, it seems, are deliberately
deities used for ritual purposes). modeled on Hindu iconography (Grenet, 2010).
In central Asia, however, Zoroastrianism took The Kushana Vyuiva iconographical fusion is
a different shape from the model championed continued by the pair of MahdevaWparkar
by the Pahlavi literature from Persia. Especially (as identified by the Sogdian Vassantara Jtaka
in Sogdiana, situated north of Bactria, between [see Humbach, 1975]; the name Wparkar is
the Oxus (Amu Darya) and Jaxartes (Syr Darya) derived from the full Avest. name of the deity).
in modern Uzbekistan (and partly Tajikistan), Another pair identified by the text is Indra
archaeologists have excavated a rich iconographic Adhvagh the latter Sogdian word meaning
repertoire. (Direct traces of Zoroastrianism in supreme god that is, Ahura Mazd. Given the
central Asia disappear with the Mongol invasions, AvestaPahlavi textual tradition quoted above,
if not earlier.) In the present context, it is worth this appearance of Indra is an inversion; the texts
noting that Sodgian artists drew inspiration from were either of little relevance or unknown or no
Indian iconography when representing Zoroas- longer understood. One example of depictions
trian deities. of IndraAdhvagh is a series of terracotta figures
In this, they may have been following the (Marshak & Raspopova, 1996, 195198). The art-
example set by the coins issued by the kings of ist drew on three iconographical registers:
the Kushana Empire in Bactria (where there was a
Indra (hence the elephant vhana), the Sasanian
strong Buddhist presence) in the 2nd century ce.
king (hence the royal ribbons), King David with
While many images of Zoroastrian deities are his cithara, a proper allusion to Ahura Mazds
derived from those of Greek gods with whom they function as master of paradise. (Grenet, 2010, 92)
were identified or associated, on some Kushana
coins, one finds depictions of the Buddha and Other iconographical types or attributes of
images of Mahsena, Vikha, Skanda, and Hindu deities serving to illustrate (traits of )
Kumra. In an interlinear gloss of a dedicatory different Zoroastrian deities probably include
inscription, the names Mahsena and Vikha Krttikeya ( Murukan) and Durg. The Indian
are identified with the Zoroastrian deity Sr iconographical vocabulary was useful for the
(Avest. Sraoa [Harkening]), maybe because development of a Zoroastrian iconography, but
he and Mahsena shared the epithet of the cock eventually Sogdian artists became more inde-
(Grenet, 2010, 88). An even stronger fusion pendent in depicting Zoroastrian deities (Grenet,
occurred when the Zoroastrian deity Oo that 2010, 94).
is, Vayu assumed a kind of aiva iconography
(three headed and four armed, with trident and
club). Apparently, this god remained popular Magas and Bhojakas
even among the later Kushano-Sasanians, who
on their coins referred to themselves as Mazdean The Smbapurn a and the Bhavisyapurn a
[Mazda-Worshipping, i.e. Zoroastrian] Lord report about a certain group of Brahmans, the
and depicted fire altars, yet who would also show Maga Brahmans. Their name seems to refer to
iva in a traditional style, the religious/ritual specialists of the ancient Ira-
nians (Old Pers. magu; Grk. mgos; Lat. magus),
with raised hair standing in front of the bull and the name of the special girdle worn by the
Nand, while replacing the name Vayu by
Magas the avyanga (lit. having non-incomplete
an epithet suitable for both Vayu and iva:
limbs) can be interpreted as deriving from the
burzwand yazd (in the Pahlavi version),
Avestan aiiihana, the Avestan name of the
the god who possesses the heights. (Grenet,
2010, 89)
belt/cord that Zoroastrians are supposed to wear
(Humbach, 1978, 237; 2002, 89). The origin of the
For Sogdiana, which had close contacts with group is traced to a certain Smba, who (to give a
India, F. Grenet has identified visual depictions very brief summary of the legend) in the hope of
 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism 611
getting rid of leprosy, from which he suffered as a receded under the surface. More recent reports
result of a curse by his father Krsn a resorted to quoted by H. Humbach (2002, 92f.) show that
Mitravana, where he bathed in the Candrabhg; their Iranian background is obliterated but that
there he found the statue of the sun, carved in they are still recognized as being somewhat dif-
wood by the deity Vivakarman, which Smba, on ferent from other groups. Apparently, they enjoy
the request of the sun-god, put up in Mitravana in a reputation as astrologers. In some passages
a newly constructed temple dedicated to the sun. in the Bhavisyapurn a, the name of the Magas
Since no Brahmans were available, on the advice appears in alteration with that of another group,
of the sun-god, Smba invited 18 families of the the Bhojakas (who are already attested in the
Magas of kadvpa (i.e. the continent of the ka 7th cent. [Humbach, 1978, 245]). H. Humbach
tree), who wore the avyanga, and for them he built argues that the Bhojakas had usurped the Maga
the city of Smbapura, which must be Mlasthna tradition and considered themselves as Magas
(modern Multan; see Humbach, 1978, 230ff., for but were not acknowledged as such by the Magas
the fuller version with sources; see also von Sti- themselves (2002, 91). While the Bhojakas are
etencron, 1966). In the Mahbhrata, these sometimes reported to wear the avyanga, other
Magas of kadvpa are mentioned as one caste reports say that they wear the amhaka, a snake-
alongside three others, whose names seem to shaped girdle which would be an antipode to
have been derived or formed somewhat artifi- Zoroastrianism, where the snake is a creature
cially from Iranian words (Humbach, 1978, 230; of the evil spirit. However, the Bhavisyapurn a
2002, 90). The name Smba probably derives from provides some pieces of information that have
that of Sambos, a king who, according to several a Zoroastrian pitch: their wearing of a mouth
Greek and Latin sources describing Alexander the veil and use of twigs in rituals (like Zoroastrian
Greats expedition down the Indus in 326 bc, first priests), their eating in silence and saying prayers
subordinated to Alexander, then revolted, and five times a day, respect for the dog and its rela-
eventually fled eastward beyond the Indus (Hum- tion to funerals, the mention of Rja and Srausa
bach, 1978, 238; 2002, 93). (i.e. the Zoroastrian deities Ranu and Sraoa),
Another piece of evidence for the Iranian and some reports about the genealogy and birth
background of the Maga Brahmans is provided of Jaraastra, apparently Zarathustra, which do
by the 6th-century astrologer and Maga Brah- not resonate with any known Zoroastrian sources
man Varhamihira, whose name is formed on (Humbach, 1978, 248250; 2002, 91f.). Even if, as
the basis of an Indian borrowing (Mihira) of the H. Humbach suggests, these pieces of information
Middle Persian form (Mihr) of the ancient Iranian were acquired from Indian Zoroastrian (Parsi)
Mira. In his Pacasiddhntik (1.2325), which informants, this does not diminish their value as
has a parallel passage in the Vatevarasiddhnta evidence for the intended Zoroastrianization of
(1.5. 117120), Varhamihira (who may have the Bhojakas; even if they were Hindus, the author
had an Iranian astronomer as his guru) describes of these puranic passages wanted to make it clear
the year of the Magas, where he gives 30 names that they, just like the Magas, had a Zoroastrian
of the lords of the degrees of the signs (1.23 connection.
[Neugebauer & Pingree, 1970, 3233]). A com-
parison of this list with that contained in the
Zoroastrian calendar with its 30 deities (yazatas; The Parsis
[beings] worthy of being worshipped) shows
several correspondences that testify to a direct Historically speaking, there is probably no one
knowledge of the Zoroastrian list of the yazatas fixed date for the arrival of the Zoroastrians
and the attempt to arrange them according to an who became known as the Parsis (they probably
Indian (aiva) picture (Panaino, 1996, 585). This arrived in several waves), but in 1599, an Indian
indicates the active knowledge of a Zoroastrian Zoroastrian priest, Bahman Qay Qobd Sanjna
model, probably stemming from ancient tradi- from Navsari (Gujarat), composed a unified nar-
tions of reinterpretations. rative in 432 Persian couplets starting with the
Eventually, the Magas seem to have spread to creation of the world and culminating in the
Magadha (south Bihar) at a later date; accord- transfer of the main consecrated fire of the Parsis
ingly, new versions of their history came into to Navsari, thereby celebrating his own priestly
being. Their Iranian background or connection lineage. From his priestly perspective, the narra-
612 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism
tive fuses the history of the world with the history 85) now translates it in the following way: when
of his community and that of its main sanctuary; they perform the noble act of children, on that
by implication, this establishes the leadership of night they should be married (Qesse -yi Sanjn
the priesthood (in his lineage) as the guardians of 158). The text proposes a program of assimilation
this fire sanctuary. The account is entitled Qesse -yi by abandoning weapons and adopting language
Sanjn (Story of Sanjn), after the name of the and clothing (for women) and non-secretiveness
place on the Indian coast where the nucleus com- about their religion. The first element of the sub-
munity, led by a learned priest-astrologer, arrived sequent explanation or translation of their reli-
by boat from Iran to save our lives and for Reli- gion by the priest points to their descent from
gions sake (Qesse -yi Sanjn 111; trans. Williams, the mythical first (Iranian) king, Jamid (Avest.
2009, 77). Threatened by a dangerous storm, they Yima); the priest then points to their religious
made a vow to establish an ta-i bahrm, a fire respect for or worship of five elements (fire,
of Bahrm (Avest. Vrthragna), the protector water, sun, moon, and cow) before he mentions
deity whom they had invoked (along with Ahura the creator-god, their belt/cord, and their prayers
Mazd) in their desperation. (An ta-i bahrm (Qesse -yi Sanjn 167171). The final three ele-
is the highest class of ritual fires; until 1765, the ments address purity rules for the women in case
Parsis had only one ta-i bahrm, and the conse- of menstruation, childbirth, or miscarriage/still-
cration of the second one resulted from a conflict birth (Qesse -yi Sanjn 172175).
between different groups of priests; nowadays A widely circulating oral narrative of unknown
there are eight fires, or fire temples, of that type date (often erroneously believed to be part of the
in India: four in Mumbai, two in Surat, one in Qesse -yi Sanjn) reports the ruler to initially have
Navsari, and one in the coastal village of Udvada.) denied access, pointing to a full glass of milk; with
Since Bahman Qay Qobd provides some appar- great presence of mind, the priest is reported to
ently clear dates about the itinerary of the Parsis have inserted some sugar into that glass, which
from Iran to India (via Hormuz), earlier genera- did not flow over; being like the sugar in the milk
tions of scholars tried to establish a date of arrival of Indian society has become a leitmotiv of Parsi
(reviewed by Williams, 2009, 207217), but these identity making in modern India. The five condi-
reconstructions have failed to yield any consen- tions explain the ethnoreligious diversity of the
sus. In the Qesse -yi Sanjn, the ta-i bahrm is Parsis and reflect some factual cultural patterns
referred to as h-i irn (king of Iran), or as the such as their specific Gujarati dialect (known
h-i hn (king of kings), and today it is called as Parsi Gujarati) and their food and garments,
Iranshah, implying that the fire is the successor of which are all recognizably regional but with some
the Iranian kingship that was lost with the Arab special (Persian) traits. Nowadays, initiations and
invasion but is kept up by the Parsis in India. weddings are occasions to display this ethnic heri-
Bahman Qay Qobd reports a dialogue between tage ceremonially in combinations with the puri-
the priest-leader of the migrants and the local fications and blessings performed by the priests.
ruler of Sanjn, who is introduced as a good rj The Zoroastrian religion is embedded in an eth-
by the name of Jdi and whose historical identity nic legacy, together constituting what has been
remains unresolved (Williams, 2009, 175). When called Parsi Zoroastrianism. In modernity, when
the priest asks for asylum for the strangers who boundaries became challenged, this ethnoreli-
have come . . . for refuge and home within your gious continuum with its diverse poles of genea-
land (Qesse -yi Sanjn 142; trans. Williams, 2009, logical lineage and religious universalism turned
83), the ruler grants this on five conditions: that out to be a fragile construct; intermarriages (and
they must explain their religion to him, that they the related issue of conversion) have been the key
must renounce the language of their own land sites to expose its ambivalences.
and speak the language of Hend, that their Another notable episode of the Qesse -yi Sanjn
women shall wear such garments as our women narrated by Bahman Qay Qobd in quite some
wear, and that they shall lay down these swords detail are two battles in which the Parsis, on
and weapons, and never more shall gird them on request of the Hindu rulers, join the Hindu army
again (Qesse -yi Sanjn 154157, trans. Williams, to fight against Islamic forces on their way to
2009, 85); the fifth and final requirement has tra- conquer that part of India. Having won the first
ditionally been understood as an obligation to cel- battle, the Hindu-Parsi coalition is annihilated in
ebrate weddings at night, but A. Williams (2009, the second battle (Qesse -yi Sanjn 243352). It is
 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism 613
unclear whether these battles ever occurred, but mon among the Parsis in the course of the 19th
the account was probably inspired by political century (Stausberg, 2002b, 66). In 1858, Dosa-
and military events in the 15th and 16th centuries bhoy Framjee, a notable reformer, reinterpreted
in Gujarat. Bahman Qay Qobd sides the Parsis the Qesse -yi Sanjn by suggesting that the Zoro-
with the Hindus against the Muslims; the lost astrians might have tried to conceal their real
battle and the immersion of their blood into the beliefs from the Indian ruler, but now the time
soil of India amount to their ultimate sacrifice for had come to once again rid Zoroastrianism from
their host country, sealing their transformation Hindu superstitions (Ringer, 2011, 157). Later,
from Iranians into Parsis, even though as Par- however, the strong impact of the Theosophi-
sis, they retain a distinctive ethnic and religious cal Society among the Parsis (Stausberg, 2002b,
culture. Historically speaking, though, despite 112118) allowed the discourse of reform to
some instances of discrimination, it seems that become reconciled with an interest in Hinduism
the period of Islamic rule over India allowed the (and esotericism). Reincarnation (which is not a
Parsis to prosper (Stausberg, 2002a, 404f.). point of Zoroastrian doctrine) was championed
It is reported that a learned priest by the name by some Parsi theosophist authors. Theosophists
of Nerysang Dhaval, who probably lived in the like H.S. Olcott and A. Besant gave speeches about
11th or 12th century ce, was the first and most Zoroastrianism. In the 1920s and 1930s, some
prominent of some learned Zoroastrian scholar- Indian intellectuals among them Rabindranath
priests to translate several Avestan and Middle Tagore published books on Zoroastrianism
Persian texts into Sanskrit (see Bharucha, 1906). that partly tried to align it with Indian religious
In addition to these translations, a certain k literature, most notably the Bhagavadgt or the
Adhyru (who some think was a Hindu) com- Upanisads (Stausberg, 2012, 127132).
posed 16 Sanskrit lokas; the oldest manuscripts Comparison with the Zoroastrian communi-
are from the 17th century, but H.-P. Schmidt, the ties in Iran indicates a number of Parsi practices
principal editor and translator, believes them to that have originated as a result of their interaction
be from the period of 900 or 1000 ce (19601961, with their Hindu environment. Like Hinduism,
192), a theory that strikes me as rather speculative. Parsi Zoroastrianism puts a great emphasis on
Apparently, these lokas were meant to define the auspiciousness, especially in relation to births,
identity of the Parsis, even though they were not initiations, and marriages (referred to as aus-
widely known among them: almost all of these 16 picious occasions in Parsi folk taxonomy); the
lokas end on the line, those are we Parsis. The date of initiations, engagements, and marriages
Parsis are referred to as a varna (l. 11). Hormazd is partly determined with reference to astrology.
(i.e. Ahura Mazd) is mentioned in the first and The celebration of auspicious occasions includes
last loka. In addition to various elements famil- the performance, by (preferably married) women
iar from other Zoroastrian sources, the lokas (with children but barring widows), of a number
also have some points stemming from a Hindu of rites (Stausberg, 2004, 3537; Kreyenbroek &
background; interestingly, the woolen belt/cord Munshi, 2001, 1819) centered on the body of
is described as well measured (with ends) like the subject to be felicitated with the help of a set
snake-mouths (l. 3), which recalls the informa- of auspicious objects, which are arranged on a
tion about the Bhojakas, so that the text can have metal tray (Guj. ss). Such objects include vegetal
originated in a Hindu-Parsi environment simi- items such as flowers, rice, unshelled almonds,
lar to such a group (Stausberg, 2002a, 393398; dried dates, betel leaves and betel nuts, and coco-
Schmidts translation is reprinted in Williams, nuts that are often painted (in red) with the svas-
2009, 233237). tika symbol. Water is kept in silver beakers. In
In the 19th century, like in other religious tra- one rite (known in Guj. as sagan), the person to
ditions, a reform movement started among the be felicitated receives a colored kum kum dot on
Parsis, aiming at modernizing the religion under the forehead (and often also on the feet), where
the rhetorical guise of a return to its authentic some grains of rice are made to stick on the
historical kernel. The initial targets were practices kum kum dot; the person also holds some items
such as child marriages, which were branded as placed on the metal tray. The coconut is handed
Indian that is, as not originally Zoroastrian to him or her, a garland is placed around his or
(i.e. Iranian). Not without resistance from influ- her neck (a common form of felicitation in its
ential people, child marriages became less com- own right), and rice is showered on him or her
614 Hinduism and Zoroastrianism
(a common gesture of blessing). Contrary to the Choksy, J.K., Purity and Pollution in Zoroastrianism:
rituals performed by the priests, who are all male, Triumph over Evil, Austin, 1989.
theseritesareexecutedinsilencethatis,thewomen De Jong, A., Purification in Absentia: On the Develop-
ment of Zoroastrian Ritual Practice, in: J. Assmann &
do not recite any texts. Moreover, on auspicious G.G. Stroumsa, eds., Transformations of the Inner Self
days or occasions, Parsi women mark relevant in Ancient Religions, Leiden, 1999, 301329.
thresholds with ephemeral drawings with white Flattery, D.S., & M. Schwartz, Haoma and Harmaline: The
or colored chalk powder on the ground; these are Botanical Identity of the Indo-Iranian Sacred Halluci-
known as chalk, chauk, or rangol (see Stausberg, nogen Soma and Its Legacy in Religion, Language, and
2004; Munshi & Stewart, 2002, for illustrations). Middle-Eastern Folklore, Berkeley, 1989.
There are floral or geometric motifs; for especially Greenebaum, S.E., VrtrahanVrthragna: India and
Iran, in: G.J. Larson, C.S. Littleton & J. Puhvel, eds., Myth
auspicious occasions, fish designs are vital. At in Indo-European Antiquity, Berkeley, 1974, 9397.
weddings or initiations, elaborate patterns are Grenet, F., Iranian Gods in Hindu Garb: The Zoroas-
drawn. Apart from their aesthetic appeal, they trian Pantheon of the Bactrians and Sogdians, Second
are held to convey auspiciousness and to create a Eighth Centuries, BAI 20, 2010, 8799.
pure atmosphere. Hinnells, J.R., The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and
In 1819, a community meeting decided (among Migration, Oxford, 2005.
other things) that [n]o woman should resort to Hinnells, J.R., Zoroastrian and Parsi Studies: Selected
Works, Aldershot, 2000.
such temples as Mumbadevi, Bhuleshwar, Maha- Hintze, A., Avestan Literature, in: R.E. Emmerick &
laxmi, Walkeshwar or any other place of Hindu M. Macuch, eds., The Literature of Pre-Islamic Iran:
worship, for idolatry (Jeejeebhoy, 1953, 305). Companion Volume I to A History of Persian Literature,
Apparently, some Hindu temples were attrac- London, 2009, 171.
tive to Parsis. Today, images of Hindu deities like Hintze, A., A Zoroastrian Liturgy: The Worship in Seven
Laksm ( r Laksm) and Ganea ( Ganapati/ Chapters (Yasna 3541), Wiesbaden, 2007.
Ganea) can be seen in some Parsi homes. Humbach, H., Smba and the Hinduized Magi, in:
K.R. Cama Oriental Institute Third International Con-
Hindu bbs, svms, or gurus are venerated by gress Proceedings, Mumbai, 2000, 8894.
some. More than anybody else, Shirdi Sai Baba Humbach, H., Mira in India and the Hinduized Magi,
(d. 1918) is popular among the Parsis. Meher in: tudes Mithriaques, Tehran, 1978, 229253.
Baba (18941969), who studied with a student of Humbach, H., Vayu, iva und der Spiritus Vivens im
Shirdi Sai Baba (among others) and extended his Ostiranischen Synkretismus, in: Monumentum H.S.
activity beyond India, was born a Zoroastrian by Nyberg I, Tehran, 1975, 397408.
the name Merwan Sheriar Irani; he had several Jackson, A.V.W., Zoroaster: The Prophet of Ancient Iran,
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Parsis among his earliest and most intimate fol- Jamison, S.W., The Rig Veda between Two Worlds, Paris,
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Gururani and Yogiraj, respectively, established Bombay Parsees in Olden Times, in: M.P. Kharegat
a transreligious cult, where their darans (see Memorial Volume, vol. I, Bombay, 1953, 295323.
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their divine status is expressed by using Hindu Raum. Ein transreligiser Kult in Mumbai, Numen
57/1, 2010, 3077.
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Marshak, B.I., & V.D. Raspopova, Worshippers from the
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Michael Stausberg