Bundahishn in Shahnameh

Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh contains a collection of culture, rite, myth and history of the Iranian nation. Shahnameh is not only a poetical work of rhetorical and epic structure but is also an amalgam of Iranian deeds, ideals, viewpoints and opinions. We do not know if Ferdowsi tried to reconcile the Iranian world-view and that of Islam, or he was of the firm belief that the life of man revolved round a peculiar type of epistomology that he found in a series of myths, exegeses and narrations from Avesta and Zoroastrian literature. The fact which cannot be denied is the relationship of all these, processed in Ferdowsi’s mind, and materialized through his poetic gift and talent.One of the interesting parts in Shahnameh is related to the world of myths and pre-historic man. Here you will face a beautiful and memorable story- much studied by numerous researchers, on the tyranny of Zahak, termination of the golden era of man (Jamshid’s reign) and the uprising of Freydoun.The article makes a comparison of the similarities and relationships between the above and the section “Tan Paseen” of Bundahishn, a beautiful literary interpretation of Avestan religion and rites.