Āzar Kayvān (; ) was the
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
high priest of
Estakhr
Istakhr (Middle Persian romanized: ''Stakhr'', fa, اصطخر, translit=Istakhr also spelt استخر in modern literature) was an ancient city in Fars province, north of Persepolis in southwestern Iran. It flourished as the capital of the Pers ...
and a
gnostic philosopher,
who was a native of
Fars in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and later emigrated to
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
in Mughal India during the reign of the Emperor
Akbar. A member of community (), he became the founder of a Zoroastrian school of or
Illuminationists which exhibited features of
Sufi muslim influence. This school became known as the (Abadi sect).
Biography
Details regarding Azar Kayvan's life are scant and are mainly derived from the
hagiographical literature of the Abadi sect. This hagiography places Azar Kayvan, son of Azar Gashasb, and his ancestry back to
Sasan V then through
Sasan I to the
Kayanids,
Gayomart, and finally to
Mahabad
Mahabad ( fa, مهاباد, ku, مەهاباد, translit=Mehabad), also Romanized as Mihābād and Muhābād and formerly known as Savojbolagh, is a city and capital of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its ...
, the figure who appeared at the very beginning of the great cycle of prophecy, according to the ''
Bible of the Prophets of Ancient Iran'', and who seems to be none other than the primordial
Adam. His mother was named
Shirin
Shirin ( fa, شیرین; died 628) was a Christian wife of the Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') Khosrow II (). In the revolution after the death of Khosrow's father Hormizd IV, the General Bahram Chobin took power over the Persian empire. ...
; her ancestry goes back to
Khosrau I Anushiravan, the
Philosopher King.
According to the
Dabestan-i-Mazahib, as a young boy Azar Kayvan showed signs of his calling to the contemplative life. Through dreams and visions he received the teaching of the ancient sages of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, which allowed him to give extraordinary replies to questions which were asked of him at the
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
where he was a student, and which won him the nickname (master of the sciences). Internal references in the biography by his devotees allow us to determine that his residence was at
Estakhr
Istakhr (Middle Persian romanized: ''Stakhr'', fa, اصطخر, translit=Istakhr also spelt استخر in modern literature) was an ancient city in Fars province, north of Persepolis in southwestern Iran. It flourished as the capital of the Pers ...
(about a hundred kilometers north of
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
), where he spent the first thirty or forty years of his life in contemplation and where he assembled his first assembly of disciples. Around 1570, drawn by the religious revival which was taking place in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
around the Emperor
Akbar, he left with them to settle down in the town of
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
in
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
, where he lived until he died at around eighty-five years of age.
Students and influence
Amongst his students, certain of these hagiographical sources place key
Shi'ite
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
Muslim theosophical figures of the
Safavid philosophical revival at
Isfahan within his circle. Notably among these figures was Shaykh
Baha'addin Amili and
Mir Fendereski, on whose behest the latter seems to have translated a major
Tantric yogic
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
text from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
into
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
.
Azar Keyvan had tendency towards the philosophical school of
Sohrevardi, another
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
philosopher of 12th century. He was regarded by his followers to be the reviver of
hekmat-e eshrāq (Illuminationist Philosophy) within the context of
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
.
According to one school of thought,
Dastur
A dastūr, sometimes spelt dustoor, is a term for a Zoroastrian high priest who has authority in religious matters and ranks higher than a mobad or herbad. In this specific sense, the term is used mostly among the Parsis of India. The term has also ...
Meherji Rana
The first Dastur Meherji Rana, sometimes known as Mayyaji Rana, was a spiritual leader of the Parsi community in India during the sixteenth century. He was renowned among the Parsis and other communities due to his “vast knowledge and spiritual ...
, who had influenced
Akbar and founded the famous lineage of
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
high priests at
Navsari
Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of Gujarat in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Navsari District. Navsari is situated between Surat & Mumbai. Navsari is a twin city of Surat. It is located 37 km south of Sura ...
, was a disciple of Azar Kayvan.
See also
*
Dabestan-e Mazaheb
The ''Dabestān-e Mazāheb'' ( fa, دبستان مذاهب) "school of religions" is a Persian language work that examines and compares Abrahamic religions, Dharmic religions and sects of the mid-17th century Southern Eurasia. The work, whose a ...
, whose author was a son of Azar Kayvan according to some scholars.
Notes
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
External links
''Dabestan-i-Mazahib'' or ''School of Religious Doctrines'' ĀẔAR KAYVĀN H. Corbin, Encyclopædia Iranica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayvan, Azar
16th-century births
17th-century deaths
Zoroastrian priests
16th-century Iranian philosophers
Iranian Zoroastrians
17th-century Iranian philosophers
Zoroastrian mysticism
Zoroastrian astrologers
Iranian religious leaders
Neo-Zoroastrianism
Iranian emigrants to the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire people
Iranian emigrants to India