Investigating the Cause of Invulnerability in Shahnameh and Mahabharat Based on Ritual Patterns

Introduction

Invulnerability It is one of the most famous, oldest and most repetitive myths in the world, and has always been considered by mythologists and many other types of researches have been done on the invulnerable. There are many questions about this. Why are invulnerable usually killed at a young age? Why a person is chosen to be invulnerable? Why the invulnerable are often killed by arrows? Which narrative about the cause of invulnerability is older? But one of the most fundamental questions in this regard is how the hero becomes invulnerable. In some epic and mythical narratives of the world, such as the story of Achilles and Balder, it is explicitly mentioned how the hero became invulnerable. But in some stories, the cause of the hero's vulnerability is not stated and has led to research on this issue. In Shahnameh and Mahabharat we encounter characters who are invulnerable or have signs of invulnerability, but the reason for this is questionable. In this article, we try to investigate the cause of the invulnerability of these people.
 

Methodology

In this article, we try to use rite patterns to analyze the data; for this reason, we pay attention to Eliade's findings from Shamanic beliefs. Eliade believes that myths and rites are related. He considers the rites to be the repetition of the oldest myths for the renewal of the world (Eliade, 2008: 80). Myths have changed for being oral; but because the rites were sacred and performed precisely, they have changed less than myths. Therefore, they can contain important information about the ancient form of myths and the cause of the hero's invulnerability can be examined according to the ancient rites related to invulnerability in Shahnameh and Mahabharat.
 

Discussion

Various theories have been proposed as to why heroes become invulnerable. In some myths, the reason for the hero's invulnerability is explicitly stated. In the most famous myths, Thetis immersed Achilles in water after her birth and Achilles became invulnerable; but his talon, which was in his mother's hand, did not come into contact with water and remained vulnerable (Dixon-Kennedy, 2011: 39). After killing the dragon, Siegfried drowns in her blood and her skin becomes invulnerable; but a leaf was stuck between his shoulders and this organ did not come into contact with blood and remained vulnerable (Eslami Nadoushan, 1972: 49). There are two accounts of why Balder was invulnerable in Norse mythology: In one version, Balder became invulnerable by eating snake food made by Gods (Warner, 2007: 395). In the famous narrative, his mother, Frigg adjure all plants and metals not to harm Balder; but she omits the bud of an oak tree and Balder dies from an arrow made from this bud (Davidson, 2006: 78-9). In Greek mythology, the water god, Poseidon makes Caeneus invulnerable (Dixon-Kennedy, 2011: 302) .Ayas becomes invulnerable by the skin of a lion that Heracles wrapped around him as a child (Khaleghi, 1987: 200). In Indian mythology, Duryodhana is invulnerable to his mother's gaze (Mahabharat, 1979: 2/501); but in cases like Esfandiyar, Rustam, and Arjuna, the reason for invulnerability is not clear.

1. Investigation of invulnerability in shamanic rites

One of the frequent themes in shamanic rites is swallowing a novice by a large monster. The symbol of rebirth is seen in shamanic beliefs around the world and one of the main symbols of rebirth is being swallowed by a monster at puberty (Eliade, 2008: 142). This pattern symbolizes death and rebirth (Eliade, 2003: 213). Swallowed by a monster is a symbol of entering the dark world of the dead, learning secrets from the spirits of the ancestors, and then emerging alive. (Eliade, 2003: 215). Landing in the world of the dead with a living body is one of the features of the heroic and epic initiation rites and is done with the goal of achieving immortality (Eliade, 2013: 136).

2. Esfandiyar and Rustam

Narratives about the cause of Esfandiyar's invulnerability can be seen in Iranian books. In a narrative, Zarathustra pours holy water on Esfandiyar and makes him invulnerable (Anjavi, 1980: 2/7). In another narration, Zarathustra gives the pomegranate she brought from heaven to Esfandiyar and Esfandyiar becomes invulnerable by eating it (Amoozegar & Taffazoli, 2010: 161). Minovi considers these narrations to be fabrications and guesses that Esfandiyar in the story of Haft Khan becomes invulnerable because she goes into the dragon's mouth and is immersed in the dragon's blood (Minovy, 1975: 80). Haft Khan is Esfandiyar's initiation and for this reason, it is related to shamanic rites. Esfandiyar fights with the dragon in Haft Khan with a box she made herself. The dragon swallows her, the warrior tears the dragon from within and kills her. The pattern of being swallowed by a dragon can be seen in this narrative, and it symbolizes the hero's journey to the dark world of the dead, where she learns from her ancestors and returns victorious. This story is both the rite of the hero's initiation and makes him invulnerable
Another invulnerable example in Shahnameh, is Rustam's special armor, "‌‌Babr e Bayan". After the epics become logical, armor becomes invulnerable instead of the hero (Khaleghi, 1987: 211). If we accept that Rustam is invulnerable, he probably acquired this feature in her rite of initiation, like Esfandiyar. Babr e Bayan armor is the skin of a dragon of the same name that Rustam kills in his first heroism. Rustam kills this dragon in the style of Esfandiyar. The warrior goes into the dragon's mouth with the help of a box she made herself and tears him from the inside (Haft Manzumah-yi Hamasi, 2015: 266). So this story is also a symbol of the hero going to the dark world of the dead and the hero returns from there after learning the secrets from his ancestors while he is invulnerable.

3. Arjuna

In Mahabharat, the story of Arjuna's invulnerable armor is very similar to this pattern. After the Pandus and Kauravs families disagree over the government, the Pandus gets ready for war. Arjuna goes to his father, Indra with the help of a shaman to learn war and get weapons. One of the weapons that Arjuna takes from his father is invulnerable armor (Mahabharat, 1979: 1/287-8). Her separation from her family marks the beginning of the rite of initiation. He also learns the techniques of war from his father and eventually returns with invulnerable armor. This narrative, like killing a dragon, symbolizes the hero going to his ancestors, learning from them, and returning to the world of the living while becamimg invulnerable.
 

Conclusion

Esfandiyar's invulnerability is probably due to the events of Haft Khan's story, in which he tears a dragon from inside. This story is a sign of his going to the underworld to his ancestors and returning from there, which in the shamanic rites can cause immortality and invulnerability. The story of Rustam's invulnerable armor and the way he obtained it follows the same pattern. But in Mahabharat, the principle of myth remains and we are not confronted with symbols: With the help of a shaman, Arjuna goes to another world to his father and returns from there with invulnerable armor after learning the secrets from him.
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