babr-e bayān: the bawri garment of anahita

the symbolic cultural order becomes manifest through language in the case of texts and narratives and through images in the case of art. knowledge of the elements that compose the symbolic order is an essential analytical tool, above all for comparative studies of art, literature and religion. in this way, many of the symbolic references that exist in each culture can be illuminated by examples from myth, literature, art and the history of religion. the fundamental structure and bedrock of the symbolic order, which is relatively stable yet keeps returning in different forms, may thus be revealed. basedon the etymology of the expression babr-e bayān in the shāh-nāma and a study of the relevant myths and narratives, ioffer a mythological interpretation of rostam’s symbolic garment. the paper then closes with a semiotic analysis of rostam’s garment supported by evidence that suggests a possible link of babr-e bayānto the symbolic dress of anahita.