The Sasanians of ancient Iran (224–651 CE) went by land as far as Greece in the West and North-western India, in the East. By the 6th century, and well before the Arab invasion, they sailed to India’s western shores for trade, proceeding even further eastwards to China.
In fact, Iranian contact with India goes much earlier than the Sasanians. When Darius the Great quelled the rebellion led by Gaumata in 522 BCE, many of the Magi or Maghu are said to have escaped to India. The earliest known record of the Magi appears in the famous Behistun inscription (written around 522 BCE by Darius the Great). Herodotus also recorded that the Magi were a specific Median tribe. They acted as the priestly class for the Median, Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires. Because of their deep study of the stars, dream interpretation, medicine and rituals, they were heavily relied on as wise men and advisors at royal courts.
In his comprehensive historical and cultural book ‘Iran and India through the Ages’ (1962) noted scholar Prof. Firoze Cowasjee Davar explores the millennia-old relationship between two of Asia’s most influential civilizations – Iran and India. According to Prof. Davar, the Maga Braharnan and the Gandhara Brahman of north India and the Brahmani Magi of South India are of Iranian origin but they seem to have lost their Iranian identity in the vast Indian population.
Maga Brahmin
Maga Brahmin, also known as Shakadwipiya or Bhojaka Brahmin, are a unique Hindu priestly class with ancient Iranian roots. According to Hindu texts such as the Bhavishya Purana and Samba Purana, Lord Krishna’s son Samba was afflicted with leprosy after offending Sage Durvasa. Following his recovery, he built a Sun Temple at Sambapura, believed to be present-day Multan in Pakistan. Legend states that, unable to find suitable priests for Surya worship, Samba travelled to Sakadvipa, a sacred land associated with devoted Sun worshippers.
Many scholars link Sakadvipa with the Iranian plateau or Central Asia and identify its inhabitants with the ancient Magi, the Zoroastrian priestly class. These priests are believed to have migrated to India, where they became known as Maga or Sakadwipi Brahmins. Historians suggest this legend may reflect actual eastward migrations of Persian Magi who introduced solar and fire traditions that later blended with Hindu Sun worship.
Maga Brahmin were highly revered for their expertise in Sun worship. The ancient sage Varahamihira, a prominent figure in Indian astronomy, explicitly directed in his Brihat Samhita that only Maga priests were qualified to install and consecrate Surya (sun) temples.
Gandhara Brahman of North India trace their roots to the northwestern frontier of the subcontinent. The actual Iranian-origin priests who migrated to India are primarily classified as Maga or Shakadvipi Brahmin. However, Gandharan Brahmin are recognized as native Indo-Aryans of the northwest. They were renowned for their solar cult and were eventually assimilated into the Hindu caste system. They became the traditional priests of sun temples across India, most notably the Sun Temple at Konark and the Deo Sun Temple in Bihar.
Brahmani Magi of South India: The Greek mathematician and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in his ancient texts going back to 150 CE, mentions a group called the Brahmani Magi inhabiting areas connected to India. Historians have debated whether this was evidence of early Persian influence or Zoroastrian migration to South India. However, most modern linguistic scholars suggest it was likely a misunderstanding of local terms, such as the Kannada word mag (meaning ‘son’.)
Achaemenid Influence on Mauryan empire:
The Mauryan Empire was deeply influenced by the Achaemenid Empire of Iran, particularly in administration, architecture and royal traditions. After the Persian annexation of northwestern India, extensive cultural exchanges helped shape Mauryan governance and statecraft. Chandragupta Maurya’s grand eighty-pillared hall at Pataliputra is believed to have been inspired by the magnificent Hundred-Column Hall of Persepolis, sharing similar architectural features and decorative motifs.
Emperor Ashoka’s practice of engraving edicts on rocks and pillars closely mirrored the inscriptional traditions of Persian rulers such as Darius the Great. Greek accounts, including those of Megasthenes, suggest that Mauryan courts adopted several Persian customs, including rituals involving sacred fire. The Mauryan provincial administration also reflected the Persian satrapy system. Greek historian Strabo further noted that Iranian funerary practices continued to influence parts of northwestern India long after Persian rule had ended.
The Pallavas
The Pallavas, believed by some scholars to have been of Parthian (Iranian) origin, established a powerful kingdom in southern India around 150 BCE, with Kanchipuram as their capital. Like earlier Iranian groups that migrated to India, they gradually assimilated into local society and Hindu culture. At its peak, the Pallava Empire was among the most influential states in South Asia, encompassing much of present-day Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.
The Pallavas played a pivotal role in shaping classical Dravidian architecture, leaving behind magnificent temples, sculptures and monuments that endure to this day. The theory of their Iranian origins is linked to the similarity between the Sanskrit term “Pallava” and “Pahlava,” the ancient Indian name for the Parthians. Historian Vincent Arthur Smith suggested that a Parthian clan migrated from Persia and eventually settled in Kanchipuram. Supporting this view, early Pallava coins, royal iconography and architectural features display striking parallels with Indo-Greek, Bactrian and ancient Persian traditions.
Ancient Pahlavi Inscriptions in South India
It is significant that a Christian cross, and the stone connected with the martyrdom of St. Thomas in the first century CE., both in the church at St. Thomas Mount, Madras, as well as two other crosses in the church at Kottayam, Kerala, and one other at Kadamattam, forty miles from Kottayanm, have Pahlavi (middle Persian) inscriptions. More crosses were later excavated, and further epigraphic studies suggest that the Pahlavi-inscribed cross at Alangad may be from as early as the fourth century CE.
Indo-Iranian Unity
Under the reigns of Khusro I (Anosharavan or Noshirwan-e-Adil) and his grandson Khusro II Parviz, ties between Iran and India flourished through diplomacy, trade and cultural exchange. Historian Tabari records that in 625 CE, Pulakeshin II, the powerful Chalukya ruler of the Deccan, sent an embassy to the court of Khusro II. Evidence of these close relations survives in the famous Ajanta Caves near Aurangabad, where a fresco in Cave 1 depicts Iranian diplomats at an Indian royal court. The same cave also contains a painting believed to portray Khusro II and his wife Shirin. Archaeological discoveries further support Persian influence in India. Coins found in northwestern India bearing both Indian and Pahlavi inscriptions indicate periods of Persian control or influence. Among the most notable are coins of Khusro I, some featuring the Sun God of Multan and dating to 627 CE.
Indo-Iranian Descent
In the nineteenth century, historian James Tod proposed that the Rajputs descended from Central Asian tribes such as the Scythians, Sakas and Hunas. Scholars including V.A. Smith and William Crooke further suggested that several Indo-Iranian nomadic groups assimilated into India’s warrior aristocracy over time. Some researchers also point to similarities between traditional Rajput attire and ancient Greco-Iranian styles of dress. Additionally, certain medieval genealogies and Indo-Persian chronicles claim that specific Mewar clans traced their lineage to the royal Sassanian dynasty of Persia, particularly to Emperor Khusrow I.
In conclusion, India and Iran share one of the world’s oldest and most enduring civilisational relationships, founded on common linguistic, cultural and spiritual roots stretching back more than 3,000 years. These connections are reflected in striking similarities between the Vedas and the Avesta, including shared concepts, rituals and deities. For example, the Sanskrit Asva corresponds to the Avestan Aspa, while Rta parallels the Iranian Asha. The long history of interaction between the two civilizations has enriched both cultures. These bonds were celebrated by Rabindranath Tagore during his 1932 visit to Iran. A great admirer of Zoroastrianism, Tagore praised Asho Zarathushtra and noted the many similarities between Zoroastrian and Hindu traditions.
In his book The Religion of Man (1931), Tagore writes, “The ideal of Zoroastrian Persia is distinctly ethical. It sends its call to men to work together with the Eternal Spirit of Good in spreading and maintaining Kshathra, the kingdom of righteousness, against all attacks of evil. This ideal gives us our place as collaborators with God in distributing his blessings over the world.”
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