
Gudarz Mourns His Sons by Night
From B13.11, The Retreat to Mount Hamavan. It illustrates B13.11.11–17:
- B13.11.11All night they raised their wounded, sunk in grief;The wounded foe they left without relief.
- B13.11.12With fire they seared the wounds their comrades bore,Then bound and stitched the flesh that gaped and tore.
- B13.11.13Of Gudarz’s line, full many wounded lay,Some fell; some, bound as captives, went away.
- B13.11.14At this dark news he raised a bitter cry,The earth boiled where the horses thundered by.
- B13.11.15The chiefs all tore their clothes in bitter pain;He poured dark dust upon his head like rain.
- B13.11.16He cried: “No white-haired man has ever knownSuch grief as mine, such ruin of his own.
- B13.11.17Why must I still survive with silver hair,When many sons lie slaughtered in despair?
In the picture
Woodcut panels, identity sheets and banners © 2026 New Naqqali LLC, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0: share and adapt them for non-commercial use, with credit to New Naqqali. Rights & permissions.
New Naqqali
