I once read that King Darius had proudly declared: "Adam Daravayoush… Parsa Parsaputhra Arya Arya Chitra (I am Darius, Parsi, son of a Parsi, Aryan of Aryan seed)” and had the same engraved in stone. Would this imply that the name "Parsi” or "Parsa” was in use much earlier than we presume and has not come about from the province of Pars where our ancestors are supposed to have lived before leaving Iran for India?
RASHID S. MEDORA
Ahmedabad
Dr Homi B. Dhalla clarifies
The inscription of Darius the Great (522-486 BC) at Naqsh-i-Rustam is quite well known to scholars and historians of Achaemenian history. Yes, the term "Parsi” was known from Achaemenian times as can be deduced from the inscription: "Adam darayavaush khshaya-thiya vazraka khshayathiya/khshayathi-yanam… parsa parsahya puthra ariya ariyachithra (I, Darius, the great king, the king of kings… a Parsi, the son of a Parsi, an Aryan of Aryan family).”
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