Qissa-i Sanjan

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The Story of Sanjan (also Qissa-i Sanjan or Kisse-i Sanjan) (Persian: قصه سنجان‎, Gujarati: કિસે સનજાન) is an account of the early years of Zoroastrian settlers on the Indian subcontinent. In the absence of alternatives, the text is generally accepted to be the only narrative of the events described therein, and many members of the Parsi community perceive the epic poem to be an accurate account of their ancestors.


In its conclusion, the story is signed by a Parsi priest named Bahman Kaikobad (or 'Bahman Kaikobad Hamjiar Sanjana'[1]). The date of authorship is recorded as 969 YZ (1599 CE, see Zoroastrian calendar) - several centuries after the described events are thought to have occurred. The account is in verse, in the highly verbose style common to Persian poetry.



Quotations in the following section are from an English language translation by Shahpurshah Hormasji Hodivala, published in 1920.[3]

The first chapter of the narrative begins with the fall of the Sassanid Empire in 642CE, as part of the Muslim conquest of Persia. The subsequent persecution of Zoroastrians led to the dispersion of the people "of good faith", and ultimately the Zoroastrians' departure from Greater Khorasan.

The refugees first made for a major port city [a1] near Bushire, where they stayed for 15 years. From there they sailed for Hindustan, the northern territories of the Indian subcontinent. They landed on the Island of Div, in southern Saurashtra, where they stayed for another 19 years. From Div, they sailed along the coast, weathered a severe storm at sea, and finally landed in Gujarat. Some accounts state that about 18,000 Parsis came in seven junks, five of them landing in Div, one at Variav near Surat and one at Cambay in Gujarat.

There, they approached the local Hindu king, Jadi Rana, and requested asylum. The ruler, fearing for his kingdom, asked them to explain their beliefs, and made four other stipulations for granting asylum:

  • they were to adopt the local language (Gujarati)
  • they were to cease to carry weapons







Issues raised by the text[edit]








b.^ The "Fire of Warharan" was moved from Navsari to Udvada in 1742 following disputes over sacerdotal jurisdiction of the fire. The present use of the expression Iranshah to refer to the fire there dates to the beginning of the 20th century.[2] (see Udvada for details)
c.^ For a review, see Kulke[4] and Maneck.[8]


  1. ^ Kotwal 1974, p. 664,n.2.
  2. ^ a b Boyce & Kotwal 2003.
  3. ^ Hodivala 1920, pp. 94–117.
  4. ^ a b Kulke 1978, p. 25.
  5. ^ cf. Modi 1905, pp. 9ff.
  6. ^ Vimadalal 1979, p. 2.
  7. ^ Kulke 1978, p. 29.
  8. ^ Maneck 1997, p. 15.


  • Boyce, Mary; Kotwal, Firoze M. (2003), "Irānshāh", Encyclopaedia Iranica, sup. 4, Costa Mesa: Mazda 
  • Bulsara, P. P. (1963), Highlights of Parsi History, Bombay 
  • Hodivala, Shahpurshah Hormasji (1920), "Kissah-i-Sanjan", Studies in Parsi History, Bombay 
  • Kotwal, Firoze M. (1974), "Some Observation on the History of the Parsi Dar-i Mihrs", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 37 (3): 664–669, doi:10.1017/S0041977X00127557 
  • Kulke, Eckehard (1978), The Parsees in India: A Minority as Agent of Social Change, New Delhi: Bell 
  • Maneck, Susan Stiles (1997), The Death of Ahriman: Culture, Identity and Theological Change Among the Parsis of India, Bombay: K. R. Cama Oriental Institute 
  • Modi, Jivanji J. (1905), A few events in the early history of the Parsis and their dates, Bombay 
  • Vimadalal, Jal Rustamji (1979), What a Parsee Should Know, Bombay 

Further reading[edit]