BORJ-NĀMA,maṯnawi of twenty-six distichs in the motaqāreb meter by Anuširavān b. Marzbān Rāvari, who lived in the 11th/17th century. His dated works were written between 1029/1620 and 1039/1630. He states that he belonged to a family in which the office of dastur (Zoroastrian priest) had been hereditary for seventy generations before him; his father had been a great poet, and his son Rostam had also tried his hand at poetry-writing. Anuširavān wrote poems on several subjects relating to the Zoroastrian religion and put some religious stories of varying length into verse.
The Borj-nāma is a mediocre poetical work about seeing the moon in each of the twelve zodiacal houses (see BORJ ii), with recommendations to perform or refrain from certain actions to look or not to look at persons or things, and to recite appropriate incantations or prayers on the occasions of each sighting. The purpose of all this is to ensure that the month in question shall pass pleasantly and without anxiety. In three contexts special Zoroastrian terms have been brought in: ašim (i.e., ašəm) vohu and iθā (i.e., yaθā) ahuvairyō (q.v.), the names of two of the sacred prayers, and urvar (plant).
The Borj-nāma has been printed in Persian Rivayats, ed. Unvala, II, p. 194, which also contains Anuširavān’s other writings.
Bibliography:
Žāla Āmuzgār, “Adabiyāt-e zardošti be zabān-e fārsi,” MDAT 17, 1348 Š./1969-70, pp. 172-99.
Search terms:
| برج نامه | borj name | borjnameh |
(Žāla Āmuzgār)
Originally Published: July 20, 2002
Last Updated: July 20, 2002
