...survives there in isolated areas and, more prosperously, in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian Iranian (Persian) immigrants are known as Parsis, or Parsees. In India the religion is called Parsiism.
contact with Gabars
...arms. They were concentrated in Kermān and Yazd, where Zoroastrians still maintain fire temples. Many also live in Teherān. Long isolated, the Iranian Zoroastrians made contact with the Parsis, the wealthy Zoroastrians of India, in the 15th century, and exchanged messages concerning religious lore. Since the 19th century the Parsis have taken a lively interest in improving the...
founding by Zoroaster
Iranian religious reformer and founder of Zoroastrianism, or Parsiism, as it is known in India. (See Zoroastrianism; Parsi.)
home in Navsāri
Navsari is the home of the Parsis, descendants of Zoroastrians who immigrated from Persia, and contains their most-venerated fire temples. The city is a market for cotton, millet, and timber and contains various milling, weaving, metal, and leather industries. It lies on the Western Railway and major highways. Pop. (2001) city, 134,017; urban agglom., 232,411; (2011) city, 160,941; urban...
observance of Gahanbar festivals
Parsis observe the Gahanbar festivals in two stages. Four liturgical rites are first celebrated: the Āfringān, being prayers of love or praise; the Bāj, prayers honouring yazatas (angels) or fravashis (guardian spirits); the Yasna, the central Zoroastrian rite, which includes the sacrifice of the sacred liquor, haoma; and the Pavi, prayers honouring God...
The modern Zoroastrians of India, the Parsis, tend to diminish the importance of Ahriman by explaining him away as an allegory of man’s evil tendencies, thus restoring omnipotence to Ahura Mazdā.
TITLE: saint: Zoroastrianism and Parsiism
SECTION: Zoroastrianism and Parsiism
Zoroastrianism includes the veneration of Fravashis—i.e., preexistent souls that are good by nature, gods and goddesses of individual families and clans, and physical elements. According to Zoroastrian belief, humans are caught up in a great cosmic struggle between the forces of good, led by Ahura Mazdā (“Wise Lord”), and the forces of evil, led by Angra Mainyu, or...