The primordial man in Shāhnāmah

In various metaphysical spiritual traditions, especially in Taoism and Tasawwuf , two phases for a way-farer (sālik) has been described. An instance of this doctrine can be found in Shāhnamah. In this epical masterpiece, Syāwash owns the gnostic position of the primordial man (true man in Taoism) which is considered as the first phase of human’s perfection, so that his son, Key-khosraw, has attained the final position (universal man or Al-insān al-kāmil in Tasawwuf). This paper is aimed not only to analyze the story of Syāwash according to Shāhnāmah, but also to illustrate the spiritual state and virtues of Syāwash.