Reflections of “ Monāzere” in Dīnkard IV

Monāzere (literally “Debate” or “Disputation”) or So’āl-o Javāb (literally “Question and Answer”), as a genre, draws on a long-standing tradition in Persian literature. Probably the Iranians adopted this literary genre from oral literature and the Sumerian and Akkadian texts in ancient Mesopotamia. Monāzere is often in the form of a dialogue between two characters or is the account of the interaction or debate between rival animals or even objects. In mystical literature, the “Debate” is mostly between the lover and beloved, commonly followed by goftam (I said), gofti (you said), goftā (s/he said). The present paper is organized into five main sections: The oldest evidence of “Debate” in ancient Iran; Types of “Debate”; Method of “Debate”; Purpose of “Debate”; and frašna in Avestan literature. The final part contains the transcription and translation of sentences from Pahlavi edition of Dīnkard IV in relation to principles of the “Debate”.