The Pir-e Naraki shrine in the Yazd province of Iran was damaged following heavy rains in the second week of May, reported the online portal Berasad.com. According to the custodian of the shrine Behrouz Jarrah, quoted by Berasad, the most important damage was to the water source and the loss of communication routes to the shrine. While falling rocks caused damage to the tiles, fortunately the Khilak building was not majorly impacted. With the cooperation of Zoroastrian philanthropists, repairs to this shrine have begun, reported Jarrah.
Pir-e Naraki shrine in Yazd: damaged by heavy rains
The shrine at Pir-e Naraki is dedicated to Nazbanu, the daughter of the erstwhile governor of Pars during the reign of Yazdegird III, the last Sasanian king of Iran from 632 to 651 AD. Fleeing the advancing Arabs, Nazbanu’s (some call her Zarbanu) escape route led her to Taft from where she began to seek refuge in the nearby mountains, climbing the slopes of Dar-e Zanjir or Kuh-e La-Anjir, mentions K. E. Eduljee’s online portal Zoroastrian Heritage under the section Pilgrimage Sites. According to legend, Nazbanu arrived exhausted at the Pir-e Naraki site, prayed and asked for divine intervention when, as with the others, a portal opened in the mountain side to welcome her into its womb. When the portal closed, at the place where she entered the mountain, a spring started to gush water. That was on Srosh day in the month of Fravardin. Around the spring, plants took root.
Later, when a traveller along the route was drawn to the site, the greenery and the fragrance in the air, seeking respite he stopped to drink of the spring’s water and lay down amongst the verdant plants. In his sleep the significance of the site was conveyed to him making him determined to build a shrine which others too could visit.