As per the Shehenshahi calendar, the holy Adar month has already commenced and tomorrow will be Roj Daepadar, observed as ‘Chulah nu varas’ or the birthday of the hearth fire, and next day will be Roj Adar, observed as Atash nu Parab or the birthday of fire. The term Adar is derived from Pahlavi Adur and Avestan Atar, which later in Persian became ‘Atas’! Adar Yazata presides over fire and represents Ahura Mazda as his Puthra (son or ‘purifying force’). At consecrated fire temples the Holy Fire is seen as a Divine Medium, Channel or Mediator through which the Supreme Divinity is worshipped.

In the Zoroastrian calendar, Adar is the ninth day of every month and also the ninth month of the year. Nine is a sacred number and is regarded as a symbol of perfection, completion, and divine wisdom across various spiritual, religious, and numerical traditions. As the final single-digit number, it represents the end of a cycle, finality, and the fullness of divine purpose. Prophet Zarathustra is often depicted holding a nine-knotted stick called Navgar.

Atash nu Parab

We celebrate Roj (day) Adar of Mah (month) Adar as Atash nu parab. This day also marks the consecration and enthronement of several Agyari and Atash Behram, including the Holiest of Holy, Pak Iranshah. The preparations begin the day before (Roj Dae-pa-Adar) when we celebrate the Chulah nu varas, meaning birthday of the hearth or kitchen fire. The kitchen is cleaned, the area around the cooking stove is decorated and the stove itself is garlanded with marigold flowers. (As per the Zoroastrian text ‘Bundahishn’, Adar is associated with the marigold due to its fiery hue, associating it with the element of fire.) The stove is not used from early evening (Uzirin Gah) till next morning.

According to the Old Testament (the Book of Genesis) God created this world in six days and rested on the seventh day. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, Ahura Mazda created this world in six stages (the six Gahambars) creating first the sky, water, earth, vegetation, animal and finally man. However, it is Adar or fire that animated or gave energy or brought to life all these six good creations. Both the Bundahishn and Zatspram explain that Ahura Mazda’s six good creations were able to commence their work, thanks to Adar as the life-giving force or energy.

Discovery of Fire and it’s Historical Reverence

According to Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, fire was accidentally discovered during the pre-historic Peshdad period by Shah Hooshang, when he threw a rock at a serpent-like creature. It missed the target and instead struck another rock and sparks from that friction ignited some dry grass in the surrounding area. Hooshang recognized this fire as the Divine Glory of Ahura Mazda and instructed his subjects to offer homage.

The Astodan or the final resting place of most of the Great Achaemenian Kings, including that of Darius, Xerxes and Artaxerxes depict the great Kings offering homage before a fire alter. Coins of the later Sasanian period, beginning with the founder, Ardashir, also carried the symbol of fire.

Why pray before or in the presence of fire?

From a Zoroastrian perspective, fire is both – the giver of light and giver of life. Neither darkness nor evil has an existence of its own. Just as darkness is merely the absence of light, so is evil the absence of good. Thus, while fire dispels darkness, evil is dispelled each time we choose to think, speak and perform a good deed.

The concept of having a hearth-fire or in modern times, at least a diva at home, is a ritual form of dispelling darkness and evil with the presence of light. The Persian Revayet recommend that we should pray five Yatha while lighting a diva (oil lamp), as Yatha is the chant with which Ahura Mazda created this universe. Also, while reciting the Sarosh Baj (Sarosh Yazata is the guardian of souls of the living and dead) we pray five Yatha. Hence, praying five Yatha while lighting a fire, has a link with enlightening or enhancing our five senses, or our consciousness and an act of attuning our spirit with the Creator and the chant with which the universe was created as also the energy of fire that animated or energized all creation.

Adar is a Hamkar (co-helper) of Ardibehesht (Avesta Asha Vahishta literally meaning Best Truth or Righteousness). Indeed, when a Zoroastrian prays before fire, he/she looks up to Ahura Mazda the Creator through fire as a form of Light and Life. Also, since Ardibehesht, along with Adar is the Divinity protecting fire and Ardibehesht is the embodiment of Truth and Righteousness (Asha Vahishta); praying before fire is an affirmation of upholding Truth and Righteousness in our lives.

Fire In Other Traditions

Agni holds a central place in the Vedas, second only to Indra, with over two hundred hymns in the Rigveda dedicated to him. As the Vedic divinity of fire, Agni serves as messenger, priest, and mediator between humans and the divine. In ritual practice, he carries sacrificial offerings through fire, symbolising purification and transformation, and is often described as the ‘mouth’ through which the Divine receives offerings.

Across traditions, fire appears as a powerful symbol of divine presence. In Jewish belief, God is revealed to Moses as a burning bush and later as a pillar of fire guiding the Hebrews. In Christianity, fire represents spiritual power, as seen in John the Baptist’s prophecy and the ‘tongues of fire’ at Pentecost. In India, the sacred Dhuni at Shirdi, lit by Sai Baba, continues to burn, reflecting fire’s enduring spiritual significance.

May Fire Bless one and all with the light of knowledge and wisdom, the warmth of love and friendship and life that is energetic and dynamic!