Fravashis

Fravashi (Avestan fravashī; plural fravashis) is a concept in Zoroastrianism referring to a guardian or ancestral spirit. The term is typically translated as guardian spirit or protective soul. In Zoroastrian cosmology, every person, family line, and place has a fravashi—the immortal essence that pre-exists birth and endures after death. Fravashis are seen as benevolent guardians that protect the living, assist moral decision-making, and sustain family memory. They are invoked in prayers and memorial rites, and they are believed to guide individuals toward righteousness and away from evil. The fravashi of a person is closely linked to that person’s conscience and to the community’s shared ancestors.

Ritual practice centers on remembrance and reverence for fravashis. The Zoroastrian calendar dedicates a month, Farvardin, to the fravashis, and seasonal family feasts (gahambars) honor ancestors and communal fravashis. Offerings, prayers, and recitations may be performed to sustain the fravashi’s blessing for the living and to honor the dead.

Textual basis: The fravashi figure prominently in early Avestan texts and later Pahlavi writings, where it is described as both an individualized guardian and a broader ancestral or protective force associated with a family or place. The concept frames an ongoing relationship between the living and the dead within Zoroastrian worship.

Variations exist among communities—Parsis in India and Iranian Zoroastrians—yet the central idea remains: fravashis are enduring, protective spirits tied to persons, families, and sites, to be remembered and venerated.