A fire temple ( Persian : آتشکده ātashkadeh ; Gujarati : અગિયારી agiyārī ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians . In Zoroastrian doctrine, atar and aban (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity .
127-473: 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". For, one "who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand ..., is given happiness". As of 2021, there were 167 fire temples in the world, of which 45 were in Mumbai , 105 in
254-484: A pyre , fire from trades where a furnace is operated, and fires from the hearths as is also the case for the Atash Adaran . Each of the fires is then subject to a purification ritual before it joins the others. Thirty-two priests are required for the consecration ceremony, which can take up to a year to complete. A temple that maintains an Adaran or Behram fire also maintains at least one Dadgah fire. In contrast to
381-559: A bell, which is rung five times a day at the boi – literally, '[good] scent' – ceremony, which marks the beginning of each gah , or 'watch'. Tools for maintaining the fire – which is always fed by wood – are simply hung on the wall, or as is sometimes the case, stored in a small room (or rooms) often reachable only through the sanctum. In India and in Indian-Zoroastrian communities overseas, non-Zoroastrians are strictly prohibited from entering any space from which one could see
508-430: A building. The basic structure of present-day fire temples is always the same. There are no indigenous sources older than the 19th century that describe an Iranian fire temple (the 9th century theologian Manushchir observed that they had a standard floor plan, but what this might have been is unknown), and it is possible that the temples there today have features that are originally of Indian origin. On entry one comes into
635-532: A deficient knowledge of the Portuguese language of these authors, mixing up the Portuguese word "bom" with the English "bay", from the English version of the name. In 1516, Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa used the name Tana-Maiambu : Tana appears to refer to the adjoining town of Thane and Maiambu to Mumbadevi . The form Bombaim is still commonly used in Portuguese. Other variations recorded in
762-431: A fire in a vase-like container identical in design to the present-day afrinagan s. The Indian Zoroastrians do however export these and other utensils to their co-religionists the world over. One of the more common technical terms – in use – for a Zoroastrian fire temple is dar be-mehr , romanized as darb-e mehr or dialectally slurred as dar-e mehr . The etymology of this term, meaning 'Mithra's Gate' or 'Mithra's Court'
889-400: A fire temple may enter the innermost sanctum itself, which is closed on at least one side and has a double domed roof. The double dome has vents to allow the smoke to escape, but the vents of the outer dome are offset from those of the inner, so preventing debris or rain from entering the inner sanctum. The sanctum is separated from the anteroom by dividers (or walls with very large openings) and
1016-780: A fire-altar, most likely constructed during the proselytizing campaign of Yazdegerd II ( r. 438–457) against the Christian Armenians , have been found directly beneath the main altar of the Echmiadzin Cathedral , the Mother See of the Armenian Apostolic Church . Apart from relatively minor fire temples, three were said to derive directly from Ahura Mazda , thus making them the most important in Zoroastrian tradition. These were
1143-420: A large space or hall where congregation (also non-religious) or special ceremonies may take place. Off to the side of this (or sometimes a floor level up or down) the devotee enters an anteroom smaller than the hall he/she has just passed through. Connected to this anteroom, or enclosed within it, but not visible from the hall, is the innermost sanctum (in Zoroastrian terminology, the atashgah , literally 'place of
1270-602: A major seaport on the Arabian Sea . Mumbai in the 19th century was characterised by economic and educational development. During the early 20th century it became a strong base for the Indian independence movement . Upon India's independence in 1947 the city was incorporated into Bombay State . In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement , a new state of Maharashtra was created with Mumbai as
1397-491: A memorial to the martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, Flora Fountain was renamed as Hutatma Chowk (Martyr's Square) and a memorial was erected. The following decades saw massive expansion of the city and its suburbs. In the late 1960s, Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade were reclaimed and developed. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) was established on 26 January 1975 by
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#17327804556721524-610: A niche for itself in the information technology industry. The Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) and the International Infotech Park ( Navi Mumbai ) offer excellent facilities to IT companies. State and central government employees make up a large percentage of the city's workforce. Mumbai also has a large unskilled and semi-skilled self-employed population, who primarily earn their livelihood as hawkers, taxi drivers, mechanics, and other such blue collar professions. The port and shipping industry
1651-508: A one-bedroom apartment in Mumbai proper is around ₹30,000, while according to ResearchGate, 25% of Mumbai households have a monthly income of less than ₹12,500. The overall average salary in Mumbai is ₹45,000. This means that the vast majority of conventional housing is out of bounds for many Mumbai residents, leading many to rely on informal housing. Greater Mumbai (or Brihanmumbai), an area of 603 km (233 sq mi), consisting of
1778-451: A reminder of their faith in an increasingly persecuted community since fire originating from a temple was not a tenet of the religious practice. The oldest remains of what has been identified as a fire temple are those on Mount Khajeh , near Lake Hamun in Sistan . Only traces of the foundation and ground-plan survive and have been tentatively dated to the 3rd or 4th century BCE. The temple
1905-813: A single amalgamated mass by way of a causeway called the Hornby Vellard , which was completed by 1784. In 1817, the British East India Company under Mountstuart Elphinstone defeated Baji Rao II , the last of the Maratha Peshwa in the Battle of Khadki . Following his defeat, almost the whole of the Deccan Plateau came under British suzerainty, and was incorporated into the Bombay Presidency. The success of
2032-657: A temple". By the late 20th century, the city was referred to as Mumbai or Mambai in Marathi, Konkani , Gujarati , Kannada and Sindhi , and as Bambai in Hindi . The Government of India officially changed the English name to Mumbai in November 1995. This came at the insistence of the Marathi nationalist Shiv Sena party, which had just won the Maharashtra state elections, and mirrored similar name changes across
2159-502: A total wealth of around $ 960 billion, it is the richest Indian city and one of the richest cities in the world. As of 2008 , the Globalization and World Cities Study Group (GaWC) has ranked Mumbai as an "Alpha world city", third in its categories of Global cities . Mumbai is the third most expensive office market in the world, and was ranked among the fastest cities in the country for business startup in 2009. However, it
2286-793: A virtually rainless period extending from October to May and an extremely wet period peaking in July. A cooler season from December to February is followed by a hotter season from March to May. The period from June to about the end of September constitutes the south west monsoon season, and October and November form the post-monsoon season. Between June and September, the South-west monsoon rains occur in Mumbai. Pre-monsoon showers are received in May. Occasionally, north-east monsoon showers occur in October and November. The maximum annual rainfall ever recorded
2413-579: Is also commonly referred to as the Island City or South Mumbai . The total area of Mumbai is 603.4 square kilometres (233.0 sq mi). Of this, the island city spans 67.79 square kilometres (26.17 sq mi), while the suburban district spans 370 square kilometres (140 sq mi), together accounting for 437.71 square kilometres (169.00 sq mi) under the administration of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). The remaining areas belong to various Defence establishments,
2540-440: Is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer appointed by the state government . Although the municipal corporation is the legislative body that lays down policies for the governance of the city, it is the commissioner who is responsible for the execution of the policies. The commissioner is appointed for a fixed term as defined by state statute. The powers of the commissioner are those provided by statute and those delegated by
2667-625: Is correct, the temple of the Farnbag fire then lay 10 miles southwest of Juwun, midway between Jahrom and Lar . ( 28°1′N 53°1′E / 28.017°N 53.017°E / 28.017; 53.017 ( Darmesteter's projection of the location of the Temple of the Farnbag fire ) ) According to Parsi legend, when (over a thousand years ago) one group of refugees from (greater) Khorasan landed in Western Gujarat , they had
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#17327804556722794-405: Is ever recited before it. A list of the nine Atash Behrams: The outer façade of a Zoroastrian fire temple is almost always intentionally nondescript and free of embellishment. This may reflect ancient tradition (supported by the prosaic nature of the technical terms for a fire temple) that the principal purpose of a fire temple is to house a sacred fire, and not to glorify what is otherwise simply
2921-461: Is important to acknowledge that Mumbai faces important challenges regarding income inequality. Despite having the largest concentration of billionaires out of any city in Asia, Mumbai is one of the most unequal cities in the world. Like other Indian metropolitan cities, Mumbai is in desperate need of affordable housing infrastructure for its lower and lower-middle class citizens. The median rental cost of
3048-406: Is in charge of the civic and infrastructure needs of the metropolis. The mayor, who serves for a term of 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years, is chosen through an indirect election by the councillors from among themselves. The municipal commissioner is the chief executive officer and head of the executive arm of the municipal corporation. All executive powers are vested in the municipal commissioner who
3175-580: Is no evidence even during the Sassanid era (226–650 CE) that the fires were categorized according to their sanctity. "It seems probable that there were virtually only two, namely the Atash-i Vahram [literally: "victorious fire", later misunderstood to be the Fire of Bahram], and the lesser Atash-i Adaran , or 'Fire of Fires', a parish fire, as it were, serving a village or town quarter". Apparently, it
3302-541: Is not consistent with sanctified fire. The temple is an even later development: from Herodotus it is known that in the mid-5th century BCE the Zoroastrians worshipped to the open sky, ascending mounds to light their fires. Strabo confirms this, noting that in the 6th century, the sanctuary at Zela in Cappadocia was an artificial mound, walled in, but open to the sky, although there is no evidence whatsoever that
3429-483: Is on a narrow peninsula on the southwest of Salsette Island , which lies between the Arabian Sea to the west, Thane Creek to the east and Vasai Creek to the north. Mumbai's suburban district occupies most of the island. Navi Mumbai is east of Thane Creek and Thane is north of Vasai Creek . Mumbai consists of two distinct regions: Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district , which form two separate revenue districts of Maharashtra. The city district region
3556-414: Is problematic. It has been proposed that the term is a throwback to the age of the shrine cults, the name being retained because all major Zoroastrian rituals were solemnized between sunrise and noon, the time of day especially under Mithra's protection. Etymological theories see a derivation from mithryana (so Meillet) or *mithradana (Gershevitch) or mithraion (Wilcken). It is moreover not clear whether
3683-476: Is slightly raised with respect to the space around it. The wall(s) of the inner sanctum are almost always tiled or of marble, but are otherwise undecorated. There are no lights – other than that of the fire itself – in the inner sanctum. In Indian-Zoroastrian (not evident in the modern buildings in Iran) tradition the temples are often designed such that direct sunlight does not enter the sanctuary. In one corner hangs
3810-553: Is the Gujarati language word for 'house of fire' and thus a literal translation of atashkada . In recent years, the term dar-be mehr has come to refer to a secondary sacred fire (the dadgah ) for daily ritual use that is present at the more prestigious fire temples. Overseas, in particular in North America, Zoroastrians use the term dar-be mehr for both temples that have an eternally burning fire as well as for sites where
3937-558: Is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12.5 million (1.25 crore ). Mumbai is the centre of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region , the sixth-most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 23 million (2.3 crore). Mumbai lies on the Konkan coast on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour . In 2008, Mumbai
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4064-419: Is the commercial capital of India and has evolved into a global financial hub. For several decades it has been the home of India's main financial services companies, and a focus for both infrastructure development and private investment. From being an ancient fishing community and a colonial centre of trade, Mumbai has become South Asia's largest city and home of the world's most prolific film industry. Mumbai
4191-515: Is the lowest grade of sacred fire, and can be consecrated within the course of a few hours by two priests, who alternatingly recite the 72 verses of the Yasna liturgy. Consecration may occasionally include the recitation of the Vendidad , but this is optional. A lay person may tend the fire when no services are in progress. The term is not necessarily a consecrated fire, and the term is also applied to
4318-455: Is well established, with Mumbai Port being one of the oldest and most significant ports in India. Dharavi , in central Mumbai, has an increasingly large recycling industry, processing recyclable waste from other parts of the city; the district has an estimated 15,000 single-room factories. As of 2024, Mumbai is home to the third-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world. With
4445-533: The Lok Sabha discussions in 1955, the Congress party demanded that the city be constituted as an autonomous city-state. The States Reorganisation Committee recommended a bilingual state for Maharashtra– Gujarat with Mumbai as its capital in its 1955 report. Bombay Citizens' Committee , an advocacy group of leading Gujarati industrialists lobbied for Mumbai's independent status. Following protests during
4572-612: The New York of India , is India's most populous city and is the financial and commercial capital of the country as it generates 6.16% of the total GDP. It serves as an economic hub of India; as of 2006, Mumbai contributed 10% of the nation's factory employment, 25% of industrial output, 33% of income tax collections, 60% of customs duty collections, 20% of central excise tax collections, 40% of foreign trade , and ₹ 40 billion (equivalent to ₹ 130 billion or US$ 1.5 billion in 2023) in corporate taxes . Along with
4699-591: The Avesta suggest that the sanctuary was surrounded by a passageway on all four sides. "On a number of sites the gombad , made usually of rubble masonry with courses of stone, is all that survives, and so such ruins are popularly called in Fars čahār-tāq or 'four arches'." Ruins of temples of the Sassanid era have been found in various parts of the former empire, mostly in the southwest ( Fars , Kerman and Elam ), but
4826-490: The East India Company in 1661, through the dowry of Catherine Braganza when she was married off to Charles II of England . Beginning in 1782, Mumbai was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook reclamation of the area between the seven islands from the Arabian Sea . Along with the construction of major roads and railways , the reclamation project, completed in 1845, transformed Mumbai into
4953-680: The English East India Company in 1668 for a sum of £ 10 per annum. The population quickly rose from 10,000 in 1661, to 60,000 in 1675. The islands were subsequently attacked by Yakut Khan , the Muslim Koli admiral of the Mughal Empire , in October 1672, Rickloffe van Goen , the Governor-General of Dutch India on 20 February 1673, and Siddi admiral Sambal on 10 October 1673. In 1687,
5080-662: The First Anglo-Maratha War . The British were able to secure Salsette from the Marathas without violence through the Treaty of Purandar (1776) , and later through the Treaty of Salbai (1782), signed to settle the outcome of the First Anglo-Maratha War. From 1782 onwards, the city was reshaped with large-scale civil engineering projects aimed at merging all the seven islands of Bombay into
5207-727: The Fortune Global 500 companies are based in Mumbai. This is facilitated by the presence of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), and financial sector regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Until the 1970s, Mumbai owed its prosperity largely to textile mills and the seaport , but
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5334-941: The Government of India and the Consulate General of the United States, Mumbai monitor and publicly share real-time air quality data. In December 2019, IIT Bombay , in partnership with the McKelvey School of Engineering of Washington University in St. Louis launched the Aerosol and Air Quality Research Facility to study air pollution in Mumbai, among other Indian cities. Mumbai has been ranked 24th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India according to 'Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results' Mumbai, sometimes described as
5461-523: The Government of Maharashtra as an apex body for planning and co-ordination of development activities in the Mumbai metropolitan region . In August 1979, a sister township of New Mumbai was founded by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) across the Thane and Raigad districts to help the dispersal and control of Mumbai's population. The textile industry in Mumbai largely disappeared after
5588-518: The Marathas under Peshwa Baji Rao I captured Salsette in 1737, and Bassein in 1739. By the middle of the 18th century, Mumbai began to grow into a major trading town, and received a huge influx of migrants from across India. Later, the British occupied Salsette on 28 December 1774. With the Treaty of Surat (1775), the British formally gained control of Salsette and Bassein, resulting in
5715-489: The Mithi River originates from Tulsi Lake and gathers water overflowing from Vihar and Powai Lakes. The coastline of the city is indented with numerous creeks and bays, stretching from the Thane creek on the eastern to Madh Marve on the western front. The eastern coast of Salsette Island is covered with large mangrove swamps , rich in biodiversity, while the western coast is mostly sandy and rocky. Soil cover in
5842-727: The Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts, extends from Colaba in the south, to Mulund and Dahisar in the north, and Mankhurd in the east. Its population as per the 2011 census was 12,442,373. It is administered by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) (sometimes referred to as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai ), formerly known as the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC
5969-744: The Mumbai Port Trust , the Atomic Energy Commission and the Borivali National Park, which are out of the jurisdiction of the MCGM. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region which includes portions of Thane , Palghar and Raigad districts in addition to Greater Mumbai, covers an area of 4,355 square kilometres (1,681 sq mi). Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India, in
6096-641: The Shilaharas from 810 to 1260. Some of the oldest edifices in the city built during this period are the Jogeshwari Caves (between 520 and 525), Elephanta Caves (between the sixth to seventh century), Walkeshwar Temple (10th century), and Banganga Tank (12th century). King Bhimdev founded his kingdom in the region in the late 13th century and established his capital in Mahikawati (present day Mahim ). The Pathare Prabhus , among
6223-596: The demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya , the city was rocked by the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1992–93 in which more than 1,000 people were killed. In March 1993, a series of 13 coordinated bombings at several city landmarks by Islamic extremists and the Mumbai underworld resulted in 257 deaths and over 700 injuries. In 2006, 209 people were killed and over 700 injured when seven bombs exploded on
6350-503: The hutokshih (artisans and laborers). Eight priests are required to consecrate an Adaran fire and the procedure takes between two and three weeks. The highest grade of fire is the Atash Behram "Fire of victory", and its establishment and consecration is the most elaborate of the three. It involves the gathering of sixteen different "kinds of fire", that is, fires gathered from 16 different sources, including lightning , fire from
6477-641: The "Great Fires" or "Royal Fires" of Adur Burzen-Mihr , Adur Farnbag , and Adur Gushnasp . The legends of the Great Fires are probably of antiquity (see also Denkard citation, below), for by the 3rd century CE, miracles were said to happen at the sites, and the fires were popularly associated with other legends such as those of the folktale heroes Fereydun , Jamshid and Rustam . The Bundahishn , an encyclopaedic collection of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi , which
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#17327804556726604-604: The 'Fire of Warharan', none of them are more than 250 years old. The legend that the Indian Zoroastrians invented the afrinagan (the metal urn in which a sacred fire today resides) when they moved the fire from Sanjan to the Bahrot Caves is unsustainable. Greek historians of the Parthian period reported the use of a metal vase-like urn to transport fire. Sassanid coins of the 3rd-4th century CE likewise reveal
6731-439: The 16th and the 17th centuries include: Mombayn (1525), Bombay (1538), Bombain (1552), Bombaym (1552), Monbaym (1554), Mombaim (1563), Mombaym (1644), Bambaye (1666), Bombaiim (1666), Bombeye (1676), Boon Bay (1690) and Bon Bahia . After the English gained possession of the city in the 17th century, the Portuguese name was anglicised as Bombay . Ali Muhammad Khan, imperial dewan or revenue minister of
6858-407: The 17th century the fire (now) at Udvada was the only continuously burning one on the Indian subcontinent . Each of the other settlements had a small building in which rituals were performed, and the fire of which the priests would relight whenever necessary from the embers carried from their own hearth fires. The Parsis called such an unconsecrated building either dar-be mehr or agiary . The latter
6985-412: The 1st century BCE onwards, society was divided into four, not three, feudal estates. The Farnbag fire (translated as 'the fire Glory-Given' by Darmesteter ) was considered the most venerated of the three because it was seen as the earthly representative of the Atar Spenishta , 'Holiest Fire' of Yasna 17.11, and it is described in a Zend commentary on that verse as "the one burning in Paradise in
7112-408: The Adaran and Behram fires, the Dadgah fire is the one at which priests then celebrate the rituals of the faith, and which the public addresses to invoke blessings for a specific individual, a family or an event. Veneration of the greater fires is addressed only to the fire itself – that is, following the consecration of such a fire, only the Atash Nyash es, the litany to the fire in Younger Avestan ,
7239-404: The Bahmani Sultanate attempted to conquer the islands but was defeated. The Mughal Empire , founded in 1526, was the dominant power in the Indian subcontinent during the mid-16th century. Growing apprehensive of the power of the Mughal emperor Humayun , Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was obliged to sign the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese Empire on 23 December 1534. According to
7366-414: The British campaign in the Deccan marked the end of all attacks by native powers. By 1845, the seven islands coalesced into a single landmass by the Hornby Vellard project via large scale land reclamation . On 16 April 1853, India's first passenger railway line was established, connecting Mumbai to the neighbouring town of Thana (now Thane). During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the city became
7493-406: The English East India Company transferred its headquarters from Surat to Mumbai. The city eventually became the headquarters of the Bombay Presidency . Following the transfer, Mumbai was placed at the head of all the company's establishments in India. Towards the end of the 17th century, the islands again suffered incursions from Yakut Khan in 1689–90. The Portuguese presence ended in Mumbai when
7620-499: The Gujarat province, in the Mirat-i Ahmedi (1762) referred to the city as Manbai . The French traveller Louis Rousselet , who visited in 1863 and 1868, states in his book L'Inde des Rajahs , which was first published in 1877: "Etymologists have wrongly derived this name from the Portuguese Bôa Bahia, or (French: "bonne bai", English: "good bay"), not knowing that the tutelar goddess of this island has been, from remote antiquity, Bomba, or Mumba Devi , and that she still ... possesses
7747-404: The Indian union were integrated into the state. Subsequently, the city became the capital of Bombay State. In April 1950, Municipal limits of Mumbai were expanded by merging the Mumbai Suburban District and Mumbai City to form the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation. The Samyukta Maharashtra movement to create a separate Maharashtra state including Mumbai was at its height in the 1950s. In
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#17327804556727874-435: The Island City, the average maximum temperature is 31 °C (88 °F), while the average minimum temperature is 24 °C (75 °F). In the suburbs, the daily mean maximum temperature range from 29 °C (84 °F) to 33 °C (91 °F), while the daily mean minimum temperature ranges from 16 °C (61 °F) to 26 °C (79 °F). The record high is 42.2 °C (108 °F) set on 14 April 1952, and
8001-415: The New Year ( Noruz ). The priesthood is trigradal. The chief priest of each temple has the title of dastur . Consecration to this rank relieves him of the necessity of purification after the various incidents of life that a lesser priest must expiate. Ordinary priests have the title of mobad , and are able to conduct the congregational worship and such occasional functions as marriages. A mobad must be
8128-413: The Portuguese vying for hegemony over Mumbai, as they recognised its strategic natural harbour and its natural isolation from land attacks. By the middle of the 17th century the growing power of the Dutch Empire forced the English to acquire a station in western India. On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza , daughter of King John IV of Portugal , placed
8255-417: The Zela-sanctuary was Zoroastrian. Although the "burning of fire" was a key element in Zoroastrian worship, the burning of "eternal" fire, as well as the presence of "light" in worship, was also a key element in many other religions. By the Parthian Empire (250 BCE–226 CE), there were two places of worship in Zoroastrianism: one, called bagin or ayazan , was a sanctuary dedicated to a specific divinity; it
8382-421: The advantage that they are readily understood even by non-Zoroastrian Iranians. In the early 20th century, the Bombay Fasilis (see Zoroastrian calendar ) revived the term as the name of their first fire temple, and later in that century the Zoroastrians of Tehran revived it for the name of their principal fire temple. The term darb-e mehr is also common in India, albeit with a slightly different meaning. Until
8509-587: The age-old cult of the hearth-fire, and to discourage elaboration". The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (636 CE) and the Battle of Nihavānd (642 CE) were instrumental to the collapse of the Sassanid Empire and state-sponsored Zoroastrianism; destruction or conversion (mosques) of some fire temples in Greater Iran followed. The faith was practiced largely by the aristocracy but large numbers of fire temples did not exist. Some fire temples continued with their original purpose although many Zoroastrians fled. Legend says that some took fire with them and it most probably served as
8636-488: The ash of such a fire with them. This ash, it is said, served as the bed for the fire today at Udvada . This fire temple was not always at Udvada. According to the Qissa-i Sanjan , 'Story of Sanjan', the only existing account of the early years of Zoroastrian refugees in India and composed at least six centuries after their arrival, the immigrants established a Atash-Warharan , 'victorious fire' (see Warharan for etymology) at Sanjan . Under threat of war (probably in 1465),
8763-468: The beginning of the Common Era , or possibly earlier, they came to be occupied by the Koli fishing community. In the 3rd century BCE, the islands formed part of the Maurya Empire , during its expansion in the south, ruled by the Buddhist emperor Ashoka of Magadha . The Kanheri Caves in Borivali were excavated from basalt rock in the first century CE, and served as an important centre of Buddhism in Western India during ancient Times. The city then
8890-431: The biggest are those of Adur Gushnasp in Media Minor (see also The Great Fires , below). Many more ruins are popularly identified as the remains of Zoroastrian fire temples even when their purpose is of evidently secular nature, or are the remains of a temple of the shrine cults, or as is the case of a fort-like fire temple and monastery at Surkhany , Azerbaijan, that unambiguously belongs to another religion. The remains of
9017-604: The capital. Mumbai is the financial , commercial, and entertainment capital of South Asia . Mumbai is often compared to New York , and the city is home to the Bombay Stock Exchange , situated on Dalal Street . It is also one of the world's top ten centres of commerce in terms of global financial flow, generating 6.16% of India's GDP, and accounting for 25% of the nation's industrial output, 70% of maritime trade in India ( Mumbai Port Trust , Dharamtar Port and JNPT ), and 70% of capital transactions to India's economy . The city houses important financial institutions and
9144-457: The city by a name other than Mumbai has been controversial. A resident of Mumbai is called Mumbaikar ( pronounced [ˈmumbəikəɾ] ) in Marathi , in which the suffix -kar means a 'resident of'. The term had been in use for quite some time but it gained popularity after the official name change to Mumbai. Older terms such as Bombayite are also used. Mumbai is built on what
9271-401: The city region is predominantly sandy due to its proximity to the sea. In the suburbs, the soil cover is largely alluvial and loamy. The underlying rock of the region is composed of black Deccan basalt flows, and their acidic and basic variants dating back to the late Cretaceous and early Eocene eras. Mumbai sits on a seismically active zone owing to the presence of 23 fault lines in
9398-509: The city's commuter trains . In 2008, a series of ten coordinated attacks by armed terrorists for three days resulted in 173 deaths, 308 injuries, and severe damage to several heritage landmarks and prestigious hotels. The three coordinated bomb explosions in July 2011 that occurred at the Opera house , Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar were the latest in the series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai which resulted in 26 deaths and 130 injuries. Mumbai
9525-594: The city, prominent being the St. Michael's Church at Mahim (1534), St. John the Baptist Church at Andheri (1579), St. Andrew's Church at Bandra (1580), and Gloria Church at Byculla (1632). The Portuguese also built several fortifications around the city like the Bombay Castle , Castella de Aguada (Castelo da Aguada or Bandra Fort), and Madh Fort . The English were in constant struggle with
9652-550: The city: Vihar , Lower Vaitarna , Upper Vaitarna , Tulsi , Tansa and Powai . Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake are located in Borivili National Park , within the city's limits. The supply from Powai lake, also within the city limits, is used only for agricultural and industrial purposes. Three small rivers, the Dahisar River , Poinsar (or Poisar) and Ohiwara (or Oshiwara) originate within the park, while
9779-413: The coastal region known as the Konkan . It sits on Salsette Island (Sashti Island), which it partially shares with the Thane district . Mumbai is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west. Many parts of the city lie just above sea level, with elevations ranging from 10 to 15 metres (33 to 49 ft); the city has an average elevation of 14 metres (46 ft). Northern Mumbai (Salsette) is hilly, and
9906-441: The corporate headquarters of numerous Indian companies and multinational corporations . The city is also home to some of India's premier scientific and nuclear institutes and the Hindi and Marathi film industries. Mumbai's business opportunities attract migrants from all over India. The name Mumbai ( Marathi : मुंबई ) originated from Mumbā or Mahā-Ambā —the name of the patron Hindu goddess ( kuladevata ) Mumbadevi of
10033-463: The corporation or the standing committee. Mount Khajeh Oshida or Mount Khwaja or Mount Khwajeh ( Persian : کوه خواجه , romanized : Kuh-e Kh ājeh ) is a flat-topped black basalt hill rising up as an island in the middle of Lake Hamun , in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan . The trapezoid-shaped basalt lava outcropping, located 30 km southwest of
10160-458: The country and particularly in Maharashtra. According to Slate magazine, "they argued that 'Bombay' was a corrupted English version of 'Mumbai' and an unwanted legacy of British colonial rule." Slate also said "The push to rename Bombay was part of a larger movement to strengthen Marathi identity in the Maharashtra region." While Mumbai is still referred to as Bombay by some of its residents and by some Indians from other regions, mention of
10287-830: The district of Kavul just as it there even now remains" ( IBd 17.6). That the temple once stood in Khwarezm is also supported by the Greater (Iranian) Bundahishn and by the texts of Zadsparam (11.9). However, according to the Greater Bundahishn , it was moved "upon the shining mountain of Kavarvand in the Kar district" (the rest of the passage is identical to the Indian edition). Darmesteter identified this "celebrated for its sacred fire which has been transported there from Khvarazm as reported by Masudi " . If this identification
10414-604: The earliest known settlers of the city, were brought to Mahikawati from Saurashtra in Gujarat around 1298 by Bhimdev. The Delhi Sultanate annexed the islands in 1347–48 and controlled it until 1407. During this time, the islands were administered by the Muslim Governors of Gujarat , who were appointed by the Delhi Sultanate. The islands were later governed by the independent Gujarat Sultanate , which
10541-518: The evacuation of the residents of those areas to temporary safe camps. Air pollution is a major issue in Mumbai. According to the 2016 World Health Organization Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, the annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2013 was 63 μg/m , which is 6.3 times higher than that recommended by the WHO Air Quality Guidelines for the annual mean PM2.5. The Central Pollution Control Board for
10668-503: The fire is only kindled occasionally. This is largely due to the financial support of such places by one Arbab Rustam Guiv, who preferred the dialectal Iranian form. Functionally, the fire temples are built to serve the fire within them, and the fire temples are classified (and named) according to the grade of fire housed within them. There are three grades of fires, the Atash Dadgah, Atash Adaran, and Atash Behram. The Atash Dadgah
10795-466: The fire was moved to the Bahrot Caves 20 km south of Sanjan, where it stayed for 12 years. From there, it was moved to Bansdah, where it stayed for another 14 years before being moved yet again to Navsari , where it would remain until the 18th century. It was then moved to Udvada where it burns today. Although there are numerous eternally burning Zoroastrian fires today, with the exception of
10922-543: The fire' in which the actual fire-altar stands). A temple at which a Yasna service (the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the Yasna liturgy) may be celebrated will always have, attached to it or on the grounds, at least a well or a stream or other source of 'natural' water. This is a critical requirement for the Ab-Zohr , the culminating rite of the Yasna service. Only priests attached to
11049-649: The fire(s). While this is not a doctrinal requirement (that is, it is not an injunction specified in the Avesta or in the so-called Pahlavi texts), it has nonetheless developed as a tradition. It is, however, mentioned in a 16th-century Rivayat epistle ( R. 65). In addition, entry into any part of the facility is sometimes reserved for Zoroastrians only. This then precludes the use of temple hall for public (also secular) functions. Zoroastrians insist, though, that these restrictions are not meant to offend non-Zoroastrians, and point to similar practices in other religions. There
11176-403: The fire. The priest will use a special ladle to proffer the holy ash to the layperson, who in turn daubs it on his or her forehead and eyelids, and may take some home for use after a Kushti ceremony. A Zoroastrian priest does not preach or hold sermons, but rather just tends to the fire . Fire Temple attendance is particularly high during seasonal celebrations ( Gahambar s), and especially for
11303-420: The hearth fire, or to the oil lamp found in many Zoroastrian homes. The next highest grade of fire is the Atash Adaran , the "Fire of fires". It requires a gathering of hearth fire from representatives of the four professional groups (that reflect feudal estates): from a hearth fire of the asronih (the priesthood), the (r)atheshtarih (soldiers and civil servants), the vastaryoshih (farmers and herdsmen) and
11430-572: The highest point in the city is 450 metres (1,480 ft) at Salsette in the Powai – Kanheri ranges. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivali National Park) is located partly in the Mumbai suburban district , and partly in the Thane district, and it extends over an area of 103.09 square kilometres (39.80 sq mi). Apart from the Bhatsa Dam , there are six major lakes that supply water to
11557-400: The injunctions of Yasna 3.1 and Yashts 14.55 that describe which fuels are not (in particular, any not of wood). In present-day Zoroastrian tradition, the offering is never made directly, but placed in the care of the celebrant priest who, wearing a cloth mask over the nostrils and mouth to prevent pollution from the breath, will then – using a pair of silver tongs – place the offering in
11684-446: The introduction of Atar as a divinity. There is no allusion to a temple of fire in the Avesta proper, nor is there any Old Persian word for one. That the rituals of fire was a doctrinal modification and absent from early Zoroastrianism is also evident in the later Atash Nyash . In the oldest passages of that liturgy, it is the hearth fire that speaks to "all those for whom it cooks the evening and morning meal", which Boyce observes
11811-533: The islands in possession of the English Empire , as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles. However, Salsette , Bassein , Mazagaon , Parel , Worli , Sion , Dharavi , and Wadala still remained under Portuguese possession. From 1665 to 1666, the English managed to acquire Mahim, Sion, Dharavi, and Wadala. In accordance with the Royal Charter of 27 March 1668 , England leased these islands to
11938-513: The legends and miracles that were purported to have occurred at their respective sites. Each of the three is also said to have mirrored social and feudal divisions: "The fire which is Farnbag has made its place among the priests; ... the fire which is Gūshnasp has made its place among the warriors; ... the fire which is Būrzīn-Mitrō has made its place among agriculturists" ( Denkard , 6.293). These divisions are archaeologically and sociologically revealing, because they make clear that, since from at least
12065-519: The local economy has since then diversified to include finance , engineering , diamond-polishing, healthcare , and information technology. The key sectors contributing to the city's economy are: finance, gems & jewellery, leather processing, IT and ITES , textiles, petrochemical, electronics manufacturing, automobiles, and entertainment. Nariman Point and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) are Mumbai's major financial centres. Despite competition from Bangalore , Hyderabad and Pune , Mumbai has carved
12192-487: The movement in which 105 people died in clashes with the police, Bombay State was reorganised on linguistic lines on 1 May 1960. Gujarati -speaking areas of Bombay State were partitioned into the state of Gujarat. Maharashtra State with Mumbai as its capital was formed with the merger of Marathi -speaking areas of Bombay State , eight districts from Central Provinces and Berar , five districts from Hyderabad State , and numerous princely states enclosed between them. As
12319-503: The native Koli community —and from ā'ī , meaning "mother" in the Marathi language , which is the mother tongue of the Koli people and the official language of Maharashtra. According to certain accounts, the Koli community, which hails from Kathiawar and Central Gujarat , is believed to have introduced their deity Mumba from Kathiawar ( Gujarat ), where her worship continues to this day. However, other sources disagree that Mumbai's name
12446-723: The past few decades, the frequency of floods in Mumbai is enormous, the 2005 Mumbai floods are characterised by 500-1000 deaths, household displacements, damaged infrastructure-(including heritage sites), and a financial loss of US$ 1.2 billion. In the process of reducing floods in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government adopted a flood mitigation plan; according to which the drainage system will be restructured, restoration of Mithi River , and re-establishment of informal settlements. Local civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities are assigned to forecast and issue eviction notices while BMC along with NGO's prepare for
12573-410: The presence of Ohrmazd ." Although "in the eyes of [contemporary] Iranian Zoroastrian priests, the three fires were not 'really existing' temple fires and rather belonged to the mythological realm", several attempts have been made to identify the locations of the Great Fires. In the early 20th century, A. V. Jackson identified the remains at Takht-i-Suleiman , midway between Urumieh and Hamadan , as
12700-526: The record low is 7.4 °C (45 °F) set on 27 January 1962. Tropical cyclones are rare in the city. The worst cyclone to ever impact Mumbai was the one in 1948 where gusts reached 151 km/h (94 mph) in Juhu. The storm left 38 people dead and 47 missing. The storm reportedly impacted Mumbai for 20 hours and left the city devastated. Mumbai is prone to monsoon floods, exacerbated by climate change which affects heavy rains and high tide in
12827-520: The rest of India , and 17 in other countries. Of these, only nine (one in Iran and eight in India) are the main temples known as Atash Behrams ; the remainder are the smaller temples known as agiaries. First evident in the 9th century BCE , the rituals of fire are contemporary with that of Zoroastrianism itself. It appears at approximately the same time as the shrine cult and is roughly contemporaneous with
12954-667: The rest of India, Mumbai has witnessed an economic boom since the liberalisation of 1991 , the finance boom in the mid-nineties and the IT, export, services and outsourcing boom in the 2000s. Estimates of the 2016 economy of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have ranged from $ 368 billion to $ 400 billion ( PPP metro GDP ) ranking it either the most or second-most productive metro area of India. Many of India's numerous conglomerates (including Larsen & Toubro , State Bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Tata Group , Godrej and Reliance ), and five of
13081-465: The ruins of a citadel complex - known as the Ghagha-Shahr - with its remains of a fire temple date to pre-Islamic Iran. According to Zoroastrian legend, Lake Hamun is "the keeper of Zoroaster's seed." In Zoroastrian eschatology, when the final renovation of the world is near, maidens will enter the lake and then give birth to the saoshyans , the saviours of humankind. The citadel complex
13208-496: The sea. According to the World Bank , unplanned drainage system and informal settlement is a key factor of frequent floods in Mumbai. Among other causes of flooding in Mumbai is its geographic location , Mumbai urban is peninsular in form, (a land-filled area that connects seven islands) a low laying area, compared to its suburbs that sit on an elevated location. Over the past few decades, new informal settlements were formed in
13335-423: The son, grandson, or great-grandson of a mobad. The lowest rank is that of herbad , or ervad; these assist at the principal ceremonies. Mumbai Mumbai ( / m ʊ m ˈ b aɪ / muum- BY ; ISO : Muṁbaī , Marathi: [ˈmumbəi] ), formerly known as Bombay ( / b ɒ m ˈ b eɪ / bom- BAY ), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra . Mumbai
13462-576: The suburbs, causing a rapid increase in population, improper waste management, and drainage congestion. The rainwater from these areas heavily flows towards low-lying urban areas consisting of some slums and high-rise buildings. As a result, slums are either swamped , washed away, or collapse causing heavy casualties, and post-flood water logging lasts for a long time that causing blockage of railway lines-(most frequently used public transport in Mumbai), traffic snarl, inundated roads, and sub-merged bylanes. Over
13589-584: The temple of Adur Gushnasp. The location of the Mithra fire, i.e. that of Burzen-Mihr, Jackson "identified with reasonable certainty" as being near the village of Mihr half-way between Miandasht and Sabzevar on the Khorasan road to Nishapur . The Indian (lesser) Bundahishn records the Farnbag fire having been "on the glory-having mountain which is in Khwarezm " but later moved "upon the shining mountain in
13716-433: The term referred to a consecrated inner sanctum or to the ritual precinct. Among present-day Iranian Zoroastrians, the term darb-e mehr includes the entire ritual precinct. It is significantly more common than the older atashkada , a Classical Persian language term that together with its middle Persian predecessors (𐭪𐭲𐭪 𐭠𐭲𐭧𐭱 ātaxš-kadag , -man and -xanag ) literally means 'house of fire'. The older terms have
13843-657: The textile industry was adversely affected. While the city was the capital of the Bombay Presidency , the Indian independence movement fostered the Quit India Movement in 1942 and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in 1946. After India's independence in 1947, the territory of the Bombay Presidency retained by India was restructured into Bombay State . The area of Bombay State increased, after several erstwhile princely states that joined
13970-469: The town of Zabol , rises to 609 meters above sea level and has a diameter ranging from 2.0 to 2.5 kilometres. It is the only natural height in the Sistan area, and is named after an Islamic pilgrimage site on the hill: the tomb and shrine of Khwaja Ali Mahdi, a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib . Mount Khwaja is also considered an important archaeological site. On the southern promontory of the eastern slope,
14097-666: The treaty, the Seven Islands of Bombay, the nearby strategic town of Bassein and its dependencies were offered to the Portuguese. The territories were later surrendered on 25 October 1535. The Portuguese were actively involved in the foundation and growth of their Roman Catholic religious orders in Bombay. They called the islands by various names, which finally took the written form Bombaim . The islands were leased to several Portuguese officers during their regime. The Portuguese Franciscans and Jesuits built several churches in
14224-513: The vicinity. The area is classified as a Seismic Zone III region , which means an earthquake of up to magnitude 6.5 on the Richter magnitude scale may be expected. Mumbai has an extreme tropical wet and dry climate ( Aw ) under the Köppen climate classification , although the central and northern suburbs have a tropical monsoon climate ( Am ) with even heavier wet season rainfall. Mumbai has
14351-528: The widespread 1982 Great Bombay Textile Strike , in which nearly 250,000 workers in more than 50 textile mills went on strike. Mumbai's defunct cotton mills have since become the focus of intense redevelopment . Industrial development began in Mumbai when its economy started focusing on the petrochemical, electronic, and automotive sectors. In 1954 Hindustan Petroleum commissioned Mumbai Refinery at Trombay and BPCL Refinery . The Jawaharlal Nehru Port , which handles 55–60% of India's containerised cargo,
14478-462: The world's chief cotton-trading market, resulting in a boom in the economy that subsequently enhanced the city's stature. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 transformed Mumbai into one of the largest seaports on the Arabian Sea . In September 1896, Mumbai was hit by a bubonic plague epidemic where the death toll was estimated at 1,900 people per week. About 850,000 people fled Mumbai and
14605-472: Was 3,452 mm (136 in) for 1954. The highest rainfall recorded in a single day was 944 mm (37 in) on 26 July 2005 . The average total annual rainfall is 2,213.4 mm (87 in) for the Island City, and 2,502.3 mm (99 in) for the suburbs. The average annual temperature is 27 °C (81 °F), and the average annual precipitation is 2,213 mm (87 in). In
14732-737: Was a custom in India that Zoroastrian women were not allowed to enter the Fire Temple and the Tower of Silence if they married a non-Zoroastrian person. This custom has been challenged before the Supreme Court of India . When the adherent enters the sanctum he or she will offer bone-dry sandalwood (or other sweet-smelling wood) to the fire. This is in accordance with doctrinal statutes expressed in Vendidad 18.26-27, which in addition to enumerating which fuels are appropriate, also reiterates
14859-621: Was commissioned on 26 May 1989 across the creek at Nhava Sheva with a view to de-congest Mumbai Harbour and to serve as a hub port for the city. The geographical limits of Greater Mumbai were coextensive with municipal limits of Greater Mumbai. On 1 October 1990, the Greater Mumbai district was bifurcated to form two revenue districts namely, Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban , though they continued to be administered by same Municipal Administration. The years from 1990 to 2010 saw an increase in violence and terrorism activities. Following
14986-536: Was constructed in honor of the patron saint (or angel) of an individual or family and included an icon or effigy of the honored. The second, the atroshan , were the "places of burning fire" which became more and more prevalent as the iconoclastic movement gained support. Following the rise of the Sassanid dynasty, the shrines to the Yazatas continued to exist, but with the statues – by law – either abandoned or replaced by fire altars. Also, as Schippman observed, there
15113-544: Was derived from the goddess Mumba. The oldest known names for the city are Kakamuchee and Galajunkja ; these are sometimes still used. Portuguese writer Gaspar Correia recorded the name "Bombaim" after 1512 in his Lendas da Índia ( Legends of India ). While some Anglophone authors have suggested this name possibly originated as an alleged Galician-Portuguese phrase bom baim , meaning "good little bay", such suggestions lack any scientific basis. Portuguese linguist José Pedro Machado attributes that interpretation to
15240-725: Was established in 1407. As a result of the Sultanate's support, numerous mosques were built, with one notable example being the Haji Ali Dargah in Worli . Erected in 1431, this magnificent structure pays homage to the revered Muslim saint, Haji Ali. From 1429 to 1431, the islands were a source of contention between the Gujarat Sultanate and the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan. In 1493, Bahadur Khan Gilani of
15367-454: Was finished in the 11th or 12th century CE, states that the Great Fires had existed since creation and had been brought forth on the back of the ox Srishok to propagate the faith, dispel doubt, and protect all humankind. Other texts observe that the Great Fires were also vehicles of propaganda and symbols of imperial sovereignty. The priests of these respective "Royal Fires" are said to have competed with each other to draw pilgrims by promoting
15494-475: Was first investigated by Marc Aurel Stein in 1915–1916. The site was later excavated by Ernst Herzfeld , and was again investigated in part by Giorgio Gullini in a short expedition of 1960. Initially, Herzfeld tentatively dated the palace complex to the 1st century CE, that is, to the Arsacid period (248 BCE-224 CE). Herzfeld later revised his estimate to a later date and today the Sassanid period (224-651 CE)
15621-595: Was known as Heptanesia ( Ancient Greek : A Cluster of Seven Islands) to the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE. The Mahakali Caves in Andheri were cut out between the 1st century BCE and the 6th century CE. Between the 2nd century BCE and 9th century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties : Satavahanas , Western Satraps , Abhira , Vakataka , Kalachuris , Konkan Mauryas , Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas , before being ruled by
15748-525: Was named an alpha world city . Mumbai has the highest number of billionaires out of any city in Asia . The seven islands that constitute Mumbai were earlier home to communities of Marathi language -speaking Koli people . For centuries, the seven islands of Bombay were under the control of successive indigenous rulers before being ceded to the Portuguese Empire , and subsequently to
15875-485: Was once an archipelago of seven islands : Isle of Bombay , Parel , Mazagaon , Mahim , Colaba , Worli , and Old Woman's Island (also known as Little Colaba ). It is not exactly known when these islands were first inhabited. Pleistocene sediments found along the coastal areas around Kandivali in northern Mumbai suggest that the islands were inhabited since the South Asian Stone Age . Perhaps at
16002-513: Was only in the Atash-i Vahram that fire was kept continuously burning, with the Adaran fires being annually relit. While the fires themselves had special names, the structures did not, and it has been suggested that "the prosaic nature of the middle Persian names ( kadag , man , and xanag are all words for an ordinary house) perhaps reflect a desire on the part of those who fostered the temple-cult ... to keep it as close as possible in character to
16129-464: Was rebuilt during the Parthian era (250 BCE-226 CE), and enlarged during Sassanid times (226–650 CE). The characteristic feature of the Sassanid fire temple was its domed sanctuary where the fire-altar stood. This sanctuary always had a square ground plan with a pillar in each corner that then supported the dome (the gombad ). Archaeological remains and literary evidence from Zend commentaries on
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