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TheAb-Zohr (/ɑːbzɔːr,æb-/;Avestan:𐬀𐬞 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬚𐬭𐬀,romanized: ap-zaoθra;Middle Persian:𐭠𐭯 𐭦𐭥𐭧𐭫,romanized: ab-zohr) is the culminating rite of the greaterYasna service, the principalZoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of theYasna liturgy.
As described in the liturgy that accompanies the procedure, the rite constitutes a symbolic offering (𐭦𐭥𐭧𐭫,zohr <𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬚𐬭𐬀,zaoθra) tothe waters (aban <apas) in order to purify them.
The technical termsMiddle Persianab-zohr andAvestanapé zaoθra literally mean "offering to water" (ab, water;zohr, offering;cfApas). The words of the expression haveIndo-Iranian roots. TheParsi (Indian Zoroastrian) name for the procedure isjōra-mēḷavī (Gujarati:જોરમેળવી,lit. 'strengthen'), which reflects the symbolic purpose of the "offering to water", which is to give it "strength" by purifying it (seeSymbolism and Purpose, below). "Ab-Zohr" is pronouncedab-zor in theZoroastrian Dari language.
The procedure is also called theparahaoma rite, reflecting the technical name of the liquid, thehaoma, being prepared and consecrated during the ritual. In the 9th-12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition the procedure is also occasionally referred to as thehom-zohr, also reflecting the use of thehaoma plant in the rite.
TheHaoma plant (Avestan, middle and modern Persian:hōm) is the source for the essential ingredient for theparahaoma (middle Persian:parahōm), the consecrated liquid that constitutes the offering (zaothra). In Zoroastrian tradition, two independent preparations ofparahaoma are made for the offering.
Both preparations must be made between sunrise and noon, in theHawan gah (Avestan:havani ratu), the "time of pressing". The time of day of theYasna service is itself dictated by this restriction. The firstparahaoma is prepared during the preliminary rites (prior to theYasna service) in which the site of worship is consecrated. The secondparahaoma preparation occurs during the middle third of theYasna service.
The recipes for the twoparahaoma preparations, though not identical, are largely the same. In both cases, the ingredients include three smallhaoma twigs; consecrated water; twigs and leaves from apomegranate tree. The secondparahaoma also includes milk (in Iran from a cow, in India from a goat). The consecration of the water andhaoma (accompanied by ritual laving) also occur during the preliminary rites.
In the firstparahaoma, which is prepared immediately prior to theYasna service (during the preliminary ritual that also sanctifies the site of worship), the leaves or small twigs from thepomegranate tree are cut into pieces, and together with the consecratedhaoma twigs and a little consecrated water are repeatedly pounded and strained. The liquid is retained in a bowl, while the twig and leaf residue is placed next to the fire to dry.
The secondparahaoma preparation occurs during the middle third of theYasna service. It is prepared by the celebrant priest of theYasna and is essentially the same as the first, but includes milk, and is accompanied by even more pounding and straining. This secondparahaoma preparation begins with the recitation ofYasna 22, and continues until the beginning ofYasna 28 (Ahunavaiti Gatha). During the recitation ofYasna 25, the priest dedicates the mixture to "the waters" (seeAban), which mirrors the purpose of theparahaoma preparation (see below).
The mortar remains untouched during the recitation ofYasna 28–30. Finally, during the recitation ofYasna 31–34, the priest pounds the mixture a last time and then strains the liquid into the bowl that also contains the firstparahaoma. The twig and leaf residue from the secondparahaoma is also placed next to the fire to dry.
Yasna 62 marks the beginning of the final stage of theYasna service. At the beginning of the recitation of that chapter, the priest who made the firstparahaoma moves the (now dry) twig and leaf residue from next to the fire into the fire itself. Although this is done at a specific point during the recitation of the liturgy, the burning of the residue is not an offering to the fire, but the ritually proper way to dispose of combustible consecrated material.
Yasna 62.11 also marks the beginning of the actualab-zohr. During the following recital ofYasna 62, 64, 65 and 68, the celebrant repeatedly pours the combinedparahaomas between two bowls and the mortar, such that, by the end ofYasna 68, all three vessels contain the same amount of liquid.
The service then concludes with the recitation ofYasna 72, immediately after which the priest carries the mortar withparahaoma to a well or stream. There, in three pourings, libations are made to the waters (Aban), accompanied by invocations toAredvi Sura Anahita. The remainingparahaoma in the two bowls is given to persons attending the ceremony. Since the liquid, in its ritually pure state, is considered beneficial, participants may choose to drink a little of it, or provide some to infants or the dying. The remainder is poured away on the roots of fruit-bearing trees.
The offering (theparahaoma mixture) represents animal life (the milk) and plant life (the sap of the pomegranate leaves and twigs), combined with the strengthening and healing properties attributed tohaoma.
Through the addition of consecrated water, the preparation of theparahaoma symbolically returns the life given byAban ('the waters'). The principal purpose of the Ab-Zohr is to "purify" those waters, as is evident inYasna 68.1, where thezaothra ('offering') makes good for the damage done to water by humanity: "These offerings, possessinghaoma, possessing milk, possessing pomegranate, shall compensate thee".
This is underscored inVendidad 14.4, where the appropriate atonement for the sin of killing a "water dog" (an otter) is an "offering to the waters."Vendidad 18.72 also recommends its use as a general penance. According to a passage of the Avesta that survives only as a translation inDenkard 8.25.24, the ingredients and materials for an offering to the waters were carried by the priests accompanying an army so that soldiers could perform the ritual before battle.
The decontamination symbolism in the Ab-Zohr is a reflection of Zoroastriancosmogony, wherein the primeval waters (the lower half of the sky, upon which the universe rests, and from which two rivers encircle the earth) fear pollution by humankind. According toBundahishn 91.1,Ahura Mazda promised the waters to "create one (i.e. Zoroaster) who will pourhaoma into you to cleanse you again."
According to tradition, Zoroaster frequently made the offering to water (Zatspram 19.2-3), and received his revelation on a riverbank while preparingparahaoma (Zatspram 21.1).