F R E D D Y, [17-01-2024 18:45]
𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙝𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙖𝙫𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙞
Mr. Burjor Daboo’s write-up on the five “pols” of the Bhagarsath Anjuman is rather skeletal. Although the facts stated by him are correct, the said writer has failed to elaborate on why the “pols” were formed and what were the duties and responsibilities charted out for the member priests of each distinct “pol”. Also, he has not enumerated which families belonged to which “pols”.

Er. Kāmdin Zarthosht was the very first cleric to migrate from Sanjan, and settle in Navsari, along with his family, in 1142 A.C. (This information has been given in the handwritten book which mentions the details of the division of the assets of the ancestors of the family of the first Dastur MeherjiRana).

On or around the year 1215 A.C., due to a substantial increase in the number of Parsees, who had by now made Navsari their hometown, a pressing need was felt to have an additional pair of clergymen to cater to the ritual requirements of the surging Parsee population of Navsari.
It was then that the two sons of Er. Kāmdin Zarthosht, Rānā Kāmdin and Movad Kāmdin, requested a pair of “yaozhdāthregars” from Sanjan to permanently shift to Navsari.

Accordingly, in this year, one Hom Bahmanyār and his son, Faredoon, alongwith their kith, immigrated for good to Navsari. It is recorded in an old “feresht” of Sanjan that this historic emigration happened in the year Samvat 1271.
(A brother of the said Hom Bahmanyār, by the name of Hormazdyār, stayed back in Sanjan, and the descendants of his three sons, Dhanpāl, Kām and Shāer, were later officiating as panthakis in Udvada, Valsad and Sanjan).

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝔻𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 “ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕤” 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕄𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕎𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕋𝕠 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞
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As per an understanding reached between the three grandsons of Hom Bahmanyār, namely, Āshā Faredoon, Māhyār Faredoon and Chāndā Faredoon (three of the five “pols” are named after these three brothers), and the two sons of Kāmdin Zarthosht, Rānā Kāmdin and Movad Kāmdin, the ecclesiastical duties and rights of those belonging to the five “pols” was clearly delineated. (The remaining two “pols”, which were patronised each by the latter two brothers, came to be known respectively as “Kākā Pāhlan Ni Pol” and “Kākā Dhanpāl Ni Pol”).

It was mutually agreed by and between all the concerned parties that they would perform those rituals and ceremonies, and manage those posts as were determined by the pioneering legends of their individual “pols”, and the income thus generated would be distributed in the following manner :
The members of the Āshā Faredoon, Māhiyār Faredoon and Chāndā Faredoon “pols” would jointly be entitled to half the share of the total earnings of the mendicants of all the five “pols” put together (to be split in equal proportion amongst the colleagues of the abovenamed three “pols”; while the remaining fifty percent of the remuneration would be shared equally by the members of the Kākā Pāhlan and Kākā Dhanpāl “pols”, whose founders were the original settlers in Navsari).

Enumerated below is a list of the duties of the associates of each “pol” and the privileges they enjoyed –

1. Those affiliated to the
Kākā Pāhlan Ni Pol
would have the sole
rights to perform the
lengthy and artful
Hamāyasht ritual.
2. The constituents of the
Kākā Dhanpāl Ni Pol
were exclusively
entrusted with the
responsibility of
executing the equally
tedious and protracted
Nirangdin ceremony.
3. Only the members of
the Āshā Faredoon Ni
Pol had the authority
to recite the first Patet,
i.e., to carry out the
obsequies of the
deceased in Navsari.
4. Comrades of the
Māhiyār Faredoon Ni
Pol alone were vested
with the power to
grant permission for,

and oversee, the
initiation ceremonies
of the ‘Nāvar” and the
‘Maratab”.
5. Representatives of the
Chāndā Faredoon Ni
Pol were designated
with the clerical job of
“kotwāli”, wherein they
were responsible for
the proper
maintenance of the
office, and all the
records of the
Athornān Anjuman of
Navsari.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝗳 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 “𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘀” 𝗧𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 (in no particular order).
—————————————–

Kākā Pāhlan Ni Pol
———————————–

𝓐𝓻𝓳𝓪𝓷𝓲, 𝓤𝓶𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓪𝓻, 𝓚𝓪𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓪, 𝓚𝓸𝓱𝓵𝓪, 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓪, 𝓙𝓪𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓹𝓐𝓼𝓪, 𝓣𝓪𝓽𝓪, 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲, 𝓓𝓪𝓳𝓲, 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓱, 𝓓𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲, 𝓓𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓪, 𝓓𝓱𝓪𝓫𝓱𝓪𝓻, 𝓝𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓷, 𝓟𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓪 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓪𝓲, 𝓑𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓲, 𝓑𝓾𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓪, 𝓑𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓪, 𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓲, 𝓜𝓾𝓵𝓵𝓪𝓷, 𝓜𝓮𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓳𝓲𝓡𝓪𝓷𝓪, 𝓡𝓪𝓸, 𝓥𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓵, 𝓢𝓾𝓴𝓱𝓲𝓪, 𝓮𝓽𝓬.

Kākā Dhanpāl Ni Pol
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𝓚𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓪, 𝓚𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓪, 𝓝𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓱, 𝓝𝓪𝓷𝓲𝔂𝓪, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓲𝔂𝓪, 𝓑𝓱𝓮𝓭𝔀𝓪𝓻, 𝓜𝓪𝓭𝓸𝓷, 𝓢𝓪𝓴𝓵𝓪𝓽𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓪, 𝓗𝓸𝔃𝓭𝓪𝓻, 𝓮𝓽𝓬.

Āshā Faredoon Ni Pol
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𝓐𝓿𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓪, 𝓐𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓫𝓪𝓭𝓷𝓪𝓪, 𝓤𝓷𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓪, 𝓒𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷, 𝓚𝓪𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓴, 𝓚𝔂𝓪𝓼, 𝓚𝓸𝓽𝔀𝓪𝓵, 𝓖𝓸𝓫𝓱𝓪𝓲, 𝓓𝓪𝓵𝓴𝓱𝓪𝓾, 𝓝𝓪𝓿𝓭𝓪𝓻, 𝓟𝓪𝓭𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓱, 𝓟𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓴𝓲, 𝓕𝓪𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓪, 𝓑𝓸𝓭𝓮, 𝓑𝓪𝓷𝓪, 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓮𝓻, 𝓜𝓸𝓽𝓪 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓪𝓲, 𝓜𝓸𝓭𝓲, 𝓡𝓪𝓫𝓪𝓭𝓲, 𝓡𝓪𝓷𝓳𝓲, 𝓛𝓪𝓼𝓱𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓲, 𝓢𝓪𝓱𝓲𝔂𝓪𝓻, 𝓢𝓮𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓪𝓲, 𝓗𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓪𝓶, 𝓮𝓽𝓬.

Mahiyār Faredoon Ni Pol
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𝓐𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓪, 𝓚𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓲, 𝓖𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓿𝓲 𝓷𝓪 𝓚𝓪𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓴, 𝓖𝓪𝓻𝓪, 𝓓𝓪𝓫𝓾, 𝓑𝓪𝓶𝓳𝓲, 𝓜𝓪𝓭𝓱𝓾 𝓐𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓪, 𝓜𝓪𝓳𝓻𝓪, 𝓢𝓪𝓷𝓳𝓪𝓷𝓪, 𝓢𝓱𝓲𝓭𝓱𝔀𝓪, 𝓗𝓪𝓿𝓪𝓵𝓭𝓪𝓻, 𝓮𝓽𝓬.

Chāndā Faredoon Ni Pol
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𝓚𝓾𝓽𝓪𝓻, 𝓖𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓿𝓲 𝓷𝓪 𝓟𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓴𝓲, 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓫𝓟𝓪𝓱𝓵𝓪𝓷 𝓷𝓪, 𝓟𝓪𝓿𝓻𝓲, 𝓑𝓪𝓳𝓪𝓷, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓪 𝓷𝓪 𝓟𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓴𝓲, 𝓑𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓲, 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓸𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓗𝓸𝓶𝓳𝓲, 𝓢𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓴𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓪𝓷 𝓷𝓪, 𝓮𝓽𝓬..

~Y.M.H.