Fereydoon and His Sons · A6.23

Gharan Takes the Castle of the Alanons

A captured signet opens a fortress. The narrator’s warning about credulity complicates the victors’ successful deception.

F&R English · 54 couplets · 5 commentary entries

Parallel text ↓Commentary ↓

The chapter in five texts

Text	Chapter treatment and distinctive choices
F&R English	Fifty-four couplets preserve the fuller cautionary counsel and a night signal, while shifting initial strategic initiative to Manuchehr.
Moscow	The sea-fort stratagem includes bracketed cautionary material; the local editorial layout distinguishes retained narrative from qualified passages.
Mohl	Pp 97–99 retain the fuller leopard-cub warning, nightfall signal and twelve-thousand figure.
Ganjoor	Sh19 has 45 couplets. It gives the first thought to Gharan, a dawn signal and an uncounted slaughter.
Khaleghi	The corresponding fortress narrative remains in the main text; local placement, apparatus additions and strategic attribution are not collapsed into a single claim of identity.

Parallel text

English left · Persian right. Ganjoor is the reference except where a row names a printed source. Select a number to open the relevant note. G identifiers distinguish digital sections across chapter boundaries.

1–10+

News from the battlefield reached Salm that day,

And darkness crossed his moon and dimmed its ray.

Behind him stood a fortress, huge and high,

Its summit thrust against the azure sky.

He thought to shelter in that fortress keep,

For Time can raise men high, then cast them deep.

Then Manuchehr considered Salm in flight:

“If he turns back and quits the coming fight,

The Alanons fortress will become his stay;

We should move first and seize the guarded way.

For once that sea-fort shelters him inside,

No man can force him from that place to ride.

Its summit rises upward through the cloud,

Raised from the water’s depth by craft endowed.

Each kind of treasure lies within its wall,

And Homa’s wing casts royal shade on all.

I must ride swiftly and my task sustain;

Let effort wear the stirrup and the rein.”

He formed the plan and told it Gharan then,

A secret still concealed from other men.

به سلم آگهی رفت ازین رزمگاه

وزان تیرگی کاندر آمد به ماه

پس پشتش اندر یکی حصن بود

برآورده سر تا به چرخ کبود

چنان ساخت کاید بدان حصن باز

که دارد زمانه نشیب و فراز

هم این یک سخن قارن اندیشه کرد

که برگاشتش سلم روی از نبرد

کلانی دژش باشد آرامگاه

سزد گر برو بربگیریم راه

که گر حصن دریا شود جای اوی

کسی نگسلاند ز بن پای اوی

یکی جای دارد سر اندر سحاب

به چاره برآورده از قعر آب

نهاده ز هر چیز گنجی به جای

فگنده برو سایه پر همای

مرا رفت باید بدین چاره زود

رکاب و عنان را بباید بسود

Ganjoor · f19:1-9

11–19+

When Gharan heard the Shah’s concealed design,

He said, “Wise ruler, hear this thought of mine.

If this seems fitting to the Shah’s command,

Entrust a mighty army to my hand.

I shall seize that passage firmly and hold fast;

No beaten foe shall freely travel past.

Give me the Shah’s auspicious banner bright,

And Tur’s own signet-ring to prove my right.

I shall shape a clever course by craft alone,

And plant our army in that hold of stone.

Gashasb and I will go this darkened night;

Let no one speak our secret till we fight.”

Six thousand chosen warriors would ride,

Renowned and battle-tested at his side.

When heaven’s face had turned to utter black,

They lashed tabiras on elephants’ back.

The battle-seeking chiefs moved in array,

From dry land toward the water made their way.

اگر شاه بیند ز جنگ‌آوران

به کهتر سپارد سپاهی گران

همان با درفش همایون شاه

هم انگشتر تور با من به راه

بباید کنون چاره‌ای ساختن

سپه را به حصن اندر انداختن

من و گرد گرشاسپ وین تیره شب

برین راز بر باد مگشای لب

چو روی هوا گشت چون آبنوس

نهادند بر کوههٔ پیل کوس

همه نامداران پرخاشجوی

ز خشکی به دریا نهادند روی

Ganjoor · f19:10-15

20–31+

To Shirviyeh he gave the army’s care:

“I mean to hide myself and work the snare.

To the fortress lord as envoy I shall go,

And Tur’s own signet shall confirm me so.

Once in the fortress, I will raise the sign,

And make our purple blades flash down the line.

When I cry out and sound the battle call,

Turn all your forces toward the fortress wall.”

He left the army by the sea to stay,

With lion-slaying Shirviyeh, then rode away.

He said, “From Tur I come at his command;

He gave no leave to pause across the land.

He says: ‘By day or night seek neither rest;

Keep watch without relief at my request.

In good and evil stand beside my cause;

Guard well the fortress, wakeful without pause.

If Manuchehr’s proud standard should appear,

And toward the fortress bring his army near,

Then gather strength and bar them from the gate;

Perhaps you will break his force and master fate.’”

The castellan heard Gharan’s message through,

And saw the signet-ring and deemed it true.

At once the fortress gate was opened wide;

He saw what showed, but not what lay inside.

سپه را به شیروی بسپرد و گفت

که من خویشتن را بخواهم نهفت

شوم سوی دژبان به پیغمبری

نمایم بدو مهر انگشتری

چو در دژ شوم برفرازم درفش

درفشان کنم تیغ های بنفش

شما روی یکسر سوی دژ نهید

چنانک اندر آید دمید و دهید

سپه را به نزدیک دریا بماند

به شیروی شیراوژن و خود براند

بیامد چو نزدیکی دژ رسید

سخن گفت و دژدار مهرش بدید

چنین گفت کز نزد تور آمدم

بفرمود تا یک زمان دم زدم

مرا گفت شو پیش دژبان بگوی

که روز و شب آرام و خوردن مجوی

کز ایدر درفش منوچهر شاه

سوی دژ فرستد همی با سپاه

تو با او به نیک و به بد یار باش

نگهبان دژ باش و بیدار باش

چو دژبان چنین گفتها را شنید

همان مهر انگشتری را بدید

همان گه در دژ گشادند باز

بدید آشکارا ندانست راز

Ganjoor · f19:16-27

32–44+

Now hear the speaking dehqan’s warning art:

He reads another who conceals his heart.

Let service be the calling we pursue,

But thought must walk beside whatever we do.

In good or ill, whatever comes to pass,

Take counsel from the tales of ages past.

The castellan with Gharan climbed the wall;

The battle-seeking chief observed it all.

One harbored evil, one was simple-hearted;

The chief stood ready, every trick well-charted.

He trusted strangers as he trusted friends,

And brought both head and fortress to their ends.

Thus wisdom tells the battle-leopard’s young:

“O sharp-clawed cub, by skill and courage sprung,

In unknown matters never hurry blind;

From first to last examine with your mind.

A stranger’s honeyed speech demands your care,

Especially amid battle’s dangerous snare.

Investigate; fear ambush in the field;

Probe every word before your trust can yield.”

See how a foolish chief, bereft of wit,

Could lose his judgment when the danger hit.

He made no search into the subtle case,

And failed to test the truth before his face.

He never marked the snare that they had laid,

And so this mighty fortress was betrayed.

نگر تا سخنگوی دهقان چه گفت

که راز دل آن دید کو دل نهفت

مرا و تو را بندگی پیشه باد

ابا پیشه‌مان نیز اندیشه باد

به نیک و به بد هر چه شاید بدن

بباید همی داستان ها زدن

چو دژدار و چون قارن رزمجوی

یکایک به روی اندر آورده روی

یکی بدسگال و یکی ساده دل

سپهبد به هر چاره آماده دل

همی جست آن روز تا شب زمان

نه آگاه دژدار از آن بدگمان

به بیگانه بر مهر خویشی نهاد

بداد از گزافه سر و دژ به باد

چنین گفت با بچه جنگی پلنگ

که ای پرهنر بچه تیزچنگ

ندانسته در کار تندی مکن

بیندیش و بنگر ز سر تا به بن

بگفتار شیرین بیگانه مرد

به ویژه به هنگام ننگ و نبرد

Ganjoor f19:28–34 + selected Mohl p 99

45–54+

When night grew black, bold Gharan’s standard shone,

Like moon’s bright halo over darkness thrown.

He cried aloud and gave the promised sign

To Shirviyeh and all the chiefs in line.

When Shirviyeh saw the Kayanian banner fly,

He turned toward the Pahlevan with a cry.

He seized the fortress gate and entered fast,

And crowned its chiefs with blood before he passed.

Gharan held one flank, Shirviyeh the side;

Above flashed sword-fire, underneath the tide.

When sunlight reached the summit of the sky,

No castellan or fortress guard stood by.

Smoke climbed until its head was in the cloud;

No fort or ship showed through the smoky shroud.

Fire flashed; the storm-wind roared across the ground,

While riders’ battle-cries rang all around.

When the bright sun declined from heaven’s height,

Fortress and plain appeared alike to sight.

Twelve thousand died; black smoke climbed overhead;

The sea turned pitch, the plain ran crimson-red.

چو شب روز شد قارن رزمخواه

درفشی برافراخت چون گرد ماه

خروشید و بنمود یک یک نشان

به شیروی و گردان گردن کشان

چو شیروی دید آن درفش یلی

به کین روی بنهاد با پردلی

در حصن بگرفت و اندر نهاد

سران را ز خون بر سر افسر نهاد

به یک دست قارن به یک دست شیر

به سر گرز و تیغ آتش و آب زیر

چو خورشید بر تیغ گنبد رسید

نه آیین دژ بد نه دژبان پدید

نه دژ بود گفتی نه کشتی بر آب

یکی دود دیدی سراندر سحاب

درخشیدن آتش و باد خاست

خروش سواران و فریاد خاست

چو خورشید تابان ز بالا بگشت

چه آن دژ نمود و چه آن پهن دشت

بکشتند از ایشان فزون از شمار

همی دود از آتش برآمد چو قار

همه روی دریا شده قیرگون

همه روی صحرا شده جوی خون

Ganjoor · f19:35-45

Narrative and poetic form

Two different conclusions are needed: the night signal and number have printed support, while initial agency differs from the digital reference. That discriminating account gives the English a stronger defense than an assertion that every apparent difference is either an error or poetic license.

Couplet commentary

Quoted text · evidence · interpretation

1–10Who conceives the plan?Agency difference

1–10

News from the battlefield reached Salm that day,

And darkness crossed his moon and dimmed its ray.

Behind him stood a fortress, huge and high,

Its summit thrust against the azure sky.

He thought to shelter in that fortress keep,

For Time can raise men high, then cast them deep.

Then Manuchehr considered Salm in flight:

“If he turns back and quits the coming fight,

The Alanons fortress will become his stay;

We should move first and seize the guarded way.

For once that sea-fort shelters him inside,

No man can force him from that place to ride.

Its summit rises upward through the cloud,

Raised from the water’s depth by craft endowed.

Each kind of treasure lies within its wall,

And Homa’s wing casts royal shade on all.

I must ride swiftly and my task sustain;

Let effort wear the stirrup and the rein.”

He formed the plan and told it Gharan then,

A secret still concealed from other men.

به سلم آگهی رفت ازین رزمگاه

وزان تیرگی کاندر آمد به ماه

پس پشتش اندر یکی حصن بود

برآورده سر تا به چرخ کبود

چنان ساخت کاید بدان حصن باز

که دارد زمانه نشیب و فراز

هم این یک سخن قارن اندیشه کرد

که برگاشتش سلم روی از نبرد

کلانی دژش باشد آرامگاه

سزد گر برو بربگیریم راه

که گر حصن دریا شود جای اوی

کسی نگسلاند ز بن پای اوی

یکی جای دارد سر اندر سحاب

به چاره برآورده از قعر آب

نهاده ز هر چیز گنجی به جای

فگنده برو سایه پر همای

مرا رفت باید بدین چاره زود

رکاب و عنان را بباید بسود

Ganjoor · f19:1-9

Textual evidence

Ganjoor 4 attributes the initial fortress calculation to Gharan. English 4–10 first gives the strategic idea to Manuchehr, who then tells Gharan. The inaccessible sea-fort and need to forestall Salm are shared.

Interpretation

This is a real shift in initiative, not merely expansion. The English strengthens the young king’s strategic role; the digital reference gives that particular first thought to his general. The poem is retained with the attribution visible.

Return to parallel text

11–19The signet and a concealed expedition

11–19

When Gharan heard the Shah’s concealed design,

He said, “Wise ruler, hear this thought of mine.

If this seems fitting to the Shah’s command,

Entrust a mighty army to my hand.

I shall seize that passage firmly and hold fast;

No beaten foe shall freely travel past.

Give me the Shah’s auspicious banner bright,

And Tur’s own signet-ring to prove my right.

I shall shape a clever course by craft alone,

And plant our army in that hold of stone.

Gashasb and I will go this darkened night;

Let no one speak our secret till we fight.”

Six thousand chosen warriors would ride,

Renowned and battle-tested at his side.

When heaven’s face had turned to utter black,

They lashed tabiras on elephants’ back.

The battle-seeking chiefs moved in array,

From dry land toward the water made their way.

اگر شاه بیند ز جنگ‌آوران

به کهتر سپارد سپاهی گران

همان با درفش همایون شاه

هم انگشتر تور با من به راه

بباید کنون چاره‌ای ساختن

سپه را به حصن اندر انداختن

من و گرد گرشاسپ وین تیره شب

برین راز بر باد مگشای لب

چو روی هوا گشت چون آبنوس

نهادند بر کوههٔ پیل کوس

همه نامداران پرخاشجوی

ز خشکی به دریا نهادند روی

Ganjoor · f19:10-15

Textual evidence

Gharan asks for troops, the royal banner and Tur’s signet, then moves toward the sea with Gashasb/Garshasp and the concealed force. English supplies a six-thousand figure absent from these six digital couplets.

G f19 10 ↗ G f19 11 ↗ G f19 12 ↗ G f19 13 ↗ G f19 14 ↗ G f19 15 ↗ Moscow p 125 ↗ Moscow p 126 ↗ Moscow p 127 ↗ Moscow p 128 ↗ Mohl p 97 ↗ Mohl p 98 ↗ Mohl p 99 ↗ Khaleghi p 144 ↗ Khaleghi p 145 ↗ Khaleghi p 146 ↗ Khaleghi p 147 ↗ Khaleghi p 148 ↗ Khaleghi p 149 ↗

Interpretation

The signet is a material credential separated from its dead owner. The English keeps both the plan’s military force and its documentary deception; neither element alone would explain the capture.

Return to parallel text

20–31A true seal authenticates a false message

20–31

To Shirviyeh he gave the army’s care:

“I mean to hide myself and work the snare.

To the fortress lord as envoy I shall go,

And Tur’s own signet shall confirm me so.

Once in the fortress, I will raise the sign,

And make our purple blades flash down the line.

When I cry out and sound the battle call,

Turn all your forces toward the fortress wall.”

He left the army by the sea to stay,

With lion-slaying Shirviyeh, then rode away.

He said, “From Tur I come at his command;

He gave no leave to pause across the land.

He says: ‘By day or night seek neither rest;

Keep watch without relief at my request.

In good and evil stand beside my cause;

Guard well the fortress, wakeful without pause.

If Manuchehr’s proud standard should appear,

And toward the fortress bring his army near,

Then gather strength and bar them from the gate;

Perhaps you will break his force and master fate.’”

The castellan heard Gharan’s message through,

And saw the signet-ring and deemed it true.

At once the fortress gate was opened wide;

He saw what showed, but not what lay inside.

سپه را به شیروی بسپرد و گفت

که من خویشتن را بخواهم نهفت

شوم سوی دژبان به پیغمبری

نمایم بدو مهر انگشتری

چو در دژ شوم برفرازم درفش

درفشان کنم تیغ های بنفش

شما روی یکسر سوی دژ نهید

چنانک اندر آید دمید و دهید

سپه را به نزدیک دریا بماند

به شیروی شیراوژن و خود براند

بیامد چو نزدیکی دژ رسید

سخن گفت و دژدار مهرش بدید

چنین گفت کز نزد تور آمدم

بفرمود تا یک زمان دم زدم

مرا گفت شو پیش دژبان بگوی

که روز و شب آرام و خوردن مجوی

کز ایدر درفش منوچهر شاه

سوی دژ فرستد همی با سپاه

تو با او به نیک و به بد یار باش

نگهبان دژ باش و بیدار باش

چو دژبان چنین گفتها را شنید

همان مهر انگشتری را بدید

همان گه در دژ گشادند باز

بدید آشکارا ندانست راز

Ganjoor · f19:16-27

Textual evidence

The army is left with Shirviyeh; Gharan enters as an envoy and presents a message under Tur’s seal. The castellan opens the gate.

Interpretation

The credential is genuine while the communication is false. That distinction explains the vulnerability more exactly than calling the guard simply gullible. Royal signs can be appropriated by an enemy.

Return to parallel text

32–44The narrator warns against sweet speech

32–44

Now hear the speaking dehqan’s warning art:

He reads another who conceals his heart.

Let service be the calling we pursue,

But thought must walk beside whatever we do.

In good or ill, whatever comes to pass,

Take counsel from the tales of ages past.

The castellan with Gharan climbed the wall;

The battle-seeking chief observed it all.

One harbored evil, one was simple-hearted;

The chief stood ready, every trick well-charted.

He trusted strangers as he trusted friends,

And brought both head and fortress to their ends.

Thus wisdom tells the battle-leopard’s young:

“O sharp-clawed cub, by skill and courage sprung,

In unknown matters never hurry blind;

From first to last examine with your mind.

A stranger’s honeyed speech demands your care,

Especially amid battle’s dangerous snare.

Investigate; fear ambush in the field;

Probe every word before your trust can yield.”

See how a foolish chief, bereft of wit,

Could lose his judgment when the danger hit.

He made no search into the subtle case,

And failed to test the truth before his face.

He never marked the snare that they had laid,

And so this mighty fortress was betrayed.

نگر تا سخنگوی دهقان چه گفت

که راز دل آن دید کو دل نهفت

مرا و تو را بندگی پیشه باد

ابا پیشه‌مان نیز اندیشه باد

به نیک و به بد هر چه شاید بدن

بباید همی داستان ها زدن

چو دژدار و چون قارن رزمجوی

یکایک به روی اندر آورده روی

یکی بدسگال و یکی ساده دل

سپهبد به هر چاره آماده دل

همی جست آن روز تا شب زمان

نه آگاه دژدار از آن بدگمان

به بیگانه بر مهر خویشی نهاد

بداد از گزافه سر و دژ به باد

چنین گفت با بچه جنگی پلنگ

که ای پرهنر بچه تیزچنگ

ندانسته در کار تندی مکن

بیندیش و بنگر ز سر تا به بن

بگفتار شیرین بیگانه مرد

به ویژه به هنگام ننگ و نبرد

Ganjoor f19:28–34 + selected Mohl p 99

Textual evidence

The dehqan’s advice, need for thought alongside service and contrast of cunning and simplicity are shared. Mohl p 99 supplies the fuller leopard-cub counsel about examining unknown affairs; Ganjoor compresses the warning.

Interpretation

The narrator does not merely applaud clever victors. He asks the reader to consider the defeated guard’s error. The English’s fuller counsel preserves an uneasy ethical perspective within an otherwise successful stratagem.

Return to parallel text

45–54A timing difference and a counted slaughterMohl supports timing and number

45–54

When night grew black, bold Gharan’s standard shone,

Like moon’s bright halo over darkness thrown.

He cried aloud and gave the promised sign

To Shirviyeh and all the chiefs in line.

When Shirviyeh saw the Kayanian banner fly,

He turned toward the Pahlevan with a cry.

He seized the fortress gate and entered fast,

And crowned its chiefs with blood before he passed.

Gharan held one flank, Shirviyeh the side;

Above flashed sword-fire, underneath the tide.

When sunlight reached the summit of the sky,

No castellan or fortress guard stood by.

Smoke climbed until its head was in the cloud;

No fort or ship showed through the smoky shroud.

Fire flashed; the storm-wind roared across the ground,

While riders’ battle-cries rang all around.

When the bright sun declined from heaven’s height,

Fortress and plain appeared alike to sight.

Twelve thousand died; black smoke climbed overhead;

The sea turned pitch, the plain ran crimson-red.

چو شب روز شد قارن رزمخواه

درفشی برافراخت چون گرد ماه

خروشید و بنمود یک یک نشان

به شیروی و گردان گردن کشان

چو شیروی دید آن درفش یلی

به کین روی بنهاد با پردلی

در حصن بگرفت و اندر نهاد

سران را ز خون بر سر افسر نهاد

به یک دست قارن به یک دست شیر

به سر گرز و تیغ آتش و آب زیر

چو خورشید بر تیغ گنبد رسید

نه آیین دژ بد نه دژبان پدید

نه دژ بود گفتی نه کشتی بر آب

یکی دود دیدی سراندر سحاب

درخشیدن آتش و باد خاست

خروش سواران و فریاد خاست

چو خورشید تابان ز بالا بگشت

چه آن دژ نمود و چه آن پهن دشت

بکشتند از ایشان فزون از شمار

همی دود از آتش برآمد چو قار

همه روی دریا شده قیرگون

همه روی صحرا شده جوی خون

Ganjoor · f19:35-45

Textual evidence

Ganjoor 35 says “when night became day”; English 45 says “when night grew black.” Mohl p 99 reads چو شب تیره شد and therefore supports the English night signal. Mohl’s close also gives twelve thousand dead, where Ganjoor says beyond count.

Interpretation

The English is not at fault merely for differing from the digital reference. Both timing and number can be traced to the fuller printed presentation. The destruction is still a massacre in scale, not a bloodless trick.

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Chapter source record

English original ↗ Ganjoor f19 ↗ Moscow p 125 ↗ Moscow p 126 ↗ Moscow p 127 ↗ Moscow p 128 ↗ Mohl p 97 ↗ Mohl p 98 ↗ Mohl p 99 ↗ Khaleghi p 144 ↗ Khaleghi p 145 ↗ Khaleghi p 146 ↗ Khaleghi p 147 ↗ Khaleghi p 148 ↗ Khaleghi p 149 ↗