A Study of Ritual Terms in Zarathushtnameh

This paper is a study of the ritual terms in the poem Zarthushtnameh by Zarthusht-i Bahram Pajdo. Zarthusht-i Bahram Pajdo was the most significant Persian Zoroastrian poet of the 7th century. Poetry of the Zoroastrian poets written in Persian of the post-Islamic era has not gained enough attention to be studied, although these poems possess particular verbal, content and stylistic features. In this paper the implied meaning of the special ritual words not directly expressed to the readers are studied. The terms used by the poet are considered to be specific due to the fact that they are not mentioned directly or have been quoted rarely. The development of the words from pre-Islamic era to the new era and their semantic and phonological changes are discussed.