The ''Rivayats'' (also spelled as ''Revayats'') are a series of exchanges between the Zoroastrian community in India and their co-religionists in

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Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. They have been ascribed the same importance of the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

by Jivanji Jamshedji Modi. The word Rivayat has disputed etymology. Some claim the word to have origins from Arabic but this is contentious.

Overview

The content of each Rivayat varies but they are usually queries on matters of worship, customs, rituals and observance. The issues range form the mundane, such as queries about the preparation of ink for the writing of religious documents, to important issues including conversion. Over three centuries, twenty-two Rivayats were sent from India to Persia. The first Revayat was brought in 1478 AD by Nariman Hoshang of

Broach Broach may refer to: * Broaching (metalworking), a machining operation that uses a metalworking tool with a series of chisel points mounted on one piece of steel * Broach (nautical), a sudden loss of control of a vessel caused either by wind actio ...

. Hoshang was a layman, supported by Chang Asa a notable leader of the

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Parsi community. Hoshang spent a year in

Yazd Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...

, learning

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and supported himself by 'petty trade'. Eventually his Persian improved to the extent that he was able to question the dasturs of Iran. After this initial Rivayat, Indian priests would gather up questions and send representatives to Iran with the questions. These Rivayats are known by the emissary who brought them back. Some Rivayats are anonymous as the person who brought them is unknown, these Rivatays are more or less incomplete. In the 17th century the Rivayats were classified according to the subject they pertained to by Hormazdyar Framarz, Darab Hormazdyar, and Barzo Kamdin. The Rivayats are notable as the only Modern Persian text composed in the

Avestan script The Avestan alphabet ( Avestan phonology#Transcription, transliteration: , Middle Persian: Middle Persian#Transliteration of Pahlavi script, transliteration: , Middle Persian#Transcription, transcription: , ) is a writing system developed duri ...

. During the 18th Century the Kadmi sects in both Iran and India exchanged additional Rivayats, which culminated in the Rivayat-e Haftad va Hast (translated as the Rivayat of 78 Questions) (also known as the Ithoter Rivayat).

References

{{Zoroastrian literature Zoroastrian texts