Simurgh, the fabulous bird of Persian mythology
The Simurgh as a legendary bird features in Firdausi's " Shah-Nameh" ( book of kings) and also in the " Mantiq al-Tayr" ( parliament of birds) It has a mysterious or even mystical character. Usually described as giant in size with eagle wings, vulture talons & extravagant tail. It has been suggested somewhere that it had a woman's face which is how I drew it here.
It happened that when Minucher became ruler he relied on his faithful councellor, the noble Saam.
One day Saam heard that his wife was about to give birth. He rushed home to be instantly disappointed at the sight of the baby - a boy with snow white hair. "But he"s like an old man!" exclaimed Saam, who was so utterly distraught that he took the baby and left him in a remote place. The cries of the infant were heard by the giant bird Simurgh who carried him off to her nest on the summit of mount Alburz. Here she raised the boy until he became "a man who was like a tall cypress, his breast was like a hill of silver and his waist like a reed" Meanwhile, Saam had been filled with terrible remorse through the years and a dream told him to seek out his son. He was guided by the dream to the mountain home of Simurgh.
The Great Bird consented to hand over the young man to his father who blessed him and named him Zal.
In time Zal fell in love with the princess Rudabeh who was " a rose and a jasmine from head to foot. One could say that her features pour wine and that her hair is all of amber. Her body is moulded of rubies & jewels and the tresses of her hair are like a coat of mail made of musk"
After they married, the court astrologers predicted they would have a son whose heroism would make him famous, that he " will be like unto a war-elephant, a stoutly girded son who will submit all men to the might of his sword and raise the king"s throne above the clouds"
Rudabeh had dangerous complications during labour so Zal burned a feather that Simurgh had given him to use if in trouble. The Magnificent Bird descended on the palace and showed Zal how to carry out a caesarean birth and thus appeared Rostam who would become the mighty warrior. Simurgh rested on the roof of the palace, observing the celebrations and then stretched out her giant, vibrant coloured wings to the amazement of the assembled people, rose up above them and flew away forever.
Below is an illustration of the "Flight of the Simurgh" c.1590 from Sadruddin Aga Khan collection.
Author-Basawan. (public domain)
In the Mantiq al-Tayr, a celebrated poem of about 4500 lines, writer Farid al-Din Attar uses Simurgh as a symbol of godhead in his allegory.
All the world"s birds are fed up with their lot and decide to send a deputation to visit the mighty all wise king of the birds. They know his name means "Thirty birds" and that he lives in a remote place in the mountains that ring the Earth. Not all of the birds have the stamina for the arduous journey.
In JL Borges description of the tale " at the outset some of the birds lose heart: the nightingale pleads his love for the rose; the parrot pleads his beauty, for which he lives caged; the partridge cannot live without his home in the hills, nor the heron without his marsh, nor the owl without his ruins."
However, enough of them make the difficult expedition across many seas and strange lands, deserts & forests until thirty are left to approach the king of the birds on his mountain. Borges writes "Thirty, made pure by their sufferings reach the great peak of the Simurgh. At last they behold him; they realise that they are the Simurgh and that the Simurgh is each of them and all of them."
This photo shows Simurgh on the portal of Nadir Divan-Beghi Madrasah, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
author- Alaexis (wikimedia commons)
The poetic quotations from Shah-Nameh are found in Larousse Mythology, english translation by Richard Aldington & Delano Ames.
lLines quoted from Jorge Luis Borges are found in his "Book of Imaginary Beings" which I recommend to anyone interested in Cryptozoology and Ancient Greek/Roman culture and Medieval and Eastern folklore and the lasting potency of stories.
s
It happened that when Minucher became ruler he relied on his faithful councellor, the noble Saam.
One day Saam heard that his wife was about to give birth. He rushed home to be instantly disappointed at the sight of the baby - a boy with snow white hair. "But he"s like an old man!" exclaimed Saam, who was so utterly distraught that he took the baby and left him in a remote place. The cries of the infant were heard by the giant bird Simurgh who carried him off to her nest on the summit of mount Alburz. Here she raised the boy until he became "a man who was like a tall cypress, his breast was like a hill of silver and his waist like a reed" Meanwhile, Saam had been filled with terrible remorse through the years and a dream told him to seek out his son. He was guided by the dream to the mountain home of Simurgh.
The Great Bird consented to hand over the young man to his father who blessed him and named him Zal.
In time Zal fell in love with the princess Rudabeh who was " a rose and a jasmine from head to foot. One could say that her features pour wine and that her hair is all of amber. Her body is moulded of rubies & jewels and the tresses of her hair are like a coat of mail made of musk"
After they married, the court astrologers predicted they would have a son whose heroism would make him famous, that he " will be like unto a war-elephant, a stoutly girded son who will submit all men to the might of his sword and raise the king"s throne above the clouds"
Rudabeh had dangerous complications during labour so Zal burned a feather that Simurgh had given him to use if in trouble. The Magnificent Bird descended on the palace and showed Zal how to carry out a caesarean birth and thus appeared Rostam who would become the mighty warrior. Simurgh rested on the roof of the palace, observing the celebrations and then stretched out her giant, vibrant coloured wings to the amazement of the assembled people, rose up above them and flew away forever.
Below is an illustration of the "Flight of the Simurgh" c.1590 from Sadruddin Aga Khan collection.
Author-Basawan. (public domain)
In the Mantiq al-Tayr, a celebrated poem of about 4500 lines, writer Farid al-Din Attar uses Simurgh as a symbol of godhead in his allegory.
All the world"s birds are fed up with their lot and decide to send a deputation to visit the mighty all wise king of the birds. They know his name means "Thirty birds" and that he lives in a remote place in the mountains that ring the Earth. Not all of the birds have the stamina for the arduous journey.
In JL Borges description of the tale " at the outset some of the birds lose heart: the nightingale pleads his love for the rose; the parrot pleads his beauty, for which he lives caged; the partridge cannot live without his home in the hills, nor the heron without his marsh, nor the owl without his ruins."
However, enough of them make the difficult expedition across many seas and strange lands, deserts & forests until thirty are left to approach the king of the birds on his mountain. Borges writes "Thirty, made pure by their sufferings reach the great peak of the Simurgh. At last they behold him; they realise that they are the Simurgh and that the Simurgh is each of them and all of them."
This photo shows Simurgh on the portal of Nadir Divan-Beghi Madrasah, Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
author- Alaexis (wikimedia commons)
The poetic quotations from Shah-Nameh are found in Larousse Mythology, english translation by Richard Aldington & Delano Ames.
lLines quoted from Jorge Luis Borges are found in his "Book of Imaginary Beings" which I recommend to anyone interested in Cryptozoology and Ancient Greek/Roman culture and Medieval and Eastern folklore and the lasting potency of stories.
s
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