Another View to Esfandiar's Invulnerability in Shahnameh

Esfandiar’s Invulnerability is one of the attractions in the story of ‘Rostam and Esfandiar’ in Shahnameh. Esfandiar is a hero who is believed to be safe against all kinds of weapon and goes to fight with a person who has defeated demons and devils for 600 years. Surprisingly, this Invulnerability is not helpful and even accelerates Esfandia’s failure and death. But why is this? With Contemplation in Shahnameh, we recognize the main features of invulnerability that can answer our questions: 1. Invulnerability is not uniquely assigned to Esfandiar and other heroes are described with it. 2. Though invulnerable, Esfandiar wears armor and is wounded. 3. Esfandiar has never claimed that he is Invulnerable. 4. All the people who consider Esfandiar as invulnerable worry about his fight against Rostam and believe Rostam will be the winner. 5. Shahnameh never reveals how Esfandiar became Invulnerable. 6. Finally, it is not clearly demonstrated in Shahnameh that Invulnerability means the person is never damaged. So, the Invulnerability of Esfandiar should have another meaning. This is a code of Invulnerability that is in people’s mind about heroes. The meaning will collapse against death.