The Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Singapore
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The Parsi Zoroastrian Association of Singapore
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Over the years, these great fires, as well as others were moved to various places or co-joined with one another and it is impossible to trace their whereabouts through the centuries. Most of the fire-temples were destroyed through successive conquests of Iran by Arabs, Turks and Mongols. More than a hundred years afer the defeat of the last Sassanian King, Yazdagird III, by the
Arabs, a group of Zoroastrians from the Iranian province of Khorasan (ancient Parthia) decided
to leave Iran because of religious persecution. They made their way south, to the port of
Hormuzd on the Persian Gulf, where eventually they secured a ship to take them overseas. Within a hundred years of their arrival in India, the Parsees fulfilled their promise and consecrated a fire temple in Sanjan in honor of Behram Yazata. Contrary to popular belief, no consecrated fire has ever been brought from Iran, only the ash, alat and nirang were brought to maintain ritual continuity.
This page has been taken from
www3.sympatico.ca/zoroastrian.
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Send mail to
secretary@pza.org.sg with
questions or comments about this web site.
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Zoroastrian fire temples were initially built during the early Achaemenian
period. By the end of that dynasty the three types of fires, Atash Behram, Atash Adaran and Atash
Dadgah, had a recognized place in Zoroastrian society. During the Parthian period 248 BCE to
224 CE the three great fires of Zoroastrianism, Adur Farnbag, Adur Gushnasp and Adur Burzen
Mihr, were installed.
They
sailed from Iran and landed on an island known today as Diu, near the west coast of India. They
lived on that Island for 19 years, after which, they set sail once again to reach mainland India. At
sea, they got caught in a fierce storm and they prayed for divine help. They promised to build an Atash Behram if Behram, the Yazata of Victory, saved them from the ferocious storm. Their wish
came true and they landed safely in Gujarat, the west coast province of India. The Hindu King Jadav Rana of that time, 936 CE, granted them refuge in his kingdom. He gave them fertile land
to live on and the Zoroastrian pilgrims called their new abode Sanjan, in memory of the place they
originally came from in north-west Khorasan. These Zoroastrian immigrants came to be known
as the Parsees.
