Post # 148
Qissa-e-Sanjan : The tale of Sanjan
Historians say that the below event didnot happen exactly like this. But it has become a part of the lore. And like journalists say, why let facts interfere with a good story?!
In 698 CE, a band of foreigners, from West Asia, arrived in Diu, on the West coast of India, and sought asylum from the Hindu king of the land - Jadi Rana, citing religious prosecution in their homeland.
The Hindu king was known to be wise and fair. But he was reluctant. He gave the foreigners a vessel full of milk, indicating that his kingdom was already full of people.
The leader of the band took some sugar, mixed it in the milk and replied to the king that they would mix with the society like sugar in milk and sweeten the society. Jadi Rana was impressed with the wisdom of their reply and granted them asylum.
Historians point out that the milk-and-sugar incident probably did not happen.
But these people did come from far-off lands, did seek asylum, were granted asylum, with some conditions that they complied with, integrated into the land and its customs, bend their heads, worked hard, never complained, practiced their faith, gave back to the land that gave them refuge in multi-fold, and today, are regarded as one of the most respected minorities in the country.
These people who landed on the shores of India 1300 years ago were the Parsis. Therein lies an amazing tale.
To understand why the Parsis came to India, it will do us some good to understand what West Asia looked like in the early to mid 7th century.
What are today Iran and Iraq were called Persia and were a part of the Sasanian Empire. The official religion of people in this region was Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest contiguous religions of the world, believed to have been founded in the second millennium BCE. Its spiritual founder was Zarathushtra and he extolled Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), as its supreme being.
What are today modern Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt were a part of the Byzantine Empire. The official religion of this land was Christianity. We all know about it, or at least, we think we do.
What are Saudi Arabia and the Emirates today were the Rashidun Caliphate. In 610 CE, Prophet Muhammad went to a cave in the hills near Mecca, God spoke to him, he became a messenger, and a new religion, Islam, was born, which spread like wild fire and created the Rashidun Caliphate.
The Rashidun Caliphate, the first Caliphate of Islam, emboldened by its success in uniting the Arabian peninsula under one Caliphate, one ruler and one God, expanded outwards and conquered the giants of the old world - the Byzantine Empire and the Persian Empire, also called the Sassanid Empire. Mass scale religious persecution for conversion to Islam followed.
The Zoroastrians of Persia first fled to Khorasan (Northern Iran), where they regrouped to take back Persia from the Arabs, and when that effort failed and future prospects seemed futile, they fled to the island of Hormuz and from there to India. Thats how they landed on the shores of the wise king, Jadi Rana. And since they had come from Persia, they were called Parsis.
Jadi Rana granted them permission to stay, subject to a few conditions:
1) Parsis were to adopt the local language.
2) Parsis women were to wear the attire of local women - Saris.
3) Parsis were prohibited from wearing armor or carrying weapons.
4) Parsis were to conduct their marriages in the night like their Hindu neighbours.
The Parsis readily accepted these conditions and to further allay the Hindus, they prepared 'The 16 Shlocks' (Shlokas) to explain how their religion had parallels with the locals'.
1) We are worshippers of Ahura Mazda (Supreme Being) and the sun and five elements - sun, moon, earth, water and fire.
2) We observe silence while bathing, praying, making offerings to fire and eating.
3) We use incense, perfumes, and flowers in our religious ceremonies.
4) We are worshippers of the cow.
5) We wear the sacred garment - the sudra or shirt, the kusti for the loins, and the cap of two folds.
6) We rejoice in songs and instruments of music on the occasion of marriages.
7) We ornament and perfume our wives.
8) We are liberal in our charities, especially in excavating tanks and wells.
9) We extend our sympathies towards males and females.
10) We practice ablutions with gaumutra, one of the products of the cow.
11) We wear the sacred girdle when praying and eating.
12) We feed the sacred flame with incense.
13) We practice devotion five times a day.
14) We are careful observers of conjugal fidelity and purity.
15) We perform annual religious ceremonies on behalf of our ancestors.
16) We place great restrictions on women during and after their confinements.
They converted the waste lands of a nearby place called Sanjan to a 'Garden of Heaven' and by 721 CE, about a couple of decades after they landed, they build their first Fire Temple in Sanjan and and offered prayers to their Lord, as free people, in a free land, hopeful of the future.
A pillar exists in the town of Sanjan today, known as the Sanjan Stambh, which reminds the Parsis of their story and their ties to the land.
Over the years, Parsis migrated to Khambay, Ankleswar, Variav, Vankaner, Surat, Thana and Chaul in the West and to Rohilkhand, Malwa and Tughlakpur in the North. Peace and prosperity reigned, till Islamic conquerors came to India too. Sanjan was destroyed and they had to move base to Navsari, a few kilometers away. Parsis would finally settle down at Navsari and the town would become the cultural and religious center for Parsis.
This story of Sanjan was passed on by oral tradition until it was written by Bahman Kaikobad, a Parsi priest of Navsari in 1600. It was called Qissa-e-Sanjan, or the Legend of Sanjan.
The Qissa-e-Sanjan is not only the story of the Parsis in India, it is the story told by Parsis themselves. This is how they see themselves. It is a part of their identity. Every Parsi is told this story when they are children, and they know this story better than they know their scriptures.
Over generations, Parsis have lived their lives according to the promise they made to the Hindu King at Sanjan, like sugar in milk, sweetening the society, through personal accomplishments and through philanthropy.
Here is a list of just a few notable Parsis who made a difference to India.