Analyzing the Discursive Function of the myth in the Super-Narrative of the connection of the political Order with the cosmic Order with Ashe's superior model with the symbolic-semantic approach

Document Type : مقالات علمی پژوهشی

Authors
Zeinab Zare 1
Ahmad Ghanipour Malekshahi 2
Masoud Rouhani 3
Gholamreza Pirouz 3
Hossein Hassanpour Alashti 4
1 PhD student in Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.
2 Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran
3 Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.
4 Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.
10.48311/LRR.16.6.1
Abstract
In the semantics of signs, a sign is characterized by flexibility, fluidity, dynamism, variability, multiplicity, and multidimensionality, rendering meaning an interactive, transformative, and multifaceted process. Consequently, the semiotics of signs facilitates a deep understanding of how meaning is produced, received, and functions within discursive systems, as meaning-making and the determination of meaning's functions occur within these linguistic frameworks. The presence of the sign-meaning system in discourses, praxis, and discursive appeasement forms the basis for multiple discursive formations. From this perspective, a mythological system, as a sign-meaning system, provides a cosmological framework to explain natural phenomena, closely tied to the function of perception. Thus, mythological systems relate to endeavors for the production and interpretation of the meaning of the human-constructed world. This study employs a symbolic-semiotic approach to analyze the functions of mythical resistance, praxis, and discursive appeasement of meaning within the super-narrative linking the political order with the cosmic order in Nezami Ganjavi's Haft Peykar. Focusing on the superior model of Asha, it delineates types of transcendental mythical resistance, phenomenology of identity, and semiotic play, defining discursive spheres continuously reworked through signifying energies. Findings reveal Nezami harnessed signifying energies to perpetually reconstruct discursive spheres, elevating myths to transcendental dimensions. Haft Peykar demonstrates myth's role as a cosmological sign-meaning system in negotiation.
1.                    Introduction
The ontological grounding of human transcendental consciousness resides in mythic metanarrative, which anthropomorphically constructs natural and social orders while rationalizing existential conditions. This foundation establishes a semiotic nexus between political thought and cosmic order, wherein societal harmony functions as the signifying pivot—a paradigm essential to Iranian political philosophy across historical epochs. Three distinct historic-discursive configurations materialize: antiquity's integration of political-cosmic orders through Aša (transcendent ethical order) and the ideal sovereign; the medieval reflection of cosmic order within Islamic monarchy's dialectic of Necessary and Contingent Being; and modernity's synthesis of civil-theocratic orders via triadic governance structures.
Employing semio-semantic analysis, this study deciphers myth's discursive function within Haft Peykar's political-cosmic metanarrative. Discourse bifurcates through enunciative modalities: the cosmic order discourse comprises Ahura Mazda as ordering principle, Mēnōg Realm as metaphysical domain, and Amesha Spentas as divine forces, while its political counterpart derives from these cosmic structures through Aša-Sovereign as ordering principle, Iranshahr as ideal polity, and social stratification as ordering forces.This mythic framework operates as a cosmological-perceptual system endowed with inherent hermeneutic functionality. Key innovations reveal how Aša's embodiment of Zoroastrian ethical cosmology mediates socio-political authority, while continuous re-semiotization of cosmic order enables transcendental meaning-making. Ultimately, the text's surface structure specularly reflects its deep-structural truth through strategic mythic deployment, demonstrating the intrinsic homology between narrative manifestation and cosmological ontology within Nezāmi's architectonics.
1-2 Questions: This study addresses two pivotal inquiries: First, through what semio-semantic mechanisms did Nezāmi Ganjavi strategically deploy mythic elements to articulate his cosmological worldview and political ideology in Haft Peykar? Second, what specific discursive functions does myth perform within the text’s cosmic and political orders when analyzed through a signification-focused lens
 
2. Literature Review
2.1 Semiotic StudiesSassani’s (2012) spatial semiotics anthology establishes space as the foundational matrix for sign evolution. Shairi (2015a) pioneers discursive resistance/appeasement theory through literary case studies (Proust, La Fontaine). Konani (2019) analyzes transcendental mythic resistance in Abrahamic narratives, while Jowkar et al. (2017) examine identity negotiation tactics in autobiographical texts. Semio-semantic studies on Haft Peykar remain notably absent.
 
2.2 Haft Peykar Mythology ResearchVaez et al. (2014) decode archetypal symbols (water, numerology) in the Black Dome’s tripartite narrative. Mohseni (2011) frames Bahram Gur as a Zoroastrian Asha-archetype unifying nations/faiths. Later, Mohseni (2014) applies Jungian individuation theory to Bahram’s alchemical marriage, revealing seven-stage transcendent initiation.
 
2.3 Research InnovationsThis study uniquely: (a) Conducts the first semio-semantic analysis of mythic discourse in Haft Peykar; (b) Reveals its Asha-based political-cosmic macro-narrative; (c) Exposes three latent ideologies (cosmic/sultanic/modern) through hermeneutic triangulation – an unprecedented approach
 
 
3. Methodology:
This research employs a dual analytical methodology: first, a holistic approach implementing structural principles of semantic parallelism and chiasmus through sequential textual engagement to reconstruct lost generic codes via tanāwub (alternation). The Aša-anchored super-narrative of political-cosmic integration manifests through seven narrative segments featuring four alternating events organized via annular linear sequencing and non-linear intertextual resonance. Three constitutive structural schemes emerge: (1) Bahram’s linear actantial trajectory through seven hermetic stages, metamorphosing from royal sovereign to sacerdotal Aša-embodiment; (2) the dialectical tanāwub between sovereignty and transformative events; (3) a mythic chronotope of eternal recurrence spatially configured as a mandalic circle interlinking an allegorical quartet. These schemes materialize as historical, ideological, and mythical sub-discourses encoding event-logic, sovereignty paradigms, and eternal-return symbolism respectively. Collectively, they constitute the macro-discursive formation synthesizing sacred cosmology and political authority, subjected to rigorous semio-semantic analysis. This methodology ultimately decodes how surface textual manifestations (mise-en-surface) specularly reflect deep-structural semantics (sémantique profonde) within Nezāmi’s narrative architecture.
 
4. Conclusion
The discourse of Haft Peykar functions as a linguistic phenomenon whose surface structure specularly reflects its deep structural truth. Through enunciative modalities of space, time, and agency, Nezāmī constructs two interdependent discursive formations: a mythic identity-centric discourse anchored in cosmic order (Ahura Mazda - Mēnōg Realm - Amesha Spentas), and an ideologically-driven mythic discourse manifesting political order (Aša-Sovereign - Iranshahr - social stratification). The semiotic pivot bridging these systems is Aša—the transcendent mythical Self—derived from cosmic order and actualized through seven hermetic stages of Zoroastrian initiation. This metamorphosis positions the sovereign as the ideal ordering principle within the utopian polity (Iranshahr), confirming myth's role as a cosmological-perceptual framework endowed with inherent hermeneutic functionality for meaning-production.
Nezāmī strategically deploys spatial valorization through continuum-network-context paradigms (celestial spheres, domes, Khavarnaq palace, seven pavilions) to generate axiological oscillation within liminal spaces. Concurrently, temporal semiosis harnesses mythic chronotopes (numerology, seasonal cycles) to construct possible worlds, while actantial metamorphosis re-signifies characters as divine archetypes: Bahram becomes Aša's embodiment, Senmār transforms into the solar Simurgh, and Shīdeh emerges as the Mithraic deity. Crucially, Ahura Mazda's cosmogonic agency transfers to Aša, establishing dialectical unity between material and metaphysical realms.
This configuration generates a semiotics of identity wherein peripheral subjects negotiate presence through convergent alignment with or divergent resistance against the central mythic Subject. These dynamics manifest as transtextual formations articulating modalities of transcendent resistance, phenomenological praxis, and identity-based appeasement within ethically-charged discourse. Mythopoetic energies injected into discursive spheres thus enable three fundamental operations: the continuous re-semiotization of cosmic order into political authority, subject-position oscillation through liminal spatiality, and the ontological grounding of Iran-shahri political cosmology through ritualized spatial-semantic constructs.
 

Keywords

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Language Related Research
Volume 16, Issue 6 - Serial Number 90
January and February 2026
Pages 1-36