سیمرغ — پرنده بهشتی عارفانه ایران
The Simurgh (سیمرغ) is the most magnificent creature in Persian mythology — a colossal, radiant bird said to be so old it has witnessed the destruction of the world three times. Its name in Avestan is 'Saena meregha' (the bird Saena), and it has been part of Iranian spiritual tradition for over 3,000 years.
In the Shahnameh, the Simurgh nests atop Mount Qaf at the world's edge. When the albino prince Zal is abandoned by his father, the Simurgh raises him as her own child. Later, she gives him magical feathers to summon her in times of need — those feathers help save Zal's wife Rudabeh during the miraculous birth of Rostam.
In Farid ud-Din Attar's masterpiece, The Conference of the Birds (12th century), the Simurgh represents the Divine — the ultimate goal of the birds' mystical journey. The birds who complete the journey discover that they themselves ARE the Simurgh: 'si morgh' (thirty birds) = Simorgh. This is one of literature's greatest mystical revelations about the nature of divinity and the self.
The Simurgh is a colossal, wise, divine bird in Persian mythology who raised the hero Zal and guided his son Rostam. In Attar's Sufi poem, it represents the Divine: when thirty birds complete their journey to find the Simurgh, they realize they themselves ARE the Simurgh.
The Simurgh symbolizes ancient wisdom, divine unity, maternal protection, and the connection between the human and divine. In Attar's Sufi interpretation, it represents the realization that the seeker and the sought are one.