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Afshin
Bagheri
Bundahishn
is
one
of
the
most
important
texts
in
Pahlavi
(Middle
Persian)
Literature
which
can
be
counted
as
an encyclopediccollection
on
Mazdayasna
teachings.
Despite
its
title―
meaning
Primal
Creation―
not
only
is
it
about
myths
of
creation,
but
it
also
contains
information
on
the
battle
between Ohrmazd (Ahūrā
Mazdā,
Ahūrāmazdā, Hourmazd,
Hormazd,
or
Hurmuz) and
the
onslaught
of
the
Evil
Spirit,
Iranian
history
from
Pishdadian[1] Dynasty
to
the
Arab
invasion
of
Persia
in
635,
the
prediction
of
future
events
and
notes
on
mythological
geography
and
different
creatures
from
animals
to
trees,
lands,
mountains
and
rivers.
Zurvan
was
the
primordial
creator
deity, the
god
of
infinite
time
and
space
which
is also known
as
the
only
deity
of
matter
who
predates
everything
else.
It
sacrificed
for
a
thousand
years
to
have
a
son
by
the
name
of
Ahūrā
Mazdā,
a
son
who
would
createheaven
and
hell
and
everything
in
between.
Towards
the
end
of
this
one-thousand-year
period,
it
began
to
doubt
the
efficacy
of
its
sacrifices.
Ahriman
(Angra
Mainyu),
conceived
at
the
moment
of
Zurvan’s
doubt, is
the fiendish
spirit,
the
source
of
all
foulness
and
evil,
and Ahūrā
Mazdā,
an
answer
to
its
father’s
prayers, is
the
source
of
all
light,
good
deeds
and
wisdom.
These
two
opposite
forces
have
been
the
generative
sources
of
classical
Iranian
mythology. Ohrmazd
(the
Lord,
the
Spirit)
is
the
positive
and
vital
force,
while Ahriman
is
the
negative
force
of
death
and
decay.
Myths
portray
a
world
in
which
everything
is
based
upon
determinism
while
our
today’s
world
is
one
of
relativity
and
lack
of
certainty.
Nothing
is
absolutely
good
or
bad.
In
fact,
it
can
be
as
good
as
it
is
bad.
Good
and/or
evil
are
intrinsic
qualities
within
mankind,
and
therefore
every
external
evocation
of
these
specifications
has
had
its
origin
within
us.
Ahriman
and
Ohrmazd
are
not
two
separate
principles
opposing
each
other;
they
are
in
fact
twin
spirits
of
human
beings
that
have
been
embodied
as
discordant
in
myths.
One
is
representative
of
all
the
good
within
mankind,
the
other
that
of
all
devil.
These
energies
are
in a
constant
battle,
with
mankind
caught
in
the
middle.
Sometimes
the
good
is
the
victorious,
sometimes
the
evil.
Written
by:
Maryam
Tāheri
Rād
Translated
by:
Azadeh
Feridounpour
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