PREFACE.

era.

The ancestors of the Pársís of Western India, it is well known, were a portion of the followers of Zoroaster, who fled from their homes in Persia, on its invasion by the Musalmán Khálifs, in the middle of the seventh century of the Christian The history of their arrival in India, as preserved in their own documents, is meagre, obscure, and unsatisfactory. According to the accounts which are most worthy of credit,* it appears that they retreated, in the first instance, to the mountains of Khorásán, where they continued for a hundred years; that they afterwards proceeded to Hormazd, or Ormus, where they remained fifteen years, during which they prepared several vessels intended for facilitating their farther emigration; that after finally leaving the shores of their native country, they first landed in Diva, or Dieu, a small island to the south-west of the peninsula of Gujarát, where they were contented to rest for nineteen years, during which they acquired a knowledge of the Hindú languages and handicrafts; and that, on the expiry of that time, they removed to Sanján, at the southern extremity of the Gujarat province.

As the Pársís approached Sanján, a great storm is said to have arisen, which inspired the crews of their vessels with the greatest terror, and led them to present their supplications to some of the principal objects of their religious worship. They addressed themselves, in particular, to the Izad Behrám, and vowed, that if they escaped destruction, they would hold him in special remembrance, guard his sacred fire, and honour the days devoted to his service. They were permitted to reach the creek in safety; and some of their principal men, lost no

Of these, the most important is the Kisse-Sanján.

time in entering on negociations with Jádé (Jayadeva ?) Ráná, the prince of the place, as to the terms of their landing, and residing within his territories. Four of their Mobeds were introduced into the royal presence; and they declared that they were exiles from Persia on account of their religion. When they were interrogated on the principles of their faith, they requested a few days for deliberation; and on their expiry, they came forward with sixteen shlokas, or distichs, composed in a corrupt Sanskrit, and which they repeated, as explanatory of their doctrines and practices.

A copy of these shlokas, in the original language, is now before me. They represent " the fair, the fearless, the valiant, and the athletic Pársís," as worshippers of the Sun, and five elements, and of Hormazd the chief of the angels ;* as accustomed to observe silence in seven situations, viz. bathing, contemplating the divinity, making offerings to fire, eating victuals, and performing other functions of nature; as using incense, perfumes, and flowers in their religious services; as worshippers of the cow; as adorning themselves with sacred garments; as rejoicing in the song, and instruments of music, on the occasion of their marriages; as ornamenting and perfuming their wives; as liberal in their charities, and particularly in excavating tanks and wells; as having, women as well as men, the common sympathies of humanity; as practising ablutions with gomútra, one of the products of the cow; and as wearing the kustí, or sacred girdle, when praying, and eating; as feeding the sacred flame with odoriferous wood; as practising devotion, five times a-day; as scrupulous observers of conjugal fidelity, and purity; as regardful of annual religious ceremonies in behalf of their ancestors; as placing great restraints on their women after their confinement; and as forming a high estimate of the benefits of their religious observances. It is remarkable that the shlokas make no reference to the religious books of the Pársís, and the peculiar custom of exposing the dead in their dokhmahs, or towers of silence," to be devoured by vultures, or reduced to corruption by the influence of the atmosphere. Their allusion to tanks and wells, and general

* Chief of the Suras, in Sanskrit.

+ See note,p. 48 of this Sermon.

charity, and to some Hindû rites, seems to intimate an origin much later than the arrival of the Zoroastrians in Gujarát.

Jádé Ráná, on hearing the expositions of the Mobeds, gave permission to the Pársís to settle in his territories, on the conditions that they should cease to wear armour; agree to use the language of the country in the common affairs of life; modify the dress of their women, to suit the notions of the Hindús; and celebrate their marriages at night, according to the Hindú custom. They multiplied, and became powerful, under the favour which they received from him, and his successors. Mindful of the vow which they had made in danger, they embraced an early opportunity of establishing in royal dignity, the fire of Behrám, to which they attributed their safety and success.

The settlement of the Pársís at Sanján, is said to have remained in a consolidated state for about three hundred years, at the expiry of which it sent forth some colonists to Khambháyat, Baroch, Ukaleshwar, Variáo, Nausárí, and other places to the northward. Its history is a complete blank, from this date, till the attempt made against the part of the country in which it is situated by Sultan Máhmud Begadá, about the year 1507, when it greatly aided the Hindú prince in his defence, and consequently suffered much from the troops of the Muhammadan. At this time, the sacred fire was carried into the jungles of Wásandá, and when the danger was past, it was removed to Nausári, at the expence of two opulent Zoroastrians.

The Pársís in Western India now amount to about 50,000 souls. Of these, according to a census made about five years ago, 20,184 are resident in Bombay. In the collectorate of the Northern Konkan, there are 1451.* There are about 200 in Daman. About fifteen years ago, 10,507 dwelt in the town of Surat; but the number there is now understood to be very considerably reduced. Most of the remainder, are to be found in the northern, and southern parts of the Surat collectorate, and particularly in Baroch,† and its neighbourhood, and Balsár

* Statement furnished to the author, by Mr. D. Davidson, C. S. March, 1839. There is only one family now resident in Sanján.

+ The Pársí population of Baroch, amounted, in 1834, to 2063, according to a table presented to me by Mr. Kirkland.

and Nausárí. There are some in the Ahmadábád collectorate, and a few families at most of the different military stations, both in the company's territories in the Bombay Presidency, and in those of the native princes. A few adventurers are more widely scattered. Though not a numerous body, the Pársís have great influence wherever they reside. In Bombay, many of them are merchants, bankers, ship-builders, brokers, shop-keepers, contractors, and mechanics, whose connexions are very extensive. In the districts, they principally devote themselves to agriculture, and the drawing of palm-wine.

The authoritative foundation of the Pársí faith is the Vendidád. It consists of a dialogue in the Zand language, said to have been conducted between Zarthosht, or Zoroaster, and the god Hormazd, and to form the twentieth nosk, the only part which remains, of the Zand-Avasta. Along with the principal liturgical works which accord with it, it was translated into French by Anquetil du Perron, and published by him at Paris, in 1771. Several references are made to it in the following sermon; and its demerits, in a religious point of view, I have discussed in a separate pamphlet.*

The most important of the Pársí liturgical works is the Izashné. It is divided into seventy-two Hás, which are principally occupied with the simple adoration and recognition of the different objects of worship, addressed by the followers of Zoroaster. It forms the subject of a most elaborate and learned commentary, of which two volumes have appeared,† by M. Eugène Burnouf, the distinguished professor of Sanskrit in the university of Paris.

The Visparad, which is recited along with the Izashné, is not dissimilar to it in character. It is divided into twentythree Kardas. The Iashts, Neάeshes, Patets and Sirozés, are the other devotional works, which exist in the Zand language. The two former, with a few additional occasional prayers, compose the volume entitled the Khurdah-Avastá, which is in common use among the Pársí laymen.‡ The most celebrated

*Lecture on the Vendidád Sádé of the Pársis.

+ Commentaire sur Yaçna, Paris, 1833, &c.

The laymen are denominated Bedin. The priests are divided into three classes, the Dasturs, or expositors of the law, the Mobeds, who read