Garud (Garuda) (Symbol of conversion and transformation of Myths of India in Sām Nāmeh)

A study of the text of Sām Nāmeh and certain indications found in two of its side stories suggests the conversion and transformation of certain myths of India in this text, myths whose themes were probably introduced into Persian literary epic first through ma lil-Hind of Abū Raihān Bīrūnī and then on a more extensive scale through the era of translation movements during the time of the Mughal rule in India and the early Safavid rule in Persia. Thus, probably they entered into Persian epic texts via these translations. This research shows: i) the way in which these myths are cited and put into rhyme in Sām Nāmeh is different from that of Abū Raihān’s work, and ii) the author of Sām Nāmeh must have been little informed about these Hindu myths, by virtue of which the lack of knowledge about these myths on the part of the audience may be inferred. Moreover, given the time of the transfer of these themes from India to Persia, one can say that the timing of the creation of this work cannot be earlier than that of the rule of Jalāl ad-Dīn Akbar in India if Sām Nāmeh happens to be the work of one single author, and otherwise, one can say that at least those sections in which figures of the Hindu myths are present must have been related to this hypothesized period.