Les Parsis Part 1

Les Parsis.

by D. Menant.

INTRODUCTION

A special interest attaches to this translation into English of D. Menant's monograph ent.i.tled "Les Parsis," arising from the circ.u.mstance that it is, in great part, the work of a Parsi lady, the late Miss Ratanbai Ardeshir Vakil.

I have still a vivid recollection of the morning in the beginning of the year 1886 on which Mr. Ardeshir F. Vakil, senior partner in one of the leading firms of solicitors in Bombay, brought his two daughters Meherbai and Ratanbai to the Wilson College to begin their career as students of the Bombay University. Although for many years that University had prefaced its Regulations with the sentence--"In the following regulations the p.r.o.noun 'he' and its derivatives are used to denote either s.e.x," and had thus opened its doors wide to the women of India, only one lady student had been enrolled as undergraduate in Arts before these two sisters entered upon their College career. The experiment which was then made awakened some anxieties. Would it be possible for Indian ladies to study in a mixed College cla.s.s? How would the men be likely to conduct themselves in the new situation?--these were questions which naturally presented themselves. The result of the experiment disappointed from the beginning all such fears. From the first day the presence of these ladies elevated the tone and discipline of the College cla.s.s in a manner most creditable to the ladies and to the men. The success of this experiment paved the way for the admission during subsequent years of an increasing number of lady students to the privileges of a University education, who are under no small obligation to the courage and character displayed by these two sister pioneers. They both came to the University under the impulse of a real love of learning, and their success in the pursuit of it was a.s.sured from the beginning.

In this prefatory note I confine myself to the career of the younger sister. The elder, after her graduation as Bachelor of Arts in Bombay, entered upon a course of medical study which led her ultimately to London and Glasgow. From the Glasgow University she received the degrees of M.B., C.M., and is now exercising her profession in her native city.

The younger sister, Ratanbai, never left home. The strength of her attachment to her home in Bombay was quite remarkable. She found little enjoyment even in those temporary absences from Bombay during the hot season vacation which prove so attractive to many. Her life moved in two spheres--the College and her home, and these two sufficed.

Born in December, 1869, she was a girl of sixteen when she entered upon her studies for her degree. She pa.s.sed through the ordinary curriculum of study, which included English and French Literature, Mathematics, Elementary Science, History, and Logic. The subjects in which she was specially interested were English and French Literature. French was recognised by the University as one of the languages which might be studied in the course for the degree of Bachelor of Arts when she entered upon her studies, and she was one of the first to select this language. She had as her instructor the late Signor Pedraza, a gentleman whose name will always be a.s.sociated with the history of the progress of French studies in Western India. Under his competent guidance she acquired a great love for French literature, and found in this side of her studies much mental enjoyment. In 1890 she pa.s.sed her examination for the degree with honours, and was immediately thereafter elected to a Fellowship in the College. This also was a new and interesting experiment, amply justified by its results.

As a Dakshina Fellow she taught the French cla.s.ses in the College, and had as her pupils not only young ladies but also young men. When the period of her fellowship expired she continued her connection with the College and remained in charge of the French cla.s.ses, performing a highly-valued service on the merely nominal salary of a Fellow of an Indian College. She maintained her connection with the College simply from love to the College and the work. During her College career both she and her sister had given evidence of their unselfishness by declining, on more than one occasion, scholarships to which their position in the University examinations would have ent.i.tled them, in order that poorer students less high in the lists might have the benefit of the aid and rewards which they were willing to forego. Ratanbai showed the same spirit of generosity during all the years of her connection with the College, and every student movement that needed financial aid could always reckon on her liberal help. In the truest sense her work in the Wilson College was a labour of love.

She continued this work up to the time of that last sad illness which ended so rapidly in her lamented death. So quickly did she succ.u.mb that I knew of her serious illness only a few hours before she pa.s.sed away. I shall not readily forget the grief of her home when the shadow of death was falling upon it, nor the gloom which entered when she pa.s.sed out of it. It was indeed as if all its light and joy had perished. One could see how the education and culture of women, instead of creating a cleft in the life of the family, as is so often erroneously imagined by those who oppose the cause of female education in India, proves a means of strengthening its unity and elevating its whole character.

In this respect Ratanbai was exercising an influence greater than she knew on the prospects of education amongst her countrywomen, by disarming all such suspicions and by proving in her own person the essential compatibility of the higher culture with the best domestic virtues. She never felt tempted by her love of books to neglect her duties as a daughter and a sister in the home, or, if she did, she overcame the temptation completely.

Her influence on College students was of the same quiet, un.o.btrusive character, and, for that reason, all the more real. When she died, the students of the College felt themselves bereaved of a true friend. A spontaneous movement on their part to found a memorial of her in the College awakened a general response, and the Ratanbai Collection of French Works placed in the College Library was the result.

Through the efforts of friends outside the College who admired her character and attainments, a scholarship fund was raised in her memory, and the College awards every year scholarships to women students on this foundation.

During a brief career she was enabled to ill.u.s.trate by a singularly modest and una.s.suming life the power and the lasting influence of unselfish service. The truest mark of her unselfishness was her own unconsciousness of it; by look and manner she seemed continually to deprecate all commendation or praise. Unselfish devotion to duty in the two spheres of life to which she belonged, her home and her College, was the outstanding feature of the brief but happy career which closed so suddenly when Ratanbai pa.s.sed away in 1895, at the early age of twenty-six; and because of this her memory remains.

The unfinished ma.n.u.script now completed and published will be welcomed by many who knew and esteemed the writer, as well as by all in whom the perusal of this volume awakens an interest in the ancient race to which she belonged.

D. Mackichan.

Wilson College, Bombay,

May, 1902.

THE PARSIS

CHAPTER I

THE EXODUS OF THE PARSIS

The Parsis are the descendants of the ancient Persians, whose fame has survived in the annals of the world. Reduced henceforth to perhaps the most restricted minority amongst all the nations of the globe, they are found dispersed all over the Presidency of Bombay, and in some districts of modern Persia, in Yezd and in Kirman, where they have been vegetating for centuries. The Bible, [1] the cla.s.sical historians, [2] national traditions, [3] and epigraphical doc.u.ments recently brought to light by European savants [4] give us some information concerning their history.

Fars represents in our days the little province of Parsua, which has given its name to one of the greatest civilisations of antiquity. It is bounded on the west by Susiana, on the north and on the east by the Deserts of Khavir and Kirman, with a coast-line along the Persian Gulf between Bushire and Bunder Abbas. In ancient times the inhabitants, divided into tribes, led a simple, rustic life, superior in all respects to their neighbours the Medes, already enervated by civilisation. Between the ages of five and twenty, says Herodotus, the young Persians are taught three things: to mount the horse, to stretch the bow, and to speak the truth (Her., Clio, cx.x.xi.). It was amongst them, and amongst the Bactrians, that the principles of the Zoroastrian religion had been maintained in all their purity.

With Cyrus, the descendant of Achaemenes, the real history of Persia begins. He founded the dynasty of the Achaemenides, which lasted for two centuries, and attained by its conquests a degree of splendour of which we find unmistakable traces everywhere. It was at Arbela [5]

(331) that Alexander overthrew Darius, the last prince of this dynasty, and, on his death, Persia was numbered amongst the countries that had pa.s.sed under the subjection of the Seleucidae. In 225 B.C., Arsace, of the province of Parthia, revolted against Antiochus Theos, and laid the foundations of a new empire. The dynasty of the Arsacides reigned until a Persian prince of somewhat inferior birth, Ardeshir, founded in his turn a national dynasty, viz., that of the Sa.s.sanides (226 A.D.). The Romans were its constant enemies. However, the real danger revealed itself only with the advent of the Arabs, who, approaching nearer and nearer, had already conquered several provinces when King Yezdezard made preparations for resistance.

The first invasion took place under Khalif Omar (633). [6] Khalud Ben Walid at the head of ten thousand men, and Mosanna at the head of eight thousand, had marched against Hormuz, the Persian Governor of Irak, and had vanquished him. After this victory Khalud had gone forward and conquered Irak; but he was defeated at the battle of Marwaha (634). Four thousand Mussulmans were killed, and two thousand returned to Medina. Unfortunately the Persian general Behman did not follow up this advantage. The country was at this time divided into two factions, one under Rustam, the generalissimo of the Persian Empire, the other under Prince Firoz. Behman, instead of securing the independence of his country, hastened to support Rustam against Firoz. The Arabs, emboldened by their rapid successes, established their camp between Kadesia [7] and Koufah, where by the Caliph's order hordes of Nomads came to reinforce their troops. The struggle lasted for three days and three nights; the Persian army was entirely destroyed, and the royal standard fell into the hands of the Arabs. [8] Yezdezard, informed of this misfortune, escaped to Holwan. Sa'd, having taken possession of Madain, pursued the fugitive monarch, who withdrew to Rei.

In the twentieth year of the Hejira, Omar recalled Sa'd, and Yezdezard took this opportunity to gather together a hundred and fifty thousand men, all the contingents having been drawn from the province of Khora.s.san and from the environs of Rei and Hamadan. Firouzan was appointed commander. The Caliph, hearing of the preparations of the Persian king, sent in his turn reinforcements, and placed at their head his general No'man, with the strictest orders to destroy the impious religion of the Fire-Worshippers. It was at Nehawend [9]

that, after a delay of two months, the shock of arms decided the fate of Iran. Thirty thousand Persians fell on the battlefield, and eighty thousand were drowned in the moats surrounding the camp. Firouzan was pursued into the mountains and killed by a detachment of Arabs. [10]

From that time Persia pa.s.sed into the hands of the Caliphs. Yezdezard escaped at first to Seistan and then to Merv. The governor of this town offered to deliver up the fugitive prince to the Khan of Turkestan. The Turks entered the town in spite of the resistance of the inhabitants, and the king, taking advantage of the confusion, succeeded in hiding himself in a neighbouring mill. The miller at first gave protection to the king; but urged by a desire to get possession of his arms and his clothes, he, like a coward, killed the king. The irate people ma.s.sacred the a.s.sa.s.sin, and the body of Yezdezard, son of Sheheriar, the last sovereign of the Sa.s.sanian dynasty, was sent to Istakhr, there to be deposited in the tomb of his ancestors (A.D. 650).

The conquest of Persia was accomplished with surprising rapidity. Shortly after the death of the king, Islamism was imposed upon all; but certain amongst the Mazdiens offered resistance, and even succeeded in remaining in their fatherland; others, unwilling to accept the law of the Koran, abandoned their hearths, and went and dwelt in the mountainous districts of Khora.s.san, [11] where, for a hundred years, they were enabled to live and practise their religion without being disturbed. They were, however, obliged to quit this asylum and to take refuge in large numbers in the little island of Hormuz, [12] at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. Here they made but a short sojourn, and finally decided to seek the protection of the Hindoos. They procured vessels and embarked with their wives and children.

The relations between Persia and India had been rather frequent, and it was precisely their former intercourse, rendered closer a few centuries before the Arab invasion, that made this migration possible. This we can see from an interesting resume given in the Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, p. 247, and which we reproduce here:--

"In legendary times some religious connection had existed between the great prophet Zoroaster, who flourished about 1000 B.C. (see Haug, Essays, 299), and the Brahman Tchengreghatchah, who was sent back to convert his compatriots. (See also in Firdusi the story of Prince Isphandiar, son of Gustasp, who was such a fervent disciple of Zoroaster that he persuaded the Emperor of India to adopt the worship of fire,--Elliot, History, v. 568). The Hindoo tradition of the introduction of fire-worshipping priests from Persia into Dwarka in Kathyawar is probably of a much later date (Reinaud, Memoire sur l'Inde, 391-397). Another link, and this time of an entirely political nature, is discovered in the mythical conquests of Northern India, which, according to Persian writers, must have followed from the year 1729 B.C. (Troyer, Rajatarangini, ii. 441). In historical times the Punjaub formed part of the Persian dominions since its conquest by Darius Hystaspes (510 B.C.) down to the end of the dynasty of the Achaemenides (350 B.C.). (Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchies, iv. 433.)

"Towards the commencement of the Christian era, as is seen from the fire altars on their coins, the Kanerkis or the Scythians of India, the rulers of the Punjaub, seem to have adopted the religion of the Magi (La.s.sen, in J. B. A. S. ix. 456; Prinsep, Note on Historic Researches from Bactrian Coins, 106). As far as Southern India is concerned, the mention of Brahmani Magi in Ptolemy (150) seems to indicate some relation with Persia, but the Kanarese word mag or 'son' gives a sufficient explanation.

"Closer connection between India and Persia dates from the restoration of the Persian power under the Sa.s.sanide dynasty (226-650 A.D.). In the fifth century the visit of the Persian prince Behram (436), who had come, doubtless, to implore aid against the White Huns (Wilson, Ariana Antiqua, 383), his marriage with a Hindoo princess, and, according to indigenous accounts, his founding the dynasty of the Ghardabin kings, made this intimacy closer (Wilford, As. Res. ix. 219; Masoudi, Prairies d'or, ii. 191; Reinaud, Memoire sur l'Inde, 112; Elliot, Hist. ii. 159). Later on Noshirwan the Just (531-579) and his grandson Parviz (591-628) allied themselves, by treaties and by the exchange of rich presents, to the rulers of India and Sindh (Masoudi, Prairies d'or, ii. 201). As to these treaties, it is interesting to notice that the subject of one of the paintings in the Caves of Ajanta is believed to represent the emba.s.sy of Noshirwan to Pulikesi, king of Badami, in the country south of that of the Mahrattas, whilst another is supposed to be a copy made after the portraits of Parviz and the beautiful Shirin (Fergusson, in Burgess' Ajanta Notes, 92). According to certain narratives, a body of Persians landed, at the commencement of the seventh century, in Western India, and it is supposed that to one of these chiefs, regarded by Wilford as a son of Khosroo Parvis, is to be traced the origin of the Udeipore dynasty (Gladwin, Ain-i-Akbari, ii. 81; Dr. Hunter, As. Res. vi. 8; Wilford, As. Res. ix. 233; Prinsep, Jour. Ben. As. Soc. iv. 684). Wilford considered the Konkanasth Brahmins as belonging to the same race; but, although their origin is doubtful, the Konkanasths had settled in India long before the Parsis. Moreover, India and Persia had been connected by commercial treaties. Cosmas Indicopleustes (545) found some Persians amongst the princ.i.p.al traders settled along the coasts of the Indian Ocean (Migne, Patrologiae Cursus, lx.x.xviii. 446; Yule, Cathay, 1, clxxvii.-clxxix.), and his a.s.sertion as to the existence of a Persian bishop at the head of the Christian communities of Kalyan (Yule, Cathay, 1, clxxi.), discloses close relations between Thana and the Persian Gulf. Shortly after the time of Cosmas, the empire of the seas pa.s.sed from the Romans to the Persians, and the fleets of India and China visited the Persian Gulf (Reinaud, Aboulfeda, 1-11, ccclx.x.xiii.-iv.). It was this connection between Western India and Persia which urged, in 638 (H. 16) Caliph Omar (634-643) to found the city of Bussorah, partly for the needs of commerce and partly to prevent the Indian princes from coming to the help of the Persians (Troyer, Rajatarangini, ii. 449; Chronique de Tabari, iii. 401), and, in the same year (638-639), prompted him to send a fleet to ravage the coasts of Thana (Elliot, Hist. i. 415). Tabari (838-921) and Masoudi (900-950) both prove that the district round Bussorah and the country under the subjection of the King of Oman were regarded by the Arabs as forming part of India (Chronique de Tabari, iii. 401; Prairies d'or, iv. 225). In the seventh century it has been noticed that several Indians had settled in the princ.i.p.al cities of Persia, where they enjoyed the free exercise of their religion (Reinaud, Aboulfeda, 1-11, ccclx.x.xiv.). It should also be noticed that from the sixth century, when the Persians commenced taking a leading part in the commerce and trade of the East, they visited not only India, but China also (Reinaud, Aboulfeda, 1-11, ccclx.x.xiii.). Towards the period of their arrival in India, the Parsis were settled in China as missionaries, merchants, or refugees. Anquetil du Perron (Zend-Avesta, 1, cccx.x.xvi.) speaks of Persians going to China, in the seventh century, with a son of Yezdezard. According to Wilford (As. Res. ix. 235), another band of emigrants joined them in 750, towards the beginning of the reign of the Abba.s.sides. In 758 the Arabs and the Persians were so strong in Canton that they stirred up several riots and plundered the town (Reinaud, Aboulfeda, 1-11, ccclx.x.xv.). In 846 there is a mention made of Muhapas or Mobeds in Canton (Yule, Cathay, 1, xcvi.), and sixty years later Masoudi affirms that there were many fire-temples in China (Prairies d'or, iv. 86)."

It is scarcely probable that there could have been only one migration of the Persians. There must have been many such, at different periods, according as the spirit of persecution was more or less strong amongst the conquerors. The traditions concerning this subject are vague. We are in absolute ignorance as to the mode of their departure, and the number of those who, in despair, had to quit the Persian Gulf. The only information that we can get at concerning this subject is that contained in a book ent.i.tled Kissah-i-Sanjan, [13] written towards the year 1600 by a Mazdien priest called Behram Kaikobad Sanjana, who dwelt in Naosari. According to this author, Diu, [14] a small town on the Gulf of Cambay to the south of the Kathyawar coast, was the first port where the refugees landed. Here they dwelt for nearly twenty years, at the end of which they sought for another residence. There is a mysterious pa.s.sage in the Kissah-i-Sanjan upon this second immigration, but it scarcely explains it. "An old Dastoor (high-priest) who had applied himself to the science of predicting from the stars, declared that they should leave this place and seek another residence. All rejoiced on hearing these words, and immediately set sail for Gujerat." Scarcely had they left the coast of Diu when a storm burst upon them, and the Persians believed themselves hopelessly lost. They then implored the aid of Him for whom they had abandoned all, promising to light the sacred fire as soon as they should have touched the sh.o.r.es of India.

He heard the prayer of his faithful children. The tempest fell, and they were able to land at Sanjan, [15] twenty-five miles south of Damman. [16] The territory of Sanjan was, at that time, subject to the sage Jadi Rana, [17] to whom the Persians sent a Dastoor, with presents, to obtain permission to settle in his country, and to inquire what conditions would be imposed upon them. The Dastoor, approaching the Rana, invoked blessings upon him, and after having explained to him the reasons that had determined the fugitives to quit their fatherland, he narrated their misfortunes, and asked for his countrymen authoritative permission to settle in Sanjan. The prince, it is said, struck by the warlike and distinguished appearance of these foreigners, at first conceived some fear, and desired to know something of their usages and customs. During their sojourn at Diu the Persians had learnt sufficiently well the spirit and character of the Hindoos, to answer his questions in a satisfactory manner. The most learned amongst them drew up sixteen Slokas or distichs, in which they summarised the duties enjoined by their religion [18]:--

1. We are worshippers of Ahura Mazda (the Supreme Being), of the sun and of the five elements.

2. We observe silence during bath, at prayers, while making offerings to the fire, and when eating.

3. We use incense, perfumes and flowers in our religious ceremonies.

4. We honour the cow.

5. We wear the sacred garment, the Sudra or the shirt, the Kusti or thread for the waist, and the twofold cap.

6. We rejoice ourselves with songs and musical instruments on marriage occasions.

7. We permit our women to wear ornaments and use perfumes.

8. We are enjoined to be liberal in our charities and especially in excavating tanks and wells.

9. We are enjoined to extend our sympathies to all beings, male or female.

10. We practise ablutions with gaomutra, one of the products of the cow.

11. We wear the sacred thread when praying and eating.