New NaqqaliFereydoon and His Sons · A6.5
Sarv Tests Fereydoon’s Sons
Sarv’s second test is a lethal magical frost. Its defeat leads to marriage, departure and a narrator’s correction of the father’s anger at having daughters.
The chapter in five texts
| Text | Chapter treatment and distinctive choices |
|---|---|
| F&R English | Thirty-six couplets retain the frost trial and distinguish Sarv’s complaint from the narrator’s equal valuation of worthy children. |
| Moscow | The fuller marriage narrative preserves testing material; its printed presentation must be distinguished from the digital omission. |
| Mohl | Pp 66–67 retain the magical frost, countermeasure and departure, including the female-or-male maxim. |
| Ganjoor | Sh4.11–24 covers marriage and departure, omitting the frost but retaining the counterstatement about worthy daughters and sons. |
| Khaleghi | Pp 101–102 print the frost trial in the main text. P 103 brackets the female-or-male maxim. |
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.
1–8+
Then Sarv brought wine and gathered friends that day,
And kept the feast till daylight passed away.
The princes drank until the wine grew strong,
And sleep and rest seemed welcome before long.
Their couches stood by rosewater, a pool
Within a garden fragrant, dark, and cool.
Beneath a flower-scattering tree they lay,
And slept there peacefully till break of day.
But Sarv, the sorcerers’ king, devised his guile,
And left the royal garden for a while.
He worked his spell and raised a deadly cold,
With roaring winds to kill those princes bold.
The meadow froze; the plain lay iron-white,
No crow could cross the air in such a night.
The spell-breaking Shah’s three sons sprang from sleep,
When bitter cold had pierced the garden deep.
سر تازیان شاه افسونگران
یکی چاره اندیش کرد اندر آن
برون آمد از گلشن خسروی
بیاراست آرایش جادوی
برآورد سرما و باد دمان
بدان تا سر آرد بر ایشان زمان
Selected Khaleghi p 101; compare Mohl pp 66–67
9–17+
Divine farr guarded them, and wisdom’s power;
Their royal knowledge braced them in that hour.
With royal afsun, steadfast in the cold,
They barred the spell and broke its deadly hold.
When morning crowned the mountain peak with gold,
King Sarv came forth, the outcome to behold.
He hoped to find their faces lapis-blue,
Their bodies frozen when the night was through.
He hoped their fortune would be overthrown,
And his three daughters stay with him alone.
But fate refused the wish that Sarv had made;
The sun and moon would grant him no such aid.
He saw the three were safe at break of dawn,
Like three new moons in royal splendor drawn.
He knew his spell had failed, its power spent,
And turned from sorcery and its intent.
He called the court; the men of rank appeared,
And stood in line before the Shah revered.
سه فرزند شاه افسون گشای
بجستند از آن سخت سرما ز جای
بدان ایزدی فر و فرزانگی
به افسون شاهان و مردانگی
بر آن جادوی بند بستند راه
نکرد ایچ سرما بدیشان نگاه
Selected Khaleghi p 101; see p 102 for the morning outcome
18–26+
He opened treasuries long sealed from sight,
And brought concealed wealth forth into the light.
He brought his sun-faced daughters to the three,
Like Paradise in spring for all to see.
No Mobad raised three cypresses so tall,
So straight and graceful as Sarv’s daughters all.
With crowns and treasure, hardship none had known,
Save curling raven tresses of their own.
Three new moons stood with princes, pair by pair,
Three warrior sons with three young women fair.
Then Sarv in bitterness gave voice to pain:
“Fereydoon has brought sorrow on my reign.
How fortunate the man with daughters none;
For daughters go, and joy goes one by one.”
Then Sarv before all the Mobadan said,
And turned from grief to what must lie ahead:
“The moon should have a king to be her mate;
Such matching suits the dignity of state.
در گنجهای کهن کرد باز
گشاد آنچه یک چند گه بود راز
سه خورشید رخ را چو باغ بهشت
که موبد چو ایشان صنوبر نکشت
ابا تاج و با گنج نادیده رنج
مگر زلفشان دیده رنج شکنج
بیاورد هر سه بدیشان سپرد
که سه ماه نو بود و سه شاه گرد
ز کینه به دل گفت شاه یمن
که از آفریدون بد آمد به من
بد از من که هرگز مبادم میان
که ماده شد از تخم نره کیان
به اختر کس آن‌دان که دخترش نیست
چو دختر بود روشن اخترش نیست
به پیش همه موبدان سرو گفت
که زیبا بود ماه را شاه جفت
Ganjoor · f4:11-18
27–32+
Know these three world-seeing eyes of mine
I now entrust to princes of his line.
Keep each as dearly as you guard your sight,
And guard her life with honor and with right.”
Then Sarv commanded all their gear prepared,
And travel goods for every bride were shared.
On spirited camels all the loads were laid,
With royal wealth for every royal maid.
All Yemen glittered with the jewels’ glow,
As three rich litters waited in a row.
Behind the litters royal riches lay,
And kingly goods were marshaled for the way.
بدانید کین سه جهان بین خویش
سپردم بدیشان بر آیین خویش
بدان تا چو دیده بدارندشان
چو جان پیش دل بر نگارندشان
خروشید و بار غریبان ببست
ابر پشت شرزه هیونان مست
ز گوهر یمن گشت افروخته
عماری یک اندردگر دوخته
Ganjoor · f4:19-22
33–36+
Where worthy nature gives a child its grace,
Both son and daughter hold an equal place.
A worthy child brings gladness to the heart,
Whether a son or daughter from the start.
The princes with their brides set forth in pride,
Toward Fereydoon they journeyed side by side.
Those wakeful-hearted youths pursued their way,
And with their royal brides rode home that day.
چو فرزند را باشد آئین و فر
گرامی به دل بر چه ماده چه نر
به سوی فریدون نهادند روی
جوانان بینادل راه جوی
Ganjoor · f4:23-24
Narrative and poetic form
The English’s breadth is well motivated by the transmitted story. Its strongest ethical feature is that it lets a father’s embittered speech meet an answering voice rather than presenting a single, undifferentiated attitude to daughters.
Couplet commentary
Quoted text · evidence · interpretation1–8Hospitality turned dangerous
1–8
Then Sarv brought wine and gathered friends that day,
And kept the feast till daylight passed away.
The princes drank until the wine grew strong,
And sleep and rest seemed welcome before long.
Their couches stood by rosewater, a pool
Within a garden fragrant, dark, and cool.
Beneath a flower-scattering tree they lay,
And slept there peacefully till break of day.
But Sarv, the sorcerers’ king, devised his guile,
And left the royal garden for a while.
He worked his spell and raised a deadly cold,
With roaring winds to kill those princes bold.
The meadow froze; the plain lay iron-white,
No crow could cross the air in such a night.
The spell-breaking Shah’s three sons sprang from sleep,
When bitter cold had pierced the garden deep.
سر تازیان شاه افسونگران
یکی چاره اندیش کرد اندر آن
برون آمد از گلشن خسروی
بیاراست آرایش جادوی
برآورد سرما و باد دمان
بدان تا سر آرد بر ایشان زمان
Selected Khaleghi p 101; compare Mohl pp 66–67
Textual evidence
Khaleghi p 101 and Mohl pp 66–67 print the banquet, garden sleeping arrangements and Sarv’s preparation of magic. Ganjoor omits this intervening trial.
Moscow p 88 ↗ Moscow p 89 ↗ Moscow p 90 ↗ Moscow p 91 ↗ Mohl p 66 ↗ Mohl p 67 ↗ Khaleghi p 101 ↗ Khaleghi p 102 ↗ Khaleghi p 103 ↗
Interpretation
The English gives the host’s action a darker force than the earlier identification game. Food and comfortable lodging become the means of exposing guests to danger; apparent hospitality cannot be equated with safety.
9–17Frost defeated by princely knowledge
9–17
Divine farr guarded them, and wisdom’s power;
Their royal knowledge braced them in that hour.
With royal afsun, steadfast in the cold,
They barred the spell and broke its deadly hold.
When morning crowned the mountain peak with gold,
King Sarv came forth, the outcome to behold.
He hoped to find their faces lapis-blue,
Their bodies frozen when the night was through.
He hoped their fortune would be overthrown,
And his three daughters stay with him alone.
But fate refused the wish that Sarv had made;
The sun and moon would grant him no such aid.
He saw the three were safe at break of dawn,
Like three new moons in royal splendor drawn.
He knew his spell had failed, its power spent,
And turned from sorcery and its intent.
He called the court; the men of rank appeared,
And stood in line before the Shah revered.
سه فرزند شاه افسون گشای
بجستند از آن سخت سرما ز جای
بدان ایزدی فر و فرزانگی
به افسون شاهان و مردانگی
بر آن جادوی بند بستند راه
نکرد ایچ سرما بدیشان نگاه
Selected Khaleghi p 101; see p 102 for the morning outcome
Textual evidence
The printed passage describes freezing water and destruction of birds, the sons’ recognition of the danger, their counter-enchantment and the king’s disappointed morning inspection.
Moscow p 88 ↗ Moscow p 89 ↗ Moscow p 90 ↗ Moscow p 91 ↗ Mohl p 66 ↗ Mohl p 67 ↗ Khaleghi p 101 ↗ Khaleghi p 102 ↗ Khaleghi p 103 ↗
Interpretation
The princes’ success is explicitly associated with divine farr, royal knowledge and resourcefulness. The episode is not merely an English metaphor for a cold welcome. Its potentially fatal stakes distinguish Sarv’s trial from Fereydoon’s later disguise.
18–26Consent and a father’s bitter complaint
18–26
He opened treasuries long sealed from sight,
And brought concealed wealth forth into the light.
He brought his sun-faced daughters to the three,
Like Paradise in spring for all to see.
No Mobad raised three cypresses so tall,
So straight and graceful as Sarv’s daughters all.
With crowns and treasure, hardship none had known,
Save curling raven tresses of their own.
Three new moons stood with princes, pair by pair,
Three warrior sons with three young women fair.
Then Sarv in bitterness gave voice to pain:
“Fereydoon has brought sorrow on my reign.
How fortunate the man with daughters none;
For daughters go, and joy goes one by one.”
Then Sarv before all the Mobadan said,
And turned from grief to what must lie ahead:
“The moon should have a king to be her mate;
Such matching suits the dignity of state.
در گنجهای کهن کرد باز
گشاد آنچه یک چند گه بود راز
سه خورشید رخ را چو باغ بهشت
که موبد چو ایشان صنوبر نکشت
ابا تاج و با گنج نادیده رنج
مگر زلفشان دیده رنج شکنج
بیاورد هر سه بدیشان سپرد
که سه ماه نو بود و سه شاه گرد
ز کینه به دل گفت شاه یمن
که از آفریدون بد آمد به من
بد از من که هرگز مبادم میان
که ماده شد از تخم نره کیان
به اختر کس آن‌دان که دخترش نیست
چو دختر بود روشن اخترش نیست
به پیش همه موبدان سرو گفت
که زیبا بود ماه را شاه جفت
Ganjoor · f4:11-18
Textual evidence
Ganjoor resumes with marriage preparations and Sarv’s lament over parting with daughters. The source gives Sarv the angry comparison between daughters and sons.
G f4 11 ↗ G f4 12 ↗ G f4 13 ↗ G f4 14 ↗ G f4 15 ↗ G f4 16 ↗ G f4 17 ↗ G f4 18 ↗ Moscow p 88 ↗ Moscow p 89 ↗ Moscow p 90 ↗ Moscow p 91 ↗ Mohl p 66 ↗ Mohl p 67 ↗ Khaleghi p 101 ↗ Khaleghi p 102 ↗ Khaleghi p 103 ↗
Interpretation
The English can retain the harshness because it belongs to a particular wounded speaker. An analyzer should neither endorse the misogynistic complaint nor erase it; the narrator’s answer follows within the chapter.
27–32The departing bridal train
27–32
Know these three world-seeing eyes of mine
I now entrust to princes of his line.
Keep each as dearly as you guard your sight,
And guard her life with honor and with right.”
Then Sarv commanded all their gear prepared,
And travel goods for every bride were shared.
On spirited camels all the loads were laid,
With royal wealth for every royal maid.
All Yemen glittered with the jewels’ glow,
As three rich litters waited in a row.
Behind the litters royal riches lay,
And kingly goods were marshaled for the way.
بدانید کین سه جهان بین خویش
سپردم بدیشان بر آیین خویش
بدان تا چو دیده بدارندشان
چو جان پیش دل بر نگارندشان
خروشید و بار غریبان ببست
ابر پشت شرزه هیونان مست
ز گوهر یمن گشت افروخته
عماری یک اندردگر دوخته
Ganjoor · f4:19-22
Textual evidence
The treasure, brides, escorts and twenty loaded mounts belong to the reference departure. The English broadens its ceremonial movement.
G f4 19 ↗ G f4 20 ↗ G f4 21 ↗ G f4 22 ↗ Moscow p 88 ↗ Moscow p 89 ↗ Moscow p 90 ↗ Moscow p 91 ↗ Mohl p 66 ↗ Mohl p 67 ↗ Khaleghi p 101 ↗ Khaleghi p 102 ↗ Khaleghi p 103 ↗
Interpretation
The women are dynastic persons as well as objects of exchange. The language of splendor preserves the social stakes, while the preceding distress prevents an uncomplicated reading of the marriage as an entirely joyful transaction.
33–36A narrator answers the preference for sonsSpeaker and bracket status
33–36
Where worthy nature gives a child its grace,
Both son and daughter hold an equal place.
A worthy child brings gladness to the heart,
Whether a son or daughter from the start.
The princes with their brides set forth in pride,
Toward Fereydoon they journeyed side by side.
Those wakeful-hearted youths pursued their way,
And with their royal brides rode home that day.
چو فرزند را باشد آئین و فر
گرامی به دل بر چه ماده چه نر
به سوی فریدون نهادند روی
جوانان بینادل راه جوی
Ganjoor · f4:23-24
Textual evidence
Ganjoor explicitly says a child endowed with character and farr is dear whether female or male. Khaleghi p 103 brackets this couplet; Mohl p 67 prints the same equal valuation. The party then turns toward Fereydoon.
G f4 23 ↗ G f4 24 ↗ Moscow p 88 ↗ Moscow p 89 ↗ Moscow p 90 ↗ Moscow p 91 ↗ Mohl p 66 ↗ Mohl p 67 ↗ Khaleghi p 101 ↗ Khaleghi p 102 ↗ Khaleghi p 103 ↗
Interpretation
This statement belongs to the narrator, not Sarv’s still-bitter complaint. The English preserves an important internal countervoice: the story does not leave the father’s preference for sons as its final ethical judgment.