Reflection of Vayu s Function Among National Epic Poems

Vāyu is one of the most mysterious Indo_Iranian gods that despite other Mazdayastan gods, has a concept of the dual confrontation of life and death. It has been mentioned in "Rig_Veda", "Avesta" and Pahlavi texts. By studying reflection of two different divine and devilish faces of it among these texts and after that in national epics, we are able to understand the enduring ability of this ancient god in forms of ritual_mythical patterns of pray, combat and death. Method of this research is descriptive_analytical and based on library sources through finding Vāyu `s function among religious texts and its reflection in epic poems it has been tried to show that despite the presence of simple word of "wind" in epics, we must pay more attention to its deeper layer of the word meaning and what that exists in its mythical_semantic meaning. After examination of various evidences in epic poems, we have come to conclusion that wind is not only a representative of a simple natural phenomenon, but also Vāyu , has kept its mythical function among epic works especially Shahnameh; and it has reflected itself through three main role of god of war, god of warriors with a variety of acts like its battle with hero, army help, hero assistance to cross the sea, flag overthrow and supporting the king, role of a death messenger, and finally as the role of tištar assistant in doing some acts like wizardry by the wind and test of hero by wind and coldness.