Qissa-i Sanjan

The Qissa-i Sanjan (Persian: قصهٔ سنجان‎ ) (or Kisse-i Sanjan, the "Story of Sanjan") is an account of the early years of Zoroastrian settlers on the Indian subcontinent. In the absence of alternatives, the Qissa is generally accepted to be the only narrative of the events described therein, and many members of the Parsi community perceive the epic poem to be an accurate account of their ancestors.

1 The events according to the Qissa
2 Importance to the Parsis
3 See also
4 Bibliography

The account begins in Greater Khorasan, and narrates the travel of the emigrants to Gujarat, on the west coast of present-day India. The first chapter, which is the longest, ends with the establishment of a Fire Temple at Sanjan (Gujarat), and the later dispersion of their descendants. In later chapters, the Qissa narrates the success in repelling Islamic invaders, then the failure in the same, and the subsequent flight of the Zoroastrians. The account closes with a chapter on the conveyance of the "Fire of the Warharan" to Navsari.

In its conclusion, the Qissa is signed by a Parsi priest named Bahman Kaikobad (or 'Bahman Kaikobad Hamjiar Sanjana' according to Kotwal ^[5]). The date of authorship is recorded as 969 YZ (1599 CE, see Zoroastrian calendar) - several centuries after the described events are thought to have occurred. The account is in verse, in the highly verbose style common to Arabic and Persian poetry.

The Kisseh-i Sanjan, as Abraham Anquetil-Duperron transliterated the name, became available to European scholarship in 1771, when Duperron published a French translation. However, it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the poem attracted widespread attention, particularly among the Parsi-Zoroastrian priesthood. ^[3]

[edit] The events according to the Qissa

Quotations in the following section are from an English language translation by Shahpurshah Hormasji Hodivala, published in 1920. ^[1]

The first chapter of the Qissa begins with the fall of the Persian Empire, the dispersion of the people "of good faith", and the Zoroastrians' departure from Greater Khorasan. The refugees first made for a major port city near Bushire, where they stayed for 15 years. From there they sailed for Hindustan, the northern territories of the Indian subcontinent. They landed on the Island of Div (Diu), in southern Saurashtra, where they stayed for another 19 years. From Div, they sailed along the coast, weathered a severe storm at sea, and finally landed in Gujarat.

There, they approached the local king, Jádi Rana, and requested asylum. The ruler, fearing for his kingdom, asked them to explain their beliefs, and made four other stipulations for granting asylum:

they were to adopt the local language (Gujarati)
their women were to wear the garments of the local women (the Sari)
they were to cease to carry weapons
marriages were only to be performed in the evenings (as the Hindus do)

The refugees, accepting the demands, expounded on the teachings of their faith, and "when the Hindu Raja heard the oration, his mind regained perfect ease." Having been granted asylum, the emigrants established the settlement of Sanjan (Gujarat), which was soon flourishing.

Some time thereafter, the priests of the fledgling community approached the king with a request to establish a Fire Temple. Their wish was granted, and a temple was subsequently installed and consecrated. The Fire is subsequently referred to in the Qissa as the "Fire of the Warharan" or as the Iranshah.

The Qissa then glosses over the next five or seven centuries (both periods are mentioned). At the end of the first chapter, many of the descendants of the original settlers are said to have dispersed in all directions.

In the subsequent three chapters, the Qissa narrates the invasion by Islamic troops. At first, with the assistance of the Zoroastrians, the invaders are repelled. In the battle on the next day, "Fortune [...] turned its face", and the Raja was killed.

The fifth chapter narrates the fleeing of the Zoroastrians to Bahrot, taking the fire from the temple in Sanjan with them. They stayed there for twelve years, then moved to Bansdah, where a new temple was consecrated.

In the sixth and final chapter of the narrative, the account describes the conveyance of the fire to a new temple at Navsari.

[edit] Importance to the Parsis

In the absence of alternatives, the Qissa-i Sanjan is generally accepted to be the only narrative of the early years of the Zoroastrian migrants to the Indian subcontinent. Among the Parsi community, the narrative is perceived to be an accurate account of their forebearers.

Whether the Zoroastrians of the Qissa were also the first Zoroastrian refugees is not known, but in the Qissa it appears as if the Zoroastrians must have had some contact with Gujarat prior to their journey there. The city near Bushire where the Qissa's Zoroastrians are said to have lived for 15 years before setting sail, had extensive trading connections with the east. (the port is named Hormuz in the Qissa that is not the present-day city of Hormuz on Jerun/Gerun Island)

Sanjan Stambh, a pillar at Sanjan that commemorates the arrival of the Zoroastrians, states the date of settlement at 936 CE. This date is based on interpretation of the Qissa, which though extremely precise with respect to some elapsed periods, is vague or contradictory with respect to others. Consequently, another date, 716 CE, has been proposed as the year of landing. This disagreement has been the cause of "many an intense battle [...] amongst Parsis". ^[4] The sacking of Sanjan referred to in the fourth chapter probably occurred in 1465 (see Delhi Sultanate), which would put 716 CE c. 750 years before the Islamic invasion and 936 CE c. 530 years before that event. Both periods (seven centuries and five centuries) are mentioned in the Qissa.

Although the Qissa is unclear on where precisely the Zoroastrians came from, the text may be interpreted such that the emigrants originated from Sanjan (Khorasan), a settlement near the ancient city of Merv (in today's Turkmenistan). Although the Qissa states that many of the settlers took the name of 'Sanjana', the text is contradictory with respect to whether they had done so before the naming of the settlement of Sanjan (that is, they had brought the name with them), or as a response to the naming of the settlement. According to Dhalla, the settlers were simply called 'Khorasanis' by the local citizens. ^[2] Moreover, (family) names are not believed to have been common until much later. The author of the Qissa does not give himself a family name.

It is commonly supposed that the rejection of inter-faith marriages by the Parsi community is due to a stipulation for asylum. ^[6] This supposition presumably originated in a period when most members of the Parsi community did not yet know of the existence of the Qissa, or did not give it any importance. Nonetheless, even without being a formal requirement, given the rigid caste system of medieval India, it appears highly unlikely that inter-faith marriages would have been condoned. Moreover, the Qissa repeatedly mentions women and children having accompanied the initial settlers, which contradicts a related belief that only males migrated.

Scholars of Parsi history are divided over the interpretation of the final stipulation for asylum - that marriages only be performed in the evenings, as the Hindus do. Even without any inclination to infer a hidden meaning, it does raise the question why was such a minor issue was a condition for asylum.

The "Fire of Warharan" was moved from Navsari to Udvada in 1742. The present use of the expression Iranshah to refer to the oldest sacred fire of the Parsis dates to the beginning of the 20th century. ^[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

^{^} Hodivala, Shahpurshah Hormasji (1920). Studies in Parsi History. Bombay: (Privately Printed).
Hodivala's translation of the Qissa-i Sanjan is available on the web at avesta.org
^{^} Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji (1963). History of Zoroastrianism. Bombay: K.R. Cama Oriental Institute.
^{^} Boyce, Mary and Kotwal, Firoze (2006). "IRÂNSHÂH (the Âtash Bahrâm)". The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies.
^{^} Taraporevala, Sooni (2000). Zoroastrians of India (Parsis: A Photographic Journey). Bombay: Good Books.
^{^} Kotwal, Firoze (1974). "Notes and Communications". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
^{^} Judicial ruling: Sir Dinsha Manekji Petit vs. Sir Jamsetji Jijibhai, (1909) 33 ILR 509 and 11 BLR 85, Justices Dinshaw Davar and Frank Beamon