The comparative study of the Indian Garuda with Simorgh in Persian Miniatures (Safavid era)

Ever since antiquity Iran and India were considered as rich ancient civilizations and their common cultural origin was the reason to leave behind symbols, signs and mysteries alike for later generations. The study of these common cultural characteristics by way of search for the surviving symbols from those golden era help to unveil mysteries hidden in the labyrinth of history. In Persian paintings after Islam, the striking image of a bird is seen. Aesthetically speaking this is a massive bird with gigantic wings and beautiful colors in the heart of nature called Simorgh, a major mythological motif clearly manifested in our poetry and literary culture of our past. Similarly Garuda in Indian literary tradition is the counterpart of Simorgh famous as “king of birds” is considered as one of the Gods of animal origin, flies faster than the wind and serves as the mount of Vishnu respected greatly by the Hindus. The image of Simorgh and Garuda are among the most beautiful images masterly employed in the embellishments of many works in the Islamic art particularly in paintings of the Safavid period. The purpose of this article is to explain the symbolic roles of these two birds in their respective cultures and then make a comparative study using a descriptive method to show their impact in the miniatures of the Safavid period.