Kordad and Amordad Amshaspand and their Signs in the Shahnameh

The Amshaspandan are six or seven sacred concepts of Zoroastrian theology referred to only as the highest attributes of Ahuramazda in the earliest times. In later recollections they have become the first and foremost creatures of the One God. The two notions of "Khordad" and "Amordad" mean perfection and immortality respectively.Among the works of the Persian literature, Shahnameh is closest to the archeological and philosophical system of ancient Iran. In this article, using the content analysis method we intend to search and analyze the direct and indirect signs of the two Amshaspand called Khordad and Amordad in the Shahnameh. The research sought to see why Amshaspan’s thought despite its epistemic importance in Shahnameh, seems to be ineffective and invisible. In this study after searching for the meanings and general features of Amshaspandan and then the specific functions of Khordad and Amordad, we looked at these features in the Shahnameh. By exploring all the Shahnameh, only one obvious mention of the two Amshaspand was found. We also counted all the general features of Amshaspandan and their specific meanings. After calculating their frequency, we analyzed the content of the data.

Ignoring the relatively large number of works that while describing Shahnameh, they also paid attention to its influence from ancient Iranian philosophy, we can also find very few studies focusing entirely on the effects of Zoroastrian Wisdom on the Shahnameh. In this regard, a useful and valuable thesis has been used extensively (e.g. Akbari Mafakhar, 2010; Moein, 2005; Qasempour, 2009; Sohrabi, 2008). But the fact is that perhaps because of the thinness of the Amshaspandan theme in the Shahnameh and the ignorance of these works to Amshaspandan's signs and features in the hidden layers of the text, none of these works focuses on this issue. For example, in the book Mazdisena and Persian literature, although the author has referred to one position to reflect the pre-Zoroastrian Aryan beliefs in the Shahnameh, (Ibid, vol. 1), in another position he has pointed to the reflection of Zoroastrian worldview in Persian literature . In another article he has also addressed the subject of Mazdisena and Ferdowsi. However, none of these positions have independently discussed the presence of Amshaspandan in the Shahnameh. In this respect, the subject matter of this article may perhaps be new and unprecedented.

In this article, content analysis method is used. It is a method through which the researcher counts all the evidences and then transforms all the conceptual elements of the text from qualitative and conceptual to quantitative and statistical after collecting and extracting from the text. After counting these symptoms and obtaining all their ratios and quantities, the researcher analyzes and interprets the results. Using this method and referring to the Moscow edition of the Shahnameh, we have studied the presence of two Amshaspand Khordad and Amordad in this context in two areas: 1) explicit references to the name, and 2) the indirect indications to their meanings and functions.

According to the general and proprietary features of Amshaspandan, we have listed 13 signs for Khordad and 17 for Amordad Amshaspand. Of the signings of Khordad, the most frequencies are jointly attributed to "presence in Amshaspandan system", "emphasis and prominence" and "belonging to the cultural landscape of ancient Iran". The attributes of "accompanying the concept of God" and "superiority over other creatures" are followed by them in terms of frequency. Of the specific concepts of this Amshaspand, the concept of “perfection and transcendence” has the highest frequency, followed by the concepts of “health and prosperity”, along with the concept of “immortality”, and finally with “the symbol of water”. Also the most prominent features of Amordad are “the connection with the concept of God”, “the emphasis and prominence” and "belonging to the cultural landscape of ancient Iran". Following these general features, the concepts of" presence in Amshaspandan system", "immortality", "superiority over other things", referring to the supernatural, companionship of Khordad , and ultimately companionship of the plant have the highest frequency respectively.

The two Amshaspand Khordad and Amordad are mentioned only once in the Shahnameh. This indicates a weak and slight reflection of Zoroastrian beliefs on the outer layer of the text. There is a similarity and closeness in the way of using and coming the two Amshaspand and in their signs in the Shahnameh; in fact, only the meanings and symbols of Amordad are little more than Khordad in this book. These concepts are mainly associated with the concept of God, and it means that the spirituality in the Shahnameh is very powerful and bold. The only explicit mention of Amshaspand, and consequently the mention of these two Amshaspand in the Shahnameh are in the story of Kikhosro and from the language of Rustam. It is worth noting that Kaikhosrow's perfection as the perfect human being in the Shahnameh world is linked to the perfection and immortalityrelated to  Khordad and Amordad. Among the results of the research are religious and epistemological function of Amshaspand without philosophical and ontological views, eight existence of Khordad asthe month and day , and lack of mention of Amordad in in these meanings.