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"The ritual of offering maachi to the holy fire is meant for welcoming the divine beings in all five watches of the day,” explained High Priest Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal when Parsiana inquired of him and other priests the significance of the maachi ceremony. "They shower their blessings on those members of the Parsi community who offer the Atash Niyaayesh (prayer venerating the fire) litany to the holy fire and seek their blessings… The holy fires are installed in various places for warding off the evil spirits and their destructive influences, and strengthening the good divine powers as a shield to those who are faithful and devout to the beneficent principles of the Zoroastrian religion.”

   Demonstration of maachi ceremony by Dadar Athornan Institute student Ervad Zhian Turel 

  All photos: Jasmine D. Driver

Notes Ervad (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia, principal of the Dadar Athornan Institute (DAI): "Offering maachi to atash dadgah and adaran fires is optional, but it is mandatory to offer a maachi to atash behram fires at the time of the boi ritual (when wood is fed to the consecrated fires five times a day). If sandalwood is not possible, maachi of any dry, clean wood is allowable.”

The arrangement of the kathi and sandalwood on the afarganiyu is not random. For the maachi ceremony performed in our agiaries and atash behrams, Kotwal states that "there are different ways of arranging the maachi for the sacred fire. As far as the four Shahenshahi atash behrams, viz, those of Navsari, Surat and two atash behrams in Bombay (Wadiaji and Anjuman), they have the maachi arranged with the offering of six fragrant sandalwood pieces, whereas in the case of the Iranshah Atash Behram of Udvada, the maachi is arranged with the help of nine pieces of sandalwood” which is akin to a divine throne. In the Kadmi Dadibhai Noshirwanji Dadysett Atash Behram, the boi ceremony is performed with a maachi of five pieces of sandalwood. Moreover, only three Atash Niyaayesshs are recited during the ritual of maachi in Kadmi atash behrams. It is incumbent on the boiwalla of the atash behram to recite different numbers of Atash Niyaayeshs in each of the five watches of the day…

"During the boi for the dadgah or adarian fire, a single piece of sandalwood can be offered to the sacred fire,” says Karanjia. A dadgah ranks third in the hierarchy at fire temples, the first being an atash behram, the second an adarian. Five bois a day have to be offered in the atash behram and adarian. "A maachi of six pieces may be specially offered. However, for the atash behram fire, a maachi of six, seven or nine pieces has to be offered in every gah. All the pieces of maachi are of the same size… In the event where a slot for maachi is not available on the day or time when one wants, a maachi can be offered at any time to the sacred fire along with the recitation of an Atash Nyaish followed by the Tandorosti (blessings) prayer. Such a maachi, which is not accompanied by the boi ritual at the specific time, is known as the ‘ar maachi.’”

Kotwal notes, "In all atash behrams the ritual of offering maachi ends with the recitation of the Pazand prayer Duaa Naam Setaayashni composed by the holy sage Adarbaad Marespand containing the philosophy and eschatology of the Zoroastrian religion in a nutshell followed by the Tandorosti for the health of the persons who have commissioned the offering of maachi to the holy fire.”

Charges vary

When a devotee visited an outstation fire temple and requested a maachi to be performed, he was taken aback when the mobed in attendance said it would cost Rs 800 plus whatever ashodad (gratuity for the priest) the patron chose to bestow. When Parsiana set about inquiring regarding the charges levied for the ceremony, they varied from Rs 100 onwards. "The rates as communicated by mobeds of various agiaries vary from place to place,” states Kotwal. "They are not uniform anywhere in India.” Ervad Hormazd Dadachanji, panthaky of the well frequented Vachagandhy Agiary at Hughes Road (now N. S. Patkar Marg), says "the minimum cost of a maachi is Rs 100 and can go up to Rs 1,000. Everything depends on the quality and quantity of the wood. The ashodad is set at Rs 100 in an agiary while in an atash behram it is Rs 300.”

"In many agiaries wood is of low quality. The wood has got no oil in it. Oil kaari naké né pachhi laakru charava apé (after extracting the oil, the wood is offered). It becomes black. Many times it falls from the afarganiyu. Évo kaachho maal salgavé tau (if the wood is unseasoned) instead of burning, it cracks and falls on the floor. That is why the Udvada priests refuse to offer this kind of wood as this proves to be a big hazard for priests (if it falls on the priest’s garment it would burn very fast),” says Dadachanji.

Notes Karanjia, "In the Iranshah Atash Behram exclusively, there is a practice of placing small pieces of sandalwood and some incense on the fire while reciting specific words from the Atash Nyaish, the saoche buye ahmya nmāne paragraph.”

Ervad Darayus Bajan, assistant panthaky at the Mevawala Agiary in Byculla says, "maachi rates vary from Rs 300, 500 and 1,000. Malabari sukhar is very expensive. Pachas rupiya ma ék patli sali avé (for Rs 50 we get a slender piece of sandalwood). Ashodad is fixed at Rs 100. If a customer brings his own sukhar, aapré arpan karyé né sau rupiya laiyé… (we offer that and charge Rs 100 as ashodad).

"Koi ni maachi nai lakhaili hoi, tau é loko (priest) agiary na trust taraf thi maachi charavé… (if there is no maachi booked then the trust bears the expense).

"There are various reasons to offer maachi. Koi nu varas hoi, gujarva no divas hoi, koi né naukri mali hoi, lagan hoi, ya koi né tah saaro prasang hoi, etc (for good occasions like birthdays or weddings, a new job, even for deaths maachis are performed),” says Bajan.

Ervad Jehan Charna, panthaky of the Thoothi Agiary near Teen Batti states, "Prices vary from Rs 400 (Rs 250 for the maachi and Rs 150 for the ashodad), to Rs 700 (Rs 500 for the maachi, Rs 200 for the ashodad) and Rs 1,200 (Rs 1,000 for the maachi and Rs 200 for the ashodad). Jétlu lower grade nu sukhar charavo tétlu tamuné sastu paré… (if one uses lower grade wood the cost is less).

"In Iranshah one kilo of maachi is offered in every gah. Ék kilo ni maachi hovij joiyé (the maachi wood should weigh at least one kilo). The kriya (ceremony) before doing the boi is a little extensive. Because the kriya involves certain portions to be prayed on the maachi itself, the maachi cannot be burnt completely before the prayers are over,” observes Charna. 

"All the fires draw their power from the seven aasmans (heavens/levels). As per our religion there are nine aasmans. Only and only the Iranshah draws its power from the ninth aasman. Rest all the fires draw their powers from the seventh aasman. So when the priest is holding the clapper of the ganti (bell) and the chamach (long handled flat spoon) that he is holding touches the afarganiyu, he makes a paivand (spiritual connection). When he prays the manthras, he is bringing down the power from the seventh aasman into himself and through him, to the atash padshah sahib, repowering the fire, Charna explains the ritual.  

 "Malabari sandalwood costs between Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 a kilo. Australian sukhar costs between Rs, 6,000 to Rs 7,000. Costs also vary from shop to shop,” says Charna. "In Iranshah, maachi of only Malabari sukhar is offered.”

"The more expensive the maachi, the thicker the sandalwood is,” mentions Ervad Khushravi Palia, panthaky of the Sethna Agiary near Tardeo. The minimum cost of a maachi in Sethna is Rs 200. One has to pay the priest Rs 200. There is no upper limit; it is one’s choice whether one wants to offer Malabari sandalwood or any other kind. "Normally we use African sandalwood. If someone wants to offer Malabari, tau thoru mohgu thai jai (it becomes expensive).”

The two popular gahs for endowing maachis are Havan (sunrise to 12.40 p.m.) and Uziran (3.40 p.m. to sunset), he notes.

"Sethna ma koi divas paach é paach gah bharaili hoi, tau koi divas ék bhi nai hoi (on some days maachis are booked for all five gahs and on some days there are none). Koi divas bé hoi, koi divas tan (some days two or some days three). Roz per depend thai. Bahram and Ardibehesht rozs é paach é paach gah bharaili hoi (On Bahram and Ardibehest rozs all five maachis are booked).

"In an atash behram saat tukra sukhar charé (seven pieces of sandalwood are placed), pan Nyaish ma farak paré. Agiary ma tan Nyaish karé, atash behram ma alag, alag Nyaish hoi (in some agiaries there are three Nyaish recited and in some, nine) eg: Havan gah ma nine Nyaish bhané (nine are recited), Rapithvan gah ma seven nyiash bhané (seven in Rapithvan). 

Ervad Marzi Dastur, manager of the Boyce Agiary near Tardeo states, "the minimum rate for maachi is Rs 400 which weighs around 30 grams. The upper limit tamara per depend thai (depends on you).

 "On the salgirah of the agiary which is on Amardad mah, Srosh roz, the Agiary trust offers two kgs of sandalwood. Two kilos thi vadhu aapré gothvi nai sakyé (we can’t accommodate more). Afarganiyu étlu mottu nathi (is not that large),” rues Dastur.

Ervad Firdaus Pavri, panthaky of the Godavara Agiary in Fort notes: "The most popular maachis are Rs 100, 300 and 500. Rs 1,000 is rare, varas ma two or three times (in a year) and Rs 5,000 is very rare, two or three varsé ék vakhat (only once in two or three years)…

"Around 600 maachis are booked (in a year) in advance in the Agiary. Bahram and Fravardin rozs are completely booked throughout the year for all five gahs,” states Pavri.

The cost of sandalwood and kathi is proving a burden on most fire temples. Maharukh Noble, trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) intends to create a trust to subsidize the cost of the wood. "All agiaries and atash behrams who appeal for kathi will be eligible. At the moment dadgahs are not our priority.” But once ample funds are raised "dadgahs can surely be considered.

"On an average the monthly requirement of kathi is one ton per fire temple… Every atash behram has an adarian or an agiary attached to it. Atash behrams like Banaji, Wadiaji and Anjuman have in their premises a separate room where a dadgah fire is kept and boi is compulsory for all five gahs. The Dadysett Atash Behram at Fanaswadi has its agiary in Fort. The yearly kathi expense for an agairy is Rs 1,80,000,” approximates Noble.

"Thankfully we have never heard of boi not being given due to a shortage of kathi. But shortage of mobeds and kathi together have reduced many agiaries’ ijayla atash (consecrated fires) in different parts of the country to dadgahs, which is very unfortunate and sad,” notes Noble.

With inputs from Roxan A. Driver