Holi and Nowruz(Navrouz) in India and Iran

Holi and Noruz in India and Iran

Dr Aziz Mahdi

PhD Persian Language & Literature-

The Indian is better to hold Holi festival in a fixed day very year

and it should be  21 march. Because the basic root of holi and  Nowruz   is start of the new season which is  The March equinox or  the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere    and the autumnal equinox in the Southern    .Hemisphere at this event  the length for the day and night is equali it  happens ever year on 21 march 

It is with historical  perspective that present article is embarking on a quest to analyze one of the national festivals from each nation and find the much expected connection and similar traits present among them. Holi in India and Noruz in Iran both are one of the most ancient rituals and festivals of each country and the more ancient they are, more are the chances for them to be connected with the mother stock of Aryan traditions.

Keywords: India, Iran, Noruz, Holi

India and Iran; Birds eye view:

The famous quote of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his book The Discovery of India further concurs with this belief that when it comes to the feeling of closeness which these two nations share, even great people like the first Indian Prime Minister are of the same view as any other common person from Iran or India. Pandit Nehru said: Among the many people and races who have come in contact with and influenced India’s life and culture, the oldest and most persistent have been the Iranians[a].

Looking at these nations through the glasses of history, we find those striking resemblances among the architecture of palaces of Ancient Indian and Iranian Kings Darius and Asoka pointed out and proved by the historians and archeologists. We have seen the theories being put forward and being proved of these two nations having trade relations dating back to pre-historic times.

Linguistically speaking, the languages of northern, western, central and eastern regions of India belong to the same Indo-Aryan family of languages which the Iranian languages have evolved from. The word Iran has originated from the Avestan word Airyanam Vaejo meaning expanse of the Aryans.

Vedic Indian people calling themselves Arya or the Noble ones and their home as Aryavrata or abode of the noble and the ancient Iranian king Darius referring to lineage being Ariya in his Bistoon Inscription -situated at the contemporary Kermanshah city of Kordestan province of Iran- is not a coincidence and in fact points towards the common lineage and roots of Indian and Iranians.

Among other facts proving the common background and profound and deep relations among the two nations are the striking resemblances between Rig Veda (literally meaning Knowledge) and the ancient language of Persian Zoroastrian sacred text Avesta and the fact that their names have been mentioned in each other’s sacred text. According to Vendidad (chapter 1) Ariya lived in sixteen countries, one of them being Hapta Hindu which is the Avestan form of the Sanskrit Sapta Sindhu (Rig Veda) meaning seven rivers and referring to the North-Western region of Indian Subcontinent.

Other than the above mentioned facts, many different evidences have been brought into light about similarities present among the language and culture of two nations by eminent scholars and historians throughout the passage of history and history writing. Al-Biruni being the first noted Indologist who came from Persia and spent most part of his life understanding the indigenous culture and finding the similarities present between India and Iran. On the whole, each scholar of the concerned field of interest has tried his best to prove yet another common factor between the two cultures. Scholars have worked upon common words between India and Iran. similarities present between the national epics of both cultures i.e. Ramayan and Mahabharat and Shahnameh of Ferdowsi ; Role of women in Indian and Iranian Epics to name a few.

It may be interesting for people interested in commonalities between Indian and Iranian cultures to know that Indian and Iranian Proverbs or Lokokti as we call it in India have extensive and deep rooted similarities present among them; to an extent that Persian proverbs are famous even among common Indian people who interestingly quote these ‘words of wisdom’ in their original form and at their right place, without even knowing or have learned Persian language per say[b].

Last but not the least, looking at these nations through the glasses of tradition and rituals, one of the prominent and interesting common traditions in Iran and India is the celebration of Naruz (Literally meaning-new day) and Holi. The first day of ancient Iranian month of Farvardin (coinciding with 21st of March) is the Iranian New Years day. According to ancient Iranian legends the Faravart or Prakriti as we call it was created on this day; which in fact was also the day of birth of Kyumars (Avestan –Gayyumaretan-meaning the living one who is destined to die) -the first human being- who was given the gift of life to help Ahuramazda protect righteousness in man from the evil spirit and be the first man of Aryan race . Noruz is also known as the Jamshidi Noruz; its celebrations started with Jamshid the legendary benevolent king of Iran who according to legends discovered fire, the cleansing and purifying element of nature; the day he sat on the throne of Iran was UrmazdRuz (the first day) of Farvardin month of Iranian calendar; and it was his order to call this day Noruz which was to be followed by celebrations lasting ten days.

Word about rituals and festivals:

1. Brennand in his book Hindu Astronomy states that The early religion, indeed, of the Hindus, like other religions, had a close intimacy with times and seasons; and there was a connection with their rites and ceremonies . The above statement can be seen true to the fact that some of the popular and general Hindu rituals may seem to have been originally based on changes of the seasons or other natural phenomenon; as one may argue that Diwali and Holi represent the death and resurrection of seasons and Basant Panchami marks the approach of summers. On the whole it can arguably be said that most of the rituals and festivals today are possibly Ancient ceremonials which signify in a way, the veneration of changes in seasons witnessed by our ancestors and were considered a sign of higher powers trying to connect to the ancient man, to which he replied to by establishing simple rituals and ceremonies which again went through the passage of time and obviously numerous additions and subtractions to the original rituals and reached the present generation. If we consider the above mentioned set of rituals based on Natural Phenomenon; arguably there can be another set of rituals based on Mythological or Historical backgrounds such as Birth-Days of different Hero’s or Gods, for example: RamNavami, Janamashtami and Jayanti’s etc.

Having established certain basic and important facts, our aim is to analyze and compare two such Natural Phenomenon rituals present between India and Iran namely Holi and Noruz, which have interestingly enough witnessed certain Mythological and Historical additions to them through ages, touted as the reasons behind their commemoration.

 

Basant and Bahār:

The words Basant and Bahār are two Indian and Iranian words with common roots in the so called theoretical language called the Indo Iranian language.

Basant as we may know means the spring season which starts from mid march and lasts until the month of May. Moreover it also has other meanings attached to it in Indian subcontinent; it is also the name of a Rāga or a musical mode or a type of Indian music which is recited particularly in the spring season and lastly it is also a type of garland made of yellow flowers .

The word Bahār also carries different meanings with itself in Iran; it is the first season of the year i.e. the spring season; sometimes the blossoms of flowers is called by this name; it is also a mixture of few flowers which are yellow in color and are found in mountainous region sof central and southern Europe and west and central Asia; it is also one of the types of soft archaic music .

Based on the abovementioned facts, it can be said with a considerable amount of certainty that both the words Basant and Bahār are from a common linguistic root.

 

Holi and Noruz

This year Noruz is more or so coinciding with the Holi, one of the sacred festivals of Hindu tradition. Holi is the festival of joy where singing and dancing are at the centre of its celebrations. This festival is celebrated throughout India where men and women throw colors and colored water on each other and share the joy among them.

As we will find out later in the article, even this festival goes back to ancient times like the Iranian Noruz. It is basically the celebration of spring season or Basant as it is called in India; when farmers harvest and reap the results of their crops and show their happiness in celebrating alongside the occasion.

 

Holi and HolikaDahan:

The word Holi is derived from the Sanskrit word Sol meaning Bitter of Sour; Solika on the other hand means coldness

Holi is the saturnalia related to spring equinox and the wheat harvest of the western part of India; it can also be viewed as a conglomerate of festivities such as astronomical equinox, agricultural harvests and ancestral worship of Heros etc[c]. Tradition ascribes it to the death of a giantess at the hands of Krishna who on her death bed asked for a favor of a festival in her name . so, one account of its origin describes it as founded in the honor of a female demon called Dundhas (meaning she who would destroy many) .One may argue that the celebration time of the abovementioned festival asked by the giantess also coincides with –as ancient people may call it- death of winter season which the giantess can be a symbolic form of.

On the full moon day of the month Phalgun, a hole is dug in front of every house and a castor oil tree is transplanted into it. Grass, cow dung cakes and other fuel are heaped around the tree and Holi or Holika is then worshipped while sounds and chants follow .

It is one of the many legends related to the festival of Holi. Though there are different versions of the rituals to be followed in the Puranas also.

Another legend describes this festival to be related to the well known legend of Hiranya-Kasipu or the golden dressed and his son Prahlād. The legend goes that Hiranya Kasipu was a Daitya who obtained the sovereignty of the three worlds for a million years from Siva and persecuted his pious son Prahlād because he was a devout worshipper of Vishnu. The daitya is slain by the angry god in his Nar-sinha or Man-Lion incarnation .

Harnākas as he is called in the modern times was an ascetic who claimed that the devotion of all human beings of the world should be paid to him alone. His son Prahlād on the other hand became a devotee of Vishnu and even performed miracles His father was enraged by this act of apostasy of his own son and started torturing Prahlād with the help of his sister Holi or Holika. After many failed attempts Holika tried to take Prahlād with herself in a fire, which she was supposed to be unharmed of, as she had been granted a boon by gods which prohibited the Fire from doing any harm to her; but as she took Prahlād with her into the fire she was consumed by it and Prahlād remained unharmed. The fire is now supposedly burnt before Holi festival in commemoration of this event only. This story may once again show the importance of fire in ancient times in both India and Iran; where it was believed to burn the evil and do no harm to the righteous and pious; an example of which can be stated from the famous fire test of Sita in Indian Ramayana and Siyavash’s fire test in Iranian Shahnameh of Ferdowsi.

Another legend connects the festival of Holi with the tale of Putanā the witch who attempted to kill Krishna in infancy by giving him her poisonous nipple to suck[d].

Lastly one more version of the legends which is famous in Haridwar and according to scholars is probably closer to the real origin of the rituals of Holi goes like this: Holi or Holika was the sister of Sambat or Sanvat (the Hindu year). When Sambat died, her sister Holi out of her extreme love for her brother insisted on being burnt on his pyre and it was because of her absolute devotion that Sambat was given his life back. Hence according to this legend, the Holi fire is burnt every year to commemorate this legendary event.

Interestingly enough, approximately around the same time as Noruz and Holi, people of Punjab in India also organize a ritual bearing close resemblances to ChaharShambe-Suri and HolikaDahan; and they call it Lohri.

 

Noruz and its Rituals:

Noruz is practically the day when the duration of Night and Day become same as each other. The festival may in fact be reminiscent of old cultural and ethnological ties between Indian and Iranian branches of Aryan tribe, as even the Indian Shaka year coincides with Iranian Solar Year. In Iran this day is celebrated in commemoration of the birth of creation and to foster goodwill, love peace and happiness among fellow human beings. The significance of such a day is further enhanced while looking from present day perspectives where wars and conflicts exist between various nations of the world.

Like Holi, the Iranian Noruz also has handful of rituals which are followed even today in Iran; such as ChahārShambe Suri, Sofre-ye-Haft Sin and Seezdah Bedar  to name a few. According to Al-Biruni the festivities of Noruz start five days before the New Year and last five days after.; and according to the legends, it is in this period of ten days that Faravahar  or the holy aura or spirits descend upon earth and remain here for this period.

The interesting part about one of the rituals of Noruz which has come a long way from ancient times is throwing water on each other and bathing on the New Year day; and the reason cited for this act is as follows: there were no deaths at all during Ancient Iranian King Jamshid’s reign, following this the world was filled with animals and thus God increased the area covered by land three times and it was at that time Ahuramazda ordered people to bath with water to wash away their sins. Another theory is that because this day belongs to the Angel of Water Haruzaor Haurvatāt (Hordād), people wash themselves at dawn; because it is whose day it is and whose creation is water.

 The same practice of throwing water on each other was preserved and Islamicized when Iranians converted to Islam and the water was replaced by a more Islamic option i.e. rose water. Likewise on the Indian front, basically the most important part of Holi celebrations is throwing color and water on each other.

Among other rituals of Noruz are: wearing new clothes on the occasion; arranging a table of Haft-Sin; Sowing seven types of seeds in a container and see which one grows best and eventually indicate which crop will be favored and shall be sown this year; ritual of Seezdah-Bedar and the list goes on encompassing various activities and rituals which were added throughout the centuries this festivals has travelled to reach this generation.

 

Sofre-ye-Haft-Sin:

Another important ritual of Noruz is to arrange a table of Haft-Sin; where a table cloth is spread in one corner of the house and seven things starting with letter S or س are arranged on it; like Serkeh (Vinegar), Sib (Apple), Sabze (Green herbs), Somagh (Sumac), Samanoo (Green wheat sweet dish), Sekkeh (Coins), and Seer (Garlic). Mostly ancient legends are reason behind such traditions and in this case as ancient Iranian following Zoroastrian religion used to consider AhuraMazda as the symbol of purity and Ahriman as the symbol of impurity; they also used to believe that there are a number of Amshaspandan (Angels) surrounding AhuraMazda at all times; and each one of them symbolize a specific ideal characteristic such as Light, Truthfulness, Beneficence, Pleasure, Wealth, Honesty and Respect; interestingly they are seven in number and moreover their names start with S; hence seven things were kept on the table as the symbol of each one of those Angels. This ritual is followed in Iran even today; although it has lost its Zoroastrian face among the modern Iranians and now has become more of an Iranian tradition than being just a Zoroastrian one.

 

ChaharShambe Suri:

Starting from the very first Ritual of Noruz one cannot overlook the importance of Chaharshambe-Suri as the pioneer of Noruz celebrations; technically it was the 360th day of the year when this ritual was organized as there was no concept of weeks in ancient times. It was believed that Faravahar’s (the holy aura or the spirits) of good and righteous descend on earth on this day and the fire is lit to guide them[e]. Suri literally means red (Sorx) and this is where the name came from because of the red flames of bonfire lit on that night, which at one point of time may have been Chaharshambe (Wednesday) and hence it also got attached to original name. At places the word Suri is also used to mean Festival or Celebration organized to please the spirits of people who have passed away[f].

So, on the Wednesday preceding Nowruz when bonfires are lit in every house and society or locality in modern times and people Jump over these fires chanting a specific Persian phrase which goes like this:

Sorxi-e-To Az Man                  Zardi-e-Man Az To

Meaning: May your redness (positive energy of the fire) be mine (to have) and May my Yellowness (negative aspects of my life) be yours (to burn). This specific ritual of jumping over the fire is important and interesting from the perspective of this article as similarly in our Indian tradition and culture, bonfires are lit everywhere during the rituals of HolikaDahan as earlier mentioned and people (or priests to be specific) jump over these fires[g].

Hence the jumping over fire flames or passing through fire as ancient people may call it, symbolizes the purification of that individual as he asks the fire to take away the negative and evil factors of his soul and burn them, while giving its qualities to them in return and as he jumps through or over the fire, he emerges purified with new hopes and aspirations for the coming year. It is certain that Chaharshambe-Suri and HolikaDahan are ancient Aryan traditions which are practiced till today and the fact of giving such importance to Fire and light proves the point more effectively. The ancient Aryan Iranians believed that fire is sacred and used to believe that it purifies the air or cold and winter. The other reason that can be stated on this occasion is the fact that according to legends, it was Jamshid who discovered fire; it was him only who first ordered the Noruz to be celeberated every year on UrmazdRuz (first day) of Farvardin month and it may well be the reason that somehow this ritual is in remeberance of Jamshid the founder of Noruz and the discoverer of Fire who as a matter of fact boldly states in his stone inscriptions that:

I am an Ariya, the son of an Ariya.

 

Fire in India and Iran:

The importance of fire or light for the ancient Aryan man can be clearly seen in the Sanskrit shloka of Upanishads which are considered to be from the family of Shruti or that which has been heard[h] and may even date back to prehistoric times and which we as students used to recite every morning for twelve years of schooling in India and the generations that followed are tracing the same steps everyday as we did in our times and which our Aryan ancestors took for the first time.

The famous Shloka Asto ma sad gamaya; tamaso ma jyotir gamaya; Mrityo ma amritam gamaya meaning Lead us from Unreality (of transitory existence) to the Reality (of self); Lead us from the Darkness to the Light (of spiritual knowledge); Lead us from the fear of death to the knowledge of Immortality[i] actually sheds light on the fact that it is the innate nature of human being to detest the darkness and for ever be in search of light. The same thing can even be related to the famous Aryan migration from their original home in the arctic region and settle in places such as Iran and eventually India. The importance of fire can be felt while we look at the stone inscriptions of Achaemenid kings who ruled over Iran 500 years BCE and who mentioned this fact of keeping them safe from lies and darkness vividly in their prayers to Ahuramazda; and it is by keeping this fact in mind that one can imagine how important Jamshid is in the ancient Iranian world; the discoverer of Fire which in turn destroys darkness. Moreover, the fact that Fire is considered sacred in both India and Iran can be interpreted to symbolize greatness and divinity of truth and righteousness while its sacredness being celebrated for thousands of years in both the nations.

The very first mantra of Rig Veda is in the praise of Fire; which symbolizing its divinity helps in the eradication of darkness; and it is the darkness which has signified evil since time immemorial.

 

Last word:

Jawaharlal Nehru quotes an Iranian Cultural councilor of the time speaking in Allahabad in his book The Discovery of India: the Iranians and Indians are like two brothers who according to Persian legends had got separated from each other, one going to the east and other to the west. Their families had forgotten all about each other and the only thing that remained in common between them were the snatches of few old tunes which they still played on their flutes. It was through these tunes that after a lapse of centuries, the two families recognized each other and reunited[j].

It is hoped that constantly aiming and finding more common tunes among the two families of India and Iran -as has been the aim of Indo-Iranologists for a long time- will hopefully bring these two families together and more closer to each other and eventually will set an example for the rest of the families of this Global Village to follow.

 

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