Dr. Sir Ervad Jivanji Jamshedji Modi (1854–1933), who also carried the title of Shams-ul-Ulama, was a prominent Zoroastrian Parsi-Indian priest, scholar and community leader in Bombay. One of "the most decorated priests in history", [1] he wrote over 70 books, produced over 120 scholarly papers on Zoroastrian history, traveled and researched into Zoroastrian affairs extensively and was instrumental in organizing the Parsi community in India. [1] [2] During his lifetime he had been called "the greatest living authority on the ancient history and customs of the Parsis." [1] He created a facsimile edition of the Middle Persian legal treatise, Mādayān ī Hazār Dādestān in 1901. [3] [4]
The Parsis or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of the Persian Empire to escape religious persecution. Parsis are the older of the Indian subcontinent's two Zoroastrian communities, the other being the Iranis, whose ancestors migrated to British-ruled India from Qajar-era Iran.
A dakhma, also known as a Tower of Silence, is a circular, raised structure built by Zoroastrians for excarnation, in order to avoid contamination of the soil and other natural elements by the decomposing dead bodies. Carrion birds, usually vultures and other scavengers, consume the flesh. Skeletal remains are gathered into a central pit where further weathering and continued breakdown occurs.
Jadi Rana was an Indian ruler of Sanjan, Valsad in present-day Gujarat as per the Qissa-i Sanjan, an epic poem completed in 1599, which is an account of the flight of some of the Zoroastrians who were subject to religious persecution following the fall of the Sassanid Empire, and of their early years in India, where they found refuge. A 20th-century translation of the Qissa transliterates the name as Jádi Rana.
A fire temple, (Gujarati: અગિયારી, romanized: agiyārī) is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Persia. In Zoroastrianism, atar or fire, together with aban, water, are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies [is] regarded as the basis of ritual life", which "are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple [fire] is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity". For, one "who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand ..., is given happiness".
The Ateshgah of Baku, Azerbaijani: Atəşgah), often called the "Fire Temple of Baku", is a castle-like religious temple in Surakhany town, a suburb in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Story of Sanjan is an account of the early years of Zoroastrian settlers on the Indian subcontinent that was originally written in 1599 CE by Parsi priest, Bahman Kaikobad. In the absence of alternatives, the text is generally accepted to be the only narrative of the events described therein, and many members of the Parsi community perceive the epic poem to be an accurate account of their ancestors.
Udvada is a town situated in Pardi taluka in the Valsad district in the state of Gujarat, India. Udvada is a coastal town located around 24 km from the Valsad city. The Zoroastrian temple, Udvada Atash Behram is situated here.
Āzar Kayvān was the Zoroastrian high priest of Istakhr and a gnostic philosopher, who was a native of Fars, Iran and later emigrated to Patna in the Mughal Empire during the reign of Emperor Akbar. A member of the Sepāsīān community, he became the founder of a Zoroastrian school of ishraqiyyun or Illuminationists, which exhibited features of Sufi Muslim influence. This school became known as the kis-e Abadi "Abadi sect".
Hinduism in Azerbaijan has been tied to cultural diffusion on the Silk Road. One of the remnants of once-dominant Hindu and Buddhist culture in the Caucasus is Surakhani, the site of the Ateshgah of Baku. As of 2020, there were about 500 Hindus in Azerbaijan.
The kushti also known as kosti, kusti and kustig is the sacred girdle worn by invested Zoroastrians around their waists. Along with the sedreh, the kushti is part of the ritual dress of the Zoroastrians.
Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, also abbreviated M. N. Dhalla, was a Pakistani Zoroastrian priest and religious scholar.
A barsom is a ritual implement used by Zoroastrian priests to solemnize certain sacred ceremonies.
Ayādgār ī Zarērān, meaning "Memorial of Zarēr", is a Zoroastrian Middle Persian heroic poem that, in its surviving manuscript form, represents one of the earliest surviving examples of Iranian epic poetry.
Jamshedji Sorab Kukadaru was a Zoroastrian priest in Mumbai, India. He was revered by Zoroastrians for a number of miracles he is believed to have performed. He was well known by his contemporaries for his simple lifestyle and asceticism, as well as his unflinching adherence to priestly purity rules. Most of his life is said to have been spent in prayer.
Shamsul Ulama is a religious title that has been taken by or granted to various individuals in India including:
Kharshedji Rustomji Cama (1831–1909), often known as K. R. Cama, was an Indian Parsi scholar and reformer from Bombay.
The Iranshah Atash Behram, also known as the Udwada Atash Behram, is a sacred fire housed in a temple in Udvada, Valsad district, Gujarat on the west coast of India. The Atash Bahram, meaning "Victorious Fire", is the oldest fire temple in India, dated to the eighth century, and represents the historical cultural and religious links with Iran. The current temple housing the sacred fire was built in 1742 by Motlibai Wadia from Bombay. The temple structure, built spaciously, is well decorated and contains the Dasturji Kaiyoji Mirza hall and a museum. The main hall of the temple is accessed through a two-stage staircase. The temple attracts Zoroastrian pilgrims from all parts of India, Pakistan, and from around the world.
There was communal violence between Parsis and Bharuchi Sunni Vohra Muslims in May 1857 in Broach in India.
The Rivayats are a series of exchanges between the Zoroastrian community in India and their co-religionists in early modern Iran. They have been ascribed the same importance of the Talmud to Judaism by Jivanji Jamshedji Modi.
Dastur Peshutan Behramji Sanjana was an Indian scholar and Zoroastrian head-priest (Dastur). He was Principal of the Sir Jamshedji Jijibhoy Zartoshti (Zoroastrian) Madressa (seminary) in Bombay, and the Dastur (‘high-priest’) of the Wadia Atash Behram . Sanjana was one of the most learned high-priests and authorities on Pahlavi of his time. In 1904 a Festschrift was published in his honour with an introduction by Edward William West.
... the most decorated priest in history ... "the greatest living authority on the ancient history and customs of the Parsis" ...
... born on October 26th 1854 into a priestly family ... Secretary of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat for 37 years (1893 –1930) ... instrumental in having a Memorial Column a Sanjan Stambh erected at Sanjan, to commemorate the Sanjan landing of Zarthustis on Indian soil ...