How Zoroastrians Offer Sandalwood To The Fire

Sticks of sandalwood (sukhad). Noshir H. Dadrawala writes in Parsi Times that when offering sandalwood to the fire one should visualise the offering as a gift to the Divine, and that throughout life we continue to offer the world our good thoughts, words and deeds. The priest Ramiyar Karanjia writes that the wood must be dry and clean and bought from honestly earned money, and that in India the most fragrant wood with the least water is sukhad, sandalwood. The phrase humata, hûxta, hvarshta occurs in prayers of the Khordeh Avesta.

The afargan fire vase. Ashem Vohu is one of the short foundational prayers and invokes Asha. Encyclopaedia Iranica explains Asha as truth, the true word. In the Afringan ceremony the fire stands for Asha. A FEZANA text says Zoroastrians consider fire a symbol of Ahura Mazda's supreme righteousness, not an object of worship. The afargan is the metal vase that holds the fire, set on a raised platform in the prayer room.

The kusti cord. The kusti is the sacred cord woven of 72 white threads of lamb's wool, wound three times round the waist over the white undershirt, the sudreh. According to Encyclopaedia Iranica the three rounds stand for good thoughts, good words and good deeds. The cord is untied and retied each day on waking, at each division of the day and before religious acts, with prayers said during the tying. Before entering the room of the fire the worshipper also washes hands and face and reties the kusti.

The bell of the boi ceremony. In the boi ceremony the priest tends the fire and recites prayers. The priest Ramiyar Karanjia writes that three or nine bells are rung on the words dushmata, duzukhta and duzvarshta, meaning bad thoughts, bad words and bad deeds. The bell is rung by the priest, not by the worshipper. The prayer here borrows the sense of those strokes.

A bowl of clear water. The Doa Tan-Dorosti is the prayer for health, in Pazand, said at the close of ceremonies. Mary Boyce's translation has: may there be health and long life, and: may they have health to fulfil all their duties. Water is set out at the Afringan ceremony. According to K. E. Eduljee water stands for Haurvatat, the Amesha Spenta whose name means wholeness and who is associated with water and health. Pairing the bowl of water with the prayer for health is the library's own choice.

The divo oil lamp. The prayer is taken from the Doa Tan-Dorosti: may this household be happy, may there be blessing. The divo is the Parsi oil lamp. Parsi Times notes that devotees generally light one or more oil lamps at a fire temple. The priest Karanjia advises keeping a divo burning continuously on the table during the Muktad days. Pairing the lamp with the prayer for the household is the library's own choice.

The Muktad vase of water and roses. The last ten days of the religious year are Frawardigan, called Muktad by the Parsis, when the souls of departed ancestors are welcomed into the home with rites of hospitality. The priest Karanjia instructs: on the table keep a small clean metal glass or vase with clean water and one or two flowers in it, preferably roses. Encyclopaedia Iranica records that no act of worship takes place without the invocation of the fravashis, understood as the souls of the departed.

The metal tray with eight flowers. The Afringan is a ceremony of blessing and remembrance, performed at Gahambar festivals and Jashan ceremonies. K. E. Eduljee describes it: the utensils are metal, with a tray called a ses holding eight flowers, and the flowers and fruit stand for vegetation and the Amesha Spenta Amertat. At the close the priests recite the Doa Tan-Dorosti, extending blessings of strength, health and well-being to all present. The prayer here follows the sense of that text.