New NaqqaliShah of Iran · House of Kay · the Kayanian line
Kavusکاووس
kah-VOOSalso Kay Kavusalso Kay Kaus
Kavus, the rash second Kayanian king, father of Siavash; he dies in the reign of his grandson Kay Khosrow.
- His story
- From B3.5, Kay Qobad Goes to Istakhr of Pars, to C4.46, The Death of Kay Kavus
- Named
- 378 times, in 169 sections
- Queen
- Sudabeh, daughter of the king of Hamavaran (B6.2)
- Line
- Father of Siavash and Fariborz; grandfather of Kay Khosrow
- Dies
- C4.46, in the reign of his grandson
- Parents
- Qobad
- Children
- Fariborz, Siavash
- Plates
- Vol I: V, Vol II: II
- Pictures
- 44 panels · identity sheets
How we draw Kavus
The identity sheets the illustrator works from, one for each stage of life. Tap to open full size. More in the Art section.
In the pictures
Kavus in 44 woodcut panels of the illustrated poem, in story order. Tap one to see it with the couplets it illustrates.
B3.5Kay Qobad's Last Counsel to Kavus
B4.1The Div Minstrel Sings of Mazandaran
B4.2Kavus Rejects Zal's Counsel
B4.3The White Div's Darkness and Stone-Rain
B4.3The White Div Taunts the Blinded Shah
B5.7Sight Restored to the Captive Shah
B5.10Kavus Lays Down His Crown to Pray
B5.11Kavus Bestows the Khilat on Rostam
B6.1Kavus's Fleet Covers the Sea
B6.1Hamavaran's King Throws Down His Arms
B6.2Sudabeh Rises from the Howdah
B6.8Kavus's Palaces on Mount AlborzAll 44 pictures
B6.9The Div in Disguise Offers Flowers
B6.9The Eagles Lift Kavus's Throne
B6.10Gudarz Rebukes the Fallen Shah
B8.13Rostam Strikes Down Tus
B8.17Sohrab Tears Down the Shah's Pavilion
B8.22Kavus Refuses the Nush-Daru
B9.4Siavash Kisses the Ground before Kavus
B9.6Sudabeh First Beholds Siavash
B9.7Kavus Laughs at His Son's Warning
B9.10Kavus Smells Siavash's Hands
B9.11The Infants in the Golden Basin
B9.12The Sorceress Dragged before Kavus
B9.13Siavash in White before the Pyres
B9.14Siavash Pleads for Sudabeh's Life
B9.15Siavash Asks to Lead the War
B9.16Father and Son Part in Tears
B9.25Kavus Darkens at Siavash's Letter
B9.26Rostam Storms from the Court
B9.42Siavash Paints the Halls of Siavash-Gard
B10.2Kavus Falls from the Throne in Grief
B10.3Rostam Rebukes Kavus in the Dust
B10.4Rostam Drags Sudabeh from Her Throne
B10.30Kavus Descends to Greet Khosrow
B10.33Gudarz and Tus Dispute before Kavus
B10.37Kavus Crowns Kay Khosrow
B11.4Khosrow Swears the Oath Before the Flame
C4.32Kavus Curses Garsivaz
C4.40Khosrow Rides to His Grandfather
C4.40The Two Shahs before Azargashasp
C4.43Garsivaz's Cries Draw Afrasiab from the Water
C4.44Khosrow Avenges Siavash
C4.46Kavus Enthroned in His TombHis story, in the poem’s own sections
12 sections, with the summary from the Notes. Open any one to read it in full here; tap a couplet number to cite it or suggest a better one.
B4.1
The Reign of Kay Kavus, His Sitting upon the Throne, and His Intent to March to Mazandaran
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The poet reflects on good trees and crooked shoots. Kay Kavus, rich and proud, is enchanted by a Div disguised as a minstrel who sings of Mazandaran, and resolves to conquer it. The alarmed nobles send for Zal, who sets out to counsel the Shah.
103 couplets · Kavus named 3 times · in the full poem
If harm should touch a tree once grown to height,Its leaves shall wither and grow pale to sight.
Its root grows weak, its lofty crown bends low,And all its former strength begins to go.
When severed cleanly from its rooted place,A younger shoot arises in its space.
To it he leaves the blossom, leaf, and bowers,A spring that shines like lamps among the flowers.
But if that shoot be crooked, harsh, or wild,Let not the root be judged for such a child.
So when a father leaves the world he knew,He shows his son what once was hid from view.
If he casts off his father’s farr and name,Call him no son, but stranger to that fame.
He who abandons wisdom’s tested wayShall meet what Time has stored for him that day.
This ancient world is fashioned in such guise,Its root and crown elude the searching eyes.
No man can trace its ending or its start,However wise his searching mind and heart.
Who knows the world and sees its crooked wayWill scarcely wish within its bounds to stay.
So turn your thought to words the old have known,And heed the wisdom age and time have shown.
Remember what the seasoned sages tell;Their words may light the path where shadows dwell.
When Kay Kavus assumed his father’s throne,The world became his servant and his own.
He saw vast heaps of treasure piled up high,And all the world bowed underneath his eye.
Torques, earrings, and a crown of shining gold,With emeralds whose green fires brightly rolled.
Full-maned Tazi horses stood in line;No steeds on earth could match their breed and shine.
No monarch matched his wealth or jeweled display,Or rivaled him in splendor or array.
One day he sat with wine and courtly grace,Within a gold-adorned garden place,
Upon a throne whose crystal feet shone bright,And weighed with Iran’s Pahlevans wrong and right.
Before the chiefs he raised his boastful voice:“Who else is Shah? Who else can make that choice?
What throne exists but mine beneath the Sun?What glory rivals all that I have won?”
He drank and boasted, swollen with delight;The chiefs stared on, astonished at the sight.
As thus he spoke, flushed deep with wine and pride,A hidden Div approached the chamberlain’s side.
He told the guard: “From Mazandaran’s landI come, a singer skilled in voice and hand.
If I am worthy, let me near the throne,And sing before the Shah whose name is known.”
The chamberlain announced him to the king:“A bard awaits with barbat fit to sing.”
The Shah gave leave; they brought him to the hall,And seated him among the players all.
He tuned his barbat and struck a subtle tone,Then sang of lands more fair than any known:
“May Mazandaran ever honored be;May all its land bloom on eternally.
Upon its slopes the crimson tulips blaze,And hyacinths perfume the mountain ways.
No burning heat, no bitter cold to bear;Eternal spring adorns the tempered air.
The nightingale in every garden sings,And deer move freely by the mountain springs.
All year in every place are scent and hue,And every garden keeps its colors new.
Like rosewater the fragrant rivers flow,Their perfume gladdens every soul below.
Through Dey and Bahman, Azar, Farvardin,The tulip-covered earth stays fresh and green.
All year the smiling streambanks laugh and shine,And hunting hawks stand ready down the line.
Rich brocades clothe provinces far and wide,And golden treasures fill each hall inside.
Fair maidens wear bright crowns of beaten gold,And famous men gold girdles round them hold.
Who has not seen that land knows not delight,Nor feels the fullness of its living light.”
These words inflamed the heart of Kavus then;He turned and spoke before assembled men.
To far Mazandaran he set his mind,And vowed to lead all Iran’s strength combined.
“We have surrendered all our days to feast;Through ease and idleness a hero is decreased.
In fortune, farr, and lineage I stand high;Jamshid, Zahhak, Kay Qobad cannot vie.
I must surpass them also in renown,And win new glory worthy of my crown.
A crown-bearer must seek the world for fame;Great kings enlarge by deeds their lasting name.”
The nobles heard; their faces turned to clay,Their brows drew tight with fear and deep dismay.
For none would war against the Divs’ dark might,Yet none dared challenge Kavus in his sight.
There Tus, Giv, and Gudarz stood nearby,Masking the fear they could no more deny,
With Keshvad, Kharrad, Gorgin, Bahram near,Each hid beneath his words a rising fear.
They said aloud: “We serve you as you will,”Yet spoke in secret of approaching ill.
Then privately the chiefs withdrew as one,And formed a council when their speech was done.
They asked, “What stroke has Fortune brought today?What evil turns our sovereign from the way?
If he pursues these wine-born words and goes,Then ruin waits for Iran from its foes.
If he will not forget what wine has bred,Then Iran’s strength and royal line lie dead.
No man shall stay, no water, soil, or field;All Iran’s earth and water then must yield.
Jamshid, though Div and bird and pari obeyed,With crown and ring, no such invasion made.
Nor wise Fereydoon sought that haunted land,Though wisdom, might, and magic filled his hand.
If conquest there had ever brought renown,Manuchehr would have struck all its Divs down.
We must devise a way to turn him back,Or all shall perish on this fatal track.”
Then Tus declared: “One remedy remains;Send word to Zal across the dusty plains.
The remedy is one and not too hard;We still may turn this danger from our guard.
Send swift hiyun to summon him; we needHis wisdom to restrain this reckless deed.
Though flowers may rest upon his head today,Bid him sharpen thought and cast his ease away.
Perhaps his counsel, opening wise and clear,May reach the Shah’s high heart and turn his ear.
Tell Zal that Ahriman has bent his thought;The Divs’ dark gate must never thus be sought.
If Zal cannot recall him from this course,The matter reaches then its final force.”
A rider hastened forth without delay,And reached great Zal at midday on his way.
“O renowned chief, great Sahm’s illustrious son,Something beyond our grasp has now begun.
A matter has arisen, dark and strange,Beyond what knowledge knows or thought can range.
Unless you gird yourself and answer fast,No man nor land of Iran long shall last.
The Shah turns from the path his fathers knew,And casts aside the counsel they held true.
Ahriman has bent the Shah from wisdom’s road,And turned his heart toward an accursed load.
His fathers’ hard-won labors he disdains;He seeks rich treasure without toil or pains.
The Shah desires Mazandaran’s domain,A prize no former king had sought to gain.
If you delay, the Shah will soon depart;His march is fixed already in his heart.
All that you wrought for Kay Qobad of oldMay now be scattered while your eyes behold.
You and young Rostam girded for the fight,Like lions when Kay Qobad claimed his right.
Your toil has vanished like a breath of air;The Shah now squanders all your work and care.
His ill-turned spirit leads him from the way,And all that labor turns to dust today.”
When Zal heard this, his heart was pierced with grief:The Kayanian tree bore yellowed leaf.
He said: “This king is rash and hard to guide;He turns from counsel offered at his side.
He has not learned the world’s hard heat and cold,Yet thinks his judgment seasoned, firm, and old.
A man who holds high place beneath the skySees years and Sun and Moon go passing by,
Till at his sword both high and low may shake,And every man before his presence quake.
Perhaps the Shah will cast my words aside,Yet I must go; the effort must be tried.
The World-Creator would not praise my choice,Nor Shah nor Iran’s warriors with one voice.
I go to counsel him with steady speech;If he will hear, then wisdom lies in reach.
If he grows sharp, the road is open still;Tahamtan waits with army and with will.”
He mused throughout the night; at break of day,He armed himself and took the Shah-ward way.
The chiefs escorted Zal upon the road;His royal standard in the sunlight showed.
To Tus, Gudarz, Giv, Bahram came the word,And Gorgin with the other chieftains heard:
“Zal now approaches; see his banner rise,His royal standard gleams before our eyes.”
Each chief who wore the Pahlevan’s high capRode forth to greet him, closing fast the gap.
When he drew near, they left their steeds behind,Approached on foot, and blessed him, heart and mind.
As all together toward the Shah they went,Tus said, “Great chief, long roads your strength have spent.
For Iran’s nobles you have journeyed wide,Hard toil and travel, setting rest aside.
We are devoted wholly to your name;Your crown and farr bring honor to our fame.”
Then Zal replied, “The maxims of the wiseReturn when age has dimmed a hero’s eyes.
In time the turning heavens make it knownWhat judgment each has earned beneath the throne.
We must not hide the counsel age has taught;The Shah has need of wisdom years have brought.
If he rejects the words that wisdom gives,He will regret that choice while yet he lives.”
They cried, “Agreed! We stand behind your word.”Then sought the Shah, that counsel might be heard.
B4.2
Zal Counsels Kay Kavus
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Zal warns Kay Kavus that no earlier king ever marched on Mazandaran, land of Divs and sorcery. Kavus, claiming to surpass Jamshid and Fereydoon, dismisses him and leaves Zal and Rostam to guard Iran. Zal submits, and Giv and the chiefs escort him on his way.
57 couplets · Kavus named 4 times · in the full poem
With lords adorned in belts of gleaming gold,Zal came, composed in bearing, firm and bold.
He entered where Kay Kavus held his throne,Exulting in a power all his own.
With folded arms and eyes cast down, he stood,Then spoke with care, his counsel grave and good:
“O lord of worlds, peerless in crown and name,No throne has borne a king of equal fame.
No throne or crown has known so great a king,Nor heaven seen such fortune take its wing.
May victory and joy attend your reign,Your heart hold wisdom, justice rule your brain.”
The Shah received Zal as an honored guest,And on the throne beside him bade him rest.
He asked about the hardships of the road,The chiefs, and Rostam, famed in his abode.
Zal answered: “Live in triumph, crowned and bright!Your fortune fills all loyal hearts with light.
Through you our honor rises ever high,Our heads uplifted as your banners fly.”
Then Zal began, his purpose firm and clear,To turn the king from folly drawing near:
“O Shah, who bears the crown and royal throne,Among the great, your royal worth is known.
Long years have passed in turning over me;I watched the wheel of heaven turn and flee.
Yet grave reports have reached my ears of late,And pressed my aged heart with doubt’s great weight:
They say that toward Mazandaran you fare,Upon a road no prudent king would dare.
No king before you sought that shadowed way,Though many ruled with power in their day.
Manuchehr passed and left this world behind,With treasure, throne, and palaces consigned.
So Zav and Nohzar, kings of tested reign,And Kay Qobad refused that dark domain.
How many heroes, battle-proven, came,With countless troops and heavy gorz of fame.
Yet none among them sought that cursed road,Or led toward Mazandaran his martial load.
There sorcerous Divs with talismans abide,And magic bonds defend them on each side.
No sword can break what deeper charms defend,No wealth or wit can bring such powers to end.
No blessing lies upon that road of pain;Abandon now this dark and reckless aim.
Do not cast toil and strength and wealth awayOn spells no mortal sword can hold at bay.
No Shah before you chose that road to fame,Yet each won honor and a lasting name.
Though lesser men before your crown appear,They served the Just One with devotion clear.
Do not plant greatness like a blood-fed tree,From heads of heroes slain for vanity.
Its fruit will ripen cursed, with bitter flaw;No ancient king made such a practice law.”
The Shah replied, his pride now sharpened high:“Your counsel has its worth; I cannot deny.
In valor, strength, and wealth I far exceedBoth Jamshid and Fereydoon, all concede.
Manuchehr and Qobad I too excel;They never sought Mazandaran’s dark spell.
My army, heart, and treasure greater stand;The sharp sword holds the world beneath command.
The world lies open to the knowing eye;No hidden realm shall from my purpose fly.
I go to snare them one by one in fight,By kingly rule or by the sword’s own might.
I shall impose my tribute on their land,Or leave no living foe who dares withstand.
Their sorcerers and Divs I count as base;No terror in them do I see or trace.
The Divs shall vanish from the face of earth,Their cursed breed be stripped of name and worth.
You, Zal, with Rostam, guard Iran; beware;Let watchful strength be constant everywhere.
The World-Creator stands with me today;The heads of male Divs shall be my prey.
If you will not ride with me to the fight,Then do not counsel me to wait tonight.”
Zal saw no head nor root in what he heard;No path appeared through Kavus’s reckless word.
Zal heard and answered, though his heart was torn:“You are the Shah, and we to serve are sworn.
We speak from love; whether you rule by rightOr wrong, your servants follow where you might.
My mind is eased, for I have said my part;What wisdom taught, I offered from the heart.
No man can drive death from his mortal frame;When death arrives, all bodies end the same.
No needle sews the eye of Time away;No guarded man escapes what need may lay.
From death, from Time, from need none finds release;Not even world-seekers purchase lasting peace.
May this bright world bring fortune to your reign,And spare you cause to think on this with pain.
May no deed of your own bring late regret;May heart and faith remain in brightness set.”
Then Zal took leave of Kavus and withdrew,His heart oppressed by what the Shah would do.
As from the royal presence, grieved, he drew,Both Sun and Moon grew dark before his view.
Then Tus, Gudarz, Bahram, and Giv drew near,And went beside him, loyal and sincere.
Giv said, “May God direct us as we go;Were Kavus not our Shah, I would say no.
May greed and death and need stay far from you;May foemen’s hands fall short in all they do.
Wherever we may journey through the land,Your praise alone is heard on every hand.
Next after God, Iran on you depends,Who bore this arduous road for warrior friends.”
Then Zal embraced the men who gathered round,And turned toward Sistan from that royal ground.
B4.3
Kay Kavus Ventures to Mazandaran
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Kavus leaves Milad to guard Iran and marches to Mazandaran. Giv sacks a city of dazzling wealth, but the king of Mazandaran summons the White Div, who blinds the Shah and his army with sorcerous darkness, takes them captive and sends their treasure to the king.
78 couplets · Kavus named 7 times · in the full poem
When Zal departed from the royal hall,The army turned to answer Kavus’s call.
To Tus and Gudarz then the Shah gave word:“Draw out the troops; let every rank be stirred.”
When night gave way, at dawn the ranks made way,With Kavus toward Mazandaran that day.
To Milad he entrusted Iran’s land,The treasury keys, crown, signet in his hand.
“If any foe before your borders stand,Take not revenge alone, at your command,
In every danger seek out Zal and son;The army’s strength and throne’s adornment, one.”
Next day the koust rang out across the plain,While Tus and Gudarz drove the marching train.
Kay Kavus rode in splendor at their head,With Gudarz, Tus, and banners widely spread.
Before Mount Ispuruz he made his ground,And set his throne where shadow wrapped him round.
There even sunlight vanished from the sky;The Shah prepared beneath the dark to lie.
There savage Divs had made their dreadful lair;Even the elephant would scarcely dare.
Cloth made with gold was spread upon the ground,And wine made fragrant all the air around.
The chiefs assembled near the monarch’s seat,And passed the night in revels rich and sweet.
At dawn they rose with girdles, caps arrayed,And stood before the Shah in ranks displayed.
He turned to Giv and spoke with hardened will:“Choose men at once, both resolute and skilled.
Let two full thousand gorz-men clear the wayToward Mazandaran without delay.
Strike every soul; burn all that stands in sight,And turn each dwelling’s day to blackest night.
Let every Div hear what our swords have done,Till sorcery is emptied, one by one.”
Giv armed at once and left the royal gate,With chosen warriors sworn to seal their fate.
They reached Mazandaran’s great city wall,With sword and gorz they rained destruction all.
No woman, child, nor man could refuge gain;Nor priest nor sage escaped the murderous rain.
They burned and plundered city, street, and plain,And poured out poison where the cure had lain.
At length they reached a wondrous, radiant scene,No mortal realm had ever shone so serene.
Each street displayed its beauty, wealth, and art,And moon-bright maidens gladdened every heart.
In every lane a thousand servants shone,With torques and earrings bright as polished stone.
Still more crowned servants thronged the avenues,Moon-faced and bright in robes of varied hues.
Gold lay in heaps and gems shone clear and bright,And cattle grazed in numbers past all sight.
They sent to Kavus word of that estate;He blessed the voice that named it Paradise’s mate.
The city seemed an idol-temple deckedWith Chinese brocade, and with flowers flecked.
Its beauties seemed like Paradise made plain;Rizvan washed pomegranate blooms with rain.
One might have said: “This land is Paradise,A vision formed before astonished eyes.”
For seven days Iran’s men seized their prey,Then ceased from plunder on the seventh day.
The king of Mazandaran heard what passed,And grief and fury held his spirit fast.
A Div named Sanja stood within his hall,Who shared his sorrow at the kingdom’s fall.
The king said: “Go like Sun across the air,And carry this command with utmost care.
Tell the White Div: ‘A force from Iran’s landHas come to plunder all at their command.
World-seeking Kavus leads them at their head,With battle-ready warriors widely spread.
They burned Mazandaran and fed the flameOf vengeance, leaving ruin in their name.
Unless you come at once to give us aid,No soul in Mazandaran shall here be stayed.’”
When Sanja heard, he sped without delay,And reached the White Div by the shortest way.
The White Div said: “Let not your spirit fall;My strength shall rise and overwhelm them all.
I shall come armed and close his homeward road,And bar the Shah beneath my army’s load.”
He rose like some vast mountain into view,His head stood level with the turning blue.
Then night descended, thick with pitch and dread,As though all light from earth and sky had fled.
The world became a sea, boundless and dark;No shore nor star remained for them to mark.
A tent of smoke and pitch he spread in night,And blackened every eye and quenched the light.
From heaven came stones and clods in deadly rain,And terror struck the hearts of Kavus’s train.
Some fled toward Iran in wild retreat,Their hearts sore-wounded by the Shah’s defeat.
At dawn destruction met each stricken eye;The Shah lay blind beneath the darkened sky.
Two thirds of all the army lost their sight,And chiefs burned inward at the shameful blight.
Their treasure seized, their army bound in chains;The Shah’s young fortune aged beneath its pains.
Remember well this marvel-laden tale;One wonder follows one without a fail.
“A wakeful counselor is worth more than gold;No treasure matches wisdom tried and old.”
The Shah cried out in sorrow and regret:“The wise man’s counsel I chose to forget.
I did not heed great Zal’s forewarning voice,But followed folly through my prideful choice.”
For seven days he lingered lost in pain,And saw no man of Iran on that plain.
On the eighth day the White Div thundered wide:“O barren willow, Shah of swollen pride!
You dressed in pride and sought to rule this throne,Mazandaran’s high seat to make your own.
Like a mad elephant you judged your might,And thought no equal stood before your sight.
Not satisfied with crown and royal seat,You cast wise counsel underneath your feet.
You seized our people, gorz raised in the chase,And left both slain and captives in your trace.
You did not know what power I could show;Now see the harvest of the pride you sow.”
He chose twelve thousand male Divs, blades in hand,And set them forth according to command.
They bound the chiefs and guarded all the train,And held Iran’s men fast in grief and pain.
They kept the captives living day by day,With scanty food to hold their deaths away.
The Shah’s great treasures and his royal hoard,His ruby crown and heavy gorz were stored.
He gave to Arzhang, captain of that land,And charged him thus to act at his command:
“Go tell the king: blame Ahriman no more;I brought Iran’s proud champions to the floor.
The Shah and chiefs shall never more beholdThe Sun or Moon, nor daylight’s crown of gold.
I spared the Shah to teach him high from low,And make him learn what suffering can show.
Let hardship wake the reason he has lost,And teach his judgment through the bitter cost.
So none again will dare this reckless way,Or throw his realm and wisdom both away.”
Then Arzhang went before his sovereign lord,With royal spoils and all the gathered hoard.
With captives, and with harnessed horses led,He bore the spoil the Iranian army shed.
Before the king he laid the spoil, a greatDisplay of captives, steeds, and treasure’s weight.
The White Div then returned to his own height,Like Sun ascending in triumphant light.
But Kavus lingered captive in that land,Bereft of sight and stripped of all command.
He groaned: “My fault alone has cast me down,And brought this ruin on my royal crown.”
B5 · The Seven Labors
Captive in Mazandaran, freed by Rostam
Blinded by the White Div’s sorcery and chained with his champions, Kavus hears Rakhsh’s neigh in the night and knows his rescue has come. Rostam kills the White Div, and its blood restores the king’s sight.
B6.2
Kavus Seeks Sudabeh’s Hand
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Kavus hears of the king of Hamavaran’s beautiful daughter and sends an envoy to ask for her. The king, grieved but afraid, consults Sudabeh, who gladly accepts. She is sent with a rich train, and Kavus marries her.
54 couplets · Kavus named 5 times · in the full poem
Then one spoke thus to Kavus: “In that land,A king has one whose charms none can withstand.
A daughter tall as cypress, straight and rare,With musk-crowned brow and perfumed, coiling hair.
Her tresses fall like kamands deftly thrown,Her tongue a khanjar, keen as tempered stone.
Her lips are sweet as sugar newly pressed,A springtime sun in Paradise confessed.
None but a Shah should claim so fair a bride,No lesser man should take her to his side.
A moon like this should grace a monarch’s name,And fill his royal house with light and fame.”
His heart was stirred; he answered, pleased and bright,“I shall ask her father for this match outright.
Within my golden chamber she shall dwell,Where beauty such as hers would grace it well.”
He chose a noble envoy, wise and grave,A man whose wit could guide, whose speech could save.
He bade him journey forth to that domain,And win the king with tact both mild and plain.
“Incline his heart,” he said, “with honeyed phrase,And turn his thoughts through artful, tempered praise.
Say thus to him: ‘The wisest chiefs I see,Seek bonds of kinship and alliance with me.
The sun itself takes brilliance from my crown;And earth beneath my ivory throne lies down.
Who finds no shelter in my royal shadeWill lose the standing fortune once had made.
I seek alliance, peace between us sealed,That strife between our realms be wholly healed.
Behind the curtain dwells your daughter bright,Whose worth befits a monarch’s royal height.
Pure in her face and pure in form and frame,Each city and assembly praised her name.
Accept this bond; let royal kinship stand,And give Kay Qobad’s son your daughter’s hand.’”
The envoy went with ready tongue and mind,His speech refined, his bearing firm yet kind.
He reached the king of Hamavaran’s throne,And shaped his words in measured, courtly tone.
He gave Kavus’s greeting, clear and true,Then set the royal purpose forth in view.
The king was troubled deep within his breast,And thus within his heart he weighed the test:
“Though he may rule the world from sea to sea,I must surrender what is dear to me.
I have but one fair child, my dearest part,More dear to me than breath or beating heart.
If I refuse, I cannot face his might,His strength exceeds all I could bring to fight.
I must conceal my grief and mask my pain,And yield, though sorrow in my heart remain.”
He answered then: “This wish can have no end;No limit bounds the message you now send.
Two precious things he seeks above all prize:My wealth, my child, the light before my eyes.
My wealth sustains me, yet my child is more,The dearest treasure in my heart’s own store.
If Iran’s Shah should take my child away,What heart or life remains to me that day?
Yet I submit and grant what he has sought,Though grief destroys the peace that joy once brought.”
He summoned fair Sudabeh to his side,And spoke of Kavus with a troubled pride:
“An envoy comes from that exalted throne,Whose lord lacks nothing power can make his own.
A smooth-tongued envoy bears a letter here,From Kavus, written so his will is clear.
He seeks to rob my heart of all repose,Though I would rather flee such heavy woes.
What say you? Speak your settled will to me,And choose with wisdom what your course shall be.”
She answered: “There is no other road to choose;Why grieve for what no counsel can refuse?
What better comforter could now be foundThan one whose world-wide kingship knows no bound?
This is no grief; call it a glorious gain.”The king perceived she bore no hidden pain.
He called the envoy to an honored chair;By rite and faith he pledged his daughter fair.
A week they labored, sorrow they must bear,Preparing all with splendor rich and rare.
They brought forth forty litters in a line,With slaves three hundred set in due design.
A thousand beasts; steeds, mules, with camels too,Bore brocade and dinars in ordered view.
From every howdah brocade streamed in air,While ranked escorts stood ordered everywhere.
The New Moon rode within a litter bright,Her marriage gifts displayed in splendid sight.
The escort shone like Paradise in hue,As tulips seemed to fill the heavens’ blue.
When that fair pageant met the monarch’s gaze,His heart was filled with wonder and with praise.
A new moon from the howdah rose in light,Like some new king upon his throne made bright.
Black musk lay scattered over roses fair,Ambergris earrings trembled by her hair.
Two rubies shone; two languid narcissus eyes,Her brows like silver pens above them rise.
Kavus invoked the name of Yazdan then,And gazed amazed beyond the gaze of men.
He called the wise in council at his side,The aged chief of Mobadan to guide.
He deemed Sudabeh fit to be his wife;By rite and faith he joined with her for life.
“When first I saw you, I approved your grace;My golden chambers were your proper place.”
B6.3
Hamavaran’s King Imprisons Kavus
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The king of Hamavaran invites Kavus to a feast. Sudabeh warns of a trap, but Kavus goes; after a week of revelry he and his champions are seized and imprisoned in a mountain fortress. Sudabeh denounces her father and chooses to share Kavus’s prison.
58 couplets · Kavus named 9 times · in the full poem
The father grieved and searched for some design,A week passed; eighth dawn brought the plotted sign.
At dawn he sent a messenger to say:“Let Kavus come and grace us with his stay.
If he will be my honored guest today,My people shall rejoice along his way.”
Thus did he seek to trap the royal guest,A cunning heart concealed within his breast.
With guile he sought to save his child and land,And keep the tribute from Kavus’s hand.
But fair Sudabeh saw the snare ahead,And warned the Shah of treachery and dread:
“This bodes no good; you must not share his board,Lest treachery be planned against you, lord.
Beneath the feast they mean to seize you fast,And bind you without cause when trust is cast.
For my sake only is this mischief sown,And grief will fall upon your crown and throne.”
He heeded not her warning or her plan,And held her people scarcely worth a man.
So as a guest with warriors at his side,He went in pomp, secure in royal pride.
At Saha stood a pleasure-city bright,Prepared for feast and revelry and delight.
There stood his palace, fair in ordered height,Adorned throughout to charm the monarch’s sight.
The city paid him homage on the way,And all came forth to honor him that day.
They scattered saffron, jewels along the street,With musk and ambergris beneath his feet.
With rud and song they wove a festive sound,Like warp and woof in music interwound.
The king himself, with all his nobles, came,On foot to greet the Shah of royal fame.
From hall to gate fell pearls and rubies bright,With showers of gold that flashed before his sight.
From golden trays musk, ambergris were spread,In fragrant showers upon the monarch’s head.
A golden throne was raised within the hall,And Kavus took his place before them all.
A week he reveled; all his senses drowned,In beauty, fragrance, color, light, and sound.
The Hamavaran king would bow, obey,Like some low servant in the Shah’s array.
His army stood in girded service near,Till trust took root and banished every fear.
But when the week was past, the plot was laid,The hidden snare now fully was displayed.
The troops of Barbar answered to the call,And joined the plot, assembled one and all.
Their coming filled the king with secret joy,For now he meant his cunning to employ.
At night the war-horns shattered their repose,While Iran’s men lay open to their foes.
The Barbar troops with Hamavaran flew,And seized the chiefs before a blade they drew.
Kavus, Giv, Gudarz, and Tus were chained;Gorgin and Zangeh of Shavaran detained.
All champions then were bound in fetters tight,Their farr and fortune cast from former height.
Then spoke the sage, discerning in his art,Of trust and where true loyalty may part:
Trust not completely one not bound by blood,For friendship shifts beneath misfortune’s flood.
Even the kin who share your blood may turn,And let the bond of former kindness burn.
If you would test whether affection stays,Judge it through gain and loss in changing days.
For when your height surpasses his estate,Envy can thin the love that once was great.
So runs this impure world beneath the sky,It turns with every wind that passes by.
Thus Kavus fell through stubborn, reckless pride,For scorning wisdom offered at his side.
There stood a mountain rising from the deep,Whose summit pierced the clouds in rugged sweep.
A fortress crowned the mountain’s cloud-bound crest,As though beside the sky it found its rest.
There the king sent Kavus bound in chain,With Giv and Tus and Gudarz in his train.
The other chiefs were cast within that hold,Imprisoned fast behind its ramparts cold.
A thousand guards with khanjars held the height,Renowned men armed and watchful for the fight.
He gave the camp of Kavus up for spoil,Rewarding those who joined the treacherous toil.
With purses full of gold and crowns for all,He paid the chiefs who answered to his call.
Two veiled companies came to fetch the bride,A splendid litter moving at their side.
They trampled down the tents in cruel display,And bore her from the ruined camp away.
When she beheld them come, she cried aloud,And rent her robes before the watching crowd.
She tore her musk-black hair, a kamand strand,And clawed her cheeks with her own anguished hand.
She cried: “True men would scorn so foul a deed;No noble heart would praise the path you lead.
Why not confront him when the battle shone,Jowshan his robe, his charger for a throne?
When Giv, Gudarz, and Tus stood in array,The koust resounded through the battle day,
You made the golden throne an ambush-place,And stained this bond of kinship with disgrace.”
She called them dogs as blood and tears ran red,Across her rose-like cheeks where grief had spread.
“I will not leave Kay Kavus in his chain,Though in a darkened grave he should remain.
If Kavus bears the chain, then strike me dead;I am innocent; take instead my head.”
Her words were carried to her father’s ear,His heart ran blood, his anger fierce and clear.
He sent her to the fortress, grief-forlorn,Her cheeks blood-washed, her wounded liver torn.
Within the prison, faithful at his side,She served and shared his grief, his faithful bride.
B6.9
Iblis Beguiles Kavus
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Iblis sends a Div disguised as a handsome page to tempt Kavus to master the heavens. Kavus rears eagles, ties them to a throne with meat hung above them, and flies upward until the birds tire and he crashes near Amol, spared only because Siavash is yet to be born.
48 couplets · Kavus named 3 times · in the full poem
One dawn, concealed from Kavus’s watchful eyes,Iblis convened the Divs with cunning lies.
“Each day we toil beneath this monarch’s reign,And all our dealings bring us grief and pain.
We need one Div both subtle and well-skilled,Who knows each counsel, every course we have willed.
To turn him from pure Yazdan’s righteous way,And cast dust on his farr and dim its ray.”
The Divs fell silent; none would dare agree,For fear of Kavus checked their company.
At last one rose, malicious, sharp, and sly,And said: “Give me this task, and I will try.
I shall estrange him from pure Yazdan’s creed;No other Div can match me in this deed.”
He took the form of a young gholam, fair,With eloquence to seek the Shah’s own chair.
He waited till the Shah rode forth to hunt,Then stepped ahead and met him at the front.
He bowed full low, with flowers in his hand,And praised the king in words both smooth and grand:
“Your beauty and your farr have reached the sky;The turning sphere should be your seat on high.
The earth is yours, all creatures heed your call;You are the shepherd, and the great your thrall.
One deed remains to leave a lasting sign,A mark no age can darken or decline.
Why should the sun conceal its hidden course,Its rise, its fall, its never-failing force?
What are the moon, the night, the passing day?Who turns the wheeling heavens on their way?
You hold the earth and all beneath your will;Trap heaven too; let none escape you still.”
The Shah was stirred and set all thought aside;The Div had turned his heart from wisdom’s guide.
He thought the turning sphere had shown its face,And opened to him every hidden place.
He knew not heaven’s wheel can never stand;Though stars are countless, Yazdan gives command.
Before His will all creatures stand confined;No strife or tumult frees the mortal kind.
The World-Creator needs no earthly aid;You need both earth and heaven He has made.
He pondered how a man without a wingMight leave the earth and through the heavens spring.
“How far,” he asked, “from earth to moon’s pale sphere?”The star-wise sage replied; the Shah gave ear.
Then he devised a crooked, reckless plan,A scheme unworthy of a reasoning man.
He sent men upward to the eagle’s nest,And took the young while parent birds found rest.
He bade each house tend one or perhaps two,And raise them strong with careful feeding due.
Through year and month they fed the growing brood,On birds and flesh of lambs for daily food.
Till each grew lion-strong in strength and frame,And mountain rams became their easy game.
A throne of Qomari aloeswood he made,Its upper joints with gold secured and laid.
Along its sides he fixed long spears upright,And bound them firmly to the throne and tight.
From every spear he hung a lamb’s fat thigh,To draw the hungry eagles straining high.
He brought four mighty eagles to the ground,One on each side, securely lashed and bound.
Then Kavus settled on the lifted seat,A cup of wine before him, red and sweet.
The starving eagles, eager for their prey,Strained upward hard and beat their wings away.
They drove themselves toward the suspended meat,And raised the throne with every upward beat.
They climbed toward the meat with all their force,And bore the throne aloft along its course.
Some say he sought the firmament on high,To pass beyond the beings of the sky.
Others declare he meant to fight the sphere,With bow and arrows armed as he drew near.
Many the tales; their truth remains unknown,The World-Creator knows it, He alone.
The eagles flew until their strength had failed;Such is the end when greed has one assailed.
Their feathers, soaked with sweat, clung to each wing;No further strength remained in anything.
Head downward from the black cloud they were flung;The throne and spears dragged through the air and swung.
The Shah and throne descended from the height,And struck the forest in their broken flight.
Near Amol’s woods the shattered journey ceased,And there the humbled Shah from pride was released.
The world preserved him, for his destined threadHad not run out; the future lay ahead.
For Siavash had yet to spring from him;His lamp of life could not yet gutter dim.
Instead of throne and greatness, grief remained;Repentance ruled the king whom pride had stained.
He stayed within the forest, worn and bowed,And prayed to the Creator, grief avowed.
B6.10
Rostam Brings Back Kay Kavus
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Rostam, Giv and Tus find the fallen king, and Gudarz rebukes him bitterly for his follies. Ashamed, Kavus repents with forty days of prayer and alms-giving. God forgives him, and he returns to rule with justice.
50 couplets · Kavus named 1 time · in the full poem
While thus the Shah sought pardon for his deed,His army searched the land with anxious speed.
When Rostam heard, with Giv and Tus he sped,With troops, with elephants, and koust ahead.
Old Gudarz thought, a man of seasoned sight,Whose years had watched the turns of wrong and right.
“Since first I drank the milk at mother’s breast,I have observed how kings arise and rest.
I have watched Kayanian crown and royal seat,And wakeful chiefs whom Fortune made complete.
In high or low I never met a manSo self-willed, careless of a reasoned plan.
Your judgment, wisdom, sense have gone astray;Both mind and heart have wandered from their way.
It seems no brain resides within your head;No sound thought follows where your judgment led.
No famed man from the ages now gone byHas ever set his purpose toward the sky.
Like one gone mad, no path or judgment found,Each passing wind can cast you to the ground.”
The chiefs arrived and would not now restrainTheir anger, nor conceal their just disdain.
“A madhouse suits you better than a town,”Said Gudarz, “better far than court or crown.
You yield your place to enemies with ease,And hide your futile counsels as you please.
Three times calamity has caught you fast,Yet no experience schools you from the past.
You led your men to Mazandaran’s gate;Behold the ruin that befell your state.
Again you made yourself the foeman’s guest,An idol turned to Brahman in this test.
None but pure Yazdan in the world remainedWho had not read the charter your sword framed.
You rode the whole earth armed for war below;Now, reckless, you make heaven too your foe.
You seek beyond the bounds of mortal place,To meet a power as equal face to face.
What grief remains that you have not survived?What ruin has not left you yet alive?
Men yet will tell what such a king had done,Who rose to heaven, viewed the moon and sun,
And count the stars above him one by one;Such tales will live when this brief life is run.
Now follow wakeful kings in counsel wise,And heed the well-wishers before your eyes.
Seek only service to pure Yazdan high;In good and ill, on Him alone rely.”
Kavus stood silent, shamed before their gaze,His pride struck down beneath the chieftains’ phrase.
He said: “Truth does no injury to right;Your words are just; I cannot call them slight.
All you have said is justice, nothing wrong;My soul remains bound to your counsel long.”
He shed his yellow tears before them all,And on the World-Creator he would call.
He entered the ammari, bowed with pain;Repentance held his humbled heart in chain.
They brought him back to his exalted seat,Yet grief for what he had done made joy retreat.
Ashamed, he turned aside from royal state,And bowed to dust beneath repentance’s weight.
For forty days he bowed himself in prayer,With tears that marked his grief and deep despair.
From shame he would not pass the palace door;His skin seemed shriveled by the grief he bore.
His eyes poured blood-like tears in ceaseless flow;He begged the Guide forgiveness for his woe.
Before the chiefs he made his stature small,And barred procession and the audience hall.
He gave his wealth in acts of open grace,And pressed his cheek upon the dark earth’s face.
At last the World-Creator heard his plea,Forgave the Shah and set his spirit free.
The scattered men from both great armies came,And gathered at the court beneath his name.
The Judge’s pardon lit his face, and throughHis spirit ran a tempered grace that grew.
He saw his suffering had borne its due,And turned once more to rule with purpose true.
He took his seat upon the throne of gold,And opened treasury, and freely doled.
He founded justice newly through the realm,And high and low grew bright beneath his helm.
Through justice, all the world wore brocade fair;The Shah sat radiant in the royal chair.
The crowned chiefs came from every realm around,And rebels turned to duty, honor-bound.
Time turned again to what it was before;The Shah was washed in faith down to the core.
The greatest chiefs became his servants all,Attending humbly at the monarch’s call.
He sat upon the jewel-studded seat,With crown and ox-head gorz, his state complete.
Thus I have told what little reached my ear;The ways of Shah and Pahlevan stand clear.
Wherever justice crowns a sovereign’s reign,No rescuer is needed in his pain.
He dealt in justice, chastened where he sinned;For now he knew the world is only wind.
B8.13
Kavus’s Anger at Rostam
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Kavus, furious at the delay, orders Rostam and Giv hanged. Rostam strikes Tus, declares that his strength comes from God alone and rides away. Gudarz talks Kavus into repentance, then shames Rostam into returning with a rumor that he fears Sohrab. King and champion are reconciled.
123 couplets · Kavus named 8 times · in the full poem
As Rostam neared the court, Tus crossed the plain,With Gudarz riding in his warlike train.
A full day’s road they traveled out to meet,The champion came riding, proud and fleet.
They left their steeds and hailed him with acclaim,Then mounted, and beside him on they came.
And Rostam too dismounted from his steed;The chiefs inquired of him with gracious heed.
They came before the Shah with spirits light,And bowed in full observance of his right.
But Kavus answered not, nor showed them grace;A darkened fury settled on his face.
Like some wild lion raging from the wood,He stormed in wrath where once in calm he stood.
At Giv he first unleashed his bitter spite,Then turned on Rostam, burning in his sight.
“Who is this man who scorns my royal call,And counts my summons as no thing at all?
Were there a sword beneath my hand this day,His head should fall; a citron, cast away.
Seize Rostam now! Go hang him from the height!Let him not stand before my royal sight!”
At this, Giv’s wounded heart within him burned,To see the Shah against great Rostam turned.
The Shah grew fierce, enraged at both, and stern;The court stood stunned to see his anger burn.
He turned to Tus: “Go take them both and bind!Hang them at once and leave no trace behind!”
He sprang upright as fire through dry reeds flies,While wrath burned red and bitter in his eyes.
Tus stepped ahead and seized him by the hand,To lead him out, obeying the command.
But Rostam, rising fierce in sudden flame,Replied in words that put the court to shame:
“Your every deed grows worse with each new choice;No king should rule by fury in his voice.
Kingship does not suit the course you take;A ruler’s wrath should not the kingdom shake.
Hang that Turk alive if you crave display,Then turn your rage upon the field of fray.
Rum, Sagzar, Mesr, Chin have yielded ground;Mazandaran, Hamavaran were bound.
All these lie prostrate under Rakhsh’s tread,Their hearts by sword and crossbow struck with dread.
You live through me; then turn your rage from me;Let war receive the fury you set free.”
In fury Rostam struck Tus with his hand;Tus reeled beneath a blow he could not stand.
As when a raging elephant might poundA tabira; headfirst Tus crashed to ground.
Then Rostam strode beyond the royal hall,And left in rage before the eyes of all.
He mounted Rakhsh, his anger bearing down:“I slay the lion; I bestow the crown!
When anger wakes, what power has Kavus then?What fear have I of kings or armed men?
And who is Tus, to lay his hand on me?When I grow enraged, who can Kavus be?
My strength is mine from God and God alone;No king or army gives the might I own.
I entered life a free man, not a slave;I serve the Maker who my spirit gave.
The earth my servant, Rakhsh my royal seat;My gorz decides which foemen face defeat.
My sword my signet, helmet as my crown;My spear and gorz strike the enemy down.
My two strong arms and heart are sovereign here;No earthly crown can make their purpose veer.
My shining sword makes darkest night grow bright,And scatters heads across the field of fight.
The warriors once would crown me Shah of all;They set the crown and throne before my hall.
I would not take the crown when it was mine;I kept the ancient law, the royal line.
Had I accepted what they offered then,You would not rule among Iran’s crowned men.
I raised Kay Qobad up to royal height;What need have I of Kavus’s borrowed might?
From Alborz I brought Qobad to the crown;My hand raised up the king of great renown.
Without that deed, Iran’s own belt and bladeHad never marked the kingdom we had made.
Without my hand, what greatness would you wield?You would not boast so boldly in the field.
What care I now for Kavus’s empty claim?His words are wind that cannot stir my name.
Go save yourselves; Sohrab will soon appear,And leave no great nor lowly standing here.
Make haste and flee while time remains your friend;Without my arm, all Iran meets its end.
The land is yours; the vulture’s wings are mine;I leave you now, and cross no more this line.”
He struck his steed and rode in burning rage,While fear and grief possessed both chief and sage.
His very skin seemed splitting from the strain,As fury burned through every bone and vein.
The nobles trembled, for their strength had fled;Without their guide, their hopes and courage bled.
For Rostam was the shepherd, they the fold,And now the fold stood shepherdless and cold.
Then Giv and Gudarz, Bahram, Rohham came,With Gorgin too, and grieved at Rostam’s shame.
They said, “This breach is yours alone to mend;The Shah may hear you where he spurns a friend.”
They turned to Gudarz: “You must mend this break;Your words alone can make the blind Shah wake.
Go, speak to him with patience and with tact;Perhaps your words may yet undo this act.”
“Rostam has risked his life in every need;No rescuer has matched him word or deed.”
They spoke of all his deeds in former years;The trials he faced, the strength that quelled their fears:
“In Mazandaran Divs had bound the Shah;Who broke his chains and struck their hearts with awe?
For Rostam faced the Divs, stroke on stroke,And from their bonds the Shah and nobles broke.
For him what toil and hardship Rostam bore;The dread Div’s liver with his strength he tore.
He set the rescued Shah upon his throne,While chiefs acclaimed the valor he had shown.
When Hamavaran held the Shah confined,Who cut him free and left his chains behind?
In Hamavaran, fetters held the king;Rostam slew kings and broke the captive ring.
If this be how his service is repaid,Then none should stay, and none should come to aid.”
“Now action calls; delay will deepen shame,For this disgrace has stained Iran’s great name.”
Then Gudarz hurried to the Shah to plead,And spoke with measured force that fit the need:
“What wrong has Rostam done to earn your scorn,That you would drive this hero out forlorn?
Why raise such dust through Iran in this strife?Why hang the man whose arm has saved your life?
A king should never speak in reckless heat;Such words make royal dignity retreat.
Have you forgotten Mazandaran’s night,And how he saved you in that desperate fight?
When Hamavaran held you bound and low,Who broke your chains and struck your greatest foe?
If he departs and Sohrab takes the field,What strength remains for you to hope to wield?
Gazhdaham has seen him; heed his warning plain:No man but Rostam should confront his strain.
If Rostam goes, who meets that wolf-like youth,When Gazhdaham has warned us of the truth?
A king with Rostam standing at his side,Who drives him off has wisdom cast aside.
Recall his service; weigh it in your mind;No gain is born when loyalty is maligned.”
The Shah grew still, and reason found its place;He saw his fault and owned his deep disgrace.
The Shah said, “Age gives counsel worth the cost;The old see roads that younger eyes have lost.
A king needs wisdom; haste and rage mislead;No lasting good can spring from violent speed.”
“You speak the truth,” he said, “your counsel stands;Go bring him back; restore him to my hands.
Tell him my anger rose beyond control;I now repent the storm within my soul.
Bring Rostam back before my royal sight,That this dark soul of mine may turn to light.”
Then Gudarz rode along the hero’s way,With chiefs beside him pressing through the day.
They caught him, saying, “May your life be long;May fortune keep your spirit bright and strong.
May all the world lie subject to your view,And may the throne’s high seat belong to you.”
They gathered round and spoke in earnest tone:“Return in honor; the Shah calls you home.
He spoke in wrath; his anger now has died;Return, for all Iran has lost its guide.”
“You know that Kavus has no brain,” they said;“In haste he speaks, then mourns the words he spread.
You know the Shah: his wrath will quickly rise,Then cool as swiftly when regret grows wise.
Whatever wrong the Shah has done today,Iran itself should not be made to pay.
He gnaws the back of his own hand in shame,Repenting every word that fed the flame.”
But Rostam said: “I need no royal aid;My throne is Rakhsh, my fame by battle made.
My helmet is my crown, jowshan my gear;My heart is pledged to death and knows no fear.
Kavus is nothing but a handful of dust;Why should his anger govern what I trust?
I freed him once from chains that held him down,And led him back again to throne and crown.
I fought the Divs in Mazandaran’s field,And Hamavaran’s kings I made to yield.
Whenever foes had caught him in their snare,I broke his bonds and drew him from despair.
I fear but Yazdan; no monarch shakes my will.I stand as I have stood and shall stand still.”
The gathering grew cold at Rostam’s word;No answer through the silent ranks was heard.
Then Gudarz spoke with sharpened, subtle art:“Men say you fear this youth with lion’s heart.
They whisper: ‘Rostam shrinks from Sohrab’s might;His courage fails before the coming fight.’
They say Gazhdaham read the danger clear;That even Rostam now gives ground to fear.
If Rostam fears him, who can hold the field?Then you and I should both withdraw and yield.
Will you permit such slander to remain,And let base tongues your hard-won honor stain?
Sohrab is all the court will speak of now;Your fame is judged by what you do, and how.
The army now is hard pressed in this fight;Do not make crown and throne grow dark tonight.
From Turan comes a shame we cannot hide;Will you not rise and turn the rising tide?”
Tahamtan stared, astonished by the claim;Then wounded honor kindled into flame.
The hero’s spirit flared at that sharp blow:“I fear no man, as all the nations know.
I turned away from insult, not from fight;Let none mistake my purpose or my right.”
He turned his steed and rode back through the gate,Kay Kavus rose himself and did not wait.
“Impetuous haste is rooted in my soul;It mastered me and drove me past control.
This sudden foe struck all my courage low;My heart grew thin as the new moon’s first glow.
To you I looked for cure when danger came;Your late arrival set my wrath aflame.
Forgive my haste; repentance burns me sore,I filled my mouth with dust upon the floor.”
Then Rostam said: “The world bends to your will;Your servants, we stand ready to fulfill.
I stand prepared before your royal gate,To do your will and meet the coming fate.”
The Shah said, “Champion, may fortune blessYour heart and spirit always with success.
Let joy return and gladness fill this day;Tonight we feast, tomorrow march to fray.”
He had a royal pleasure-hall made fair,Like springtime gardens filled with scented air.
He called the chiefs and scattered gems around,Then feasted till deep night had veiled the ground.
Silken strings and reed-notes filled the hall,While jasmine-faced attendants served them all.
Their talk recalled the deeds of mighty men;They drank till heart and eye grew dim again.
Each wine-dazed warrior then sought his bed,While weary night dragged on with heavy tread.
B8.22
Rostam Seeks the Elixir
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Rostam sends Gudarz to beg Kavus for the nush-daru, the healing elixir kept in the royal treasury. Kavus refuses: Sohrab alive at Rostam’s side would threaten his throne, and he has not forgotten Rostam’s insults. Gudarz returns and urges Rostam to plead in person.
26 couplets · Kavus named 4 times · in the full poem
Then Rostam said to Gudarz: “Noble friend,Whose courage and clear wisdom never bend,
Go swiftly now and carry what I say;Tell Kavus all the grief I bear today.
Say this: ‘I tore my brave son’s liver with this blade;Accursed the hand by which the wound was made.
If you remember service I have shown,Let pity move your heart toward my own.
Within your treasury you keep in storeThe nush-daru that heals the deepest sore.
Send also wine to strengthen what remains;Perhaps my son may rise from mortal pains.
Through your good fortune may his strength revive,And serve beneath your rule, as I, alive.’”
Then Gudarz sped like wind to bear the word,And told to Kavus all that he had heard.
The Shah replied: “Who stands in higher placeThan Rostam, who has never known disgrace?
No harm to Rostam would I ever choose;His honor in my sight I will not lose.
But if I send the healing draft I own,That elephant-bodied youth would rise full-grown.
He then would rise, his father’s strength to crown;Together they would strike my fortunes down.
If harm should come from one I chose to mend,I would repay the wrong from end to end.
You heard him cry, ‘Who is Kavus to me?If he is Shah, then what can Tus still be?’
Where could a man so vast find room at all,With such great shoulders, farr, and stature tall?
How could he bow before my sovereign claim,Or curb such farr beneath another’s name?
He counted insults out before my men,And stripped my honor from me there and then.
If such a son should live beside his sire,I would be dust within their hands entire.
Have you not heard what Sohrab dared proclaim?You know the world and should recall his claim:
‘A thousand heads of Iran I shall take,And hang Kavus alive for vengeance’ sake.’
If he survives and walks beneath the sun,Then all Iran would turn from him and run.
Who feeds his enemy and lets him thriveSpreads an evil name while still alive.”
Then Gudarz, smoke-like, hurried back from court,His heart made bitter by the Shah’s retort.
“The Shah’s ill nature like colocynth grows;Forever bitter fruit its branch bestows.
In harshness none throughout the world compares;No other person’s grief he buys or shares.
You must go yourself before the king,And light his darkened soul with what you bring.”
B9.2
The Mother of Siavash
🏇👥🏹🐾🌳👩😢👣👥❓🧬👨👩👧🤼👑⚖️👩🏰🎁18 emoji · the whole poem in emoji →
Hunting near the Turanian border, Tus and Giv find a beautiful girl who has fled her drunken father and claims descent from Garsivaz and Fereydoon. They quarrel over her, and Kavus settles the dispute by taking her into his own women’s hall.
50 couplets · Kavus named 3 times · in the full poem
A Mobad told this tale from days of old:At cockcrow Tus rode out, his spirit bold.
With Giv and Gudarz and a chosen band,They rode in joy from court across the land.
They hunted Gur-e-Khar on Daghui’s plain,With hawk and cheetah ranging in their train.
They coursed beside the river in the chase,And hunted swiftly through that watered place.
They killed abundant game, and laid in meatEnough for forty days for all to eat.
The Turks were near; their tents had veiled the plain,Their spreading shadows darkened all terrain.
A forest rose before them, dim and wide,Close by the border Turan’s horsemen ride.
Through forest Tus and Giv together pressed,While valiant warriors followed on their quest.
They entered in the wood to seek their prey,And wandered for a while along the way.
Among the trees a lovely maiden stood;The riders hastened toward her through the wood.
No equal had she in that age or place;No art could match the beauty of her face.
Tall as a cypress, moon-bright was her guise,She dazzled all who looked with mortal eyes.
Then Tus addressed her: “Moon among the trees,What brought you wandering here in paths like these?”
She answered: “Father struck me late last night;I left my home and fled before his might.
Late from a feast he staggered through the door,And when he saw me, rage possessed him more.
He drew a water-brightened khanjar wide,And meant to cut my head from me,” she cried.
The warrior asked her lineage and her birth;She spoke of noble blood and royal worth.
“I trace my line to Garsivaz of fame,And Fereydoon gives honor to my name.”
He asked her why she came on foot alone,With neither guide nor steed to call her own.
She said: “My horse grew weak and could not ride;It left me on the ground with none beside.
I bore much gold and gems, a heavy load,And wore a crown of gold along the road.
They robbed me of my treasure, every store,And struck me with a sword-sheath hard and sore.
I fled those men and reached this wooded place,With tears of blood that streamed across my face.
My father, once the wine has left his head,Will send swift riders searching where I fled.
My mother too will seek me where I roam;She would not see me leave my native home.”
The warriors’ hearts grew tender at her plight,But Tus forgot restraint at such a sight.
Then Tus declared: “It was my eye that spied;I reached her first, and led her to my side.”
But Giv replied: “We rode as equals then;No army set you over other men.”
Then Tus replied: “My horse was first to stand;Before your mount had reached that forest land.
I led the chase; the honor here is mine;Speak truth, not falsehood born of your design.
A man of courage does not quarrel so,Nor cast aside the truth for beauty’s show.”
Their quarrel sharpened, fierce in word and deed;They judged the moon-faced maiden’s head must bleed.
A noble spoke and checked their angry tide:“Let Kavus hear the case and then decide.”
“Whichever man the Shah shall name,” he said,“Must be obeyed; let strife no further spread.”
They both agreed and let their quarrel fall,And brought her to the Shah within his hall.
When Kavus saw the maiden’s moon-bright face,He smiled and bit his lip before her grace.
He said: “The hardship of your road grew light;Your hunt has brought a wondrous prize to sight.
A stag or swift gazelle may suit your eye,But such a prize befits the great and high.
Let this dispute wait till the setting sun;Till then let cheetahs course and warriors run.
Tell me, from what royal line your blood may be,Your face as fair as any pari I see.”
She said: “My mother comes of royal line;Through Fereydoon my father’s blood is mine.
My kin Garsivaz, Pahlevan well known;His tents stand where the border winds have blown.”
Then Kavus said: “Who sought to cast awayYour hair, your face, your lineage in one day?
Come dwell within my golden women’s hall,And reign as chief among the beauties all.”
She answered: “From the first my heart inclinedToward you above all others of your kind.”
The Shah gave both sepahbods crown and throne,Ten noble steeds, rich gifts to call their own.
He sent the maiden to the women’s hall,And ordered her enthroned before them all.
They set her high upon an ivory chair,A gold-and-turquoise crown adorned her hair.
In yellow silk her radiant form they dressed,With ruby, turquoise, lapis at her breast.
All gifts that God had granted met the sight;An unpierced ruby, flawless, red and bright.
B9.13
Siavash’s Trial by Fire
👑🤔👑📣🐫🪵🪵🔥👥😢👦🙏🏇🐎🔥🔥✅🎉👑🤝🎁21 emoji · the whole poem in emoji →
Two mountains of timber are soaked in naphtha and lit. Siavash, dressed in white and scented with camphor like a corpse, rides his black horse through the flames and comes out unharmed. The people rejoice, and Kavus begs his son’s forgiveness.
60 couplets · Kavus named 4 times · in the full poem
The thoughts of Kay Kavus moved between the two,And doubt and fear within his spirit grew.
“If one proves false, what then will people say?Will any still accept my royal sway?
My wife and son are blood and brain to me;Which one can I cast off by my decree?”
Yet still he chose to cleanse his heart of doubt,And seek what remedy might root it out.
He said: “Who rules and wears the royal crownMust never let a faint heart drag him down.”
He ordered: “Send a hundred camel trains,And bring the timber gathered from the plains.”
The camels hauled the wood in long array,While all Iran came out to watch that day.
A hundred trains of red-haired camels boreThe timber till the plain could hold no more.
The timber rose beyond all count or bound,Its towering mass stood dark above the ground.
From two full farsangs off the piles were shown,A key to test what evil had been sown.
The Shah sought out the root of truth and wrong,To learn what crooked course had run so long.
Now hear this whole account and mark it well;Take heed of what its warning has to tell.
Seek only virtue when you choose a wife;An evil nature stains a husband’s life.
Two mountains of dry timber rose on high,While all the world stood gathered close nearby.
Between the heaps a narrow passage lay,So tight a mounted rider scarcely made way.
The Shah commanded black naphtha be spreadAcross the timber, foot to towering head.
Two hundred kindlers set the heaps alight,Till deepest night seemed turned to blazing light.
At first black smoke went rolling, thick and dire,Then all at once broke forth the surging fire.
The flames rose high and burned with blinding glare,Till earth itself outshone the stars in air.
The world roared out and breathed a furnace breath,While crowds recoiled as if from certain death.
The plain itself seemed roasting in the blaze,And people wept to lose his smiling gaze.
Then Siavash came before his father’s sight,Gold helm upon his head, his bearing bright.
In robes of white, composed upon his steed,His smiling face showed hope in time of need.
His dark steed’s hooves sent dust into the sky,As though their dust would veil the moon on high.
He sprinkled camphor lightly on his frame,Prepared for shroud and death, but not for shame.
He stepped down from his horse and, bowing low,Paid to the Shah the reverence he should show.
The Shah’s face filled with shame before his son,And a gentle speech by Siavash had begun.
“Do not grieve, father; this is worldly fate;The turning sphere has brought us to this state.
I bear this shame, this slander on my name;If I am pure, deliverance waits in flame.
If guilt is mine, the World-Creator’s handWill give no shelter where the fires stand.
By Yazdan, giver of all good and right,If I am pure, the fire shall lose its bite.”
He drew toward the fire and raised his cryTo Him, the self-sufficient Judge on high:
“Grant me safe passage through this mountain’s flame,And free my body from my father’s shame.”
He poured his grief before the Judge in prayer,Then spurred his black steed smoke-like toward the glare.
A cry rose up from city and from plain,And all the world was seized by grief and pain.
Sudabeh climbed the palace roof in hate,And watched the prince approach his fiery fate.
The people turned on Kavus in their ire,And cursed the Shah who sent him toward the fire.
He drove his black horse where the fire had spread,As though for fire the very steed were bred.
The flames closed round; no watcher’s searching eyeCould see his golden helm or horse nearby.
The plain stood waiting, blood in every gaze,To see when Siavash would leave the blaze.
Then from the flames the noble youth rode free,Rose-faced and smiling for the world to see.
A roar went up from all the gathered throng:“The young Shah lives! He leaves the fire whole and strong!”
His horse and robe and rider shone as white,Like jasmine blossoms opening to sight.
Had it been water, he might well be wet;The fire had left no mark upon him yet.
When pure Yazdan extends His mercy true,The breath of fire and wind are one to you.
He passed from fiery mountain to the field,And cries from town and plain around him pealed.
The riders rushed to meet him in delight,And cast their silver coins to left and right.
All people, high and low, rejoiced as one,And praised the miracle that had been done.
They said: “The just Judge guards the guiltless true,And brings the schemer’s wickedness to view.”
Sudabeh, mad with anger at the sight,Tore hair and scratched her face in bitter spite.
Then Siavash drew near them, pure and bright;No smoke, no fire, no dust to dim his light.
Kavus dismounted, seeing him draw near;The army too came down with reverent cheer.
The prince bowed low and laid his face in prayer,And thanked the World-Creator for His care.
He crossed the mountain fire with nothing burned,And all his enemies’ hopes to dust were turned.
The Shah then said: “Brave youth of lineage pure,Your shining soul has made the truth secure.
A virtuous mother gave such life to you;Such sons are born to rule the whole world through.”
He clasped him and owned the wrong he had done,And begged forgiveness from his blameless son.
Within the eyvan Kavus took his throne,The Kayanian crown above him shone.
He called for wine and music through the hall,And Siavash shared the pleasures of them all.
For three full days the wine and feast ran free;No seal was set on treasure, nor a key.
C4.46
The Death of Kay Kavus
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Kavus thanks God for having lived to see the revenge taken, and dies. He is dried, wrapped and seated on an ivory throne in a tower ten kamands high, which is then sealed. Khosrow mourns forty days, takes the crown, and reigns sixty years.
30 couplets · Kavus named 3 times · in the full poem
With peace at last established in his mind,Kavus told God the thoughts his heart enshrined:
“O You beyond all time, whose teachings showAll goodness that our mortal hearts can know.
From You came fortune, majesty, and crown,The throne and diadem, and high renown.
No other man received such gifts from You:Such treasure, throne, and fame the whole world knew.
I asked that You would raise a man to takeRevenge for Siavash, girded for his sake.
I saw my grandson, whom my heart held dear,Make my revenge his own, its purpose clear.
This prince outshines the kings of former daysIn stature, wisdom, and his glory’s blaze.
Three times fifty years have whitened my hair,From musk to camphor in the locks I bear.
My cypress frame is bent just like a bow;I bear it well if now my life must go.”
A little while elapsed; then Kavus died,His deathless name lived on, both far and wide.
Khosrow approached the throne, then took his seatUpon the darkened dust beneath his feet.
Iran’s great nobles made their way on foot;Their finery and scents aside were put.
For two full weeks they mourned the monarch’s fall,In blue and black, the garments worn by all.
They built a lofty hall, ten kamands high,A royal tomb that towered toward the sky.
The nobles brought Dabiqi cloth to spread,With Roman brocade black around the dead.
The cloth held aloes, musk, and camphor white;They wrapped his body, dry, within it tight.
They placed him on an ivory throne, and madeA crown of musk and camphor, on him laid.
When Kay Khosrow had turned and left the room,They sealed the portal of that sleeping tomb.
No man again looked on Kay Kavus’s face;He rested from revenge and battle’s race.
Such is the custom of this mortal sphere:Why grieve? You cannot live forever here.
The sage, the mail-clad Pahlevan, the brave,Can never flee from death or from the grave.
For king or Zardosht, earth becomes the bed,A brick the pillow underneath his head.
Be joyful, but let measured pleasure guide;Then seek good fame, whose worth will long abide.
Yet know the world at last becomes your foe;Earth is your bed; dust clothes you down below.
Khosrow mourned his grandfather forty days,And turned from crown, from pleasure, state, and praise.
The next day on the ivory throne he shone,And wore the crown of kingship as his own.
The army gathered at the royal gate,With gold-capped nobles, mighty men of state.
They hailed his kingship, praising his renown,And scattered precious jewels upon his crown.
The world rejoiced to hail him as its lord;He took the throne amid their glad accord.
For sixty years his rule endured, and allThe world remained obedient to his call.
Family
- Parents
- Qobad
- Siblings
- Arash, Kay Armin, Pashin
- Children
- Fariborz, Siavash
On the maps
Story maps that show Kavus or tell a part of the story that names Kavus.
B4.3Kay Kavus Ventures to Mazandaran
B5.10–B5.11Kavus’s Mazandaran Campaign and the Return to Iran
B6.1The Hamavaran Sea-War and Kavus’s Captivity
B6.9Kavus’s Flight to the Sky and His Fall
B9.15–B9.16Siavash Marches to the Eastern Front (toward Balkh)
B10.34–B10.37Bahman-diz and Kay Khosrow’s Accession
B11.3–B11.7The Realm Restored: Kay Khosrow’s Fronts and the Division of Commands
C4.41–C4.45The Capture and Death of AfrasiabWhere he appears
Named mentions by book, from the Universe Registry, the index behind this site. Titles and epithets are not counted.
B3Kay Qobad3B4The War with Mazandaran15B5The Seven Labors of Rostam38B6The Folly of Kay Kavus44B7The Fight of the Seven Warriors3B8The Tragedy of Rostam & Sohrab43B9The Story of Siavash71B10Vengeance for Siavash and the Retrieval of Kay Khosrow34B11Kay Khosrow’s Kingship8B12Forood and the Snowstorm Campaign10B13Mount Hamavan and the Kamus Campaign6B14The Great Battle with the Khan of Chin3C2The Tale of Bijan and Manijeh3C3The Battle of the Twelve Rukhs7C4The Final Afrasiab Wars and the Disappearance of Kay Khosrow61C5Lohrasp6C6Goshtasb, Zardosht, and the War with Arjasp1C8The Tragedy of Rostam and Esfandiyar12D10The Bahram Goor Cycle: Justice, Foreign Adventures, and End of a Reign3E3Bozorgmehr’s Fall and Restoration1E5Hormizd, Son of Anooshirvan4E6Khosrow Parviz2Books with Kavus
The complete translationThe Shahnameh, Volumes I–IIIFrom his accession (B4) to his death (C4.46)
Small bookThe Follies of Kay KavusMazandaran, Hamavaran and the flying throne
Small bookThe Heraldry of the ShahnamehThe banners of the kings and Pahlevans
More in the Glossary, all the characters and the Art.