
Garsivaz Whispers Slander to Afrasiab
From B9.47, Garsivaz Returns and Slanders Siavash. It illustrates B9.47.5–15:
- B9.47.5At sunset bitterness began to rise,And dark revenge took form before his eyes.
- B9.47.6All night he writhed, a serpent on the ground,And sleep nowhere within his eyes was found.
- B9.47.7At dawn he rose, and to the Shah he drew,His bitter purpose hidden still from view.
- B9.47.8They sat apart where none could hear them speak,And Garsivaz began his counsel bleak:
- B9.47.9“Siavash, king, has changed in every way;A secret envoy from Kavus came to stay.
- B9.47.10From Rum and Chin, too, messages arrive,At wine he keeps Kavus’s name alive.
- B9.47.11Moreover, troops have gathered in his train,Enough to fill a sovereign’s heart with pain.
- B9.47.12Had Tur not struck at Iraj long ago,Their father’s house would bear no lasting woe.
- B9.47.13But now our hearts, like fire and water, divide,And ancient hatreds cannot be denied.
- B9.47.14You seek to bind them, but you only strain,As though the wind itself you could contain.
- B9.47.15Had I concealed this danger from your eyes,All men would brand my name with shame and lies.”
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