RITUAL PURITY : All Zoroastrian fire-temples and places of worship are ritually purified and consecrated places, and hence they are meant only for the Zoroastrians. Zoroastrians – both males and females, priests and laymen – have to observe certain rules of ritual purification in their daily lives. The rules of ritual purity are observed to preserve ritual purity in accordance with the principles of Asha and Khvarnah. Before entering a Fire-temple or attending a ceremony, a Zoroastrian must observe rules of purity like taking a bath, putting on proper dress, and performing the Kusti ceremony. The Zoroastrian fire-temples and places of worship are specially built with various boundary lines, known as karsha in the Avesta, kash in Pahlavi and pâvi in Parsi Gujrati. These boundary lines are furrows or channels, marked on the ground or constructed in the floor, to mark and enclose ritually purifed place for consecrated Holy Fire or for performing the ceremonies of high order. When the ritually purified place is in use, the boundary lines must not be crossed by anybody or else the ritual purity is vitiated. The consecrated Holy Fire is kept in a sanctum, in utmost ritual purity. It is kept in a specially constructed chamber, bounded by walls, and set apart by the boundary lines (pâvis). Only the priests having physical, mental, spiritual and moral qualifications are authorized to enter the sanctum. But even a priest thus authorized must possess additional special ritual qualifications at the time of entering the sanctum, like having undergone Barashnum ritual, having put on proper dress including the padân a mouthveil having offered daily prayers and performed dedicatory rites. (OUTLINES OF PARSI HISTORY, ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION & ANCIENT IRANIAN ART. A Condensed and Restructured version of OUTLINES OF PARSI HISTORY BY Dastur Dr. Hormazdyar Kayoji Mirza Condensed and Edited by Er. Dr. Ramiyar Parvez Karanjia)
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 09:49:33 +0000
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