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Zoroastrianism was founded in the 6th century before Christ by the Persian prophet Zoroaster; at the time of Buddha.
In India the Zoroastrians are called the Parsis (Persians), they acquired vast fortunes in the cotton and steel industries, they have the highest literacy rate in India, and their cultural and economic importance is far out of proportion to their small numbers.
The term 'parsi' is derived from Parsa, the name of a province in south -western Iran in ancient times. The word 'Parsi ' literally means 'a resident of Pars'. It is originally an ethnic term but later the term acquired a religious connotation and it was thus used for the Zoroastrian residence of the Pars.
Around 766AD, a small group of Iranian Zoroastrians set sail in open sailing vessels, and landed at Divo Dui , a tiny Island at the tip of Kathiawar coast. There they settled for nineteen years to practice their path in peace. They again set sail in open sailing vessels and landed at the fishing village of Sanjan where Jadi Rana or Jadav Rana gave them refuge.
Between the eight and fifteenth centuries the Parsis settled in various small towns on the Gujarat coast of India. They settled down as farmers and agriculturists, fruit growers, toddy planters, carpenters and weavers.
Parsis were excellent weavers and they gave India three ancient crafts, namely the Surti ghat, the Garo and the Tanchoi. Today they are mostly found in Mumbai, India.
"This delightful book fulfills a desire for those who wish to know about the social and religious system of the Parsis. And there are many who have this desire, for though the Parsi people are few in number - so few that in the statistics of the world population they are simply insignificant - they have an importance that is out of all proportion to their numbers."
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