Will Ratan Tata be kept in the Tower of Silence… Why are the bodies of Parsis, who came to India from the persecution of Muslims in Iran, handed over to vultures?

New Delhi: India’s ‘Ratna’ veteran businessman Ratan Tata passed away at the age of 86. he/she breathed his/her last at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. his/her last rites will be performed as per Parsi rituals. However, Ratan Tata’s mortal remains will be kept in the electric crematorium in Worli, Mumbai at around 4 pm. There will be prayers here for about 45 minutes, after which the last rites process will be completed.
In fact, the customs of Parsi people are very different from the cremation customs of Hindus and the burial customs of Muslims. Parsi people believe that the human body is a gift given by nature. In such a situation, after death it has to be returned to nature. Parsis all over the world perform the last rites of dead bodies in a similar manner. The bodies are kept in the Tower of Silence. Let us know how the last rites of people of Parsi religion are performed, where did this tradition come from and what are its rules. Why are the dead bodies of Parsi people handed over to vultures?

Tower of Silence i.e. dead body in the lap of nature

The Tower of Silence is a place where Parsi people leave the bodies of their loved ones in the lap of nature after they die. This practice has been going on in the Parsi community since ancient times. It is also called Dakhma. There is a tradition of leaving the dead bodies of people of the Parsi community at the ‘Tower of Silence’, where vultures eat these bodies. This is also called ‘sky burial’. However, the new generation of Parsis no longer place much emphasis on such funeral rites. Ratan Tata can also be cremated in the electric crematorium built by the Parsis.

Why do Parsis not burn or bury dead bodies?

Instead of burning, burying or dumping the body, Parsis leave it in the Towers of Silence for vultures to eat. When the vultures eat the flesh of the dead bodies, the remaining bones are thrown into a pit and buried. This tradition of funeral rites is called Dokhmenashini or Dakhma. In Parsi religion, burning or burying a dead body is considered to pollute nature. Earth, water and fire are considered very sacred in Zoroastrianism. Therefore, the dead bodies are not handed over to these three.

What is Arandha, which is very important to do

In the Parsi community, it is considered virtuous to be of use to any living being even after death. Parsi people believe that cremation and burial in the ground pollutes the three basic elements of earth – soil, water and fire. The dead body is considered impure in the Parsi community. After keeping the body in the Tower of Silence, prayers are offered for four days for the peace of the soul of the deceased, which is called Arandha.

Changes in funeral rites due to decreasing population of vultures

Due to the decreasing population of vultures, the Parsi community has also had to change the methods of cremating dead bodies. After the death of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry in a road accident, his/her last rites were performed in an electric crematorium built by Parsis. The body of Jahangir Pandol, who lost his/her life in the accident, was left at the ‘Tower of Silence’ in South Mumbai’s Dungarwadi as his/her family preferred traditional customs for the last rites. Since 2015, there has been a change in the way funerals are performed among the Parsi community.
Cyrus Mistry: Cyrus Mistry’s body burnt, know why Parsis changed hundreds of years old tradition

The population of vultures decreased from 4 crores to 19 thousand.

According to a report, the population of vultures in the country was 4 crore in the 1980s, which declined to only 19,000 by 2017. Due to this, the method of funeral rites has changed among the Parsi community. The government has launched an initiative to stop the decline in vulture population through the National Vulture Conservation Action Plan 2020-25, which has achieved some success.

Diclofenac drug behind the decline in vulture population

The decline in the vulture population has been attributed to the use of the anti-inflammatory drug ‘Diclofenac’, which is fed to cattle during treatment. After the death of such cattle, when the vultures ate them, they also started dying, due to which the vulture population was affected. This drug was banned in 2006.

The population of Parsis is also decreasing in the country.

Vultures clean the flesh from a body within a few hours, whereas crows and eagles are able to eat very little meat, due to which many dead bodies take months to decompose and they stink. The number of people of Parsi community is also declining rapidly. According to the 2011 census, there were only 57,264 Parsis in the country. The government’s Minority Affairs Ministry has taken several measures to arrest the decline in the community’s population, including launching the ‘Jio Parsi’ initiative.

Parsis came to India after fleeing persecution in Iran

This tradition of funeral rites has been going on in Parsi religion for about 3 thousand years. The Parsi people flourished in Iran, but due to persecution in Iran 1000 years ago, they fled to the western coasts of India. There he/she settled in areas like Gujarat and Mumbai. he/she found a flame which is said to still burn in a fire temple at Udvada in South Gujarat.

Who are Parsis, what do they believe in?

Parsis are descendants of Persian Zoroastrians originally from Iran and they came to India to escape religious persecution by Muslims. At that time, rapid conversions were being carried out in Iran on the strength of swords. The word Parsi is taken from the Persian language. Zoroastrianism is also called Zarathustra religion. It was founded by the prophet Zarathustra. Zarathustra taught that there was only one god, Ahura Mazda. Ahura means God and Mazda means wise. Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. Parsis are an ethnic minority in India and Pakistan.

Parsis also live in Karachi city of Pakistan

The population of Parsis in India is about 60,000. Parsis live mainly in Mumbai and some towns and villages north of Mumbai. Parsi people also live in Karachi (Pakistan) and Bengaluru (Karnataka). Followers of Zoroastrianism consider Ahura Mazda as the supreme deity. Followers of Zoroastrianism also believe in lesser gods known as Yajatas.