Fire temple | |
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آتشکده | |
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Religion | |
Affiliation | Zoroastrianism |
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Zoroastrianism |
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A fire temple, (Persian: درب مهر, romanized: darb-e Mehr, lit. ‘Door of Kindness’)(Gujarati: અગિયારી, romanized: agiyārī)[a] is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Persia.[1][2][3] In Zoroastrianism, atar or fire, together with aban, water, are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies [is] regarded as the basis of ritual life", which "are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple [fire] is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity".[4] For, one "who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand ..., is given happiness".[5]
As of 2021[update], there were 167 fire temples in the world, of which 45 were in Mumbai, 105 in the rest of India, and 17 in other countries.[6][7] Of these only nine (one in Iran and eight in India) are the main temples known as Atash Behrams; the remaining are the smaller temples known as agiaries.
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