Udvada
Encyclopedia
Udvada is a town in Gujarat, renowned for its Zoroastrian
Atash Behram
. This place of worship is the oldest still-functioning example of its kind, and has established Udvada as a pilgrimage center for Zoroastrians the world over.
, around 8 km off the national highway
, NH8. Trains ply from Mumbai to Udvada, including the Gujarat Express, the Ferozepur Janta Express and Saurashtra Express. Udvada means the 'grazing ground of camels', which it was before it became a fishing village.
The importance of Udvada in Parsi
(Indian Zoroastrian) history and religion centres around the Atash Behram (from Middle Persian
Atash Warharan for "Victorious Fire", the highest grade of ritual fire of the Zoroastrians
) housed in the fire temple there.
The Udvada Atash Behram (20.4875°N 72.8707°W) is the most sacred of the Zoroastrian fire temples in India and the oldest continuously burning fire-temple fire in the world. The Udvada Atash Behram is one of nine Atash Behrams worldwide, eight of which are in western India
(four in Mumbai
, two in Surat
, one in Navsari
, and the one in Udvada), and one of which is in Yazd
, in central Iran
.
History
Following the Muslim conquest
of most of Greater Iran
in the 7th century, Zoroastrians gradually became a marginalized community, and by about the 10th century, the formerly Zoroastrian-held territories had become largely Islamic. One group of Zoroastrians fled from Greater Khorasan
to the west coast of India in order to preserve their religious customs and beliefs. Upon landing, the refugees founded the settlement of Sanjan
, which lies about 30 km south of Udvada.
According to the same legend, on their journey the Zoroastrians had carried ash from a sacred fire (according to a latter-day embellishment of the story, they had carried a fire itself), which a priest is said to have then used for the bed of the Sanjan fire when it was consecrated. A related legend recounts that this fire was consecrated as Atash Bahram fires traditionally are, that is, out of 16 fires, including that of a funeral pyre, a shepherd's hearth, a goldsmith's hearth, a potter's kiln and from a fire caused by lightning.
Some centuries after their arrival (probably in the late 14th century), Sanjan was attacked by troops of the Delhi Sultanate
(possibly those of Muhammad bin Tughluq
) and the Parsis fled again, into caves in the nearby Barhot hills, 14 km south of Sanjan. The sacred fire went with them. Several years later it was installed in Navsari. In the 18th century, a decision was made to return the flame to Sanjan, but along the way, the priests preferred to remain in Udvada, where the fire temple was consecrated in 1742.
The first recorded use of the name in reference to the fire there appears in a 1905 work by Jivanji Modi, who made several allusions to the "Iranshah Fire" within the space of two pages. In 1920, when Shahpurshah Hodivala published his English language translation of the Qissa-i Sanjan
, he assumed that this was the original name of the fire. It had been so called because it was consecrated to be the earthly representative of Yazdegerd III
, the last Zoroastrian king of Iran, this explanation is accepted by almost all devout Parsis, and even the few skeptics among them tend to refer to the fire as the Iranshah.
In the present-day
Ceremonial anniversary celebrations are held at the Atash Behram on the day of its founding. The ceremonies in Udvada are held on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Shahenshahi (imperial) version of the Zoroastrian calendar
(which, in 2006, was on 25 April). Pilgrims from all over the world visit the temple on that day. Special ceremonies are also held on the 20th day of each month. In the Zoroastrian calendar, that day is dedicated to the divinity Verethragna (Avestan
, Middle Persian
Waharam, hence Behram), hypostasis
of victory.
According to tradition and later as a result of legal verdict, nine priestly families of Sanjan and their heirs are the sole lawful guardians of the fire and its temple. They alone have the right to enjoy its income. The position of high priest passes in turn from the head of one family to the head of another.
, a very small Zoroastrian sect based on a mystic and esoteric interpretation of religious texts.
Founded in the early 20th century, this sect found a following among the prominent Unvala family of Udvada (after whom adherents of the Ilm-e-Kshnoom are also called the 'Unvala sect'), who then attempted to establish new standards of worship at the Atash Behram. The Unvalas eventually took the caretakers of the Atash Behram to court (which led to the nine families also gaining a legal footing), and when in 1936 two priests of the Atash Behram died, the Unvalas refused to accept their nominated successors. Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
, a highly respected theologian of the time, was called upon to intervene, and the issue was settled after over 25 years of discord. Dhalla had barely returned to his home town when the Ilm-e-Kshnoom sought to establish their priest as another 'high' priest.
n and Gujarat state governments, is engaged in combating sea-driven erosion. There have also been attempts to get Udvada declared a World Heritage Site
, to protect the ancient residences and the fire temple. The typical Parsi homes here with their high ceilings, sloped roofs with ornamental skirting, and double otlas (porches) are over a century old, and considered worth preserving.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
Atash Behram
Atash Behram
An Atash Behram is the highest grade of a fire that can be placed in a fire temple. The establishment and consecration of this fire is the most elaborate than all the other grades of fire...
. This place of worship is the oldest still-functioning example of its kind, and has established Udvada as a pilgrimage center for Zoroastrians the world over.
Location
Udvada is a coastal town 200 km north of MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, around 8 km off the national highway
Indian highways
The National Highways Network of India, is a network of highways that is managed and maintained by agencies of the Government of India. These highways measured over as of 2010, including over of limited-access Expressways....
, NH8. Trains ply from Mumbai to Udvada, including the Gujarat Express, the Ferozepur Janta Express and Saurashtra Express. Udvada means the 'grazing ground of camels', which it was before it became a fishing village.
The Atash Behram
Parsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
(Indian Zoroastrian) history and religion centres around the Atash Behram (from Middle Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
Atash Warharan for "Victorious Fire", the highest grade of ritual fire of the Zoroastrians
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
) housed in the fire temple there.
The Udvada Atash Behram (20.4875°N 72.8707°W) is the most sacred of the Zoroastrian fire temples in India and the oldest continuously burning fire-temple fire in the world. The Udvada Atash Behram is one of nine Atash Behrams worldwide, eight of which are in western India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(four in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, two in Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
, one in Navsari
Navsari
Navsari is a city and municipality in the Surat Metropolitan Region and also the administrative headquarters Navsari District of Gujarat, India. Navsari is also the Twin City of Surat, and only 37 km south of Surat.-Geography:...
, and the one in Udvada), and one of which is in Yazd
Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
, in central Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
History
Following the Muslim conquest
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
of most of Greater Iran
Greater Iran
Greater Iran refers to the regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence. It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains, stretching from Iraq, the Caucasus, and Turkey in the west to the Indus River in the east...
in the 7th century, Zoroastrians gradually became a marginalized community, and by about the 10th century, the formerly Zoroastrian-held territories had become largely Islamic. One group of Zoroastrians fled from Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
to the west coast of India in order to preserve their religious customs and beliefs. Upon landing, the refugees founded the settlement of Sanjan
Sanjan (Gujarat)
Sanjan is the second railway station in Gujarat on the Western railways just inside the Gujarat-Maharashtra border...
, which lies about 30 km south of Udvada.
According to the same legend, on their journey the Zoroastrians had carried ash from a sacred fire (according to a latter-day embellishment of the story, they had carried a fire itself), which a priest is said to have then used for the bed of the Sanjan fire when it was consecrated. A related legend recounts that this fire was consecrated as Atash Bahram fires traditionally are, that is, out of 16 fires, including that of a funeral pyre, a shepherd's hearth, a goldsmith's hearth, a potter's kiln and from a fire caused by lightning.
Some centuries after their arrival (probably in the late 14th century), Sanjan was attacked by troops of the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
(possibly those of Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was daughter of the raja of Dipalpur...
) and the Parsis fled again, into caves in the nearby Barhot hills, 14 km south of Sanjan. The sacred fire went with them. Several years later it was installed in Navsari. In the 18th century, a decision was made to return the flame to Sanjan, but along the way, the priests preferred to remain in Udvada, where the fire temple was consecrated in 1742.
The first recorded use of the name in reference to the fire there appears in a 1905 work by Jivanji Modi, who made several allusions to the "Iranshah Fire" within the space of two pages. In 1920, when Shahpurshah Hodivala published his English language translation of the Qissa-i Sanjan
Qissa-i Sanjan
The Story of Sanjan is an account of the early years of Zoroastrian settlers on the Indian subcontinent...
, he assumed that this was the original name of the fire. It had been so called because it was consecrated to be the earthly representative of Yazdegerd III
Yazdgerd III
Yazdegerd III or Yazdgerd III was the twenty-ninth and last king of the Sassanid dynasty of Iran and a grandson of Khosrau II . His father was Shahryar, whose mother was Miriam, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice...
, the last Zoroastrian king of Iran, this explanation is accepted by almost all devout Parsis, and even the few skeptics among them tend to refer to the fire as the Iranshah.
In the present-day
Ceremonial anniversary celebrations are held at the Atash Behram on the day of its founding. The ceremonies in Udvada are held on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Shahenshahi (imperial) version of the Zoroastrian calendar
Zoroastrian calendar
This article treats of the reckoning of days, months and years in the calendar used by adherents of the Zoroastrian faith. Zoroastrian religious festivals are discussed elsewhere, but have a fixed relationship to Nawruz, the New Year festival, whose timing is discussed below...
(which, in 2006, was on 25 April). Pilgrims from all over the world visit the temple on that day. Special ceremonies are also held on the 20th day of each month. In the Zoroastrian calendar, that day is dedicated to the divinity Verethragna (Avestan
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
, Middle Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
Waharam, hence Behram), hypostasis
Hypostasis (linguistics)
In linguistics, a hypostasis , is a relationship between a name and a known quantity, as a cultural personification of an entity or quality...
of victory.
According to tradition and later as a result of legal verdict, nine priestly families of Sanjan and their heirs are the sole lawful guardians of the fire and its temple. They alone have the right to enjoy its income. The position of high priest passes in turn from the head of one family to the head of another.
Importance to the Ilm-e Kshnoom
Udvada is also the religious centre of the Ilm-e-KshnoomIlm-e-Kshnoom
Ilm-e-Khshnoom is a school of Zoroastrian philosophy, practiced by a very small minority of the Indian Zoroastrians , based on a mystic and esoteric, rather than literal, interpretation of religious texts.-Principal belief:At the core of the philosophy is the belief that faith facilitates a...
, a very small Zoroastrian sect based on a mystic and esoteric interpretation of religious texts.
Founded in the early 20th century, this sect found a following among the prominent Unvala family of Udvada (after whom adherents of the Ilm-e-Kshnoom are also called the 'Unvala sect'), who then attempted to establish new standards of worship at the Atash Behram. The Unvalas eventually took the caretakers of the Atash Behram to court (which led to the nine families also gaining a legal footing), and when in 1936 two priests of the Atash Behram died, the Unvalas refused to accept their nominated successors. Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla , also abbreviated M. N. Dhalla, was a Zoroastrian priest and religious scholar....
, a highly respected theologian of the time, was called upon to intervene, and the issue was settled after over 25 years of discord. Dhalla had barely returned to his home town when the Ilm-e-Kshnoom sought to establish their priest as another 'high' priest.
Zoroastrian heritage museum
Udvada also hosts a Zoroastrian heritage museum, sponsored by the Government of Gujarat.Preservation
The town, and its ambience, is under threat from the advancing sea (and consequent salinity) and commercialization. The Mumbai based Save Udvada Committee, supported by the IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n and Gujarat state governments, is engaged in combating sea-driven erosion. There have also been attempts to get Udvada declared a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, to protect the ancient residences and the fire temple. The typical Parsi homes here with their high ceilings, sloped roofs with ornamental skirting, and double otlas (porches) are over a century old, and considered worth preserving.