Place · The Shahnameh · Volumes I, II, III

Hindهند / هندوستان

HEND, hen-doo-STAHN

India.

In the poem: First at A0.12, Praise for Sultan Mahmud; last at E8.2, Khosrow Parviz Answers Shiruyeh
Named: 166 times, in 102 sections
Main stories: D10 The Bahram Goor Cycle: Justice, Foreign Adventures, and End of a Reign (25); D5 The Iskandar Cycle (21); E2 Chess, Wisdom, and the Kalila and Dimna (21)

In the poem’s own words

The 8 sections that name Hind most often, with the summary from the Notes and the couplets that name Hind. Tap a couplet number to read it in the full poem.

B14.11

Rostam Puts Shangul to Flight

Shangul challenges ‘the Sagzi’. Rostam, stung, unhorses him with one spear-thrust, but his men carry him off unhurt. Shangul warns that no one can face Rostam alone, so the Khan orders a mass attack, and Rostam cuts through Chin’s left wing. Piran fears Afrasiab’s anger.

B14.11.6
No Hind or Saklab warrior shall stay;Blades wrought in Hind and Chin I sweep away.”
B14.11.14
From Turan, Chin, and Hind, in close array,They charged the Pahlevan amid the fray.
B14.11.35
The troops of Chin and Shakn filled the view,With Hind and Saklab, Herat, Pahlav too.

Hind named 4 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes

D5.15

Iskandar Fights the Army of Foor

The blazing iron horses panic Foor’s elephants and his army breaks. Next morning Iskandar proposes single combat; when a shout behind the lines turns Foor’s head, he strikes him dead. The Indians submit, are consoled, and Soorag is given Hind’s throne.

D5.15.41
The men of Hind pressed forward, face to face;In straits, they met the foe in narrow space.
D5.15.42
A proclamation echoed through the plain:“O righteous chiefs of Hind’s renowned domain,
D5.15.46
The men of Hind approached, and all replied,Their voices joined together, side by side.

Hind named 4 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes

D10.26

Bahram’s Embassy to Shangul of Hind

A vizier warns that Shangul of Hind is raiding toward Iran. Bahram has a letter written demanding tribute, then carries it himself in the guise of an envoy. He reaches Ghanooj, is admitted to the crystal-roofed hall, and delivers his own message to Shangul.

D10.26.6
You are the Shah; he only governs Hind,Why should he tax both distant Chin and Sind?
D10.26.12
O holy Mobad, write to Hind’s great kingOf love and hatred, and the claims they bring.”
D10.26.36
You cannot stand before my gallant men;No sepahbod in Hind will save you then.

Hind named 6 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes

D10.29

Shangul Detains Bahram in Hind

Shangul, reading farr in his guest’s stature and archery, guesses he is the Shah’s brother; Bahram denies it and asks leave to go. The king has his minister offer land, office and wealth, and press for a name. Bahram calls himself Barzvi, and Shangul resolves to destroy him.

D10.29.8
Bahram replied, “O king of Hind, refrainFrom treating royal envoys with disdain.
D10.29.21
Say this: ‘The king of Hind now holds you high;Your worth has gained new honor in his eye.
D10.29.22
If you remain and aid his subtle mind,The fairest march of Hind will be assigned:

Hind named 5 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes

E2.1

Chess Comes to Anooshirvan

An envoy from the Raja of Hind brings elephants, parasols and a chessboard with a challenge: if Iran’s sages cannot work out the rules, Iran must pay tribute. The court fails. Bozorgmehr solves the game in a day and a night and demonstrates it before the envoy.

E2.1.7
Then watchful men brought tidings to the throne,And made the coming of Hind’s envoy known:
E2.1.8
“The envoy of the king of Hind has come,With costly gifts; a rich and princely sum.
E2.1.18
Bright rubies gleamed, and diamonds caught the light,And patterned blades from Hind shone keen and bright.

Hind named 7 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes

E2.2

Bozorgmehr Answers Chess with Nard

Bozorgmehr shuts himself in a dark room and works out nard, then carries it to Hind with two thousand camel-loads staked on the Raja’s sages solving it. They fail in a week; he explains the game, and comes home with the stake, a year’s tribute and gifts.

E2.2.25
That care then lifted from the monarch’s heart;He called Hind’s envoy near before the start.
E2.2.29
Then said, “High Raja, famed through Hind’s wide land,From Sind to where Ghanooj’s waters stand,
E2.2.36
For chess we have exchanged the game of nard;Let Hind’s wise men now test this challenge hard.

Hind named 5 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes

E2.3

Gav, Talkhand, and Chess

In Hind, Jamhur dies leaving the infant Gav; his brother Mai reigns, marries the queen and fathers Talkhand. The brothers’ rival claims end in a battle by the sea where Talkhand dies of thirst, unwounded. To show his mother how, the sages devise chess.

E2.3.2
There lived a king in Hind in former days,Mighty in arms and crowned with wealth and praise.
E2.3.212
Let no reproach be left to mark our name,That Hind became a realm of blood and shame.
E2.3.424
He died upon his golden saddle fair,And left Hind’s realm to Gav through battle’s snare.

Hind named 5 times here · read the section in the full poem · notes

E2.4

The Kalila and Dimna Comes to Iran

The physician Barzvi goes to Hind for a herb said to raise the dead, and finds none. An old sage reads the riddle: the herb is wisdom, the corpse the ignorant man, the cure a book. Barzvi memorizes the Kalila chapter by chapter and sends it home.

E2.4.11
It said, ‘Upon the mountains of Hind growsA herb like Roman silk that softly glows.
E2.4.54
Barzvi replied to those of Hind’s renown,“O ardent souls, whose names wear honor’s crown,
E2.4.71
“Live while Hind shall last beneath the sky.There is a book concealed from common eye.