Bundahishn
Also known as: Bundahishn (Greater/Lesser Recensions), Zand-i Bundahishn, Bundahišn, Pahlavi Bundahishn, Book of Creation (Pahlavi)
A Middle Persian compendium of Zoroastrian cosmogony, cosmography, and eschatology, the Bundahishn narrates creation, the assault of Ahriman, the mixed world’s history, and the final renovation (Frashōkereti), alongside detailed catalogs of time, lands, stars, and deities.
Description
Compiled in Middle Persian from older Avestan and Sasanian materials, the Bundahishn (“Primal Creation”) systematizes Zoroastrian doctrine into a sweeping mythic history. It opens with Ohrmazd’s spiritual creation and Ahriman’s hostile irruption, then details the temporal mingling of good and evil across a fixed cosmic timetable. The text explains the heavens, zodiac, fixed stars, and calendar; the world’s mountains, rivers, and regions; and the origins of plants, animals, and humankind from primordial prototypes. It recounts emblematic episodes—the slaying of the primeval ox, the emergence of Gayōmart, and the first couple Mashya and Mashyānē—and looks ahead to the Saoshyant’s arrival, the resurrection of the dead, and a molten-metal ordeal that purifies creation. Two main recensions, Iranian (Lesser) and Indian (Greater), preserve overlapping but not identical chapters and lists, reflecting a living scholastic tradition.
Historiography
Survives in two primary Pahlavi recensions: the Iranian/Lesser Bundahishn (shorter, earlier) and the Indian/Greater Bundahishn (expanded), transmitted in later manuscripts copied by Zoroastrian communities. E. W. West’s 19th-century editions and translations, followed by Anklesaria and others, established a working chapter order, though variants persist. Encyclopaedia Iranica and subsequent philological studies have re-assessed sources, vocabulary, and cosmographical data, situating the work as a Middle Persian synthesis of earlier Avestan doctrines with Sasanian scholastic elaboration.
Date Notes
Material derives from Avestan and Sasanian traditions; preserved in two main Middle Persian recensions: Iranian/Lesser (c. 9th–10th c.) and Indian/Greater (expanded; c. 12th c.).
Archetypes
Symbols
Major Characters
- Ahura Mazda
- Angra Mainyu
- Spenta Mainyu
- Vohu Manah
- Anahita
- Mithra
Myths
- Creation by Ohrmazd
- Invasion of Ahriman
- Cosmic Geography and Creatures
- Frashokereti: Final Renovation
Facts
- Bundahishn means “Primal (or Original) Creation” in Middle Persian.
- Preserved chiefly in two recensions: Lesser (Iranian) and Greater (Indian).
- Frames history as a fixed 12,000-year scheme divided into four 3,000-year epochs.
- Centers on the dualism of Ohrmazd (good) and Ahriman (evil) within a finite temporal contest.
- Explains cosmography: heavens, zodiac, fixed stars, and atmospheric layers.
- Details the origins of plants, animals, and humankind from primordial prototypes.
- Locates sacred geography around Hara Berezaiti, Lake Vourukasha, and the world river systems.
- Links religious calendar and festival structure to cosmological principles.
- Eschatology culminates in Frashōkereti, resurrection, and universal purification.
- Influenced later Zoroastrian scholastic compilations and New Persian epic traditions.