Barsom

The word barsom derives from the Avestan language baresman (trisyllabic, bar'əs'man), which is in turn a substantive of barez "to grow high.

[3][a] In present-day use, the barsom is a bundle of short metal wires or rods, each about 20 cm in length[4] and made of brass or silver.

The use of metal wires or rods is a relatively recent development: Until at least the 16th century, the barsom was made of twigs or stems, and there was an elaborate ritual surrounding their collection.

Yasna 57.5 mandates that each twig shall not exceed "the height of the knee," and Vendidad 19.19 (supported by the Nirangistan) requires each rod to be at most the length of an aesha and the thickness of the width of a yava.

The barsom that appears in Achaemenid and Sassanid art "was of impressive size, about 45 cm (1+1⁄2 ft) long, made up apparently of stiff straight rods.

The crescent-shaped brace of the barsom stand is likewise identified with vegetation: mah, the moon, is in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition the cosmogonical protector of plants and encourages their growth.

"The object of holding the barsom and repeating prayers is to praise the Creator for the support accorded by nature and for the gift of the produce of the earth, which supplies the means of existence to the human and the animal world.

An episode of the Shahnameh recalls that when Yazdegerd III (the last Sassanid emperor, but like his forefathers, also a priest) was in hiding, his request for a barsom gave him away to the enemy.

4th-century relief of the investiture of the Sasanian king Ardashir II . Mithra stands on a Lotus Flower on the left holding a Barsom. [ 1 ]
A 4th-century BCE depiction of a priest bearing a barsom . From the Oxus Treasure . The present-day barsom is much shorter, and made of wire.