The warasyaji commands a unique position
in the ritual matrix of the faith
Dastur (Dr) Firoze M. Kotwal
This extract is from the article "Consecration and Importance of the Sacred Bull warasyaji — A Religious Injunction,” published in a festschrift titled The Reward of the Righteous, Wiesbaden, 2022, to honor Almut Hintze, Professor of Zoroastrianism at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
The term warasyaji, used by Parsis for the sacred bull attached to a fire temple, is derived from Avestan varǝsa, Pahlavi wars, waras, Persian gurs, meaning "hair, curled hair, ringlet.” The consecrated white bull is known as warasyaji as it provides waras or hair. In Gujarati, the suffix ji is derived from Sanskrit......