ĀٳĀ, a sacred ablution requiring washing by water, a necessary prelude to the basic Zoroastrian purificatory ritual. , a Pahlavi word meaning “ritually clean,” is now primarily used in the sense of a ceremonial ablution.The word can be derived from Avesta - “water” with adverbial prefix paiti- “against” (AirWb, cols. 325, 822), meaning “to pour water on.”In New Persian, the word is used as , (Boyce, 1991, p. 281). The term (later modified to 徱屹) is also used as a hybrid Gujarati word.
In its primary meaning, the term refers to a prelude to the kosti ritual, which is performed by Zoroastrians several times in the day.A traditional Zoroastrian often uses the term to indicate the kosti ritual. The term -kosti is almost a synonym for the kosti ritual, which, among the faithful, is almost always referred to as -kosti (Madan, pp. 45, 46, Motafram, p. 74; see also CLEANSING i. IN ZOROASTRIANISM).
In Persian Rivayats, the word is used for the act of washing the head and body with consecrated and unconsecrated bull’s urine (Dhabhar, pp. 87, 91).It is also used just to indicate bull’s urine (Dhabhar, pp. 103, 120, 133, 294, 370).Perhaps that is why many modern Western academic sources indicate that in the past the ritual included washing by unconsecrated bull’s urine (ōŧ) prior to washing with water (Choksy, p. 53; Boyce, 1975, p. 296). However, traditional Zoroastrian sources, as well as oral tradition, do not indicate the use of bull’s urine in the ritual, and indicate the use only of water (Bajan, p. 293; Madan, p. 45, Motafram, p. 74).Moreover, at some places, even the Persian Rivayats, use the term specifically only for the -kosti ritual.It also uses it for ceremonial washing of ritual utensils (Dhabhar, pp. 363, 398).
For the performance of , before the kosti ritual, a Zoroastrian is expected to wash with water the exposed parts of the body.The ceremonial ablution of takes place as follows: The person first recites an Ašəm vohu prayer.Then he wets the two hands up to the wrists, including the palm and fingers, and washes his face, which is followed by wetting the right hand again and thrice washing the right foot from below the ankle. Then again he wets his right hand and thrice washes his left foot from below the ankle. Then he washes both his hands again up to the wrists and wipes off his hands and face with a clean cloth or towel.
The -kosti is performed before a Zoroastrian engages in any religious activity, such as offering prayer or visiting a fire temple.It is also performed after an act that makes a person ritually impure, like visiting a cemetery or after attending the call of nature.It is also done to acquire ritual power, for instance at the turn of each watch of the day.Like most other Zoroastrian rituals, the is an expression of religious and theological beliefs translated into practice, and aims at re-establishing the sacred order in the imperfect world after the onslaught of the evil of pollution.
In the comprehensive list of fifteen virtues to be inculcated by a priest, one virtue is 屹 sājašne “maintaining the power of -(kosti).”The priest who has inculcated this virtue has the requisite ritual power by virtue of his practicing the required religious disciplines.
In the Pahlavi commentaries (Pāzand) on the scriptures (Zand), the word 屹 is used as an adjective 屹i(h) qualifying the divine being Ardwisur Anāhid in the marriage benedictions.In the Avestan Ābān Yašt, dedicated to the same divine being, a similar word paitya is used in the sense of “water flowing ahead/upstream” (Kanga, p. 306).At another place in the Avesta, the word is used in juxtaposition with the word nyəm “water flowing below/downstream” (Vd. 6.40; Darmesteter, p. 73; Boyce, 1991, p. 281).
The ritual reminds one of the Islamic religious practice of ɴż ablution prior to performing the obligatory daily prayer, Բ (Choksy, p. 61), but the ɴż a ritual is much more elaborate than the .
Bibliography:
Barjorji Erachji Bajan, Parsi din ain ane tavarikhi farhang (The Parsi religious beliefs and historical encyclopedia), Mumbai, 1908, p. 293 (in Hindi).
Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism I, Leiden, 1975, pp. 296, 323.
Idem, “ and Nērang: Two Pahlavi Terms Further Consulted,” BSOAS 54/2, 1991, pp. 281-91.
Jamsheed K. Choksy, Purity and Pollution in Zoroastrianism: Triumph over Evil, Austin, 1989, pp. 53-62.
James Darmesteter, The Zend-Avesta, Sacred Books of the East IV, Oxford 1895.
Bamanji Nasarvanji Dhabhar, The Persian Rivayats of Hormazyar Framarz and Others, Mumbai, 1932.
Kavasaji Edalaji Kanga, A Complete Dictionary of the Avesta Language in Guzerati and English, Mumbai, 1900.
E. F. Madan, Jarthoshti Dharmaprakash (Light on Zoroastrian religion), Mumbai, 1956, pp. 44-49.
Jivani Jamshedji Modi, The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees, Mumbai, 1937.
Ervand R. Rustamji Motafram, Zoroastrianism III, Mumbai, 1984, p. 74.
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(Ramiyar P. Karanjia)
Originally Published: January 1, 2000
Last Updated: June 29, 2011
