I am forwarding the article by Dasturji Dr. Firoze Kotwal on The Consecration of the Sacred White Bull.
Consecration of the Sacred White Bull (Warasyājī)[1]
– A Religious Injunction
Article published in the Festschrift in honour of Almut Hintze titled, The Reward of the Righteous, ed., Alberto Cantera, Maria Macuch and Nicholas Sims-Williams, (Wiesbaden, 2022), pp.279-96.
The term warasyāji, commonly used by members of the Parsi community when referring to the sacred bull attached to a fire temple, is derived from Av. varǝsa, Pahl. wars, waras, Pers. gurs, meaning ‘hair, curled hair, ringlet’. The Parsis refer to the sacred white bull as warasyāji, i.e., one that provides hair. In Gujarati, the suffix ji is derived from Skt. Jīv ‘may you live long’ – a blessed term used to honour sacred objects. In high liturgies, three strands of hair from the tail of a consecrated white bull are entwined and tied with a reef knot on a silver or gold finger-ring and is placed on the 9-holed saucer (sūrāxdār tašta) through which the hōm-juice is strained and filtered. The use of the tail-hair of the warasyāji in the yasna ritual gives the animal a special position within the ritual matrix of the faith and it is greatly revered by members of the Zoroastrian community who view the bull as being sacred and feeding it is seen as an act of merit.
The Hair of Bull and Horse is Permissible
In two authoritative scriptural texts, the Nērangestān and the Vendidād it is stated that the hair (Pahl. wars, PGuj. waras) of a bull must be used. According to the Vendidād 19.21, a young ungelded,[2] consecrated bull is used for this purpose (gaom uxšānǝm bixǝδrǝm dāitiiō-kǝrǝtǝm). In order to be fit for consecration, experienced and able priests must choose a healthy bull which has a white glossy coat, a pink tongue with no spots, has white hair and is without blemish. The Pahlavi text of the Nērangestān states that the hair either from a bull or horse is permissible (gə̄uš vā aspahe vā varǝsahe).[3] The Irani dasturs were in favour of taking the hair (waras) from a horse’s mane, but no distinguishing features mandatory for a horse to possess has been mentioned.[4] However, the Parsi priests have for centuries used the waras only from the tail of the sacred white bull. Their belief and understanding for this usage stems from the fact that as the urine from the bulls is taken and consecrated in the most exalted Nīrangdīn ceremony, similarly it would be meaningful to take the hair from the same bovine species.[5]
Nomenclature for Completion of Major High Liturgies
In the register listing the warasyājis consecrated in the precinct of the Vadī Dar-i Mihr in Navsari, there is a 300-years old note giving details about consecrating a warasyāji, for ritual purposes. The Gujarati phrase warasiyō maratab kīdhō (the white bull has been prepared), i.e., duly consecrated, which appears in this note, describes the ritual format of consecrating a warasyāji. The completion of the Nīrangdīn ceremony is described in Gujarati as nīrangdin-nā garā bāndhiā and nīrangdīn maratab thai (the pots of the Nīrangdīn, i.e., consecrated bull’s urine has been tied, and the Nīrangdīn has been duly prepared, i.e. consecrated). This is because the Nīrangdīn ritual is said to be completed when the mouths of the metal pots containing the nīrang (consecrated bull’s urine) and āb (consecrated water) are tied with white muslin. The word ‘maratab’, which is used today for the ritual qualifying a young athornān boy as a priest, is also used with reference to the consecration of a warasyāji and the Nīrangdīn ceremony. The Qesse-ye Zartoštiān-e Hindustān, in describing the making of the first Ātash Bahrām in India, terms the act of consecrating the Ātash Bahrām Sāheb as maratab: “maratab šud nēkū Ātaš Varharām”, meaning, “the good Ātash Bahrām is made ready”.[6] In all the examples cited here, the word maratab is used to denote the act of consecrating and making the warasyāji, the Nīrangdīn, the priest as well as the Ātash Bahrām ready for high rituals. The term maratab is derived from the Arabic word murattab, which literally means “prepared or made ready”.
The Consecration of the Warasyāji[7]
The warasyāji or the white bull which is selected is taken to the holy precinct of the Dar-i Mihr where the consecration ceremony will take place. He is given a thorough bath, and his tail is washed with soap, and the hair is inspected and combed. The warasyāji is then tied in a separate ritual precinct (pāwī) where he is fed and looked after. Two ritually qualified priests with barašnūm prepare themselves to consecrate the warasyāji. Each priest keeps ready a set of clothes washed earlier with well-water and dried in the sun.
The priests then clean and wash a newly made finger-ring, made of gold or silver, seven new large-sized cups (fuliyān), a new set of pincers (Guj. sānsī) to hold the warasyāji’s tail, and a pair of scissors (Ar. miqrāz) to cut the tail-hair. Three beakers (karasyā) filled with pure (pāk) well-water are kept ready for the ritual. Before putting these implements to use, one of the priests consecrates them with a drōn service in honour of Sarōsh Yazad, and these are kept aside for use later in the ceremony.
The priests having taken a bath wear their priestly clothes which have been consecrated earlier, and perform the pādyāb-kustī.[8] The priests performing the ritual stand in two separate pāwīs, and tie the barsom rods with the interwoven strips made from a date-palm leaf (Av. aiβiiåŋhana, Pahl. aiwyāhan)[9]and perform the xūb[10] ceremony with panč tāy(a bundle of five metal wires). The panč tāy ceremony is usually done in honour of the entire congregation (hamā anjuman); however, for the consecration of the warasyāji, this ceremony can be performed in memory of a departed soul or for a living person, to gain merit for the person sponsoring the ritual. This is an interesting aspect of Zoroastrian theology that underscores the importance of performing good deeds on behalf of the dead, in order to bring greater benefit in the spiritual world for the soul of the person who has died. This also emphasises the important role played by the living towards the well-being of their dead ancestors. This synergy between the living and the dead establishes the continuous link between the physical and spiritual worlds which a Zoroastrian must institute through the process of prayer and ritual.
After performing the xūb the priests wash and make pāk (a level of purity, to be distinguished from pāw which is the highest degree of purity accompanied by the recitation of prayers)[11] the ālāt (ritual implements), used for the Yasna ceremony (PGuj. Ijashne, Pahl. yazišn) by using pure (Guj. chōkhkhu) well-water.[12] A large container (kundī) is filled with pure well-water, and the priest takes one of the seven fuliyāns from the kundī and holds it in front of the fire to dry and fills it with sacred ash[13] (Skt. bhasman, Guj. bhasma, bhasam). The priest places this fuliyān separately in a niche (Pers. tāqča; Guj. tākun ‘a recess in a wall’; P.Guj. tāk) made in the wall of the Yazišn Gāh, the designated ritual area in a fire temple where liturgies of a high ritual order are performed. The priest consecrates the new silver or gold ring in the same way and places this in another pāw fuliyān besides the first one in the niche. Next, he consecrates the strips of the date-palm leaf as well as a pomegranate twig (urwarām) and places this in the third fuliyān. In this manner, he places three fuliyāns beside each other in the niche, next to a consecrated metal beaker (karasyō) in which the goat’s milk (jīwām), collected earlier, is stored. One of the priests takes a small round metal tray (Guj. khumchī), makes it pāw and places in it a pair of scissors consecrated earlier. Holding the pāw khumchī containing the scissors, the fuliyān with the consecrated ring, the karasyō with consecrated water, a pair of pincers and a scissor, both priests together with face-masks (Pers. panām, PGuj. padān) on, step into the pāwī where the warasyāji is tied. They place all the items which they hold in their hands on a clean stone table (xwān) within the pāwī. The assistant priest (rāspī) ritually purifies the tail of the warasyāji thrice, in the same manner as the udders of the goat are purified for the jīwām ceremony. In the meanwhile, another priest holds the warasyāji’s tail with a pair of pincers, keeping a distance of 9” from the tail-end of the hair. The Rāspī now purifies both his hands; first, the right and then the left. He picks up the ring from the consecrated fuliyān with his left hand, and in his right hand, he holds the scissors from the consecrated khumchī. Still holding the ring in his left hand, he takes three strands of the waras from the tail and begins to recite, facing south, the bāj of Dādār Hōrmazd. Upon reaching the word aṣ̌ǝm after reciting viδuuå mraotū, he entwines the three strands of hair around the ring once, cutting the ends off, with the pair of scissors which he is holding in his right hand. He now puts the scissors back in the khumchī and leaves the bāj of Hōrmazd. With the recitation of twoYaϑā Ahū Vairiiō, he ties the loose ends of the entwined three strands of the waras into a reef knot similar to the one tied when performing the kustī ritual. After leaving the bāj, he once again places the ring with the waras entwined on it into the consecrated fuliyān, and holding the cup he enters the pāwī where the Yasna is to be performed. While leaving the bāj, the priest should remember not to repeat the xnūman in an undertone. The pāw fuliyān containing the ring is placed in the niche in the wall. In the meanwhile, the assistant priest brings the pincers, scissors and the khumchī into the pāwī.
The ritual to be performed is known in Pahlavi as nīrang ī wars puxtan, ‘the ritual of boiling the hair (waras)’. The priest, who had earlier cut the waras, places the karasyō with jīwām, the consecrated bowl with aiβiiåŋhana (date-leaf), urwarām (pomegranate twigs) and three twigs of the haoma plant on a clean, sāf (the first process of cleaning ritual implements before making them pāk and pāw) stone-slab positioned on the floor next to the ritual table (ālāt-xwān). The Rāspī then places some frankincense (bōy) upon a piece of sandalwood (ēsm) placed on a small stone-slab (xwān ī ēsm-bōy), positioned next to the fire-vase (Guj. afargānyu). He takes his place in front of the ālāt-xwān, on a stone seat (zōd-gāh) upon which a small carpet is spread.
The Rāspī makes the karasyō, the kundī containing the ritual implements and the ālāt-xwān pāw, and arranges the ālāt upon the ālāt-xwān. The Rāspī removes the māh-rūy (a pair of three-legged, crescent-shaped stand) from the large kundī and places it near his left hand. Near his right hand, he arranges six small cups (fuliyān) in a row facing upwards. The mortar (PGuj. hāwanīm) is placed beside the cup closest to the fire, and 23 metal wires (tāy), as well as the knife (PGuj. kāplō), are removed from the kundī and placed on the xwān. The metal saucer for the jīwām is placed near the māh-rūy, and the parāhōm cup is filled with water, covered with a saucer and placed to his extreme left. The other priest pours the jīwām in the saucer kept aside for the purpose. The haoma twigs are made pāw and placed at the foot of the māh-rūy stand. At this point, the priest seated in front of the ritual table takes the date-leaf and places it on the crescent-face of the māh-rūy and places the urwarām (pomegranate twig) with his pāw hands at the foot of the māh-rūy. The Rāspī takes one tāy and positions this on the two upward-facing cups closest to him and begins to perform the ritual of taking zōhr (libation), reciting all the prayers done in the course of a regular zōhr ceremony, while taking care not to place the plate with jīwām on the cup, as done in the regular zōhr ceremony.
Of the two cups filled with water, the Rāspī picks up the cup closest to his right, and pours without recitation of prayers, a drop of water into the cup of zōhr. In this manner beginning with the cup which is placed nearest the fire-vase, he pours water drop by drop into the remaining four cups. The cup held in his hand with some zōhr water is positioned near the fire-vase where the saucer containing the drōn is kept. The zōhr-tāy is put on the saucer containing the jīwām. From the niche in the wall, the assistant priest now takes the cup which was earlier consecrated with the holy ash in it, and holding it by the outer rim, he pours the consecrated ash into the cup containing the zōhr positioned on the place of the drōn-saucer, and the empty cup is set aside. Thereafter, holding the pincers in his right hand, he makes his hand pāw three times and picks the cup near the hāwanīm containing the holy ash in the tight grip of the pincers. The priest who is to take the zōhr wipes the base of the cup dry with his pāw hand, in order to ensure that no moisture comes in contact with the fire; and holding the cup in this manner, the priest walks towards the fire. Taking the ladle in his left hand, he sets aside some embers from the burning fire on the ash-bed and places the cup, held in his right-hand containing water mixed with the holy fire-ash, upon the embers. Once again using his right hand with great care, he takes the cup containing the waras-ring from the niche in the wall, and carefully holding it he walks to where the priest who is to make the zōhr is seated. The latter takes the ring out from the cup and holds it in his right hand. The Rāspī returns the empty cup to the niche, and with the pincers held in his right-hand makes his hand pāw three times. The priest who is to make the libation carefully places the ring, which he is holding in his right hand, in such a way that the other priest standing opposite him is able to hold the ring with the pliers. While holding the waras-ring tightly by the pincers, the priest, who is standing, goes to the fire-vase and without releasing his hold, he immerses the waras-ring in the cup containing boiling water and ash, which was placed earlier on the embers. While doing this, he silently recites one Yaϑā Ahū Vairiiō while rotating the ring continuously in the boiling contents of the cup. He brings the waras-ring to the priest who will perform ‘the rite of taking out the zōhr (nīrang ī zōhr griftan)’. The priest accepts the ring and holds it in his right hand. The priest, who is standing, removes the cup with its boiling contents from the burning embers and puts it aside on the stone slab. While holding the waras-ring in his right hand, the priest in charge of taking the zōhr (libation) holds in his left hand the tāy which was earlier placed on the jīwām saucer. He recites the bāj of Dādār Hōrmazd upto the words viδuuå mraotū, and upon the recitation of the first of the four Aṣ̌ǝm Vohū, (which he intones), he places the waras in the cup, nearest to the fire, which is filled with water in order to clean the waras thoroughly. The same gesture is repeated with three other cups while intoning an Aṣ̌ǝm Vohū each time. Finally, when he reaches the fifth cup, he cleans the waras without reciting the Aṣ̌ǝm Vohū, taking care to see that no part of the ash remains on the waras-ring. After this, the priest in charge of taking out the zōhr leaves the bāj of Hōrmazd, while holding the waras-ring in his right hand and the zōhr-tāy in his left hand. In the meantime, the Rāspī removes the pāw waras-cup from the niche in the wall and brings it to the first priest, who then places the newly consecrated and purified waras-ring in it and places the zōhr-tāy across the jīwām-saucer. The priest, who is standing, places the waras-cup with the waras-ring in the niche. The priest who has taken the libation leaves all the ālāt as they were on the ālāt-xwān, rises from his seat, and takes the ēsm-bōy that was placed on the small stone-slab next to the fire, at the beginning of the ritual, and offers it to the fire. Standing in the adjacent pāwī, he then recites one Aṣ̌ǝm Vohū and the unit of four-fold prayers from Ahmāi Raēšca to Kǝrfǝh Mozd. It is followed by the kustī ritual, beginning with the Hōrmazd Xwadāy and ending with the Jasa Me Auuaŋhe Mazda prayer which is the Confession of Faith. He thus leaves the bāj of consecrating the waras. This completes the ritual of preparing the waras for the ensuing Yasna ceremony.
The Six Gēwrā[14] and the Hamkalām Ritual
The Gēwrā is a pre-qualifying ritual conducted over six days during which Yasna ceremonies are performed by two priests in honour of Mīnō Nāwar.
The process of purifying the ālāt is repeated as before, and the purified ālāt is placed in the kundī, which is also purified beforehand. Thereafter, the kundī is filled to the brim with pure well-water. One ēsm-bōy is placed near the fire on the small xwān. The hōm and the urwarām twigs and the date-leaf (Pahl. aiwyāhan) which was used earlier for the consecration of the waras are placed to dry on the opposite end of the smouldering logs of wood. Upon being dried, these are offered to the fire with the recitation of Yasna 62.9 (Ātaš Niyāyēš) upon the phrase uruuarąm vā haδānaēpatąm. The jīwām which was used previously is cast out, and fresh jīwām is collected in the beaker made pāw earlier. The priest who is engaged in making the zōhr sits on the xwān readying himself for the performance of the greater Paragṇā ritual. As was done during the performance of the Paragṇā for the Nīrangdīn ritual, the xwān on which the beaker and the large pot (kundī), are to be kept and the xwān on which the ālāt will be placed, are purified by the chief officiating priest, and all the ālāt required for the ritual are arranged upon it. The Rāspī now removes the small cup containing the pāw waras-ring from the niche in the wall and takes it to the Zaotar. The latter picks up the ring with his right hand and purifies it three times. He then picks up one tāy from the 23 tāys and places it on the inverted zōhr cup which is laid on the xwān. Touching the tāy with his left hand he takes the waras-ring in his right hand, and while silently reciting ten times, the 101 names of Ahura Mazda, he vigorously activates the water in the large pot. In the exalted Nīrangdīn ritual when the Zaotar agitates the water in the kundī, the 101 names of Ahura Mazda are also recited ten times in an undertone. This is a remnant of the time when 1001 names of Ahura Mazda were recited during the ritual.[15] Before removing the pestle (Pahl. abar-hāwan/dastag, and in Parsi priestly parlance lālō on account of its resemblance to a tulip [Pers. lāla][16] from the large pot upon the recitation of the words aϑā ratuš, the Rāspī silently enters the pāwī and offers the ēsm-bōy placed earlier on the small stone, close to the fire-vase. With the commencement of the Yasna proper, the priests interchange their roles, so that the assistant priest (Rāspī) now takes on the role of the chief officiating priest (Zaotar). Before purifying the xwān on which the fire-vase is placed, the Zaotar exchanges the bāj with the words Yaϑā Ahū Vairiiō zaotā frā me mrūte and the Rāspī who is temporarily on the seat of the Zaotar responds with Yaϑā Ahū Vairiiō yō zaotā frā me mrūte before making the xwān of the fire pāw. As in the Nīrangdīn ritual, both the priests perform the Yasna ritual with the xšnūman of Mīnō Nāwar. At the end of the Yasna, the zōhr is offered back to the well and the waras tied around the waras-ring is removed and offered to the fire as it was consecrated for this specific Yasna ritual and cannot be used again[17].
During this entire period, each time the Zaotar has his meal, he must consecrate a drōn service in honour of Dādār Hōrmazd. Even if he wishes to have a cup of tea, he has to perform this ritual. The priest who acts as a Zaotar during the Yasna ceremony has acquired the power (‘amal) of the mōtī xūb; and during the performance of the gēwrā ritual, he ties the barsom with the date-palm leaf instead of the metal chain to indicate the exalted status of this ritual. He can have his meals only on completion of this prayer. In this manner the Zaotar is now said to have completed the first day of the gēwrā ritual with the larger xūb.
On the next day, the priest without the xūb, who was the Rāspī on the previous day, takes a bath, does obligatory prayers, and with the performance of the panč tāy which is the lesser xūb, he makes himself ready. The priest who is now the Zaotar and who has earlier acquired the ‘amal of the larger xūb, takes the waras as done on the first day, consecrates it, and performs the paragṇā ritual. The priest with the xūb of panč tāy performs the Yasna of Mīnō Nāwar and thus assumes the role of the Zaotar. In this manner, for six days, the priests alternate as Zaotar and Rāspī, which in Pahlavi is known as yašt ī se paywand, i.e. the joint performance of the ‘three-fold Yasnas’, with the priests acting as zōt and rāspī alternately. Therefore, in effect, the two priests take turns as Zaotar and Rāspī respectively for three days each, thus completing the Yasna for the six gewrā days and thereby forming a ritual partnership and bond. After this, the hamkalām ritual is performed. Both priests stand in separate pāwīs and consecrate the drōn in honour of Dādār Hōrmazd by tying the barsom with the date-leaf. Thereafter, they partake of the consecrated drōn, by each one breaking off a small piece of the sacred bread and dipping it in clarified butter and together with a piece of date, dipped in the consecrated water.[18] The two priests exchange this consecrated piece of drōn by partaking of it along with the other items as described above. They then leave the bāj with the xšnūman of Dādār Hōrmazd and perform the kustī ritual. Both the priests in this fashion become equal in their shared ritual power (hamkalām).[19] Having obtained this power, they are now qualified to take the hair of the warasyāji and commence the performance of the higher pāw-mahal rituals. The waras or hair from the tail of the bull which was cut earlier during the gēwrā ceremony is burned on the fire. But the waras cut after the priests gain ritual power through being hamkalām can be used for all future rituals as long as the warasyāji is living.
In this manner, at the end of the sixth day, both the priests attain an equal degree of ritual power as they are now said to be in hamkalām. They carry a pāw pair of scissors in a pāw metal tray (khumchī), a set of pincers and a beaker and approach the warasyāji. One priest holds up the tail of the warasyāji with the pincers, while the other priest, using his right hand, makes the tail pāw three times reciting the bāj of Dādār Hōrmazd up to the words viδuuå mraotū. Thereafter, upon the recitation of the word aṣ̌ǝm, he takes the consecrated scissors in his right hand and cuts off as many hairs (waras) as required from the bull’s tail in such a manner that the strands fall into the consecrated khumchī. The consecrated khumchī with the waras in it is brought into the ritual precinct where the fire stands on the xwān. The khumchī is held above the fire, taking care that the waras in it does not get singed. This dry waras is now placed in a small dry cloth pouch which has been consecrated and dried earlier for this purpose. After which the priest leaves the bāj of Dādār Hōrmazd with two Yaϑā Ahū Vairiiō, and as he recites it he ties the pouch containing the waras with a pāw string making two reef knots, just like it is done when tying the kustī. Entering the other pāwī, he recites one Aṣ̌ǝm Vohū and the Ahmāi Raēšca, Hazaŋrǝm, Jasa Mē Auuaŋhe Mazda and Kǝrfǝh Mozd prayers. Then he does the kustī beginning with Hōrmazd Xwadāy. The waras thus collected in the pouch can be used during the performance of the Yasna, Vīsperad, Vendidād, Nīrangdīn and other high rituals as long as the warasyāji is alive. Whenever the waras is needed to be made, the consecrated warasyāji is brought and kept in a separate pāwī in the Dar-i Mihr, so that the waras can be obtained ceremonially in the above manner. In this fashion, the ritual of consecrating the warasyāji is completed.
The First Warasyāji Consecrated in Bombay
With the advent of the Parsis in Bombay in the 17th century, the Bhagariā mobeds were among the first to arrive with the blessings of the Bhagarsāth Anjuman of Navsari, to fulfil the religious needs of the Parsis settled there. The first Panthaky of Bombay was a Bhagariā priest from the Lashkari family. According to an old book of priestly records, Ervad Darab – Ervad Framroze – Ervad Bahman – Ostā Meherji – Ostā Faredun – Ervad Chāndnā – Ervad Kāmdīn expired on rōj 16, māh 10, Samvat 1717(1660 CE). He worked as a Panthaky of Bombay and was known by the nickname of Dādā Chīchānā. His family belonged to the Āshā Faredun stock (pol) of Navsari. He appears to have been the first recorded Panthaky of Bombay, and his descendants served in the Banaji Limji Agiary (estab. 1709) in the Fort area.
In those days, Bombay was under the ecclesiastical authority of Navsari and the waras from the warasyāji and the nīrangdīn (consecrated bull’s urine) used in the performance of the high inner rituals as well as the sacred ash from the Ātash Bahrām of Sanjan in Navsari, (i.e., the Irānshāh and thereafter from 1765 CE onwards from the Navsari Ātash Bahrām) were brought to Bombay over the land route from Navsari. While sending the ālāt to Bombay via Lunsikui, a posh area of Navsari, the Bhagarsāth Anjuman made arrangements for the ālāt to be accompanied by two priests who had the ritual purification of the barašnūm. They were accompanied by two priests who were familiar with the roads and who physically carried the ālāt. Travelling with them were a Parsi cook and two behdins (lay Parsis) to drive the bullock-cart. This group of seven devout Zoroastrians would commence their journey in the early hours of the morning, and if the journey became too long, the travellers took shelter for a couple of hours under the shade of trees lining the road. Hospitable and generous Parsis living in the villages along the way welcomed them and played host to the travellers with great warmth and sincerity. The devout offered worship to the ālāt brought by the travellers treating it like a holy object worthy of reverence. The long trek began in Navsari and took them to the village of Vāghchhipe via Valsād and Pārdī, while the village of Pent became their resting spot. The following day they had to cross the high mountains of Pent and reach Igatpurī (a rail junction) via Nāsīk. From Igatpurī, the next stop was Kalyān through Kasārā and Shāhpore until they arrived at Thāne. From Thāne, they travelled onwards to Kurlā, and finally to Bombay. Here, the ālāt was handed over to the Panthaky (priest-in-charge) of the Manekji Naoroji Seth Dar-i Mihr, which at the time was considered the head-quarters of the Bhagariā priests. The ālāt which was thus brought from Navsari on foot was then distributed among the four or five fire temples that existed in Bombay around that time. The ālāt allowed the priests to continue the performance of high rituals in their fire temples under the ecclesiastical authority of the Bhagarsath Anjuman.
As the Zoroastrian population in Bombay increased, the demand for high rituals redoubled, and as a consequence, there was an increase in the demand for ālāt from the Bhagarsāth Anjuman. Hence, the akābars of Bombay requested the Navsari priests to allow them to consecrate a warasyāji and perform a Nīrangdīn ceremony. In 1776 CE a severe epidemic of plague broke out in Bombay, and during the same period, the Pindārā tribesmen (plunderers and robbers) raided Navsari. The situation was so fraught with tension that the sacred Ātash Bahrām Fire of Navsari was moved secretly to Surat in the dark of night by the Bhagariā priests and the High Priest, Dastur Sohrabji Rustomji Meherji-Rana, also took sanctuary in Surat. Two hundred years ago, it was not an uncommon practice to see underground tunnels which had been constructed by the Parsis for use during such times. It is believed one such underground passage may have been used to carry the holy fire from Navsari to Surat during the Pindārā raids. It seems that during the chaos and confusion caused by the Pindārā raids, the warasyāji was either lost, captured or driven away, with the result that there was a significant delay in sending the ālāt to Bombay. Hence, in order to remove obstacles once and for all, the akābars of Bombay persuaded the local Bhagariā priests to consecrate a warasyāji in Bombay. The Bhagariā priests submitted to the akābars of Bombay that, ‘this task could not be undertaken without the permission of the Navsari Bhagarsāth Anjuman’. In 1776 CE, the Bhagarsāth Anjuman refused to give their permission to consecrate the warasyāji in Bombay. The earlier decision not to allow the priests living in Bombay to consecrate a warasyāji was taken by the leader of the Bhagarsāth Anjuman, Khurshedji Tehmulji Desai (known popularly as Khurshedji Bāpā) in concurrence with Dastur Meherjirana and members of the Navsari Bhagarsāth Anjuman. After Desai died in 1779, official permission was given by the Navsari Bhagarsāth Anjuman to the priests in Bombay after the warasyāji in Navsari died in 1791, and there was a paucity of nīrang available. The Bombay Parsi Punchayat once again made a request to allow them to consecrate a warasyāji in Bombay and finally, permission was given to the akābars of Bombay.
The trustees convened a Samast Anjuman (whole congregation of Parsis) meeting in Bombay, and it was decided to consecrate the first warasyāji, and they arranged for a Nīrangdīn ceremony to be performed. Thus, with the permission of the Navsari Bhagarsāth Anjuman, the first warasyāji was consecrated in Bombay, in memory of Seth Dādībhāi Nusserwanji Mody, at the Manekji Seth Agiary. The ceremony was performed by Mobed Sahebs Manekji Sohrabji Pavri and Jamshedji Rustamji Dābu. The first Nīrangdīn, in memory of Seth Bomanji Naoroji (Lowji) Wadia, father of the great Hormusji Seth, the founder of the Wadiaji Ātash Bahrām, was performed by Mobed Sahebs Jamshedji Khurshedji Vātchā and Framji Rustamji Rānji (Patell 1878, vol. I, p.870).
As long as a consecrated warasyāji is alive, the waras is used for the performance of all the high rituals. However, once the warasyāji dies, all the high rituals come to a standstill until a new warasyāji is consecrated. All priests including the priestly candidates to be initiated nāwar who have taken the barašnūm with the waras of the expired warasyāji will have to leave the barašnūm and re-take it after a new warasyāji has been duly consecrated.
The Qadīmī Parsis and History of their Warasyāji
A few Parsis of Surat belonging to the Shāhānshāhī sect adopted the Qadīmī calendar by reciting Qadīmī rūz and māh in their prayers on June 17, 1743, under the guidance and leadership of Mobed Dārāb Sohrābji Kumana (Meherjirana 1947, vol. 2, pp.1033-34). With time, the Parsis of the Qadīmī sect were able to get three Ātash Bahrāms consecrated in India using the indigenous Shāhānshāhī ālāt (ibid. pp.1034-35), viz., the D. N. Dādysēth Atash Bahram (1783) and the F.C. Banāji Atash Bahram (1845) in Bombay and the P.K. Vakil Atash Bahram (1823) in Surat. It is believed that the Qadīmī ālāt came into existence with the establishment of the Dādysēth Ātash Bahrām (ibid. vol. 1, p.182).
According to the Persian Rivāyats of Narimān Hoshang (1478 CE), the Iranian Zoroastrian priests had been using the old waras consecrated in the first quarter of the14th century, as the priests who had the knowledge to consecrate the waras were no more in existence (Dhabhar 1932, p.603). In the Persian Rivāyat of Kāmdīn Shāpur dated 1559 CE (Dhabhar 1932, p.619), it is noted that a new waras was prepared in Navsari by the Bhagariā priests, during the life-time of the first Dastur Meherjī Rana (c.1510-1591 CE).
Following in the footsteps of Irani Zoroastrian priests, the Qadīmī priests of India started by initially using the old waras imported from Iran at an exorbitant price of 1000 shāhīs (ibid. p.619). This practice continued until the time of the consecration of the Banāji Ātash Bahrām in 1845 under the guidance and supervision of the learned Shahanshāhī Dastur Jamshedji Edalji Jamaspasa, the head-priest of the Banaji Limji Agiary (1709 CE), the oldest fire-temple in Bombay. Dastur Jamshedji asked the Qadīmī priests to consecrate a warasyāji and then complete the consecration of the Banaji Ātash Bahrām. After two decades another warasyāji was consecrated by the Qadīmī Mobeds in Mazgaon, Bombay, at the Faramji Nusserwanji Patel Qadīmī Dar-i Mihr under the supervision of the learned Shāhānshāhī Dastur Jamaspji Minocheherji Jamaspasa. Finally, a third warasyāji was consecrated at the Dadyseth Atash Bahram under the leadership of the Qadīmī high-priest, Dastur Sohrabji Rustamji Mulla-Firoz, who objected vehemently to its consecration at the Patel Dar-i Mihr (Meherjirana 1947, vol.1, p.156, n.94).
The Last Rites of the Warasyāji
According to Zoroastrian cosmology, just as the human race has descended from the first man Gaiiehe-marǝtan (Gayōmard, the primeval man from whom the human race has descended), domestic animals that are useful to man have descended from the bull Gāvyōdād (Av. gao-aēuuō-dāta; Pahl. gāwyōdād, gāw-ēk-dād), which means ‘the primeval ox, the sole-created ox’. In the Pahlavi Bundahišn, when Ahriman, the evil spirit, killed the bull Gāwyōdād, Ahura Mazda, through his unlimited power, entrusted a part of the bull’s seed to the moon, where it was purified, and from this one seed, different species of cattle were born on earth.[20] For this reason, the moon in Avestan is described as gao-ciϑra (one who holds the seed of the bull).[21] The remaining part of the seed of Gāwyōdād, according to legend, fell onto the earth, and due to its herbivorous nature, from the various parts of its body different species of grain and useful plants sprang upon earth. In Zoroastrian theology, the carcass of cattle is not considered as evil or putrefied matter, and so burying the carcass with all due precautions is deemed to be proper. In the Persian Rivāyats of Hormazyār Frāmarz, it is explicitly stated that cattle are not regarded as nasā or dead matter when dead (Dhabhar 1932, p.257). Hence, the hair separated ritually from a living bull is not considered as ‘dead matter (Pahl. hixr)’. This practice continues to be followed by the Zoroastrian community today.
A few decades ago, the undesirable practice of performing the gēh-sārnā ceremony on the death of the Bhagarsāth warasyāji was introduced in Bombay. The appropriate manner of disposing the carcass of a warasyāji as followed by the Bhagariā priests is to dig a huge pit in an isolated place and tie a used, old but clean sudreh and kustī round the horns of the warasyāji as a symbol of the religion. To quicken the process of disintegration of the carcass, three or four bags of black salt are sprinkled around it before it is buried. In Navsari, the stronghold of Zoroastrian orthodoxy, this undesirable practice of performing the gēh-sārnā has never been done. In 1937 when the Bhagarsāth warasyāji of Bombay died, some ignorant Bhagariā priests tried to introduce the practice of performing the gēh-sārnā, but fortunately, the late Dastur Minocher Kaikhushroo JamaspAsa intervened and prevented this from happening.[22] The practice of performing the gēh-sārnā was suddenly resurrected by some Bhagarsāth priests when the warasyāji died sometime after 1937. At that time there was no High Priest in the jurisdiction in Bombay, as Dastur Minocher JamaspAsa had resigned as High Priest and there was no Bhagariā High Priest in office to guide the priests or to tell them that this was a wrong practice. In 1977 Dastur Firoze M. Kotwal (the author) became High Priest of H.B.Wadia Ātash Bahrām, and Dastur Kaikhusroo Minocher JamaspAsa was the High Priest of the Anjuman Ātash Bahrām. The Bombay warasyāji died when Dastur Kaikhusroo was a visiting lecturer in Germany, and the issue of how to deal with the corpse of the warasyāji came before Dastur Kotwal who opined that as it came under Dastur Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa’s jurisdiction, and as Dastur JamaspAsa was not present in India, therefore it should be dealt with as in the past and so some priests took the liberty of performing the gēh-sārnā. Sometime later, when another warasyāji died, Dastur Firoze Kotwal spoke to Dastur Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa and informed him that it was a wrong practice to perform the gēh-sārnā on a dead warasyāji. Although the preparations had been made, the gēh-sārnā was not done. The warasyāji was buried in consonance with the age-old practice of the religion by tying a sudreh and kustī around the horns of the warasyāji and by lining the pit with black salt. As already stated above, the erroneous practice of reciting a gēh-sārnā is neither backed by our age-old customs and traditions, nor is it supported by the scriptures.
The Zoroastrian mode of disposal of the dead is unique to the faith, and the method of disposal extends to a severed part of the body as well. According to the tenets of the Zoroastrian religion, the body of a Zoroastrian or any dismembered part of the body, such as a leg or a hand, can be consigned to the Tower of Silence, only after the gēh-sārnā ceremony is performed. It is important to note that if the gēh-sārnā of a dead warasyāji is allowed to be done, then the wrong practice of allowing the warasyāji to be consigned to the Tower of Silence could also be introduced erroneously by someone, taking false refuge under the tenets of the religion. Some of our religious rituals also require the use of the dog and the goat (the dog for barašnūm and sagdīd ceremonies and the goat for the jīwām ritual in high liturgies), and some people may without knowledge be tempted to start the practice of performing the gēh-sārnā for all such creatures used for ritual purposes. The crowing rooster is also considered by devout Zoroastrians as the messenger of Srōš Yazd who drives away the evil forces of Ahriman said to be lurking in the darkness. The rooster is seen as a precursor of the healing light bestowed on mankind by Xwaršēd and Mihr Yazds. According to Saddar Bundaheš, Ch. 83 (Dhabhar 1932, p.561), the divinity Druwāsp is the guardian of horses, cattle and roosters. On account of his Ahuric qualities, Zoroastrians consider him to be holy, and when dead, the rooster is given an honourable burial by wrapping him in an old and clean sacred garment (Av. vastra, Pahl. wastarag, PGuj. sadrō), see Meherjirana 1947, vol. 2, p.1136 with n.79. The same sort of reverence is also accorded to pet dogs especially in devout Parsi families of Zoroastrian strongholds in Gujarat.
Thus it is clear that the custom of performing the gēh-sārnā of the warasyāji does not befit the spirit of the Zoroastrian religion as it is neither supported in the scriptural texts nor the long-cherished traditions preserved by the old Parsi centres of Navsari and Udwada.[23] If there were a tradition for the gēh-sārnā ceremony to be recited on the corpse of a warasyāji, our fore-fathers would have kept a record of the deaths in the Dīsā-Pōthī[24] just as they noted the consecration and death dates of the warasyājis in the Vadī Dar-i Mihr at Navsari since Vikram Samvat 1737 to 1938, (Kutar 1929, vol.2, pp. 1134-1138).
Reflections on the Ritual of Consecrating the Warasyāji
It is worthwhile to note the merits arising from the consecration of the warasyāji. Using the waras of a consecrated warasyāji and the performance of the Nīrangdīn ritual is based on authoritative Avestan texts.
The immutable law of Asha which governs the workings of the universe gains renewed strength through the consecration of the warasyāji, and these rituals, in turn, become effective against the forces of evil.
The reinforcement of Asha (Skt. ṛta), right order, in the universe is brought about through:
- The rite of boiling the waras (nīrang ī wars puxtan) with the holy ash of the Ātash Bahrām fire which spiritually brings into the waras of the Warasyāji (the sacred bull) a divinely charged force as long as he lives.
- The ritual process of cutting and making the waras is begun by invoking the blessings of Ahura Mazda, and while performing the Paragṇā[25] ritual, Zarathushtra’s blessings are sought. In this manner, the ritual recognises and affirms Ahura Mazda as the Creator of the animal kingdom, and the ritual is performed under the guidance and protection of the divine frauuaši of the Holy Prophet Zarathushtra, who is Ahura Mazda’s chosen messenger. In this manner, the ritual establishes a link with Ahura Mazda and creates positive reinforcement for those participating in it.
- The water in the kundī (large metal container) is activated by the priest who intones the 101 names of Ahura Mazda 10 times. This is an indication that in ancient times the 1001 names of Ahura Mazda must have been in existence, and an attempt has been made to preserve this memory in high rituals such as the Nīrangdīn and the consecration of the warasyāji. This also gives us an idea of the power that lies within the sacred names of Ahura Mazda.
- During the performance of the pāw-mahal rituals, the leaves of the date-palm are wound around the barsom-rods three times with the recitation of the xšnūman of Dādār Hōrmazd. In the same manner, the ritual power generated by the kustī which is taken around the waist three times with the recitation of the Nīrang of Hōrmazd Xwadāy is very essential for the spiritual protection of a Zoroastrian. A pious Zoroastrian with the armour of the sudreh and kustī on him is a living embodiment of the Good Religion.
- The consecration of the warasyāji lays the foundation for all other high liturgies performed within the precinct of the Dar-i Mihr. Its importance within the ritual context is reflected in the consecration of the warasyāji as the xūb of panč tāy is done with the leaves of the date-palm and not with a metal-chain, as is done in other rituals. The ritual of the lesser and larger xūb serves as the pādyāb for all high liturgies.
The ritual of consecrating the warasyāji of the Bhagarsāth Anjuman of Bombay was performed from rūz Tir, māh Spandarmad AY 1352 (August 3, 1983) to rūz Rashne, māh Spandarmad (August 8, 1983) by Ervad (Dr.) Rooyintan Peshotan Peer and Ervad Eruchshah Jalejar Katrak at the Seth Hormasjee Bomanjee Wadia Ātash Bahrām. At that time Dastur Firoze M. Kotwal (author) had the opportunity to study the book on pāw-mahal rituals by Ervad Hormazd M. Pavri, as well as examine other important manuscripts written by learned scholar-priests such as Dastur Erachji Sohrabji Meherjirana on the subject. This article on the warasyāji is a result of this humble study.
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It is a matter of great rejoicing that this Festschrift is dedicated in honour of Professor Almut Hintze, who has devoted her entire life to the study and advancement of Old Iranian Literature and the noble Zoroastrian Religion. I pray to Ahura Mazda to bestow on her health (tan dorostīh) and long life (dēr zīwišnīh) to carry on her fascinating work in the field of Avestan studies for many, many years to come. Aϑa jamiiāt̠ yaϑa āfrīnāmi.
Bibliography
Anklesaria, B.T. 1956: Zand-Ākāsīh, Iranian or Greater Bundahišn. Bombay.
Bartholomae, C. 1904: Altiranisches Wörterbuch.Strassburg (repr. Berlin 1961).
Behram-Kamdin, M.K. 1931: Pāwmahalnē Lagtī Kriyāō (Qadmī Tarīqat Pramāṇē). Mumbai.
Cereti, C.G. 1991: An 18th Century Account of Parsi History the Qesse-ye Zartoštiān-e Hindustān Text, Translation and the Commentary, Napoli.
Dhabhar, B.N. 1923: Descriptive Catalogue of all Manuscripts in the First Dastur Meherji Rana Library, Navsari. Bombay.
Dhabhar, B.N. 1932: The Persian Rivayats of Hormazyar Framarz and Others. Bombay.
Giara, M.J. 1998: Global Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples. Mumbai.
Kotwal, F.M. 1982: A Guide to the Zoroastrian Religion A Nineteenth-Century Catechism with Modern Commentary. Chico, California (repr. Mumbai 2000).
Kotwal, F.M. and Boyd, J.W. 1991: A Persian Offering. The Yasna: A Zoroastrian High Liturgy. Paris.
Kotwal, F.M. and Kreyenbroek, P.G., 2003: The Hērbedestān and Nērangestān Vol. III: Nērangestān, Fragard 2. Paris (Studia Iranica, Cahier 30).
Kutar, M.N. 1929: Navsārīnī Vadī Darēmēhrmān Thaylā Nāwarōnī Fēhrēst. 2 vols. Mumbai.
Meherjirana, D.S. 1939: Nōndh anē Nuktēchīnī. Mumbai.
Meherjirana, D.S. 1947: Dasturān-Dastur Mehrjīrānā Yādgārī Granth. 2 vols. Mumbai.
Meherjirana, E.S., 1941: Pursēsh-Pāsokh. Mumbai (repr. Mumbai 2005).
Meherjirana, R.J. 1899: Bhagarsāth Vanshāvalī. Navsari.
Modi, J.J. 1933: Qisseh-i Zartūshtiān-i Hindūstān va Bayān-i Ātash Behrām-i Naosari. Bombay.
Modi, J.J. 1986: The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees. Bombay. (1st edition 1922, 2nd edition 1937, reprint 1986).
Patell, B.B., 1878: Parsee Prakash. Vol. I. Mumbai.
Pavri, H.M.E. 1938: Bājdharṇānē Lagtī Pāwmahalnī Kriyāō. Mumbai. (repr. Mumbai 1995).
Steingass, F. 1977: A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary.New Delhi.
Williams, A. 2009: The Zoroastrian Myth of Migration from Iran and Settlement in the Indian Diaspora. Text, Translation and Analysis of the 16th Century Qessa-ye Sanjãn ‘The Story of Sanjãn’. Leiden.
Abbreviations
AY Anno Yazdegerd (June 16, 632 CE)
Ar. Arabic
Guj. Gujarati
Ny. Niyāyēš
Pahl. Pahlavi
PGuj. Parsi Gujarati
Pers. Persian
Skt. Sanskrit
S.1 smaller Sīrōza
S.2 larger Sīrōza
Vd. Vīdēvdād, Vendidād
Vsp. Vīsperad
Ysn. Yasna
Yt. Yašt
End Notes
[1]This ritual seems to be a substitute for a mesh of hair used for filtering the hōm-juice in ancient times. This is referred to in Vsp.10.2 varasāi haomō-aŋharǝzānāi ‘hair-sieve for straining hōm-juice’.
[2] A question often asked by priests is whether the warasyāji should be allowed to lead a normal life and be permitted to mix with a herd of cows, specifically to encourage mating. To prevent the warasyāji from mating is an act of cruelty which goes against the laws of nature and the long-cherished customs and traditions of our ancestors; hence in Navsari the warasyāji was allowed to graze with cows during the mating season. The Vendīdād (19.21) expressly states that the bull should be ungelded (bixəδra) in order for it to lead a normal life.
[3]See Kotwal and Kreyenbroek 2003, 40.15, p.174; also, Bartholomae 1961, 1374.
[4]See Dhabhar 1932, 418; Behram-Kamdin 1931, p.36; Pavri 1995, p.207; Meherjirana 2005, p.22, no.86.
[5]See Meherjirana 2005, pp.28-29, nos.112 and 117.
[6] Modi 1933, p.34; see also Cereti 1991, p. 42, no. 195; p.98, no. 195; for Parsi arrival in India, see Williams 2009.
[7]For a detailed description of the consecration of Warasāyji, see Behram-Kamdin 1931, pp. 36-44; Pavri 1995, pp. 208-214; for a summarised version, see Modi 1986, pp. 243-245.
[8] The primary purificatory ritual, which a Zoroastrian observes, involves the washing of the exposed parts of the body such as the face and arms up to the elbows, and the feet up to the ankles. This is followed by the untying and retying of the kustī, the sacred girdle, with the recitation of a set of formulae of prayers.
[9]The braided date-leaf is also tied on the barsom while celebrating the following important Drōn ceremonies: 1) Nīrangdīn, 2) During the last four days of Nāwar, 3) Wanand Yazd, 4) Shēhēn Bāj, 5) Farōxšī (Yt.13) with Bāj-dharnā, i.e., with consecration of the Drōn service in honour of Ardā Frawaš (the Righteous Fravašis).
[10] The basic qualifying ritual power (‘amal), which a priest has to obtain before he is able to perform the high rituals of the faith.
[11] There are three levels of ritual purification in Zoroastrianism. Sāf i.e., purification of ritual vessels which are first cleansed with ash from the fire and then rinsed with well-water. The second level of purification is termed as pāk; this involves the utensils and implements which are washed three times with well-water, e.g., fuliyān, etc., and are put in the kundī (Guj., a large container of water). Once all the implements for the Yasna ceremony are placed in the kundī, it is filled to the brim with well-water. It is to be noted that the kundī is rinsed three times using well-water before the implements are put in it. The highest degree of purification is termed as pāw in which the priest draws water from the well and pours water in the kundī until it overflows. He does this three times while reciting prayers.
[12]For rituals of this order, water from the fourth drawing is used.
[13] In every fire temple where high rituals are performed, the sacred ash from the Ātash Bahrām fire is always stored in a consecrated metal box to facilitate its use during the performance of the consecration of the warasyāji and for the barašnūm ritual.
[14] The Yasna ceremony performed by 2 priests for 6 consecutive days in honour of Mīnō Nāwar is termed as Gēwrā i.e., acquiring the qualification necessary to perform major ceremonies such as nāwar, gētī-xarīd, nīrangdīn and the consecration of the uncastrated white bull (warasyāji). Modi (ibid., p.191) derives the term gēwrā from Av. rt. Garǝuu, Pers. giriftan “to acquire, take hold of”.
[15] The scribes of various manuscripts have also mentioned that in the past, 1001 names were known, but that at some point it was reduced to 101 names. In the ms. E50 of the Meherji Rana Library, Navsari, written in 1148 AY (1778 CE) by the learned Dastur Navroze Rustom Behram Darab Sanjana, it is stated on fol. 319 that there were 1001 names of Dādār Hōrmazd. The learned Dasturs had taken only 101 names from the Pahlavi texts, and the names were transcribed from Pahlavi into Pazand which we now recite. These names are in Pazand, but the 72 names of Ahura Mazda enumerated in the Hōrmazd Yašt (Yt.1) are in Avestan.
[16]See Modi 1986, p.259.
[17]Similarly, if a warasyāji dies, the waras taken earlier from the warasyāji who has died, cannot be used in rituals any more and is hence burnt.
[18]Pavri (1995, pp.195 and 213) is not correct when he states that the čāšnī exchanged by two priests at the ritual of hamkalām should contain drōn and ghee (clarified butter) only. Modi’s statement about the exchange of čāšnī, in the ritual of hamkalām, is not given in detail (ibid., p.242).
[19]The hamkalām ritual is performed during major Zoroastrian ceremonies such as the Nīrangdīn, Warasyāji, Nāwar and Gētī- Xarīd.
[20]See Anklesaria 1956, p.41, no. 14; also ibid., p.81, Ch. VI E.
[21]See Ny.3, para.5; S.1 & S.2, no.12.
[22] Navsari Prakash, dated August 29, 1937.
[23] Information from Dastur Khurshed Kekobad Dastur, the High Priest of Iranshah, Udwada.
[24] A book listing the death anniversaries of Warasyājis.
[25] The Paragṇā is the prefatory ritual, enacted before the proper Yasna, Vīsperad and Vendīdād rituals begin. It involves the ritual preparation of the ālāt-xwān or stone-table before the commencement of high liturgies.
Varasyaji
Varasyaji