Navjote means a new worshipper, nav meaning new and jote derived from avastan word ‘zaotar’ meaning one who offers prayers to the Divine.

A Navjote (or Sudreh-Pushi) is the sacred Zoroastrian initiation ceremony where a child receives their first Sudreh (sacred undershirt) and Kusti (sacred thread), marking their formal commitment to the faith and connection with Prophet Zarathushtra as their spiritual guide, typically performed between ages 7 and 9 preferably before puberty. It is a milestone event for our Zarthushti children, signifying their responsibility to follow religious principles and prayers, and is celebrated with family and friends.

Key Aspects of the Ceremony is to invest the child with the symbolic religious garments (Sudreh & Kusti) and reaffirm their faith in Ahura Mazda( the supreme intellect or Creator who has no form no shape no gender).

Sudreh(spiritual white muslin shirt) kusti (girdle)was first worn by King Jamshed upon instructions from Ahura Mazda long before our prophet Asho Zarathustra who later accepted and promoted it, making it a fundamental ritual for Zoroastrians.
Navjote Ritual includes a ceremonial bath (Nahan or snehan in sanskrit), recitation of prayers, and the priest blessing the child with the Sudreh and Kusti.
It’s a personal and community celebration, symbolizing a child’s transition to a responsible Zoroastrian life.

The sudreh is a sacred, white cotton undershirt worn by Zoroastrians as a spiritual garment, symbolizing purity and representing the “good path” of righteousness, worn with the sacred girdle, the kusti, as a reminder of faith and to serve as spiritual armour.

It symbolically represents purity, innocence, embodying the essence of the Zoroastrian faith.
The Gireban (a small Pocket) worn close to the heart chakra is meant to collect good deeds (Humata, Hukhta, Hvarashta –Good Thoughts, Words, Deeds) as a reminder for the wearer. It also has nine specific seams and parts, each with symbolic meaning, including the Girdo (nape) and Tiris (straight and triangular),

Together with the kusti, it acts as spiritual armour, protecting against evil and connecting the wearer to God (Ahura Mazda) and is worn daily, next to the skin, under regular clothes.

The kusti, a sacred wool cord made out of 72 threads of wool (symbolising the 72 ‘Ha s’ of the Yasna the primary liturgical Zoroastrian text), is tied around the waist in specific prayers. Wool absorbs and retains the vibration of the ancient mantras and therefore is a shield of protection for the wearer.

Courtesy : Farida Irani