New Naqqaliشاهنامه
Character · The Shahnameh · Volume I

Barmayehبرمایه

bar-mah-YEH

The wondrous cow whose milk nourished the infant Fereydoon in hiding; Zahhak had her killed.

In the poem
First at A5.2, Zahhak Dreams of Fereydoon; last at A5.7, Fereydoon Sees the Daughters of Jamshid
Named
12 times, in 4 sections
Main stories
A5 Zahhak’s Tyranny and the Uprising of Kaveh (12)

In the poem’s own words

The 4 sections that name Barmayeh most often, with the summary from the Notes and the couplets that name Barmayeh. Tap a couplet number to read it in the full poem.
A5.2

Zahhak Dreams of Fereydoon

Forty years before his end, Zahhak dreams of three warriors, the youngest of whom strikes him with an ox-headed gorz and drags him to Damavand. After three days of terrified silence, the Mobad Zirak tells him that Fereydoon, not yet born, will overthrow him to avenge a father and a cow.

  • A5.2.62
    A cow named Barmayeh shall nurse the child,And guard the world-seeker, tender and mild.
Barmayeh named 1 time here · read the section in the full poem · notes
A5.3

The Birth of Fereydoon

Fereydoon is born. Zahhak’s men kill his father, Abtin, and his mother, Faranak, hides the child with the herdsman of the wonderful cow Barmayeh. When rumor spreads, she carries him to a holy man on Mount Alborz. Zahhak kills the cow and burns their house.

  • A5.3.7
    A wondrous cow, Barmayeh, grazed the plain,The finest cattle found in that domain.
  • A5.3.17
    She sought the meadow where Barmayeh fed,And wept before the herdsman as she said:
  • A5.3.19
    Nourish my son on Barmayeh’s rich flow,And guard the child wherever he may go.
Barmayeh named 6 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes
A5.4

Fereydoon Questions His Mother

At sixteen, Fereydoon comes down from Alborz and asks his mother who he is. She tells him of his father’s murder and the killing of Barmayeh. He burns for vengeance, but she warns him that Zahhak is still too strong.

  • A5.4.15
    There Barmayeh stood, bright as spring in hue,Each hair upon her hide a color new.
  • A5.4.17
    I placed you in his care and went away;Barmayeh’s milk sustained you day by day.
  • A5.4.18
    Peacock-hued Barmayeh your strength supplied;You grew like a bold leopard at her side.
Barmayeh named 4 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes
A5.7

Fereydoon Sees the Daughters of Jamshid

Fereydoon smashes Zahhak’s talisman, kills the Divs in the palace and takes the throne. He cleanses Jamshid’s daughters of the tyrant’s sorcery, and Arnavaz tells him Zahhak has gone to Hind, where he bathes in a vat of blood to cheat the stars.

  • A5.7.22
    He slaughtered Barmayeh, who gave me milk,Whose patterned hide shone bright as painted silk.
Barmayeh named 1 time here · read the section in the full poem · notes

Where the name appears

Named mentions by book, from the Universe Registry, the index behind this site. Titles and epithets are not counted.
A5Zahhak’s Tyranny and the Uprising of Kaveh12

More in the Glossary and the index of characters.