The symbolic function of numbers and forms in the structure of Nizami Ganjavi’s Khosrow and Shirin

The discovery of the structure of an effect has a prominent role in the achievement of the content and its hidden meanings and layers. Many myths, fairy tales and symbolic narratives have a systematic and symbolic structure, with numbers and shapes and illustrations of outstanding function. One of these texts is Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin. Based on this approach, this research aims to answer this question: what is the most important symbolic forms and numbers used in the structure of Nizami’s poem and how it is related to meaning. The method used was to read the trajectory and the path of the hero of the story and drawing its geography, which resulted in two quadrangles in the beginning and the end of the story. The first photograph will be destroyed by the hero's forbidden violation, and the ultimate goal of the story is to rebuild this ruin in the most complete way possible through four rounds of retreat by Khosro Porviz.

Every written work, like a building, has a plot and a plan in which the events, persons and elements of the story are placed at the intended place of the author. Hence, the discovery of the design and trajectory of the events of a work can be an important factor in understanding and comprehending the subject matter. The importance of the design and structure of the story is such that it can be said that each work according to its type requires a suitable design and the secret of its durability is the similarity of structure and content. Based on this view, in a symbolic work, we need to look for a symbolic design with symbolic shapes and numbers. The importance of numbers in the course of a symbolic narrative is that because of the numbers many of the immortal codes are uncovered. In addition to numbers, geometric shapes like squares and triangles, which have a significant relationship with numbers four and three, and symbolic images such as circle and mandala, also play a key role in the formation of symbolic narratives and stories, and arrange the movement of the hero, arrangement and selection of elements and other story subjects. According to this introduction and because of the symbolic nature of Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin, and according to the poet, the purpose of this research is to examine the symbolic structure of Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin and its relation to the content of the story, and the authors seek the answers of the following questions to achieve this goal: 1. According to Nizami, regarding Khosrow and Shirin being symbolic, does it have a symbolic structure? 2. What are the most important numbers and shapes used in the structure of the examined work? 3. Are repetitive numbers related to the content of the work in the Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin? 4. Can a link between the symbolic concepts of numbers and the characters of the work be found?

This research is done through descriptive-analytical and content analysis and is a library research. First, based on the hero’s path, the numbers and outstanding forms and recurring events are extracted from Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin, and after reviewing, their symbolic meanings are explained and described with respect to the narratives and the meaning and general theme of the work and its various events. And, if necessary, examples of other texts will be presented for citation and assurance. The statistical population of the research is the whole range of Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin, which has been thoroughly studied.

The structure of Khosrow and Syrin is an example of the symbolic and mandala structures which it’s beginning and end is the city of Madain, and has a circular structure. Throughout the story, shapes such as squares and triangles have appeared several times, which, according to the story's theme, have a symbolic function. In addition, numbers two, three, and four also have outstanding and symbolic functions in this work. Number four is considered the mainstay of the story in this work, and the incidents are based on quadruple. Hurmizd Shah sets these four laws for protecting the country and for wiping out the wounds from Khosrow Parviz. These quadruple laws are in fact the boundaries which the Shah of Iran sets for "ancient mask pattern". In the sense that these four laws determine the limits of behavior and social character of individuals. By breaking the symbolic framework, Khosrow loses four of his beloved Molas: the horse, the harpist Handmaid, Gholam-e-Ghori and the royal throne. And then, after accepting his father’s punishment he dreamed his forefather, Anooshirvan, giving him four promises. And the rest of this work is about this dream and getting four things by Khosrow instead of the four dear ones he lost. Four corners is the symbol of integrity in consciousness. According to this attitude, Khosrow Parviz loses four things that represent four corners of his masked personality after ignoring his father's order. And afterwards, he receives three calls and begins "the process of psychic individuality", and the result of this action is a more complete and comprehensive quadrilateral formation, with its sides completely in line with the first quadruple. After the rebuilding the quadruple, the hero, makes four journeys, the starting point of which is the city of Madain (the consciousness of the psyche of the champion). And thus, a four layered Mandala is drawn, and its ultimate form is perfection and individuality for Khosrow Parviz and the rebuilding the damaged quadrangle.

Discovering the design and structure of a symbolic work can provide many secrets about it, which is far from mind and impossible to achieve in normal reading for the first time. In other words, when faced with a symbolic text, one should look for symbolic shapes and figures that persons, events and elements of the story are arranged based of them, and shows the author's purpose as well. With this in mind, Nizami’s Khosrow and Shirin, in which the author refers to its symbolic character in its introduction, has numbers and forms in itself that are commensurate with the symbolic concepts of the text, numbers such as number two, three and four, and shapes like quadrilateral, triangle, and symbolic Mandala, which are discussed in detail and their function is explained. These numbers, on one hand, are consistent with the gender of the characters, and identify such things as: the number and sequence of events, and on the other hand, have a significant relationship with the theme of the story, which includes the individuality and unity of its main character. Movement and arrangement of story events, as general, is like a mandala with four loops that occur in a square/quadrilateral, so that in each loop and with every turn of the hero, one of the lost four Molas and dear ones are achieved in a more complete form, and the ruined square at the beginning of the story will be shown again at the end of the story.