Zal and Rudabeh · A8.7

Zal Writes to His Father

The letter combines obedience with a devastating memory of abandonment. Sahm’s old promise becomes the binding fact that his prejudice cannot simply put aside.

F&R English · 54 couplets · 7 commentary entries

Parallel text ↓Commentary ↓

The chapter in five texts

Text	Chapter treatment and distinctive choices
F&R English	Fifty-four couplets preserve the letter’s contrast between exposed son and privileged father and the binding force of Sahm’s promise.
Moscow	Pp 177–181 retain the letter, ride and dilemma, with extensive bracketed portions of the expanded petition.
Mohl	Pp 138–141 supply the fuller epistolary form and Sahm’s anxious response.
Ganjoor	Sh10.54–110 has 57 couplets, with particular images condensed and one specific restoration generalized.
Khaleghi	The letter and response are consulted within pp 205–210; the fuller tradition is not uniformly admitted as unqualified main text.

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.

1–9+

The young prince summoned then a ready scribe,

Poured out his heart, and let his thoughts describe

A letter filled with counsel, care, and plea;

He praised the Maker first in dignity:

“The Source of strength and joy, Yazdan of all,

Of sun and star, of rise and of downfall.

We are but servants, bound beneath His hand;

Of being and non-being He has command.

May blessings rest on Sahm, Nariman’s son;

The lord of gorz, whose victories are won

On fields where warhorses in fury race,

Whose steel leaves vultures feasting in its trace,

Who storms like thunder through the battle’s cry,

And makes the dust and heavens testify;

Who sets the crowns on kings and claims the field,

Before whose arm the mightiest armies yield.

No man has lived, nor shall another be,

To match his strength, his fame, his mastery.

سپهبد نویسنده را پیش خواند

دل آگنده بودش همه برفشاند

یکی نامه فرمود نزدیک سام

سراسر نوید و درود و خرام

ز خط نخست آفرین گسترید

بدان دادگر کو جهان آفرید

ازویست شادی ازویست زور

خداوند کیوان و ناهید و هور

خداوند هست و خداوند نیست

همه بندگانیم و ایزد یکیست

ازو باد بر سام نیرم درود

خداوند کوپال و شمشیر و خود

چمانندهٔ دیزه هنگام گرد

چرانندهٔ کرگس اندر نبرد

فزایندهٔ باد آوردگاه

فشانندهٔ خون ز ابر سیاه

گرایندهٔ تاج و زرین کمر

نشانندهٔ زال بر تخت زر

به مردی هنر در هنر ساخته

خرد از هنرها برافراخته

Ganjoor · m10:54-63

10–16+

I am his servant, bound in love and care;

My soul and life are his, my oath to bear.

He saw my birth; yet fortune turned away,

And cast me far from human paths that day.

While he wore silks and furs in royal state,

I lay abandoned to a stranger’s fate.

The Simorgh bore me to an Indian height,

Where I was fed apart from human sight.

She brought me prey and numbered me among

Her mountain chicks, when I was weak and young.

My skin was scorched by wind, my eyes by sand;

I grew beyond the reach of mortal hand.

They called me still the son of Sahm, though he

Sat crowned upon his throne; a nest held me.

من او را بسان یکی بنده‌ام

به مهرش روان و دل آگنده‌ام

ز مادر بزادم بران سان که دید

ز گردون به من بر ستمها رسید

پدر بود در ناز و خز و پرند

مرا برده سیمرغ بر کوه هند

نیازم بد آنکو شکار آورد

ابا بچه‌ام در شمار آورد

همی پوست از باد بر من بسوخت

زمان تا زمان خاک چشمم بدوخت

همی خواندندی مرا پور سام

به اورنگ بر سام و من در کنام

Ganjoor · m10:64-69

17–21+

Such was God’s will; no man escapes His plan,

Not even he who deems himself a man.

Though one may bite a spear between his teeth,

Or roar and rend a lion’s hide beneath,

Though teeth be anvils, iron every limb,

Still he is bound: the Maker fashioned him.

Now something has befallen me that I

Cannot make known to every passing eye.

A son may speak what others must not hear;

A father, fierce male dragon, lends his ear.

چو یزدان چنین راند اندر بوش

بران بود چرخ روان را روش

کس از داد یزدان نیابد گریغ

وگرچه بپرد برآید به میغ

سنان گر بدندان بخاید دلیر

بدرد ز آواز او چرم شیر

گرفتار فرمان یزدان بود

وگر چند دندانش سندان بود

یکی کار پیش آمدم دل شکن

که نتوان ستودنش بر انجمن

پدر گر دلیرست و نراژدهاست

اگر بشنود راز بنده رواست

Ganjoor · m10:70-75

22–32+

My grief is love for Mehrab’s daughter fair;

Her memory pursues me everywhere.

I burn within as though consumed by fire;

The stars keep vigil through my fierce desire.

My heart is storm-tossed, and my senses numb;

My people grieve to see what I become.

Yet though distressed, I breathe not without leave;

Command me, and I act; forbid, I grieve.

What does the chief of champions decree?

Release my mind from doubt and misery.

The Mobad’s counsel brought the jewel to light:

‘Hide it no more, but act in honor’s sight.’

Perhaps my father, in his wisdom, may

Approve the course I long to take this way,

To take as lawful bride, with honor’s claim,

The daughter born and raised in Mehrab’s name.

He will recall, when God restored me then

From Mount Alborz before assembled men,

He pledged his word; no wish of mine denied;

That vow still holds, both sealed and ratified.

And this alone is what my heart desires:

To bind my life where now my soul aspires.”

من از دخت مهراب گریان شدم

چو بر آتش تیز بریان شدم

ستاره شب تیره یار منست

من آنم که دریا کنار منست

به رنجی رسیدستم از خویشتن

که بر من بگرید همه انجمن

اگرچه دلم دید چندین ستم

نیارم زدن جز به فرمانت دم

چه فرماید اکنون جهان پهلوان

گشایم ازین رنج و سختی روان

ز پیمان نگردد سپهبد پدر

بدین کار دستور باشد مگر

که من دخت مهراب را جفت خویش

کنم راستی را به آیین و کیش

به پیمان چنین رفت پیش گروه

چو باز آوریدم ز البرز کوه

که هیچ آرزو بر دلت نگسلم

کنون اندرین است بسته دلم

Ganjoor · m10:76-84

33–43+

A rider left from Kabul like a gale,

With orders strict that none should make him fail:

“Take a second horse with you,” said Zal;

“If one gives out, remount and do not stall.

Mount fresh and press ahead at utmost pace;

Do not draw rein until you reach Sahm’s place.”

The messenger sped forth on iron steed,

As though the wind itself had matched his speed.

When near the lands where Gorgasaran stayed,

He saw Sahm hunting through the mountain shade.

The hero spied him from the ridge, and turned

To those about him, for the news he yearned:

“A rider comes from Kabul, swift and sure,

His steed a mark no doubt can now obscure.

This must be news from Zal, let him draw near;

We soon shall learn what tidings he brings here.

Of Dastan, Iran, and Shah we shall know;

What news from each has urged this rider so.”

The envoy came, dismounted, kissed the ground,

And thanked his God before the chief renowned.

Sahm welcomed him and took the letter straight,

Then had him speak and tell the message’s weight.

سواری به کردار آذر گشسپ

ز کابل سوی سام شد بر دو اسپ

بفرمود و گفت ار بماند یکی

نباید ترا دم زدن اندکی

به دیگر تو پای اندر آور برو

برین سان همی تاز تا پیش گو

فرستاده در پیش او باد گشت

به زیر اندرش چرمه پولاد گشت

چو نزدیکی گرگساران رسید

یکایک ز دورش سپهبد بدید

همی گشت گرد یکی کوهسار

چماننده یوز و رمنده شکار

چنین گفت با غمگساران خویش

بدان کار دیده سواران خویش

که آمد سواری دمان کابلی

چمان چرمهٔ زیر او زابلی

فرستادهٔ زال باشد درست

ازو آگهی جست باید نخست

ز دستان و ایران و از شهریار

همی کرد باید سخن خواستار

هم اندر زمان پیش او شد سوار

به دست اندرون نامهٔ نامدار

فرود آمد و خاک را بوس داد

بسی از جهان آفرین کرد یاد

بپرسید و بستد ازو نامه سام

فرستاده گفت آنچه بود از پیام

Ganjoor · m10:85-97

44–51+

The chief unsealed it as he left the height,

And read its words, his face grew pale with fright.

He stood astonished, disapproving still;

He had imagined Zal of sterner will.

Yet in his heart another thought arose:

“Raised by a fierce bird, strange his longing grows.”

He reached his camp and pondered long alone,

The burden pressing heavy as a stone.

“If I forbid, and say: ‘This path is wrong,

Turn back, and do not follow passion long,’

Then God and man alike will mark me blamed,

For I once pledged my word, and stand ashamed.

But if I say: ‘Proceed; your wish is fair,’

What child may spring from such unequal pair?

From bird-reared son and a Div-born young bride,

What offspring comes when such two lines collide?”

سپهدار بگشاد از نامه بند

فرود آمد از تیغ کوه بلند

سخنهای دستان سراسر بخواند

بپژمرد و بر جای خیره بماند

پسندش نیامد چنان آرزوی

دگرگونه بایستش او را به خوی

چنین داد پاسخ که آمد پدید

سخن هر چه از گوهر بد سزید

چو مرغ ژیان باشد آموزگار

چنین کام دل جوید از روزگار

ز نخچیر کامد سوی خانه باز

به دلش اندر اندیشه آمد دراز

همی گفت اگر گویم این نیست رای

مکن داوری سوی دانش گرای

سوی شهریاران سر انجمن

شوم خام گفتار و پیمان شکن

و گر گویم آری و کامت رواست

بپرداز دل را بدانچت هواست

ازین مرغ پرورده وان دیوزاد

چه گویی چگونه برآید نژاد

Ganjoor · m10:98-107

52–54+

He lay down then in grief but found no rest;

The harder grows a servant’s weary test,

The more his heart is burdened with distress,

The more, when God so wills, He grants redress.

What seems most closed and hardest to our sight,

The Maker opens when He wills it right.

سرش گشت از اندیشهٔ دل گران

بخفت و نیاسوده گشت اندران

سخن هر چه بر بنده دشوارتر

دلش خسته‌تر زان و تن زارتر

گشاده‌تر آن باشد اندر نهان

چو فرمان دهد کردگار جهان

Ganjoor · m10:108-110

Narrative and poetic form

The English’s emotional clarity is well earned: the appeal is simultaneously respectful and unsparing. Its strongest defense comes from preserving the obligation the father publicly accepted, not from pretending that his hostility has vanished.

Couplet commentary

Quoted text · evidence · interpretation

1–9A filial address also reminds Sahm of restorationSpecific act generalized

1–9

The young prince summoned then a ready scribe,

Poured out his heart, and let his thoughts describe

A letter filled with counsel, care, and plea;

He praised the Maker first in dignity:

“The Source of strength and joy, Yazdan of all,

Of sun and star, of rise and of downfall.

We are but servants, bound beneath His hand;

Of being and non-being He has command.

May blessings rest on Sahm, Nariman’s son;

The lord of gorz, whose victories are won

On fields where warhorses in fury race,

Whose steel leaves vultures feasting in its trace,

Who storms like thunder through the battle’s cry,

And makes the dust and heavens testify;

Who sets the crowns on kings and claims the field,

Before whose arm the mightiest armies yield.

No man has lived, nor shall another be,

To match his strength, his fame, his mastery.

سپهبد نویسنده را پیش خواند

دل آگنده بودش همه برفشاند

یکی نامه فرمود نزدیک سام

سراسر نوید و درود و خرام

ز خط نخست آفرین گسترید

بدان دادگر کو جهان آفرید

ازویست شادی ازویست زور

خداوند کیوان و ناهید و هور

خداوند هست و خداوند نیست

همه بندگانیم و ایزد یکیست

ازو باد بر سام نیرم درود

خداوند کوپال و شمشیر و خود

چمانندهٔ دیزه هنگام گرد

چرانندهٔ کرگس اندر نبرد

فزایندهٔ باد آوردگاه

فشانندهٔ خون ز ابر سیاه

گرایندهٔ تاج و زرین کمر

نشانندهٔ زال بر تخت زر

به مردی هنر در هنر ساخته

خرد از هنرها برافراخته

Ganjoor · m10:54-63

Textual evidence

The praise invokes the Creator and Sahm’s martial power. Ganjoor 62 specifically calls him the one who set Zal on the golden throne; English 8 generalizes this into setting crowns on kings.

Interpretation

The English gives the father grander public praise while the reference recalls a personal act of acceptance. That difference matters to the letter’s pressure: its source compliment already contains the history of the rescued son.

Return to parallel text

10–16Silk for the father, nest for the son

10–16

I am his servant, bound in love and care;

My soul and life are his, my oath to bear.

He saw my birth; yet fortune turned away,

And cast me far from human paths that day.

While he wore silks and furs in royal state,

I lay abandoned to a stranger’s fate.

The Simorgh bore me to an Indian height,

Where I was fed apart from human sight.

She brought me prey and numbered me among

Her mountain chicks, when I was weak and young.

My skin was scorched by wind, my eyes by sand;

I grew beyond the reach of mortal hand.

They called me still the son of Sahm, though he

Sat crowned upon his throne; a nest held me.

من او را بسان یکی بنده‌ام

به مهرش روان و دل آگنده‌ام

ز مادر بزادم بران سان که دید

ز گردون به من بر ستمها رسید

پدر بود در ناز و خز و پرند

مرا برده سیمرغ بر کوه هند

نیازم بد آنکو شکار آورد

ابا بچه‌ام در شمار آورد

همی پوست از باد بر من بسوخت

زمان تا زمان خاک چشمم بدوخت

همی خواندندی مرا پور سام

به اورنگ بر سام و من در کنام

Ganjoor · m10:64-69

Textual evidence

The letter sets Sahm’s luxury against Zal’s exposed childhood, wind-burned skin, dust-filled eyes and reliance on the Simorgh’s hunting. Ganjoor explicitly names the mountain of Hind here.

Interpretation

The English’s Indian height has direct local support, even though the same letter later names Alborz. The commentary preserves the source’s own geographical vocabulary instead of making a silent geographical correction. The contrast with the father is accusatory despite the respectful address.

Return to parallel text

17–21Power cannot defeat the divine decree

17–21

Such was God’s will; no man escapes His plan,

Not even he who deems himself a man.

Though one may bite a spear between his teeth,

Or roar and rend a lion’s hide beneath,

Though teeth be anvils, iron every limb,

Still he is bound: the Maker fashioned him.

Now something has befallen me that I

Cannot make known to every passing eye.

A son may speak what others must not hear;

A father, fierce male dragon, lends his ear.

چو یزدان چنین راند اندر بوش

بران بود چرخ روان را روش

کس از داد یزدان نیابد گریغ

وگرچه بپرد برآید به میغ

سنان گر بدندان بخاید دلیر

بدرد ز آواز او چرم شیر

گرفتار فرمان یزدان بود

وگر چند دندانش سندان بود

یکی کار پیش آمدم دل شکن

که نتوان ستودنش بر انجمن

پدر گر دلیرست و نراژدهاست

اگر بشنود راز بنده رواست

Ganjoor · m10:70-75

Textual evidence

The source says none escapes even by flying into cloud, then imagines teeth biting a spear, a lion’s hide rent by a voice and teeth of anvil-strength.

Interpretation

English retains the martial impossibilities but omits the flight-to-cloud image. The figures argue that force does not exempt anyone from destiny; they are not feats newly performed by Zal in this episode.

Return to parallel text

22–32The promise makes obedience reciprocal

22–32

My grief is love for Mehrab’s daughter fair;

Her memory pursues me everywhere.

I burn within as though consumed by fire;

The stars keep vigil through my fierce desire.

My heart is storm-tossed, and my senses numb;

My people grieve to see what I become.

Yet though distressed, I breathe not without leave;

Command me, and I act; forbid, I grieve.

What does the chief of champions decree?

Release my mind from doubt and misery.

The Mobad’s counsel brought the jewel to light:

‘Hide it no more, but act in honor’s sight.’

Perhaps my father, in his wisdom, may

Approve the course I long to take this way,

To take as lawful bride, with honor’s claim,

The daughter born and raised in Mehrab’s name.

He will recall, when God restored me then

From Mount Alborz before assembled men,

He pledged his word; no wish of mine denied;

That vow still holds, both sealed and ratified.

And this alone is what my heart desires:

To bind my life where now my soul aspires.”

من از دخت مهراب گریان شدم

چو بر آتش تیز بریان شدم

ستاره شب تیره یار منست

من آنم که دریا کنار منست

به رنجی رسیدستم از خویشتن

که بر من بگرید همه انجمن

اگرچه دلم دید چندین ستم

نیارم زدن جز به فرمانت دم

چه فرماید اکنون جهان پهلوان

گشایم ازین رنج و سختی روان

ز پیمان نگردد سپهبد پدر

بدین کار دستور باشد مگر

که من دخت مهراب را جفت خویش

کنم راستی را به آیین و کیش

به پیمان چنین رفت پیش گروه

چو باز آوریدم ز البرز کوه

که هیچ آرزو بر دلت نگسلم

کنون اندرین است بسته دلم

Ganjoor · m10:76-84

Textual evidence

Zal confesses love, offers submission and invokes the public promise made when Sahm brought him down from Alborz. English 27 explicitly recalls the Mobad’s counsel, not a separate couplet in this Ganjoor sequence.

Interpretation

The son does not claim to be free of obligations. He argues that his father too is bound by a spoken undertaking. “No wish denied” draws its force from that particular reunion, not from a universal entitlement bestowed on every prince.

Return to parallel text

33–43Two horses give urgency practical form

33–43

A rider left from Kabul like a gale,

With orders strict that none should make him fail:

“Take a second horse with you,” said Zal;

“If one gives out, remount and do not stall.

Mount fresh and press ahead at utmost pace;

Do not draw rein until you reach Sahm’s place.”

The messenger sped forth on iron steed,

As though the wind itself had matched his speed.

When near the lands where Gorgasaran stayed,

He saw Sahm hunting through the mountain shade.

The hero spied him from the ridge, and turned

To those about him, for the news he yearned:

“A rider comes from Kabul, swift and sure,

His steed a mark no doubt can now obscure.

This must be news from Zal, let him draw near;

We soon shall learn what tidings he brings here.

Of Dastan, Iran, and Shah we shall know;

What news from each has urged this rider so.”

The envoy came, dismounted, kissed the ground,

And thanked his God before the chief renowned.

Sahm welcomed him and took the letter straight,

Then had him speak and tell the message’s weight.

سواری به کردار آذر گشسپ

ز کابل سوی سام شد بر دو اسپ

بفرمود و گفت ار بماند یکی

نباید ترا دم زدن اندکی

به دیگر تو پای اندر آور برو

برین سان همی تاز تا پیش گو

فرستاده در پیش او باد گشت

به زیر اندرش چرمه پولاد گشت

چو نزدیکی گرگساران رسید

یکایک ز دورش سپهبد بدید

همی گشت گرد یکی کوهسار

چماننده یوز و رمنده شکار

چنین گفت با غمگساران خویش

بدان کار دیده سواران خویش

که آمد سواری دمان کابلی

چمان چرمهٔ زیر او زابلی

فرستادهٔ زال باشد درست

ازو آگهی جست باید نخست

ز دستان و ایران و از شهریار

همی کرد باید سخن خواستار

هم اندر زمان پیش او شد سوار

به دست اندرون نامهٔ نامدار

فرود آمد و خاک را بوس داد

بسی از جهان آفرین کرد یاد

بپرسید و بستد ازو نامه سام

فرستاده گفت آنچه بود از پیام

Ganjoor · m10:85-97

Textual evidence

The envoy takes a second horse, rides toward Gorgasaran, finds Sahm hunting and delivers the letter. Ganjoor specifies cheetahs in the hunt.

Interpretation

The English’s broader hunting language does not change the encounter. Its relay arrangement is not a postal institution invented by the analysis: the spare mount is an explicit instruction to keep moving if the first tires.

Return to parallel text

44–51Prejudice voices the father’s dilemma

44–51

The chief unsealed it as he left the height,

And read its words, his face grew pale with fright.

He stood astonished, disapproving still;

He had imagined Zal of sterner will.

Yet in his heart another thought arose:

“Raised by a fierce bird, strange his longing grows.”

He reached his camp and pondered long alone,

The burden pressing heavy as a stone.

“If I forbid, and say: ‘This path is wrong,

Turn back, and do not follow passion long,’

Then God and man alike will mark me blamed,

For I once pledged my word, and stand ashamed.

But if I say: ‘Proceed; your wish is fair,’

What child may spring from such unequal pair?

From bird-reared son and a Div-born young bride,

What offspring comes when such two lines collide?”

سپهدار بگشاد از نامه بند

فرود آمد از تیغ کوه بلند

سخنهای دستان سراسر بخواند

بپژمرد و بر جای خیره بماند

پسندش نیامد چنان آرزوی

دگرگونه بایستش او را به خوی

چنین داد پاسخ که آمد پدید

سخن هر چه از گوهر بد سزید

چو مرغ ژیان باشد آموزگار

چنین کام دل جوید از روزگار

ز نخچیر کامد سوی خانه باز

به دلش اندر اندیشه آمد دراز

همی گفت اگر گویم این نیست رای

مکن داوری سوی دانش گرای

سوی شهریاران سر انجمن

شوم خام گفتار و پیمان شکن

و گر گویم آری و کامت رواست

بپرداز دل را بدانچت هواست

ازین مرغ پرورده وان دیوزاد

چه گویی چگونه برآید نژاد

Ganjoor · m10:98-107

Textual evidence

Sahm disapproves, blames bird fosterage and fears the offspring of a bird-reared son and a Div-born bride. He also knows that refusal would make him a promise-breaker.

Interpretation

“Div-born” is his derogatory inward language, not the narrator establishing Rudabeh’s supernatural parentage. The English keeps a morally uncomfortable father whose emerging fidelity is not the same thing as freedom from prejudice.

Return to parallel text

52–54A difficult night opens onto possible remedy

52–54

He lay down then in grief but found no rest;

The harder grows a servant’s weary test,

The more his heart is burdened with distress,

The more, when God so wills, He grants redress.

What seems most closed and hardest to our sight,

The Maker opens when He wills it right.

سرش گشت از اندیشهٔ دل گران

بخفت و نیاسوده گشت اندران

سخن هر چه بر بنده دشوارتر

دلش خسته‌تر زان و تن زارتر

گشاده‌تر آن باشد اندر نهان

چو فرمان دهد کردگار جهان

Ganjoor · m10:108-110

Textual evidence

The close generalizes the servant’s difficulty and divine capacity to make the hidden way wider.

G m10 108 ↗ G m10 109 ↗ G m10 110 ↗ Moscow p 177 ↗ Moscow p 178 ↗ Moscow p 179 ↗ Moscow p 180 ↗ Moscow p 181 ↗ Mohl p 138 ↗ Mohl p 139 ↗ Mohl p 140 ↗ Mohl p 141 ↗ Khaleghi p 205 ↗ Khaleghi p 206 ↗ Khaleghi p 207 ↗ Khaleghi p 208 ↗ Khaleghi p 209 ↗ Khaleghi p 210 ↗

Interpretation

The English’s hopeful ending belongs to the Persian sequence. It does not mean Sahm has already consented; the next step still requires counsel and mediation.

Return to parallel text

Chapter source record

English original ↗ Ganjoor m10 ↗ Moscow p 177 ↗ Moscow p 178 ↗ Moscow p 179 ↗ Moscow p 180 ↗ Moscow p 181 ↗ Mohl p 138 ↗ Mohl p 139 ↗ Mohl p 140 ↗ Mohl p 141 ↗ Khaleghi p 205 ↗ Khaleghi p 206 ↗ Khaleghi p 207 ↗ Khaleghi p 208 ↗ Khaleghi p 209 ↗ Khaleghi p 210 ↗