The primordial man in Shāhnāmah

Abstract

The primordial man in ShāhnāmahMaryam asadian 1; Babak alikhani 2In various metaphysical spiritual traditions, especially in Taoism and Tasawwuf , two phases for a way-farer (sālik) has been described. An instance of this doctrine can be found in Shāhnamah. In this epical masterpiece, Syāwash owns the gnostic position of the primordial man (true man in Taoism) which is considered as the first phase of human’s perfection, so that his son, Key-khosraw, has attained the final position (universal man or Al-insān al-kāmil in Tasawwuf). This paper is aimed not only to analyze the story of Syāwash according to Shāhnāmah, but also to illustrate the spiritual state and virtues of Syāwash.Key-words: Shāhnāmah- Syāwash, The primordial man, futuwwah, the primordial nature (Al-fitrah)1 - PhD student of Persian Language and Literature in Razi university of kermanshah2 - Associate professor of the Department of Religions and Gnostics at the Institute for Research in Philosophy